''Bajazet'' () is an opera by
Francesco Gasparini
Francesco Gasparini (19 March 1661 – 22 March 1727) was an Italian Baroque composer and teacher whose works were performed throughout Italy, and also on occasion in Germany and England.
Biography
Born in Camaiore, near Lucca, he studied ...
, a revision of his 1711 work ''
Tamerlano''. It was first performed at the Teatro Pubblico in
Reggio Emilia
Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...
in 1719, with designs by Pietro Righini.
The first production included
Francesco Borosini in the title role,
Antonio Bernacchi (Tamerlano), Marina Benta Bulgarelli (Asteria),
Faustina Bordoni
Faustina Bordoni (30 March 1697 – 4 November 1781) was an Italian mezzo-soprano.
In Hamburg, Germany, the Johann Adolph Hasse Museum is dedicated to her husband and partly to Bordoni.
Early career
She was born in Venice and brought up und ...
(Irene),
Diana Vico (Andronico), Antonio Piasi (Clearco), Battista Roberti (Leone) and Girolamo Bartoluzzi Regiano (Zaida).
A second production was staged in Venice in 1723. Three versions of the work are known, but it is only the 1719 one for which all the music is known to have survived.
Composition
''Bajazet'' was a nearly complete rewrite of ''Tamerlano'' - there are only six arias in common between them. The rewriting was prompted by the need to rework the material around the renowned tenor Francesco Borosini. The original libretto by Agostino Piovene was extensively rewritten by Ippolito Zanelli - the role of Bajazet was expanded and made central to the new work, with his suicide now shown on stage rather than merely described.
The number of parts and the distribution of arias also changed significantly between ''Tamerlano'' and ''Bajazet''. Musically the focus of ''Tamerlano'' was Asteria, who had 9 arias, with only 6 for Bajazet and 5 for Tamerlano. The parts in ''Bajazet'' are more evenly balanced, and the minor characters were rewritten and given more arias to sing.
Roles
Influence
When Borosini went to London in 1724, he brought with him the score for ''Bajazet'' and showed it to
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
. Handel had already written his own opera ''
Tamerlano'' on the basis of the 1711 Piovene libretto, simplifying it by eliminating all the secondary characters except Leone. However when Borosini showed him the score for ''Bajazet'' he rewrote his own material again, adding in a death scene for Borosini in the title role.
The libretto Handel eventually used was written for him by
Nicola Francesco Haym
Nicola Francesco Haym (6 July 1678 – 31 July 1729) was an Italian opera librettist, composer, theatre manager and performer, literary editor and Numismatics, numismatist. He is best remembered for adapting texts into libretti for the London op ...
and amalgamated elements from Gasparini’s libretto from both 1711 and 1719.
Handel also cut much of the recitative in Gasparini’s version, as was his usual practice.
Modern revival
Gasparini’s 1719 score may have been performed once of twice after the Reggio Emilia production, but the work was then neglected until 2014, when it was revived by
Auser Musici and performed at the
Opera Barga Festival.
References
{{reflist
External links
Scanned versions of the libretto for the first production
18th-century operas
Italian Baroque
1719 operas
Operas by Francesco Gasparini