Sulla fortuna di «Misero pargoletto»: materiali e ipotesi

Abstract

The aria "Misero pargoletto", sung by Timante in the third act of Pietro Metastasio's "Demofoonte", enjoyed exceptional fortune throughout the eighteenth century. The text was set tu music dozens of times not only as part of the opera it belongs to, but also as an independent piece. This essay discusses the judgements expressed on "Misero pargoletto" by several men of letters and theorists, examines some buffo parodies of the aria that demonstrate its wide notoriety, and formulates some hypotheses about the reasons for such a great success, which can be partially justified by the new conception of fatherood that emerged in the so-called Age of Sensibility.