La Calliroe
Template:Mysliveček operas La Calliroe is an opera in three acts by Josef Mysliveček set to a libretto by Matteo Verazi that is based on Greek legends about the naiad Callirrhoe. This opera (and all the rest of Mysliveček's operas) belong to the serious type in Italian language referred to as opera seria.
Performance history
The opera was first performed at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on 30 May 1779 to commemorate the nameday of Ferdinand, the king of Naples. La Calliroe was the first opera Mysliveček composed after returning to Italy from Munich, where he was detained for months in order to recover from an operation intended to alleviate the effects of syphilis. Taking advantage of his position as the composer most frequently engaged to compose operas for the Teatro San Carlo during the 1770s, he made certain that the finest singers who had appeared in his opera Ezio in Munich in 1777 were engaged for La Calliroe. In a letter to his father of 11 October 1777, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart reported how Mysliveček bragged to him about his ability to influence the choice of singers at the San Carlo. One of the cast members was the great castrato Luigi Marchesi, a close professional associate of the composer, whose career was critically aided by Mysliveček's intervention. Following his appearances in Mysliveček's operas La Calliroe and L'Olimpiade the following autumn, Marchesi was able to establish himself permanently as one of the leading singers in Italy. La Calliroe was very well received by the Neapolitan musical public, one of the most successful of the nine operas Mysliveček composed for the Teatro San Carlo. It was revived in Pisa and Pontremoli in the spring of 1779 and in Siena the following summer.
Roles
| Cast | Voice type | Premiere, 30 May 1778, Teatro San Carlo, Naples |
|---|---|---|
| Agricane | tenor | Giovanni Ansani |
| Calliroe | soprano | Giuseppa Maccherini Ansani |
| Tarsile | soprano castrato | Luigi Marchesi |
| Arsace | soprano castrato | Pietro Muschietti |
| Briceste | soprano | Gertrude Flavis |
| Sidonio | soprano | Antonia Rubinacci (in a breeches role) |
References
- Freeman, Daniel E. Josef Mysliveček, "Il Boemo." Sterling Heights, Mich.: Harmonie Park Press, 2009.