«Le modèle le plus parfait dans l’art d’écrire le duo». Metastasio nel dibattito francese sul duetto (1741-1791)

Abstract

The duet was one of the most eagerly awaited numbers in 18th century Italian opera seria. In France, from the 1740s onwards, an intense theoretical debate developed on this device and, in particular, on the examples found in Pietro Metastasio's libretti. The essay highlights the aesthetic and dramaturgical problems that emerge from this discussion and the variety of critical positions of the numerous authors who participated in it: Mably, Grimm, Rousseau, Chastellux, Garcin, Marmontel, Ginguené.