Il Xerse
Il Xerse (English: Xerxes; 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 first performed at Venice on 12 January 1655, at the Teatro SS. Giovanni e Paolo.[1] It was dedicated to the Ferrarese nobleman Marchese Cornelio Bentivoglio.[2]
Background[edit]
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.[1]
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.[3] 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. [4]
Roles[edit]
| 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[edit]
The Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles with Bärenreiter produced an edition of the 1660 Paris version, edited by Barbara Nestola, in 2015.[5][6] 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.[7][8][9][10] It was also presented at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 18 October 2016.[11]
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 original version was prepared by Marcio da Silva for a concert performance at the Cockpit Theatre, London in 2021.[12][13]
Recordings[edit]
- 1985: Xerse, René Jacobs (Xerse), Judith Nelson (Amastre), Jeffrey Gall (Arsamene), Isabelle Poulenard (Romilda), Jill Feldman (Adelanta), Guy de Mey, Dominique Visse, Concerto Vocale, conducted by René Jacobs (4 CDs, Harmonia Mundi, 1985)
- 2022: Il Xerse (video), Carlo Vistoli (Xerse), Ekaterina Protsenko (Amastre), Gaia Petrone (Arsamene), Carolina Lippo (Romilda), Dioklea Hoxha (Adelanta), Carlo Allemano (Ariodate), Orchestra Barocca Modo Antiquo, Federico Maria Sardelli, recorded live, July 2022, Valle d'Itria Festival, Teatro Verdi, Martina Franca (Blu-ray, Dynamic, 2023)
References[edit]
- ^ a b Clinkscale (2001)
- ^ a b c da Silva (2021), p. 12
- ^ da Silva (2021), p. 13
- ^ da Silva (2021), p. 7
- ^ 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.
- ^ Cavalli : Xerse - Centre de musique baroque de Versailles on YouTube [short documentary video in French], 25 May 2016.
- ^ "Xersé for Opera de Lille". Studio Warmerdam. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ Bernard Schreuders (8 October 2018). "Emmanuelle Haïm 'Xerse, c'est une sorte de Così'". forumopera.com (in French). Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Xerse". LesArchivesduSpectacles.net. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ Sébastien Foucart. "De Venise à Paris". ConcertoNet.com (in French). Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Xerse at Theater an der Wien". broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ Hall, George (22 February 2021). "Xerse". The Stage. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- ^ Francesco Cavalli: Xerse (1655). Ensemble OrQuesta on YouTube. Recorded at the TheCockpit on 20 February 2021. Duration:2h 33m 15s.
Sources
- Clinkscale, Martha Novak (2001). "Xerse (i)". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.
- da Silva, Marcio (2021). Programme for Xerse, Cockpit Theatre, London (20 February 2021).
External links[edit]
- Il Xerse (Cavalli): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
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