L'esule Di Roma - Synopsis

Synopsis

Place: Rome

Time: The reign of Tiberius, (14-37 AD)

The main numbers of the score are Murena's first aria Ahi! Che di calma un'ombra and his duet with Publius (Act 1, scene 1), the Septimus and Argelia's duet (Act 1, scene 3), the final trio of the act 1, for which the work owes much of its popularity in the nineteenth century, the Murena's mad scene in Act 2 and the duet between Argelia and Murena, also in act 2. The music is still much affected by the opera seria influence, the classic example of which is Rossini's Semiramide of 1823, although the instrumental passages with the accompaniment of English horn or bassoon obbligato and extensive scenes altogether often make us think about Donizetti's old master, Simon Mayr, or even of Gaspare Spontini's The Vestal (1803). However, the dramatic intensity of the situations, as well as Donizetti's typically use of the flute, or the attempt to remove the final prima donna's aria already announced the composer's mature works.