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Ascanio in Alba, K. 111
Köchel-Verzeichnis

The K?chel-Verzeichnis is a complete, chronological catalogue of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart which was originally created by Ludwig Ritter von K?chel....
, is a pastoral
Pastoral

Pastoral, as an adjective, refers to the lifestyle of shepherds and pastoralists, moving livestock around larger areas of land according to seasons and availability of water and food....
 opera
Opera

Opera is an Performing arts in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work which combines a text and a musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition....
 in two parts (Festa teatrale
Festa teatrale

The term festa teatrale refers to a genre of drama, and of opera in particular. The genre cannot be rigidly defined, and in any case feste teatrali tend to be split into two different sets: feste teatrali divided by acts are operas, while works in this genre performed without division, or merely cut into two parts, are serenatas....
 in due atti) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty; at seventeen he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position, always...
 to an Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
 libretto
Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, Musical theater, and ballet....
 by Giuseppe Parini
Giuseppe Parini

Giuseppe Parini was an Italy enlightenment satirist and poet of the neoclassicism.Parini was born in Bosisio Parini in Lombardy. His parents, who possessed a small farm on the shore of Lake Pusiano, sent him to Milan, where he studied under the Barnabites in the Academy Arcimboldi, maintaining himself in the meantime by copying manuscri...
. This youthful opera by Mozart contains outstanding arias and brilliant moments of musical drama.

as first performed at the Teatro Regio Ducal
Teatro Regio Ducal

The Teatro Regio Ducal was the opera house in Milan from 26 December 1717 until 25 February 1776, when it was burned down following a carnival gala....
 in Milan
Milan

Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
, on 17 October 1771.

le class="wikitable">
RoleVoice typePremiere Cast, October 17 1771
(Conductor: - )
Venere (Venus)soprano
Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four part chorale style harmony the soprano takes the highest part which usually encompasses the melody....
Geltrude Falcini
Ascanio
Ascanius

In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, Ascanius was the son of Aeneas and Creusa. After the Trojan War, as the city burned, Aeneas escaped to Latium in Italy, taking his father Anchises and his child Ascanius with him, though Creusa died during the escape....
, her son, son of Aeneas		alto
Alto

Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high", that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano....
 castrato
Castrato

A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto human voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinology condition, never reaches sexual maturity....
 or mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano

A mezzo-soprano is a type of European classical music female voice type whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above ....
Giovanni Manz(u)oli
Giovanni Manzuoli

Giovanni Manzuoli was an Italian castrato who sang as a soprano at the beginning of his career, and later as a contralto....
Silvia, a nymph descended from HerculessopranoA.






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Ascanio in Alba, K. 111
Köchel-Verzeichnis

The K?chel-Verzeichnis is a complete, chronological catalogue of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart which was originally created by Ludwig Ritter von K?chel....
, is a pastoral
Pastoral

Pastoral, as an adjective, refers to the lifestyle of shepherds and pastoralists, moving livestock around larger areas of land according to seasons and availability of water and food....
 opera
Opera

Opera is an Performing arts in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work which combines a text and a musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition....
 in two parts (Festa teatrale
Festa teatrale

The term festa teatrale refers to a genre of drama, and of opera in particular. The genre cannot be rigidly defined, and in any case feste teatrali tend to be split into two different sets: feste teatrali divided by acts are operas, while works in this genre performed without division, or merely cut into two parts, are serenatas....
 in due atti) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty; at seventeen he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position, always...
 to an Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
 libretto
Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, Musical theater, and ballet....
 by Giuseppe Parini
Giuseppe Parini

Giuseppe Parini was an Italy enlightenment satirist and poet of the neoclassicism.Parini was born in Bosisio Parini in Lombardy. His parents, who possessed a small farm on the shore of Lake Pusiano, sent him to Milan, where he studied under the Barnabites in the Academy Arcimboldi, maintaining himself in the meantime by copying manuscri...
. This youthful opera by Mozart contains outstanding arias and brilliant moments of musical drama.

Performance history

It was first performed at the Teatro Regio Ducal
Teatro Regio Ducal

The Teatro Regio Ducal was the opera house in Milan from 26 December 1717 until 25 February 1776, when it was burned down following a carnival gala....
 in Milan
Milan

Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
, on 17 October 1771.

