Silla declares before the assembled people that this day shall give him vengeance and his heart's desire. Junia accuses him as the mur» derer of her betrothed, and calls on the people to avenge her. Silla pardons her and Cecilio, and unites the loving pair. Seized with compunction Cinna reveals his plot against Silla; he, too, receives pardon and the hand of Celia. Finally Silla forgives Aufidio his evil counsels, lays down the dictatorship, and restores freedom to Rome.
The consideration of such a libretto as this renders comprehensible the esteem in which Metastasio's texts were held. There is no trace of psychological study of motive; Silla, a sort of distorted Titus, alternates between cruelty and remorse, and finally empties a perfect cornucopia of generosity on to the stage; Junia too is unequal and weak. The situations are one and all as if purposely arranged to lead to nothing; the poet has with difficulty disposed the numerous scenes so as to introduce the necessary songs in their proper order. And the verse itself is very far removed from the grace and melody of Metastasio.
The score of the opera is preserved entire in Mozart's handwriting; it is in three parts, and has 610 pages. It contains besides the overture twenty-three numbers, among them three choruses (6, 17, 23), one duet (7), and one terzet (18). No wonder that the composer paid court to the singers! The mishap that deprived the opera of its tenor has been already narrated (p. 142). As the part devolved in the end on a very unpractised singer, the greater part of it was omitted, leaving only what was necessary for the coherence of the plot. The two songs (5, 13) are written for a singer whose voice and execution do not rise above the average, without any passages, and with a MOZART'S EARLY OPERAS. moderate compass; the more elaborate instrumentation alone betrays that they are intended for a principal performer. Two other songs for Silla which are in the libretto were not composed at all, in order, no doubt, as Sonnleithner conjectures, to give the tenor as little as possible to do.
All the more stress is laid on the parts of De Amicis and Rauzzini. Junia has four songs, which are all for a singer of the first rank. The special bravura song (II) is in the second act, "Ah, se il crudel periglio del caro ben ramento." Long passages of varied structure are here the chief considerations. One example among many will serve to show that Mozart was right in afterwards calling them "dreadful":—[See Page Image]
Notwithstanding the bravura character of this song, its style is far from well defined; that of the entering song, "Della sponde tenebrose" (4), and of the third aria (16) is more marked. This last, "Parto, m' affretto, ma nel partire il cor si spezza, mi manca la anima," consists of a continuous and progressive allegro assai. An agitated phrase for the first violins—supported by an accompaniment for the second, runs through it almost without intermission; the harmonising is interesting "LUCIO SILLA"—JUNIA. and varied; particularly effective is the immediate juxtaposition of major and minor keys; the whole song is strikingly expressive of an unsettled wavering mood.
Passages such as—[See Page Image] are brilliant, but not, properly speaking, characteristic. At least they do not stamp the actual situation with individuality; they seem designed only to define the character and mood of the acting personage in their main features, like the masks of ancient tragedy. The more detailed analysis was left to the art and individuality of the performer, to whom the composer offered only the means of combining dramatic force with song. We can still recognise the essential features of the characters; but we are quite unable to realise either the animation with which great artists inspired them, or the effect they produced on the minds of contemporaries. It is a mistake to consider bravura and character as opposite terms; ornamental passages are quite susceptible of characteristic expression, if they are delivered at the right time and in the right way. Junia's songs express the character of a proud strong Roman woman, and an opportunity for dramatic analysis is offered to the performer even in the more florid songs. But the true dramatic expression is undisturbed in Junia's last song (22), "Fra i pensier più funesti di morte veder parmi l' esangue consorte." The long adagio, followed by an allegro, is a distinct foreshadowing of the later form. The treatment of the orchestra too is significant. The flutes, oboes, and bassoons are in unison, and contrast with the stringed instruments, after a fashion not usual at the time: and in the allegro the orchestra is in significant opposition to the voice part, which is simple and unadorned, although calculated to give due effect to a fine voice; its dramatic expression is quite excellent.
In the part of Cecilio, written for Rauzzini, the regard paid to the singer is very apparent both in the compass of the voice, which comprises two octaves, and in the style. He was what may be called a scholarly singer, theoretically educated, and a composer himself, and difficulties are introduced evidently with a view to this. Thus, for instance, the recitative preceding his second aria is full of curious, sometimes harsh, turns and transitions in the harmonies; in the third aria such jumps as the following occur—[See Page Image] requiring no small certainty of execution. The first song (2), introduced by a fine expressive recitative, begins, as these male sopranos loved, with a long-sustained note, and'contains various brilliant passages; but it is quite without original invention. The second song (9) expresses a proud, free mood with strength and animation; the last (21) can only be explained as a freak of the performer. Cecilio, in the act of being led to execution, moved by Junia's tears, turns to her with the words—
Pupille amate
Non lagrimate!
These tender, trifling words, are treated by Mozart with an exquisite grace which is quite foreign to the character and the situation of Cecilio, and, as Sonnleithner observes, would be much more suitable to a soubrette. Probably Rauzzini chose this way of ingratiating himself with the public.