Following the successful series of performances offered in previous seasons-after Dorilla in Tempe (2019), Farnace (2021), Griselda (2022), and Orlando furioso (2018, 2023)-the Fenice continues its exciting rediscovery of the Red Priest’s operatic production. Tamerlano (The Bajazet, RV 703) was commissioned from Antonio Vivaldi by the Accademia Filarmonica of Verona, for the newly built theater, on the occasion of the Carnival of 1734-1735. Despite being referred to in the Ryom catalog as a “tragedy for music,” this work is habitually referred to as a ‘botch,’ since in it-according to the custom of the time-arias by other composers are assembled with arias- either specially composed or borrowed from earlier works-by Vivaldi himself, who instead wrote from scratch much of the beautiful recitatives.
