The work of Mozart is the best known, if only because the composer's output receives more examination. Composed in March to July 1771 when Mozart was 15 years old,
K. 118 (74c) is a 140-minute on a text by Metastasio tracing the story of
Judith beheading Holofernes from the biblical
Book of Judith. It was commissioned in March 1771 by Giuseppe Ximenes, Prince of
Aragon, while Mozart and his father
Leopold were on the way home to Salzburg from their first
journey to Italy. It is the only
oratorio Mozart ever wrote. Its two parts comprise sixteen
arias, with
solo or
choral parts, scored for soloists, choir and orchestra. Not performed in Mozart's lifetime,
Betulia liberata is shaped stylistically to works by
Leonardo Leo and
Johann Adolph Hasse. Performances of Mozart's setting include one at the 2006
Salzburg Festival conducted by
Christoph Poppen. The performance was recorded and subsequently released as DVD. (See in "Recordings" below.) In 2010 both the Mozart and the Jommelli settings were performed side by side at the
Salzburg Whitsun and
Ravenna festivals conducted by
Riccardo Muti.
Roles • Ozia, prince of Bethulia (
tenor) • Giuditta, widow of
Manasses (
alto) • Amital, noblewoman of
Israel (
soprano) • Achior, prince of the
Ammonites (
bass) • Cabri and Carmi, chiefs of the people (sopranos) • Bethulians (chorus)
Structure First part • Overtura • Recitative:
Popoli di Betulia (Ozia) • Aria #1: ''D'ogni colpa la colpa maggiore'' (Ozia) • Recitative:
E in che sperar? (Cabri, Amital) • Aria #2:
Ma qual virtù non cede (Cabri) • Recitative:
Già le memorie antiche (Ozia, Cabri, Amital) • Aria #3:
Non hai cor (Amital) • Recitative:
E qual pace sperate (Ozia, Amital, chorus) • Aria with chorus #4:
Pietà, se irato sei (Ozia, chorus) • Recitative:
Chi è costei che qual sorgente aurora (Cabri, Amital, Ozia, Giuditta) • Aria #5:
Del pari infeconda (Giuditta) • Recitative:
Oh saggia, oh santa (Ozia, Cabri, Giuditta) • Aria with chorus #6:
Pietà, se irato sei (Ozia, chorus) • Recitative:
Signor, Carmi a te viene (Cabri, Amital, Carmi, Ozia, Achior) • Aria #7: ''Terribile d'aspetto'' (Achior) • Recitative:
Ti consola, Achior (Ozia, Cabri, Achior, Giuditta) • Aria #8:
Parto inerme, e non pavento (Giuditta) • Chorus #9:
Oh prodigio! Oh stupor! (Chorus)
Second part • Recitative:
Troppo mal corrisponde (Achior, Ozia) • Aria #10:
Se Dio veder tu vuoi (Ozia) • Recitative:
Confuso io son (Achior, Ozia, Amital) • Aria #11:
Quel nocchier che in gran procella (Amital) • Recitative:
Lungamente non dura (Ozia, Amital, chorus, Cabri, Giuditta, Achior) • Aria #12:
Prigionier che fa ritorno (Giuditta) • Recitative:
Giuditta, Ozia, popoli, amici (Achior) • Aria #13:
Te solo adoro (Achior) • Recitative:
Di tua vittoria (Ozia, Amital) • Aria #14:
Con troppa rea viltà (Amital) • Recitative:
Quanta cura hai di noi (Cabri, Carmi, Ozia, Amital) • Aria #15:
Quei moti che senti (Carmi) • Recitative:
Seguansi, o Carmi (Ozia, Amital, Cabri, Achior, Giuditta) • Aria with chorus #16:
Lodi al gran Dio (Giuditta, chorus) == Recordings ==