Il pastor fido - Guarini, Battista 1538-1612 (Amsterdam Pluymer, 1663)
Il pastor fido is a tragicomedy by Battista Guarini in five acts or 6862 verses. It was written between 1580 and 1584 and first published as a book in Venice in 1590. The first performance may have taken place in 1593 in Siena; the first historically verified performance in 1595 in Crema. Guarini continued to revise the play after the first publication, the last revision being for the 20th edition of 1602 (Venice). It appeared in over a hundred editions following its first publication.
In Italian literature, Il pastor fido, among others, marks the transition from Italian Renaissance to Baroque theatre.
Together with Bonarelli's 'Filli di Sciro' and Tasso's 'Aminta', Guarini's 'Il pastor fido' is considered one of the masterpieces of the genre of the pastoral drama
One of the most famous plays of the 17th century, it inspired numerous madrigal composers, including Giaches de Wert, Claudio Monteverdi, Sigismondo d'India, Alessandro Grandi, Tarquinio Merula, and Heinrich Schütz; Philippe de Monte named a volume after the play. The first operatic treatment was Handel's HWV 8 in 1712.
Originally published in 1603
Con le rime del molte illystre Sigr. Cavre. Battista Guarini
Keywords: 17th Century (1601-1700); 16th Century (1501-1600); Mythology; Play (theater); Libretto; Poetry; Literature; Italy