Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736)

La serva padrona (The servant mistress) NAWM 107

Ah, quanto mi sta male Recitative Uberto(basso buffo), Serpina (soprano), and
orchestra (strings & continuo)
Son imbrogliato io gi Aria Uberto (basso buffo) and orchestra (strings & continuo)
Unlike opera buffa of the future, the intermezzo typically featured only two or three main
characters instead of a full cast of six and was performed in two or three short segments between
the acts of an opera serie. La serva padrona, an intermezzo written specifically to be played
between the acts of one of Pergolesis own opera serie, was first performed at the Teatro San
Bartolomeo on 5 September 1733 in honor of the birthday of Elisabeth Christina, the wife of the
Austrian Emperor Charles VI, then nominal ruler of Naples. The evenings main event, Il
prigioniero superbo (The proud prisoner), was soon forgotten. The intermezzo, however,
quickly became world famous, at first thanks to performances by travelling troupes of buffi,
comic singers, who within ten years took it all around Italy and as far away as Munich, Dresden,
and Hamburg.
Ah, quanto mi sta male features a colorful exchange between Uberto and Serpina in a speechlike recitative accompanied by basso continuo and harpsichord which freely modulates the
harmony underneath as used in oratorio and other mediums. As is typical of the period, the
recitative descends into a da capo aria, Son imbrogliato io gi, which exploits a rapid-patter
effect in its opening fret motive in eighth notes which quickly became the hallmark of the
basso buffo (mm. 12-15). The aria then features whole notes in mm. 31-39 which exploits the
basss low F in the context of the parallel-minor tonality in a clich comic contrast. This aria can
be interpreted as spawning from the emerging practice of emfindsamer Stil, which seeks to
express true and natural feelings, which in this case is apparent in the many sudden contrasts of
mood as in the segments described above. The accompaniment of this opera could further be
described as galant in style, which emerged in opposition to the baroque style by emphasizing

light elegance in place of the Baroques dignified seriousness and impressive grandeur.
Representative of this style, the accompaniment consists of homophonic, choral harmony
without moving parts as in mm. 31-39. This aria, however does more than just look forward in its
composition, with the initial bass melody somewhat resembling the tradition of ritornello, in
which a short musical passage is repeated and returns throughout a piece.
In closing, these two selections from La serva padrona illustrate the stark changes emerging in
music of their time. Moving away from dense polyphonic music, comic opera and other early
classical works aimed to become natural, light, and elegant. From the way melody was
approached to how it was accompanied and the musical forms employed in each piece, a new era
was truly budding from the seeds of inspiration and discontent.