The Donizetti Society has been established for 30 years and has published something approaching 100 Newsletters in that time.  The following is the list of Newsletter content between 1980 and 1984. At that time, Newsletters were smaller, less well produced and more informal with fewer substantial articles. It should also be noted that some of the topics have been overtaken by later scholarship.  Individual articles and back numbers of Newsletters are available.  

You can use the "Find" facility, part of "Edit" on your browser, to search for keywords within each of those pages as well as using the Search facility on the Home page.   

Newsletters for 1980 (22-24)

Newsletters for 1981 (25-27)

Newsletters for 1982 (28-30)

Newsletters for 1983 (31-34)

Newsletters for 1984 (35-37)

1980 

Newsletter 22, February 1980

- Short reviews of Donizetti's Il Duca d'Alba and La Favorite in Brussels

 - La Fortuna di Donizetti in Olanda by Alexander Weatherson

An overview of past and planned Donizetti activities in Holland

- Tietjens' last night and death

A reprint from Herman Klein's The Golden Age of Opera

- Reviews of new recordings by Derek Turner

Including Donizetti's Missa da Requiem and his complete music for piano - four hands

- "On the original instruments" by Alexander Weatherson

Some comments on the original tessitura of various operas

- Various reviews of  Donizetti's opera Il Furioso all'isola di San Domingo given by Pro Opera

Newsletter 23, April 1980

- The Barga Festival 1980 by Alexander Weatherson

Background to Donizetti's Olivo and Pasquale to be performed at the Festival

 - Notable Donizetti Interpreters by David J. Samuels

The Contribution of Beverly Sills to the bel canto revival.

- Obituary of Giovanna Sinah Kessler and a reprint (in German) of an article she wrote on Donizetti's Belisario

- Review of Donizetti's Requiem per Bellini by Derek Turner

- Review of Donizetti's Belisario performed by the Rotterdamse Opera, Rotterdam, May 9 &10, 1980 by Alexander Weatherson

- List of performances of  Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia 1946-1979

Newsletter 24, September 1980

- Opera Rara - The first ten years - Interview with Patric Schmid

 - Review of Donizetti's Olivo e Pasquale by Serge Lacabanne

The performance from the 1980 Barga Festival.

- List of Mercadante's operas

1981 

Newsletter 25, January 1981

- Bellini and Bianca e Gernando/Fernando by Alexander Weatherson

 Background on Bellini's opera

 - Review of Maria de' Rudenz by Sidney Miller

 Donizetti's opera performed at Teatro La Fenice, Venice, January 4 & 7, 1981

- Short piece on the Teatro della Societa, Bergamo by Brian Thornton

Newsletter 26, May 1981

- Donizetti's outstanding operas by Alexander Weatherson

 An overview of Donizetti operas unperformed in the modern era at that date.

 - Short review of Donizetti's Belisario, performed at the Royal Academy of Music

- Donizetti inediti per pianoforte by Pietro Spada

 An introduction to an RCA recording of them

- Review by John Hughes of Luciano Pavarotti - my own story 

- Short obituary of Liudmila Rossi

Newsletter 27, September 1981

 - Article on Balfe and list of his operas

- Review of Bellini's Bianco e Fernando by Jacques Gheusi

 Pro Opera's production at the Queen Elizabeth's Hall, March 15, 1981.

- Review  by Alexander Weatherson of Bellini by Pierre Brunel.

- An introduction to Donizetti's Fausta

- Ad libitum in bel canto opera by Brian L. Good

Consideration of different versions for different voices of particular operas

- Article on the restoration of the Donizetti family tomb in Naples

1982

Newsletter 28, January 1982

- La romanziera e luomo nero and its origins by Alexander Weatherson

 Background on Donizetti's opera

 - Short article on William Wallace and list of his operas

 Book review by Alexander Weatherson

- Review by Ivor Guest of  Second Empire Opera by T.J.Walsh

Newsletter 29, May 1982

 - L'Esule di Roma by Alexander Weatherson

 Background on Donizetti's opera

 - Il Duca d'Alba by Fulvio Lo Presti (in Italian).

  Background on Donizetti's opera and its revival

- Short article on Sir Julius Benedict and list of his operas

- Review by Juan Gherzi of Donizetti's Belisario performed at the Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, May 1981

Newsletter 30, October 1982

- Barbara and Carlotta Marchisio by Carlo V. Marchisio

Article on the two 19th century sisters and singers plus list of operas by Antonio Marchisio

 - Various reviews of  Donizetti's L'Esule di Roma performed by Pro Opera, July 18, 1982 at the Queen Elizabeth's Hall, London.

1983

Newsletter 31, January 1983

- A Pacinian Spring by Alexander Weatherson

 Background on Pacini's Maria regina d'Inghilterra

Newsletter 32, May 1983

- Review of Pacini's Mary Tudor presented at the Camden Festival, March 25, 1983 by Opera Rara

- Articles on the 10th anniversary of the Society

- 'Il mio destino e questo...' by Alexander Weatherson

Reviews and comments upon Donizetti's Don Pasquale and Lucia di Lammermoor and Ponchielli's La gioconda at Covent Garden

- Obituary of  Sidney Miller

- Reviews of recordings including Bottesini's Messa di Requiem, Donizetti's Anna Bolena,

French opéra-comique recital and a set of songs by various composers

- Reviews of  books including Gaetano Donizetti by Robert Steiner-Isenman,  Il teatro Petruzzelli di Bari by Alfredo Giovane and Le carte dell' impresario by Marcello de Angelis

Newsletter 33, August 1983

- How often did they sing by John Black

Article on the frequency that singers of Donizetti's time sang.

- A review by Derek Turner of  A Book of the Zarzuela by Roger Alier and others

Newsletter 34, December 1983

- Donizetti at home by Alexander Weatherson

Article on Bergamo and a Donizetti convention held there in September 1983

 - Wexford 1983 by James Allason

Short review of Wolf-Ferrari's La vedova scaltra, Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix and Marschner's Hans Heiling

 - Review of a recording of  Donizetti-Mayr Musiche sacre e da camera

 - Review of  Gaetano Donizetti  by Gugliemo Barblan and Bruno Zanolini

- List of operas given at the Gran Teatro del Liceo, Barcelona by Roger Alier

1984

Newsletter 35, April 1984

- Donizetti's pianos by Ian Caddy

Article on pianos of Donizetti's time (an example of one of Donizetti's pianos can be seen here)

 - Review by Stephen Hastings of Storia del bel canto by Rodolfo Celleti

Newsletter 36, July 1984

- News from Japan by Prof. Nubo Fukuhara

- Maria de' Rudenz and Lucrezia Borgia by Fulvio Lo Presti

Reviews of two Donizetti's operas, the former in Rotterdam, March 23, 24 &25 1984 and Bologna, April 19 1984.

- Unknown opera by Donizetti found  in a London basement by Will Crutchfield

Reprints of two articles on the discovery of Donizetti's Elizabeth.  Crutchfield wrote a later article giving much more detail as part of preparing the opera for a performance at the Caramoor Festival.

Newsletter 37, December  1984

- The Pro Opera - Donizetti Society collaboration

Short article on and list of past joint productions.

- The finding of two Donizettian Rifacimenti, Elisabeth and Elisabetta by Alexander Weatherson

Article relating the newly discovered Elisabeth to earlier operas by Donizetti

- Sancia di Castiglia by Stephen Hastings

Review of performances at the Teatro Donizetti, Bergamo on October 2 & 4, 1984

- Lists of operas at the Camden Festival, 1954-1984 and the Wexford Festival, 1951-1984

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