L'Ormindo is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Francesco Cavalli to an original Italian libretto by Giovanni Faustini. The manuscript score is held at the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice, [1] while a copy of the original libretto has been digitized by the Library of Congress. [2] The opera has set numbers with recitative, and is set in Anfa (Casablanca), in the Mauri kingdom of Fessa (Fez).
Ormindo was first performed in 1644 at the Teatro San Cassiano, Venice, the world's first public opera house. After its 1644 run, it was probably not revived until 1967 when it was performed at Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The version presented at Glyndebourne was arranged and conducted by Raymond Leppard. The work received its American premiere in 1968 in a performance at the Juilliard School supervised by Leppard. Subsequently it was performed by the Washington Opera Society, using Juilliard's sets and Costumes. Singers were as follows: Amida -John Reardon; Erice - Michael Best; Ormindo - Frank Poretta; Sicle -Evelyn Mandac; Erisbe- Benita Valente.
The United States premiere of the opera was given by the Juilliard Opera Theatre at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 25, 1968 with a cast that included Grayson Hirst in the title role, Robert Shiesley as Amida, Alan Ord as Hariadeno, Barbara Shuttleworth as Erisbe, Joanna Bruno as Nerillo, Wilma Shakesnider as Sicle, Michael Best as Erice, Anita Terzian Titus as Mirinda, and Alan Titus as Osmano. [3]
Although taken up by the State Opera of South Australia and staged in 1980, the opera remains something of a rarity. A recent performance was by the Pittsburgh Opera in February, 2007, using a new performing edition by Peter Foster. It was conducted by Bernard McDonald and directed by Chas Rader-Shieber. Peter Foster's edition was also used by The Harvard Early Music Society in its November, 2008 performance of the work, conducted by Matthew Hall and directed by Roy Kimmey. The Baylor University School of Music performed the work in English on November 21–22, 2008 under the direction of Dr. Michael Johnson with conductor Dr. Andrew Hudson. It was performed by Pinchgut Opera of Sydney in December 2009. The Royal Opera staged a new production, in an English translation, directed by Kasper Holten at Shakespeare's Globe in March 2014 - the first opera production at the newly opened Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. This production was revived the following year (in February 2015) at the same venue. The Royal Irish Academy of Music based in Dublin presented the first Irish production of the opera in January 2015 directed by Ben Barnes and conducted by David Adams.
| Role | Voice type [4] | Premiere Cast, 1644 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Amida, Prince of Tremisene (Tlemcen) | contralto castrato | |
| Amore (Cupid) | soprano | |
| Erice, Sicle's nurse | tenor (travesti) | |
| Erisbe, the wife of Hariadeno | soprano | |
| Guardian of the arsenal of Anfa | tenor | |
| Hariadeno, King of Morocco and Fessa (Fez) | bass | |
| Il Destino (Destiny) | tenor | |
| L'Armonia (Harmony) | soprano | |
| La Fortuna (Fortune) | soprano | |
| Melide, Sicle's lady-in-waiting | soprano | |
| Mirinda, Erisbe's confidante | soprano | |
| Nerillo, Amida's page | soprano | |
| Ormindo, Hariadeno's unknown son | contralto castrato | |
| Osman, King Hariadeno's captain | tenor | |
| Sicle, Princess of Susio (Sous) | soprano | |
| Messenger | soprano | |
| The Winds | tenor and bass | |
| Ormindo's soldiers, Amida's soldiers, Mauritanian soldiers, Erisbe's ladies-in-waiting | ||
The Maghreb princes, Amida and Ormindo, who are assisting in the defense of Mauretania, are both in love with Erisbe who is unhappily married to Hariadeno, Fessa's elderly king. The princes agree to remain friends while they test her love. During the course of the opera, there is much plotting by Amore, Princess Sicle (Amida's abandoned lover) and Erice (Sicle's nurse) to interfere with the contest. Erice stages a séance to communicate with the 'dead' Sicle who reproaches Amida for his inconstancy which had driven her to suicide. Amida, overcome with remorse, realizes that he still loves Princess Sicle and is overjoyed when it is revealed that she is actually alive and not a ghost. Meanwhile, Erisbe and Ormindo decide to elope to Tunis, where Ormindo must defend his homeland from attack. When King Hariadeno discovers their adultery, he orders his captain, Osmano, to have them poisoned. However, Osmano substitutes a sleeping potion for the poison at the urging of Mirinda (Erisbe's confidante) who has promised to marry him if he spares the lovers. All ends more or less happily when the King learns that Ormindo is actually his son from a youthful liaison. He forgives everyone and cedes his kingdom to Ormindo.
