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''Aureliano in Palmira'' is an operatic ''dramma serio'' in two acts written by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto in which the librettist was credited only by the initials "G. F. R." The libretto has generally been attributed to Giuseppe Felice Romani,〔Richard Osborne 2007, p. 216; Roccatagliati 2001.〕 but sometimes to the otherwise unknown Gian Francesco Romanelli.〔Weinstock 1968, pp. 40, 494; Charles Osborne 1994, p. 38.〕 It has been suggested that the latter name may have resulted from a confusion of Romani with Luigi Romanelli, La Scala's house poet prior to Romani's appointment to the post.〔Lindner 1999, pp. 19–20, 30–31 (note 8), explains that the first printed libretto identified the librettist with the initials "G. F. R.", but later librettos and the Ricordi vocal score (1855) "spell out (Giuseppe) Felice Romani", while another libretto from Reggio Emilia (1816), and several others based on it, give the name Gian Francesco Romanelli, or in some cases Gian Francesco Romani, neither of which is otherwise known. The latter attributions, plus stylistic considerations, led Mario Rinaldi (1965) to assume that Felice Romani was not the librettist, and his arguments were later supported by scholars such as Herbert Weinstock, Celletti, and Carlo Marcello Rietmann. However, Rinaldi's "weak argument" was "conclusively refuted" by Marco Beghelli in 1991. Since an early version of the libretto was approved by the censors on 23 June 1813, and Luigi Romanelli, La Scala's house librettist, did not retire until 14 December 1813 when Felice Romani took his place, Lindner states that "it seems possible that 'Gian Francesco Romanelli' is derived from Luigi Romanelli and Felice Romani, owing to later ignorance of the true meaning of the acronym. ... the tight chronological linking of the two could have easily prompted such a blend."〕 The story was based on the libretto by Gaetano Sertor for Pasquale Anfossi's 1789 opera ''Zenobia in Palmira'' and it centers on the rivalry between the Roman Emperor Aurelian and Prince Arsace of Persia over the beautiful Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra. The Act 1 duet between Zenobia and Arsace, ''Se tu m'ami, o mia regina'' ("If you love me, oh my queen"), was greatly admired by Stendhal. Although he had never seen a complete performance of ''Aureliano in Palmira'', he heard the duet in a concert in Paris and described its music as "sublime" and one of the best duets that Rossini had written.〔Stendal, (''Vie de Rossini'' ) Original French: ''"Ravi par l'accord parfait des voix délicieuses qui nous faisaient entendre 'Se tu m'ami, o mia regina', je me suis supris plusieurs fois à croire que ce duetto est le plus beau che Rossini ait jamais écrit. Ce que je puis assurer c'est qu'il produit l'effet auquel on peut reconnaître la musique sublime: il jette dans une rêverie profonde."'', in M. Lévy, 1854, pp. 105-106.〕 Other music from this opera, particularly the overture, was later reused by Rossini in ''Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra'' and in ''The Barber of Seville''. It premiered at La Scala in Milan on 26 December 1813. ==Performance history== 19th century ''Aureliano in Palmira'' was Rossini's second commission from La Scala. It opened the theatre's Carnival season with the famed castrato, Giovanni Battista Velluti as Arsace. It was the only role that Rossini wrote for the castrato voice. Rossini had originally written the role of Aureliano for Giovanni David, one of the most renowned tenors of the day. However, throat problems during rehearsals led David to withdraw from the production, and Luigi Mari took his place.〔Lindner 1999, p. 19.〕 The popular soprano, Lorenza Correa, sang the role of Queen Zenobia. The orchestra at the premiere was conducted by Alessandro Rolla, with the staging directed by Alessandro Sanquirico.〔(''Aureliano in Palmira'' ) in Piero Gelli (ed.) (2005), ''Dizionario dell'Opera'', Baldini Castoldi Dalai, ISBN 978-88-8490-780-6〕 The opera's opening night proved disappointing to the Milanese critics who praised the production but considered the music inferior to that of Rossini's ''Tancredi'' which had premiered in Venice earlier that year. There was also criticism of the three principal singers.〔Review of the opening night in ''Il Corriere Milanese'', December 1813, summarized in the (Archivi Teatro Napoli ) (in Italian). Accessed 25 March 2008〕 Nevertheless, it had a run of 14 performances at La Scala that season and was performed sporadically in various Italian theatres (including the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples) between 1814 and 1831. It was also performed in London in 1826, again with Velluti as Arsace. The opera then fell more or less into obscurity. 20th century and beyond Its first modern performance was in September 1980 at the Teatro Politeama in Genoa conducted by Giacomo Zani, with Paolo Barbacini as Aureliano, Helga Müller-Molinari as Arsace, and Luciana Serra as Zenobia. There was another major revival in 1996 at the "Rossini in Wildbad" Festival conducted by Francesco Corti, with Donald George as Aureliano, Angelo Manzotti as Arsace, and Tatiana Korovina as Zenobia. It was performed again in 2011 in Martina Franca and was given a new production at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro in August 2014. The Pesaro production, directed by Mario Martone, was the first performance of the critical edition of the opera.〔( Rossini Opera Festival's preliminary programme announcement, Dec 2013 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Aureliano in Palmira」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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