Scanderbeg (; RV 732) is an opera (dramma per musica) in three acts composed by Antonio Vivaldi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Salvi. It was first performed at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence on 22 June 1718 to mark the re-opening of the theatre to public performances.Holmes (1994) p. 16 While the libretto has been preserved, only fragments of the original score remain.Colas and Di Profio (2009) p. 54; Strohm (2008a) p. 236
Synopsis The subject of the opera is Skanderbeg, who is presented as the king of Albania, but also as an ethnic Greek.
Roles +RoleVoice typePremiere cast, 22 June 1718Premiere cast from Strohm (2008a), I, p. 232.Scanderbeg, King of Albaniacontralto castratoGiovanni Battista CarboniDoneca, his wife, disguised as a shepherdesssopranoFrancesca Cuzzoni-Sandoni, 'La Parmigiana'Aroniz, Price of Epirus, father of Doneca, disguised as a shepherdtenorAntonio RistoriniOrmondo, Count of Urana, army generalcontralto castratoGiovanni Pietro Sbaraglia, "Il Pesciatino"Climene, Scanderbeg's captainsoprano (travesti)Anna GuglielminiAmurat II, monarch of the TurkstenorGaetano MossiAsteria, his daughtercontraltoAgata LandiAcomat, Amurat's general, in love with Asteriasoprano (travesti)Rosa Venturini
Recordings Two arias from the opera's second act, "S'a voi penso, o luci belle" (Ormondo) and "Con palme ed allori" (Scanderbeg), can be heard on Arie ritrovate sung by contralto Sonia Prina with the Accademia Bizantina, conducted by Ottavio Dantone (Naïve Records).
References Notes
Sources Colas, Damien and Di Profio, Alessandro (2009). D'une scène à l'autre, l'opéra italien en Europe: Les pérégrinations d'un genre. Mardaga. Holmes, William (1994). Opera Observed: Views of a Florentine Impresario in the Early Eighteenth Century. University of Chicago Press. Strohm, Reinhard (2008a). The Operas of Antonio Vivaldi. Florence: Olschki.
Further reading Strohm, Reinhard (2008b). Essays on Handel and Italian Opera. Cambridge University Press.
External links