Maria Padilla is a melodramma

Melodramma

Melodramma is an Italian term for opera, used in a much narrower sense by English writers to discuss developments in the early 19th century Italian libretto...

, or 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 three acts 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...

. Gaetano Rossi

Gaetano Rossi

Gaetano Rossi was an Italian writer who wrote opera libretti for several composers including Mayr, Rossini, Donizetti, Mercadante, Pacini, and Meyerbeer.-Biography:...

 and the composer wrote the Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

 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...

 after François Ancelot's play. It premiered on December 26, 1841 at La Scala

La Scala

La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...

, Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

. The plot is loosely based on the historical figure María de Padilla

María de Padilla

María Díaz de Padilla was the mistress of King Peter of Castile whom he married in secret in 1353.She was a Castilian noblewoman...

, the mistress of Pedro the Cruel

Pedro of Castile

Peter , sometimes called "the Cruel" or "the Lawful" , was the king of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. He was the son of Alfonso XI of Castile and Maria of Portugal, daughter of Afonso IV of Portugal...

, King of Castile

Kingdom of Castile

Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...

.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 26 December 1841 (Conductor: Eugenio Cavallini Eugenio Cavallini Eugenio Cavallini was an Italian conductor, composer, violinist, and violist. In 1833 he became first violinist of the orchestra at La Scala, a post he held through 1855... )
Donna Maria Padilla, Ruiz' daughter	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...	Sophie Löwe Sophie Löwe Johanna Sophie Christiane Löwe was a German opera soprano, active mainly in Vienna and Berlin. She was one of the most famous German opera singers of her time.-Life and career:...
Donna Ines Padilla, Ruiz' daughter	soprano	Luigia Abbadia Luigia Abbadia Luigia Abbadia was an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano known for her fine voice, secure technique, and a strong temperament. Possessing an uncommonly wide range, Abbadia sang several roles traditionally portrayed by sopranos in addition to roles from the mezzo-soprano repertoire.-Biography:Abbadia...
Don Pedro, prince of Castile	baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...	Giorgio Ronconi Giorgio Ronconi Giorgio Ronconi was an Italian operatic baritone celebrated for his brilliant acting and compelling stage presence. In 1842, he created the title-role in Giuseppe Verdi's Nabucco at La Scala, Milan.-Career:...
Don Ruiz di Padilla	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...	Domenico Donzelli Domenico Donzelli Domenico Donzelli was an Italian tenor with a robust voice who enjoyed an important career in Paris, London and his native country during the 1808-1841 period.-Biography:...
Don Ramiro, duke of Albequerque	bass	Gaetano Rossi Gaetano Rossi Gaetano Rossi was an Italian writer who wrote opera libretti for several composers including Mayr, Rossini, Donizetti, Mercadante, Pacini, and Meyerbeer.-Biography:...
Francisca	mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...	Teresa Ruggeri Teresa Ruggeri Teresa Ruggeri was an Italian operatic soprano who had an active career from the 1820s through the 1840s. In 1827 she portrayed the role of Zarele in the world premiere of Giovanni Pacini's Gli arabi nelle Gallie at La Scala in Milan...
Don Luigi, count of Aguillar	tenor	Ranieri Pochini
Don Alfonso di Pardo	bass	Agostino Berini
Bianca di Francia	silent
Gentlemen, Castilian and French dignitaries, hunters, vassals of Padilla, guards, Castilian and French pages

Synopsis

Place: Castile

Castile (historical region)

A former kingdom, Castile gradually merged with its neighbours to become the Crown of Castile and later the Kingdom of Spain when united with the Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre...

Time: 14th century

Maria tells her sister Ines that she hopes to marry Don Pedro, the ruler of Castile. When he sneaks into her room disguised as Mendez, Maria tells him that she knows his true identity and demands marriage to save her honour. Don Pedro acquiesces, although the marriage must be kept secret. After their elopement, a faction of the Don Pedro's court wants him marry Bianca, a Bourbon

House of Bourbon

The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...

 princess, in order to avoid a civil war. He appears to be negotiating this, despite his secret marriage to Maria.

Meanwhile, Maria's father, Don Ruiz di Padilla, appears at the court. Believing that she is merely Don Pedro's mistress, he challenges the prince to a duel, but is led away in disgrace. Maria visits her father and tries to explain that she is the secret wife of Don Pedro, but her father refuses to listen.

Much to Maria's horror, Bianca arrives at the court, and is welcomed by Maria's enemies there as Don Pedro's bride and their queen. Instead, Don Pedro proclaims Maria as his queen and she dies of joy. (In the original ending which was changed by the censors, Maria grabbed the crown from Bianca's head and then committed suicide.)

Recordings

Year	Cast (Maria, Ines, Ruiz, Pedro)	Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra	Label
1980	Lois McDonall, Della Jones, Graham Clark, Christian du Plessis Christian du Plessis Christian du Plessis is a South African baritone, largely based in England, and particularly associated with the bel canto repertory....	Alun Francis Alun Francis Alun Francis is a Welsh conductor.-Professional career:Francis was the principal conductor of the Ulster Orchestra from 1966 for ten years... London Symphony Orchestra London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...  and Geoffrey Mitchell Choir	Audio CD: Opera Rara Opera Rara Opera Rara is a British record label, founded in the early 1970s by Americans Patric Schmid and Don White to promote concerts of rare and/or forgotten operas by Giacomo Meyerbeer and Donizetti and such other "bel canto" composers as Giovanni Pacini, Saverio Mercadante, and Federico Ricci.The... Cat: ORC6
1990	Renée Fleming Renée Fleming Renée Fleming is an American soprano specializing in opera and lieder. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice.Fleming has performed coloratura, lyric, and lighter spinto soprano repertoires. She has sung roles in Italian, German, French, Czech, and Russian, aside from her native English. She also... , Stella Zambalis, Hans Gregory Ashbaker, Motti Kaston	John DeMain Opera/Omaha Orchestra and Chorus (Recording of a performance in the Auditorium of the Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, September)	Audio CD: Premiere Opera Cat: CDNO 8932

External links

• Libretto (Italian)