On 2 May 2013 the opera L’Olimpiade by Josef Mysliveček was performed in the Estates Theatre Prague, the work of a composer whose art was once admired by the whole of Europe.
The considerable operatic output of Josef Mysliveček (Prague 1737 – Rome 1781) is known to few today, but belongs to the varied repertoire of Italian 18th century opera. This repertoire also includes works by Tommaso Traetta, Giovanni Paisiello, Niccolò Jommelli, Antonio Sacchini and others, part of the line which links Giovanni Battista Pergolesi to the composers of the 19th century, up to Gioachino Rossini and Gaetano Donizetti.
Mysliveček studied in Prague with Josef Seger and Franz Wenzel Habermann, however, a trip to Italy in 1763 was of particular significance in his artistic development; there he rapidly succeeded in making contact with higher social and artistic circles. The triumph of his opera Bellerofonte, performed on 20 January 1767 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, opened doors for him to what was then the operatic centre of Europe. On this occasion he met the soprano Catarina Gabrielli who went on to star in other operas by Mysliveček and perhaps, as legend has it, had a love affair with him.
Connections between Mysliveček and the Mozart family are well-known. They met for the first time in 1770 in Bologna, where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had just composed his first opera for Italy, Mitridate, Re di Ponto. Seven years later Mozart wrote to his father from Munich about his meeting there with Mysliveček and about his admiration for his opera Ezio and the oratorio Abramo ed Isacco, which had just been performed there. The similarity between Mysliveček’s and Mozart’s musical language can be seen as evidence of these connections.
Around 1775 Mysliveček was at the height of his career in Naples. Despite this, in 1777 he applied for the position of Kapellmeister to Elector Maximilian in Bavaria. An accident on the journey to Munich affected the composer’s health, and the death of the Elector changed his plans. Mysliveček returned to Naples. In 1778 his operas Calliroe and L’Olimpiade were performed there, which also marked the end of the happier part of his life. The opera L’Olimpiade is a masterpiece, its musical language following in the tradition of the Neapolitan School. The basic element is the melodic line which allows the simple formal structure to emerge; here we find one of the sources for the style of the Viennese classics.
The first performance of L’Olimpiade in Prague, 235 years after its composition, attracted a great deal of attention throughout Europe. The production was distinguished by the characteristic style of director Ursel Herrmann. The libretto of L’Olimpiade by Pietro Metastasio, one of his most frequently set libretti, portrays interweaving love stories in Greek Olympia during the Olympic Games. The work draws on the world of the classical ideal of beauty and harmony, as imagined by the Roman Accademia dell’Arcadia, to which Metastasio belonged. Ursel Herrmann narrates this in a simple, yet impressive set of set designs by Hartmut Schörghofer. Václav Luks has edited the score. He performed this in stunning style with his Ensemble Collegium 1704, one of the leading groups for historical performance practice today. The fullness of life and melodic invention of Mysliveček’s music was shown in the best possible light in this interpretation.
After three performances in Prague, which were realised thanks to the Bohemian Heritage Fund and a range of private sponsors and represented a unique event in the opera season, a series of performances in the theatres of the co-producers took place in France (Caen, Dijon) and Luxembourg. There, this work by a Bohemian composer also received exceptional attention, which might give cause for further performances of Mysliveček’s stage works.
BP
(from [t]akte 2/2013)