THE TYRANNOUS FATHER IN OPERA SERIA

Abstract

The article examines the role and function of the father figure in the libretti of Pietro Metastasio, focusing on the representations of the tyrannous rather than the benevolent father. The bulk of his oeuvre written for the Viennese court, Metastasio’s libretti took an active role in propagating the reigning and intertwining social–political systems of absolutist monarchy and patriarchy. The tyrannous father figure served to heighten the usual tension of the contradictory duties of public and private lives, highlighting the dilemma of how far the paterfamilias should be obeyed and his mistreatment towards his child be suffered, analyzed here through the example of Artabano in Artaserse, also pointing out the differing relationship dynamic and dramatic treatment of father–son and father–daughter relationships. Through Astiage in Ciro riconosciuto, the article examines the role of the tyrant, the political ‘bad father’, and how his figure ultimately serves to reinforce the absolutist system and the claim of the divine right of kings.

Keywords

• opera seria
• metastasio
• absolutism
• patriarchy
• operatic dramaturgy