L'ASSEDIO DI CALAIS ovvero EDOARDO III.

** One of the reasons why the piece may have been neglected is because, although Donizetti described it as ‘my most exacting opera’, even he was dissatisfied with the third act.
James Conway’s production gets around the problems it poses by simply not including it, while finding clever ways of inserting its best music into Acts I and II.

Conway considers Act III of Il assedio di Calais (in which Edward’s Queen persuades him to spare the lives of the six burghers, as happened in real life) to be thoroughly unsatisfactory, supported by the fact that Donizetti thought the same and had planned to rewrite or remove it. This production dispenses with Act III altogether, moving its most compelling music to Act I and getting rid of the rest. It leaves the opera a shade on the short side at just 95 minutes of music, but Conway has a strong argument that dramatic integrity is improved as a result.

Prof. Alexander Weatherson:
This two-act edition is more concentrated and shorter than the version in three acts, there is no ballet or birthday high jinks, but it puts into a much higher profile all of Donizetti’s truly remarkable music according to his own wishes.