Dorilla in Tempe
Encyclopedia
Dorilla in Tempe is a melodramma eroico pastorale in three acts by composer Antonio Vivaldi
with an Italian
libretto
by Antonio Maria Lucchini
. The opera premiered at the Teatro San Angelo
in Venice
on 9 November 1726. Vivaldi later revised the opera numerous times for several difference performances throughout the second half of his career.
, who went on to form a lifelong friendship and professional partnership with the composer. The opera was also noted for its visual aspects, boasting some of the most elaborate sets (by Antonio Mauro) in the history of opera up to that point and for its beautiful choreography by Giovanni Galletto.
In 1728 the opera was revived at the small Teatro San Margherita in Venice with an almost identical text, and again in Prague
at the Sporck Theatre in the spring of 1732, this time with substantial alterations to the libretto. During Carnival 1734 the opera was revived at the Teatro San Angelo, this time as a pastiche
using recent music by other composers, including Hasse
, Giacomelli
and Leo
.
, is from this 1734 pastiche production. Fortunately, the score includes not only the many insertions into the opera but also a number of the deletions from earlier productions. Unusually for Vivaldi’s operatic scores, the sinfonia
is clearly linked with the main opera: it follows the title-page instead of preceding it, and the music of its final movement – a C major version of the opening of the Spring concerto
– reappears in the opera’s opening chorus
, appropriately in praise of spring. The opera displays a pastoral nature, particularly in its choral and ballet music, that is at times mixed with heroic elements, as in the elaborate celebrations at the end of Act 2, where a hunt is enacted to the inevitable horn accompaniment.
. Like the music, the plot intertwines pastoral and heroic elements and centers on the shepherd Nomio, who is in fact Apollo
in disguise. Nomio falls in love with Dorilla, the daughter of Admeto
, King of Thessaly, who is herself in love with the shepherd Elmiro. Admeto is forced by the gods to save his kingdom by offering his daughter as a sacrifice to the sea-serpent Pitone
, but she is rescued just in time by Nomius. Nomius claims the hand of Dorilla as his reward, but she remains reluctant and escapes with Elmiro. The pair are captured, and Elmiro is sentenced to death. Finally, however, the intervention of Nomius, revealing his divine identity, saves the situation and Dorilla and Elmiro are reunited.
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...
with an Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Antonio Maria Lucchini
Antonio Maria Lucchini
Antonio Maria Lucchini or Luchini was an Italian librettist. His texts were set to music by Antonio Vivaldi, Baldassare Galuppi, Leonardo Vinci, and Rinaldo di Capua, among others.-Libretti:...
. The opera premiered at the Teatro San Angelo
Teatro San Angelo
The Teatro San Angelo or Teatro Sant' Angelo was one a theatre in Venice which ran from 1677-1803.It was the last of the major Venetian theatres to be built in the 1650s-60s opera craze following Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in 1654, Teatro San Samuele 1655, Teatro San Salvatore 1661, Teatro San...
in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
on 9 November 1726. Vivaldi later revised the opera numerous times for several difference performances throughout the second half of his career.
History
Dorilla in Tempe was well received at its premiere and became one of Vivaldi's personal favorites. The opera was the first work by Vivaldi to include in its cast the mezzo-soprano Anna GiròAnna Girò
Anna Girò , or Anna Giraud La Mantovana, was the stage name of Anna Maddalena Teseire, an Italian contralto. She is best known for her collaborations with composer Antonio Vivaldi, who wrote several operatic roles for her....
, who went on to form a lifelong friendship and professional partnership with the composer. The opera was also noted for its visual aspects, boasting some of the most elaborate sets (by Antonio Mauro) in the history of opera up to that point and for its beautiful choreography by Giovanni Galletto.
In 1728 the opera was revived at the small Teatro San Margherita in Venice with an almost identical text, and again in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
at the Sporck Theatre in the spring of 1732, this time with substantial alterations to the libretto. During Carnival 1734 the opera was revived at the Teatro San Angelo, this time as a pastiche
Pastiche
A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
using recent music by other composers, including Hasse
Johann Adolph Hasse
Johann Adolph Hasse was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a considerable quantity of sacred music...
, Giacomelli
Geminiano Giacomelli
Geminiano Giacomelli was an Italian composer.Giacomelli was born in Piacenza. In 1724 he was named to the post of Kapellmeister to the duke of Parma. Beginning with the first performance of his opera Ipermestra, in 1724, he became one of the most popular opera composers of his era...
and Leo
Leonardo Leo
Leonardo Leo , more correctly Lionardo Oronzo Salvatore de Leo, was an Italian Baroque composer.-Biography:...
.
