''Farnace'' is an opera by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, set to a libretto by

Antonio Maria Lucchini Antonio Maria Lucchini or Luchini (Venice, c. 1690 – Venice, before 1730) was an Italian librettist. His texts were set to music by Antonio Vivaldi, Baldassare Galuppi, Leonardo Vinci, and Rinaldo di Capua, among others. Libretti *''Foca super ...

initially set by

Leonardo Vinci Leonardo Vinci (1690 – 27 May 1730) was an Italian composer known chiefly for his 40 or so operas; comparatively little of his work in other genres survives. A central proponent of the Neapolitan School of opera, his influence on subsequ ...

during 1724. Vivaldi's setting received its first performance in 1727 at the Teatro Sant'Angelo in Venice. Popular at the time, and revived with great success at the Sporck theater in Prague in 1730, Vivaldi's ''Farnace'' ( RV 711) slipped into oblivion until the last quarter of the 20th century when it emerged from obscurity.

History of the libretto

''Farnace'' is the title of several 18th-century

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

s set to various librettos. The earliest version was written by Lorenzo Morari with music by

Antonio Caldara Antonio Caldara (ca 1670 – 28 December 1736) was an Italian Baroque composer. Life Caldara was born in Venice (exact date unknown), the son of a violinist. He became a chorister at St Mark's in Venice, where he learned several instruments, ...

, first performed at the Teatro Sant'Angelo in Venice in 1703. The best known libretto on this subject, however, was written by

and set by Vinci and Vivaldi.

Corselli version

''Farnace'' was recomposed by Francesco Corselli (1705–1778) (an Italian composer with a French father). Corselli's ''Farnace'' received its debut in Madrid at the Royal Theater of the Buen Retiro in 1739. Additional settings continued to be composed as late as the 1780s. One later setting is the one composed by

Josef Mysliveček Josef Mysliveček (9 March 1737 – 4 February 1781) was a Czech composer who contributed to the formation of late eighteenth-century classicism in music. Mysliveček provided his younger friend Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with significant com ...

for the

Teatro di San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent ...

in Naples in 1767. It is mainly the Vivaldi setting that continues to attract interest today.

Roles

Synopsis

The opera tells the story of Pharnaces II; according to the uses of the time there is no historical accuracy since the fate of Pharnaces is quite different from the one in history books. Farnace, King of Pontus, has been defeated, and to avoid their falling into the hands of the enemy, he commands his wife, Tamiri, to kill their son and then herself. Tamiri's mother, Berenice, hates Farnace and is in cahoots with Pompey, the Roman victor, to kill him. Selinda, Farnace's sister, is taken captive by the Roman Aquilius, who falls in love with her, as does Berenice's Captain, Gilades. Selinda plays them off one another in an attempt to save her brother. Somehow, it ends happily and everyone is spared.

Recordings

* ''Farnace'' – Sara Mingardo, Le Concert des Nations, Coro del

Teatro de la Zarzuela The Teatro de la Zarzuela is a theatre in Madrid, Spain. The theatre is today mainly devoted to zarzuela (the Spanish traditional musical theatre genre), as well as operetta and recitals. History The theatre was designed by architect Jerónimo ...

Madrid

Jordi Savall Jordi Savall i Bernadet (; born 1 August 1941) is a Spanish conductor, composer and viol player. He has been one of the major figures in the field of Western early music since the 1970s, largely responsible for popularizing the viol family of ...

Alia Vox 2002, combined with a few selections from the Corselli version. reissued Naive with Corselli arias at the beginning of each disc removed. * ''Farnace'' –

Max Emanuel Cencic Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

, Ruxandra Donose; I Barocchisti, Diego Fasolis, cond. Rec. 2010. Virgin Classics CD * ''Il Farnace'' – Mary-Ellen Nesi,

Delphine Galou Delphine Galou (born 1977) is a French contralto. She was the "Discovery of the Year" of the French Association for the Promotion of Young Artists in 2004. Galou's outstanding vocal technique combined with noble bearing allow her performances of t ...

, Sonia Prina. Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Dario Shikhmiri: Federico Maria Sardelli Dynamic 2CD

References

Notes Sources * {{authority control Operas Operas by Antonio Vivaldi Italian-language operas 1727 operas