Overwhelmed by commissions, Donizetti used his opera L'Ange de Nisida - which was abandoned after the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris went bankrupt in 1840 - as a source of inspiration. He drew large excerpts from it for his opera La Favorite. All that remained of the original work were scattered manuscripts that the musicologist Candida Mantica took eight years to piece together like a puzzle. The compositions were dispersed around several European libraries, especially in Paris, the United States and were again used in later works.
The world premiere of this re-enactment took place in London on 18th July 2018 in a concert version intended to be published by Opera Rara (the main sponsor) conducted by Mark Elder (available on Qobuz).
The work was still waiting for its stage premiere. This took place the following year at the Donizetti Festival in Bergamo, the composer’s birthplace, and was conducted by Francesco Micheli. We find the echoes of these performances under the skilled command of Jean-Luc Tingaud, with a non-French-speaking cast that has clearly been well-trained. Now it just needs to be brought to a stage in Paris where it’s been eagerly awaited since 1840... © François Hudry/Qobuz