Donizetti: Roberto Devereux [antikvár]

omenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (1797- 1848) completed sixty five operas in only twenty six years and along with Bellini became the best known and acknowledged opera composer following Rossini's retirement in 1836. He was bom in a windowless cellar in the North Italian town of Bergamo, but rose to conquer the operatic world of his day. Thanks to his talent, remarkable versatility, endurance and ability to work at speed, he became the most performed and celebrated operatic composer in Europe. When he conquered Paris in 1840, the most vitriolic critic of the time, none other than Hector Berlioz wrote: "There is no sense in talking about the opera houses of Paris anymore. We should instead talk of Mr Donizetti's opera houses". Of course, Donizetti worked hard for his success and of paramount importance in his career was the role of his Bergamo composition teacher, Simon Mayr, another well known opera composer. Through Mayr's support and advocacy, Donizetti obtained his first operatic commission from Venice (Enrico, 1817), and it was again Mayr who paved the way for his pupil to travel to Romé where he scored his greatest hit at that time [Zoraid di Granata, 1821),and met the woman he later married. As a result of Donizetti's success in Romé, he was invited by a leading impresario to Naples. His first premiere (La Zingara, 1822)made such an impact on the student Bellini that for