However, his Arsilda regina di Ponto fell afoul of government censors.
Vivaldi had plans to present an original opera to Venetian audiences in 1715. I did not like it, neither for the subject matter nor the decor nor, especially, the costumes… in short, it was a quite absurd mishmash of things that did not belong together and Vivaldi only played a short violin solo.”Īntonio Vivaldi: Arsilda, regina di Ponto, (RV 700), Act I: Aria: La tiranna avversa sorte Angelo opera house, an opera composed entirely by and produced by Vivaldi. A contemporary critic wrote on 19 February 1715, “In the evening I saw, at the small St. The opera contained music by seven different composers, including an aria by Vivaldi. During the 1715 season Vivaldi presented the pasticcio Nerone fatto Cesare. However, Vivaldi still raked in the profits as his opera was replaced by the revival of Ristori’s popular setting on the same topic. Unfortunately, Vivaldi’s first setting of Ariosto’s epic poem Orlando finto pazzo came at an inopportune time, and it closed after a couple of weeks. Empowered by his initial success, Vivaldi set to work and produced his first opera specifically written for Venice. Vivaldi got his feet wet with a highly successful production of Orlando furioso by Giovanni Alberto Ristori, and an opera by Michel Angelo Gasparini. Initially, Vivaldi signed appointment papers to manage the Venetian Carnival seasons of 17, and he also became the impresario at the “Sant’Angelo” theater in 1716. And his early focus fell on the Venetian Carnival season, a period of frenetic activity when all theaters were open and putting on daily performances. Although his music significantly contributed to the success of a production, all the money went to the impresario! It is hardly surprising that Vivaldi, blessed with great organizational skills, devoted much of his energy to being an impresario.
You can see the conundrum faced by aspiring composers like Antonio Vivaldi. Amongst all that wheeling and dealing, composers were paid rather modest sums for composing the music. In addition, impresarios had considerable influence on the artistic side of the production, often choosing the libretto, the composer, and the cast. However, in case of success, all profits earned went to the impresario. Singers, instrumentalists, technical staff and other support staff for the production had to be engaged as well, promising heavy losses if the opera was a failure. He rented the house, negotiated and signed contracts with everyone connected with productions. An impresario working in the late 17th century was solely responsible for running all the artistic and business matters of the theater.
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