Commissioned by Spain's musical queen
[PICO, Francesco Maria, Duke of Mirandola.] Il Vello d’oro conquistato. Componimento drammatico da rappresentarsi nel Regio Teatro del Buon-Ritiro, festeggiandosi il felice giorno natalizio di Sua Maestà Cattolica il re nostro signore D. Ferdinando VI per commando di sua maestà Cattolica la regina nostra signora D. Maria Barabara. El Vellon de oro conquistado … por orden de … la reyna nuestra señora D.a Maria Barbara. [Madrid: Lorenzo Francisco Mojados. 1748.]
4to. In recent patterned wrappers, gilt edges; pp. 109, [1 (blank)], bound without the final blank; printed in parallel Italian and Spanish on facing pages, text within woodcut frames, woodcut initials, ornaments, head- and tailpieces, woodcut royal arms of Spain to p. 1; first and final page slightly soiled, but generally very good; ink shelfmark to title (“43 – 6”).
First edition, with parallel text in Italian and Spanish, of the libretto for Giovanni Battista Mele’s opera Il Vello d’oro conquistato, commissioned by Queen Maria Barbara of Spain for the birthday of her husband, King Ferdinand VI.
Francesco Maria Pico (1688-1747) was the third and last Duke of Mirandola. Having lost his ancestral lands in Northern Italy to the Austrians, he migrated to Spain, where he served as a courtier to both Philip V and Ferdinand VI. Although he held little political influence and was seen as a “frivolous and immature successor to the Pico family”, Francesco Maria cultivated a lively cultural presence. The owner of a well-curated library, he was the dedicatee of the Italian translation of Fénelon’s Les Aventures de Télémaque (Venice, 1705), and a regular guest in literary salons where he promoted chocolate consumption (DBI). Pico is also the author of the libretto for Il Vello d’oro conquistato, an opera by the Neapolitan composer Giovanni Battista Mele (c. 1694-after 1752), although his name does not figure in the work.
Il Vello d’oro conquistato premiered on 23 September 1748 at the court theatre of the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid, on Ferdinand’s thirty-fifth birthday. The opera follows Jason’s classical quest for the Golden Fleece, enriched with “ornamental elements for the celebration” (trans.). The libretto provides a summary of the opera, descriptions of the scenes, and a list of performers. Not only the composer and librettist, but nearly all the singers, as well as the scenographer, were Italian and affiliated with the legendary castrato singer and director of the court opera Farinelli (1705-1782).
The volume is a testament to Queen Maria Barbara’s deep love for music. A virtuosa keyboard player and pupil of Italian composer Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757), Maria Barbara had assumed control of Madrid’s musical scene upon her husband’s accession in 1746, entrusting its direction to Farinelli. A second edition of the libretto appeared in 1749 when the queen commanded the opera to be re-staged; it appears that there were no further performances.
Very rare: OCLC records only one copy in the US (California State Library) and one in the UK (BL).
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