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]
Bärenreiter produced an edition of the 1660 version, edited by Barbara Nestola, in 2015 based on which the first staged performance in modern times was performed 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.[5] A new edition of the original version was prepared by Marcio da Silva for a concert performance at the Cockpit Theatre, London in 2021.[6]
video Il Xerse, Carlo Vistoli, Ekaterina Protsenko, Gaia Petrone, Carolina Lippo, Carlo Allemano, Orchestra Barocca Modo Antiquo, Federico Maria SardelliMartina Franca Dynamic, 2022
xerse, also, xerxes, 1660, french, version, xerxès, opera, francesco, cavalli, specifically, dramma, musica, about, xerxes, libretto, written, nicolò, minato, later, both, giovanni, bononcini, 1694, xerse, george, frideric, handel, serse, 1738, minato, plot, o. See also Xerxes Il Xerse in its 1660 French version Xerxes is an opera by Francesco Cavalli specifically a dramma per musica about Xerxes I The libretto was written by Nicolo Minato and was later set by both Giovanni Bononcini 1694 Xerse and George Frideric Handel Serse 1738 Minato s plot outline is loosely based on Book 7 of Herodotus s Histories The opera Cavalli s twenty first 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 Francesco Cavalli Contents 1 Background 2 Roles 3 Editions 4 Recordings 5 References 6 External linksBackground editThe 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 editRoles voice types Role Voice typeXerse castratoArsamene contraltoRomilda sopranoAriodate tenorAmastre sopranoElviro contraltoAdelanta sopranoEumene sopranoAristone bassPeriarco contraltoClito sopranoSesostre tenorSpitalce bassCapitano bassMomo backing singerApollo backing singerEditions editBarenreiter produced an edition of the 1660 version edited by Barbara Nestola in 2015 based on which the first staged performance in modern times was performed 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 5 A new edition of the original version was prepared by Marcio da Silva for a concert performance at the Cockpit Theatre London in 2021 6 Recordings editXerse Rene Jacobs Xerse Judith Nelson Amastre Jeffrey Gall Arsamene Isabelle Poulenard Romilda Jill Feldman Adelanta Guy de Mey Dominique Visse Concerto Vocale conducted by Rene Jacobs 4 CDs Harmonia Mundi 1985 video Il Xerse Carlo Vistoli Ekaterina Protsenko Gaia Petrone Carolina Lippo Carlo Allemano Orchestra Barocca Modo Antiquo Federico Maria Sardelli Martina Franca Dynamic 2022References edit a b Clinkscale 2001 a b c da Silva 2021 p 12 da Silva 2021 p 13 da Silva 2021 p 7 Cavalli Francesco Lully Jean Baptiste Xerxes Barenreiter Retrieved 25 February 2021 Hall George 22 February 2021 Xerse The Stage Retrieved 25 February 2021 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 editIl Xerse Cavalli Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Portal nbsp Opera Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Il Xerse amp oldid 1156566281, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
