Maometto II (or ) is an 1820 opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Cesare della Valle. Set in the 1470s during a time of war between the Turks and Venetians, the work was commissioned by the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. Della Valle based his libretto on his earlier play Anna Erizo. The name of the title character, Maometto II, refers to the real-life Ottoman Sultan and conqueror of Constantinople Mehmed II, who lived from 1432 to 1481.
Regarded "in some ways [as his] most ambitious opera"Brauner, Patricia and Gossett, Philip, "Maometto II" in Holden p. 787 and as "the best of Rossini's Neapolitan operas",Philip Gossett, in Mays, p. 55 Maometto II failed to find an audience in Naples and, "to help ensure [its] success in Venice and Paris, he smoothed out the most audacious elements of the score". Venice first saw it on 22 December 1822 and then, translated into French and changed significantly, it was presented as Le siège de Corinthe in 1826.
Until the preparation of the critical editions of Maometto II, the composer's original intentions remained obscure. The introduction to an early version prepared by musicologists Philip Gossett and Patricia Brauner (along with Claudio Scimone) notes some of the difficulties of determining what Rossini had intended: Extraordinary for its dramatic power and the nobility of its musical content, Maometto II is also an opera that poses many textual problems, since Rossini's successive revisions were made directly in the autograph score. Using copies of the score dating back to the original productions of each of these versions, the critical edition reconstructs the text of the first version (Naples, 1820), which reflects the composer's original intentions.Introduction to an unpublished critical edition of the score from the 1980s on humanities.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 27 August 2012. A new critical edition was prepared under the supervision of Philip Gossett and edited by Dutch scholar Hans Schellevis. The first performances which used it were given by The Santa Fe Opera during its 2012 season and the German company, Bärenreiter, released the score for rentals in 2013.Maometto secondo: Score of the critical edition.
Composition history The opera was written as Rossini's composing career was beginning to slow down to one opera per year, and it appeared almost a year after Bianca e Falliero, although it was succeeded very quickly by Matilde di Shabran.Osborne, Charles p. 101 In accepting the commission from the San Carlo in May 1820, it became clear when Rossini began composing the opera, that it "would be the most ambitious of all [his] works for the Italian stage".Osborne, Richard, p. 64–66 As it turned out, "its composition process was long and laborious, the circumstances of its making unexpectedly fraught".
From early 1820, various political upheavals threatened the rule of King Ferdinand I and these prevented theatrical productions and extended the composition process. During this time, Rossini "modified della Valle's libretto, accentuating the human aspect of the tragedy, playing down the political and nationalistic elements".
By late 1820, the political situation was sufficiently under control to allow theatrical activity to continue and, while the production of Maometto II missed many deadlines, its first performance took place at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples on 3 December 1820. However, the opera "was not much liked by the Neapolitans"Osborne, Charles, p. 102 since the composer was "moving in a direction the Naples audience was reluctant to follow".
Musical structure Musicologists have identified many distinctive elements of the 1820 score for Naples which moved beyond the then-existing traditions. As Philip Gossett notes: "Italian opera of the early nineteenth century worked within a finely tuned system of musical and dramatic conventions, many of which were developed and codified in Rossini's earlier operas."Gossett, "Reviving Rossini's Neapolitan Operas", p. 101
Some of these new features explain the reason for the opera's rejection by Neapolitan audiences of that time, because "Rossini carried his art far beyond [their] capabilities."Gossett, "Soundness of Structure", p. 9 One feature is that act 1 lasts 90 minutes and contains only five sections, one of which is the "terzettone" (a name unique to Rossini meaning "a big fat trio"). This trio runs some 25 minutes and includes "the temporary departure of two principals, intrusive cannon fire, an outbreak of popular dismay, and a prayer."Osborne, Charles, Rossini: His Life and Works, pp. 287–293
Another element is a move away from a conventional bel canto era finale which usually contained a florid and virtuosic rondo for a happy ending or a cabaletta for a tragic one. Instead, Rossini gives the prima donna a 40-minute display of vocal artistry during which she never leaves the stage.Beghelli, p. 5 In the 1822 Venice revision, Rossini substituted his own aria "" from La donna del lago in order to achieve the conventional effect, as well as to create a happy ending. Also, as Gossett notes, a significant additional feature of the opera is that there are only five independent arias in the opera, only two of which end with cabalettas.Gossett, "Soundness of Structure", p. 9/10
Performance history The Venice version and other productions in Europe, 1823–1826 In Venice, this version "was well received when Rossini revised it for performances....at the Teatro La Fenice in December 1822.", his last composition for an Italian house. However, the composer had to bow to a need for a significant change to the original ending, thus "spar[ing] Venetian sensibilities by providing a happy [one]".
Philip Gossett provides an explanation for the change made to the Venice score, which includes this happy ending: it is "to remove the horror of the historical catastrophe" and, therefore, Rossini instructed a copyist to end the opera using the rondo, "", from his La donna del lago of 1819, thus removing Maometto's final confrontation with Anna, his discovery of her marriage to Calbo, and her suicide.Gossett, in Philips recording booklet essay, p. 8 This version also includes music from Bianca e Falliero.Beghelli, p. 15 In 1823 and 1824, Maometto II was presented in Vienna and in Milan and then in Lisbon in 1826, but after that it dropped out of sight.
