Ottone
[1] It was the first new opera written for the Royal Academy of Music (1719)'s fourth season and had its first performance on 12 January 1723 at the King's Theatre, Haymarket in London.
The story of the opera is a fictionalisation of some events in the lives of Adalbert of Italy, his mother Willa of Tuscany (called "Gismonda" in the opera), Otto II, and the Byzantine Princess Theophanu, who became the wife of Otto II in a state marriage intended to form an alliance between the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire.
A tremendous success, Rinaldo created a craze in London for Italian opera seria, a form focused overwhelmingly on solo arias for the star virtuoso singers.
[7] She knew that Handel had written much of the music for the opera before he had hired her, and at the first rehearsal with the composer, indicated that she would like him to write a new entrance aria especially for her, to show her unique talents and make a good first impression with the London public.
[4]Cuzzoni yielded and sang the aria Handel had written with enormous success, including it throughout her career in recitals and concerts.
[4] Handel had seen Antonio Lotti's opera Teofane, to the same libretto as Ottone, at Opernhaus am Zwinger in Dresden in 1719 with three of the same singers in the same roles.
Her deceased husband had ruled Italy illegally as the country was really a possession of the German King Ottone, who is now on the way to reclaim the territory and to marry Teofane, daughter of the Byzantine emperor, who is already in Rome and has been sent a portrait of her bridegroom-to-be, which has caused her to look forward to her marriage with delight.
Tents along the shore of the sea with ships at anchor The true Ottone has arrived to claim his rightful kingdom and his bride, and has defeated the pirate Emireno, who is brought before him in chains.
Ottone is now greeted by his enraged cousin Princess Matilda, who was officially engaged to Adelberto and is furious that he now proposes to marry Teofane instead.
"Adelaide" haughtily instructs Teofane to give her son her heart as well as her hand (Aria: Pensa ad amare), and leaves.
Adelberto comes to lead Teofane to their wedding, but his mother reappears with the news that Ottone is invading with an army, thrusts a sword into her son's hand and sends him off to battle.
Left alone, Teofane now realises that Adelberto is only pretending to be Ottone, and laments the position in which she finds herself (Aria: Affanni del pensier).
Alone, Ottone is still hopeful of winning Teofane and the kingdom and ruling in peace, extending justice to all (Aria: Dell’onda ai fieri moti).
When alone, Gismonda admits to herself that she too feels pity for her son and longs to console him in his distress (Aria: Vieni, o figlio, e mi consola).
In any case, the embrace does nothing to cool Matilda; she fulminates against Ottone for his refusal to show clemency to Adelberto, calling on monsters and furies to pursue him (Aria: All’orror d’un duolo eterno).
Emireno looks forward to freedom and to vanquishing the enemies who have wronged him (Aria: Le profonde vie dell’onde).
Gismonda joins Matilda in the garden; they celebrate the night that saw the success of their plan to free Adelberto (Duet: Notte cara).
Teofane is distraught and asks the guards to kill her, death will be a release (Aria: Benchè mi sia crudele).
Gismonda grabs the knife from Matilda and is about to commit suicide, when Teofane rushes in and she and Ottone are joyfully reunited (Duet: A’ teneri affetti).
[4] The arias in Ottone place less emphasis on bravura and dazzling virtuosity than in Handel's previous operas and are notable for expressive beauty.
[10] The aria for Senesino in the role of Ottone, Ritorna, o dolce amore, a siciliana in 12/8 time, is praised by musicologist Paul Henry Lang as "exquisitely turned...one of his most beguiling melodies".
Not only the wealthy and aristocratic patrons of the opera were enthusiastic about the performance and the singers: their servants who were in attendance on them were allowed free admission to the gallery and such was their enthusiasm during the opera that a notice was inserted in the London press, as printed in the Daily Courant on 26 January 1723:[13]Upon Complaint to the Royal Academy of Musick, that Disorders have been of late committed in the Footmen's Gallery, to the Interruption of the Performance; This is to give Notice, That the next Time any Disorder is made there, that Gallery will be shut up.18th century musicologist Charles Burney noted that "the number of songs in this opera that became national favourites was perhaps greater than in any other that was ever performed in England" and "the slow air Falsa imagine, (which Cuzzoni had at first not wished to perform), "the first which Cuzzoni sung in this country, fixed her reputation as an expressive and pathetic singer.
Everybody is grown now as great a judge of music as they were in your time of poetry, and folks that could not distinguish one tune from another now daily dispute about the different styles of Handel [and other composers].
People have now forgot Homer, and Virgil, and Caesar, or at least, they have lost their ranks;for, in London and Westminster, in all polite conversations, Senesino is daily voted to be the greatest man that ever lived.
