9
Venice, January 1740
The new impresario of the Teatro San Angelo, Felici Dini, is not
satisfied with ticket sales for Feraspe, an opera by Antonio Vivaldi,
staged last November. Dini had allowed himself to be talked into
staging the production by Il Prete Rosso, and offered the old man
another chance only out of respect, because he had for so long kept
the San Angelo alive and kicking. The public, however, had shown
itself less susceptible and eventually simply stayed at home.
Undeterred, Vivaldi resurrects his opera Tito Manlio and gets it
straight past the censor. This will bring them back to the theatre in
droves!
‘I’m sorry, Don Vivaldi,’ says Felici, having skimmed
through the new manuscript. ‘No one has more regard for yourself
or your work than I do, but the public does not share my feeling.’
He pushes the sheet music back across the table towards the priest,
and looks into the eyes of an unhappy man.
‘But what is wrong with the piece? Tell me, and I will make
the necessary adjustments.’ Vivaldi cannot hide his despair. Dini
looks away, afraid of giving in again.
‘It is not a question of re-writing; it is the whole tone, the
style. People want something else. I really am most sorry. Perhaps
next year?’
Infuriated, Vivaldi snatches up his score and walks out
without saying goodbye. Dini sadly watches his retreat, a shadow
of the man who for years filled halls night after night.
Outside, Vivaldi summons a gondolier. Just once he turns
his head to stare up at the great façade that for so long was his
second home. Then, in a sudden frenzy, he consigns his music
violently to the water, and steps into the gondola. Seeing the state
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