Il prigionier superbo

Il prigionier superbo (The Proud Prisoner) is an opera seria in three acts composed by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi to a libretto attributed to Gennaro Antonio Federico and based on an earlier libretto by Francesco Silvani for Gasparini's opera, La fede tradita e vendicata. It was premiered at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in Naples on 5 September 1733 and received further performances in October. The opera, with its labrythine plot involving the rivalry of Metalce (King of the Goths) and Viridate (Prince of Denmark) for the hand of Rosmene (a Norwegian princess whose father is Metalce's prisoner), soon sank into oblivion, but its comic intermezzo, La serva padrona (also by Pergolesi) was to achieve considerable success when performed on its own.

Performance history

Il prigionier superbo was Pergolesi's second opera seria. The libretto has been attributed to Gennaro Antonio Federico and was based on the one written by Francesco Silvani for Francesco Gasparini's 1704 opera, La fede tradita e vendicata (Faith Betrayed and Vindicated). It was commissioned to celebrate Empress Elisabeth Christine's birthday and premiered at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in Naples on 5 September 1733.[1]

The performance also marked the re-opening of Naples' theatres following the violent earthquake which had struck the area on 29 November 1732. The opera continued to be performed in October of that year along with its comic intermezzo, La serva padrona. Il prigionier proved unsuccessful in its day and has only been rarely revived. However, La serva padrona performed on its own eventually went on to enjoy fame throughout Europe for many years after its premiere.[2]

The first production of Il prigionier in modern times took place at the Teatro Pergolesi in Jesi on 27 September 1997 with a score revised by Marcello Panni.[3] The next major revival came on 11 September 2009, again at the Teatro Pergolesi, this time using a new critical edition of the score prepared by Claudio Toscani for the Fondazione Pergolesi-Spontini. The production, performed on period instruments, was directed by Henning Brockhaus with Corrado Rovaris conducting the Accademia Barocca de I Virtuosi Italiani.[4]

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere cast[5]
5 September 1733
Metalce, King of the Goths contralto Lucia Grimani
Sostrate, King of Norway tenor Giovanni Battista Pinacci
Rosmene, Sostrate's daughter contralto Anna Bagnolesi
Viridate, Prince of Denmark soprano castrato Antonio Castoro
Ericlea, Daughter of Clearco, the first King of Norway soprano Rosa Mancini
Micisda, Prince of Bohemia and Ericlea's lover soprano Anna Maria Mazzoni

Recordings

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Premiere date as given in Hucke and Monson and in Gelli (2007). Note that Casaglia (2005) gives the premiere date (erroneously) as 28 August 1733, the actual date of the Empress's birthday
  2. ↑ Grout and Williams (2003) p. 232
  3. ↑ Muraro and Biggi (1998) pp. 105-106.
  4. ↑ Fondazione Pergolesi-Spontini, 10 September 2009
  5. ↑ Premiere cast based on Casaglia (2005)
Sources