Texte paru dans: / Appeared in: Naïve |
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Reviewer: Bertil
van Boer
Here we have another entry in
the Vivaldi Edition that intends to produce every single work that Antonio
Vivaldi wrote, and a few bits that he didn’t. The composer, of course,
stretched the truth considerably when commenting upon the number of operas
he had written, claiming over 100 works. This number is, of course, highly
exaggerated, but even with the couple of dozen we do have, the fact remains
that he was actively pursuing opera, especially in Venice where the Carnival
season required new and progressive works each year. That it was also quite
lucrative was also an incentive—that is, if the opera was a success.
Generally, operas were “previewed” during the late autumn, and the advantage
of this is that if they were deemed successful, they could proceed to the
official premiere in January; if not, it allowed for them to be altered as
necessary or withdrawn without much prejudice. For Vivaldi, it was an
opportunity he could not pass up, given that his own paramour, Anna Girò,
was to make a splash at the Teatro Sant’Angelo during the 1727 season. So,
in November of the year prior Vivaldi created a spectacular work to a text
by Antonio Lucchini.
The composer was, however, not
entirely dedicated to originality here, for despite its initial success with
his music, later performances included substitute arias by Johann Adolph
Hasse, Geminiano Giacomelli, Leonardo Leo, and Domenico Sarri, all of whom
were regarded as the new generation of composers. As a result, what may have
been a more copasetic work has survived only in a bowdlerized version that
leans towards more of a pasticcio in form. This is not entirely invidious to
Vivaldi’s score, since it modernized it to the extent necessary to keep it
in the repertory.
As for the plot, it
corresponds to the norms of the opera seria; that is, it is quite convoluted
with various unexpected twists and turns that make little sense. Tempe, for
those not from Arizona, is an Arcadian glen in Thessaly. Dorilla (soprano)
loves a shepherd Elmiro (originally castrato), while also being wooed by
Nomio (also a castrato), who is Apollo in disguise. King Admeto (tenor)
arrives to proclaim that Nomio must confront Python, a dragon that has
somehow snuck into the kingdom. Before he can act, however, the oracle
decrees that Dorilla must be sacrificed to Python. Eudamia, also in love
with Elmiro, tries to take advantage of the situation, but is rebuffed.
Meanwhile, Filindo (castrato) consoles Eudamia, who expects him to keep an
eye on Elmiro. Promises, promises; the act ends with a scene where Dorilla
is chained to a rock, and Nomio slays the dragon. She seems rather
ungrateful, for she neglects to express her gratitude, and Nomio goes off in
a huff as the people celebrate. This is only the first act, but it is
already overloaded with plot twists. The second act has everyone proclaiming
their love for the wrong people, but at least it ends with a buffet and a
hunt. One can see where this is headed: Elmiro and Dorilla flee the
gathering but Nomio catches them in time for Admeto to condemn the first to
death. He is tied to a tree, a sort of Greek version of a firing squad, and
Dorilla does an Ophelia by throwing herself into a convenient river. As the
hunters prepare to kill Elmiro, Nomio reappears with a rescued Dorilla and,
revealing his divine nature, puts everything to rights.
Oddly enough, this is one of
the easier librettos, though in Vivaldi’s defense he probably meant for it
simply to serve as a vehicle for his singers. The sinfonia begins in a
flashy Vivaldian style with two very short movements, the second of which is
a minuet, but the finale will raise some eyebrows; here we have a movement
stolen right out of The Seasons, this time with a chorus that appears out of
nowhere. Really, it is quite ingenious as reuse of material in an effective
manner. The opening aria of Elmiro is by Hasse, and one hears immediately
the galant style, yet it doesn’t seem really out of place with the sinfonia.
This makes Dorilla’s first aria a bit anachronistic, even a bit thinner in
texture and rhythmic vitality. But in Admeto’s aria “Dall’orrido soggiorno,”
where he tells of the appearance of Python, the forceful nature of the
dotted rhythms in the accompaniment outlines a chromatically wandering line
that is worthy of Handel. The final first-act chorus seems a bit too joyous
for the occasion, being a rather jaunty gigue. In Dorilla’s first second-act
aria “Come l’onde” Vivaldi seems moving into the galant, with an easy
introduction and more restrained coloratura. The second act seems a bit
tamer musically, with a certain conventional quality to the succession of
arias. What does stand out is a rather lively chorus, “Si beva, si danza,”
which trips right along for a brief interlude into the more serious emotions
of the arias. The raucous horns conclude the act with some real hunting
music, as the people prepare to skewer poor Elmiro. The trilling horns are
quite effective in between the text strophes. Eudamia’s “Più non vo’ mirar”
is quite gnarly in the melodic line, but there are enough unison scales with
the voice and accompaniment and the mood is decidedly agitated.
The performance by I
Barocchisti is remarkably stable, given that the recording sessions (2014
and 2017) are separated over several years. The ensemble is quite in tune
and conductor Diego Fasolis keeps things lively and focused. The playing is
clean and precise. The voices are all equally fine. Sonia Prina’s Eudamia
has a fine sense of range, while both Romina Basso and Serena Malfi execute
their various roulades with considerable ease. Christian Senn’s Admeto is
full of power and passion, though he doesn’t have as much as the others.
Only Lucia Cirillo’s Filindo can be a bit grating, as her intonation seems
slightly off at times, particularly some of her unison passages, such as in
the aria “Arsa da rai.” This, however, is not particularly disturbing, since
it is not persistent. Overall, this is a nice opera, even with the modern
insertions. Musically it holds together remarkably well, and given the fine
performance here it is a welcomed addition that shows that Vivaldi was as
fine an opera composer for his time as one could wish. | ||||
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