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Zelmira

Dramma per musica in two acts by
ANDREA LEONE TOTTOLA

First performance:
Naples – Teatro San Carlo
16 February 1822

Critical Edition by
HELEN GREENWALD and
KATHLEEN KUZMICK HANSELL

FONDAZIONE ROSSINI PESARO 2005

CHARACTERS:
POLIDORO, King of Lesbos, bass
ZELMIRA, his daughter, soprano
ILO, Prince of Troy, Zelmira's consort, tenor
ANTENORE, Prince of Mytilene, aspirant to the throne of Lesbos, tenor
EMMA, Zelmira's confidante, contralto
LEUCIPPO, a follower of Antenore, bass
EACIDE, a follower of Ilo, tenor
HIGH PRIEST OF JUPITER, bass
Zelmira's little son, silent
Mixed chorus of priests of Jupiter, people of Lesbos, warriors of Mytilene, followers of Ilo

The action takes place on Lesbos

Instrumentation: 2 Flutes/Piccolos 2 Oboes/English Horn 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 2 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Timpani, Bass Drum, Cymbals, Harp, Strings. Onstage: Band
Performance time: 2h 30m

Rossini composed Zelmira, the last of his Neapolitan operas, not only for the stage of the Teatro San Carlo, but also for the company's intended Viennese tour, which began two months later. Zelmira similarly opened the London all-Rossini season of 1824 and was introduced to Paris by the composer in 1826. In it Rossini paired a demanding florid vocal style with the experimentation of the Naples years: avoiding an overture, the opera plunges directly into the drama. Its intense chromaticism and emphasis on the minor mode create a dark tone that pervades the work, both in the public moments of solemnity, lamentation, or terror and in the intimate moments of pathos, as in the duettino between Zelmira and Emma, which is accompanied only by English horn and harp. The ensembles especially exhibit a refined, classical ideal of beauty.

The principal score of the critical edition includes the aria "Ciel pietoso" (N. 8bis) that Rossini composed for Emma in the Viennese production and that immediately became considered an integral part of the opera. Appendix I presents the end of the opera as Rossini revised it for the 1826 Paris production. He added a new aria, "Da te spero, oh Dio clemente" (N. 10bis), for Giuditta Pasta (the Zelmira). Since this number comes just before the Second Finale--originally also an aria for Zelmira--Rossini restructured the Finale as an ensemble (N. 11a). In the Critical Commentary, Appendix II describes the modifications Rossini made for the performances in Vienna in 1822 and London in 1824.

An additional volume provides the stage band music for the Introduction, the Chorus and Cavatina Ilo (N. 4), and the Second Finale (in his autograph score Rossini represented the band music only by a melodic line, leaving its orchestration to the band master). This volume, with its own introduction, was prepared by Patricia B. Brauner and Philip Gossett.

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