About the work
"Fausta" is a two-act opera seria that Gaetano Donizetti composed to a libretto begun by Domenico Gilardoni and completed by Donizetti after Gilardoni's death. It premiered on 12 January 1832 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, with soprano Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis, for whom the role was written, in the title part.
Plot
At the court of Emperor Constantine, his second wife Fausta falls in love with her stepson Crispo and, when he rejects her, brings false accusations against him. Banished, Crispo unwittingly kills Fausta's father Massimiano in combat and is condemned to death. Only when it is too late does Fausta confess her guilt and poison herself.
Cultural significance
Despite concerns from the Neapolitan censors over its plot of an emperor's murder, the opera reached the stage and was restaged the same year at La Scala in Milan for 31 performances — an unusual success for Donizetti at the time. After the 19th century the work all but vanished from the repertoire; a notable revival did not come until 1981, conducted by Daniel Oren.