Lucio Silla
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart stood at the age of 16 when he composed Lucio Silla. The young composer wrote this Italian opera seria in three acts during a single year. Giovanni de Gamerra provided the libretto for the work, though Pietro Metastasio revised it later. The premiere took place on the 26th of December 1772 inside the Teatro Regio Ducale in Milan. Critics and audiences alike regarded the production as only a moderate success upon its debut. Handel had previously written an opera titled Silla in 1713 covering the same historical subject matter. Leonardo Vinci composed another version with that title in 1723. Pasquale Anfossi followed with his own Lucio Silla in 1774. Johann Christian Bach completed his version of the story in 1776.
The UK premiere occurred much later than the original performance, taking place in London at Camden Town Hall in 1967. A US premiere followed shortly after in 1968 with a staging in Baltimore. Modern productions have appeared across Europe and North America over recent decades. The Santa Fe Opera presented the work in 2005 while Warsaw staged it in 2011. The Classical Opera Company performed the piece in London during 2012. Barcelona hosted a production by Gran Teatre del Liceu in 2013 alongside events at Mozartwoche Salzburg and the Salzburg Festival. Chicago Opera Theater brought the opera to the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in 2015 under General Director Andreas Mitisek. Madrid's Teatro Real staged Lucio Silla in 2017 as part of its bicentennial celebration program. La Monnaie in Belgium produced a contemporary setting of the opera in November 2017.
Mozart scholars Téodor de Wyzewa and Georges de Saint-Foix described this work as a grande crise romantique or great romantic crisis. Rudolph Angermüller noted subjective moods portrayed throughout individual characters in his book Mozart's Operas. Full-scale numbers were given to secondary characters within the score. This opera marked the first of Mozart's stage works to feature devotion to recitativo accompagnato or accompanied recitative. Stanley Sadie described this musical style as passive and restrained. The orchestration proved more ambitious than the composer's earlier Milanese opera Mitridate re di Ponto. Obbligato parts appear frequently within the arias themselves. Evidence exists of a ballet titled Le gelosie del Serraglio with K number 135a choreographed by French dancer Jean-Georges Noverre. Mozart would later work again with Noverre during his time in Paris in 1778. A few sketches survive from the completed version of that ballet music though most is lost.
A 1962 recording featured Fiorenza Cossotto as Cecilio alongside Dora Gatta playing Giunia. Rena Gary Falachi sang Celia while Ferrando Ferrari portrayed Lucio Silla. Luigi Pontiggia performed Aufidio and Anna Maria Rota took Lucio Cinna. Carlo Felice Cillario conducted the Orchestra da Camera dell'Angelicum di Milano for RCA. A 1980 version recorded by Salzburg followed with Júlia Várady as Cecilio and Arleen Augér as Giunia. Helen Donath sang Celia and Peter Schreier played Lucio Silla. Werner Krenn performed Aufidio while Edith Mathis took Lucio Cinna. Leopold Hager conducted the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg for Deutsche Grammophon. This 1980 release later became part of the Complete Mozart Edition on Philips in 1991. Ann Murray
sang Cecilio in a 1985 recording with Orchestre et Chœrs du Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie. Sylvain Cambreling led that performance for Brilliant Classics. Cecilia Bartoli appeared as Cecilio in a 1989 Teldec recording featuring period instruments. Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducted this version between June and September of 1989. He removed the minor character of Aufidio entirely from his interpretation.
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Common questions
When did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart compose the opera Lucio Silla?
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed the opera Lucio Silla when he was 16 years old during a single year in 1772. The work premiered on the 26th of December 1772 inside the Teatro Regio Ducale in Milan.
Who wrote the libretto for the opera Lucio Silla by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?
Giovanni de Gamerra provided the original libretto for the opera Lucio Silla though Pietro Metastasio revised it later. Other composers including Handel Leonardo Vinci Pasquale Anfossi and Johann Christian Bach also created operas with similar titles covering the same historical subject matter.
Where and when did the UK premiere of the opera Lucio Silla take place?
The UK premiere of the opera Lucio Silla took place much later than the original performance at Camden Town Hall in London in 1967. A US premiere followed shortly after in 1968 with a staging in Baltimore.
What musical features distinguish the score of the opera Lucio Silla from earlier works?
This opera marked the first of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's stage works to feature devotion to recitativo accompagnato or accompanied recitative. The orchestration proved more ambitious than the composer's earlier Milanese opera Mitridate re di Ponto with obbligato parts appearing frequently within the arias themselves.
Which singers performed in the 1980 recording of the opera Lucio Silla conducted by Leopold Hager?
A 1980 version recorded by Salzburg featured Júlia Várady as Cecilio Arleen Augér as Giunia Helen Donath singing Celia and Peter Schreier playing Lucio Silla. Werner Krenn performed Aufidio while Edith Mathis took Lucio Cinna for this Deutsche Grammophon release.