Music
The only surviving score of Dorilla in Tempe, located in TurinTurin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, is from this 1734 pastiche production. Fortunately, the score includes not only the many insertions into the opera but also a number of the deletions from earlier productions. Unusually for Vivaldi’s operatic scores, the sinfonia
Sinfonia
Sinfonia is the Italian word for symphony. In English it most commonly refers to a 17th- or 18th-century orchestral piece used as an introduction, interlude, or postlude to an opera, oratorio, cantata, or suite...
is clearly linked with the main opera: it follows the title-page instead of preceding it, and the music of its final movement – a C major version of the opening of the Spring concerto
The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)
The Four Seasons is a set of four violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. Composed in 1723, The Four Seasons is Vivaldi's best-known work, and is among the most popular pieces of Baroque music. The texture of each concerto is varied, each resembling its respective season...
– reappears in the opera’s opening chorus
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
, appropriately in praise of spring. The opera displays a pastoral nature, particularly in its choral and ballet music, that is at times mixed with heroic elements, as in the elaborate celebrations at the end of Act 2, where a hunt is enacted to the inevitable horn accompaniment.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 9 November 1726 |
|---|---|---|
| Dorilla, daughter of Admeto, in love with Elmiro | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Angela Capuano, "la Capuanina" |
| Admeto, King of Thessaly | bass | Lorenzo Moretti |
| Nomio/Apollo, the god Apollo disguised as a shepherd, in love with Dorilla | contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above... castrato Castrato A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's... |
Filippo Finazzi |
| Elmiro, a shepherd, in love with Dorilla | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... (breeches role Breeches role A breeches role is a role in which an actress appears in male clothing .In opera it also refers to any male character that is sung and acted by a female singer... ) |
Maria Maddalena Pieri |
| Eudamia, a nymph, in love with Elmiro | mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Anna Girò Anna Girò Anna Girò , or Anna Giraud La Mantovana, was the stage name of Anna Maddalena Teseire, an Italian contralto. She is best known for her collaborations with composer Antonio Vivaldi, who wrote several operatic roles for her.... |
| Filindo, in love with Eudamia | contralto castrato | Domenico Giuseppe Galletti |
Synopsis
The story takes place in TempeVale of Tempe
The Vale of Tempe is a gorge in northern Thessaly, Greece, located between Olympus to the north and Ossa to the south. The valley is 10 kilometers long and as narrow as 25 meters in places, with cliffs nearly 500 meters high, and through it flows the Pineios River on its way to the Aegean Sea...
. Like the music, the plot intertwines pastoral and heroic elements and centers on the shepherd Nomio, who is in fact Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
in disguise. Nomio falls in love with Dorilla, the daughter of Admeto
Admetus
In Greek mythology, Admetus was a king of Pherae in Thessaly, succeeding his father Pheres after whom the city was named. Admetus was one of the Argonauts and took part in the Calydonian Boar hunt. His wife Alcestis offered to substitute her own death for his.-Mythology:Admetus was famed for his...
, King of Thessaly, who is herself in love with the shepherd Elmiro. Admeto is forced by the gods to save his kingdom by offering his daughter as a sacrifice to the sea-serpent Pitone
Python (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Python was the earth-dragon of Delphi, always represented in Greek sculpture and vase-paintings as a serpent. He presided at the Delphic oracle, which existed in the cult center for his mother, Gaia, "Earth," Pytho being the place name that was substituted for the earlier Krisa...
, but she is rescued just in time by Nomius. Nomius claims the hand of Dorilla as his reward, but she remains reluctant and escapes with Elmiro. The pair are captured, and Elmiro is sentenced to death. Finally, however, the intervention of Nomius, revealing his divine identity, saves the situation and Dorilla and Elmiro are reunited.
Recordings
- 1994 Dorilla: María Cristina KiehrMaria Cristina KiehrMaría Cristina Kiehr is a soprano vocalist associated with Baroque music. After receiving her early musical training in Argentina, she moved in 1983 to Europe and studied under René Jacobs at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, specializing in the Baroque repertoire. She performs and records for the...
, Elmiro: John Elwes, Admeto: Philippe Cantor, Nomio/Apollo: Jean Nirouët. Ensemble Baroque de Nice, Gilbert BezzinaGilbert BezzinaGilbert Bezzina is a French violinist and conductor of baroque opera.Gilbert Bezzina studied violin at the Conservatory of Nice and continues to perform and record as a violinist....
Opéra de NiceOpéra de NiceThe Opéra de Nice is the principal opera venue in Nice, France.The théâtre municipal of Nice was inaugurated 7 February 1885 with a performance of Verdi's Aida. In 1902 the théâtre municipal became the Opéra de Nice.-References:...
1994,2008
Sources
- Eric Cross: "Dorilla in Tempe", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed November 21, 2008), (subscription access)