Dom Sébastien
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Dom Sébastien, Roi de Portugal (Don Sebastian, King of Portugal) is a French grand opera in five acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe, based on Paul-Henri Foucher's play Dom Sébastian de Portugal (1838), a historic-fiction about King Sebastian of Portugal (1554-1578) and his ill-fated 1578 expedition to Morocco. It premiered on November 13, 1843 at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique (or Paris Opéra). This was the last opera that Donizetti completed before going insane as a result of syphilis.
At the time, Donizetti was attempting to compose an opera competitive with similar historical operas by Daniel Auber, Fromental Halévy and Giacomo Meyerbeer. One critical description of the nature of Dom Sébastien is "a funeral in five acts".[1] By contrast, Winton Dean has described the main characteristic of the opera as "uncompromising dramatic honesty" in his comments on unusual dramatic facets of the work.[2] Roger Parker has prepared a critical edition of the opera which incorporates changes that Donizetti made for a production in Vienna.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, November 13, 1843 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Dom Sébastian, King of Portugal | tenor | Gilbert Duprez |
| Dom Antonio, his uncle | tenor | Jean-Baptiste Octave |
| Dom Juam de Sylva, Grand Inquisitor | basso profundo | Nicolas Levasseur |
| Dom Louis, Spanish ambassador | tenor | |
| Camoëns, soldier and poet | baritone | Paul Barroilhet |
| Ben-Selim, governor of Fez | bass | Hippolyte Brémont |
| Abayaldos, leader of the Arab tribe | baritone | Jean Etienne Massol |
| Zayda, his betrothed | mezzo-soprano | Rosina Stoltz |
| Dom Henrique Sandoval, Dom Sébastian's lieutenant | bass | Ferdinand Prévost |
| Ladies and gentlemen of the Court, Portuguese soldiers and sailors, Arab soldiers and women, members of the Inquisition | ||
[edit] Synopsis
[edit] Act 1
Lisbon, Portugal
The Christian king, Dom Sebastian, leaves his uncle Dom Antonio to rule Portugal while he and his entourage (including the idealistic poet Camoëns and the Moor princess Zayda, whom he had rescued from being burnt at stake for trying to escape the monastery she had resided in since her conversion to Christianity (O mon Dieu, sur la terre), and intends to return her to her father Ben-Selim) go on a crusade against the Moors of Africa.
[edit] Act 2
Morocco, Africa
The reunion between Zayda and Ben-Selim is dampened by her refusal to marry the Moorish chief Abayaldos. Abayaldos leads the Moor to battle against Sebastien's force and wipe them out. The wounded Sebastien's life is saved only when his lieutenant Dom Henrique presents himself to Abayaldos as Sebastien before expiring from his wounds, and Zayda pleads for the Christian 's life in return to her consent to marry Abayaldos, under the guise that her life was saved by a Christian during her captivity in Portugal, and now she must return the favor. Sebastien is left on the battlefield a broken man (Seul sur la terre).
[edit] Act 3
Lisbon
Camoëns survived the battle and returned to Lisbon (O Lisbonne, o ma patrie!), he learns that the Regent Dom Antonio, had aligned himself with the Spanish Grand Inquisitor Dom Juam de Sylva, and usurped the throne. At the public square he runs into Sebastien, just as the mock funeral procession for the supposedly dead king passes by. Camoëns causes a commotion in his outrage, and Sebastien is recognized when he intervenes. Abayaldos recognizes him instead as a lowly Christian whose life he had spared on the battlefield. Sebastien is jailed as an imposter.
[edit] Act 4
Sebastien is tried in court. Zayda proves her love for him by testifying to his true identity and how he had escaped death in Africa. Abayaldos angrily accuses her of infidelity, and both Sebastien and Zayda are jailed (she for 'treason'). Eager to legitimize his alliance with Spain, Dom Antonio and Dom Juan de Sylva offers Zayda to spare Sebastien's life if she could convince him to sign the official instrument selling Portugal to Spain. After his initial refusal, Sebastien signs the document, to Zayda's indignation. She runs off to throw herself to the sea, but when Sebastien catches up with her on the top of the tower, they find Camoëns in a boat attempting a rescue. Sebastien and Zayda are discovered half way down the rope to the boat, and plunge to their death when the rope is slashed. Camoëns is mortally wounded by gunfire, and the opera ends with the loss of Portuguese independence as the Spanish fleet appears on the horizon.
[edit] Selected recordings
- Opera Rara: Giuseppe Filianoti, Simon Keenlyside, Vesselina Kasarova, Carmelo Corrado-Caruso; Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Mark Elder, conductor (live recording)[4]
- Legato Classics: Klara Takacs, Lajos Miller, Sergej Koptchak, Richard Leech; Opera Orchestra of New York; Eve Queler, conductor (live recording)
[edit] References
- ^ Donal Henehan, "Donizetti's Dom Sebastien". New York Times, 24 March 1984.
- ^ Winton Dean, "Donizetti's Serious Operas". Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, 100, 123-141 (1973).
- ^ Rupert Christiansen, "Love affair with a lost master". Telegraph, 9 May 2005.
- ^ Tim Ashley, "Donizetti: Dom Sébastien, Kasarova/ Filianoti/ Keenlyside/ Miles/ Royal Opera House Chorus and Orchestra/ Elder". The Guardian, 11 May 2007.
[edit] External links
- French Libretto
- Italian Libretto
- "Donizetti and Paris", lecture by Roger Parker on Dom Sébastien at Gresham College, 16 April 2007 (available for download as video or audio files)