Maometto II becomes "A large part of [Maomettos] score [was adapted] to a new French libretto" and staged in Paris on 9 October 1826 as , the wars between the Greeks and the Turks then being topical, in the context of the Greek War of Independence.Gossett and Brauner, in Holden, p. 787
20th and 21st century productions In its original form Maometto II disappeared for almost 150 years. In 1976 the Metropolitan Opera "performed what they called , an Italian translation of Rossini's French revision of the score".Philip Gossett, "Editing Rossini's Maometto II", The Santa Fe Opera 2012 Season program book, pp. 60–63. Gossett also notes that this was the "vehicle for Beverly Sills' long-awaited Met debut, but this did not reflect any version of the opera prepared by Rossini". A version was presented by the Rossini Festival in Pesaro in 1985. The San Francisco Opera production on 17 September 1988 was regarded as being "closer to the original Rossini version of the opera, but it too was highly problematic."Holland, The New York Times review No references to a production in the UK exist.
In January 2004 a version of the opera was presented in Bilbao by the ABAO company. It featured Simone Alaimo and June Anderson in the major roles. The Venice version was given at La Fenice in February 2005, while performances using a version edited by conductor Claudio ScimonePesaro Festival performances listed on rossinioperafestival.it Retrieved 22 January 2012 were given at the Pesaro Festival in August 2008.David Blewitt The Stage, 19 August 2008 on thestage.co.uk Retrieved 19 July 2012
Maometto II restored The Santa Fe Opera2012 season announcement on santafeopera.org Accessed 10 May 2011 (New Mexico) gave a restored 1820 Naples Maometto II its world premiere on 14 July 2012. The performance used a critical edition by Dutch scholar Hans Schellevis which was published by Bärenreiter of Kassel in 2013 under the general editorship of musicologist Philip Gossett, who was present as advisor in Santa Fe during rehearsals.www.baerenreiter.com's section on Rossini works under Philip Gossett's direction Retrieved 23 February 2013 The cast featured Luca Pisaroni in the title role, soprano Leah Crocetto (grand prize winner of the 2010 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions) as Anna, mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon as Calbo, and tenor Bruce Sledge as Erisso. Directed by David Alden, the production was set in the 1820s.James Keller, , The Santa Fe New Mexican, 15 July 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012John Stege, "Maometto il Magnifico: Rossini's Maometto II brings tragic grandeur to the Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe Reporter, 18 July 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2012
Garsington Opera in England presented the British premiere of the critical edition during its 2013 summer season.Andrew Clark, "Maometto secondo, Garsington Opera at Wormsley, UK – review", Financial Times (London), 11 June 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013 The Canadian Opera Company performed the work during its 2015–16 season, using the Santa Fe Opera production.
Roles +RoleVoice typePremiere cast, 3 December 1820Conductor: Nicola FestaPremiere cast from Casaglia (2005)Maometto II (Mehmed II)bassFilippo GalliPaolo Erisso, head of the Venetians in NegropontetenorAndrea NozzariAnna, his daughtersopranoIsabella ColbranCalbo, Venetian noblemezzo-soprano or contraltoAdelaide ComelliCondulmiero, Venetian nobletenorGiuseppe CiccimarraSelimo, Muslim nobletenorGaetano Chizzola
Synopsis Source:This synopsis is based on the action outlined in the Philips recording libretto, translated by Lionel Salter. Changes made for the Venice performances are included in [indented square brackets]. Any differences between the action contained in the Philips recording and the unpublished critical edition to be presented by the Santa Fe Opera in July/August 2012 will be reflected in later updates. Time: 1470 Place: Negroponte, in the Aegean SeaOsborne, Charles, pp. 100–101
Act 1 [For the Venice version, 1822: Rossini added an overture] The palace of the Governor, Erisso
Byzantium has just fallen to the Turks, and the troops of Maometto II (Sultan Mehmed II) are laying siege at the Venetian city of Negroponte (Chalkis). Maometto has demanded the surrender of the city the following day.
Amongst the Venetians, a council of war is being held and different opinions as to proposed actions are expressed. Young Calbo pushes Paolo Erisso to go on fighting and defend the city, while General Condulmiero wishes to yield. The consensus is to continue fighting and the troops swear allegiance to Calbo.
Another part of the palace
Alone, Erisso's daughter, Anna, contemplates her father's plight. Aria: "" (Ah! In vain I call for sweet oblivion). Erisso enters along with Calbo, and he explains their situation, suggesting that she marry Calbo as additional protection. However, her discomfort is clear: she explains that she has fallen in love with a man named Uberto while her father was away in Venice. When told that this same Uberto traveled with Erisso and never remained in Corinth, she realizes that she has been duped by an unknown noble.
Trio: "" (Alas, what a thunderbolt). Erisso gives her a dagger with which to defend herself if necessary.