Ferrara, end of the year with Vivaldi, Il Farnace staged at the Teatro Comunale directed by Federico M Sardelli

A highly refined proposal for the end-of-year celebrations is that of Municipal Theater of Ferrara, that in the days December 30th (8 pm) e December 31st (4 pm) stages one of the most exciting and relevant works of Antonio Vivaldi, The Farnace. Another peculiarity, the work will be represented for the first time - 283 years after its conception - in version specially made by Vivaldi for Ferrara in 1738, never staged due to a prohibition of the papal legate.

The Ferrara 'first' of this version of Farnace, critical edition by Bernardo Ticci (2013), is entrusted to the direction of Federico Maria Sardelli, one of the greatest connoisseurs of Vivaldi's work. Sardelli will lead theOrchestra and Choir Academy of the Holy Spirit, on stage a vocal cast that sees in the main roles Raffaele Pe (Farnace), Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli (Gilade), Chiara Brunello (Tamiri) e Leonardo Cortellazzi (Pompeo). The direction is signed by Marco Bellussi, with sets by Matteo Paoletti Franzato, costumes of Carlos Tieppo and lights of Marco Cazzola. The show is a new production of the Municipal Theater of Ferrara in co-production with Municipal Theater of Piacenza, and is part of the Opera Season of the Municipal Theater of Ferrara, supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Emilia Romagna Region, the Municipality of Ferrara and Eni.

The Farnace of Vivaldi, drama for music on a libretto by Antonio Maria Lucchini, was staged for the first time in Venice on 10 February 1727, during the Carnival Season of the Sant'Angelo Theater. It was a success, and the work enjoyed excellent fortune and great fame: it was resumed within a few years, in various versions, by various Italian and European cities, including Livorno (1729), Prague (1730), Pavia (1731), Mantua (1732).

To Ferrara the staging of the Farnace was scheduled for Bonacossi Theater in the Carnival Season 1739, in a new version (RV 711-G) specially written by Vivaldi. But Cardinal Ruffo, papal legate of the Emilian city, banished Vivaldi who was a priest (the "red priest"), for alleged immoral conduct due to his too intimate bond with the contralto Anna Girò, his favorite singer and almost always the first woman in his works. The performance was skipped and Vivaldi no longer had the opportunity to retrieve it.

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(In the images Federico Maria Sardelli photo © Enrico Amante, and the very famous presumed portrait of Antonio Vivaldi (Anonymous, circa 1723) preserved in the International Museum and Library of Music in Bologna.)