Ricciardo e Zoraide (Ricciardo and Zoraide) is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Francesco Berio di Salsa. The text is based on cantos XIV and XV of Il Ricciardetto, an epic poem by Niccolò Forteguerri.[1]
| Ricciardo e Zoraide | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Gioachino Rossini | |
 Rossini c. 1815 | |
| Librettist | Francesco Berio di Salsa |
| Language | Italian |
| Based on | Il Ricciardetto, epic poem by Forteguerri |
| Premiere | 3 December 1818 Teatro San Carlo, Naples |
Performance history
editRicciardo e Zoraide was first performed at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, on 3 December 1818. It continued to be performed until 1846 but fell out of favor afterwards and was not performed in public again until its revival at the Pesaro Rossini Opera Festival in 1990.[2] The Rossini Opera Festival featured a new production of the opera in 2018.[3][4] Among other performances, the opera received a production at the Rossini in Wildbad festival in 2013.[5]
Roles
edit| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 3 December 1818 (Conductor: Nicola Festa ) |
|---|---|---|
| Agorante, King of Nubia, infatuated with Zoraide | tenor | Andrea Nozzari |
| Zomira, wife of Agorante | contralto | Benedetta Rosmunda Pisaroni |
| Zamorre, confidant of Agorante | tenor | Gaetano Chizzola |
| Elmira, confidant of Zomira | mezzo-soprano | Raffaella de Bernardis |
| Ircano, a Middle Eastern prince | bass | Michele Benedetti |
| Zoraide, daughter of Ircano, in love with Ricciardo | soprano | Isabella Colbran |
| Ricciardo, a Christian paladin knight, in love with Zoraide | tenor | Giovanni David |
| Fatima, confidant of Zoraide | mezzo-soprano | Maria Manzi |
| Ernesto, friend of Ricciardo, Christian camp ambassador, | tenor | Giuseppe Ciccimarra |
Synopsis
editThe Nubian King Agorante, who is infatuated with Zoraide, has defeated her father, Ircano and captured her. Ricciardo, a Christian knight and Zoraide's lover, accompanies an emissary to plead for her release. Agorante's jealous wife, Zomira, arranges the capture of Ricciardo as well and plots to have the young lovers executed to protect her position as Queen. The opera ends with an army of Christian knights rescuing Ricciardo and Zoraide. Ricciardo spares Agorante's life.
Recordings
edit| Year | Cast: Agorante, Zoraide, Ricciardo, Zomira, Ircano |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label:[6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Bruce Ford, June Anderson, William Matteuzzi, Gloria Scalchi, Giovanni Furlanetto |
Riccardo Chailly, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Prague Philharmonic Chorus | VHS Video: Bel Canto Society Cat: #619 |
| 1995 | Bruce Ford, Nelly Miricioiu, William Matteuzzi, Della Jones, Alastair Miles |
David Parry, Orchestra of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the Geoffrey Mitchell Choir |
Audio CD: Opera Rara Cat: ORC 14 |
| 2018 | Randall Bills, Alessandra Marianelli, Maxim Mironov, Silvia Beltrami, Nahuel di Pierro |
José Miguel Pérez-Sierra, Virtuosi Brunensis and the Camerata Bach Choir of Poznań |
Audio CD: Naxos Records Cat:8 660419-21| |
| 2019 | Sergey Romanovsky, Pretty Yende, Juan Diego Flórez, Victoria Yarovaya, Nicola Ulivieri |
Giacomo Sagripanti, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Marshall Pynkoski, stage director |
DVD:C Major Cat: 752704 |
References
editNotes
- ^ Richard Osborne, "Ricciardo e Zoraide," Grove Music Online (article revised 2002), accessed 13 May 2019.
- ^ "ROSSINI Ricciardo e Zoraide (Pérez-Sierra)". www.gramophone.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ "Rossini Opera Festival Program 2018". Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ "New Production of Ricciardo e Zoraide for Rossini Opera Festival". Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ "Ricciardo e Zoraide - Bad Wildbad". www.forumopera.com. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- ^ Recordings of Ricciardo e Zoraide on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
Sources
- Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Ricciardo e Zoraide, 3 December 1818". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
- Farr, Robert, Recording review: Ricciardo e Zoraide, Opera Rara, Music Web International.
- Gossett, Philip; Brauner, Patricia (2001), "Ricciardo e Zoraide" in Holden, Amanda (ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam. ISBN 0-14-029312-4
- Osborne, Charles (1994), The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, London: Methuen; Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0931340713
- Osborne, Richard (1990), Rossini, Ithaca, New York: Northeastern University Press. ISBN 1-55553-088-5
- Osborne, Richard (1998), Ricciardo e Zoraide, in Stanley Sadie, (Ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol. Three, p. 1312. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-333-73432-7 ISBN 1-56159-228-5
- Osborne, Richard (2018), Recording review: Rossini Ricciardo e Zoraide, Gramophone (magazine).
- Servadio, Gaia (2003), Rossini, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003. ISBN 0-7867-1195-7
- Steen, Michael and Richard Osborne, The Lives and Times of the Great Composers: His Life and Works, Oxford University Press, 2007, pp. 271–278. ISBN 0-19-518129-8
- Toye, Francis (re-issue 1987), Rossini: The Man and His Music, Dover Publications, 1987. ISBN 0486253961 ISBN 0-486-25396-1
External links
edit- Libretto in Italian Retrieved 13 December 2012