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| | Arts Calendar / November 9 / Concerts |
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 Opera in concert form performed by Armonia Atenea orchestra and Questa Musica Ensemble. Polifemo is an opera in three acts by Nicola Porpora with a libretto by Paolo Rolli. The opera is based on a combination of two mythological stories involving the cyclops Polyphemus: His killing of Acis and his blinding by Ulysses. The last of five operas Porpora composed while residing in London, the opera premiered on 1 February 1735 at King's Theatre, and featured the famed castrato singers Farinelli and Senesino. Polifemo was Porpora's second-most popular opera, after his Arianna in Nasso. The plot is drawn from two sources, Ovid's Metamorphoses (book XIII, 750) which involves Polyphemus, Acis and Galatea as well as Homer's Odyssey which involve Ulysses (the Roman name for Odysseus), Polyphemus and Calypso. Rolli's libretto differs from Homer. The librettist has Calipso (Calypso) helping Ulisse (Ulysses) to thwart Polifemo (Polyphemus). (In Homer the episode with Polyphemus occurs prior to Ulysses's encounter with Calypso who is determined to win over Ulysses.) Dumigan suggests that Rolli might have been aiming for more "dramatic truth." Despite Polifemo being an ugly and evil cyclops, he is allowed to show another side of his personality by revealing his despair at having lost his sight. Galatea, who loses immortality upon the death of Aci, is allowed to plead for her life, revealing more of a three-dimensional character.
Tchaikovsky Concert Hall  |
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