Nitocri
{{italic title}}
Nitocri is an opera (melodramma serio) in two acts composed by Saverio Mercadante to libretto by Apostolo Zeno adapted by Lodovico Piossasco Feys. The libretto is a fictionalised account of the Egyptian queen Nitocris. The opera premiered at the Teatro Regio in Turin on 26 December 1824.{{Almanacco|dmy=26 December 1824|match=Nitocri}}
Background and performance history
According to Francesco Florimo, the opera was "well received" at its premiere. A second revised version was performed at the Teatro della Canobbiana in Milan on 2 October 1830 with newly designed sets by Alessandro Sanquirico.{{Almanacco|dmy=2 October 1830|match=Nitocri}}Florimo, Francesco (1869). [https://archive.org/details/cennostoricosul01florgoog Cenno storico sulla scuola musicale di Napoli], vol. 1, p. 644. Tipografia di Lorenzo Rocco
Although the opera fell into oblivion, Mirteo's aria "Se m'abbandoni", sung at the premiere by {{ill|Brigida Lorenzani|it}} en travesti, became a popular concert piece for contraltos and mezzo-sopranos and was sometimes interpolated into other operas, notably by Maria Malibran in the final scene of Zingarelli's Giulietta e Romeo.
Roles
| class="wikitable"
|+{{sronly|Roles, voice types, premiere cast}} !Role !Premiere cast, 26 December 1824 |
| Nitocri (Nitocris), Queen of Egypt, in love with Mirteo |
| Mirteo, an Egyptian general, in love with Emirena
|{{ill|Brigida Lorenzani|it}} |
| Emirena, Nitocri's sister
|soprano |Carolina Franchini |
| Feraspe, prince descended from the ancient kings of Egypt, in love with Nitocri |
| Micerino, an Egyptian general, Mirteo's friend, in love with Emirena
|bass | Luciano Bianchi |
| Idaspe, Nitocri's confidante
|tenor |Lorenzo Lombardi |
| Ramiro, Feraspe's confidante
|soprano | Vittoria Smitt |
| colspan="3" |Royal guards, Nitocri's handmaidens, government officials, Egyptian and Theban soldiers, Egyptian people |
Recordings
There are no complete recordings of the opera. However, the overture was recorded by the Orchestra Sinfonica Moldova for Mercadante: Sinfonie da Opere (Bongiovanni GB2144), and Mirteo's aria "Se m'abbandoni" sung by Della Jones appears on A Hundred Years of Italian Opera 1820–1830 (Opera Rara ORCH104)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMSLP|work=Nitocri (Mercadante, Saverio)|cname=Aria "Se m'abbandoni" from Nitocri }}
- [http://www.bibliotecamusica.it/cmbm/viewschedatwbca.asp?path=/cmbm/images/ripro/libretti/03/Lo03083/ Complete libretto for the 1824 premiere at the Teatro Regio di Torino] {{in lang|it}}
- [https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb10579392?page=1 Complete libretto for the 1830 performance at the Teatro della Canobbiana] {{in lang|it}}
{{Saverio Mercadante}}
{{Portal bar|Opera}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nitocri}}
Category:Operas by Saverio Mercadante