Spartaco - Schedule, Program & Tickets

DRAMMA PER MUSICA IN THREE ACTS

LIBRETTO BY GIOVANNI CLAUDIO PASQUINI

Slave revolt at the Viennese court (theater)! Giuseppe Porsile premiered the dramatic story of Spartacus and the revolt he instigated here in 1726. Born in Naples, Porsile had been living in the imperial city since 1713 and seven years later he finally received the position he had longed for at court. The period that followed proved to be his most successful theatrically, as he created over 20 stage works and 13 oratorios. The premiere of Spartaco featured the singer Faustina Bordoni, who went to London in the same year and rose to become a celebrated prima donna with works by George Frideric Handel. Giuseppe Porsile composed in the Neapolitan style, which would later leave its mark on the Viennese style of composition. The story of the most famous slave revolt of antiquity is told, but from a Baroque perspective: it is not about the struggle of enslaved slaves against a despotic ruling class (as in Stanley Kubrick's well-known film adaptation of this historical event with Kirk Douglas and Peter Ustinov), but rather about the brutal uprising of a man obsessed with power, who in the end turns out to be the greatest despot himself.

Concert performance in Italian with German surtitles

Introduction to the work 30 minutes before the start of the performance

Subject to change without notice.