- View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1964 Vinyl release of La Fida Ninfa on Discogs. Vivaldi. – La Fida Ninfa Label: VOX (6) – DLBX 210 Series: Musica Rediviva (3) – Format: 3.
- For the music in La fida ninfa is full of melody, depth, pathos, invention and originality of instrumentation, vocal expressiveness and dramatic impact from beginning to end. So much so that, thanks to the perceptive and measured conception and direction of conductor Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Ensemble Matheus and the seven soloists, the work would make an excellent introduction for anyone open to expanding their appreciation of Vivaldi.
La fida ninfa premiered during carnival of 1732 in Verona, at the Teatro Filarmonico. The librettist of the text was Maffei. The work was composed to help celebrate the opening of the theater, which had been postponed for two years. In 1730, the city of Verona was surrounded by foreign military troops, and they decided to keep the theater closed and not have a gala opening until after the foreign troops had left the area. The production of the premiere was spectacular, and included elaborate ballets by Andrea Cattani, a famous ballet master from Poland, as well as sumptuous sets by Francesco Bibiena. La fida ninfa is an unusual opera for Vivaldi, in that it has many arias that are in non-da capo forms. By the 1730s, most operas were constructed out of recitatives and large-scale, formally developed da capo arias. There are several binary forms in this opera, and extremely abbreviated or altered da capo structures, which are adapted to the drama. There are also several important vocal ensembles, which is also unusual in an opera seria. Other important arias include “Dite oime,” in which the expressive, affective melody in the voice is accompanied only by the continuo. Here, the solo melodic line is all important, and filled with extreme chromaticism that expresses the affliction, suffering, and anguish of Morasto. One of Oralto’s arias is a unison aria, and features the bass voice singing the same part as the lower continuo line. Another of his arias is a trumpet aria written in the triumphal key of D major, and featuring trumpets and tamburo in the accompaniment. Large-scale ensembles close the acts, and serve as climaxes to the action. At the end of Act I there is an important vocal trio, while Act II ends with a four-part chorus complemented by trumpets, drums, and strings, with intervening solo sections for some of the characters. The finale to the opera is also long and elaborate. It contains an instrumental sinfonia for strings and horns called “Tempesta di Mare” which depicts a storm of the sea. Much of the material for this piece was derived from Vivaldi’s E flat major Violin Concerto, RV 253.
—Rita Laurance, Rovi
La fida ninfa Alt ernative. Title Composer Vivaldi, Antonio: Opus/Catalogue Number Op./Cat. RV 714 I-Catalogue Number I-Cat. IAV 235 Movements/Sections Mov'ts/Sec's: 3 Acts First Perf ormance. 1732-01-06 in Verona: Teatro Filarmonico Premiere Cast Giovanna Gasparini (Licori) Girolama Madonis (Elpina) Francesco Venturini (Oralto). Anna Prohaska - Alma Oppressa - Vivaldi (Official Video)Listen to „Enchanted Forest“ – here – The Best Of Classical M.
Read more and libretto: http://www.librettidopera.it/zpdf/fidaninfa.pdf
| Griselda | |
|---|---|
| Dramma per musica by Antonio Vivaldi | |
| Librettist | Apostolo Zeno, Carlo Goldoni |
| Premiere | 18 May 1735 |
Griselda (Italian pronunciation: [ɡriˈzɛlda]) is a dramma per musica in three acts that was composed by Antonio Vivaldi. The opera uses a revised version of the 1701 Italian libretto by Apostolo Zeno that was based on Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron (X, 10, 'The Patient Griselda').[1] The celebrated Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni was hired to adapt the libretto for Vivaldi. The opera was first performed in Venice at the Teatro San Samuele on 18 May 1735.[2]
Composition history[edit]
Michael Talbot notes that 'the particular fame of this opera arises from the fact that it involved a collaboration with Goldoni,' although one which was initially fraught with problems,[3] but he goes on to note that the two men eventually worked out an amicable compromise in the revision of an old libretto to fit the vocal limitations of the first Griselda, Anna Girò.
Performance history[edit]
The opera's first modern performance was in concert on 11 May 1978 in the English Bach Festival with John Eliot Gardiner as conductor.[4][5] The opera was given its UK theatrical premiere on 23 July 1983 as part of the Buxton Festival, while in the US, it was not presented until 2000.[6]
Today, Griselda is rarely performed, but it featured as one of the 2011 festival season presentations of The Santa Fe Opera. Pinchgut Opera (Sydney) staged four performances November–December 2011 in the City Recital Hall and in Rio de Janeiro Municipal Theatre in June 2012 in concert form with Francesconi, Franco, Nardotto, Bitar, Christensson and Faria conducted by Marco Pace. Two arias from the opera have become popular concert pieces with singers such as Cecilia Bartoli and Simone Kermes. These are 'Agitata da due venti' from act 2 and 'Dopo un'orrida procella' from act 3.
