Bajazet (Gasparini opera)

Bajazet is an opera by Francesco Gasparini, a revision of his 1711 work Tamerlano. It was first performed at the Teatro Pubblico in Reggio Emilia in 1719, with designs by Pietro Righini.[1]

Title page of the libretto for Gasparini’s Bajazet
List of roles for the first performance of Gasparini’s Bajazet
Timur the Great’s imprisonment of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid

The first production included Francesco Borosini in the title role, Antonio Bernacchi (Tamerlano), Marina Benta Bulgarelli (Asteria), Faustina Bordoni (Irene), Diana Vico (Andronico), Antonio Piasi (Clearco), Battista Roberti (Leone) and Girolamo Bartoluzzi Regiano (Zaida).[1][2]

A second production was staged in Venice in 1723. Three versions of the work are known, but it is only the 1719 one for which all the music is known to have survived.[1]

Composition

Bajazet was a nearly complete rewrite of Tamerlano - there are only six arias in common between them. The rewriting was prompted by the need to rework the material around the renowned tenor Francesco Borosini. The original libretto by Agostino Piovene was extensively rewritten by Ippolito Zanelli - the role of Bajazet was expanded and made central to the new work, with his suicide now shown on stage rather than merely described.[2][3]

The number of parts and the distribution of arias also changed significantly between Tamerlano and Bajazet. Musically the focus of Tamerlano was Asteria, who had 9 arias, with only 6 for Bajazet and 5 for Tamerlano. The parts in Bajazet are more evenly balanced, and the minor characters were rewritten and given more arias to sing.[2][4]

Rolex
Role Voice type Premiere Cast[5]
Tamerlano, the emperor of the Tartars alto castrato Antonio Bernacchi
Bajazet, the emperor of the Turks, now a prisoner to Tamerlano tenor Francesco Borosini
Asteria, daughter of Bajazet, in love with Andronicus soprano Marianna Benti Bulgarelli, "la Romanina"
Irene, princess of Tresbisond, promised in marriage to Tamerlane soprano Faustina Bordoni
Andronicus, a prince from Greece, ally of Tamerlane contralto in travesti Diana Vico
Clearco, another prince from Greece, ally of Tamerlane ? castrato Antonio Pasi
Leone, Bajazet's general, a confidant of Asteria ? castrato Giovan Battista Roberti
Zaida, a Moor with Asteria soprano castrato (in travesti) Girolamo Bartoluzzi

Influence

When Borosini went to London in 1724, he brought with him the score for Bajazet and showed it to George Frideric Handel. Handel had already written his own opera Tamerlano on the basis of the 1711 Piovene libretto, simplifying it by eliminating all the secondary characters except Leone. However when Borosini showed him the score for Bajazet he rewrote his own material again, adding in a death scene for Borosini in the title role.[2] The libretto Handel eventually used was written for him by Nicola Francesco Haym and amalgamated elements from Gasparini’s libretto from both 1711 and 1719.[6][4] Handel also cut much of the recitative in Gasparini’s version, as was his usual practice.[7]

Modern revival

Gasparini’s 1719 score may have been performed once of twice after the Reggio Emilia production, but the work was then neglected until 2014, when it was revived by Auser Musici and performed at the Opera Barga Festival.[8][9]

References
  1. "Gasparini Bajazet". operabaroque.fr. Opéra Baroque. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  2. Frigeni, Maurizio. "Il Bazajet". saladelcembalo.org. The Handel Harpsichord Room. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  3. Saunders, Harris. "Bajazet". oxfordmusiconline.com. Grove Music Online. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  4. Iain Fenlon; Tim Carter; Nigel Fortune (1995). Con Che Soavità: Studies in Italian Opera, Song, and Dance, 1580-1740. Clarendon Press. p. 278. ISBN 978-0-19-816370-1.
  5. Original libretto reproduced aside
  6. Reinhard Strohm (2008-10-30). Essays on Handel and Italian Opera. Cambridge University Press. pp. 50–. ISBN 978-0-521-08835-0.
  7. Hugill, Robert. "Gasparini's 'Il Bajazet' rediscovered". planethugill.com. Planet Hugill. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  8. Ogus, Anthony. "Gasparini's Bajazet at the Barga Festival". anthonyogus.co.uk. Anthony Ogus. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  9. "Auser Musici". sns.it. Scuola Normale Superiore. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
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