Bianca e Fernando
| Bianca e Fernando | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Vincenzo Bellini (Revised version of Bianca e Gernando) |
|
Set design for act 1, sc. 1
(Alessandro Sanquirico, 1828) |
|
| Librettist | Felice Romani, providing revisions from the original by Domenico Gilardoni |
| Language | Italian |
| Based on | Carlo Roti's Bianca and Ferdinand at the Tomb of Charles IV, Duke of Agrigento |
| Premiere | 7 April 1828 Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa |
Bianca e Fernando (Bianca and Fernando) is an opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini.
The original version of this opera was presented as Bianca e Gernando and was set to a libretto by Domenico Gilardoni, based on Bianca e Fernando alla tomba di Carlo IV, duca di Agrigento (Bianca and Ferdinand at the Tomb of Charles IV, Duke of Agrigento), a play by Carlo Roti which is set in Sicily. In 1826, use of the name Fernando in the title was forbidden because Ferdinando was the name of the heir to the throne, and no form of it could be used on a royal stage.
The 1826 work—Bellini's first professionally staged opera—had its first performance at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples on 30 May 1826. Its success resulted in the offer to the young composer from Domenico Barbaja, the Intendente at the San Carlo and also part of the management of La Scala opera house in Milan, of a commission to write a new opera for La Scala.
The revival of Bianca e Gernando, with the title reverting to the original one proposed for the opera, came about after the success of Il pirata in Milan in October 1827. A commission came from Genoa in early 1828, too late for Bellini to write anything new. However, he did re-arrange the music to suit the singers' voices and in addition (as Galatopoulos states), Romani took on the re-construction of the libretto with the result that "out of the whole of Bianca, the only pieces entirely unchanged are the big duet and the romanza; everything else is altered, and about half of it is new". For this later production, Bellini specifically rejected a request by Gilardoni to revise the libretto, preferring instead Felice Romani, whom he regarded as the superior poet.
The first version, given as Bianca e Gernando, premiered at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples on 30 May 1826 with Henriette Méric-Lalande and Giovanni Battista Rubini in the title roles. The revised version, given under its original title, Bianca e Fernando, took place on the occasion of the opening of the new Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa on 7 April 1828. It was performed again in the 1829 Autumn season at La Scala in a production designed by Alessandro Sanquirico with Méric-Lalande and Rubini reprising the title roles.
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