Griselda (Antonio Maria Bononcini)

Composer Antonio Maria Bononcini

Griselda is a dramma per musica in three acts that was composed by Antonio Maria Bononcini. The opera uses a slightly revised version of the 1701 Italian libretto by Apostolo Zeno that was based on Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron (X, 10, "The Patient Griselda"). The opera was dedicated to Prince Maximilian Karl von Löwenstein, the Austrian governor of Milan, who sadly died during the opera's world première on 26 December 1718 at the Teatro Regio Ducale in Milan. Bononcini's brother, Giovanni Bononcini, also composed his own opera to Zeno's libretto in 1722.

Music

Bononcini's revised version of Zeno’s original text is for the most part not much different for he only deleted or altered a handful of the original 34 arias. The superbly wrought score shows off Bononcini's usual strengths for textural depth and contrapuntal complexity, two elements essential for any master composer of the baroque era. Yet, in spite of its frequent Baroque textural complexities, Bononcini began to experiment with classical music features and pre-classical features predominate in the opera. For example, two thirds of the arias are in major keys, two-thirds are vivacious, and only three of the 38 songs feature the slow, dotted rhythms that indicate pathos in the baroque period.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 26 December 1718
Griselda, wife of Gualtiero	soprano
Gualtiero, King of Thessaly	contralto (origanally a castrato)
Roberto, brother of Corrado	soprano (originally a castrato)
Corrado, Prince of Puglia	tenor
Costanza, missing daughter of Griselda and Gualtiero	contralto
Ottone, a Sicilian nobleman	bass

Synopsis

Place: Near Palermo in Sicily.

Detail from The Story of Patient Griselda, painted circa 1500

King Gualtiero has married Griselda, a peasant woman and his longtime mistress, and fears that she will not be accepted among the nobility. Concerned that a rebellion might arise, the king desides he must prove that Griselda is worthy to be their queen and the mother of their future king. He tests her virtue and steadfastness with a series of cruel ordeals, including telling her a lie that their long-lost daughter was killed on his orders. Gualtiero banishes Griselda from the court and announces that he intends to take another wife, the young woman Costanza, who is, unknown to all, their missing daughter. Costanza is highly upset over the king's proposal as she is in love with Roberto, the younger brother of Corrado, Prince of Puglia.

Meanwhile, Griselda has returned to the humble cottage where she once lived. A beautiful woman, she has caught the attention of Ottone, a Sicilian nobleman, who attempts to woo her. After refusing him, Ottone threatens to kill her infant son, Everardo, unless she agrees to marry him. Griselda refuses and flees to the palcace where she is permitted to stay as a servant to Costanza. Gualtiero, as a final test, orders Griselda to marry Ottone, which she refuses to his satisfaction. The king reveals his true motive for tormenting her and accepts her again as his queen to the satisfaction of Costanza and Roberto who can now be reunited. Ottone, who confesses to have stirred up the nobles in the hope of winning Griselda, is forgiven.

Sources

• Malcolm Boyd, Lowell Lindgren: "Griselda (i)", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed November 21, 2008), (subscription access)

External link

• Libretto