Don John of Austria (opera)

It premiered on 3 May 1847 at the Royal Victoria Theatre, Sydney and enjoyed a successful run of six performances. and semi-staged performances on 18 and 20 October 2007in two actsat the City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney, also conducted by Briger. Nathan's original orchestration has been lost and Nathan's great-great-great grandson, the conductor Sir Charles Mackerras, created a new orchestration.{{cite web ==Synopsis==

Nathan’s fast-paced opera tells of the rivalry in love of Philip II of Spain and his illegitimate half-brother Don John of Austria. The libretto follows Delavigne's 1835 ''Don Juan d'Autriche'' fairly closely, except for the addition of a scene near the end with Agnes alone, where she sings "They tell us that a home of light there is, where praying seraphs glow". In fact the opera's plot is in many ways an inversion of Fromental Halévy's opera La Juive (libretto by Eugène Scribe). In the latter, the male lover is precluded from having an affair with his inamorata because she is Jewish, whilst he is a high-born Christian; later it turns out that she was Christian all along, but all ends tragically. In Don John, in a similar situation, it turns out that the 'high-born Christian' is in fact of Jewish descent, and all ends happily. ==Roles==

• Don John of Austria, illegitimate son of Charles V (tenor) • Donna Agnes, secretly a Jew, also known as Miriam, John's beloved (soprano) • Philip II of Spain, King, legitimate son of Charles/Carlos, disguised as the Count de Santa Fiore, also in love with Agnes (baritone) • Don Quexada, former Prime Minister (bass-baritone) • Dorothy, Agnes' servant (mezzo-soprano) • Chorus • Speaking roles: • Brother Carlos, formerly Charles V of Spain • Don Ruy de Gomes, Philip's Prime Minister • Domingo, Don Quexada's servant • Antonio, Brother Carlos' servant • Jerome, Don Quexada's servant • Don Ferdinand de Valdes, Grand Inquisitor • Lords in Waiting, Officers, Alguazils, Monks and Attendants ==Recordings==

• 1996: "Overture", "The days are gone when Judah's voice" • 2011: (Complete performance) Steve Davislim (Don John), Cheryl Barker (Donna Anna), Grant Doyle (Philip II), Paul Whelan (Don Quaxada), Sally-Anne Russell (Dorothy), Alexander Briger (conductor), Sydney Philharmonia Chamber Singers, Sydney Symphony Orchestra; ABC Classics Cat. No.: 4764114 ==References==