Per la ricuperata salute di Ofelia

History#

Conceived, written and composed to celebrate the newly recovered health of Nancy Storace, the Vienna-based, Anglo-Italian soprano destined to become the first Susanna of Figaro, and to welcome her back to the stage after a temporary loss of her singing voice owing to a nervous breakdown, Madame Storace was known for interpreting works by both Mozart and Salieri, as well as by her brother. Ofelia was a role that she was to sing in an opera by Salieri, La grotta di Trofonio, scheduled to premiere in June 1785, during the period she was unable to sing, and so the performance was postponed. Her recovery took three months. The cantata, composed in early Autumn, refers to Ofelia anticipating her performance. It is believed that Da Ponte and the composers wrote the cantata within a week, as Mme. Storace returned to the stage on September 19 in Giovanni Paisiello’s opera Il Re Teodoro in Venezia – a performance the cantata clearly refers to in stanza 27 – and exactly a week later the cantata was announced in the local newspapers Das Wienerblättchen and Wiener Realzeitung, which advertised copies for sale by Viennese publisher Artaria & Co. The premiere of Salieri’s new opera finally took place on October 12. Mozart had a close professional relationship with the diva. The following year, before her return to her native England, he composed a farewell concert aria for Mme. Storace—“Ch’io mi scordi di te? … Non temer, amato bene” (Will I forget you? … Fear not, beloved), K. 505—and accompanied her as pianist.

Discovery#

Found amongst a bevy of confiscated property the printed libretto reveals only the author’s pseudonym, the year of publication, the printer’s name (Joseph von Kurzböck) and the first letters of the surnames of the composers. As for the cantata’s artistic merits, Alex Ross observed in The New Yorker, …(T)he story behind the music…holds more interest than the music itself, which is uniformly dull. The past remains the past, and rarely generates headline news.

Possible world premiere#

It is unclear whether Per la ricuperata salute di Ofelia was ever performed in public prior to February 16, 2016, when harpsichordist Lukáš Vendl gave a solo performance, without a soprano, before an audience of several dozen listeners in a large hall of the Czech Museum of Music in Prague. Later the same day, the International Mozarteum Foundation presented the work at the Mozarts’ residence, the Tanzmeisterhaus Salzburg, performed by Claire Elizabeth Craig (soprano) and Florian Birsak (fortepiano). The first performance at a concert directed to a general audience occurred in Canberra, Australia, on April 9, 2016, again with Australian soprano Kate Rafferty. The first performance in Spain occurred on September 1, 2016, in Valladolid following a conference moderated by Timo Jouko Herrmann. The concert featured Spanish conductor and musician (harpsichord) and Sara Rodríguez (soprano). A recording of the piece was made by Irena Troupová (soprano) and Lukáš Vendl (harpsichord) and was broadcast on March 13, 2016, by the Czech Radio affiliate Vltava.

Libretto#

The first four stanzas (of 30) were set to music, the first two by Salieri, the third and fourth by Mozart, and again the first two by Cornetti. The asterisked footnote is Da Ponte’s. Canzone a Fille Lascia la greggia, o Fillide, La greggia a te sì cara; Lascia le fonti, e i pascoli, E vieni meco a l’ara, Ivi adunati i cori Troverai de le Ninfe, e dei Pastori. Ivi a la facil’ Iside, Per man de’ Sacerdoti, Vedrai tra gl’Inni e i cantici Doni offerire, e voti, Perfin l’avaro Elpino Porta un serto di fior del suo giardino. Quell’agnelletto candido Ch’ora ti scherza avanti Tu prendi teco, ed ornalo Di rose, e di amaranti, Non vuò, Fillide mia, Che fra tanti il tuo don l’ultimo sia. Oggi la vaga Ofelia, Onor di queste selve, Quella cui vide Arcadia Empier d’amor le belve, Oggi fia che ritenti Nel bel Tempio di Pan gli usati accenti.

Mozart’s contribution#

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External links#

• .
• , February 17, 2016.
• , performed on harpsichord by Lukáš Vendl, February 16, 2016.
• Hypothetical postmortem conversation with Mozart re Per la ricuperata salute di Ofelia in M. A. Stusser, The Dead Guy Interviews: Conversations with 45 of the Most Accomplished, Notorious, and Deceased Personalities in History (New York: Penguin Books, 2007), p. 185.