Il Pigmalione
Encyclopedia
For the opera by Cherubini, see Pimmalione
Il Pigmalione (Pygmalion) is an opera
in one act (dramma in un atto) by Gaetano Donizetti
to a libretto
of Antonio Simeone Sografi. It is Donizetti's first opera and was written between September and October 1816, when the composer was 19. It has been noted that although "musically slender, the score, nevertheless, reveals the fledgling composer's flair for melody"
This popular story had already been adapted for a musical play by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
in 1770. Donizetti set Sografi's libretto, which was first written for an opera
by Giovanni Batiste Cimador (1790) and also used for an opera by Bonifacio Asioli (1796).
The first lines of the opera begin with Pigmalione:
in the composer’s home town of Bergamo
, Italy
. The performance was conducted by Armando Gatto, while the role of Pigmalione was performed by Doro Antonioli and that of Galatea by soprano Oriana Santunione.
The story of the opera is based on on the famous story of a king
and sculptor, Pygmalion
, originally taken from the tenth book of the Metamorphoses
by Ovid
. Pigmalione, dismayed that he may never find in real life the ideal of feminine beauty, creates a sculpture of it himself. Having fallen in love with his own creation, Pigmalione's prayer for the sculpture (christened Galatea)'s animation is answered by Venus.
Pimmalione
Pimmalione is an opera in one act by Luigi Cherubini, first performed at the Théâtre des Tuileries, Paris on 30 November 1809. The libretto is an adaptation by Stefano Vestris of Antonio Simone Sografi's Italian translation of the text Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote for his scène lyrique Pygmalion...
Il Pigmalione (Pygmalion) is an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in one act (dramma in un atto) by Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
to a libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
of Antonio Simeone Sografi. It is Donizetti's first opera and was written between September and October 1816, when the composer was 19. It has been noted that although "musically slender, the score, nevertheless, reveals the fledgling composer's flair for melody"
This popular story had already been adapted for a musical play by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
in 1770. Donizetti set Sografi's libretto, which was first written for an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
by Giovanni Batiste Cimador (1790) and also used for an opera by Bonifacio Asioli (1796).
The first lines of the opera begin with Pigmalione:
- Anche spirto né vita più darvi non poss'io
- dove sei genio mio
- che mai sei divenuto misero mio talento!
Performance history
Donizetti's opera did not receive its premiere until October 13, 1960, when it was performed at the XVII Festival delle novità at the Teatro DonizettiTeatro Donizetti
The Teatro Donizetti is an opera house in Bergamo, Italy. Built in the 1780s using a design by architect Giovanni Francesco Lucchini, the theatre was originally referred to as either the Teatro Nuovo or Teatro di Fiera. The first opera to be mounted at the theatre, Giuseppe Sarti's Medonte, re di...
in the composer’s home town of Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The performance was conducted by Armando Gatto, while the role of Pigmalione was performed by Doro Antonioli and that of Galatea by soprano Oriana Santunione.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 13 October 1960 (Conductor: Armando Gatto) |
|---|---|---|
| Pigmalione, Pygmalion Pygmalion (mythology) Pygmalion is a legendary figure of Cyprus. Though Pygmalion is the Greek version of the Phoenician royal name Pumayyaton, he is most familiar from Ovid's Metamorphoses, X, in which Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved.-In Ovid:In Ovid's narrative, Pygmalion was a... , the King of Crete |
tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Doro Antonioli |
| Galatea, Galathea Galatea (mythology) -Name "Galatea":Though the name "Galatea" has become so firmly associated with Pygmalion's statue as to seem antique, its use in connection with Pygmalion originated with a post-classical writer. No extant ancient text mentions the statue's name... |
soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Oriana Santunione |
Synopsis
- Time: The classical past
- Place: CyprusCyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
The story of the opera is based on on the famous story of a king
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
and sculptor, Pygmalion
Pygmalion (mythology)
Pygmalion is a legendary figure of Cyprus. Though Pygmalion is the Greek version of the Phoenician royal name Pumayyaton, he is most familiar from Ovid's Metamorphoses, X, in which Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved.-In Ovid:In Ovid's narrative, Pygmalion was a...
, originally taken from the tenth book of the Metamorphoses
Metamorphoses (poem)
Metamorphoses is a Latin narrative poem in fifteen books by the Roman poet Ovid describing the history of the world from its creation to the deification of Julius Caesar within a loose mythico-historical framework. Completed in AD 8, it is recognized as a masterpiece of Golden Age Latin literature...
by Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
. Pigmalione, dismayed that he may never find in real life the ideal of feminine beauty, creates a sculpture of it himself. Having fallen in love with his own creation, Pigmalione's prayer for the sculpture (christened Galatea)'s animation is answered by Venus.
Recordings
| Year | Cast (Pigmalione, Galatea) |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Paolo Pellegrini Susanna Rigacci |
Fabio Maestri, Canto Association Chamber Orchestra (CDs include recordings of Donizetti's Rita Rita (opera) Rita, ou Le mari battu is an opéra comique in one act, composed by Gaetano Donizetti to a French libretto by Gustave Vaëz. The opera, a domestic comedy consisting of eight musical numbers connected by spoken dialogue, was completed in 1841 under its original title Deux hommes et une femme... , Olimpiade (1817), and La bella prigioniera) Live recording, September) |
Audio CD: Bongiovanni Cat: GB 2109/10-2 |