This is a complete list of the operas of the Czech composer
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 ...
(1737–1781). All of Mysliveček's operas are examples of
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 abou ...
(genre: ''
dramma per musica
The phrase ''dramma per musica'' (also spelled ''drama per musica''; Italian language, Italian, literally: 'play (or drama) for music', plural: ''drammi per musica'') is commonly found after the title in Italian opera librettos beginning in the ...
'') and in three acts.
List
Note: There is no reason to believe that any of the following productions cited in earlier musicological literature ever took place: ''Medea'' (
Parma
Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
, 1764); ''Erifile'' (Munich, 1773); ''Achille in Sciro'' (Naples, 1775); and ''Merope'' (Naples, 1775). Furthermore, there is no reason to believe that Mysliveček contributed any music to a production of ''Armida'' that took place in
Lucca
Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...
in 1778.
[Documentation of how all of these spurious productions entered the musicological literature is found in Catalog II of Freeman, ''Josef Mysliveček''.] The
cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
''Il Parnaso confuso'' is sometimes referred to in error as Mysliveček's first opera. Reports that it was performed in Parma in 1765 are conjectural; there is no documentation to verify its true date of composition or the venue of its first performance.
Recordings
* Opera ''
Medonte''. L'Arte del Mondo. dir. Werner Ehrhardt, dhm, 2011
* Opera ''
Il Bellerofonte''. Prague Chamber Orchestra dir.
Zoltán Peskó
Zoltán Peskó (15 February 1937 – 31 March 2020) was a Hungarian conductor and composer who held leading positions at German, Italian and Portuguese opera houses and orchestras, including the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Comunale di Bologn ...
, Supraphon, 2003
References
Further reading
*
Daniel E. Freeman
Daniel Evan Freeman (born 27 April 1959) is an American musicologist who specializes in European art music of the eighteenth century, in particular the musical culture of eighteenth-century Prague and the Bohemian lands. He is also active as a ...
, ''Josef Mysliveček, "Il Boemo": The Man and His Music'', Detroit Monographs in Musicology, (Sterling Heights, Michigan: Harmonie Park Press, 2009), pp. 321–332.
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Lists of operas by composer
Lists of compositions by composer