CAVALLI: Arias and Duets from Didone, Egisto, Ormindo, Giasone and Calisto
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Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676) Arias and Duets Although this overview of Cavalli's music is necessarily condensed, it nonetheless succeeds in painting a...
Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676)
Arias and Duets
Although this overview of Cavalli's music is necessarily
condensed, it nonetheless succeeds in painting a meaningful
picture of both the nature of opera as it was developing in
Venice at the time, and the composer's own artistic and
compositional talent. Cavalli was of course influenced by
Monteverdi, yet he imbued his music with his own
individual style, in effect setting the artistic seal on the rest
of the seventeenth century.
One particularly distinctive element of Cavalli's music
is its singability (cantabilità), especially evident in his duets
and in his expression of the sensuality omnipresent in post-
Renaissance Venetian art and literature. Opera grew out of
the Accademie, forums for artistic and literary debate and
performance, whose members were inspired by the tales of
the Roman world (as viewed with considerable moral --
and historical -- licence), and by Greek mythology (also
revisited in such a way as to draw in and even titillate
Venetian audiences).
The tales told by these early operas had a lot in
common with our soap story-lines. Heroes undergo the
unlikeliest of hardships, become involved in unrestrained
love affairs, get caught out in embarrassing situations, and
so on, only for everything to be rapidly unravelled for an
unambiguously happy ending, removing all concerns from
the minds of a rapt audience (the operatic star system had
not yet established itself at this point). There was a sense of
liberation from the purely aural allusiveness of the madrigal
form, as well as from the compositional and performance
difficulties also associated with it, and an increasing interest
in the visual impact of the sets and costumes that were soon
to become the norm. Madrigal quartets, quintets and sextets
were on their way out, seen as music for an aesthetic elite,
to be replaced by the more approachable duets.
There is perhaps an analogy to be drawn with our own
times, in which the spoken and written word are being
replaced by a TV videocracy, whose power is taking hold in
the same way as opera did in the seventeenth century. By
happy coincidence, however, Cavalli was born at precisely
the right time and place, and his genius was translated into
intricate, convoluted love stories and impetuous passions
and rages expressed with perfect aesthetic and expressive
musical symbiosis in masterly passacaglias. The Lament
can be seen as a kind of condensed version of this artistic
sensibility, an opera in miniature, and is therefore essential
to the history of opera (cf. the three Lamenti Barocchi CDs
I have recorded with Naxos). This kind of love lyric, in
which languor alternates with fury, and invective is
followed by immediate repentence ("What have I said?
What unhappy ravings are these?") drew inspiration from
both historical and contemporary episodes (Lament of the
Queen of Sweden, Lament of Cinq-Mars), and then moved
on to self-mockery in semi-serious laments (such as the
Lament of the Castrato - whose details are indelicate in the
extreme but fascinating in historical terms - or that of the
Impotent Man).
All this is to be found in Cavalli's operas. Self-mockery
is often given an outlet in his more humorous characters:
stammering servants, elderly besotted old maids, lustful
servant girls, satyrs ever ready for love, and so on. The
Calisto libretto in particular is extremely liberal in religious
and sexual terms, with its explicit scenes of lesbian love
between Calisto and Jupiter (who has taken on Diana's
form, becoming in the process a soprano rather than a bass)
and the reflections of Mercury who, having openly
procured Calisto for his master, then reproaches Jupiter for
having created free will.
The synopses which follow include all of the above. It
is also worth mentioning that the plot summaries of the
original librettos make particular reference to events
prefiguring the action covered by the opera, as will be seen
in the synopsis Faustini himself wrote for Egisto, which I
have transcribed for this edition.
I would like to thank Mr Roccatagliati of the University of
Ferrara and Mr Macchioni of the library of the same
university, who kindly gave me the opportunity to consult
the Cavalli microfilms of the late professor Thomas
Walker's collection.
Sergio Vartolo
The extracts featured on this CD are given in bold,
with track numbers in parentheses.
DIDONE
Manuscript score and libretto held at the Biblioteca
Marciana, Venice
score press-mark: It. IV 355 (=9879), libretto pressmark:
Dramm. 908.4. Two copies of the libretto exist:
one only contains the synopsis (1641, Pietro Miloco),
the other is complete (1656, Andrea Giuliani)
Opera in musica, by Giovanni Francesco Busenello,
first performed at the Teatro San Cassiano, Venice,
1641.
