Narciso ovvero ‘Amor d’un ombra e gelosia d’un aura’ is an exceptional opera which presents the hedonist myth of Narcissus based on two main sources: Ovid and  Calderón. It was composed for the private theater of the polish queen María Casimira at the Palazzo Zuccari in Rome-on the top of the stairs at the Piazza Spagna-, and performed for the first time on 15 January 1714. Considered as one of the best operas of Domenico Scarlatti performed during that carnaval in Rome, it was restaged later with a new version of the text by Handel’s librettist, Paolo Rolli, for the Royal Academy season in London, 1720; the cast of singers included the famous Margarita Durastante (Narciso) and Anastasia Robinson (Eco). The original libretto -in which the myths of Echo and Narcissus together with Cefalus and Procris mingle-, reintegrates Ovid’s original narration: the essence of nymph Echo’s misfortuned love, Narcissus’ scorn and arrogance, and their tragic end, which character has been superbly depicted by Scarlatti’s music to underline the myth of Youth and Beauty in the Baroque.

Some extraits audio:

Sento che poco a poco. Aria di Narciso

Caro Dardo. Aria di Eco