L'Olimpiade

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For other uses, see l'Olimpiade (disambiguation).
Title page (1733)

L'Olimpiade is an

Metastasio originally written for an operatic setting by Antonio Caldara of 1733. Metastasio’s plot vaguely draws upon the narrative of "The Trial of the Suitors" provided from Book 6 of The Histories of Herodotus, which had previously been the base for Apostolo Zeno's libretto Gli inganni felici (1695). The story, set in Ancient Greece at the time of the Olympic Games
, is about amorous rivalry and characters' taking places to gain the loved one. The story ends with the announcement of two marriages.

Background

Metastasio, as Imperial court poet at the court of

Alessandro nell'Indie. The popularity of L’Olimpiade may subsequently have prompted Metastasio’s La Nitteti
, a twin drama in several respects.

Synopsis

Place: Ancient Greece
Time: During the Olympic Games

Act 1

Megacles arrives in Sicyon just in time to enter the Olympic Games under the name of Lycidas, a friend who once saved his life. Unknown to Megacles, Lycidas is in love with Aristaea, whose hand is to be offered to the winner of the games by her father, King Cleisthenes. Lycidas, once betrothed to Princess Argene of Crete, is unaware that Megacles and Aristaea already love each other, and he subsequently tells his friend of the prize. Aristaea and Megacles greet each other fondly, but Megacles now feels bound by his promise to compete as Lycidas. Meanwhile, Argene arrives in Olympia disguised as a shepherdess, to win back Lycidas.

Act 2

Megacles wins the games, confesses the truth to Aristaea and departs, broken-hearted. When Lycidas comes to claim her, Aristaea reproaches him, as does the disguised Argene, much to his dismay. Amyntas, tutor to Lycidas, reports that Megacles has drowned himself, and King Cleisthenes, apprised of the deception, banishes Lycidas.

Act 3

Argene prevents the desperate Aristaea from suicide, Megacles is rescued by a fisherman, and Lycidas contemplates the assassination of the king. Aristaea pleads mercy for Lycidas and Argene offers herself in his place; as proof that she is a princess, she shows Cleisthenes a chain given her by Lycidas. He recognizes it as belonging to his son, abandoned in infancy to forestall the prophecy that he would kill his father. Lycidas, reinstated, accepts Argene, leaving his sister to Megacles.

Other settings of the libretto

More than 60

Johann Nepomuk Poissl
's Der Wettkampf zu Olympia, oder Die Freunde (1815) was the first German-language setting and his version enjoyed occasional revivals during the nineteenth century.

Mozart set Cleisthenes' last aria twice, first for Aloysia Weber (KV. 294) and latter for a subscription concert by Ludwig Fischer
(K 512). Beethoven set the duet "Ne' giorni tuoi felici" for tenor, soprano and orchestra in 1802 – 1803 (WoO 93).

List of notable settings

The following is a list of the most notable operas that subsequently utilized Metastasio's libretto in chronological order of first performance:

Recordings

References

Notes

  1. ISBN 9781611494365
    .
  2. ^ A detailed comparison of Mysliveček's popular aria "Se cerca, se dice" with settings by other 18th-century composers is provided in Daniel E. Freeman, "Mysliveček's Setting of the Aria 'Se cerca, se dice' from Metastasio's L'Olimpiade," in Il ciel non soffre inganni: Attorno al Demetrio di Mysliveček, 'Il Boemo', edited by Mariateresa Dellaborra (Lucca: Libreria Musicale Italiana, 2011), 113-36.
  3. ^ The double CD is scheduled to be released on 10 May 2024.

Sources

  • George Loomis, "Metastatio's Olympians", Opera (London), Vol. 63, No. 5, May 2012, pp. 541–545.

External links

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