La divisione del mondo

On 4 February 1675, the people of Venice hastened to the Teatro San Salvador to hear the latest piece by Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-1690) and to admire the stage machinery and artifices unstintingly deployed to bring the drama to life. La Divisione del mondo was an immense success at this premiere, which was followed by numerous revivals.

Corradi’s libretto fits perfectly the requirements of a dramma per musica in the latter half of the 17^th century. Reworking the myths, it depicts the division of the universe following the victory of the gods of Olympus over the Titans. All of which is in reality a pretext for a stage presentation of the gods’ worst misbehaviour, of which all are guilty, with the exception of the patriarch, Saturn. Venus, her son Cupid, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, as well as Apollo, are the protagonists in grotesque situations produced by byzantine amorous intrigues.

It is on this complicated plot, driven by a myriad of unexpected turns of events, that Legrenzi hangs a quite remarkable opera whose recent rediscovery encourages us to reexplore for our greater pleasure the oeuvre of one of the most revered composers of his time.

© Les Talens Lyriques