ABSTRACT
Within the research that has resulted from the Donizetti Renaissance of the 1950s and 1960s, an essential aspect of Donizetti’s life and works was ignored, that of Giovanni Simone Mayr as key to a fundamental understanding of the composer. Mayr was a member of the Bavarian “Illuminati” and traveled to Italy in hopes of “reforming” Italian music. This book gives insight into Donizetti’s art that resulted from the quality of teaching he received from Mayr, which was basic to his creative life. Each chapter in this book illuminates a particular aspect of the composer, ranging from his relationship to the Romantic movement to his relationship to Christian tradition and religious thought of the period. The various aspects surveyed are then synthesized as the key to six operas-Linda di Chamounix, Maria Stuarda, L’elisir d’amore, Lucia di Lammermoor, Poliuto, and Don Pasqualewhich the author feels reveals all there is to know about the composer. At the end, a catalog of works arranged by genre indicating manuscript sources, premiere performance information, and published scores is included (pp. 189-289). A select bibliography can be found on pp. 291-95.
