Composer Profile

 

• 1797-1848 (age 50)

 

• An Italian Composer

 

• Born in Bergamo, Lombardy

 

• Composer Simon Mayr enrolled him in school with a full scholarship where he received training in fugue (contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices) and counterpoint (playing melodies in alliance with each other.)

 

• Enrico di Borgogna was his first successful opera

 

• Anna Bolena’ in 1830 = performed in Milan = fame

 

• Lucia di Lammermoor, performed in Nepal Sept. 26, 1835 = tragic masterpiece

 

• He had the most skilful singers in his operas

 

• Married Virginia Vasselli in 1828

 

• Donizetti suffered from malaises, headaches, nausea and lightning conditions and was diagnosed with cerebrospinal syphilis

 

• He was struck by paralysis in 1845

 

• Donizetti had great ability to compose in a short period of time

 

• Influenced by Bellini + Rossini

 

 

What is unique about Donizetti? - “Mad Scenes” During the 19th Century

 

Ok, so you may be asking: "Who on earth is Donizetti, and why is he so important when discussing 19th Century?"

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A unique feature that can be found in Donizetti’s operas are “mad scenes.” So what are these so called "mad scenes” eh? Well, let me tell you! These are scenes in which the main woman protagonist (which is usually the main soprano) is characterised as mad or insane. This is meant to reflect society’s views of women as emotionally unstable, and believe me when I say these mad scenes don’t hold back when it comes to this portrayal! Of course, there are many operas composed by Donizetti that contain mad scenes, but I feel the best example to use here would be the opera Lucia Di Lammermoor.

   

A long story short, this opera is about how Lucia is being forced to marry Arturo, when she and a man named Edgardo are already in Love. The mad scene in this particular opera takes place after Lucia kills her groom, Autoro, which begins her descent into insanity.

 

In this mad scene, Lucia has completely lost the plot! She sings very erratically, with extremely virtuosic skills such as leaps, trills and  coloratura. (During this time, coloratura seemed to have been associated with madness in the opera, as it was predominantly used in mad scenes.) The ideas associated with women being considered weak are shown in this scene musically, such as the minor keys and chromatic lines. (Often in 19th century opera, women were represented by the use of graceful melodies in a minor key, leading to what was considered weak or unnatural.) And of course to add to this, Lucia also sings out of the typical operatic form. The usual form would be considered double aria form, and since Lucia sings away from this structure, it creates a very spontaneous use of form indeed!

 

So there you have it! Some of the insane aspects Donizetti incorporates into his operas, which contribute to the idea of women being insane in the eyes of the nineteenth century society! 

 

I hope to have provided a good introduction as to what mad scenes are. However,If after reading this, you have been inspired to listen to a mad scene, I will provide a link to the scene from Lucia Di Lammermoor below. Also, if you would like to research more about this scene and delve deeper into this concept of “madness,”a scholar named Mary Anne Smart has a great article you can read, which I will provide a link for. She refers to Lucia’s mad scene in an article called “The Silencing of Lucia.” She gives a great explanation of how the use of coloratura is linked with madness, and gives a great analysis of Lucia’s mad scene overall! 

 

Terms:

• Coloratura: Extensive vocal ornamentation.

 

Links I promised:

• Luica’s Mad Scene

• Mary Anne Smart's Article ​

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-Sarah