Characters
Iris (Prologue)
Dido, queen of Carthage / Aeneas, a Trojan
leader / Anchises, Aeneas's father / Ascanius, Aeneas's
son / Creusa, Aeneas's wife / Iarbas, king of
Gaetulia / Anna, Dido's sister / Cassandra, princess of
Troy / Sychaeus, Dido's husband (a shade) / Pyrrhus, a
Greek leader / Chorebus / Sinon, a Greek / Illionius,
Aeneas's ambassador and companion / Achates,
Aeneas's faithful companion / Hecuba, elderly wife of
King Priam / Jupiter / Juno / Mercury / Venus /
Cupid / Neptune / Aeolus / Fortune / The
Graces / Chorus of Carthaginian maidens / Chorus of
hunters / Chorus of Trojans / Chorus of sea nymphs
Synopsis
Following the Prologue, in which Juno's maidservant
Iris declares the fall of Troy to be fit vengeance for
Paris's insulting behaviour towards her mistress, Act
One describes the burning of Troy and Aeneas's flight
with his father Anchises and his young son Ascanius.
Act One ends as the Trojan army sets sail [1].
Act Two opens in the city of Carthage where Iarbas
has come to propose marriage to Queen Dido, whom he
loves passionately. She rejects him, however, as the
memory of her first husband, Sychaeus, still burns
within her. Meanwhile, Juno asks Aeolus to raise a
tempest to destroy the Trojan fleet. Neptune intervenes
though, rebuking the winds and calming the
elements [2]. Aeneas's ships dock on the Carthaginian
shore in order to repair the damage caused by the storm.
Dido receives his ambassador and his son, Ascanius,
although in fact this is Cupid who, with the help of his
mother Venus, has assumed the child's appearance. His
darts strike the queen, causing her to fall in love with
Aeneas as soon as she sees him. As Act Two comes to
an end, Iarbas flees, crazed with jealousy.
At the beginning of Act Three, Dido confides in her
sister Anna, telling her of her love for Aeneas. Anna
advises her to forget Sychaeus and to allow 'a new and
precious bud/into [her] secret garden' ('novo inesto
peregrino/nel segreto tuo giardino'). To this end, she
suggests that Dido organize a hunt during which she
will be able 'to transform herself with joy and
delight/deep within a cavern/with the Trojan hero' ('nel
sen d'un cavo speco/con l'Heroe troiano
teco/trasformar in gioie i guai'). In the meantime, two
maidens who have perceived Dido's passion and hope
themselves to enjoy Cupid's pleasures, invite Iarbas to
frolic with them in a grotto. A storm breaks during the
hunt and Dido and Aeneas take refuge in a cave. Jupiter
sends Mercury to Aeneas, by now Dido's lover, to spur
him on to his higher destiny. Aeneas calls together his
followers and departs, but not before singing a farewell
lament to the sleeping Dido [3]. When Dido awakes,
the shade of Sychaeus appears before her. Iarbas has
meanwhile been returned to sanity by Mercury. In a
powerful lament, Dido prepares to stab herself [4].
Iarbas steps in to save her and is about to kill himself
when Dido in turn prevents him, finally yielding to his
love. The opera ends with an aria for Iarbas and a
duet for him and Dido [5].
EGISTO
Manuscript score and libretto held at the Biblioteca
Marciana, Venice
score press-mark: It. IV 411 (=9935), libretto pressmark:
Dramm.911.5 (1641, Pietro Miloco)
Favola dramatica musicale, by Giovanni Faustini, first
performed at the Teatro San Cassiano, Venice, 1643. In
a prologue and three acts.
Characters
Prologue: Night, as the sun sets, and Dawn, as it rises.
