Un giorno di regno
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Categories: Italian-language operas | Operas by Giuseppe Verdi | Drammi giocosi | 1840 operas | Operas
Un giorno di regno, ossia il finto Stanislao (A One-Day Reign, or The False Stanislaus) is an operatic melodramma giocoso in two acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on the play Le faux Stanislas by Alexandre Vincent Pineu-Duval. Un giorno di regno was Verdi's first attempt at comic opera. The first performance was at Teatro alla Scala, Milan, September 5, 1840. The premiere was a failure, and the composer was actually seated in the orchestra pit during the first performance, and thus heard the audience reaction directly. Verdi himself and the critics acknowledged that the failure was partly due to the composer's own personal circumstances, as his first wife Margherita Barezzi died during its composition. La Scala cancelled the remaining scheduled performances, and would not revive the work until 2001. Other productions during Verdi's lifetime in Italy were in Venice in 1845, in Rome in 1846, and Naples in 1859.[1] Verdi would not attempt another operatic comedy until the end of his career with Falstaff.
Roles
SynopsisThe story tells the tale of the Polish monarch, King Stanisław Leszczyński, who is in hiding because of a War of Succession. In order to regain his rightful throne, he sends a French officer, Cavaliere di Belfiore, as a decoy to the castle of the Barone di Kelbar, the usurper. The Baron recently has arranged a political alliance by betrothing off his daughter, Giuletta, to the La Rocca, the Brittany treasurer, but Giuletta prefers La Rocca's nephew, Edoardo. Another upcoming undesired marriage involves the Baron's niece, the Marchesa del Poggio, a young widow who is in love with Belfiore, but has become engaged to another because Belfiore has been unable to commit himself to marrying her, in spite of the fact that he does love her. On the day the real king is maneuvering to regain his throne, the false king moves to block the arranged marriage of Giuletta. However, in the course of this, he is surprised to see the Marchesa in Brittany, and she is likewise surprised. She recognizes him, but pretends not to, and he, to maintain his disguise, feigns ignorance of her identity. They engage in a battle of wits and plotting as the tangle of relationships is resolved. Noted arias
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