Leseprobe_Metastasio_Briefe

Andrea Lanzola
1720: on August 28 Metastasio arranged for a performance of his work Angelica
to celebrate the birthday of the Empress Elizabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel,
the wife of Charles VI, thus initiating a dense program
of pro-Hapsburg propaganda that would carry over into the following
year. The two protagonists, Medorus and Angelica, were interpreted
by Carlo Broschi, also known as Farinello – Metastasio’s most
intimate friend, referred to in correspondence as his “twin” – and by
Marianna Bulgarelli Benti, known as la Romanina, the first of the “three
Mariannas” who would feature in the poet’s life.
1721: on May 30 the serenade Endimione was performed for the wedding of
Antonio Pignatelli with Anna Francesca Pinelli di Belmonte; the composition
was dedicated to Marianna, the groom’s sister, a lady-in-waiting at
the Viennese court and the wife of Johann Michael von Althann. This
work was followed on August 28 by Gli orti esperidi, again for the Empress’s
birthday.
1723: for his first dramatic endeavour, Metastasio revised an ancient libretto by
Domenico David, La forza della virtù, staging it as Siface in honour of the
viceroy Michael Friedrich von Althann, Johann Michael’s brother, with
la Romanina as prima donna.
1724–28: again in Naples, the opera Didone abbandonata was staged and set to music
by Sarro (1724), followed two years later in Venice with Siroe re di Persia
to the music of Leonardo Vinci, a young composer who, together with
Jommelli and later Hasse, were favoured by Metastasio as advocates of a
more natural melodic approach that distanced itself from the contrived
contrapuntal baroque style still practiced in those years. Having returned
to Rome towards the end of 1727, in the new year Metastasio staged his
first oratorio Per la festività del SS. Natale, under the patronage of cardinal
Ottoboni.
1728–30: Metastasio moved between Rome and Venice, where his works were performed
with increasing frequency, including the staging of Catone in
Utica and Ezio (1728) and Semiramide riconosciuta (1729). On August 31,
1729 he received an offer from Luigi Pio di Savoia, Superintendant of the
Imperial theatres in Vienna, of the position of imperial laureate, his
nomination having received the backing of his predecessor Apostolo
Zeno. After completing his latest works – Alessandro nell’Indie and Artaserse
– for the 1730 Roman and Venetian carnival, he accepted the appointment
and reached Vienna on April 17, 1730, where he would remain
for the next fifty-two years, except for brief spells in Czakathurn, Frain,
and Joslowitz. Earlier that year he composed the Passione di Gesù Cristo.
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