Lydius, who loves Chloris / Chloris, who loves Lydius
/ Aegisthus, who also loves Chloris / Clymene,
who loves Lydius / Hipparchus, Clymene's
brother / Voluptuousness / Beauty / Cupid / Venus /
Semele / Phaedra / Dido / Hero / Cinea, Hipparchus's
servant / Apollo / 4 Hours, ministers of Apollo / The
Graces / Chorus of cupids, Venus's retinue (silent)
/ Chorus of the Heroides, who died for love / Chorus of
Hipparchus's servants / Chorus of Clymene's servants
The story takes place on the island of Zakynthos, in
the Ionian Sea, in springtime
Faustini's original synopsis
Night and Dawn perform the prologue.
Aegisthus, born in Delos and a descendant of
Apollo, was in love with Chloris, and she with him.
Venus, however, as part of a dispute with Apollo, had
them captured by pirates, and when the spoils were
divided Chloris was given to Miciades, and Aegisthus to
Callia. Miciades sold Chloris to Alchisthenes, a noble
from Zakynthos, while Callia kept Aegisthus in slavery.
Once on Zakynthos, Chloris forgot her former love and
became enamoured of Lydius, ruler of the island, who in
turn loved her more than he loved himself. A year later,
Aegisthus escaped from his bonds, along with a young
noblewoman of Zakynthos, Clymene, who had been
captured on the same day as him, by the same pirates,
and who was herself to have married Lydius. Filled with
pity at her cruel fate, Aegisthus promised to return her to
her homeland. Thus he and Clymene set sail for
Zakynthos and reach its shores safely, only for
Aegisthus to find Chloris in love with Lydius [6], and
Clymene to find Lydius in love with Chloris. Chloris
accuses Aegisthus of being a madman, while Lydius
simply rejects Clymene, who pours out her grief to her
brother Hipparchus. He then swears vengeance and,
having surprised Lydius with his new lover, attacks him,
ties him to a tree, and gives Clymene his sword in order
to avenge her honour, then leaves.
Clymene is filled with anger against the treacherous
Lydius, and wants to plunge the sword into his breast,
yet her love for him outweighs her bitterness, and she
stops herself. Rather than injure him, and unable to live
without him, in desperation she prepares to die. Cupid
meanwhile, has been sent to the Underworld by Venus
in order to do Aegisthus harm, but has himself been
rescued by Apollo from a sombre myrtle grove where he
was in great danger [from the Ovidian heroines, Semele,
Phaedra, Dido and Hero, determined to wreak their
vengeance upon Cupid], on condition that he solemnly
swear to return Chloris to Aegisthus. Cupid emerges
into daylight as Clymene is contemplating death; he
revives Lydius's love for her and the latter prevents the
unhappy girl from stabbing herself, lovingly declaring
he is hers once more. Aegisthus, knowing himself
betrayed by his beloved, becomes more and more
delirious and finally goes mad [7]. As he raves, Cupid
takes the opportunity to use his weapons of mercy on
Chloris, and her love for Aegisthus is reawakened.
Apollo's ministers, the hours, return Aegisthus to his
senses, and bear the two lovers through the air from
Zakynthos to Delos on Dawn's chariot, thus triumphing
over Venus's anger.
ORMINDO
Manuscript score and libretto held at the Biblioteca
Marciana, Venice
score press-mark: It. IV 368 (=9892), libretto pressmark:
Dramm. 912.4 (1644, Francis Miloco)
Favola Regia per musica, by Giovanni Faustini, first
performed at the Teatro San Cassiano, Venice, 1644.
Characters
Harmony, who performs the Prologue / Ormindo,
Hariadano's long-lost son / Amida, prince of
Tremisene / Nerillo, Amida's page / (In disguise) Sicle,
princess of Susio [Scotland]; Melide, her lady-inwaiting;
Erice, her nurse / Erisbe, wife of
Hariadeno / Mirinda, her confidante / Hariadeno, king
of Morocco and Fez / Destiny / Cupid / Fortune / The
Winds / Osman, Hariadeno's captain / Guard of the
arsenal at Ansa / Messenger / Chorus of Ormindo's
soldiers / Chorus of Amida's soldiers / Chorus of
Mauritanian soldiers / Chorus of Erisbe's ladies-inwaiting
Synopsis
In Act One we meet Ormindo, a Mauritanian warrior in
love with Erisbe, and his fellow soldier Amida, who
also loves her. Erisbe is still young, but is married to the
elderly Hariadeno, king of Morocco. The two men
agree to present themselves in turn to Erisbe and
leave her to make her choice [8]. She is delighted by
their declarations but unable to choose between
them [9]. The two suitors take their leave of
Erisbe [10]. The page Nerillo laments the fact that love
makes fools of men. Enter Sicle, dressed in gipsy
clothes, in search of her lover, Amida, and accompanied
by her nurse, Erice. They offer to read Nerillo's palm.
