y separately published work icon Don John of Austria single work   musical theatre   opera   - Three acts
Issue Details: First known date: 1847... 1847 Don John of Austria
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

A three act opera based on Casmir Delavigne's Don Juan D'Austriche (1835).

Notes

  • 'The first opera [to be] written, composed, and submitted to an Australian theatre', Don John of Austria's libretto, according to the Australian Journal's theatre critic, is 'the work of a gentleman and a scholar' and its music 'the outpourings of a Maestro, whose effusions have delighted both hemispheres, and the whole arranged with a degree of energy and power rarely, if ever, witnessed on these boards' (29 April 1847, p2561). A few days later the same journal records that although 'it is by no means the first opera which has failed to dazzle and astonish on its first appearance... like many productions, now of standard excellence, it awakens attention, excites pleasurable emotions, and commands approbation' (11 May 1847, 2581).

    There is some question as to the claims that this was the first opera composed in Australia, with historical evidence suggesting that Nathan's Merry Freaks in Troublous Times (1843) was the first to achieve this honour. However, because that work has never been performed before the public, Don John of Austria does have the distinction being the first Australian-written opera ever performed in the country.

    A vocal score (by an unknown copyist, with additions and corrections by Nathan), ca. 1846-7 is held in the Mitchell Library (State Library of New South Wales).

Production Details

  • 1847 : Royal Victoria Theatre, Sydney ; 3-11, 17 May (7 performances). Dir/MusicDir. Isaac Nathan ; Orchestra Ldr. Mr Gibbs. - Cast incl. Mr Nesbitt (Brother Carlos/Charles V), John Howson (Philip II), Mr Spencer (Don Quixada), Mr Fenton (Don Ferdinand de Valdez), Mrs Guerin (Agnes), Mrs Gibbs (Dorothy).

  • 2007 : City Recital Hall, Angel Place (Sydney) ; 18 October. Dir. Rodney Fisher ; Cond. Alexander Briger.

      • Libretto adpated by Gordon Kalton Williams (from the original libretto by Jacob Levi Montefiore and the play by Casimir Delavigne).
      • This production was staged as a concert version
      • This version was broadcast on ABC Classic FM 92.9, 10 November 2007.

  • This entry has been sourced from on-going historical research into Australian-written music theatre being conducted by Dr Clay Djubal.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1847
      ca. 1846 .
      Alternative title: Isaac Nathan - Bound manuscript vocal score of his opera 'Don John of Austria', ca.1846
      Description: 1 box - 0.05 Meters Music - (bound manuscript score)
      Note/s:
      • Copied onto preservation microfilm (CY 1957), Aug. 1990. Isaac Nathan's publication, 'The Southern Euphrosyne and Australian Miscellany' (Lond., 1849), is included on the same microfilm reel (frames 144-240). (State Library New South Wales record)
      • Issue copy: Microfilm - CY 1957, frames 1 - 143 (MLMSS 3519)

      Holdings

      Held at: Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW
      Local Id: ML MSS 3519
      Note:
      1 vocal score (263 pages)
      .
      (Manuscript) assertion
      Note/s:
      • Submitted to the Colonial Secretary for approval by John Lazar.

      Holdings

      Held at: State Records, NSW
      Local Id: SZ57
      Note:
      Holding details : Colonial Secretary Correspondence ; play enclosure (47/3632) ; play with three accompanying letters dated 1846 ; play at (SZ57) ; microfilm copy (SR Reel 2558).

Works about this Work

Don John of Austria : Australia's First Opera Caroline Innett , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: Margin , November no. 73 2007; (p. 30-34)
Caroline Innett discusses the opera and it's composer and reviews the concert performance produced by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Concert Hall, Sydney, New South Wales, October, 2007.
y separately published work icon Australia's Music : Themes of a New Society Roger Covell , Melbourne : Sun Books , 1967 Z1329001 1967 single work criticism
Local Intelligence - The Theatre 1847 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 11 May 1847; (p. 2581)

— Review of Don John of Austria Jacob Levi Montefiore , 1847 single work musical theatre
Local Intelligence - The Theatre 1847 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 4 May 1847; (p. 2569)

— Review of Don John of Austria Jacob Levi Montefiore , 1847 single work musical theatre
Local Intelligence - The Theatre 1847 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 29 April 1847; (p. 2561)

— Review of Don John of Austria Jacob Levi Montefiore , 1847 single work musical theatre
Local Intelligence - The Theatre 1847 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 29 April 1847; (p. 2561)

— Review of Don John of Austria Jacob Levi Montefiore , 1847 single work musical theatre
Local Intelligence - The Theatre 1847 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 4 May 1847; (p. 2569)

— Review of Don John of Austria Jacob Levi Montefiore , 1847 single work musical theatre
Local Intelligence - The Theatre 1847 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 11 May 1847; (p. 2581)

— Review of Don John of Austria Jacob Levi Montefiore , 1847 single work musical theatre
y separately published work icon Australia's Music : Themes of a New Society Roger Covell , Melbourne : Sun Books , 1967 Z1329001 1967 single work criticism
Don John of Austria : Australia's First Opera Caroline Innett , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: Margin , November no. 73 2007; (p. 30-34)
Caroline Innett discusses the opera and it's composer and reviews the concert performance produced by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Concert Hall, Sydney, New South Wales, October, 2007.
Last amended 3 Nov 2011 11:54:19
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