"Ascanio in Alba", o la città dei Lumi. Parini e le nozze di Ferdinando e Beatrice

“Ascanio in Alba”, or the enlightened city. Parini and the wedding of Archduke Ferdinand and Beatrice d’Este The «festa teatrale» Ascanio in Alba was performed in the Teatro Ducale of Milan as a celebration of Archduke Ferdinand of Habsburg’s wedding with the last heiress of the Este dynasty, Maria Beatrice. The libretto was written by Giuseppe Parini, the music was by Mozart, already famous as a composer although he was only fifteen years old. In the disguise of a pastoral drama, the opera is an allegory where Venus (the Empress) approves the marriage between her son (the Archduke) and Silvia (Beatrice), who are represented as being already in love with each other. Ascanio, the mythical founder of Alba and ancestor of Augustus, was a perfect choice for a dynastic celebration. Parini duly fills his task as a court poet, but stresses the theme of good government and underlies the expectation of Milan (the mythical Alba) that the union will bring about an age of public happiness. The success of Ascanio in Alba was such that it eclipsed the Ruggero, composed by Metastasio and Hasse for the same occasion; but in time, with the rise of Parini to the status of a national bard, the encomiastic apparatus came to be considered too obvious and pervasive, with the frequent result of its disappearance from the canon of Parini’s works.

Analisi delle vicende elaborative e dei temi simbolici della cantata di Parini "Ascanio in Alba", eseguita in occasione delle nozze dell'arciduca Ferdinando nel 1771, con la musica di Parini.