Precipício de Faetonte (The Fall of Phaethon) is the last play by António José da Silva which was inspired by ancient mythology; most of them drew inspiration from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. In 1683, Lully and Quinault had dedicated an opera to Phaethon’s story; its success was such that it toured European courts. The play showed the Sun’s chariot driven by his son Phaethon and setting fire to cities around the world.

In da Silva’s libretto, written to be performed with music by Antόnio Teixeira (whose score has been lost), the son of the Sun is involved in a double love affair; this pattern had made da Silva’s success since Os Encantos de Medeia (1735), and more particularly since As Variedades de Proteu (1737). As in this last play, da Silva renounced a two-part structure and chose to divide the play into three acts instead. The complex plot, built on themes of true/false identities and true/false revelations, also includes elements of baroque pastoral: the play stages moments of bravery – Egéria’s arrival on a shell drawn by Tritons, the flight and fall of the chariot driven by Faetonte (Phaethon), or the apparition of Apolo on a cloud. The influence of the baroque pastoral is also felt in the scenery, which the characters animate to their will: the magician Fíton, who is as important here as Dédalo (Daedalus) was in O Labirinto de Creta, turns off the light and makes the trees move, casting doubt on the truthfulness of the signs sent by Apolo to recognise his son. Da Silva’s characters and scenery continue to mutually influence one another, as was already the case in Os Encantos de Medeia and As Variedades de Proteu: Egéria produces a river of tears in which Faetonte drowns; Apolo is both the sun lighting up the stage and the deus ex machina bringing his son back to life. Burlesque metamorphoses also contrast with the love story between the main characters; most impressively, Chichisbéu’s nose grows longer the more he lies to Chirinola. As in many of da Silva’s operas, the plot progresses because some conversations are spied on and bring one revelation after the other: it is the intrusive gracioso (comical valet) who makes the play unravel.

Faetonte (Phaethon) came to Italy to find the young woman whose portrait made him fall in love. He meets Egéria, the daughter of Tirreno (Tyrrhenus), who was dispossessed of her kingdom by her uncle Tages. The latter wants his daughter Ismene to become queen; he would like her to marry his nephew Albano. Faetonte does not know that he is the son of the Sun and introduces himself as a shepherd from Thessaly. Egéria falls in love with him and asks him to avenge her by killing Ismene. Faetonte meets the magician Fíton, who followed him from Thessaly. The servant Chichisbéu, who also followed his master Faetonte, is mistaken for the magician and taken prisoner by Tages’s soldiers. Albano worries because he betrayed Egéria, choosing Ismene instead. Tages announces the arrival of the great magician; he hopes that he will reveal the identity of the son of the Sun, who is known to be in the region. Faetonte arrives at Tages’s palace and reunites with Chichisbéu, who is tasked with finding the son of the Sun. On Faetonte’s suggestion, Chichisbéu pretends that his master is the son; he can therefore enter the palace. Chichisbéu tries in vain to charm Chirinola, Egéria’s maid: his nose grows longer with every lie he tells. Faetonte is about to kill Ismene when he realises that she is the young woman from the portrait. He stops his hand, and she calls the soldier, but Faetonte flees in the darkness cast by Fíton. Ismene asks Albano to avenge her.

Albano asks Chichisbéu to reveal the murderer’s identity: the fake magician says that he will find him in the forest. The King admits that he would rather give his daughter’s hand to the son of the Sun rather than to Albano, whom he does not trust. Ismene goes into the forest to hunt and wounds Faetonte, believing that he is an animal. He falls to her feet and declares his love to her. Albano is convinced that Faetonte is Ismene’s murderer and tries to kill him. Chichisbéu stops him and reveals that Faetonte is the son of the Sun; the trees begin to move on orders of Apolo to signal that this is true, and he is escorted with great pomp to the King’s court. When Egéria finds blood on the ground, she believes that Faetonte has killed Ismene and been imprisoned. Faetonte declares his love to Ismene, who recognises the portrait in his hands as the one she sent to her future husband, the Prince of Rhodes. During the ceremony meant to unite Ismene and Albano, Fíton turns off the lights: claiming that this is a sign from Apolo, the King adjourns the wedding.

Fíton tells Faetonte that he really is the son of the Sun, but that disclosing his identity would only cause his downfall. The King wants Ismene to marry the son of the Sun and have Egéria marry Albano. Albano and Faetonte fight, but they are interrupted by Ismene, who appeals to the gods. To curry favour with Chirinola, Chichisbéu reveals his true identity and says that Faetonte is only a shepherd. Ismene and Albano were spying on them and now believe that they know the truth: the King announces that he will marry his daughter to Albano, and Faetonte despairs. Quarreling with Fíton, he asks his father to confirm his identity. Apolo therefore entrusts his chariot to him: the horses bolt and run to the sea where Egéria is—she finds Faetonte’s lifeless body in her arms. Apolo brings his son back to life. Faetonte marries Egéria, and Chirinola agrees to marry Chichisbéu.