Roles

RoleVoice typePremiere Cast, October 17 1771
(Conductor: - )
Venere (Venus)soprano
Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four part chorale style harmony the soprano takes the highest part which usually encompasses the melody....
Geltrude Falcini
Ascanio
Ascanius

In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, Ascanius was the son of Aeneas and Creusa. After the Trojan War, as the city burned, Aeneas escaped to Latium in Italy, taking his father Anchises and his child Ascanius with him, though Creusa died during the escape....
, her son, son of Aeneas		alto
Alto

Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high", that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano....
 castrato
Castrato

A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto human voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinology condition, never reaches sexual maturity....
 or mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano

A mezzo-soprano is a type of European classical music female voice type whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above ....
Giovanni Manz(u)oli
Giovanni Manzuoli

Giovanni Manzuoli was an Italian castrato who sang as a soprano at the beginning of his career, and later as a contralto....
Silvia, a nymph descended from HerculessopranoA. Maria Girelli
Aceste, a priest of Venustenor
Tenor

The tenor is a type of male voice type and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between the C one octave below middle C to the A above in choral music, and up to high C in solo work....
Giuseppe Tibaldi
Fauno, a shepherd soprano castratoAdamo Solzi
Genii, Shepherds & Shepherdesses (chorus)


Synopsis

Place: the site of the future city of Alba Longa
Alba Longa

Alba Longa was an ancient city of Latium in central Italian Peninsula southeast of Ancient Rome in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it was destroyed by Rome around the middle of the 7th century BC....
, near Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
Time: mythical times.


Act 1

The opening scene introduces Venus and Ascanio, the son she had by Aeneas. (In most classical sources, Venus/Aphrodite is the mother of Aeneas
Aeneas

This article is about the Roman hero. For other uses, see Aeneas .In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas was a Troy hero, the son of prince Anchises and the goddess Venus_....
.) The goddess vaunts the charms of Alba and invites her son to go and rule there. She urges him not to reveal his identity to Silvia, a nymph to whom he is betrothed, but to introduce himself to her under a false identity to test her virtue. While shepherds summon their promised ruler, Fauno reveals that the smiling face of Aceste, a priest, is a sign that the day will be a day of supreme happiness. Obeying the goddess, Ascanio pretends to be a foreigner attracted by the beauties of the place. Aceste tells the shepherds that their valley will be the site of a fine city and that they will have a sovereign, Ascanio, before the day is out. He also informs Silvia that she will be Ascanio’s bride, but she replies that she is in love with a young man she has seen in a dream. The priest reassures her, saying the young man in her can be none other than Ascanio. Venus then appears to Ascanio and asks him to test the girl a little longer before revealing his true identity.

Act 2

Ascanio spots Silvia among the shepherds and tries to talk to her. The girl immediately recognizes the young man from her dreams. Fauno intervenes and suggests to “the foreigner” (Ascanio) that he should go off and announce the building of Alba in foreign parts. Convinced that the foreigner is not Ascanio, Silvia runs off declaring she will never marry anyone else.

Aceste consoles Silvia, saying that her tribulations are about to come to an end. Venus is invoked by a magnificent chorus. Silvia and Ascanio add their voices to the chorus and the goddess descends on her chariot surrounded by clouds. Venus unites the two lovers and explains how she had intended her son to discover the virtue of his fiancée. Aceste pronounces an oath of fidelity and loyalty to Venus, who then retires. It only remains for Ascanio to perpetuate the race of Aeneas and guide the city of Alba to prosperity.

Plot summary from Mozart Brilliant Classics

Noted arias

  • "Ah di sì nobil", Ascanio in Act I
  • "Al chiaror di que' bei rai", Venus in Act I
  • "Cara, lontano", Ascanio in Act I
  • "Come è felice stato", Silvia in Act I
  • "L'ombra de rami tuoi", Venus in Act I
  • "Per la gioja in questo seno", Aceste in Act I
  • "Se il labbro più no dice", Fauno in Act I
  • "Si, ma d'un altro amore", Silvia in Act I
  • "Al mio ben mi veggio avanti", Ascanio in Act II
  • "Dal tuo gentil sembiante", Fauno in Act II
  • "Infelici affetti miei", Silvia in Act II
  • "Sento che il cor mi dice", Aceste in Act II
  • "Spiega il desio le pinme", Silvia in Act II
  • "Torna mia bene", Ascanio in Act II


