Sigismondo 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...

tic 'dramma' in two act by Gioachino Rossini to an 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...

 by Giuseppe Maria Foppa.

The opera was not a success and Rossini later re-used some of its music in Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra

Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra

Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra, is a dramma per musica or opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Giovanni Schmidt, from the play The Page of Leicester by Carlo Federici...

, The Barber of Seville

The Barber of Seville

The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...

, and Adina.

Performance history

Sigismondo was first performed at the Teatro La Fenice, Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, on 26 December 1814, with revivals in Padua

Padua

Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

, Cremona

Cremona

Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...

 and Reggio Emilia

Reggio Emilia

Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....

 (all in 1819), 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....

 (1820) and Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

 (1827). Its modern revival was at Rovigo

Rovigo

Rovigo is a town and comune in the Veneto region of North-Eastern Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. -Geography:...

 in 1992 (see recording details below).

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, December 26, 1814 (Conductor: )
Sigismondo, King of Poland	contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...	Marietta Marcolini Marietta Marcolini Marietta Marcolini was an Italian operatic contralto.Marcolini was born in Florence. The date of her stage debut is unknown but she was appearing in Venice in 1800...
Ladislao, Prime Minister of Poland	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...	Claudio Bonoldi
Anagilda, sister of Ladislao	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...	Marianna Rossi
Radoski, confidant of Ladislao	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 Bartoli
Ulderico, King of Bohemia	bass	Luciano Bianchi
Aldimira, daughter of Ulderico and wife of Sigismondo	soprano	Elisabetta Manfredini-Guarmani
Zenovito, Polish noble	bass	Luciano Bianchi

Recordings

Year	Cast: Sigismondo, Bruno, Aldimira, Ulderico	Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra	Label
1992	Sonia Ganassi Sonia Ganassi Sonia Ganassi is an Italian mezzo-soprano. She made her debut as Rosina in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. She has performed in many of the world’s famous opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, the Royal Opera House in London and the Teatro alla Scala, Milan. She is best... , Bruno Lazzaretti, Rosella Ragatzu, Giacomo Prestia	Richard Bonynge Richard Bonynge Richard Alan Bonynge, AO, CBE is an Australian conductor and pianist.Bonynge was born in Sydney and educated at Sydney Boys High School before studying piano at the Royal College of Music in London. He gave up his music scholarship, continuing his private piano studies, and became a coach for... , Rovigo Venezze Conservatory Orchestra	Audio CD: Bongiovanni Cat: 8.660189-90
1995	Carmen Oprisanu, ??, Tatiana Korovina, Vladimir Prudnikov	Marc Andreae, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester and Prague Male Choir (Recorded at the Wildbad Rossini Festival, July)	Audio CD: CROSSROADS Cat: CR 0102695

External links

• Italian libretto at Karadar.com