“Col piacer della mia fede“ from Arsilda, regina di Ponto (1716)

“Vedro' con mio diletto” from Il Giustino (1724)

“Da quel ferro che ha svenato” from Il Farnace (1727)

The extent of Vivaldi’s productivity for the opera house – he claimed to have composed 94 operas, although the scores of only 22 survive – is remarkable enough without taking into account his vast catalogue of concertos, church music and chamber works. It is still more remarkable bearing in mind that his first opera, Ottone in villa, was written as late as 1813, when he was 35. So Arsilda, regina di Ponto, which was first performed at the Teatro S. Angelo in Venice in 1716, is an early work in operatic terms. It was, however, a success in its day and an important factor in the revival of Venetian opera in the first half of the 18th century.

Of course, when operas were produced at such a rate – by a composer who, moreover, as a theatre impresario himself was well aware of their commercial value – there had to be a certain amount of writing to formula. As in his concertos, however, Vivaldi was resourceful in refreshing his own conventions. Sung by a minor character, Nicandro (the soprano Prince of Bitinia), in the first act of Arsilda, regina di Ponto, “Col piacer della mia fede“ is a standard Vivaldi aria – a da capo construction set in a quick tempo and a major key, the outer sections modulating to the dominant and back again, the middle section acting as a development in the relative minor. Its individuality is in the rhythmic vitality generated from the beginning by the intrumental ritornello and sustained by the bravura semiquaver figuration and syncopations in the vocal line.

Il Giustino, written for the Teatro Capranica in Rome in 1724 – at roughly the half-way point in Vivaldi’s career as an opera composer – represents a clear advance on Arsilda. While there is routine in this work too, not least in material borrowed from earlier operas, “Vedro' con mio diletto” is an outstanding example of Vivaldi’s new expressivity. Anastasio, the recently crowned Emperor of Byzantium, is off to war to protect both his Empire and his bride, Arianna, from the advances of the “tyrant” Vitaliano. Instead of launching into the heroic aria one might expect from an Emperor at this point, Anastasio sings of his love for Arianna and his fear of losing her. Inevitably, it is another da capo aria but in this case a Larghetto set in the minor. Introduced and accompanied by throbbing quavers over a chromatically descending bass line, it is an intimate confession which limits the melismatic element in the vocal line to sensitive words like “cor” in the opening section (although the da capo might well be different) and “penando” in the middle. At the Teatro Capranic in 1724 (where in accordance with a Papal edict forbidding women to appear on stage, all the parts in Il giustino were sung by men) Anastasio was performed by the mezzo-soprano castrato Giovanni Ossi.

The one aria in this group written for a female role and intended to be sung by a woman is Berenice’s wonderfully vindictive “Da quel ferro che ha svenato” from Il Farnace – which must have been one of the main reasons why the opera was such a success when it was first performed at the Teatro S. Angelo in Venice in 1727. Like “Col piacer della mia fede“ from Arsilda, Berenice’s aria derives its energy from the opening ritornello but, set in the minor and vividly coloured by dynamic contrasts, it is more dramatic in effect. It is also more discriminating in its choice of material for the vocal line – the opening octave leap, the phrase drawn from the instrumental part for “il mio sposo” on each repetition, the fierce syncopations on “crudeltà,” the liberated harmonies in the middle section. Determined, though she clearly is, however, the Queen of Cappadocia is finally persuaded to pardon her son in law, Pharnaces, King of Pontus, and to spare the life of her grandson.