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Women are Stronger
Mozart's 'Lucio Silla' at La Scala,
enjoyed by GIUSEPPE PENNISI
Mozart was a sixteen year old womanizer travelling through Italy when the Royal Duke Theatre in Milan commissioned him to write an opera seria: Lucio Silla, a long argument of belcanto arias with da capo, a few trios, a quintet and some choral numbers on a rather customary Enlightenment subject — ie: a ferocious tyrant becomes, within the span of a day, a little lamb (retiring to a farm) after he understands the depth of the conjugal love experienced by the woman he wants to take to bed. There was, of course, also ballet (but most of that music got lost over the decades). Reportedly, on the opening night, 26 December 1772, the performance lasted for more than six hours, but two of these were due to the Archduke arriving late at the theatre. It was quite successful: twenty six performances in Milan, followed by a good number of productions elsewhere in the Austrian Empire...
Copyright © 3 March 2015
Giuseppe Pennisi,
Rome, Italy
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