25 Feb 2008
VINCI: La Partenope
La Partenope: Dramma per musica in three acts.
Recently in Repertoire
Lohengrin, Bayreuth 2011 Live
Opera in three acts. Words and music by Richard Wagner.
Parsifal, Bayreuth 2012 Live
Parsifal. Bühnenweihfestspiel (“stage dedication play”) in three acts.
Music from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“German poet, dramatist and novelist. One of the most important literary and cultural figures of his age, he was recognized during his lifetime for his accomplishments of almost universal breadth. However, it is his literary works that have most consistently sustained his reputation, and that also serve to demonstrate most clearly his many-faceted relationship to music. . . .
Operas based on the works of Friedrich von Schiller
This theme relates to operas based on the works of Friedrich von Schiller.
Operas Based on French Literature
Here are operas based on French literature from Balzac, Hugo and beyond:
Jules Massenet: Le Cid
Le Cid, Opéra in 4 acts
Vincenzo Bellini: I puritani
I puritani, opera seria in three acts
Vincenzo Bellini: Zaira
Zaira, Tragedia lirica in two acts.
G. F. Handel: Athalia
Athalia: Oratorio (sacred drama) in 3 acts
DONIZETTI: Lucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia: Melodramma in a prologue and two acts.
BERTIN: La Esmeralda
La Esmeralda: Opéra in four acts.
VERDI: Ernani — Florence 1957
Ernani: Dramma lirico in four parts.
von Waltershausen: Oberst Chabert
Oberst Chabert (Colonel Chabert): Tragic opera in 3 acts.
VERDI: Otello — La Scala 1954
Otello: Dramma lirico in four acts.
Music composed by Giuseppe Verdi. Libretto by Arrigo Boito after The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice by William Shakespeare.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a comedy in five acts with incidental music.
HAHN: Le Marchand de Venise
Le Marchand de Venise (“The Merchant of Venice”): Opéra in three acts.
STORACE: Gli Equivoci
Gli Equivoci (The Comedy of Errors): Opera in two acts.
MARTIN: Der Sturm
Der Sturm: Opera in three acts
PURCELL: The Fairy-Queen
The Fairy-Queen: Semi-opera in five acts.
VERDI: Macbeth — Vienna 2009
Macbeth: Melodramma in quattro parti.
OPERA TODAY ARCHIVES »
Repertoire
Music composed by Leonardo Vinci. Libretto by Silvio Stampiglia.
First Performance: 1725, Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo, Venice.
| Principal Characters: | |
| Rosmira, Princess of Cyprus | Soprano |
| Partenope, Queen of Partenope (later Naples) | Contralto |
| Arsace, Prince of Corinth | Soprano |
| Armindo, Prince of Rhodes | Tenor |
| Emilio, Prince of Cuma | Mezzo-Soprano |
| Ormonte, Captain of Partenope's Guard | Tenor |
Background:
Partenope (or Parthenope) appears in Greek mythology and classical sources as one of the sirens who taunted Odysseus. One version has her throwing herself into the sea because her love for Odysseus was not returned. She drowns. Her body washes ashore at Naples, which was called Partenope after her name. From this, Silvio Stampiglia created a fictional account where Partenope appears as the Queen of Naples. According to Robert Freeman:
[T]he libretto for Partenope . . . [was] first set for performance in Naples during 1699 with music by Luigi Mancia, and produced all over Italy in more than a dozen versions with music by a variety of composers . . . [The libretto involves] a young lady named Rosmira, once betrothed to and then deserted by Arsace, now a suitor of Partenope, Queen of Naples, where the drama takes place. Early in the libretto, Rosmira, disguised as a man, charges Arsace with infidelity and defies him to redeem his honor by promising never to reveal her identity. After Arsace promises, Rosmira taunts him before the court, then challenges him to a duel, which Arsace quite naturally tries to evade. But in the final scene Arsace hits upon a solution. He agrees to the duel, but on condition that it be fought with combatants stripped to the waist. . . Rosmira admits her identity and there is no duel.Notes, Vol. 28, No. 2 (Dec., 1971), pp. 216-217.