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for the child's kidnapping. Argia's brother Prince
Feraspe arrives in Salamis, partly to look for her and partly to seek the hand of the beautiful Dorisbe. Argia also arrives in the city disguised as a young man called Laurindo. Both Dorisbe and Filaura (King Atamante's courtesan) fall in love with "him". In the end, all is resolved. As she is about to wreak her revenge on Selino, Argia falls into his arms instead and the two are reconciled. Osman arrives with their young son. Atamante is thrilled to have found his son, and Selino is equally delighted to have found his real father. Dorisbe becomes the happy bride of Feraspe.
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536:
After recovering from childbirth, Argia, determined to track down her errant husband, leaves her baby son in the care of the old shepherd Osman. Unbeknownst to her, Osman had been the slave at
Atamante's Court charged with taking care of Lucimoro/Selino and had fled to Negroponte when he was blamed
532:
where he had been sent to learn foreign customs and languages, Selino had seduced
Princess Argia, married her, and then abandoned her when she became pregnant. In his subsequent wanderings Selino arrives in Salamis and promptly falls in love with King Atamante's daughter Dorisbe, not realising that
194:
was subsequently revived multiple times in Italy. The libretto was published in Rome in 1657 and excerpts from the opera were performed in private palaces. There are copies of the libretto printed for public performances in Naples (1667), Venice (1669), Milan (1669), Siena (1669) Viterbo (1670 and
156:
That night she was entertayned with a most excellent opera, all in musick, and in
Italian, the actors of that play being all of that nation, and, as some of themselves told me, they were seven castrati or eunuchs; the rest were whoores, monks, fryers, and priests. I am sure it lasted about 6 or 7
210:
had become something of a legend in Italy. Apolloni and Cesti adapted the title role (originally sung by a castrato) for
Masotti. The opera itself was also adapted to suit Venetian taste. While some new arias were added for Masotti, several others were shortened or eliminated. Most of the lengthy
199:, a friend of both Cesti and Apolloni, was a great admirer of the work and did much to champion its performances in Italy. She was instrumental in securing its Venice premiere in 1669 and in having it performed in Siena later that year to inaugurate the city's new opera house.
135:
was their first operatic collaboration there. It was part of a week of festivities in
November 1655 celebrating the visit of Queen Christina of Sweden who had abdicated the throne and was on her way to exile in Rome. On 3 November she formally converted to Catholicism in the
247:
who also conducted the performance. He cut the original version of the opera down from a running time of almost seven hours to approximately four, eliminating the prologue and most of the choruses. Jacobs subsequently took the
Innsbruck production and cast to
106:
of Sweden who was on her way to exile in Rome. Over the next 20 years it had multiple performances in
Italian cities including Venice and Siena where it inaugurated Siena's new opera house in 1669. Its first performance in modern times took place at the
227:
with each of the five prologue characters taking a volume of music from the shelves and singing an aria from it. The Venice production was very successful, with an opening night audience of over 950 people and a six-week run of 35 performances.
540:
In the final scene, Venus descends from the heavens accompanied by
Innocence. They describe the happy turn of events and sing "Viva Cyprus and Negroponte!", echoed by choruses of divine spirits, dancing soldiers, and cherubs flying overhead.
833:
169:
praising the virtues of Queen
Christina. The opera itself had lavish stage machinery and multiple ballets and choruses incorporated into the action. Apart from Dorisbe which was sung by
195:
1680), Reggio (1671), Verona (1671), Udine (1673), and Pisa (1674). There is also a record of an opera by that name performed in the small court theatre in Mantua in 1674. The soprano
219:
with Venus and Innocence was omitted, as it was in all the post-1655 Italian revivals. The original prologue praising Queen Christina was substituted with a new one set in
115:
in ancient times the opera's convoluted plot, full of disguises and mistaken identities, revolves around the amorous misadventures of Selino who has been pursued to
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Selino, whose real name was Lucimoro, is the son of Atamante, King of Cyprus but was kidnapped by pirates as a small child and later adopted by the King of
980:
177:. The production was such a success that it was repeated on 7 November, the night before Christina left for Rome. It was her introduction to Italian
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At the time of the opera's first performance both the composer Antonio Cesti and its librettist Giovanni Filippo Apolloni were in the service of
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and King Atamante which was sung by Cesti himself, all the principal roles, including the title role of Princess Argia were sung by male
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was performed at the Archduke's new theatre which had been inaugurated the previous year and stood on the site of today's
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The opera's first performance in modern times was on 18 August 1996 at the Tyrolean State Theatre during the
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857:"Rene Jacobs Turns Up a Gem In the Caverns of Baroque Opera : A Rich 'Argia' Unfolds in Paris"
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abandoned wife of Selino and Princess of Negroponte, disguised as the young servant Laurindo
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often had a much lower range than the modern tenor and were more like that of the modern
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Kasow, Joel (October 1997). "Opera Around the World: Lausanne", pp. 1239–1240.
