Scanderbeg (opera)
Scanderbeg (Italian pronunciation: [ˈskanderbeɡ]; RV 732) is an opera (dramma per musica) in three acts composed by Antonio Vivaldi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Salvi. It was first performed at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence on 22 June 1718 to mark the re-opening of the theatre to public performances.[1] While the libretto has been preserved, only fragments of the original score remain.[2]
| Skanderbeg | |
|---|---|
| Dramma per musica by Antonio Vivaldi | |
 Probable portrait of Antonio Vivaldi, c. 1723 | |
| Librettist | Antonio Salvi |
| Language | Italian |
| Premiere | |
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 22 June 1718[3][4] |
|---|---|---|
| Scanderbeg, King of Albania | contralto castrato | Giovanni Battista Carboni |
| Doneca, his wife, disguised as a shepherdess | soprano | Francesca Cuzzoni-Sandoni, 'La Parmigiana' |
| Aroniz, Price of Epirus, father of Doneca, disguised as a shepherd | tenor | Antonio Ristorini |
| Ormondo, Count of Urana, army general | contralto castrato | Giovanni Pietro Sbaraglia, "Il Pesciatino" |
| Climene, Scanderbeg's captain | soprano (travesti) | Anna Guglielmini |
| Amurat II, monarch of the Turks | tenor | Gaetano Mossi |
| Asteria, his daughter | contralto | Agata Landi |
| Acomat, Amurat's general, in love with Asteria | soprano (travesti) | Rosa Venturini |
Synopsis
The subject of the opera is Skanderbeg, the 15th-century Albanian hero.
Recordings
Two arias from the opera's second act, "S'a voi penso, o luci belle" (Ormondo) and "Con palme ed allori" (Scanderbeg), can be heard on Arie ritrovate sung by contralto Sonia Prina with the Accademia Bizantina, conducted by Ottavio Dantone (Naïve Records).
References
Notes
- Holmes (1994) p. 16
- Colas and Di Profio (2009) p. 54; Strohm (2008a) p. 236
- Casaglia, Gherardo (2005)."Scanderbeg, 22 June 1718". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
- Premiere cast from Strohm (2008a), I, p. 232.
Sources
- Colas, Damien and Di Profio, Alessandro (2009). D'une scène à l'autre, l'opéra italien en Europe: Les pérégrinations d'un genre. Mardaga. ISBN 2-87009-992-4 (in French)
- Holmes, William (1994). Opera Observed: Views of a Florentine Impresario in the Early Eighteenth Century. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-34970-5
- Strohm, Reinhard (2008a). The Operas of Antonio Vivaldi. Florence: Olschki. ISBN 978-88-222-5682-9
Further reading
- Strohm, Reinhard (2008b). Essays on Handel and Italian Opera. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-08835-6
External links
- Scanderbeg (Vivaldi): Libretto at the International Music Score Library Project
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