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[[File:Title page of Cavalli's Xerse libretto 1654 – Library of Congress (cropped).jpg|thumb|Title page of the original libretto]]
[[File:Title page of Cavalli's Xerse libretto 1654 – Library of Congress (cropped).jpg|thumb|Title page of the original libretto]]


'''''Il Xerse''''' ({{lang-en|Xerxes|link=no|italic=yes}}; {{lang-fr| Xerxès |link=no|italic=yes}}) is an Italian [[opera]] by [[Francesco Cavalli]] (specifically, a ''[[dramma per musica]]'') about [[Xerxes I]]. The [[libretto]] was written by [[Nicolò Minato]] and was later set by both [[Giovanni Bononcini]] (''[[Xerse (Bononcini)|Xerse]]'', 1694) and [[George Frideric Handel]] (''[[Serse]]'', 1738). Minato's plot outline is loosely based on Book 7 of [[Herodotus]]'s ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]''. The opera, consisting of a prologue and three acts, was composed in 1654 and first performed on 12 January 1655 at the [[Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo|Teatro SS. Giovanni e Paolo]] in Venice.<ref>Brown 1993. Clinkscale (2001) gives the year as 1654, which is what is shown in the original libretto. However, the New Year in Venice at the time was celebrated on March 1, so the year by the [[Gregorian calendar]] was actually 1655 (see ''[[more veneto]]'').</ref> It was dedicated to the [[Ferrara|Ferrarese]] nobleman Marchese Cornelio [[Bentivoglio family|Bentivoglio]].<ref name=ds12 />
'''''Il Xerse''''', usually written '''''Xerse''''' ({{lang-en|Xerxes|link=no|italic=yes}}; {{lang-fr| Xerxès |link=no|italic=yes}}), is an Italian [[opera]] by [[Francesco Cavalli]] (specifically, a ''[[dramma per musica]]'') about [[Xerxes I]]. The [[libretto]] was written by [[Nicolò Minato]] and was later set by both [[Giovanni Bononcini]] (''[[Xerse (Bononcini)|Xerse]]'', 1694) and [[George Frideric Handel]] (''[[Serse]]'', 1738). Minato's plot outline is loosely based on Book 7 of [[Herodotus]]'s ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]''. The opera, consisting of a prologue and three acts, was composed in 1654 and first performed on 12 January 1655 at the [[Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo|Teatro SS. Giovanni e Paolo]] in Venice.<ref>Brown 1993. Clinkscale (2001) gives the year as 1654, which is what is shown in the original libretto. However, the New Year in Venice at the time was celebrated on March 1, so the year by the [[Gregorian calendar]] was actually 1655 (see ''[[more veneto]]'').</ref> It was dedicated to the [[Ferrara|Ferrarese]] nobleman Marchese Cornelio [[Bentivoglio family|Bentivoglio]].<ref name=ds12 />


==Background==
==Background==

Revision as of 03:58, 13 May 2024

See also: Xerxes

Title page of the original libretto

Il Xerse, usually written Xerse (Template:Lang-en; French: Xerxès), is an Italian opera by Francesco Cavalli (specifically, a dramma per musica) about Xerxes I. The libretto was written by Nicolò Minato and was later set by both Giovanni Bononcini (Xerse, 1694) and George Frideric Handel (Serse, 1738). Minato's plot outline is loosely based on Book 7 of Herodotus's Histories. The opera, consisting of a prologue and three acts, was composed in 1654 and first performed on 12 January 1655 at the Teatro SS. Giovanni e Paolo in Venice.[1] It was dedicated to the Ferrarese nobleman Marchese Cornelio Bentivoglio.[2]

Background

The premiere at Venice was probably conducted by Cavalli from the keyboard.[2] The opera was highly popular in Italy, not least due to Cavalli's setting of "Ombra mai fu" (later more famously set by Handel): nine different revivals were given across Italy while Cavalli lived.[3]