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High contralto voices in the Baroque era were similar to that of the modern
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was in Innsbruck at the time and attended the performance. He later wrote:
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printed for the 1669 Venice performance containing the revised prologue
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The production began with a prologue consisting of a dialogue between
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730:"The Power of the Prima Donna: Giulia Masotti's Repertory of Choice"
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288:
166:
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at his court in Innsbruck—Cesti from 1652 and Apolloni from 1653.
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hours, with most strangely excellent scenes and ravishing musick.
1003:
785:, pp. 101–102 (revised 4th edition). Columbia University Press.
706:
A New Chronology of Venetian Opera and Related Genres, 1660-1760
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son of the King of Thrace but actually Lucimoro, son of Atamante
1007:
557:
Two of the arias chosen for the new Venice prologue were from
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in Paris in 1999 (the opera's first performance in France).
964:. Agricola (libretto printed for the premiere performance).
647:(edited and annotated by James Craigie Robertson) (1867).
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in the title role. The performing edition was prepared by
803:"Giulia Masotti, Venice, and the Rise of the Prima Donna"
41:
Stage set for Act 1, Scene 1 of the premiere performance
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Pope Alexander the Seventh and the College of Cardinals
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is an opera in a prologue and three acts composed by
779:
Grout, Donald and Williams, Hermine Weigel (2003).
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56:
46:
21:
565:, composed that year but not premiered until 1674.
834:"Jacobs exhume une curiosité vénitienne de Cesti"
98:. It was first performed in the court theatre at
455:an old shepherd but once the tutor of Lucimoro
102:on 4 November 1655 to celebrate the visit of
1019:
957:Synopsis based on Apolloni, Giovanni (1655).
429:a singer and courtesan, favourite of Atamante
8:
756:"'Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen': Cesti,
691:, Volume 19, Part 1, p. 258. Leo S. Olschki
1026:
1012:
1004:
997:in modern typography on librettidopera.it
754:Brown, Jennifer Williams (November 2000).
724:
722:
202:By the time of the Venice premiere at the
35:
18:
981:International Music Score Library Project
766:, Vol. 12, No. 3. Retrieved 21 June 2016
736:, Vol. 17, No. 1. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
628:. p. 82. University of California Press.
809:, Vol. 17, No. 1. Retrieved 21 June 2016
357:Prince of Negroponte and Argia's brother
263:
750:
748:
746:
744:
742:
615:
550:
668:, p. 227. Cambridge University Press.
129:Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria
903:. p. 46. Greenwood Publishing Group.
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697:
119:by his deserted wife Princess Argia.
7:
881:, pp. 17–18. Yale University Press.
807:Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music
734:Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music
709:. p. 94. Stanford University Press.
215:were also eliminated, and the final
498:buffoons, cherubs, ghosts, soldiers
148:. The English cleric and traveller
140:at Innbruck. The following evening
855:Stevens, David (27 October 1999).
14:
920:Innsbruck Festival of Early Music
897:Emerson, Isabelle Putnam (2005).
703:Selfridge-Field, Eleanor (2007).
233:Innsbruck Festival of Early Music
109:Innsbruck Festival of Early Music
665:Music in the Seventeenth Century
900:Five Centuries of Women Singers
832:Dahan, Eric (21 October 1999).
