Xerse
Encyclopedia
Xerse is an 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 Battista Bononcini
and George Frideric Handel
. Minato's plot outline is loosely based on Book 7 of Herodotus
's Histories
. The opera, consisting of a prologue and three acts, was first performed at Venice
on the 12 January of 1654, at the Teatro SS Giovanni e Paolo
.
The opera was highly popular in Italy, not least due to Cavalli's setting of "Ombra mai fù" (later more famously set by Handel): 9 different revivals were given across Italy while Cavalli lived. In 1660 Cavalli was persuaded to travel to France to produce a new opera for the wedding of Louis XIV in Paris. Unfortunately for the composer, 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
, a Florentine
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.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
by Francesco Cavalli
Francesco Cavalli
Francesco Cavalli was an Italian composer of the early Baroque period. His real name was Pietro Francesco Caletti-Bruni, but he is better known by that of Cavalli, the name of his patron Federico Cavalli, a Venetian nobleman.-Life:Cavalli was born at Crema, Lombardy...
- specifically, a dramma per musica
Dramma per musica
Dramma per musica is a term which was used by dramatists in Italy and elsewhere between the late-17th and mid-19th centuries...
about Xerxes I. The 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...
was written by Nicolò Minato
Nicolò Minato
Count Nicolò Minato was an Italian poet, librettist and impresario. His career can be divided into two parts: the years he spent at Venice, from 1650 to 1669, and the years at Vienna, from 1669 until his death....
, and was later set by both Giovanni Battista Bononcini
Giovanni Battista Bononcini
Giovanni Battista Bononcini was an Italian Baroque composer and cellist, one of a family of string players and composers. His father, Giovanni Maria Bononcini , was a violinist and a composer.-Biography:...
and George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
. Minato's plot outline is loosely based on Book 7 of Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
's Histories
Histories (Herodotus)
The Histories of Herodotus is considered one of the seminal works of history in Western literature. Written from the 450s to the 420s BC in the Ionic dialect of classical Greek, The Histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that...
. The opera, consisting of a prologue and three acts, was first performed at Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
on the 12 January of 1654, at the Teatro SS Giovanni e Paolo
Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo
The Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo was a theatre and opera house in Venice located on the Calle della Testa, and takes its name from the nearby Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice. Built by the Grimani family in 1638, in its heyday it was considered the most beautiful and comfortable theatre...
.
The opera was highly popular in Italy, not least due to Cavalli's setting of "Ombra mai fù" (later more famously set by Handel): 9 different revivals were given across Italy while Cavalli lived. In 1660 Cavalli was persuaded to travel to France to produce a new opera for the wedding of Louis XIV in Paris. Unfortunately for the composer, he soon became entangled in court intrigue which ensured that the projected opera, Ercole amante
Ercole amante
Ercole amante is an opera in a prologue and five acts by Francesco Cavalli. The Italian libretto was by Francesco Buti, based on Sophocles' The Trachiniae and on the ninth book of Ovid's Metamorphoses....
, 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
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...
, a Florentine
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
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.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, January, 12 January 1654 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Xerse | contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above... |
|
| Arsamene | contralto | |
| Romilda | 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... |
|
| Ariodate | 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... |
|
| 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 | |
Recording
- Xerse René Jacobs, Judith Nelson, Isabelle Poulenard, Guy de Mey, Dominique Visse, Concerto Vocale, conducted by René Jacobs (4 CDs, Harmonia Mundi, 1985)