Itβs been a wonderful morning. I took a nice walk outside, taking in the fresh breeze and enjoying the early spring weather, windy as it was. Then came this wonderful piece of music on the radio, La Favorite, the grand opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti, frequently also known by its Italian title, La Favorita.
I had to look up its background on Wikipedia. As I discovered, itβs a sweeping romantic drama: the opera concerns the romantic struggles of the King of Castile, Alfonso XI, and his mistress, the βfavouriteβ Leonora, set against the backdrop of the political wiles of receding Moorish Spain and the life of the Catholic Church. It premiered on 2 December 1840 at the AcadΓ©mie Royale de Musique (Salle Le Peletier) in Paris; fitting, given that the original work was composed and performed in French.