«L’isola disabitata»: una serenata salisburghese di Luigi Gatti

L’isola disabitata is an «azione teatrale» written by Pietro Metastasio in 1753 and one of his serenades most often set to music (by, among others, Joseph Haydn in 1779). It is interesting to note that at the archiepiscopal court at Salzburg the same libretto was set to music twice in a decade: between 1772 and 1774 by Domenico Fischietti and in 1783 by Luigi Gatti.
Metastasio’s libretto was significantly extended in the version set to music by Gatti (Salzburg, Hoftheater, 19 January 1783). The one-act azione teatrale became a work in two parts with twice as many the closed numbers as in the original. The reworking of the libretto involved considerable changes to its structure, which were aimed at improving expression. The use of accompanied recitatives and finely orchestrated ensembles, as well as the monologues and extended scene complexes, gave Gatti’s setting a rather dynamic nature, while the recitative-aria Baroque pattern gives way to a vibrant and multifaceted drama.