It is important to note that while the biggest name in the Venetian production was Carestini (as Odenato), in Naples Farinelli shaped the role of Decio. In this way, the musical emphasis of the drama was transposed to the Decio–Aspasia couple: he sings the first aria of the opera even though his character does not appear until the fourth scene of Act I in the libretto. The story, meanwhile, focuses on Zenobia. The number of arias per character clearly shows this equality of the four: Aspasia and Decio have five arias each, Odenato and Zenobia six (the latter, five plus an arioso). Considering this, the case of Zenobia in Palmira is especially intense, as the troubles in the plot are compounded by the two couples of almost equal importance. However, Aspasia would have been given five arias in total, while Decio just four, as the libretto shows.187 That was balanced later by Leo, who reworked and extended Decio’s (Farinelli’s) role. He got the very first aria of the work (‘Qual con l’aura’ I/2) and took another one (‘Lieto parto amato’/‘Tamerò sì ben mio’ II/2) which originally belonged to Aspasia. Moreover, it was not only composed for Farinelli with an altered text, but was also reworked and turned into a more grandiose additional aria.188 In compensation, Strada was given an additional aria di bravura, ‘Quando irato il Ciel s’oscura’, in place of Zenobia’s ‘Oh Dio perché s’oscura’. This aria is set at a crucial place in a dramatic sense, in Act II, scene 11, right before the greatest conflict of the drama: Zenobia tells Odenato about her vow not to marry without being conquered by her beloved in single combat. Thus, both Strada and Farinelli finally ended up with five arias each.
The opening scene of the drama presents a newly written dialogue between Odenato and Decio. Their conversation is about the ladies they love, highlighting Aspasia in particular. Decio’s first words are that he burns for her. In the second scene, which corresponds to the first scene of L’amore eroico, enriched with Decio and Tullo, his servant, Zenobia appears with Farnace who realises the Roman ←75 | 76→general’s ardent love for his beloved one (the aforementioned first aria of Decio, ‘Qual con l’aura’). Farnace’s revenge aria in the third scene (‘Sento già che nel furore’), with a rewritten text, seems to have a double meaning: he wants to take vengeance not only on Odenato for political reasons but also on Decio for personal ones, which calls the Persian Princess to mind again. In Act I, scenes 4‒5 the first arias of Zenobia and then of Odenato take place. Odenato must answer Aspasia’s call, which arouses Zenobia’s jealousy. We can see therefore a strictly and consciously built-up dramaturgy. By the time she finally enters in scene 6, the audience has already witnessed passionate discussions about her all along; one knows almost everything about Aspasia and how the others relate to her.
As soon as Zenobia learns the king’s love for her, she invites him to open the golden gem. Odenato looks for the first time at the portrait of his beloved and the scales fall from his eyes, realising that the Assirian captain is in fact Zenobia (I/5). The text of his aria has been reworked:189
Colomba che mira / Dipinto un Ruscello / Non può mai con quello / La sete ammorzar. / Ne un cor che sospira / Mai può dal pensiere / Con finto piacere / Le brame appagar.
The dove, which admires / A painted brook / In this way can never / Extinguish its thirst. / Nor can a heart that sighs / Ever with the thoughts / Of false pleasures / Appease its desires.
The word ‘appagar’ means to appease, to calm. Right after Odenato’s aria another chamber opens to our view (I/6) with the anguished princess herself therein. Aspasia’s entrance aria is in fact a short, one-part number. The first word of the text is ‘placar(ti)’, which is the synonym of ‘appease’ (also ‘placate’), meaning to calm down. This concurrence inevitably generates an association with the previous scene and contrasts the dramatic situations which Odenato and Aspasia are in:
Placarti dovresti / Destino severo; / E sempre più fiero / Tormenti il mio cor.
Calm yourself / Severe fate; / You, who ever more proudly / Torment my heart.
This was a conscious strategic choice of the librettist for the Neapolitan production, because the lyrics of ‘Placarti dovresti’ do not appear in the Venetian libretto.190 Moreover, originally there is a long scene with recitatives, culminating in the aria ‘Vuoi, ch’io parta’. Leo’s score is full of recitative corrections and aria displacements: in the case of this scene, it is clearly visible that the fogli of ‘Placarti’ were inserted additionally. The composer’s first idea was to turn one ←76 | 77→sentence of the recitative into an aria (‘Lascia, ch’io giusti ancora’; B↑ major, C, Larghetto e amoroso) in the middle of scene 7,191 Aspasia and Decio’s conversation, but it was cut off and the more characteristic ‘Placarti’ replaced it. In this way, the focus fell on the princess alone, whose both sides, the social and the personal, were portrayed simultaneously.
Example 2.11 Leo: Zenobia in Palmira – ‘Placarti dovresti’
The introductory ritornello in C major is a magnificent French-style march. This rich sound, based on vertical movements, and later, when the singer enters, on the variety of harmonies, and the choice of the key together with the dotted ←77 | 78→rhythms create the royal atmosphere, serving as a symbol of Aspasia’s noble rank.192 The vocal part of ‘Placarti dovresti’ (Ex. 2.11) brings out Aspasia’s royal status, but also her personal emotions, struggles, and doubts. In contrast to the orchestral ritornello, it is based on horizontal legato lines, but leaps play an important role as well. This diversity clearly refers to the conflict between her social and personal situations. Vocally, the aria focuses on the display of messa di voce as well as generous portamento singing.193 Without beautifully executed sustained notes the number would lose its meaning. Messa di voce or ‘placement of the voice’ was considered proof of an accomplished vocal technique because it required a high level breath control as well as a perfect positioning of the voice to change the volume of the note without altering intonation or timbre.194 Mancini discussed it as a gift of nature, one of the most effective tools in singing, a great beauty linked to ‘real true artists’ only. He mentions the most famous example, Farinelli, who was Strada’s stage partner.195 Messa di voce was also a display of breath control, and through its swelling of crescendo and decrescendo, as Naomi Adele André maintains, ‘a way to make the sound stand out and resonate through the opera house. Additionally it showcased a remarkable technique; to achieve the elasticity needed to increase and decrease the volume, the note had to be ←78 | 79→placed securely on the breath; otherwise the tone would collapse, disappear in the soft sections and become harsh or shrill in the loud sections’.196 Throughout ‘Placarti dovresti’, Strada’s blended registers, great volume, stamina, breath control, stable support, and most likely her beautiful timbre became evident.
This first closed number of Aspasia carried the great weight for introducing a singer and character. Besides proving Strada’s established technical-musical qualities, it also refers to a voice not of a light soprano. The orchestra does not help the voice with unison – moreover, the first sustained note has to be strong enough to dominate even when the first violins reach c‴; the whole melody structure, starting with a long cʺ lasting more than two-bars (bars 8–10), followed by a gʺ (b. 10), is at once a technical difficulty to solve. Right after that comes a leap of a seventh. Still, the singer is afforded no rest because the next breath has to be taken in such a way that it can provide enough support to reach aʺ, dipping into an fʺ, which, being an altered note, has to be well tuned, especially because at the end of the same bar (b. 15) it changes again into fʺ on the appoggiatura. This chromatic wiggling on words ‘fiero tormenti’,