Eugène Scribe, a renowned librettist for famous French operas, revised the libretto of L'Ange de Nisida to transform it into La Favorite.
Notable Performances
La Favorite premiered at the Paris Opéra on December 2, 1840, to triumphant success, and was performed over 650 times there between 1840 and 1904.
Composition History
The director of the Opéra, Léon Pillet, and the primadonna, Rosine Stoltz, disliked Donizetti's previous work, Le Duc d'Albe, but were interested in the music of L'Ange de Nisida.
Composition History
Donizetti's opera La Favorite began as L'Ange de Nisida, which could not be performed because the impresario, Anténor Joly, declared bankruptcy.
Compositional Technique
La Favorite is a composite opera, incorporating material from Donizetti's unfinished opera buffa Adelaide and his ill-fated Le Duc d'Albe, in addition to the core of L'Ange de Nisida.
Cultural Impact
The opera was first performed in Italy in Padua in 1842 under the title Leonora di Guzman, and later at La Scala in Milan in 1843 with an Italian translation by Calisto Bassi that became popular worldwide.
