Adriano in Siria (Pergolesi)

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Opera dates
Title: Hadrian in Syria
Original title: Adriano in Siria
Scene from the third act

Scene from the third act

Shape: Opera seria in three acts
Original language: Italian
Music: Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Libretto : Pietro Metastasio
Premiere: October 25, 1734
Place of premiere: Teatro San Bartolomeo, Naples
Playing time: approx. 3 ½ hours
Place and time of the action: Antioch on the Orontes , around 117  AD
people
  • Adriano ( Emperor Hadrian ), Roman Emperor, engaged to Sabina, in love with Emirena ( soprano )
  • Emirena , daughter of Osroa, engaged to Farnaspe (soprano)
  • Farnaspe , Prince of the Parthians, engaged to Emirena ( castrated soprano )
  • Sabina ( Vibia Sabina ), engaged to Adriano (soprano)
  • Osroa ( Osroes I. ), King of the Parthian Empire, father of Emirenas ( tenor )
  • Aquilio , Roman tribune and Adrianos confidante, secretly in love with Sabina (soprano)
  • Slaves, guards, people, Parthians in the retinue of Osroa, Roman soldiers, retinue of Sabina, retinue of Adrianus, retinue of Aquilios (extras)

Adriano in Siria is an opera seria in three acts by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi . The libretto is an anonymous arrangement by Pietro Metastasios Adriano in Siria . The first performance took place on October 25, 1734 at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in Naples.

Libretto and plot

The plot corresponds to that of Pietro Metastasio's libretto.

layout

Instrumentation

The opera's orchestra consists of two oboes , two hunting horns , strings and basso continuo .

Music numbers

The opera contains the following musical numbers:

first act

  • Adriano: "Dal labbro, che t'accende" (scene 1)
  • Osroa: "Sprezza il furor del vento" (scene 3)
  • Farnaspe: "Sul mio cor so ben qual sia" (scene 5)
  • Emirena: "Prigioniera abbandonata" (scene 9)
  • Aquilio: "Vuoi punir l'ingrato amante?" (Scene 10)
  • Sabina: "Chi soffre, senza pianto" (scene 11)
  • Osroa: "A un semplice istante" (scene 12)
  • Emirena: "Sola mi lasci a pianger" (scene 15)
  • Farnaspe: "Lieto così talvolta" (scene 16)

Second act

  • Sabina: "Ah, ingrato, m'inganni" (scene 2)
  • Aquilio: "Saggio guerriero antico" (scene 4)
  • Sabina: "Splenda per voi sereno" (scene 5)
  • Adriano: "Tutti nemici e rei" (scene 8)
  • Emirena: "Quell'amplesso e quel perdono" (scene 9)
  • Osroa: "Leon piagato a morte" (scene 10)
  • Farnaspe: "Torbido in volto e nero" (scene 11)

Third act

  • Sabina: "Digli ch'è un infedele" (scene 1)
  • Aquilio: "Contento forse vivere" (scene 2)
  • Adriano: "Fra poco assiso in trono" (scene 5)
  • Osroa: "Ti perdi e confondi" (scene 6)
  • Farnaspe / Emirena: "L'estremo pegno almeno" (scene 7)
  • Choir: "S'oda, augusto, infin sull'etra" (scene 9)

music

The star of the premiere, Caffarelli (Farnaspe), is the “ Primo uomo ” dedicated to the most important and most carefully elaborated arias of the opera, including the final arias of the first two acts. His three arias in total have different characters. The bravura aria "Sul mio cor so ben qual sia" emphasizes his virtuosity with runs and large interval jumps. In “Lieto così talvolta” he gives a concert with an oboe - in this aria a captured nightingale answers the song of her free companion out of the cage. Farnaspe's third aria “Torbido in volto e nero” at the end of the second act is a parable in which a skipper expresses his fear of a storm. The orchestra functions here as a double orchestra, in which the second half of the first half responds gently (“dolce”) as an echo and the singer first gives concerts with the two individual groups and finally with the entire orchestra.

Of the pieces by the other singers, Emirena's aria in the second act “Quell'amplesso e quel perdono” is particularly noteworthy. Despite Emirena's dramatic situation, it has a song-like lyrical character at this point in the plot. Emirena's feelings can be heard through the sixteenth-note figures of the accompaniment. Sabina's aria “Splenda per voi sereno” in the second act is characterized by its large range, fast jumps and long passages.

