''Eteocle e Polinice'' (

Eteocles In Greek mythology, Eteocles (; ) was a king of Ancient Thebes (Boeotia), Thebes, the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia. Oedipus killed his father Laius and married his mother without knowing his relationship to either. When the ...

and

Polynices In Greek mythology, Polynices (also Polyneices) (; ) was the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia and the older brother of Eteocles. When Oedipus was discovered to have killed his father and married his mother, Oedipus was expelled ...

) is an

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 ...

in 3 acts composed by

Giovanni Legrenzi Giovanni Legrenzi (baptized August 12, 1626 – May 27, 1690) was an Italian composer of opera, vocal and instrumental music, and organist, of the Baroque era. He was one of the most prominent composers in Venice in the late 17th century, and ext ...

with an Italian-language

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 Tebaldo Fattorini based on '' The Thebaid''. The opera premiered at the Teatro San Salvador in Venice on 13 December 1674.

Background and performance history

Little is known about the opera's librettist, Tebaldo Fattorini, apart from the fact that he came from a prominent family in

Chioggia Chioggia (; , ; ) is a coastal town and (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Geography The town is located on a small island at the southern entrance to the Venetian Lagoon about sou ...

and was employed as a "house poet" for the Teatro San Salvador in Venice. In addition to writing ''Eteocle e Polinice'', he also significantly revised

Nicolò Minato Count Nicolò Minato (b. Bergamo, ca. 1627; d. Vienna, 28 February 1698) was an Italian poet, librettist and impresario. His career can be divided into two parts: the years he spent at Venice, from 1650 to 1669, and the years at Vienna, from 1669 u ...

's libretto for a new version of Cavalli's ''Scipione africano'' in 1677 and may also have revised Giovanni Giovannini's original libretto for its setting by Legrenzi as ''Adone in Cipro'' in 1675. The libretto for the premiere performances of ''Eteocle e Polinice'' at the Teatro San Salvador in 1674 was dedicated of the "most noble ladies of Venice" ("Consacrato alle nobilissime dame di Venetia"). Subsequent productions of the opera with new dedications were staged in Naples (1689), Milan (1684), and Modena (1690). The opera consists of a total of 101 musical pieces, including arias, duets, quartets, etc. Its most well known aria, "Che fiero costume" (also known by its English title, "How void of compassion"), has been recorded by several well known opera singers, including

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

Ezio Pinza Ezio Fortunato Pinza (May 18, 1892May 9, 1957) was an Italian opera singer. Pinza possessed a rich, smooth and sonorous voice, with a flexibility unusual for a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 75 ...

, and

Richard Tucker Richard Tucker (August 28, 1913January 8, 1975) was an American operatic tenor and cantor. Long associated with the Metropolitan Opera, Tucker's career was primarily centered in the United States. Early life Tucker was born Rivn (Rubin) Ticker ...

. A manuscript score from the 1689 Neapolitan production has survived.

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

made specific reference to this opera in ''

Die schweigsame Frau ''Die schweigsame Frau'' (''The Silent Woman''), Op. 80, is a 1935 comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to a libretto by Stefan Zweig after Ben Jonson's 1609 comedy '' Epicœne, or The Silent Woman''. Composition history Since '' Elek ...

'', recomposing "Dolce Amor" as a duet which is sung in the course of the music lesson scene in act 3, as one of many such re-appropriations of pre-existing music Strauss used to create an "antique" atmosphere.

Roles

* Eteocle, ''King of

Thebes Thebes or Thebae may refer to one of the following places: *Thebes, Egypt, capital of Egypt under the 11th, early 12th, 17th and early 18th Dynasties *Thebes, Greece, a city in Boeotia *Phthiotic Thebes Phthiotic Thebes ( or Φθιώτιδες Θ ...

''Fattorini, Tebaldo (1675)
''Eteocle, e Polinice''
Francesco Nicolini * Polinice, ''Eteocle's brother'' *

Antigone ANTIGONE (Algorithms for coNTinuous / Integer Global Optimization of Nonlinear Equations), is a deterministic global optimization solver for general Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programs (MINLP). History ANTIGONE is an evolution of GloMIQO, a global ...

, ''Eteocle and Polinice's sister'' *Arbante, ''Antigone's tutor'' *Cleante, ''Eteocle's confidante'' *Adrasto, ''King of

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece * Argus (Greek myth), several characters in Greek mythology * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer in the United Kingdom Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

'' *Deifile, ''Adrasto's daughter, a warrior-princess'' *Argia, ''Deifile's sister'' *Silena, ''Argia's nurse'' *Tideo, ''Prince of

Aetolia Aetolia () is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous River separates Aetolia from Acarnania to the west; on ...

'' *Lenone, ''Tideo's servant'' *''Eteocle's soldiers, Polinice's retinue, Antigone's pages, Adrasto's archers'' (silent roles)

Synopsis

The immediate source of the libretto was the Latin poem '' The Thebaid'' by

Statius Publius Papinius Statius (Greek language, Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; , ; ) was a Latin poetry, Latin poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid (Latin poem), Theb ...

wherein despite entreaties from their sister

the brothers

and

went to war with each other over who should rule

. It ended with the principal characters all dying tragically through murder, suicide, or grief. However, Tebaldo Fattorini's libretto has a happy ending in which Antigone is reunited with Tideo, Prince of

, and Eteocle is reunited with the warrior-princess Deifile. The victorious Adrasto, the King of

who had been the ally of Polynices, supervises the return to peace and harmony.

References

{{Authority control 1674 operas Operas Italian-language operas Operas by Giovanni Legrenzi Operas based on classical mythology Operas based on literature