''Il pastor fido'' (''The Faithfull Shepherd'' in Richard Fanshawe's 1647 English translation) is a pastoral

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragic and comic forms. Most often seen in dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the overall mood or a seriou ...

set in Arcadia by

Giovanni Battista Guarini Giovanni Battista Guarini (10 December 1538 – 7 October 1612) was an Italian poet, dramatist, and diplomat. Life Guarini was born in Ferrara. On the termination of his studies at the universities of Pisa, Padua and Ferrara, he was appointed pr ...

, first published in 1590 in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

Plot summary

To redress an ancient wrong, the gods of Arcadia every year demand the sacrifice of a virgin. According to the oracle, this curse can only be lifted when a young man and a young woman, each of godly descent, are wed. In Arcadia there are now only two that can claim such lineage: the young Silvio (the son of the priest Montano, and a descendant of Hercules) and the nymph Amarilli (the daughter of Titiro, and a descendant of Pan). Thus the two have been promised to each other in marriage. The play unfolds a double plot. One storyline follows Silvio, who cares only for the hunt and gives no thought to love or to his impending marriage. Silvio is pursued by a nymph named Dorinda. She tries to win his love in several ways, but he scorns her affections. One day Dorinda, seeking to watch Silvio as he hunts, disguises herself as a shepherd wearing wolfskin clothes. After the hunt, she departs and lies down to rest. From a distance, Silvio mistakes her for a wolf and shoots her with an arrow. Having wounded Dorinda, Silvio is at last awakened to pity, and to love. In another storyline, Amarilli is loved by a foreign shepherd named Mirtillo. Amarilli loves Mirtillo in return, but keeps her feelings secret since she knows she must marry Silvio. Meanwhile, the faithless nymph Corisca is also in love with Mirtillo; Corisca is in turn loved by the shepherd Coridon, as well as a lustful satyr. Corisca plots to eliminate Amarilli. She sets up an elaborate ruse, hoping to trap Amarilli in a cave with Coridon. This will make it look as if Amarilli has broken her impending marriage vows to Silvio, for which the punishment is death. But the plan goes awry and it is Mirtillo who is trapped in the cave with Amarilli. The two are discovered by the priest Montano (Silvio's father), who condemns Amarilli to die as a sacrifice to the gods. Mirtillo (the faithful shepherd) demands that he be sacrificed instead, and so takes Amarilli's place. At the last minute, it is discovered that Mirtillo is really Montano's long-lost son, so that Amarilli and Mirtillo can be married and still fulfill the demands of the oracle. Corisca repents and is forgiven. Amarilli and Mirtillo are wed, as are Silvio and a healed Dorinda.

Composition and publication

Most likely Guarini wrote the play between 1580 and 1585. Prior to publication he sought the advice of Florentine scholar Lionardo Salviati, who also circulated the manuscript among other members of the private Accademia degli Alterati of Florence. Salviati's criticisms were varied, including characterisation, plot, length, decorum, and overall unsuitability for the stage; however these criticisms did not stop Guarini from publishing it at Venice in 1590, after some revisions. On 4 April 1584

Vincenzo Gonzaga Vincenzo Ι Gonzaga (21 September 1562 – 9 February 1612) was ruler of the Duchy of Mantua and the Duchy of Montferrat from 1587 to 1612. Biography Vincenzo was the only son of Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, and Archduchess Eleanor of Au ...

sent a letter to Guarini requesting the manuscript, intending to mount a production for his marriage to Leonora de' Medici at Mantua at the end of April. Guarini responded that he was yet to write the final act and all of the choruses, so a performance would be premature. There was a failed attempt later in 1584 to put on a performance, this time at Ferrara. The play had its first complete performance in Turin, in 1585, in honor of the nuptials of the

Duke of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy at ...

and Catharine of Austria. In the next year a pamphlet war erupted between proponents and opponents of the play, which was to continue until 1593.Fenlon, 91 Guarini continued to revise the play after the first publication, the last revision being for the 20th edition of 1602 (Venice). It appeared in over a hundred editions following its first publication.

Influence

One of the most famous plays of the 17th century, it inspired numerous

madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance music, Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque music, Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The Polyphony, polyphoni ...

composers, including

Giaches de Wert Giaches de Wert (also Jacques/Jaches de Wert, Giaches de Vuert; 1535 – 6 May 1596) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance, active in Italy. Intimately connected with the progressive musical center of Ferrara, he was one of the lea ...

, Claudio Monteverdi,

Sigismondo d'India Sigismondo d'India (c. 1582 – before 19 April 1629) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was one of the most accomplished contemporaries of Monteverdi, and wrote music in many of the same forms as the more ...

Alessandro Grandi Alessandro Grandi (1590 – after June 1630, but in that year) was a northern Italian composer of the early Baroque era, writing in the new concertato style. He was one of the most inventive, influential, and popular composers of the time, proba ...

, Tarquinio Merula, and

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...

;

Philippe de Monte Philippe de Monte (1521 – 4 July 1603), sometimes known as Philippus de Monte, was a Flemish composer of the late Renaissance active all over Europe. He was a member of the 3rd generation madrigalists and wrote more madrigals than any other comp ...

named a volume after the play. The first operatic treatment was Handel's HWV 8 in 1712. The ''Il pastor fido'' sonatas for

Musette de cour The musette de cour or baroque musette is a musical instrument of the bagpipe family. Visually, the musette is characterised by the short, cylindrical shuttle-drone and the two chalumeaux. Both the chanters and the drones have a cylindrical b ...

or flute published as Vivaldi's opus 13 are in fact by

Nicolas Chédeville Nicolas Chédeville (20 February 1705 – 6 August 1782) was a French composer, musette player and musette maker. Biography Nicolas Chédeville was born in Serez, Normandy; musicians Pierre Chédeville (1694–1725) and Esprit Philippe Chéde ...

References

External links

''The Faithful Shepherd'' (1809)
anonymous translation on

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17c translation
into Neapolitan at

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...

English synopsisConcert preview article
by Warren Stewart {{DEFAULTSORT:Pastor Fido Italian plays Plays based on classical mythology Tragicomedy plays 1580s plays Plays adapted into operas