Antonio Vivaldi
Il Tamerlano
ovvero la morte di Bajazet [RV703]
Tragedia per musica in three acts, libretto by Agostino Piovena.
Concert version.
Cast:
- Bajazet – Bruno Taddia
- Tamerlano – Filippo Mineccia
- Asteria – Delphine Galou
- Irene – Sophie Rennert
- Andronico – Marina de Liso
- Idaspe – Arianna Vendittelli
Ottavio Dantone – harpsichord and conductor
Accademia Bizantina
Il Tamerlano
Il Tamerlano, or La morte di Bajazet (the death of Bajazet) was staged during the 1735 Carnival season. Bajazet, a powerful sultan of the Ottoman Empire, is defeated by Mongol leader Tamerlano and commits suicide. These are historical characters, symbols of the greatness and decline of the empire with which the Serenissima had to contend throughout its history. The Tragedia per musica composed by Vivaldi (performed here in the critical edition reconstructed by Bernardo Ticci) is a pasticcio, i.e. a work combining not only the author’s pre-existing pages, but also those of other composers: a well-established practice at the time, which in no way detracts from the irresistible incisiveness of Vivaldi’s writing.
