''Tamerlano'' (''

Tamerlane Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol tradition, Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timuri ...

'') is a tragic opera in three acts 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 ...

based on a

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 . It was first performed at the

Teatro San Cassiano The Teatro San Cassiano (or Teatro di San Cassiano and other variants) was the world's first public opera house, inaugurated as such in 1637 in Venice. The first mention of its construction dates back to 1581. The name with which it is best known co ...

in Venice on 24 January 1711. Piovene’s libretto was based on ''Tamerlan ou La mort de Bajazet'' by

Jacques Pradon Jacques Pradon, often called Nicolas Pradon (1632 – 14 January 1698), was a French playwright. Early in his career, he was helped by Pierre Corneille and was introduced to the salons at the Hôtel de Nevers and the Hôtel de Bouillon by Madame ...

(1675). It was Piovene’s second libretto as well as his second collaboration with Gasparini. ''Tamerlano'' was Gasparini’s most famous opera, distinguished by the unusual decision to assign the role of Bajazet to a

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

, Giovanni Paita, rather than to a

castrato A castrato (Italian; : castrati) is a male singer who underwent castration before puberty in order to retain a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice can also occur in one who, due to an endocrino ...

Roles

The opera’s role were Tamerlano (soprano), Bajazet (tenor), Asteria (soprano), Andronico (alto), Irene (soprano), Clearco, Leone and Zaida. The prima donna role was Astoria with nine arias; Bajazet had six, Tamerlano five, while Andronico and Irene had four each.

Plot

The plot concerns a series of dilemmas facing the Turkish sovereign Bajazet who has been defeated and humiliated by Tamerlano, emperor of the Tartars. Tamerlane cannot destroy Bajazet because he loves his daughter Asteria; Bajazet wishes to end the humiliation of his defeat by committing suicide but fears for his daughter’s safety; Asteria would like to reject Tamerlane in favour of Andronico but cannot because of his complicity with Tamerlane; Andronico cannot openly declare his love for Asteria because of the bonds of duty to her father; Irene wants to end her engagement to Tamerlane but is obliged to wait. Finally Asteria, Andronico and Bajazet defy Tamerlane who condemns them all, bringing about a crisis that is resolved only by Bajazet’s suicide. Only a couple of arias remain from the 1711 version.

Later productions and adaptation

In 1714 ''Tamerlano'' was staged at the in Genoa. In 1719 Gasparini revised the work for a new production 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 ...

. Now entitled ''Bajazet'', this new version starred tenor Francesco Borosini in the title role.

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 ...

certainly studied both of Gasparini’s versions of the opera before creating his own '' Tamerlano'' in 1724.

Notes and references

Notes References

External links

Piovene’s libretto for ''Tamerlano''
{{Portal bar, Opera Operas by Francesco Gasparini 18th-century operas Italian Baroque 1711 operas Operas based on real people Cultural depictions of Timur Operas set in the 14th century Operas set in the 15th century Operas set in Turkey Cultural depictions of Bayezid I