Editing Gaetano Donizetti (section)

===1843–1845: Paris to Vienna to Italy; final return to Paris===
By 1843, Donizetti was exhibiting symptoms of [[syphilis]] and probable [[bipolar disorder]]: "the inner man was broken, sad, and incurably sick", states Allitt.{{sfn|Allitt|1991|p=43}} Ashbrook observes that the preoccupation with work which obsessed Donizetti in the last months of 1842 and throughout 1843 "suggests that he recognised what was wrong with him and that he wanted to compose as much as he could while he was still able".<ref name=ASH177/> But after the success in Paris, he continued working and left once again for Vienna, arriving there by mid-January 1843.

Shortly thereafter, he wrote to Antonio Vasselli outlining his plans for that year, concluding with the somewhat ominous: "All of this with a new illness contracted in Paris, which has still not passed and for which I am awaiting your prescription."<ref name=WEIN196>Donizetti to Vasselli, 30 January 1843, in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1963|p=196}}</ref> But, in the body of the letter, he lays out what he will be aiming to accomplish in 1843: in Vienna, a French drama; in Naples, a planned ''Ruy-Blas'' [but it was never composed]; in Paris for the Opéra-Comique, "a Flemish subject", and for the Opéra, "I am using a Portuguese subject in five acts" (which was to be ''[[Dom Sébastien]], Roi de Portugal'', and actually given on 13 November.) Finally, he adds "and first I am remounting ''Les Martyrs'' which is creating a furor in the provinces".<ref name=WEIN196/>

However, by early February, he is already writing via an intermediary to Vincenzo Flauto, then the impresario at the San Carlo in Naples, in an attempt to break his agreement to compose for that house in July. He was increasingly becoming aware of the limitations which his poor health is imposing upon him. As it turned out, he was able to revive a half-completed work which had been started for Vienna, but only after receiving a rejection to his request to be released from his Naples' obligations did he work on finishing ''[[Caterina Cornaro (opera)|Caterina Cornaro]]'' by May for a production in Naples in January 1844, but without the composer being present. When it did appear, it was not very successful. As far as the work for the Opéra-Comique was concerned—''Ne m'oubliez moi'' it was to be called—it appears that he was able to break his contract with that house, although he had already composed and orchestrated seven numbers.<ref name=ASH177>{{harvnb|Ashbrook|1982|pp=177–178}}</ref>

====Work in Vienna====
[[File:Carl Wenzel Zajicek 025.jpg|thumb|left|275px|The [[Vienna State Opera|Imperial and Royal Court Opera]], Vienna, 1830]]
Donizetti's obligations in Vienna included overseeing the annual Italian season at the [[Theater am Kärntnertor]] which began in May. Verdi's ''[[Nabucco]]'' (which Donizetti had seen in Milan at its premiere in March 1842 and with which he had been impressed) was featured as part of that season. However, his main preoccupation was to complete the orchestration of ''[[Maria di Rohan]]'', which was accomplished by 13 February for planned performances in June. The season began with a very successful revival of ''Linda di Chamounix''. ''Nabucco'' followed, the first production of a Verdi opera in Vienna. The season also included ''Don Pasquale'' in addition to ''[[The Barber of Seville]]''.<ref name=ASH178-79>{{harvnb|Ashbrook|1982|pp=178–179}}</ref> Finally, ''Maria di Rohan'' was given on 5 June. In reporting the reaction to this opera in a teasing letter to Antonio Vasselli in Rome, he tried to build suspense, stating that "With the utmost sorrow, I must announce to you that last evening I have given my ''Maria di Rohan'' [and he names the singers]. All their talent was not enough to save me from "a sea of [pause, space] – applause....Everything went well. Everything."<ref name=ASH178-79 />

====Return to Paris====
[[File:Vue de la nouvelle salle de l'Opéra prise de la rue de Provence - NYPL Digital Collections.jpg|thumb|left|275px|[[Salle Le Peletier]], seat of the Académie royale de Musique or the [[Paris Opera]], {{circa|1821}}]]
Returning to Paris as quickly as possible, Donizetti left Vienna around 11 July 1843 in his newly purchased carriage and arrived on about 20th, immediately getting down to work on finishing ''Dom Sébastien'', which he describes as a massive enterprise: "what a staggering spectacle.....I am terribly wearied by this enormous opera in five acts which carries bags full of music for singing and dancing."<ref>Donizetti to Mayr, 2 September 1843, in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1963|p=204}}</ref> It is his longest opera as well as the one on which he spent the most time.

With rehearsals in progress at the Opéra for ''Dom Sébastien'', the first performance being planned for 13 November, the composer was also working on readying ''Maria di Rohan'' for the [[Comédie-Italienne|Théâtre-Italien]] on the following evening, 14 November. Both were successful, although author Herbert Weinstock states that "the older opera was an immediate, unquestioned success with both audience and critics". However, ''Maria di Rohan'' continued for 33 performances in all,{{sfn|Weinstock|1963|pp=206–207}} whereas ''Dom Sébastien'' remained in the repertory until 1845 with a total of 32 performances.

====1844: in Vienna====
On 30 December 1843, Donizetti was back in Vienna, having delayed leaving until the 20th because of illness. Ashbrook comments on how he was viewed in that city, with "friends notic[ing] an alarming change in his physical condition",{{sfn|Ashbrook|1982|p=190}} and with his ability to concentrate and simply to remaining standing often being impaired.

