Ludwig van Beethoven

Ah! Perfido op. 65

Ludwig van Beethoven composed the concert aria Ah! perfido (Ah! Deceiver), Op. 65 for soprano and orchestra in 1796. Beethoven sets verses by Roman court poet Pietro Metastasio (1729-1782; real name Pietro Trapassi) to music immersed in eighteenth century operatic tradition, resulting in a sound a bit reminiscent of Mozart. The text tells the story of a woman betrayed by her lover. In the opening recitative, she expresses rage and asks that the gods punish him. But following her initial outburst, she switches to begging for his mercy and goes so far as to offer to die in his place. Finally, the beautiful aria Per pieta, non dirmi addio (For pity's sake, do not leave me) begins before returning to her earlier anger. The scene and aria is considered difficult technically, but the wide range of emotions expressed by the singer is also demanding. It premiered on November 21, 1796, in Leipzig at the Theater am Ranstädter Tor, with soprano Josepha Duschek as the soloist. Instrumentation: 1.0.2.2: 2.0.0.0: Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set): Solo Soprano.