Ascanio in Alba, K. 111, is a pastoral opera in two parts (Festa teatrale in due atti) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Parini. This youthful opera by Mozart contains outstanding arias and brilliant moments of musical drama.
It was first performed at the Teatro Regio Ducal in Milan, on 17 October 1771.
The opening scene introduces Venus and Ascanio, the son she had by Aeneas. (In most classical sources, Venus/Aphrodit...
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Ascanio in Alba, K. 111, is a pastoral opera in two parts (Festa teatrale in due atti) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Parini. This youthful opera by Mozart contains outstanding arias and brilliant moments of musical drama.
It was first performed at the Teatro Regio Ducal in Milan, on 17 October 1771.
The opening scene introduces Venus and Ascanio, the son she had by Aeneas. (In most classical sources, Venus/Aphrodite is the mother of Aeneas.) The goddess vaunts the charms of Alba and invites her son to go and rule there. She urges him not to reveal his identity to Silvia, a nymph to whom he is betrothed, but to introduce himself to her under a false identity to test her virtue. While shepherds summon their promised ruler, Fauno reveals that the smiling face of Aceste, a priest, is a sign that the day will be a day of supreme happiness. Obeying the goddess, Ascanio pretends to be a foreigner attracted by the beauties of the place. Aceste tells the...
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