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''L'assedio di Calais'' (''The siege of Calais'') is an 1836 ''melodramma lirico'', or opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti, his 49th opera. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto, which has been described as "...a remarkable libretto, the closest Cammarano ever got to real poetry, particularly in his description of the embattled city and the heartfelt pride of its citizens".〔Black 1984, p. 35〕 It was based on Luigi Marchionni's play ''L'assedio di Calais'' (also called ''Edoardo III''), which had been presented in Naples around 1825, and secondarily on Luigi Henry's ballet ''L'assedio di Calais'', which had been performed in Naples in 1828 and revived in 1835.〔 Both of these were probably derived from the French play ''Eustache de St Pierre, ou Le siège de Calais'' by Hubert (pen name of Philippe-Jacques Laroche), which had been given in Paris in 1822 and was in turn taken from the 1765 play ''Le siège de Calais'' by Pierre-Laurent Buirette de Belloy.〔Ashbrook 1982 p. 563; Ashbrook 1992 p. 230; Ashbrook & Hibberd 2001, p. 238.〕 The historical basis was Edward III's siege of Calais in 1346, toward the beginning of what would later be called the Hundred Years' War. The opera was premiered on 19 November 1836 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples and was dedicated to the Queen Mother, Maria Isabella. It was the thirteenth of the composer's operas to be given its premiere in that house and the one which immediately followed the previous year's successful ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' there. ''L'assedio'' received sixteen performances that season, and, since the opera "met the requirements for a royal occasion, with its happy ending, and had an additional bonus in its glorification of the part played by the English queen, Donizetti duly received the King's congratulations".〔Black 1982, p. 37〕 However, by 1840 it had disappeared from the world's stages and it did not re-appear until 1990 at the (Donizetti Festival in Bergamo ). ==Composition history== Interest in composing for the Paris Opéra Following Donizetti's visit to Paris in March 1835 (for his ''Marino Faliero'' at the Théâtre-Italien), it is clear that he wished to return to that city and to write an opera for presentation at the Opéra, "the most prestigious theatre in the world".〔Ashbrook 1989, pp. 10–11〕 Also, given that there was an established tradition of works which demonstrated French solidity and resistance in the face of overwhelming odds, all of the plays and the ballet noted above as being used as libretto sources (and which were incorporated into or consulted by Cammarano for the preparation of the libretto) reinforced that tradition in Donizetti's mind.〔Ashbrook 1989, pp. 12–13〕 Therefore, as the preparations for this opera evolved over the unusually long period of five months, it has been noted that everything stresses the importance to the composer of his long-term plan〔 for achieving his ultimate goal: having an opera accepted and produced by the Paris Opéra.〔Ashbrook 1992 p. 230〕 Thus, ''L'assedio'' became Donizetti's first experiment in the style of French grand opera. Donizetti's observance of the traditions of ''Grand Opera'' As part of that tradition, ''L'assidio'' included a ballet ''divertissement'', a key ingredient of French opera of the period. The idea for this may have arisen in Donizetti's mind from a revival of Luigi Henry's ballet at the San Carlo in 1835, right at the time that ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' was given its premiere,〔Ashbrook and Hibberd 2001, p. 238〕 but including this dance form was unusual in Italy, where a ballet was normally performed only as a separate work alongside an opera on a double bill. In line with another French tradition was the composer's rejection of the Italian concept of the prime role of the "prima donna": firstly his having "no particular feeling of obligation to give the heroine an entrance aria"〔 and, secondly, accepting that her role was of significance at all, should be noted: after all, the opera's plot "makes female roles secondary in importance".〔Ashbrook 1982, pp. 252–253〕 Another of the French traditions, as developed from the dominant force in French dramatic literature and personified by Eugene Scribe's concept of the "well-made play" (which may be seen in many of the opera libretti he wrote), concerns the notion of a "coup de theatre" whereby some extraordinary action occurs to turn the evolution of the story totally on its head. This is certainly the case with ''L'assedio''.〔 As it turned out, Donizetti had to wait four more years for one of his operas to be staged in Paris.〔Donizetti in Paris: In spite of all his efforts with trying to get ''L'assedio'' put on in Paris, the first opera which was performed there was ''Les martyrs'', which premiered on 10 April 1840 at the Opéra's Salle Le Peletier. ''Les martyrs'' (See Osborne 1994 p. 268) was a reworking in French in "grand opera" style of his as then-unperformed Italian opera ''Poliuto''.〕 Writing for available singers But, in direct contradiction to the French tradition, Donizetti found himself having to utilise the "old-fashioned Italian convention of the ''musico''", the female singer trouser role which musicologist William Ashbrook states was defined by the composer to mean "a male-hero role intended to be sung by a female contralto".〔Ashbrook 1989 "The Music of ''L'assedio di Calais''": Note in the booklet for the Opera Rara recording, pp. 21–29〕 When contacts with a favourite tenor with local audiences in Naples, Giovanni Basadonna, were fruitless and when the composer did not consider any of three available ''primo'' tenors good enough for the part〔("almost useless", he calls them),〔 he created a trouser role in the Rossinian tradition of Tancredi (from the opera ''Tancredi'') or Arsace (in ''Semiramide''). Therefore, the leading male role of Aurelio in ''L'assedio'', while written for a contralto, is most often performed by a mezzo-soprano. 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「L'assedio di Calais」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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