Creso (Sacchini)
Encyclopedia
Creso is an opera seria
in 3 acts by Antonio Sacchini
, set to a libretto
by Gioacchino Pizzi. The opera was first performed at Naples
on the 4th of November, 1765. The libretto was a popular one that had been first set by Niccolò Jommelli
.
Creso was the most widely performed of Sacchini's opera serias, and much of the music displays the transition that the aria form of opera seria was undergoing. The standard aria dal segno form is interlaced with examples of abbreviated rondo form (ABAB) and through-composed ternary arias. Some of the music suggests themes from the works of the widely influential Tommaso Traetta
.
Opera seria
Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to c. 1770...
in 3 acts by Antonio Sacchini
Antonio Sacchini
Antonio Maria Gasparo Sacchini was an Italian opera composer.Sacchini was born in Florence, but was raised in Naples, where he received his musical education at the San Onofrio conservatory. He wrote his first operas in Naples, thereafter moving to Venice, then London and eventually Paris, where...
, set to a libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Gioacchino Pizzi. The opera was first performed at Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
on the 4th of November, 1765. The libretto was a popular one that had been first set by Niccolò Jommelli
Niccolò Jommelli
Niccolò Jommelli was an Italian composer. He was born in Aversa and died in Naples. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he made important changes to opera and reduced the importance of star singers.-Early life:Jommelli was born to Francesco Antonio Jommelli and...
.
Creso was the most widely performed of Sacchini's opera serias, and much of the music displays the transition that the aria form of opera seria was undergoing. The standard aria dal segno form is interlaced with examples of abbreviated rondo form (ABAB) and through-composed ternary arias. Some of the music suggests themes from the works of the widely influential Tommaso Traetta
Tommaso Traetta
Tommaso Michele Francesco Saverio Traetta was an Italian composer.-Biography:Traetta was born in Bitonto, a town near Bari, near the top of the heel of the boot of Italy. He eventually became a pupil of the composer, singer and teacher Nicola Porpora in Naples, and scored a first success with his...
.
Roles
Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 4 November 1765 (Conductor:) |
---|---|---|
Creso (Croesus) | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Salvatore Casetti |
Ariene, his daughter, | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Maria Antonia Girelli-Aguilar |
Euriso, Ariene's betrothed | soprano castrato Castrato A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's... |
Giuseppe Aprile Giuseppe Aprile Giuseppe Aprile was an Italian castrato singer and music teacher. He was also known as 'Sciroletto' or 'Scirolino'.... "Sciroletto" |
Cratina | soprano | Francesca Gabrielli |
Ciro | soprano castrato | Antonio Muzzio |
Sibari | soprano castrato | Giuseppe Fabrizi |