La Donna del lago, (The Lady of the Lake)

by Gioachino Rossini (1792 - 1868).
Melodramma in two acts. 1819. Libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, after the poem The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott.
First performance at the Teatro S Carlo, Naples, on 24th October 1819.

Ellen, daughter of the Highland chieftain Douglas, loves Malcolm Graeme but is promised by her father to Roderick Dhu. Rowing across the lake, she meets King James V, under the guise of Uberto, and offers him shelter, but he is perturbed to learn of her rebel parentage. There follows a scene with Malcolm, who agrees to join the rebels but is angry at the news of Ellen's coming marriage. Roderick Dhu calls them all to arms. In the second act the King expresses his love for Ellen and presents her with a ring that will give her protection, should she need it. Roderick sees their meeting and the couple are surrounded, with the King, still incognito, admitting that he is a follower of the royal cause. In the palace at Stirling, where Douglas is now held as a prisoner, the King reveals his identity, ready now to spare Douglas and Malcolm and agree to the latter's marriage with Ellen.

Scott's poem provided a text for a group of Schubert songs as well as for Rossini's opera. From the latter Mura felici (Happy walls) for the mezzo-soprano Malcolm and Ellen's final Tanti affetti (Such feelings) are part of operatic recital repertoire.