"Dormi pure" (romance)

Overview

An Italian romance ("Sleep on, then") that Marie calls "ma romance, celle que j'ai chantée à Saint-Jean et chez nous et partout" (050.0756). The composer is not established.

• The earlier LAN/RSR comments (048.0383) say it is from Bellini's La sonnambula. I could not find an aria "Dormi pure" in that opera, so that attribution is doubtful and should not be repeated as fact.
• A song with the title exists: a serenata "Dormi pure" by S. Scuderi (Salvatore Scuderi), recorded in the Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli catalogue (https://dl.bnnonline.it/handle/20.500.12113/1740) and later recorded by Emilio de Gogorza (UCSB Discography of American Historical Recordings, matrix Victor C-3494). The search summary I relied on dates the Ricordi edition to 1872; I have not seen the score or confirmed that this is the song Marie sings. It is a candidate only.

Not linked as a full text for the same reason.

Marie and this work

• 034.0020 (7 Jun 1875, Nice): "J'ai chanté Dormi pure et bien même, sans doute en appuyant sur le mot Gioia", with a pointed double meaning (Gioia is also the name of Audiffret's former mistress); then Rosina's serenade "Se il mio nome" from the Barber.
• 034.0114 (9 Jun 1875): her aunt reports that Girofla (Audiffret) has been thinking since Monday about the words of the song she sang, Dormi pure.
• 048.0383 (1 Nov 1875): Audiffret, across the street, identifies "Mignon" and "Dormi pure" from her singing (see Connais-tu le pays).
• 050.0756 (14 Dec 1875): the tenor sings "Dormi pure", "ma romance", during Rosine's lesson.

Sources

• Diary paragraphs as cited; BNN catalogue record and UCSB DAHR as above.