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''La straniera'' (''The Stranger Woman'') is an opera in two acts with music by Vincenzo Bellini to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on the novel ''L'étrangère'' (''Il solitario'') of 1825 by Charles-Victor Prévot, vicomte d'Arlincourt, although writer Herbert Weinstock also adds that it is "more likely (on ) a dramatization of (novel ) in Italian by Giovan Carlo, barone di Cosenza" since he then quotes a letter from Bellini to his friend Francesco Florimo in which he says that Romani "certainly will not follow the play" (then that they were aware of its existence. )〔 The opera was composed in the autumn of 1828 and premiered on 14 February 1829 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. ==Composition history== Historical background At the heart of the plot of this opera is a complicated series of historical events beginning at the end of the twelfth century. King Philip Augustus of France (Philip II of France) married the Danish princess Ingeborg in 1193. For unknown reasons, he separated from her the day after the wedding and sought an annulment from Pope Celestine III. Ingeborg, however, insisted that the marriage had been consummated, and that she was his wife and the rightful Queen of France. Philip ultimately obtained an annulment through an assembly of French bishops. He then sought to marry Marguerite, daughter of William I, Count of Geneva, but she was kidnapped on the way to Paris by Thomas I of Savoy, who married her instead. Ultimately, in 1196 Philip married Agnes of Merania ("la straniera"), the daughter of a nobleman, Bertold IV of Dalmatia. Denmark continued to complain about Philip's treatment of Ingeborg and in 1200 Pope Innocent III required Philip to take her back, rendering him essentially a bigamist and subject to excommunication. Agnes died in 1201, however, ending the threat of excommunication. Adjustments to the story in order to create the libretto Bellini and his librettist Romani took tremendous liberties with this already unusual story and devised a plot where the King, in order to resolve the problem of his double marriage, sends Agnes to live at a cottage on Lake Montolino. Philip then sends her brother to secretly watch over her, while masquerading under the name Valdeburgo. Agnes has assumed the name of Alaide and hides under a veil. Count Arturo has fallen in love with her, in spite of his engagement to Isoletta, daughter of the Duke of Montolino. At this point the opera begins. Preparing ''La straniera After ''Bianca e Fernando'', Bellini remained in Genoa and then returned to Milan, but with no specific opportunities in place. Some complications had emerged in his relationship with Domenico Barbaja, the impresario who controlled both the Naples and the Milan theatres. However, when Barbaja visited Milan in June, he offered Bellini the opportunity to choose between working for either Naples or Milan as the venue for his next opera. For the composer, the decision hung on the availability of singers for each of the houses, especially because Giovanni Battista Rubini, his preferred tenor, was contracted to sing only in Naples.〔Weinstock 1971, p. 53〕 However, by 16 June, he had decided on the location to be Milan, and then signed a contract to write a new opera for the Carnival season for a fee of one thousands ducati. This compared to 150 ducati for his first opera.〔Weinstock 1971, p. 55〕 Therefore, for ''La straniera'', Bellini received a fee which was sufficient for him to be able to make his living solely by composing music, and this new work became an even greater success〔Lippmann & McGuire 1998, in Sadie, p. 389〕 than ''Il pirata'' had been. As for singers, it appears there was some doubt about the tenor, but that the soprano, Henriette Méric-Lalande and, for the baritone role, Luigi Lablache or Tamburini, would be available. In consultation with Romani as to the subject, it was agreed that it would be based on the novel ''L'étrangère'' (''Il solitario'') of 1825 by Charles-Victor Prévot, vicomte d'Arlincourt, and planned for the premiere on the opening night of the season on 26 December. However, by 20 September, Bellini told his Neapolitan friend Francesco Florimo that he did not think the performance could take place as scheduled due to Romani being ill. In addition, he was concerned about who would sing the tenor role when he had been unable to obtain Rubini's release from his Naples contract. Fortunately, having received good reports of the young tenor Domenico Reina, he was able to secure his services, describing him in a letter to Florimo as "one who will want to do himself honour; everyone tells me that his voice is beautiful, and that he has all the acting and spirit one could wish for."〔Bellini to Raina, in Cambi (ed.) and quoted in Weinstock 1971, p. 63〕 Following Romani's recovery, the delivery of the libretto arrived piecemeal, but Bellini set to work again, albeit that progress was slow. By 7 January 1829, with Romani having recovered and set off for Venice to fulfill another contract, the composer was "almost up to the 2nd act". Filippo Cicconetti, in his 1859 biography, gives an account of Bellini's working methods, explaining how he set texts to music always with the words in front of him in order to see how inspired to compose he might become. When it came time to compose the final aria ''Or sei pago, o ciel tremendo'', the librettist's words gave him no inspiration at all and, at their next meeting, Romani agreed to re-write the text. Returning within half an hour, the second version left Bellini equally cold—as did a third draft. Finally, when asked what it was that he was seeking, Bellini replied: "I want a thought that will be at one and the same time a prayer, an imprecation, a warning, a delirium....". A fourth draft was quickly prepared: "Have I entered into your spirit?" asked the librettist—and he was immediately embraced by the young composer who was totally satisfied.〔Cicconetti 1859, pp. 39—40〕 Rehearsals began in early January with the premiere planned for 14 February 1829. 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「La straniera」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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