Antonio Vivaldi
Il Tamerlano
ovvero la morte di Bajazet [RV703]
Tragedia per musica in three acts, libretto by Agostino Piovena.
Concert version.
Bajazet – Bruno Taddia
Tamerlano – Filippo Mineccia
Asteria – Delphine Galou
Irene – Sophie Rennert
Andronico – Marina de Liso
Idaspe – Arianna Vendittelli
Ottavio Dantone – harpsichord and conductor
Accademia Bizantina
Il Tamerlano, or La morte di Bajazet (the death of Bajazet) was staged during the 1735 Carnival season. Bajazet, a powerful sultan of the Ottoman Empire, is defeated by Mongol leader Tamerlano and commits suicide. These are historical characters, symbols of the greatness and decline of the empire with which the Serenissima had to contend throughout its history. The ‘Tragedia per musica’ composed by Vivaldi (performed here in the critical edition reconstructed by Bernardo Ticci) is a pasticcio, i.e. a work combining not only the author’s pre-existing pages, but also those of other composers: a well-established practice at the time, which in no way detracts from the irresistible incisiveness of Vivaldi’s writing.
After the great success of the tour in Italian theatres, the opera will be performed in concert form at Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, thanks to the support of the Italian Cultural Institute in Barcelona and ATER Fondazione.
Accademia Bizantina (AB) was founded in Ravenna in 1983.
Accademia’s music starts from the origin (“AB”), from the very rules of the baroque stylistic language: it investigates them without any addition, elimination or transformation, relying on the sounds of ancient instruments.
This unique performing method began in 1996 with the appointment of its conductor Ottavio Dantone, a true expert of Baroque expressive codes. His system, forged by experience and an ongoing philological study, has allowed AB as an orchestra to approach any repertoire with awareness and honesty. Being able to convey the composer’s authentic intentions to the public is an invaluable asset that has earned AB national and international recognition and collaboration*.
Each performance by Accademia Bizantina, which since 2011 can also count on the prestigious concertmaster Alessandro Tampieri, is an unexpected journey through time, an unparalleled balance between technique, skill, rigour, interpretative culture, intuition and stylistic accuracy.
Accademia Bizantina has recorded for Decca, Harmonia Mundi, Deutsche Grammophon, Naïve, Alpha, Onyx, HDB Sonus. It has received prestigious awards such as the Diapason d’Or, Midem, Choc di Classica, Opus Klassik, Grammy Music Award and Gramophone Awards. Particularly significant are the collaborations with violinists Viktoria Mullova and Giuliano Carmignola, countertenor Andreas Scholl and contralto Delphine Galou; in 2021 got the second place in the world and first place in Europe at Gramophone Awards for the best orchestra of the year.
Accademia Bizantina has performed in the world’s most renowned theatres and festivals, such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center (New York), Wigmore Hall and Barbican Centre (London), Théâtre des Champs Elysées (Paris) and Opera Royal (Versailles); Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Bozar (Brussels), Pierre Boulez Saal / Staatoper (Berlin) Kölner Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, ENCPA Beijing, Shanghai Concert Hall, Walt Disney Hall (Los Angeles), Theater an der Wien (Wien), CNDM Madrid, and Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome.
