# Dom Sébastien

Dom Sébastien, Roi de Portugal (Don Sebastian, King of Portugal) is a French grand opera in five acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe, based on Paul Foucher's play Don Sébastien de Portugal which premiered at the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin on 9 November 1838 It is a historic-fiction about King Sebastian of Portugal (1554–1578) and his ill-fated 1578 expedition to Morocco. The opera premiered on 13 November 1843 at the Salle Le Peletier of the Paris Opéra. This was the last opera that Donizetti completed before going insane as a result of syphilis.
At the time, Donizetti was attempting to compose an opera competitive with similar historical operas by Daniel Auber, Fromental Halévy and Giacomo Meyerbeer. One critical description of the nature of Dom Sébastien is "a funeral in five acts". By contrast, Winton Dean has described the main characteristic of the opera as "uncompromising dramatic honesty" in his comments on unusual dramatic facets of the work. Mary Ann Smart has prepared a critical edition of the opera in French, which includes appendices with variants and additions that Donizetti made for a production in German at the Vienna Hofoper in 1845.

## Roles

| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 13 November 1843 (Conductor: – ) |
| Dom Sébastien, King of Portugal | tenor | Gilbert Duprez |
| Dom Antonio, his Uncle, regent of the kingdom in his absence | tenor | Jean-Baptiste Octave |
| Dom Juam de Sylva, Grand Inquisitor | bass | Nicolas Levasseur |
| Le Camoëns, soldier and poet | baritone | Paul Barroilhet |
| Dom Henrique, lieutenant of Dom Sébastien | bass | Ferdinand Prévost |
| Ben-Selim, governor of Fez | bass | Hippolyte Brémont |
| Abayaldos, head of the Arab tribes, fiancé of Zayda | baritone | Jean-Étienne-Auguste Massol |
| Zayda, daughter of Ben-Selim | mezzo-soprano | Rosine Stoltz |
| Dom Luis | tenor | |
| Soldier | bass | |
| First Inquisitor | tenor | |
| Second Inquisitor | tenor | |
| Third Inquisitor | bass | |
| Chorus: Gentlemen and ladies and of the court of Portugal, Portuguese soldiers and sailors, Arab soldiers and women, members of the Inquisition, men and women of the people |||

## Synopsis

    Time: 16th century
    Place: Lisbon and Morocco

### Act 1

Lisbon
The Christian king, Dom Sébastian, leaves his uncle Dom Antonio to rule Portugal while he goes on a crusade against the Moors of Africa. Sébastian's entourage includes the idealistic poet Camoëns and the Moor princess Zayda, whom he had rescued from being burnt at the stake for trying to escape the monastery she had resided in since her conversion to Christianity (O mon Dieu, sur la terre). He intends to return her to her father Ben-Selim.

### Act 2

Fez, Morocco
The reunion between Zayda and Ben-Selim is dampened by her refusal to marry the Moorish chief Abayaldos.
A battlefield in Morocco
Abayaldos led the Moors to battle against Sébastian's forces and mostly wiped them out. The wounded Sébastian's life is saved only when his lieutenant Dom Henrique presents himself to Abayaldos as Sébastian, before expiring from his own wounds, and Zayda pleads for "the Christian's" life (the real Sébastian) in return for her consent to marry Abayaldos, reasoning that her life was saved by a Christian during her captivity in Portugal and that the favor must be returned. Sébastian is left on the battlefield a broken man (Seul sur la terre).

### Act 3

A public square, Lisbon
Camoëns has survived the battle and returned to Lisbon (O Lisbonne, o ma patrie!) where he learns that Antonio has aligned himself with the Spanish Grand Inquisitor Dom Juan de Sylva and usurped the throne. He runs into Sébastian, just as the funeral procession for the supposedly dead king passes by. Camoëns causes a commotion in his outrage, and Sébastian is recognized by the people when he intervenes. Abayaldos, for his part, recognizes the lowly "Christian" whose life he had spared. Sébastian is jailed as an imposter.

### Act 4

A court of law, Lisbon
At Sébastian's trial, Zayda proves her love for him by testifying to his true identity and how he escaped death. Abayaldos accuses her of infidelity, and now both Sébastian and Zayda are jailed, she for treason.

### Act 5

The Lisbon Court
Eager to legitimize his deal with Spain, Antonio offers to spare Sébastian's life if Zayda can convince Sébastian to sign the official instrument selling Portugal to Spain. After first refusing, Sébastian signs. Free but distraught, Zayda runs out to drown herself.
A tower guarding the entrance to Lisbon Harbor (anachronistically the Belém Tower, the symbol of Portuguese independence)
Sébastian catches up with Zayda at the top of the tower. They see Camoëns in a boat attempting to rescue them. Sébastian and Zayda climb down a rope to the boat but are discovered halfway down; they plunge to their deaths when the rope is slashed. Camoëns is killed by gunfire and, at the curtain, the Spanish fleet emerges on the horizon. Portugal has lost its independence.

## Recordings

| Year | Cast (Zaida, Dom Sébastien, Camoëns, Dom Juan de Silva) | Conductor, Opera house and orchestra | Label |
| 1984 | Klára Takács, Richard Leech, Lajos Miller, Sergei Koptchak | Eve Queler, Opera Orchestra of New York and Schola Cantorum of New York (Recording of a concert performance in Carnegie Hall, 23 March) | CD: Legato Classics Cat: LCD 190-2 |
| 1998 | Monica Minarelli, Robert Woroniecki, Ettore Kim, Randall Jakobsh | Elio Boncompagni, Sinfonie Orchester Aachen and Aachener Städische Theater Chorus | CD: Kicco Classic Cat: KCO18CD-1/2 |
| 2005 | Vesselina Kasarova, Giuseppe Filianoti, Carmelo Corrado-Caruso, Alastair Miles | Mark Elder, Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Concert performance recorded live 10 and 13 September 2005 at ROH Covent Garden | Audio CD: Opera Rara Cat: ORC 33 |