| Ottone in villa | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Antonio Vivaldi | |
 Title page of the libretto, 1713, dedication to Henry Herbert, 9th Earl of Pembroke | |
| Librettist | Domenico Lalli |
| Language | Italian |
| Premiere | 17 May 1713 Teatro delle Grazie, Vicenza |
Ottone in villa (Otho at his villa, RV 729) is an opera in three acts by Antonio Vivaldi to an Italian libretto by Domenico Lalli (the pseudonym of Sebastiano Biancardi). It was Vivaldi's first opera and premiered on 17 May 1713 at the Teatro delle Garzerie in Vicenza.[1] Lalli's pastoral drama is set in ancient Rome and was a condensed adaptation of Francesco Maria Piccioli's satirical libretto for Carlo Pallavicino's opera Messalina (1679). However, Lalli changed several of the characters in Piccioli's libretto. Messalina became an invented character, Cleonilla. The Roman Emperor Claudius became another emperor, Otho (Ottone), who had already appeared as a protagonist in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea (1642) and in Handel's Agrippina (1709).[2]
- ^ Casaglia 2005. Note that while most sources give the premiere venue as the Teatro delle Grazie, Strohm 1985, p. 141 gives it as the Teatro Nuovo di Piazza. There is considerable confusion in the names of the theatres in Vicenza. Initially, the Teatro delle Grazie was called the Nuovo Teatro delle Grazie and co-existed with the Teatro di Piazza. According to Folena & Arnaldi 1985, p. 295, the Teatro delle Grazie was built on the site of the Teatro delle Garzerie which burnt down in 1683.
- ^ Ketterer 2008, pp. 61–62.