Giulio Sabino is a dramma per musica

Dramma per musica

Dramma per musica is a term which was used by dramatists in Italy and elsewhere between the late-17th and mid-19th centuries...

(opera seria

Opera seria

Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to c. 1770...

) in three acts by Giuseppe Sarti

Giuseppe Sarti

Giuseppe Sarti was an Italian opera composer.-Biography:He was born at Faenza. His date of birth is not known, but he was baptised on 1 December 1729. Some earlier sources say he was born on 28 December, but his baptism certificate proves the later date impossible...

. The libretto was by Pietro Giovannini.

The opera, staged in six or seven European countries at the end of the 18th century, was the subject of a parody in Antonio Salieri

Antonio Salieri

Antonio Salieri was a Venetian classical composer, conductor and teacher born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, but who spent his adult life and career as a faithful subject of the Habsburg monarchy....

's 1786 work Prima la musica e poi le parole

Prima la musica e poi le parole

Prima la musica e poi le parole , also called Prima la musica, poi le parole is an opera in one act by Antonio Salieri. It was first performed on February 7, 1786 in Vienna, following a commission by the Emperor Joseph II...

.

Performance history

It was first performed at the Teatro San Benedetto

Teatro San Benedetto

The Teatro San Benedetto was a theatre in Venice, particularly prominent in the operatic life of the city in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It saw the premieres of over 140 operas, including Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri, and was the theatre of choice for the presentation of opera seria until...

 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 3 January 1781. The opera was revived in Ravenna

Ravenna

Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...

 in 1999 (see recording section below).

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere cast, 3 January 1781 (Conductor:Unknown)
Annio	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	Giuseppe Desirò
Arminio	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...	Pietro Gherardi
Epponina	soprano	Anna Pozzi
Sabino	soprano	Gaspare Pacchierotti Gaspare Pacchierotti Gaspare Pacchierotti was a great mezzo-soprano castrato, and one of the most famous singers of his time.-Training and first appearances:...
Tito	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	Giacomo Panati
Voadice	soprano	Felice Zannotti

Synopsis

The opera which is about the triumph of conjugal love. It is set in 1st century Gaul

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

 in the time of the Emperor Vespasian

Vespasian

Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...

.

Recording

There is a recording made in Ravenna in 1999 by the Accademia Bizantina under Ottavio Dantone

Ottavio Dantone

Ottavio Dantone is an Italian conductor and keyboardist particularly noted for his performances of Baroque music. He has been the Music Director of the Accademia Bizantina in Ravenna since 1996.-Career:...

 with Alessandra Palomba (Arminio), Sonia Prina

Sonia Prina

Sonia Prina is an Italian operatic contralto who has had an active career in concerts and operas since the mid 1990s. She is particularly known for her appearances in Baroque operas and for her performances of the Baroque concert repertoire...

(Giulio Sabino), Donatella Lombardi (Voadice), Elena Monti (Epponina), Giuseppe Filianoti (Tito), Kremena Dilcheva (Annio) (Bongiovanni CD 1173251).