In 1660 Cavalli was persuaded to travel to France to produce a new opera for the wedding of Louis XIV in Paris. He soon became entangled in court intrigue which ensured that the projected opera, Ercole amante, was not ready in time and had to be replaced by a revival of Xerse at the last minute. Xerse was given with ballets by Cavalli's rival Jean-Baptiste Lully, who had become the official court composer in France. The whole spectacle lasted eight or nine hours and the French audience had little appreciation for an opera in a foreign language, preferring Lully's dance music.[2]

The opera was performed in many different versions. In its Paris form, apart from having the additional ballet suites, the plot was rewritten to make it more congenial to the court, including the enhancement of Xerse himself to a more kingly role comparable to the status of the King of France - which necessitated a change of the register of the part, originally written for a castrato, to a baritone. Many of the recitatives were also rewritten.[4] Surviving manuscripts including Cavalli’s own annotations from performances of Xerse in Venice, Genoa, Naples and Bologna clearly demonstrate that he often amended, cut, and reorganized material as each production was being prepared. [5]

Roles

Roles, voice types
Role Voice type
Xerse castrato
Arsamene contralto
Romilda soprano
Ariodate tenor
Amastre soprano
Elviro contralto
Adelanta soprano
Eumene soprano
Aristone bass
Periarco contralto
Clito soprano
Sesostre tenor
Spitalce bass
Capitano bass
Momo backing singer
Apollo backing singer

Editions

The Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles with Bärenreiter produced an edition of the 1660 Paris version, edited by Barbara Nestola, in 2015.[6][7] This version was the basis for a staged production by Le Concert d’Astrée under Emmanuelle Haïm, performed at the Opéra de Lille in October 2015 and the Théâtre de Caen in January 2016.[8][9][10][11] It was also presented at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 18 October 2016.[12]

A critical edition of the 1655 version by Sara Elisa Stangalino and Hendrik Schulze made in 2019 was the basis for a performance as part of the Festival della Valle d'Itria in Martina Franca in 2022, conducted by Federico Maria Sardelli and staged by Leo Muscato with the Italian countertenor Carlo Vistoli in the title role.

Another new edition of the Paris version was prepared by Marcio da Silva for a concert performance at the Cockpit Theatre, London in 2021, although the title role was sung by a countertenor rather than a baritone, and the ballets were omitted.[13][14][15]

Recordings

References

  1. ^ Brown 1993. Clinkscale (2001) gives the year as 1654, which is what is shown in the original libretto. However, the New Year in Venice at the time was celebrated on March 1, so the year by the Gregorian calendar was actually 1655 (see more veneto).
  2. ^ a b c da Silva (2021), p. 12
  3. ^ da Silva (2021), p. 13
  4. ^ da Silva (2021), p. 7
  5. ^ Nestola, Barbara; Stangalino, Sara Elisa; Klaper, Michael; Schulze, Hendrik (eds.). Cavalli, Francesco; Lully, Jean-Baptiste: Xerxès. Dramma per musica in one prologue and three acts. Paris version 1660. Bärenreiter. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  6. ^ Cavalli : Xerse - Centre de musique baroque de Versailles on YouTube [short documentary video in French], 25 May 2016.
  7. ^ "Xersé for Opera de Lille". Studio Warmerdam. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  8. ^ Bernard Schreuders (8 October 2018). "Emmanuelle Haïm 'Xerse, c'est une sorte de Così'". forumopera.com (in French). Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Xerse". LesArchivesduSpectacles.net. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  10. ^ Sébastien Foucart. "De Venise à Paris". ConcertoNet.com (in French). Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Xerse at Theater an der Wien". broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  12. ^ da Silva (2021), pp. 13–14.
  13. ^ Hall, George (22 February 2021). "Xerse". The Stage. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  14. ^ Francesco Cavalli: Xerse (1655). Ensemble OrQuesta on YouTube. Recorded at the TheCockpit on 20 February 2021. Duration:2h 33m 15s.

Sources

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