When Gaetano Donizetti arrived in Paris in the late 1830s, he entered the undisputed capital of the 19th-century opera world. Driven from Italy by personal tragedy and professional frustration, he launched a veritable invasion, writing simultaneously for the city’s three main opera houses and dazzling high society with his incredible creative energy.

In this episode, host Flora Willson is joined by opera scholar Professor Roger Parker to explore this remarkable chapter in Donizetti’s life.

We discover how he adapted his style for the epic scale of French “grand opera” in works like Les Martyrs, and how he crafted a new, sophisticated voice in the intimate songs he wrote for the city’s exclusive salons.

Along the way, we’ll hear two stunning examples of his French songs and uncover a surprising secret: how a melody written for the salon found its way into one of his most beloved comic operas, La Fille du Régiment.

“This sort of atmosphere is very common in the French songs of this, a man sort of delighting in the cruelty of the woman… which I think the Italians would have found slightly vulgar, actually.” – Roger Parker