Porsile : Spartacus

Giuseppe Porsile (1680-1750) Spartacus Duration: 3h including interval The rediscovery of Porsile's opera Spartacus, led by Orkester Nord and conductor Martin Wåhlberg, marks an event acclaimed by critics. Composer to the imperial court in 1720, Porsile was the equal of the greatest creators of his time: Caldara, Fux, Conti, Porpora and even Vivaldi (who died in Vienna in 1741). Spartacus, created for the February 1726 Carnival, is one of his finest operatic works and one of the very rare operas of the period about a gladiator. Spartacus was a great success at its premiere in Vienna in February 1726, thanks to an excellent libretto and a lavish score. The renown of Spartacus is also explained by the cast, dominated by the baritenor Francesco Borosini, who created the title role and in particular the striking scene of paranoid delirium in Act III. With a voice spanning at least two octaves, Borosini inspired Caldara, Conti, Porsile, Fux and Gasparini to write roles of sensational virtuosity. Borosini was also one of the principal artists who enabled Handel to compose emblematic roles such as Bajazet in Tamerlano, Grimoaldo in Rodelinda, or the spectacular transposition of Sesto in the 1725 revival of Giulio Cesare. Alongside Borosini, the fantastic soloists of the Viennese court follow one another in this work, notably Regina Schoonjans in the noble role of Vetturia and Faustina, Handel's muse par excellence, as Gianisbe. Spartacus is an opera that speaks of liberty at various levels. From the outset, the plot unfolds at the end of Spartacus's revolt, while the leader of the gladiators was cornered in the city of Capua. As the siege of the city begins, Spartacus tries to win the heart of the noble matron Vetturia and to marry his daughter Gianisbe to the Roman Licinio, already promised to Vetturia.

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