List of numbers

  • Overture
  • No.1 Ballet: Andante grazioso
  • No.2 Coro di geni e grazie: Di te più amabile, ne Dea maggiore
  • Recitativo Venere: geni, grazie, ed Amori, fermate il piè
  • No.3 Aria Venere: L'ombra de' rami tuoi
  • Recitativo Ascanio & Venere: Ma la ninfa gentil
  • No.4 Coro di geni e grazie: Di te più amabile, nè Dea maggiore
  • Rectativo accompagnato Ascanio: Perchè tacer degg'io?
  • No.5 Aria Ascanio: Cara, lontano ancora
  • No.6 Coro di pastori: Venga, de' sommi Eroi
  • Recitativo Ascanio & Fauno: Ma qual canto risona?
  • No.7 Coro di pastori: Venga, de' sommi Eroi
  • Recitativo Fauno & Ascanio: Ma tu, chi sei, che ignoto qui t'aggiri fra noi?
  • No.8 Aria Fauno: Se il labbro più non dice
  • Recitativo Ascanio & Fauno: Quanto soavi al core de la tua stirpe
  • No.9 Coro di pastori e pastorelle: Hai di Diana il core
  • Recitativo Aceste: Oh, generosa Diva
  • No.10 Coro di pastori: Venga, de' sommi Eroi
  • Recitativo Aceste: Di propria man la Dea a voi la donera
  • No.11 Coro di pastori: Venga, de' sommi Eroi
  • Recitativo Aceste: Oh mia gloria, oh mia cura
  • No.12 Aria Aceste: Per la gioia in questo seno
  • Recitativo Silvia & Aceste: Misera! Che farò
  • No.13 Cavatina: Si, si, ma d'un altro amore
  • Recitativo Aceste & Silvia: Ah no, Silvia t'inganni
  • No.14 Aria Silvia: Come è felice stato
  • Recitativo Aceste: Silvia, mira, che il sole omai s'avanza
  • No.15 Coro di pastori: Venga, de' sommi Eroi
  • Recitativo Ascanio & Venere: Cielo! Che vidi mai?
  • No.16 Aria Ascani: Ah di sì nobil alma
  • Recitativo Venere & Ascanio: Un'altra prova a te mirar conviene
  • No.17 Aria Venere: Al chiaror di que' bei rai
  • No.18 Coro di geni e grazie: Di te più amabile, nè Dea maggiore
  • Recitativo Silvia: Star lontana non so
  • No.19 Aria Silvia: Spiega il desio
  • No.20 Coro di pastorelle: Già l'ore sen volano
  • Recitativo Ascanio: Cerco di loco in loco
  • Recitativo Silvia & Ascanio: Oh ciel! che miro?
  • Recitativo Silvia, Ascanio & Fauno: Silvia, ove sei?
  • No.21 Aria Fauno: Dal tuo gentil sembiante
  • Recitativo Ascanio & Silvia: Ahimè! Che veggio mai?
  • No.22 Aria Ascanio: Al mio ben mi veggio avanti
  • Recitativo accompagnato Silvia: Ferma, aspetta, ove vai?
  • No.23 Aria Silvia: Infelici affetti miei
  • Recitativo Ascanio & Silvia: Anima grande
  • No.24 Coro di pastorelle: Che strano evento
  • Recitativo Ascanio: Ahi la crudel
  • No.25 Aria Ascanio: Torna mio bene, ascolta
  • No.26 Coro di pastori: Venga, de' sommi Eroi
  • Recitativo Aceste: Che strana meraviglia
  • No.27 Aria Aceste : Sento, che il cor mi dice
  • Recitativo Silvia: Si, Padre, alfin mi taccia
  • No.28 Coro di pastori e ninfe e pastorelle: Scendi, celeste Venere
  • Recitativo Silvia, Aceste & Ascanio: Ma s'allontani almen
  • No.29 Coro di pastori e pastorelle: No,non possiamo vivere
  • Recitativo Aceste: Ecco ingombran l'altare
  • No.30 Coro: Scendi, celeste Venere
  • Recitativo Aceste, Silvia, Ascanio, Venere: Invoca, o figlia
  • No.31 Terzetto Silvia, Ascanio, Aceste: Ah caro sposo, oh Dio!
  • Recitativo Venere: Eccovi al fin di vostre pene
  • No.32 Piccola parte del terzetto precedente Silvia, Ascanio, Aceste: Che bel piacer io sento
  • Recitativo Silvia, Ascanio, Aceste, Venere: Ah chi nodi più forti
  • No.33 Coro ultimo di geni, grazie, pastori e ninfe: Alma Dea, tutto il mondo governa


See also

  • List of Mozart's operas


External links