On the 12 October 2019, Irish National Opera staged a production of the work in Galway's Town Hall Theatre. This was the first ever performance of any Vivaldi opera in Ireland.[7]
Roles[edit]
| Role | Voice type[8] | Premiere Cast, 18 May 1735[8] |
|---|---|---|
| Gualtiero, King of Thessaly | tenor | Gregorio Babbi[9] |
| Griselda, wife of Gualtiero | contralto | Anna Girò |
| Costanza, their daughter, unknown to Griselda, in love with Roberto | soprano | Margherita Giacomazzi |
| Roberto, an Athenian Prince, in love with Costanza | soprano castrato | Gaetano Valletta |
| Ottone, a Thessalian nobleman | soprano castrato | Lorenzo Saletti |
| Corrado, Roberto's brother, friend of Gualtiero | soprano (en travesti) | Elisabetta Gasparini |
| Everardo, son of Gualterio and Griselda | silent | Unknown |
Synopsis[edit]
Act 1[edit]
Years before the action begins, Gualtiero, King of Thessaly, had married a poor shepherdess, Griselda. The marriage was deeply unpopular with the king's subjects and when a daughter, Costanza, was born, the king had to pretend to have her killed while secretly sending her to be brought up by Prince Corrado of Athens. Now, after the recent birth of a son has led to another rebellion from the Thessalians against Griselda as a queen, Gualtiero is forced to dismiss her and promises to take a new wife. The proposed bride is in fact Costanza, who is unaware of her true parentage and unknown to Griselda. She is in love with Corrado's younger brother, Roberto, and the thought of being forced to marry Gualtiero drives her to despair.
Act 2[edit]
Costanza sings of her torn affections (betrothed to Gualtiero but in love with Roberto) in the coloratura aria Agitata da due venti. Griselda returns to her home in the countryside where she is pursued by the villainous courtier Ottone, who is completely besotted with her and has surreptitiously fomented the popular uprisings in order to derail her marriage. She angrily rejects his advances. Gualtiero and his followers go out hunting and come across Griselda's cottage. Gualtiero foils an attempt by Ottone to kidnap Griselda and allows her back to the court, but only as Costanza's slave.
Act 3[edit]
Ottone still resolutely pursues Griselda and Gualtiero promises him her hand as soon as he himself has married Costanza. Griselda absolutely refuses and declares she would rather die. At this point, Gualtiero embraces her, having demonstrated her virtue to the rebellious people, and takes her back as his wife. Gualtiero and Corrado reveal the true identity of Costanza, Ottone is pardoned and the girl is allowed to marry Roberto.
La Fida Ninfa Vivaldi
Recordings[edit]
| Year | Cast (Griselda, Gualtiero, Roberto, Costanza, Ottone, Corrado) | Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Marie-Nicole Lemieux Steffano Ferrari Philippe Jaroussky Verónica Cangemi Simone Kermes Iestyn Davies | Jean-Christophe Spinosi Ensemble Matheus | Audio CD: naïve |
| 2008 | Marion Newman Giles Tomkins Lynne McMurtry Carla Huhtanen Colin Ainsworth Nedecky | Kevin Mallon Aradia Ensemble | Audio CD: Naxos Cat: 8.660211-13[2] |
| 2011 | Caitlin Hulcup Christopher Saunders Tobias Cole Miriam Allan David Hansen Russell Harcourt | Erin Helyard Pinchgut Opera | Audio CD: Pinchgut Opera |
References[edit]
Notes
La Fida Ninfa Antonio Vivaldi
- ^Eric Cross: 'Griselda (iv)', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed November 21, 2008), (subscription access)
- ^ abDominic McHugh, 'Vivaldi: Griselda', review of the 2008 Naxos recording on musicalcriticism.com Retrieved 14 May 2011
- ^Holden, p. 1018
- ^'BBC Radio 3, listings 19 Oct 1978'. Retrieved 2 Dec 2016
- ^Eric Cross, 'Vivaldi as Opera Composer: 'Griselda' The Musical Times, Vol. 119, No. 1623 (May, 1978), pp. 411-413+415-416
- ^Michael Talbot, 'Griselda' in Holden, p. 1017
- ^'Irish National Opera presents Antonio Vivaldi's Griselda - News'. Irish National Opera. 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
- ^ abAccording to Reinhard Strohm, II, p. 563.
- ^Erroneously spelled 'Balbi' in the original libretto (Strohm, II, p. 563).
Vivaldi La Fida Ninfa Synopsis
Sources
La Fida Ninfa Vivaldi Youtube
- Amanda Holden (Ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. ISBN0-14-029312-4
- Reinhard Strohm, The operas of Antonio Vivaldi, Florence: Olschki, 2008. ISBN978-88-222-5682-9
External links[edit]