442:a eunuch and servant of Filaura
252:in Switzerland in 1997 and the
1:
938:Ă–sterreichisches Musiklexikon
332:Filippo Bombaglia, "Monello"
533:she is actually his sister.
412:King Atamante's servant and
685:Accademia Musicale Chigiana
1128:
728:De Lucca, Valeria (2011).
662:Bianconi, Lorenzo (1987).
625:Companion to Baroque Music
622:Sadie, Julie Anne (1998).
254:Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
944:. Retrieved 22 June 2019
928:. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
879:Tenor, History of a voice
760:, and the Gelone Problem"
595:. In the 1996 revival of
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343:high contralto castrato (
96:Giovanni Filippo Apolloni
61:4 November 1655
51:Giovanni Filippo Apolloni
34:
26:
865:. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
842:. Retrieved 1 June 2016
782:A Short History of Opera
384:Selino's tutor in Thrace
1102:Operas by Antonio Cesti
1097:Italian-language operas
768:(subscription required)
764:Cambridge Opera Journal
653:, p. 70. Camden Society
123:Background and premiere
480:Innocenza (Innocence)
159:
801:Glixon, Beth (2011).
563:Il ratto delle Sabine
154:
146:Tiroler Landestheater
574:Tenor voices in the
530:Island of Negroponte
528:. On a visit to the
399:Dorisbe's aged nurse
237:Jean-Louis Martinoty
206:on 15 January 1669,
111:in 1996. Set on the
942:"Pancotti, Antonio"
491:sailors, soldiers,
419:contralto castrato
361:contralto castrato
187:Performance history
364:Astolfo Bresciani
1084:
1083:
995:Complete libretto
986:Complete libretto
962:: Dramma musicale
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350:Antonio Pancotti
250:Opéra de Lausanne
180:dramma per musica
94:to a libretto by
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518:Island of Cyprus
371:Feraspe's squire
277:4 November 1655
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241:Laura Polverelli
175:castrato singers
113:Island of Cyprus
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225:Mount Parnassus
204:Teatro San Luca
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104:Queen Christina
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1107:1655 operas
946:(in German)
844:(in French)
576:Baroque era
496:(singing);
345:en travesti
245:René Jacobs
213:recitatives
1091:Categories
922:Archives.
909:0313308101
887:030016002X
875:Potter, J.
839:Libération
791:0231507720
762:, p. 205.
715:0804744378
674:0521269156
634:0520214145
611:References
500:(dancing)
382:Solimano,
312:Anna Renzi
282:Atamante,
271:Voice type
217:apotheosis
171:Anna Renzi
72:Hoftheater
65:1655-11-04
47:Librettist
16:1655 opera
512:Setting:
427:Filaura,
410:Lurcano,
355:Feraspe,
325:contralto
300:Dorisbe,
138:Hofkirche
100:Innsbruck
76:Innsbruck
27:Opera by
960:L' Argia
940:(2013).
877:(2009).
689:Chigiana
687:(1988).
580:baritone
507:Synopsis
466:Venere (
453:Osmano,
446:soprano
369:Aceste,
328:castrato
318:Selino,
57:Premiere
1066:La Dori
1058:Orontea
1050:L'Argia
979:on the
925:L'Argia
758:Orontea
597:L'Argia
516:on the
514:Salamis
440:Alceo,
337:Argia,
307:soprano
208:L'Argia
192:L'Argia
142:L'Argia
133:L'Argia
117:Salamis
87:L'Argia
63: (
22:L'Argia
1112:Operas
1077:(1668)
1069:(1657)
1061:(1656)
1053:(1655)
1042:Operas
907:
885:
789:
713:
672:
632:
526:Thrace
414:jester
403:tenor
397:Dema,
375:tenor
221:Apollo
163:Thetis
821:Opera
545:Notes
493:numen
468:Venus
459:bass
289:tenor
267:Role
260:Roles
239:with
905:ISBN
883:ISBN
787:ISBN
711:ISBN
670:ISBN
630:ISBN
561:'s
389:bass
167:Amor
165:and
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859:.
836:.
805:.
741:^
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721:^
696:^
603:).
470:)
347:)
74:,
1027:e
1020:t
1013:v
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846:.
770:.
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67:)
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