World premiere of long-forgotten Vivaldi opera in Prague

A Prague festival will host the world premiere of Antonio Vivaldi's opera L'Unione della Pace, e di Marte, following its reconstruction by a Czech expert 284 years after its only performance. The serenata was composed for the birth of French King Louis XV's first children, twin sisters Louise Elisabeth and Anne Henriette and was performed only once, in 1727, in the open air, in a garden adjacent to the church of Madonna dell'Orto in Venice. The complete libretto has been preserved in the National Braidense Library in Milan, but the score disappeared altogether and had to be reconstructed on the basis of tunes from Vivaldi's other operas. The international ensemble Hof-Musici, led by composer and conductor Ondrej Macek will perform L'Unione della Pace, e di Marte several times within the Prague Baroque Festival starting on June 17. The premiere is scheduled for July 4 at the Ledebour Garden at the foot of Prague Castle.