I/29

La donna del lago

[The Lady of the Lake]

Melo-dramma in two acts by
ANDREA LEONE TOTTOLA

First performance:
Naples - Teatro San Carlo
24 October 1819

Critical Edition by
H. COLIN SLIM

FONDAZIONE ROSSINI PESARO 1990 

CHARACTERS:
GIACOMO V (JAMES V), King of Scotland under the name Knight Hubert of Snowdon, tenor
DUGLAS D'ANGUS, bass
RODRIGO DI DHU, tenor
ELENA, soprano
MALCOM GROEME, contralto
ALBINA, mezzo-soprano
SERANO, tenor
BERTRAM, bass
Mixed Chorus of shepherds, shepherdesses, bards, Scottish lords and ladies, Clan Alpine warriors, huntsmen, royal guards

The action takes place in Scotland, particularly Stirling and its environs

Instrumentation: 2 Flutes/Piccolo, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 Hn. 2 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Timpani, Bass Drum, Cymbals, Triangle, Harp, Strings. Onstage: 6 Horns, Band with Trumpets
Performance time: 2h 15m

The libretto of La donna del lago, Rossini's most Romantic opera, is derived from The Lady of the Lake by Sir Walter Scott (1810). The opera’s atmospheric local color - hunting horns and bardic harps as well as elements such as the "Scotch snap" rhythm - is particularly apparent in the large ensembles opening and closing Act I. In the maturity of his Neapolitan period, Rossini was fully in control of his expanded musical style. The forms of Tancredi (1813), for example, seem rudimentary compared to the complexity and originality of La donna del lago. Tunefulness and subtle harmonic detail characterize the writing, while the two arias for Malcom and the final rondo for Elena are bel canto at its finest.

The critical edition presents the original version of the opera, while appendices provide material used in revisions for Naples in 1820 and for Paris in 1824 and 1825. Rossini's own vocal variants for the Rondo Finale of Elena are also included. A supplementary volume provides the original orchestration for the stage bands.

Back to Start | Back to Rossini menu | Back to Available titles