Beatrice di Tenda is a tragic opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini, from a libretto by Felice Romani, after the play of the same name by Carlo Tedaldi Fores [it].

After he and Giuditta Pasta (for whom the opera was to be written) had together seen the ballet based on the very different play, Tedaldi-Fores' Beatrice Tenda, in Milan in October 1832, she became enthusiastic about the subject and the composer set about persuading Romani that this was a good idea.

Romani, who had his own concerns, the principal one being the close parallels with the story told in Donizetti's Anna Bolena, an opera which had established that composer's success in 1830.

Although unsuccessful at its premiere in Venice in 1833, Bellini felt that he had counteracted the horror of its story "by means of the music, colouring it now tremendously and now sadly".

[2] Later, after hearing of the opera's success in Palermo, Bellini wrote to his Neapolitan friend Francesco Florimo, stating that Beatrice "was not unworthy of her sisters".

With the leading role requiring a strong female character to be written for Pasta, composer and librettist met to consider a subject.

Much of the initial work fell upon Romani, who had to look at a number of possible sources, but by 6 October, a subject had been agreed upon: it would be Christina regina di Svenzia from a play by Alexandre Dumas which had appeared in Paris in 1830.

"[6] Their relationship quickly began to deteriorate: greetings including tu (the informal "you") gave way to voi (the formal "you") and they lived in different parts of Venice, unusual when they were working together outside their home city.

In order to create more time for Bellini to finish, the La Fenice impresario Lanari padded the programme with older works or revivals, but that allowed only eight days for Beatrice before the scheduled end of the season.

Not surprisingly, the audience having waited so long for the new work, greeted the opening night on 16 March with little enthusiasm, their rejection demonstrated by cries of Norma!

Their indifference was magnified after reading Romani's plea for "the reader's full indulgence" which appeared in the libretto with the suggestion that its faults were not his.

[10] There then began what Herbert Weinstock describes, in over twelve pages of text which include the long letters written by both sides in the dispute, "the journalistic storm over Beatrice di Tenda [which evolved] into the bitterest, most convoluted, and—at our distance from it—most amusing polemic in the annals of early nineteenth-century Italian opera".

[11] A back-and-forth series of letters in the Venetian daily, the Gazzetta privilegiata di Venezia began, the first of which complained about the delay in the production.

This provoked a response from Romani himself, presenting his case against Bellini based largely on the composer's inability to decide on a subject and then finding his melodramma "touched up in a thousand ways", in order to make it acceptable to "the Milords of the Thames [who] await him", a sarcastic reference to Bellini's planned trip to London to stage the opera there.

19th century[13] Beatrice di Tenda received its first performance at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice on 16 March 1833 with Giuditta Pasta in the title role.

The following year, it was staged at the Teatro Carolino in Palermo on 1 March with Marietta Albini [it], Giovanni Basadonna, and Ignazio Marini in the major roles.

After it had come to Naples in 1834, initially at the del Fondo in July and then at the Teatro di San Carlo in November, Milan followed in February 1835 with 12 performances.

In 1842 the American premiere of Beatrice was staged in New Orleans at the St Charles Theatre on 5 March 1841 followed by a New York presentation at a later date.

20th century and beyond At the centenary of the first performance, the opera was staged at the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania in January 1935, with Giannina Arangi-Lombardi singing the Countess.

Since that time the title role has been assumed by a number of other prominent sopranos including, Mirella Freni, June Anderson, Edita Gruberová, Mariella Devia.

This is the story of Beatrice Lascaris di Tenda, the woman who was the widow of the condottiere Facino Cane and later the wife of Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, in 15th-century Milan.

View of the facade of the illuminated palace"[15] Filippo Maria Visconti, the Duke of Milan, has attended a ball, but he leaves early and encounters his assembled courtiers.

Don't believe that power brings fulfillment and joy"); then Filippo, who echoes her thoughts and states how much he loves her: (Aria:Riccardo: O divina Agnese!

As she hopes that the anonymous letter, which she has sent, and now her song will guide him to her arms, Orombello suddenly appears, but he is attracted only by the sounds of sweet music.

She is furious; her tenderness turns to vitriol and in a dramatic finale, she explodes while he attempts to protect Beatrice's honour – and her life: (Duet: La sua vita?

They try to comfort her and express their affection, but she describes her unhappiness by explaining that, once a flower has withered, when cut at its roots it cannot come back to life.

In a duet, he admits that his jealousy is due to the power she has, but confronts her with proof of her support for her subjects' protests by producing some secret papers stolen from her apartment.

At one side, the statue of Facino Cane (Beatrice's first husband)" Filippo's soldiers are seeking Orombello and conclude that eventually either love or anger will cause him to give himself away and they must match his cunning.

He desperately seeks forgiveness from Beatrice: under torture "my mind became delirious, it was pain, not I that spoke" and he proclaims her innocence to the amazement of all.

se un'urna ė a me concessa / Senza un fior non la lasciate / "Oh, if I'm vouchsafed a tomb, Leave it not bare of flowers".)