- Griselda (A. Scarlatti)
"Griselda" is an
opera seria in three acts by the Italian composerAlessandro Scarlatti , the last of his works for the stage. Thelibretto is byApostolo Zeno , with revisions by an anonymous author. Zeno wrote his work in 1701 and it had already been set by Pollarolo andAntonio Maria Bononcini (Albinoni ,Giovanni Bononcini andVivaldi would later produce versions). It is based on the story ofPatient Griselda fromBoccaccio 's "Decameron ". Scarlatti's opera was first performed at the Teatro Capranica,Rome in January, 1721 with an all-male cast (fivecastrato s and atenor ).Roles
ynopsis
Act One
Years before the action begins, Gualtiero, King of Sicily, 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 Apulia. Now, faced with another rebellion from the Sicilians, Gualtiero is forced to renounce Griselda and promises to take a new wife. The proposed bride is in fact Costanza, who is unaware of her true parentage. She is in love with Corrado's younger brother, Roberto, and the thought of being forced to marry Gualtiero drives her to despair.
Act Two
Griselda returns to her home in the countryside where she is pursued by the courtier Ottone, who is in love with her. 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 Three
Ottone still resolutely pursues Griselda and Gualtiero promises him her hand as soon as he himself has married Costanza. Griselda declares she would rather die and, moved by her faithfulness, Gualtiero takes her back as his wife. He reveals the true identity of Costanza and allows her to marry Roberto.
Recordings
*"Griselda" Lawrence Zazzo,
Dorothea Röschmann , Veronica Cangemi, Silvia Tro Santafé, Kobie van Rensburg,Bernarda Fink , Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin conducted byRené Jacobs (Harmonia Mundi, 2003)ources
*"The Viking Opera Guide" ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)
* [http://www.delteatro.it/dizionario_dell_opera/g/griselda_1.php Del Teatro (in Italian)]
* [http://pagesperso-orange.fr/jean-claude.brenac/SCARLATTI_GRISELDA.htm Magazine de l'opéra baroque (in French)]
*Booklet notes to the Jacobs recording.
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