Metastasio and Opera Seria

I have, hanging on the walls of my office, pictures of my literary heroes. They serve as inspiration during times when I need a boost. They also hang there as reminders of great stories, superbly lived lives, and art as art has never been created. Chief among these heroes are two librettists from the 18th Century: Metastasio and Da Ponte.

I've written about Da Ponte before. He was a the librettist for Mozart, writing three of Mozart's most famous operas. I was introduced to Metastasio through Da Ponte because Metastasio was Da Ponte's hero. Da Ponte grew up knowing that he wanted to be a poet and librettist because, as a child, one of three books he owned was a collection of the famous Italian's poetry. When Da Ponte arrived in Vienna, his first concern was to meet with the elderly Metastasio. After making the right connections, he finally dined with the old man and shared a wonderful evening of poetry and opera with him. A few days later, Metastasio died.

Metastasio is still revered in Vienna. In fact, when Sherry and I were in Vienna a couple of years ago, we toured a few cathedrals. On display in one of the cathedrals was the tomb of Metastasio. They were refurbishing his coffin for the anniversary of his death, and it was on display. Unfortunately, at that time, I had no idea who he was. It wasn't until a year later that I put the two together. Had I known I was looking right at the place of his burial, I would have taken pictures.

Metastasio was born in 1698, and he was apprenticed to be a goldsmith when he became a teenager, but fate was good to him. When his father could no longer afford to raise him, he was sent to live with an uncle who took time to introduce him to the arts. In no time at all, it was apparent that he was a poet at heart.

At the early age of fourteen he wrote a tragedy which he called "Justin." Although it wasn't worthy for production, there was no doubt to his uncle that he had a gift for the flow of verse that could be turned into music. Metastasio also knew this, and he worked tirelessly to refine his craft. And refine it, he did.

Italy never had a poet like him. He had vivacity of imagination and refinement of feeling, combined with every charm of versification and expression. His style was as graceful as a painter and as delightful as a musician. His verse was perfect for the opera, and, soon, he was sought out by Italian composers to craft operas for them.

What I love about him most, though, was the fact that he did not want to be a lofty poet by writing sublime poetry. He wanted to be a poet of the opera. He dedicated his life to this art, and he became, in a very short period of time, the most famous librettist in all of Europe. His operas were to make Italy proud, and his poetry formed the basis for what was to become the national art of his home country.

It is strange that, today, he is not mentioned among the great poets and artists of his time. Most people have never heard of him , but during his lifetime, he was considered the greatest of the greats. He wrote over 1,800 works, 28 of which were grand operas. In fact, most of the operas during the 18th century were Metastasio's! You see, back then, there were no copyright laws, so any musician could write music to his work, and, boy, did they!

He wrote a style of opera called Opera Seria which was in vogue up until the late 18th Century. Opera Seria was a distinctive style of opera which had a very nationalistic tone to it. It has been called the "rhetorical opera" because it took, as its subject, stories from Greek and Roman tragedies. The operas consisted of arias (songs that were sung as songs), recitatives (songs that mimicked human speech when sung), and chorus (songs sung by a group of people). These operas usually told a story and had a moral to teach to the audience. Although the characters were not as vivid and lively as the opera we know today (Opera Buffa), the poetry and story was more important to the opera than the music was, and that is why the librettists of that time were put on a pedestal. You see, Opera Buffa focuses upon lively characters with powerful voices, and the music is the emotional driver.

Metastasio was a poet first. He wrote from the heart, and his work was compelling, emotional, and spine-tingling. He could engage the audience from the start, and he could make the manliest of men cry. His words were magical to say the least. He was so popular that he was brought to Vienna and given a lifetime position as Poet of the Opera which he held until he died. And just to put it into perspective, Da Ponte took over as Poet of the Opera when Metastasio died. By that time, Opera Seria was giving way to Opera Buffa, and the influence and recognition of the librettist would slowly give way to the composers. Again, the reason this was the case was that, in Opera Buffa, the music drives the emotions of the opera, not the poetry.

Today, fortunately, Opera Seria is coming back into vogue. People are looking for a different kind of art in their opera, and some 220 years later, the tide is turning once more back to Opera Seria. As it gains popularity, I am sure that Metastasio's name will appear in more biographies and books dedicated to this great poet.