Demetrio (1773)
Demetrio is an eighteenth-century Italian
Performance history
The opera was first performed at the Teatro Nuovo in Pavia on 24 May 1773.[1] It was commissioned to serve as the first opera to be played in a newly constructed theater in the city,[2] and it was considered to be a great honor for Mysliveček to compose the inaugural opera. The organizers were able to attract only one distinguished singer for the cast, however: the soprano Lucrezia Aguiari, whose name has been linked romantically to Mysliveček's erroneously in earlier musicological literature. Her aria "Agitata in tanti affanni" was widely disseminated in late eighteenth-century aria collections.
Roles
Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 24 May 1773, Teatro Nuovo, Pavia |
---|---|---|
Cleonice, queen of Syria, in love with Alceste | soprano | Lucrezia Aguiari |
Alceste, later revealed to be Demetrio, king of Syria | soprano castrato | Giovanni Rubinelli |
Fenicio, grandee of the realm, tutor of Alceste, and father of Olinto | tenor | Giuseppe Afferri |
Olinto, grandee of the realm and rival of Alceste | soprano castrato | Giuseppe Benedetti |
Barsene, confidante of Cleonice and secretly in love with Alceste | soprano | Anna Benvenuti |
Mitrane, captain of the guards and friend of Fenicio | soprano | Rosa Polidoro (in a breeches role) |
Vocal set pieces
Act I, scene 1 - Aria of Olinto, "Di quell'ingiusto sdegno"
Act I, scene 2 - Aria of Cleonice, "Fra tanti pensieri"
Act I, scene 3 - Aria of Barsene, "Non ti lagnar del fato"
Act I, scene 4 - Aria of Fenicio, "Ogni procella infida"
Act I, scene 5 - Aria of Cleonice, "Se non posso su quel trono" [a non-Metastasian text]
Act I, scene 6 - Aria of Fenicio, "Il ciel rispetta il soglio"
Act I, scene 7 - Aria of Alceste, "Scherza il nocchier talora"
Act I, scene 9 - Duet for Cleonice and Alceste, "D'un amoroso accento" [a non-Metastasian text]
Act II, scene 2 - Aria of Alceste, "Dal suo gentil sembiante" [a non-Metastasian text]
Act II, scene 3 - Aria of Mitrane, "Dice che t'è fedele"
Act II, scene 4 - Aria of Cleonice, "Nacqui agli affanni in seno"
Act II, scene 5 - Aria of Fenicio, "Alme incaute che torbide ancora"
Act II, scene 6 - Aria of Barsene, "So che per gioco"
Act II, scene 7 - Aria of Olinto, "Non fidi al mar che freme"
Act II, scene 9 - Aria of Alceste, "Non so frenare il pianto"
Act II, scene 11 - Aria of Cleonice, "Agitata in tanti affanni" [a non-Metastasian text]
Act III, scene 1 - Aria of Cleonice, "Io so qual pena sia"
Act III, scene 2 - Aria of Alceste, "Quel labbro adorato"
Act III, scene 3 - Aria of Olinto, "Mi chi m'oltraggia" [a non-Metastasian text]
Act III, scene 4 - Aria of Fenicio, "Giusti Dei da voi non chiede"
Act III, scene 5 - Aria of Barsene, "Semplicetta tortorella"
Act III, scene 6 - Chorus, "Quando scende in nobil petto"
Recordings
- The overture to Mysliveček's Demetrio of 1773 is included in a collection of symphonies and overtures by the composer recorded by the L'Orfeo Barockorchester, Michi Gaigg, conductor, CPO 777-050 (2004).
See also
References
- ^ Detailed documentation concerning the Pavia performance of Mysliveček's Demetrio of 1773 is found in Daniel E. Freeman, Josef Mysliveček, "Il Boemo" (Sterling Heights, Mich.: Harmonie Park Press, 2009).
- ^ A collection of essays centered around the Pavia performance of Mysliveček's Demetrio of 1773 is found in Mariateresa Dellaborra, ed., "Il ciel non soffre inganni": Attorno al Demetrio di Mysliveček, "Il Boemo" (Lucca: Libreria Musicale Italiana, 2011).