'Lucia di Lammermoor' --Operatoonity readers favorite Donizetti
Editor’s Note: Today’s Golden Operatoonity repost is in celebration of the anniversary of the Premiere of Donizetti ‘s Lucia di Lammermoor, on September 26, 1835, in Naples, Italy.
In this century, it’s generally agreed upon that only a dozen of Donizetti’s operas are worth producing. Arguably some people would quibble with even that figure. According to the Donizetti poll I posted yesterday, Operatoonity readers favor Lucia di Lammermoor. Some opera fans I know consider Lucia not only their favorite Donizetti, but their all-time favorite opera.
According to one of Opera Pulse’s polls, in which I voted, Lucia is also the second best opera character to be for Halloween (she was my first choice). I also had a blast writing about Lucia on this blog last June. Whoever schedules Lucia during the most popular marrying month in North America must have a wicked sense of humor. Don’t expect to see Lucia on the cover of Bride Magazine anytime soon.
After one of my readers mentioned that some of Donizetti’s lesser known operas featured some of the silliest plots ever, I decided to give them a look-see. According to The Penguin Opera Guide, Donizetti wrote 65 operas in total. Other sites say 60. Sixty operas? Verdi wrote half that many. True, most of Verdi’s works endure today where as only one-fifth of Donizetti’s works are regularly produced. But 60? That’s a lotta opera!
Did any other composer write as much as Donizetti? Apparently, depending on how you define opera, several composers are credited with more than 100 each, one surpassing 250, but how many composers whose work is produced today? Good question. Donizetti would have to be right up there.
According to Bachtrack’s 2010 League Tables, Donizetti ranked 7th of composers with most opera performances worldwide with 240 after Verdi with 824, Mozart with 771, Puccini with 681, Wagner with 273, Rossini with 259, and Richard Strauss 246. More Strauss than Donizetti? A surprising statistic, per moi.
I can’t say which of the following Donizetti works are so silly they aren’t worth producing, but I can tell you which one would drive the marketing department crazy: Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali Just how do you fit that title onto a poster?
Anyhoo, here’s one list of his complete works:
A
* L’ajo nell’imbarazzo
* Alahor in Granata
* Alfredo il grande
* Alina, regina di Golconda
* L’ange de Nisida
* Anna Bolena
* L’assedio di Calais
B
* Belisario
* Betly
C
* Il campanello
* Il castello di Kenilworth
* Caterina Cornaro (opera)
* Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali
D
* Il diluvio universale
* Dom Sébastien
* Don Gregorio (opera)
* Don Pasquale
* Le duc d’Albe
E
* L’elisir d’amore
* Elvida
* Emilia di Liverpool
* Enrico di Borgogna
* L’esule di Roma
F
* Fausta (opera)
* La favorite
* La fille du régiment
* Francesca di Foix
* Il furioso all’isola di San Domingo
G
* Gabriella di Vergy
* Gemma di Vergy
* Gianni di Calais
* Gianni di Parigi
I
* Il giovedì grasso
* Imelda de’ Lambertazzi
L
* Linda di Chamounix
* Lucia di Lammermoor
* Lucrezia Borgia (opera)
M
* Maria de Rudenz
* Maria di Rohan
* Maria Padilla
* Maria Stuarda
* Marino Faliero (opera)
O
* Olivo e Pasquale
* Otto mesi in due ore
P
* Parisina (opera)
* Pia de’ Tolomei
* Pietro il grande
* Il Pigmalione
* Poliuto
R
* Rita (opera)
* Roberto Devereux
* La romanzesca e l’uomo nero
* Rosmonda d’Inghilterra
S
* Sancia di Castiglia
T
* Torquato Tasso (opera)
U
* Ugo, conte di Parigi
* Una follia
Z
* La zingara
* Zoraida di Granata
