Elena da Feltre

Elena da Feltre is an opera in three acts by 19th-century Italian composer Saverio Mercadante from a libretto by Salvatore Cammarano, well known as librettist of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Verdi's Il trovatore. The premiere took place at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on 1 January 1839 as part of the Carnival Season. While not successful at the time, the opera was revived at La Scala in 1843 with twenty performances.

When composing Elena da Feltre in 1838, Mercadante wrote to Francesco Florimo, laying out his ideas about how opera should be structured, following the "revolution" begun in his previous opera, Il giuramento:

Elena seems to match up with the new concepts: greater involvement of the orchestra; fewer vocal "fireworks"; a more simple vocal line but more adventuresome harmonies and drama when compared to Il giuramento.

"Mercadante wanted to break free from any formulas developed by earlier composers, especially those of Rossini......The romantic hero is given to the bass-baritone voice, and the villain was played by the famous French tenor Nourrit. The story is tragic and violent, filled with romantic intrigues and twisted passions. The part of Elena is one of Mercadante's outstanding soprano vocal roles. Her opening romanza is one of the opera's finest highlights, although he later replaced it with an equally brilliant florid cavatina. The finale to the third act is another extremely strong number. The skillfully wrought ensemble reflects the dramatic tension of the script, as the denouement comes to its tragic conclusion."

In a 20th Century examination of Mercadante's operas by Patric Schmid, a critical comment noted:

Although not successful in its initial performance in Naples, "it achieved a considerable success in the rest of Italy and Europe where it was performed in several places between 1839 and 1860 with twenty performances at La Scala in the 1843 autumn season". It was performed at Covent Garden in London in January 1842 and in Dublin that July.

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