"Sposa son disprezzata" ("I am wife and I am scorned") is an Italian

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

written by

Geminiano Giacomelli Geminiano Giacomelli (sometimes Jacomelli) (28 May 1692 – 25 January 1740) was an Italian composer. Biography Giacomelli was born in Piacenza. In 1724 he was named to the post of ''Kapellmeister'' to the duke of Parma. Beginning with the fir ...

. It is used in

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

pasticcio In music, a ''pasticcio'' or ''pastiche'' is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, o ...

, '' Bajazet''. The music for this

was not composed by

. The aria, originally called ''Sposa, non mi conosci'', was taken from the

's opera '' La Merope'' (1734), composed before Vivaldi's pasticcio ''Bajazet''. It was a common practice during Vivaldi's time to compile arias from other composers with one own's work for an opera. Vivaldi himself composed the arias for the good characters and mostly used existing arias from other composers for the villains in this opera. "Sposa son disprezzata" is sung by a villain character, Irene. Vivaldi has recently been attributed as the composer of the work, perhaps because

Cecilia Bartoli Cecilia Bartoli, Cavaliere OMRI (; born 4 June 1966) is an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best known for her interpretations of the music of Bellini, Handel, Mozart, Rossini and Vivaldi, as well as for her ...

's album "If You Love Me—'Se tu m'ami': Eighteenth-Century Italian Songs," which uses

Alessandro Parisotti Alessandro Parisotti (24 July 1853 – 4 April 1913) was an Italian composer and music editor. Life and career Though also a composer, Alessandro Parisotti is better known today as the original editor of a collection of songs known as ''Arie ...

's 19th-century piano version, attributes the work solely to Vivaldi.

Libretto

{, !

Italian

Translation in English

, - , style="padding-right: 3em;" , Sposa son disprezzata,
fida son oltraggiata,
cieli che feci mai?
E pur egl'è il mio cor
il mio sposo, il mio amor,
la mia speranza. L'amo ma egl'è infedel
spero ma egl'è crudel,
morir mi lascierai?
O Dio manca il valor
valor e la costanza. , style="padding-left: 3em;" , I am a scorned wife,
faithful, yet insulted.
Heavens, what did I do?
And yet he is my heart,
my husband, my love,
my hope. I love him, but he is unfaithful,
I hope, but he is cruel,
will he let me die?
O God, courage is missing -
courage and constancy.
In the 1880s adaptation by Alessandro Parisotti, the second stanza is left out. This adaptation is the most widely heard, popularized by mezzo-soprano

in the aforementioned album ''If You Love Me (Se tu m'ami)''.

References

Groves Music Online
(subscription required)

Who composed "Sposa son disprezzata"?

Opera excerpts Antonio Vivaldi