''Scanderbeg'' (;
RV 732) is an opera (''
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 ...
'') in three acts composed by
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...
to an Italian
libretto
A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
by
Antonio Salvi. It was first performed at the
Teatro della Pergola
The Teatro della Pergola (), sometimes known as just La Pergola, is a historic opera house in Florence, Italy. It is located in the centre of the city on the Via della Pergola, from which the theatre takes its name. It was built in 1656 under the p ...
in Florence on 22 June 1718 to mark the re-opening of the theatre to public performances. While the libretto has been preserved, only fragments of the original score remain.
[Colas and Di Profio (2009) p. 54; Strohm (2008a) p. 236]
Roles
Synopsis
The subject of the opera is
Skanderbeg
Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, ...
, the 15th-century
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
n hero.
Recordings
Two arias from the opera's second act, "S'a voi penso, o luci belle" (Ormondo) and "Con palme ed allori" (Scanderbeg), can be heard on ''Arie ritrovate'' sung by contralto
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 ...
with the Accademia Bizantina, conducted by
Ottavio Dantone
Ottavio Dantone (born 9 October 1960) is an Italian conductor and keyboardist (primarily harpsichord and fortepiano) particularly noted for his performances of Baroque music. He has been the music director of the Accademia Bizantina in Ravenna sin ...
(
Naïve Records
Naïve Records is a French independent record label based in Paris, specializing in electronic music, pop music, jazz and classical music.
Founding and expansion
It was founded in 1998 by Patrick Zelnik, former CEO of Virgin France, Gilles Paire ...
).
References
Notes
Sources
*Colas, Damien and Di Profio, Alessandro (2009). ''D'une scène à l'autre, l'opéra italien en Europe: Les pérégrinations d'un genre''. Mardaga.
*Holmes, William (1994)
''Opera Observed: Views of a Florentine Impresario in the Early Eighteenth Century'' University of Chicago Press.
*
Strohm, Reinhard (2008a). ''The Operas of Antonio Vivaldi''. Florence: Olschki.
Further reading
*Strohm, Reinhard (2008b)
''Essays on Handel and Italian Opera'' Cambridge University Press.
External links
*
{{Authority control
Operas by Antonio Vivaldi
Italian-language operas
Operas
Operas based on real people
Operas set in the 15th century
Operas set in Europe
Operas set in Albania
Cultural depictions of Skanderbeg
Opera seria
1718 operas