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G. B. PERGOLESI - L'OLIMPIADE (1735) with double subs It - Eng

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was the third of a long roster of Baroque and Classic composers that set to music L’Olimpiade, unanimously considered one of Metastasio’s best works. And his setting, in turn, remains one of the most appreciated. Mine is, and could only be, a pale attempt to convey the high styled eloquence of its libretto, its archaic vocabulary, its broad and cohesive poetic structure. I have left intact, as much as possible, even the subversion of the standard order of the words that connotes the whole text, sung or not. Thus, with style worthy of Tasso (as Giacomo Leopardi said in his Zibaldone), Metastasio responded to the aesthetics of the literary Arcadian Academy and pursued its aim of restoring good taste to poetry and the ancient dignity of tragedy to the musical theatre. In keeping with the precepts of his predecessor Apostolo Zeno (both were Caesarian poets at the Viennese court), Metastasio set all his ‘drammi per musica’ (musical dramas) in ancient times. And indeed, “L’Olimpiade” (The Olympiad) likely evoked ancient Greece already with its title, at that time: the last Olympic Games had been held 1340 years earlier (and only 1896 would see their revival). What better context in which to set a ‘serious’ work that extolled noble sentiments and a heroic exercise of moral virtues? [“Olympism may be a school of moral nobility and purity” - De Coubertin, 1927]. The athletic trials, in fact, only provide the background for another sort of struggle, a topic of the works of Metastasio: the inner conflict of the hero. Here, bound by a debt of friendship, he has to choose between romantic passion and loyalty… I will not say more: if you do not know this opera yet, I do not want to spoil its plot twists. They will surely surprise and move you, as long as you don’t overlook the recitatives! Like in any drama which respects the three Aristotelian unities, backstory and events happening elsewhere are revealed, or reported, by the characters themselves, in their dialogues or soliloquies. The story is easily understandable, even if it begins in ‘media res’ (in the middle of things), still in line with an Aristotelian convention; even if, in this rendition, the recitatives have been shortened and some scenes streamlined, following a current (questionable) trend. In this regard, it is worth saying that cutting the long recitatives during performances has always been a common practice from the very beginning. But many other changes, cuts, replacements piled up on all Metastasio’s dramas during their long stage life, to satisfy impresarios’ demands or singers’ whims, to suit needs or public taste across countries and over time. He often bitterly lamented these alterations, so disrespectful of his dramatic texts, intended not only as literary content but also as authorial notes. In a famous letter to the Chevalier de Chastellux, he claimed that verbal art should exert control, even a tyranny, over all the others involved in opera. His libretti gave careful indications (often reiterated in his correspondence with the composers) on every aspect of the performance: the acting of the singers, the way to perform the recitatives, sceneries, decorations… All Metastasio’s libretti resulted in a high number of settings, L’Olimpiade plausibly in some fifty (many of which, of course, now fallen into oblivion and no longer performed). That of Pergolesi is one of the more faithful, even if he, too, had to change something. At the Teatro Tordinona in Rome, where Pergolesi would stage it in 1735, there were different resources than at the Viennese debut (Caldara - 1733): they have no dance troupe nor choir, so they had to suppress dance and choral movements, and, consequently, also the chorus texts. To offset these omissions, the impresario decided to employ a notable cast of famous singers, for whom Pergolesi was asked to quickly provide further pieces. He added four arias, whose text was penned by an unknown author mimicking Metastasio’s style. And replaced another aria with one taken as it was (music and text) from his Adriano in Siria (Hadrian in Syria), indifferently received the previous year… But I shall come back to these and other topics later, in the comments. RAÚL GIMÉNEZ: Clisthenes, king of Sicyon, father of Aristea LYUBOV PETROVA: Aristea, his daughter, in love with Megacles YETZABEL ARIAS FERNÁNDEZ: Argene, a Cretan lady garbed as a shepherdess, under the name of Lycoris, in love with Lycidas JENNIFER RIVERA: Lycidas, supposed son of the king of Crete, lover of Aristea and friend of Megacles SOFIA SOLOVIY: Megacles, lover of Aristea and friend of Lycidas ANTONIO LOZANO: Amyntas, tutor of Lycidas MILENA STORTI: Alcander, confidant of Clisthenes Orchestra: ACADEMIA MONTIS REGALIS Conductor: ALESSANDRO DE MARCHI Recorded at the Moriconi Theatre in Jesi, in 2011 released by Arthaus Musik and made generously freely available by the Pergolesi Spontini Foundation and Unitel during the June 2020 lock-down.