Alessandro Scarlatti's Mitridate Eupatore
Alessandro Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti earned an important place in musical history for a variety
of reasons. He is said to have been the first composer to write a string quartet. Moreover,
in developing the "Italian" overture, as distinct from the "French" overture (Ewen). This
paper will be discussing some of Scarlatti's most important works.
One of Scarlatti's most famous operas is Mitridate Eupatore. It was written in
1707, for Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo in Venice. It is mainly about the revenge of
Prince Eupatore and his sister Laodice on their mother, Queen Stratonica. The Queen
has murdered their father and married her lover Farnace (Palisca). There are a lot of da
capo arias in this opera, one …show more content…
It has great advantage of a clear and well-designed plot. Which in addition
to its regular parti buffe has vein of subtle humor running all through. Tomiri makes fun
of her lovers as she plays off one against the other, and her rival Meroe in the disguise of
a gipsy fortune-teller makes fun of everybody. It produces a general impression of
brilliance and magnificence; but examples of really deep feeling or exalted musical
beauty are rare. The characters are striking, the music is striking; variety of expression,
brilliant coloratura and melodic beauty contribute to make everything as showy and
effective as possible (Dent). The outrageous incongruities of the comic scenes are a
positive relief. As crazy as the characters are, they are very much more human and
natural than the heroes and heroines of the conventional tragedy. Scarlatti was also the
founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. The existing material on the early years of
Scarlatti's life is meager. When he was fourteen years old, his family migrated out of
Palermo and, after two of its members had settled in Naples, went on to Rome. In Rome,
Scarlatti began his first important studies in music, possibly under Carissimi, master
Alessandro Scarlatti earned an important place in musical history for a variety
of reasons. He is said to have been the first composer to write a string quartet. Moreover,
in developing the "Italian" overture, as distinct from the "French" overture (Ewen). This
paper will be discussing some of Scarlatti's most important works.
One of Scarlatti's most famous operas is Mitridate Eupatore. It was written in
1707, for Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo in Venice. It is mainly about the revenge of
Prince Eupatore and his sister Laodice on their mother, Queen Stratonica. The Queen
has murdered their father and married her lover Farnace (Palisca). There are a lot of da
capo arias in this opera, one …show more content…
It has great advantage of a clear and well-designed plot. Which in addition
to its regular parti buffe has vein of subtle humor running all through. Tomiri makes fun
of her lovers as she plays off one against the other, and her rival Meroe in the disguise of
a gipsy fortune-teller makes fun of everybody. It produces a general impression of
brilliance and magnificence; but examples of really deep feeling or exalted musical
beauty are rare. The characters are striking, the music is striking; variety of expression,
brilliant coloratura and melodic beauty contribute to make everything as showy and
effective as possible (Dent). The outrageous incongruities of the comic scenes are a
positive relief. As crazy as the characters are, they are very much more human and
natural than the heroes and heroines of the conventional tragedy. Scarlatti was also the
founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. The existing material on the early years of
Scarlatti's life is meager. When he was fourteen years old, his family migrated out of
Palermo and, after two of its members had settled in Naples, went on to Rome. In Rome,
Scarlatti began his first important studies in music, possibly under Carissimi, master