''Farnace'' is an opera by Italian composer

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 ...

, set to a libretto by Antonio Maria Lucchini initially set by

Leonardo Vinci Leonardo Vinci (1690 – 27 May 1730) was an Italian Baroque 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 ...

during 1724. Vivaldi's setting received its first performance in 1727 at the

Teatro Sant'Angelo The Teatro San Angelo (in Venetian) or Teatro Sant'Angelo (in Italian) was once a theatre in Venice which ran from 1677 until 1803. It was the last of the major Venetian theatres to be built in the 1650s–60s opera craze following Teatro Santi ...

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 History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s set to various

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 ...

s. The earliest version was written by Lorenzo Morari with music by

Antonio Caldara Antonio Caldara ( – 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, probab ...

, first performed at the Teatro Sant'Angelo in Venice in 1703. The best known libretto on this subject, however, was written by Antonio Maria Lucchini and set by Vinci and Vivaldi.

Corselli version

''Farnace'' was recomposed by

Francesco Corselli Francesco Corselli, sometimes given in the French spelling François Courcelle, (Piacenza, 19 April 1705 - 3 April 1778 in Madrid) was an Italian composer of the pre-classical period born to French parents in Italy. Biography 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 a historic opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and ...

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 Sara Mingardo (born 2 March 1961) is an Italian classical contralto who has had an active international career in concerts and operas since the 1980s. Her complete recording of Anna in Hector Berlioz's '' Les Troyens'' won a Gramophone Award and ...

, 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 Jerónim ...

Madrid

Jordi Savall Jordi Savall i Bernadet (; born 1 August 1941) is a Spanish Conducting, 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 ...

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, Ruxandra Donose; I Barocchisti,

Diego Fasolis Diego Fasolis (born 19 April 1958) is a Swiss classical organist and conductor, the leader of the ensemble I Barocchisti. He has conducted operas in historically informed performance at major European opera houses and festivals, and has made award- ...

, cond. Rec. 2010. Virgin Classics CD * ''Il Farnace'' – Mary-Ellen Nesi,

Delphine Galou Delphine Galou (born 1977) is a French contralto. Her vocal style allows her to perform the most virtuoso roles of the baroque repertoire. Early life and education Galou was born in Paris in 1977. She studied philosophy at the Sorbonne while a ...

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 ...

. 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