Having entered into a contract with [[Léon Pillet]] of the Opéra for a new work for the coming year, he found nothing to be suitable and immediately wrote to Pillet proposing that another composer take his place. While waiting to see if he could be relieved from writing a large-scale work if [[Giacomo Meyerbeer]] would allow ''[[Le Prophète]]'' to be staged instead that autumn, he looked forward to the arrival of his brother from Turkey in May and to the prospect of their traveling to Italy together that summer. Eventually, it was agreed that his commitment to the Opéra could be postponed until November 1845.{{sfn|Weinstock|1963|p=217}}

While taking care of some of his obligations to the Viennese court, for the remainder of the month he awaited news on the outcome of the 12 January premiere of ''Caterina Cornaro'' in Naples. By the 31st (or 1 February), he learned the truth: it had been a failure.{{sfn|Weinstock|1963|p=213}} What was worse were the rumours that it was not in fact Donizetti's work, although a report from Guido Zavadini suggested that it was probably a combination of elements which caused the failure, including the singers' difficulty in finding the right tone in the absence of the maestro, plus the heavily censored libretto.{{sfn|Zavadini|1948|p={{page needed|date=August 2020}}}} Primarily, however, the opera's failure appears to have been due to the maestro's absence, because he was unable to be present to oversee and control the staging, normally one of Donizetti's strengths.{{sfn|Weinstock|1963|p=215}}

The Italian season in Vienna, which included Bellini's ''[[Norma (opera)|Norma]]'' and revivals of ''Linda di Chamounix'' and of ''Don Pasquale'', also included the first production there of Verdi's ''[[Ernani]]''. Donizetti had made a promise to Giacomo Pedroni of the publishing house [[Casa Ricordi]] to oversee the production of the opera, which was given on 30 May with Donizetti conducting. The result was a very warm letter from [[Giuseppe Verdi]] entrusting the production to his care; it concluded: "With the most profound esteem, your most devoted servant, G. Verdi."<ref>Verdi to Donizetti, in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1963|p=220}}</ref>

====Summer/Autumn 1844: travel to and within Italy====
[[File:Antonio Dolci.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Antonio Dolci, Bergamo friend of Donizetti]]
[[File:Giuseppe Donizetti.jpg|thumb|upright|Gaetano Donizetti's brother [[Giuseppe Donizetti|Giuseppe]]]]

Gaetano's brother [[Giuseppe Donizetti|Giuseppe]], on leave from [[Constantinople]], arrived in Vienna in early June. He had intended to leave by about 22nd, but Gaetano's bout of illness delayed his departure, and the brothers traveled together to Bergamo on about 12 or 13 July proceeding slowly but arriving around the 21st.

William Ashbrook describes the second half of 1844 as a period of "pathetic restlessness". He continues: "Donizetti went to Bergamo, Lovere on Lake Iseo [about 26 miles from Bergamo], back to Bergamo, to Milan [31 July], to Genoa [with his friend Antonio Dolci, on 3 August, where they stayed until 10 August because of illness], to Naples [by steamer, from which he wrote to Vasselli in Rome explaining that the upcoming visit may be last time he would see his brother], [then] to Rome [on 14 September to see Vasselli], back to Naples [on 2 October after being invited back to Naples for the first San Carlo performances of ''Maria di Rohan'' on 11 November, which was immensely successful], to Genoa [on 14 November by boat; arrived on the 19th] and on to Milan again [for two days]"<ref>{{harvnb|Ashbrook|1982|p=191}}; further details of specific dates from {{harvnb|Weinstock|1963|pp=221–224}}</ref> before reaching Bergamo on 23 November, where his found his old friend Mayr to be very ill. He delayed his departure for as long as possible, but Mayr died on 2 December, shortly after Donizetti had left Bergamo.

====December 1844 – July 1845: last visit to Vienna====
[[File:Guillaume Louis Cottrau-1797-1847.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Guglielmo Cottrau (1797–1847)]]

By 5 December he was in Vienna writing a letter to his friend Guglielmo Cottrau on 6th and again on 12th, stating "I am not well. I am in the hands of a doctor."<ref name=WEIN227>{{harvnb|Weinstock|1963|p=227}}</ref> While there were periods of relative calm, his health continued to fail him periodically and then there were relapses into depression, as expressed in a letter: "I am half-destroyed, it's a miracle that I'm still on my feet."<ref name=WEIN227 />

Writing to unnamed Paris friends on 7 February, even after the very positive reaction received at the premiere of a specially-prepared ''Dom Sébastien'' on 6 February 1845 (which he had conducted for three performances of the total of 162 given over the following years until 1884),<ref name=WEIN228>{{harvnb|Weinstock|1963|pp=228–229}}</ref> he grumbles about the reactions of the Parisian audiences and continues with a brief report on his health which, he says, "if it is no better and this continues, I'll find myself forced to go to spend some months resting in Bergamo."<ref name=WEIN228/> At the same time, he rejected offers to compose, one offer coming from London and requiring an opera four months away; the objection of having limited time was given. Other appeals came from Paris, one directly from Vatel, the new impresario of the Théâtre-Italien, who traveled to Vienna to see the composer. As other biographers also note, there is an increasing sense that, during 1845, Donizetti became more and more aware of the real state of his health and the limitations it has begun to impose on his activities.<ref name=WEIN228/> Other letters into April and May reveal much of the same, and the fact that he did not attend the opening performance of Verdi's ''[[I due Foscari]]'' on 3 April, finally seeing it only at its fourth performance, confirms that.

By the end of May, no decision as what to do or where to go had been made, but—finally—he decided on Paris where he would claim a forfeit from the Opéra for the non-production of ''[[Le duc d'Albe]]'', his unfulfilled second commission from 1840 which, although still unfinished, had a completed libretto. He left Vienna for the last time on 10 July 1845.