Many students and singers I coach have Vivaldi’s “Vedrò con mio diletto” (from Giustino, 1724) in their repertoire. Some of them are surprised when they see the text says, first “il core del mio cor” and then it changes to “il cor di questo cor”. This kind of change does not really happens inside a verse – text usually gets repeated.

If you see the libretto, printed in Rome for the premiere of the opera, you’ll see the text is “il core del mio cor”. This is the text Vivaldi probably had at his disposal when composing. But Vivaldi’s Manuscript (I-Tn Foà 34) confirms what everybody knows from the Ricordi piano reduction that is commonly used in lessons and auditions. Vivaldi writes “il cor di questo cor” in that melisma, changing the text.

Plus, he writes “core” at the end, but then decides to make the two notes legato, which means only one syllable has to be sung - and scratches out the “-e” at the end…

It must definitely be a lapsus by Vivaldi, but it’s certainly curious :)

Options:

1. You correct Vivaldi’s lapsus (nobody corrects it in all their recordings…) and sing again “il core del mio cor” instead of “il cor di questo cor”

or

2. You sing it as it is in Vivaldi’s manuscript, knowing it’s basically a mistake, but it’s faithful to his… intention? Maybe it wasn’t even intentional anyway so…

Have fun! :)