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When Mozart and his father returned to Salzburg from Munich on March 7, 1775, they found an important commission waiting for them. Unlike the Munich project, a fashionable comic opera titled La finta giardiniera (K. 196), this was to be a serious entertainment for a serious occasion: a visit from Archduke Maximilian Franz, the youngest son of Empress Maria Theresa.
Obviously, only an opera seria would do, and an appropriate text was quickly found: Il rè pastore, written in 1751 by Vienna court poet Metastasio. It had all the right elements: a noble and generous king, two pairs of lovers and a plot that dealt with the conflict between love and duty.
It was a popular text that already had been set by more than a dozen composers, beginning with Giuseppe Bonno in 1751. (The occasion of the first performance, at Schönbrunn Palace, was Maria Theresa's birthday; her five children played the leading roles.) Other composers included Sarti (1753), Hasse (1755), Gluck (1756), Jommelli (1764) and Piccinni and Giardini (1765). Giardini's version was performed at the Haymarket in London, where it was seen by Mozart and his father.
The Salzburg court chaplain, Gianbattista Varesco, is said to have had a hand in refashioning Metastasio's lengthy text. He condensed the final two acts into one, trimmed some of the dialog and added some material of his own. It then was given to Mozart, who had six weeks to write the music.
The first performance, on April 23, was probably very simply staged. Not much is known of the cast, aside from the fact that the part of Aminta was taken by Tammaso Consoli, a castrato who had sung Ramiro in La finta giardiniera. Salzburg diarist Joachim Ferdinand von Schiedenhofen referred to the performance as a "serenade"; an entry in Archduke Max's travel journal called it a "cantata."
Like many of Mozart's other early operas, Il rè pastore has received its quota of harsh and at times thoughtless criticism. Grumbles Wolfgang Hildesheimer: "We find it utterly dull. . . . It is not in the composer's power to alter or enliven this form; quite literally, [Mozart's] task was only to 'set to music.' And here that is all he did." Perhaps: Other commentators have noted that the music is at times expressively at odds with the text. Even so, writes William Mann, it is "an opera full of good things." Mozart no doubt would have agreed. He lifted the first subject of his Concerto in G for Violin (K. 216) from one of the arias (No. 3). In a meaningful gesture, he gave several of the arias to his first love, Aloysia Weber, who sang them in Mannheim in 1778.
We will give the final word on this little "serenata" to critic Charles Osborne, who is not known for cutting the young Mozart any slack:
"The wonder is that this pièce d'occasion should have triumphed so completely over the circumstances of its composition; for, despite the fact that it is distinctly not held in any great esteem by Mozart commentators, Il rè pastore is more alive, and more likable, than many of its predecessors. . . . Il rè pastore ought to be an uninteresting work, but it is not."
Dramatis personae:
Synopsis:
Act I
A pleasant meadow with a stream. The city of Sidon can be seen in the distance.
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| Overture |
| Il rè pastore |
| © 1991 Philips Classics Productions |
| 422 535-2 |
Agenore and Alessandro interrupt his idyll. Agenore, who has known all along that Aminta is the true king, points him out to the conqueror. Alessandro speaks with Aminta and is impressed with his sincere humility. Yes, he tells Agenore, this humble young shepherd will make a fine king. He and Aminta go their separate ways.
Tamiri, who is in love with Agenore, catches him before he can leave to follow Alessandro. Agenore pleads with her to come with him, but Tamiri refuses, saying Alessandro has robbed her of everything except her pride. "Must I tolerate the insults of the Greek women?" she asks before departing. Agenore sadly turns to follow Alessandro.
Elisa returns to Aminta with good news: Her father has consented to their marriage. But the happy moment is interrupted by Agenore, who announces to the astonished couple that Aminta is no shepherd; instead, he is Abdolonymus, the king of Sidon. Elisa insists that Aminta's first duty is to take the throne. "Go and reign, my beloved, but keep your heart true to the one who adores you, if you can." Aminta agrees, somewhat apprehensively.
Act II
The camp of the Macedonians.
Elisa, searching for Aminta, runs into Agenore, who brusquely sends her away. But Aminta has glimpsed her and tries to follow. Agenore stops him with a reminder that, as king, his first duty is to Alessandro. "So as a shepherd I was less a slave," Aminta says ruefully.
Meanwhile, Alessandro has been planning new conquests and soon will leave Sidon. To ensure that he is fondly remembered, he has decided to give the hand of Tamiri, the daughter of his enemy, in marriage to Aminta, the new king. Alessandro dispatches Agenore -- who is stunned by this development -- to find Tamiri.
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| L'amerò, sarò costante |
| Il rè pastore |
| © 1991 Philips Classics Productions |
| 422 535-2 |
By now the sun is beginning to set, and Alessandro is getting more than a little impatient. One by one, everyone arrives. First, Tamiri throws herself at his feet and begs him to reconsider his plan. Elisa, more defiant, upbraids him for robbing her of her happiness. At last Aminta enters and, laying the royal garments before Alessandro, announces that he cannot be king if it means giving up a life with Elisa.
Alessandro, wise and just fellow that he is, is touched by these declarations of love. At once he changes his mind and tells the two couples that he will not get in the way of their happiness. Furthermore, Aminta and Elisa shall be king and queen of Sidon and soon he will give Agenore and Tamiri their own land to rule. The four lovers sing the praises of Alessandro, "the unvanquished leader" -- and also the praises of true love.
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