Erisbe meanwhile is bemoaning her fate as the wife of
an old man who can only offer her 'insipid kisses'
('sciapiti baci'). Her lady-in-waiting Mirinda declares
'truly it is not right/to join golden tresses to silver locks'
('[non] si conviene in vero/congiunger treccia d'oro a
crin d'argento'). The act closes with Destiny's order to
Cupid to reunite Amida and Sicle.
Act Two opens with a love scene between Amida
and Erisbe. Still disguised, Sicle, Erice and Melide
appear and offer to tell their fortunes, before reading
first Amida's and then Erisbe's palm. Erice convinces
Amida to meet her in a cave where she will carry out a
magical fortune-telling ceremony. Meanwhile Ormindo
announces that he is leaving, having received a letter
from his mother asking for his help to fight the king of
Algeria who is besieging Tunis. Erisbe decides to run
away with him. Fortune then commands the Winds to
turn back the ships of the fleeing lovers.
At the beginning of Act Three, Sicle, Melide and
Erice prepare the cave for the magic rites promised to
Amida, with the intention of revealing their true identity
to him. During the ceremony, Sicle appears before
Amida and exhorts him to touch her to see that she is
real, and not a spirit. The two are reconciled. In the
meantime, Hariadeno has commanded his captain
Osman to follow Erisbe and Ormindo. A messenger
arrives, bearing the news that they have been captured.
In a faltering voice, the king declares that they are to be
poisoned. Osman is charged with the task of killing
them but Mirinda promises to marry him if he replaces
the poison with a sleeping draught. Ormindo and Erisbe
drink the potion and feel themselves gradually being
overtaken by sleep [11]. Hariadeno then receives a
letter which reveals that Ormindo is his long-lost son,
and is filled with remorse, until Osman reveals that he
only gave them a sleeping potion. The two lovers awake
and Ormindo begs his father's forgiveness [12]. Final
duet between Ormindo and Erisbe [13].
GIASONE
Manuscript score and libretto held at the Biblioteca
Marciana, Venice
score press-mark: It. IV 363 (=9887), libretto pressmark:
Dramm. 916.3 (1649,50,54, Giacomo Batti)
Drama per musica, by Giacinto Andrea Cicognini, first
performed at the Teatro San Cassiano, Venice, 1649 and
1666. In three acts.
Characters
Jason, leader of the Argonauts / Hercules, one of the
Argonauts / Bessus, captain of Jason's
guard / Hypsipyle, queen of Lemnos / Orestes, her
confidant / Alinda, lady-in-waiting / Medea, queen of
Colchis / Delpha, her nurse / Rosmina, a
gardener / Aegeus, king of Athens / Demos, a
servant / Apollo / Cupid / Jupiter / Aeolus / Zephyr /
Chorus of gods / Chorus of winds / Chorus of
spirits / Volano, a spirit / Chorus of Argonauts / Chorus
of soldiers / Chorus of sailors
The action takes place in part on the island of
Colchis and in part on the shores of the Black Sea
Synopsis
Prologue: Apollo and Cupid.
As Act One opens, Jason tells of the joy and
pleasure he feels because of his nightly assignations
with an unknown lover [14]. Hercules reproaches him
for neglecting his task of finding the golden fleece.
Medea, a sorceress, rejects the advances of Aegeus, who
leaves in dejection. Enter Orestes, sent by Hypsipyle to
find her husband Jason, by whom she has twin sons. He
is intercepted by the servant Demos who, stuttering,
challenges him to combat [15]. There follows an
intermezzo for Delpha, Medea's elderly maidservant,
who dreams of finding a lover. Medea and Jason meet,
and she convinces him that his secret lover is Delpha,
before revealing that she herself is the woman in
question. Hypsipile now arrives on the shores of
Colchis, and the act ends with a magical incantation by
Medea.
