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English to Chinese: Catholic Church mends relations with Vivaldi after 300 years General field: Other Detailed field: Religion
Source text - English Ferrara's archbishop gave the performance of "Il Farnace" his blessing three centuries after his predecessor exiled Vivaldi.
Nearly three centuries ago, famed Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi was preparing to premiere his opera, “Il Farnace.” The performance was never to be, however, as the composer priest had run afoul of the Catholic Church and the performance was ultimately cancelled. Now, the Church has revised its ruling as an opera company in Ferrara runs the show.
Show cancelled
The cancellation was not due to the content of the show, but rather the character of the composer. Antonio Vivaldi, for all his secular fame, was a Catholic priest and thus his behavior was subject to clerical authority. By the time “Il Farnace” was composed, Vivaldi had stopped saying Mass and there were rumors of an improper relationship with one of his star singers, Anna Giro.
According to the Associated Press, historians now know there was no romantic connection between Vivaldi and Giro. The two spent a lot of time together because she was his prima donna and the pair had a lot of vocal work to go over. Giro also spent more time with the composer because she acted as a nurse to Vivaldi as he struggled with his respiratory health. It was this sickness too that prevented the priest from celebrating daily Mass.
Regardless of the truth behind these rumors, the Church could hardly let a priest suspected of unpriestly habits be seen running a successful opera. The Great Course Daily notes that Ferrara’s cardinal at the time, Tommaso Ruffo, cancelled the staging rehearsals and effectively banned Vivaldi from the city.
Exile
This was devastating to Vivaldi, who had funded much of the production out of his own pocket. With the theater doors ordered closed, he had no way to make back any of his investment and was forced to leave Ferrara practically impoverished. The rest of his money ran out when he moved to Vienna, where he had previously been successful. Despite Vivaldi’s prolific composing – he wrote another 21 operas after “Il Farnace” – he would not pull himself out of this financial hole before his death in 1741.
Vivaldi’s works were very influential to Baroque composers like J.S. Bach, but his memory faded with the public after his death. It was not until the 20th century that his works were rediscovered and popularized. Today, his concerto sequence “The Four Seasons” is one of the most celebrated works of his era. You may recognize the “Spring” concerto if you’ve ever been put on hold during a phone call.
Mending relations
The City of Ferrara is now hosting a production of Vivaldi’s “Il Farnace.” The first performance was attended by Archbishop Giancarlo Perego, who was presented a bound copy of the score. Archbishop Perego said the actions taken against Vivaldi were based on rumor and should not have happened. He even noted that Vivaldi’s parish priest had written a letter to Ruffo trying to clear up the charges, to no avail. Nicole Winfield of AP News writes:
While insisting Ruffo had merely sought to promote “public morality,” Perego said the lesson of Vivaldi, “Il Farnace” and Ferrara was one that Pope Francis often makes: “The tongue kills more than the sword.”
Translation - Chinese 近三個世紀前，著名的巴洛克作曲家安東尼奧 · 韋瓦第（Vivaldi）準備首演他的歌劇《法納撤》（Il Farnace）。但是，這次演出最後沒有發生，因為這名作曲家神父當時跟教會有衝突，導致在費拉拉的首演最終被取消，更被當時的總主教流放。現在，教會改變了當年的決定，並允許一個歌劇公司在費拉拉舉行表演。
I am an experienced Chinese<>English<Japanese Translator (Medical | Social Science | Technical) & English<>Chinese<Japanese Interpreter. Currently studying MSc Translation and Interpreting (2021-2023) at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, with undergraduate and postgraduate background in Psychology and Education respectively.
I am experienced in writing and translating articles for a trilingual (Chinese-English-Portuguese) Catholic journal in Macau (China), mainly from English to Chinese, with diverse fields of articles--life science, medical, history, art, technology, etc. I also provide translation and interpreting services for other clients in fields such as medical, social science (e.g. Psychology), humanitarian (with Translators without Borders) and public service (e.g. UK governmental letters, legal letters).
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