''Ezio'' is an

opera seria ''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abo ...

from the Early Classical Period in three acts composed by

Christoph Willibald Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...

, staged in 1750 and revised in 1763.

History

Metastasio Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of ''opera seria'' libretti. Early life Me ...

's libretto for this opera had previously been set by a number of composers, including

Nicola Porpora Nicola (or Niccolò) Antonio Porpora (17 August 16863 March 1768) was an Italian composer and teacher of singing of the Baroque era, whose most famous singing students were the castrati Farinelli and Caffarelli. Other students included compose ...

(1728) and Pietro Auletta (1728), Hasse (Naples, 1730; Dresden, 1755),

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

(London, 1732) and Latilla (Naples, 1758). ''Ezio'' was first performed during

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

in Prague (1750); Gluck revised his setting for Vienna (1763). Unlike the two completely different settings of the text by Mysliveček, Naples (1775) and Munich (1777), Gluck's two versions share about half their music.

Roles

* Ezio, general (alto castrato), who loves Fulvia * Valentiniano, emperor (soprano castrato), who loves Fulvia * Massimo, Roman patrician (tenor), conspiring against Valentiniano * Fulvia, Massimo's daughter (soprano), who loves Ezio * Onoria, sister of Valentiniano, who loves Ezio * Varo, prefect and confidant of Ezio

Synopsis

:Time: 453 AD as the Christian general Aetius has just defeated

Attila the Hun Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and Ea ...

. :Ancient Rome After many plot turns,http://www.parnassus.at/uploads/tx_artistsdb/Broschuere_EZIO_EN_05_04_2013_WEB.pdf at the end Ezio saves the emperor from the plot of Massimo, who is arrested but spared. In gratitude Valentiniano allows Fulvia and Ezio to marry.

The Prague ''Ezio'' 1750

The original ''Ezio'', a full-blown

with no trace of the Gluck "reform" to come, was premiered at impresario Giovanni Battista Locatelli's theatre on v Kotcích Street (German "Kotzentheater", Czech " Divadlo v Kotcích") and ran for two seasons.

The Vienna ''Ezio'' 1763

Gluck, as Handel and Vivaldi before him and all composers of his time, naturally recycled the "numbers" (arias and choruses) from older operas, rewriting the connecting recitative as necessary. In 1763 he reused nearly half of the 25 musical numbers from the Prague ''Ezio'' of 13 years earlier, avoiding material like "Se povero il ruscello" from the Prague ''Ezio'' which he had already used at the Vienna Burgtheater the previous year in the Vienna ''Orfeo'' as "Che puro ciel," and Gluck filled up the rest with 7 arias from ''

Il trionfo di Clelia ''Il trionfo di Clelia'' is an Italian opera libretto by Metastasio originally written for Johann Adolf Hasse Johann Adolph Hasse (baptised 25 March 1699 – 16 December 1783) was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Im ...

,'' which was also unknown to Viennese audiences. Recycling the arias from the Prague ''Ezio'' and ''Il trionfo di Clelia'' still required Gluck to transpose and adjust for the new singers, and reorchestrate for a bigger orchestra. Gluck also trimmed the opera by shortening the overture and cutting repeats. Ezio was sung by

Gaetano Guadagni Gaetano Guadagni (16 February 1728 – 11 November 1792) was an Italian mezzo-soprano castrato singer, most famous for singing the role of Orpheus at the premiere of Gluck's opera '' Orfeo ed Euridice'' in 1762. Career Born at Lodi, Guadagni ...

, Valentiniano by Giovanni Toschi, Massimo by Giuseppe Tibaldi, and Fulvia by Rosa Tibaldi.

Recordings

* Prague version 1750: Jana Levicová (Ezio) Eva Müllerová (Fulvia), Martin Šrejma (Massimo), Michaela Šrůmová (Valentiniano), Ondřej Socha (Varo), Yukiko Šrejmová (Kinjo),

Prague Symphony Orchestra The Prague Symphony Orchestra (Prague, Czech Republic, cs, Symfonický orchestr hlavního města Prahy ''FOK'') is a Czech orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra has traditionally been known by the acronym 'FOK', standing for 'Film-Opera-Koncert' ...

Chamber Players dir. Jiří Petrdlík, ArcoDiva Classics 2010 * Prague version 1750:

Sonia Prina Sonia Prina (born 30 November 1975) 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 c ...

(Ezio),

Max Emanuel Cenčić Max Emanuel Cenčić (born 21 September 1976) is a Croatian countertenor, as of 1994 based in Austria. He was a member of the Wiener Sängerknaben. Early career as a boy soprano Born Max Emanuel Cenčić in Zagreb, he started singing at a ve ...

(Valentiniano),

Topi Lehtipuu Topi Lehtipuu (born 24 March 1971 in Brisbane, Australia) is a Finnish operatic tenor. He has sung a variety of roles from different periods, including the title role in Benjamin Britten's ''Albert Herring'' at the Finnish National Opera, several ...

(Massimo), Ann Hallenberg (Fulvia), Julian Pregardien (Varo), Mayuko Karasava (Onorio), Il Complesso Barocco, Alan Curtis. Virgin Classics 2010 * Prague version 1750: Matthias Rexroth countertenor (Ezio), Mariselle Martinez (Fulvia), Max Emanuel Cencic (Valentiniano), Netta Or (Onoria), Mirko Roschkowski (Massimo), Andréas Post (Varo), Neue Düsseldorfer Hofmusik, dir. Andreas Stoehr, Coviello Classics 2009 * Vienna version 1763: Franco Fagioli countertenor (Ezio), Ruth Sandhoff (Valentiniano), Kirsten Blaise (Fulvia), Sophie Marin-Dregor (Onoria), Stefano Ferrari (Massimo), Netta Or (Varo), Orchester der Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, dir

Michael Hofstetter Michael Hofstetter (born 6 September 1961) is a German conductor and academic. He was chief conductor of the festival Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele from 2005 to 2012, and has been Generalmusikdirektor of Gießen since. He has worked internation ...

. Oehms Classics. 2007

Current location

The manuscript is now located at the

Lobkowicz Palace The Lobkowicz Palace ( cs, Lobkowický palác) is a part of the Prague Castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the only privately owned building in the Prague Castle complex and houses the Lobkowicz Collections and Museum. The palace wa ...

in Prague,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, where it can be viewed in the Beethoven Room.

References

;Notes ; Sources *Buschmeier, Gabriele, '' ''Ezio'' in Prag und Wien: Bemerkungen zu den beiden Fassungen von Glucks ''Ezio''.'' 2003. Compares the versions of ''Ezio'' given in Prague in 1749 and Vienna in 1763 *Howard, Patricia, ''Christoph Willibald Gluck: a guide to research'', New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1987 *https://web.archive.org/web/20150415103002/http://www.lobkowicz.cz/en/Highlights-from-The-Collections-47.htm?item=503 {{Authority control 1750 operas 1763 operas Works set in the 5th century Fiction set in ancient Rome Italian-language operas Operas by Christoph Willibald Gluck Operas Valentinian III Cultural depictions of Flavius Aetius