As Act Two begins, Orestes comes to meet
Hypsipile who, having just landed with her servant
Alinda, is now asleep and dreaming of Jason's kisses.
Orestes tries to take advantage of her while she sleeps
but she awakes in time. Meanwhile, Medea gives
Jason a ring containing the 'warlike spirit'
('guerriero folletto') that will help him defeat the bull
who guards the golden fleece. They sing a love
duet [16]. Jason fights the bull and returns victorious.
Demos discovers the intrigue between Medea and Jason
and tells Aegeus about it. In the meantime, Orestes tells
Jason of Hypsipile's arrival, and Jason then calms
Medea's jealousy by telling her that Hypsipile is a
madwoman. The two women meet and argue.
Act Three opens with a comic duet between Orestes
and Delpha. Medea then asks Jason to murder Hypsipile
and he charges Bessus with this task. In the valley of
Orseno, Besso comes across Medea, whom he mistakes
for Hypsipile. Instead of killing her outright, however,
he throws her into the sea, from where she is rescued by
her rejected suitor Aegeus. Jason is angry with Bessus
for the mistake made. While he sleeps, Aegeus tries to
kill him, but is stopped by Hypsipile only for Jason to
assume that she was trying to kill him. He inveighs
against her and in return she sings a moving lament,
offering herself up as his victim [17]. Moved, Jason is
reconciled with Hypsipile, while Medea and Aegeus are
also reunited. There follows a final duet between
Hypsipile and Medea, wishing one another future
happiness [18].
CALISTO
Manuscript score and libretto held at the Biblioteca
Marciana, Venice
score press-mark: It. IV 353 (=9877), libretto press-mark:
Dramm. 918.5 (Giuliani, dedicated to The Most Illustrious
Signor Marc'Angelo Corraro)
Drama per musica, by Giovanni Faustini, Favola Decima,
first performed at the Teatro San Apollinare, Venice, 1651
Characters
Nature / Eternity / Destiny / Jupiter / Mercury / Callisto, one
of Diana's virgins, daughter of Lycaon, king of
Pelasgia / Endymion, a shepherd in love with Diana (the
Moon) / Diana, in love with Endymion / Lymphea, one of
Diana's followers / A satyr / Pan, god of
shepherds / Silvanus, god of the woods / Juno / The
Furies / Chorus of celestial spirits / Chorus of
nymphs / Diana's archers
The action takes place in Pelasgia, in the Peloponnese,
later called Arcadia by Arcas, son of Jupiter and Callisto.
Synopsis
The Prologue features Nature, Eternity and Destiny.
As Act One opens, Jupiter has come to earth with
Mercury to see for himself the damage done by the fire
caused by Phaeton's fall to earth. He sees Callisto and
becomes infatuated with her, but the nymph resists his
advances. Mercury suggests that he take on the form of his
daughter, Diana (thereby becoming a soprano rather than a
bass). He is thus able to retire with Callisto into a cave in the
depths of the forest. Meanwhile, Diana is travelling through
the forest with Lymphea, expressing regret that the wild
animals are still in hiding, terrified by the fire, when she
sees Endymion who declares that he is in love. Before he
can reveal that Diana is the object of his desires, however,
Lymphea chases him away, much to Diana's
disappointment, as she loves him too. Callisto now finds
Diana and begs her for more kisses and caresses, but
Diana, unaware that Jupiter has assumed her
appearance, angrily sends Callisto away [19]. The
nymph then sings a lament [20]. Lymphea, left alone on
stage, declares that she does not want to die a virgin and that
'a man is a sweet thing' ('l'huomo è una dolce cosa'). A
satyr appears, offering to console her, but Lymphea refuses,
telling him to go 'and find love with the herd ('ne le mandre
ad amar va''). The act ends with a satyr trio: Pan, lamenting
Diana's indifference to him, is consoled by Silvanus and the
other satyr, who promises to spie on her for him. There
follows a ballet for six bears.
In Act Two Endymion has climbed Mount Lycaeum
to contemplate the rising moon (Diana) and sing a
lament [21]. There he is suddenly overcome by sleep.