Despite Caffarelli's preference, Pergolesi made sure to assign an equal number of solo pieces to all characters. Occasionally he deviated from the usual conventions of the time. For example, not every aria leads to the singer leaving the stage. In some arias he dispensed with introductory ritornelles. The supporting roles (Aquilio) and tenor voices (Osroa), which were often neglected at the time, also receive appropriate music.

Work history

Title page of the libretto, Naples 1734

Adriano in Siria is the third of Pergolesi's four opera series and the last one he wrote for Naples.

After the rule of the Spanish and Austrian viceroys in Naples ended, the Kingdom of Naples was re-established in 1734/35. On this occasion it was decided to upgrade the opera of the Teatro San Bartolomeo, and the famous castrato singer Caffarelli was hired as “Primo uomo”. After Leonardo Leo's Il castello d'Atlante had first been performed there, Pergolesi received the commission for the following opera. Their performance was part of the celebrations for the 42nd birthday of the Spanish Queen Elisabeth , mother of the future Neapolitan ruler Charles III. , involved.

Pergolesi used Pietro Metastasios Adriano's libretto in Siria , which had only been performed two years earlier in a setting by Antonio Caldara in Vienna. Presumably out of consideration for Caffarelli, an unknown editor made major changes to the text. In addition to shortening the recitatives, the number of arias has been reduced from 27 to 20. The remainder were redistributed and half replaced by new texts. This affected all the arias of the role of Farnace sung by Caffarelli. The opening choir was also dropped. Instead, a duet was added at the end of the third act.

Maria Marta Monticelli (Adriano), Giustina Turcotti (Emirena), Caffarelli (Farnaspe), Caterina Fumagalli (Sabina), Francesco Tolve (Osroa), Margherita Chimenti sang “La Droghierina” at the premiere on October 25, 1734 at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in Naples “(Aquilio). According to contemporary reports, despite its obvious qualities, the opera achieved only average success.

Between the three acts of the opera, the two parts of Pergolesi's intermezzo La contadina astuta (or Livietta e Tracollo ) were performed for the first time. The opera and the interlude have no contextual references to each other and were sung by different interpreters.

Also because the work was tailored to the general conditions of the premiere, there were no further performances in the 18th century. It was not until 1980 that Radio France played the opera again in an abbreviated form. In 1986 Ricordi published a critical edition as part of the Pergolesi Complete Edition. On this basis, a production with a first-class cast was presented at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in 1985 , which was very well received. The production was done by Roberto De Simone , the set by Mauro Carosi and the costumes by Odette Nicoletti. Since then there have been several other performances.

A few years later, Pergolesi used parts of the sinfonia and the music of five arias, including Farnaspe's "Torbido in volto e nero", in his last opera L'olimpiade .

Performances and recordings in recent times

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Helmut Hucke: Adriano in Siria. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater. Vol. 4. Works. Massine - Piccinni. Piper, Munich and Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-492-02414-9 , pp. 684-686.
  2. ↑ Information according to the libretto.
  3. ↑ a b c d e Dale E. Monson:  Adriano in Siria (ii). In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  4. ↑ a b Information on Jan Tomasz Adamus' CD recording at parnassus.at , accessed on September 24, 2016.
  5. ^ Record of the performance on October 25, 1734 in the Teatro San Bartolomeo in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  6. ^ Gordana Lazarevich: Livietta e Tracollo / La contadina astuta. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater. Vol. 4. Works. Massine - Piccinni. Piper, Munich and Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-492-02414-9 , pp. 686-688.
  7. ↑ Christopher Silvester: Adriano in Siria - why Pergolesi's overlooked masterpiece deserves a UK premiere at last. In: The Guardian, September 15, 2015, accessed September 24, 2016.
  8. ^ A b Adriano in Siria (Giovanni Battista Pergolesi) at operabaroque.fr , accessed on January 18, 2015.
  9. ^ Pergolesi: Adriano in Siria - Marcello Panni. CD information from Allmusic , accessed January 18, 2015.
  10. ↑ Nicolas Mesnier-Nature: Pergolèse: Adrien en Syrie - Livietta et Tracollo (Jesi 2010) Blu-ray. Review. In: tutti-magazine.fr, accessed on September 21, 2016.
  11. ↑ Mark Ronan: Adriano in Siria, Cadogan Hall, review: Erica Eloff was undoubtedly the star. In: The Telegraph, September 17, 2015, accessed September 24, 2016.