Bajazet (opera)


Bajazet is an Italian opera in 3 acts composed by Antonio Vivaldi in 1735. Its libretto was written by Agostino Piovene. It was premiered in Verona, during the Carnival season of that year. It includes a three-movement sinfonia as an introduction. The story is about the fate of Bajazet after being captured by Tamerlane. The famous aria, "Sposa son disprezzata" is from this opera.

Roles

Synopsis

Act I. In garden of occupied capital of Bursa, where Tamerlane resides following the defeat of the Turks.
Act 2. Open countryside with Tamerlane’s pavilions which open to show Tamerlane and Andronicus seated.
Act 3. Garden on the banks of the River Euphrates.

Sinfonia

Origin of Arias

Bajazet is a pasticcio. It was a common practice during Vivaldi's time for composers to borrow and adapt arias from other composers with their own works for an opera. Vivaldi himself composed the arias for the good characters and mostly used existing arias from other composers for the villains in this opera. Some of the arias are reused from previous Vivaldi operas. The table below lists the origin of some of the arias used in Bajazet.
AriaComposerOperaOriginal name
Del destin non dee lagnarsiAntonio VivaldiL'OlimpiadeDel destin non vi lagnate
Nasce rosa lusinghieraAntonio VivaldiGiustino, also in FarnaceSenti l'aura lusinghiera /
Scherza l'aura lusinghiera
In sì torbida procellaGeminiano GiacomelliAlessandro Severo
Vedeste mai sul pratoJohann Adolf HasseSiroe re di Persia
Qual guerriero in campo armatoRiccardo BroschiIdaspe
Non ho nel sen costanzaGeminiano GiacomelliAdriano in Siria
Anche il mar par che sommergaAntonio VivaldiSemiramide
Stringi le mie cateneAntonio VivaldiSemiramide
La sorte mia spietataJohann Adolf HasseSiroe re di Persia
La cervetta timidettaAntonio VivaldiGiustino
Dov'è la figlia?Antonio VivaldiMotezuma
Sposa, son disprezzataGeminiano GiacomelliMeropeSposa, non mi conosci
Sì crudel! questo è l'amore Antonio VivaldiFarnaceIo crudel? giusto rigore
Veder parmi, or che nel fondoAntonio VivaldiFarnaceRoma Invitta ma clemente
Spesso tra vaghe roseJohann Adolf HasseSiroe re di Persia
Coronata di gigli e di roseAntonio VivaldiFarnace

Recordings

The first complete recording of this opera was released by Virgin Classics on 10 May 2005. Fabio Biondi conducts Europa Galante in Brussels for this recording. The singers are:
This recording received the award for Best Opera by Midem Classical Awards 2006 and shortlisted for the 48th Annual Grammy Awards 2006.
Before this release, excerpts from this opera had been performed by other singers such as Cecilia Bartoli.
Pinchgut Opera's 2015 production of the opera was recorded live and broadcast on ABC Classic FM.