In the second half of the 18th century, Josef Mysliveček became one of the most renowned composers in Italy, achieving this status just a few years after arriving in Venice. The Czech artist’s work is now being performed more and more often. Participants in the 49th Oratorio and Cantata Music Interpretation Course will present the work of the author known in Italy as Il Boemo, performing fragments of his Adamo ed Eva. This year, the musicians will prepare the programme under the direction of Lionel Sow, artistic director of the NFM Choir. 

The oratorio Adamo ed Eva narrates – obviously – the biblical story described in the Book of Genesis. The author of the libretto used by Mysliveček was the Jesuit Giovanni Granelli. The composer, born in Prague, was not the first artist to reach for his text – it had already been set by Baldassare Galuppi. According to the Old Testament story, Adam and Eve, deceived by Satan, taste the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. In doing so, they break God’s prohibition, which is why they are expelled from Paradise. Josef Mysliveček wrote his oratorio, in no way inferior to his operatic works, in 1771. If we look at its style, it turns out that the musical language of the composition is close to that of his secular works. In the arias Amare lagrime sung by Adam or Se al Ciel miro! sung by Eve, the composer shows his true mastery in translating the emotions of his characters into sounds.