Betly, o sia La capanna svizzera

Betly, ossia La capanna svizzera ("Betly, or The Swiss Chalet") is a dramma giocoso in two acts (originally one) by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. The composer wrote the Italian libretto after Eugène Scribe and Mélésville's libretto for Adolphe Adam's opéra comique Le chalet, in its turn based on Goethe's Singspiel Jery und Bätely (1779).

==Performance history== The opera premiered at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples on 24 August 1836. The initial performance was not well-received due to the vocal decline of Giuseppe Fioravanti, the performer of the baritone role. However, the revision prepared by Donizetti for subsequent performances was a marked success. This success prompted the composer to expand the opera from one act to two acts. The two-act version of Betly was first presented on 29 September 1837 at the Teatro del Fondo, Naples. Other Italian cities, where performances of the opera were given, include: Palermo in 1837, Florence in 1838, Bologna in 1845, Venice in 1851, and Messina in 1859. The opera was also performed in Lisbon in 1837, in Madrid in 1842, and in Barcelona in 1844. It was transformed into a Spanish zarzuela, Propósito de mujer, by Emilio Álvarez in 1864 and presented the same year in Madrid.