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Francesco Cavalli was a Venetian composer, organist and singer of the early Baroque period. He succeeded his teacher Claudio Monteverdi as the dominant and leading opera composer of the mid 17th-century. A central figure of Venetian musical life, Cavalli wrote more than forty operas, almost all of which premiered in the city's theaters. His best known works include Ormindo (1644), Giasone (1649) and La Calisto (1651).
Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria is an opera consisting of a prologue and five acts, set by Claudio Monteverdi to a libretto by Giacomo Badoaro. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice during the 1639–1640 carnival season. The story, taken from the second half of Homer's Odyssey, tells how constancy and virtue are ultimately rewarded, treachery and deception overcome. After his long journey home from the Trojan Wars Ulisse, king of Ithaca, finally returns to his kingdom where he finds that a trio of villainous suitors are importuning his faithful queen, Penelope. With the assistance of the gods, his son Telemaco and a staunch friend Eumete, Ulisse vanquishes the suitors and recovers his kingdom.
L'incoronazione di Poppea is an Italian opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello, and was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice during the 1643 carnival season. One of the first operas to use historical events and people, it describes how Poppaea, mistress of the Roman emperor Nero, is able to achieve her ambition and be crowned empress. The opera was revived in Naples in 1651, but was then neglected until the rediscovery of the score in 1888, after which it became the subject of scholarly attention in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Since the 1960s, the opera has been performed and recorded many times.
Pinchgut Opera is a chamber opera company in Sydney, Australia, presenting opera from the 17th and 18th centuries performed on period instruments. Founded in 2002, Pinchgut stages two operas each year in Sydney's City Recital Hall. It also performs concerts in both Sydney and Melbourne.
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La Calisto is an opera by Francesco Cavalli from a libretto by Giovanni Faustini based on the mythological story of Callisto.
Didone is an opera by Francesco Cavalli, set to a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello. The opera was first performed at Venice's Teatro San Cassiano during 1640.
Erismena is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Francesco Cavalli. First performed in Venice in 1655, it was designated as a dramma per musica.
L'Egisto (Aegisthus) is a 1643 opera in a prologue and three acts by Francesco Cavalli. It was designated as a favola dramatica musicale. The Italian libretto was by Giovanni Faustini, his second text for Cavalli.
Eritrea is an opera in three acts by the Italian composer Francesco Cavalli. The libretto is by Giovanni Faustini. It was premiered at the Teatro Sant 'Apollinare in Venice on 17 January 1652, and revived in modern times at the Wexford Festival in 1975 under the conductor Jane Glover.
Elena is a dramma per musica in a prologue and three acts by Francesco Cavalli, set to a libretto originally by Giovanni Faustini that was completed by Nicolò Minato. The opera was first performed in Venice at the Teatro San Cassiano; the dedication is dated to 26 December 1659.
Giovanni Faustini was an Italian librettist and opera impresario of the 17th century. He is best remembered for his collaborations with the composer Francesco Cavalli.
Mutio Scevola or Muzio Scevola is an opera in three acts and a prologue by the Italian composer Francesco Cavalli, with a libretto by Giovanni Faustini. It was based on the story of the Roman hero, Gaius Mucius Scaevola. The opera was first performed at the Teatro San Samuele, Venice on 26 January 1665 and revived in Bologna in 1667.
Brenda Boozer is an American mezzo-soprano who has had an active international career performing in operas and concerts since the mid 1970s. She was a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City for 11 seasons.
Matthew White is a Canadian countertenor.
Christophe Dumaux is a French classical countertenor.
Richard Van Allan CBE was a versatile British operatic bass singer who had a lengthy career.
Evelyn Mandac is a soprano opera singer, orchestra soloist, recitalist and voice teacher from the Philippines. She is based in New York City. She's also listed in "Who's Who in Music and Musicians."
Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria is a 166-minute studio album of Claudio Monteverdi's opera, performed by a cast of singers headed by Ann Murray, Patrick Power, Frederica von Stade and Richard Stilwell with the Glyndebourne Chorus and the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Raymond Leppard. It was released in 1980.
Valer Barna-Săbăduș, also Valer Sabadus, is a Romanian-German countertenor. He sings in both the alto and soprano range.
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