Donizetti wrote Pia de’Tolomei to fulfil
a commission from the impresario of
the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. It is
his 52nd operatic title.
With the writing complete
he left Naples for Florence. Naples
was in the grip of a cholera epidemic
and Donizetti was quarantined in Genoa
for eighteen days. Whilst there Donizetti
learned that La Fenice, the premier
theatre in Venice, had been destroyed
by fire on the night of December 12th
1836. The La Fenice season was transferred
to the smaller Teatro Apollo. Reluctantly,
the composer whose fee was already less
than he would have received in Naples
or Milan, agreed to a reduction. The
opera reached the stage on 18th
February 1837.
Although the story
of Cammarano’s libretto can be traced
back to Dante’s Purgatorio, it more
likely derives from contemporary plays
performed in Naples and which involved
something of the true-life story of
Pia. In the opera Pia, wife of the Ghibelline
leader Nello (bar), has been propositioned
by Ghino (ten) her husband’s cousin
and whose advances she had rejected.
Her husband sends Pia to safety from
battles with opposing Guelphs. Whilst
there Ghino learns that Pia has had
a letter indicating a male visitor and
believing this to be a lover reveals
the facts to her husband who in despair
orders her to be poisoned. In fact the
male visitor is her brother Rodrigo
(mezzo) who fights for the Guelphs and
who she has assisted in escaping from
prison. Her husband further imprisons
her in Maremma, a place of damp and
fever and Ghino arrives and offers to
help her in exchange for love. When
Ghino learns that Pia’s supposed lover
was in fact her brother she persuades
him to tell her husband the truth. On
the way he is wounded by Guelphs and
by the time Nello learns the facts and
rushes to Pia he arrives too late to
stop the poison being administered and
Pia dies.
At its premiere the
opera was modestly received with disapproval
expressed about the finale to act 1.
Donizetti rewrote this finale with revised
stretta during the Venice Carnival.
He made more radical alterations for
performances at the Adriatic resort
of Siningaglia in July 1837 and for
Naples, in September 1838, when the
censors forced him to write a happy
ending to the whole work! This performance
at the recently rebuilt La Fenice (yet
another fire) follows the Critical Edition
prepared by Giorgio Pagannone for the
Donizetti Foundation, Bergamo.
The sets for the production
are of the simplest, frequently involving
sliding screens and drops with letters
and words on them. In the prison scene
the backdrop has bars whilst a visually
very imposing guard stands, legs apart,
in relief against imaginative lighting.
Costumes are in period and probably
cost nearly as much as the set. With
the use of imaginative lighting throughout,
the whole production is effective both
visually and dramatically. For a relatively
heard work, which will get few revivals
and doubtless operating within a restricted
budget, the outcome for me is fine and
far better than an updating with a quirky
producer concept!
As I indicate in my
review of the contemporaneous Opera
Rara CD release of the opera (review),
the music has some echoes of Donizetti’s
own music from this period as well as
that of Bellini. Although Pia de’ Tolomei
may not have the melodic invention and
cohesion of Lucia di Lamermoor, the
composer’s 47th title premiered
in September 1835, it has excellent
lyrical and dramatic passages for soloists
in arias, duets and particularly ensembles.
One of the best examples, and a most
effective scene, is that between the
tenor villain Ghino and Pia’s husband
Nello (D1 Chs. 4-5) with chords reminiscent
of the duet between Edgardo and Enrico
in Lucia, but which goes on to its own
distinctive development; the cabaletta
is distinctly Verdian in its overtones.
Both roles require singers with vocal
heft as well as tonal richness and variety.
As Ghino Dario Schmunck has a tightly
focused tenor that is stretched from
time to time by the dramatic demands
of the role. In critical passages such
as when Ghino threatens to take his
life at Pia’s refusal of his love, Schmunck’s
body language and vocal expression are
not up to it (DVD2 Ch. 4). Andrew Schroeder
as the doubting husband Nello has a
strong voice and acts well and will,
I hope, develop a greater tonal palette.
The bass voice of Daniel Borowski in
the incidental role of the hermit is
strong and sonorous.
Patrizia Ciofi as Pia
conveys the role’s many situations most
convincingly. Hers is an outstandingly
distinguished portrayal in the intensity
of her acting and singing. She does
not have quite the security in the florid
passages of Majella Cullagh in the Opera
Rara issue, but more than compensates
in the more dramatic scenes. This is
nowhere more evident than in the pivotal
scene when Pia convinces Ghino of her
innocence and persuades him to go to
her husband and reveal the truth as
to her nocturnal visitor (D2 Chs. 3-4).
In this scene Patrizia Ciofi’s phrasing,
expression and colouring are a delight.
Given the intensity and conviction of
her portrayal the odd moment of unsteadiness
is readily forgiven. As Pia’s brother
Rodrigo, Laura Polverelli sings with
full rounded tone and acts well in the
travesti role. In the dungeon scene
her singing is pliant, expressive and
with smooth legato and secure decoration
(D1 Ch. 7). The visual effect of the
prison guard, as I have indicated, is
impressive. I regret that the handling
of Rodrigo’s escape is less so. Laura
Polverelli’s act 2 aria when Rodrigo
learns of Nino’s imprisonment of Pia
in Maremma, and his intention to kill
her, and the subsequent cabaletta A
me stesso un Dio mi rende is a vocal
highlight of the performance (D2 Ch.
2). Miss Polverelli fully deserves the
warm applause she gets at the end of
the opera. On the rostrum Paola Arrivabeni
has an idiomatic feel for the bel canto
idiom, whilst the chorus are disciplined
and vibrant in their limited opportunities.
This DVD set from Dynamic
is denoted as being ‘Recorded in High
Definition’. My DVD player might be
superior but my TV is not High Definition
and which I gather is the coming technology.
With that in mind, the picture was crystal
clear and accommodated the various imaginative
lighting effects. The sound via my hi-fi
and reference speakers was warm, clear
and with good body and perspective.
The accompanying leaflet has an excellent
essay on the genesis of the opera and
a brief synopsis, all in four languages.
Performed a mere five
months before its appearance on DVD,
this Dynamic label release enables lovers
of Donizetti’s music to see a staging
of one of his dramatic works other than
Lucia. It is also a perfect complement
to the audio recording from Opera Rara
that also contains the alternative and
additional music the composer made to
the opera after its premiere. Highly
recommended.
Robert J Farr
Orchestra and chorus of the Teatro La Fenice,
Venice/Paola Arrivabeni 
DYNAMIC DVD 33488 [2 DVDs: 137:00] 