Diana, who has spied him while out hunting, now
approaches. Still asleep, Endymion embraces her and she
remains motionless so as not to wake him. He does finally
awake, and the two declare their love for one another. The
satyr has witnessed this scene and runs to tell all to Pan. In
the meantime Juno is searching for Jupiter on the plain of
Erymanthus and comes across Callisto who tells how she
has been chased away by Diana after having been kissed
and treated as though she were 'the beloved spouse' ('come
se stata fossi il vago, il sposo'). Juno asks if anything other
than kissing took place and Callisto replies that there was 'a
certain sweetness, which [she] could not describe' ('un
certo dolce che dir non tel saprei'). Juno immediately
realises that Jupiter has deceived her by assuming the guise
of Diana to seduce Callisto. She reproaches Mercury, then
pretends to believe that Jupiter has returned to Olympus and
that it is the true Diana who stands before her. As she
leaves, Endymion enters: he too is fooled and believes he is
with Diana. Now the satyrs enter, and Pan jealously attacks
Endymion. Lymphea too appears and the satyr tries to
capture her. As she calls for help, four nymphs appear and
the act ends with a fight between the nymphs and the satyrs.
Act Three opens with a lament from Callisto: Juno has
called on the Furies to turn her into a bear. Jupiter, no longer
disguised, enters with Mercury and, although he cannot
undo Juno's work, he consoles Callisto by raising her into
the sky before she is transformed to see the beauties of the
place where she will ultimately live. Meanwhile, Diana
frees Endymion and the two sing a love duet [22]. The
opera ends with Callisto's descent to serve her earthly
sentence as a bear, protected by Mercury who will
watch over her until the time comes for her to return to
the heavens as a constellation [23].
Sergio Vartolo
Didone (excerpts) (more info)
-
Act I, Finale: Passata dell'armata - 2:01
-
Act II, Scene 5: Smoderati Insolenti (Nettuno) - 2:51
-
Act III, Scene 6: Dormi o cara (Enea) - 4:40
-
Act III, Scene 11: Porgetemi la spada (Didone) - 6:34
-
Act III, Finale: Son le tue leggi Amore (Jarba) - Godiam dunque godiamo! (Jarba, Didone) - 2:08
Egisto (excerpts) (more info)
-
Act II, Scene 1: D'Hipparco (Egisto lamento) - Lasso io vivo - Ma di chi mi lamento (Egisto) - 5:52
-
Act III, Scene 9: Rendetemi Euridice! (Egisto, Clori, Climene, Lidio, Hipparco) - 10:47
Ormindo (excerpts) (more info)
-
Act I, Scene 8: Piante fiorite (Ormindo) - 1:19
-
Act I, Scene 8: Fortunato mio cor (Erisbe) - 0:46
-
Act I, Scene 8: A Dio (Erisbe, Amida, Ormindo) - 0:46
-
Act III, Scene 12: Io moro! (Erisbe, Ormindo) - 1:37
-
Act III, Scene 13: Oh ritrovato padre (Ormindo) - 1:18
-
Act III, Finale: D'Amor non si quereli (Erisbe, Ormindo) - 1:28
Giasone (excerpts) (more info)
-
Act I, Scene 2: Delitie e contenti (Giasone) - 3:32
-
Act I, Scene 7: Son qui - Son gobbo son Demo - Linguaggio curioso (Demo, Oreste) - 4:03
-
Act II, Scene 3: Ecco il fatal castello - Ti lascio (Medea, Giasone) - Ritornello - 2:56
-
Act III, Scene 21: Ahi fato avverso (Giasone) - Isifile lamento: Infelice (Isifile) - 9:02
-
Act III, Scene 21: Godi Isifile (Isifile, Medea) - 1:07
Calisto (excerpts) (more info)
-
Act I, Scene 10: Piacere maggiore (Calisto, Diana, Linfea) - 4:47
-
Act I, Scene 11: Piangete (Calisto) - 1:01
-
Act II, Scene 1: Erme e solinghe - Lucidissima face (Endimione) - 3:51
-
Act III, Scene 7: Dolcissimi baci (Endimione, Diana) - 2:49
-
Act III, Finale: Mio Tonante (Calisto, Mercurio, Giove) - 1:19
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