Alfredo il grande
# Alfredo il grande

Alfredo il grande (Alfred the Great) is a melodramma serio or serious opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Andrea Leone Tottola wrote the Italian libretto, which may have been derived from Johann Simon Mayr's 1818 opera of the same name. The opera tells the story of the Anglo-Saxon king Alfred the Great.

This opera, with its "highly Rossini-influenced score" was Donizetti's first exploration into British history, but it turned out to be a spectacular failure. It received its premiere on 2 July 1823 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, and this also became its last performance.

## Roles

| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 2 July 1823 (Conductor: Nicola Festa) |
| - | - | - |
| Alfredo, King of England | tenor | Andrea Nozzari |
| Amalia, his Queen | soprano | Elisabetta Ferron |
| Eduardo, General of the English army | bass | Pio Botticelli |
| Atkins, General of the Danish army | bass | Michele Benedetti |
| Enrichetta, an English country girl | mezzo-soprano | Anna Maria Cecconi |
| Margherita, another country girl | soprano | Gaetana Gorini |
| Rivers, a Dane | tenor | Gaetano Chizzola |
| Guglielmo, pastore | tenor | Massimo Orlandini |
| Chorus of shepherdesses, English warriors, Danish warriors, armed shepherds |||

## Synopsis

    Time: The ninth century
    Place: Isle of Athelny in Somerset

## Recordings

* Opera Rara, 2004. The Young Donizetti disc contains the cavatina Non é di morte il fulmine sung by Bruce Ford. London Philharmonia Orchestra, conductor: David Parry. ORR 229.
* Opera Rara, 1998. Della Jones Sings Donizetti contains Che potrei dirti, o caro? sung by Della Jones, with Theresa Goble, Ian Platt, Linda Kitchen, Brendan McBride, and David Ashman. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conductors Paul McGrath and David Parry. ORR 203.
