El Don Chisciotte in Sierra Morena de Apostolo Zeno y Pietro Pariati: del Quijote al libreto
abstract
Zeno and Pariati are the authors of the libretto Don Chisciotte in Sierra Morena, composed by Francesco Conti and represented for the first time in 1719 at the court of Charles VI in Vienna. The episode has a central position in the First Part of Don Quixote, and offers several themes and a set of characters that hinder any reduction other literary genres. Apart from some changes due both to the requirements of opera poetry and the taste of the time, the analysis of the text of the libretto reveals a faithful relationship with the corresponding chapters of the Spanish work. However, when analysing the development of the reception of the themes and characters of Quixote, starting from the date of its publication (1605), it is possible to verify how much seventeenth-century rewritings influenced some of the choices made by librettists.
Keywords: Libretto • Madness • Opera • Quixote • Love