Parisina 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...

 (tragedia lirica), 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...

. Felice Romani

Felice Romani

Felice Romani was an Italian poet and scholar of literature and mythology who wrote many librettos for the opera composers Donizetti and Bellini. Romani was considered the finest Italian librettist between Metastasio and Boito.-Biography:Born Giuseppe Felice Romani to a bourgeois family in Genoa,...

 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 Byron

George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron

George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS , commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was a British poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement...

's 1816 poem Parisina

Parisina

Parisina is a poem written by Byron. It was published on 13 February 1816 and probably written between 1812 and 1815.It is based on a story related by Edward Gibbon in his Miscellaneous Works about Niccolò III d'Este, one of the dukes of Ferrara who lived in the fifteenth century...

. The characters of Parisina and Duke Azzo in both Byron's poem and Donizetti's opera are very loosely based on the historical figures of Parisina Malatesta (the daughter of Andrea Malatesta

Andrea Malatesta

Andrea Malatesta was an Italian condottiero, a member of the Malatesta family of Romagna. He is also known as Malatesta da Cesena, a city he had inherited in 1385 from his father, Galeotto, together with Cervia and Bertinoro...

) and Niccolò III d'Este. Parisina premiered on 17 March 1833 at the Teatro della Pergola

Teatro della Pergola

The Teatro della Pergola is a historic opera house in Florence, Italy. It is located in the centre of the city on the Via della Pergola, from which the theatre takes its name...

 in Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

.

Roles

Role	Voice type Voice type A voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics. Voice classification is the process by which human voices are evaluated and are thereby designated into voice types...	Premiere cast, 17 March 1833 (Conductor Conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... : — )
Parisina, wife of Duke Azzo	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...	Carolina Ungher Caroline Unger Caroline Unger was an Austro-Hungarian contralto.Born in Vienna, she studied in Italy; among her teachers were Aloysia Weber Lange and Domenico Ronconi. Her stage debut, in her native city, came in 1821, when she performed in Mozart's Così fan tutte, a performance for which Franz Schubert had...
Ugo, Parisina's lover	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...	Gilbert Duprez Gilbert Duprez Gilbert Duprez was a French tenor, singing teacher and minor composer who famously pioneered the delivery of the operatic high C from the chest. He also created the role of Edgardo in the popular bel canto-era opera Lucia di Lammermoor in 1835.-Biography:Gilbert-Louis Duprez, to give his full...
Duke Azzo	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...	Domenico Cosselli Domenico Cosselli Domenico Cosselli was an Italian operatic bass-baritone, particularly associated with Rossini operas.He began his vocal studies in his native city in 1814 and made his stage debut there in 1821...
Ernesto, Duke Azzo's minister	bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...	Carlo Ottolini Porto
Imelda, Parisina's handmaid	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 Zappucci
Knights, handmaids, gondoliers, squires, soldiers

Act 1

In Duke Azzo's palace, Ernesto and other nobles await his arrival. (È desto il duca?). Azzo appears and tells Ernesto about his fear that his wife, Parisina, has betrayed him for another man, as had his first wife, Matilde. When Azzo leaves, Ugo arrives. Ugo, who was raised by Ernesto, was once a favourite of Azzo but was later exiled. Ernesto is overcome by fear when he sees his foster son, knowing that his exile had not ended and Azzo was still angry at him. His fear worsens when Ugo reveals his love for Parisina to him.

Meanwhile, Parisina with her faithful Imelda and her other handmaids are resting in the garden. They hear knights arriving for the festivities, amongst whom is Ugo. When Parisina and Ugo are alone, she urges him to flee. They are interrupted by the arrival of the Duke. In a fury, he demands to know what Ugo is doing there. Parisina defends Ugo which only increases the Duke's anger (Il difende! E in sua difesa tanto adopra).

By the shores of the River Po. Azzo tells Ugo he may remain for the festivities, just as Ugo and his men are about to get on their boat. Parisina follows her husband and courtiers to the palace for the banquet (Vieni, vieni, e in sereno sembiante). Ernesto, Ugo, and Parisina are consumed by fear, while Azzo is consumed by his anger. (Ma divoro nel cor tremante un timor/furor che non posso frenar).

Act 2

In Parisina's room, Imelda and the other handmaids are talking about the banquest (Lieta era dessa). They express their joy at Parisina's happiness and Azzo's apparent tranquility. Imelda, however, is fearful of what may happen. Parisina enters. She is tired and falls asleep. Her maids leave her alone, but Azzo enters the room to spy on her. In a dream, Parisina, believing that Ugo is in the room calls out to him and tells him they must flee together. Azzo shouts in fury waking Parisina, and he accuses her of being unfaithful. Parisina, now desperate, admits her love for Ugo. Azzo is about to kill her, but then holds back (Non pentirti, mi ferisici).

In another room in the palace and waiting for the banquet to begin, Ugo is troubled that Parisina has not yet appeared. Soldiers enter and order Ugo to follow them to the Duke who asks him if Parisina's confession is true. Azzo is about to condemn Ugo to death when Ernesto intervenes. He reveals that Ugo is Duke Azzo's son by his first marriage. His mother had entrusted him to Ernesto after she had been banished from the court. Azzo recognizes Ugo as his son, and appears to rescind the order for his death.

Act 3

In the palace chapel a choir is heard (Muta, insensibile). Parisina prays that Ugo will be saved. Imelda arrrives bringing a letter from Ugo, asking Parisina to escape with him. Parisina hesitates, but then decides to join him. Funeral music is heard. Azzo appears, blocks Parisina's way, and then shows her Ugo's corpse. Parisina is overcome by horror (Ugo è spento! A me si renda!) and falls dead.

Recordings

Year	Cast (Azzo, Ugo, Parisina, Imelda)	Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra	Label
1997	Ramon De Andrès, Amedeo Moretti, Alexandrina Pendachanska, Daniela Barcellona	Emmanuel Plasson, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana and Coro della Radio Televisione Svizzera Italiana	Audio CD: Dynamic Cat: CDS 277/1-2
2008	Nicola Alaimo, José Bros, Carmen Giannattasio, Ann Taylor	David Parry David Parry (conductor) David Parry is an English conductor who is particularly known for his work within the field of opera. Described as "a man of the theatre with whom directors love to work; he is good with singers; he knows the British opera world like the back of his hand... , London Philharmonic Orchestra London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...  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: ORC 40