About the work
"Alina, regina di Golconda" is a two-act opera buffa to a libretto by Felice Romani, who reworked material from Michel-Jean Sedaine and Stanislas de Boufflers. Donizetti composed it in 1828 for the opening of the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, where it premiered on 12 May 1828; a revised version followed in 1829 at the Teatro Valle in Rome.
Plot
Alina, raised as a shepherdess, is abducted by pirates and taken to Golconda, where she becomes queen after the death of the elderly king who had married her. Her French lover Volmar, whom she believed lost, finds her again; he prevails against an uprising led by his rival Seide, and Alina finally chooses him.
Cultural significance
As the opening work of a major new opera house, "Alina" marked a career highlight for the young Donizetti and already shows the blend of adventure plot and lyrical feeling that would define his later successes.