(Identical to the VE52 text, except for ‘empier’) Christine Jeanneret, in her essay ‘Maria Cavalli: In the Shadow of Francesco’4 identifies the handwriting of this addition as that of Maria Cavalli, Francesco’s wife. Her recordings include Cavalli (La Calisto - extracts), Handel (Messiah; Water Music suites 1-3), Haydn (Symphonies 80, 87, 89, 101, 102, 103, 104; 'Harmoniemesse' and 'Schöpfungsmesse', Mozart (Symphonies 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41; Divertimenti K. 136-K. 138 & Serenade K. 525, "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik"; Serenade for 13 Wind Instruments K361; Requiem K.626), Mendelssohn (Violin Concerto Op. But Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676) was right there with the Master in time and place. Elena was penned in 1659, and was never performed since. But hope it’s good! She did not return to Italy until her husband's death in 1689. Dr Glover has published a 1978 biography of Francesco Cavalli, and included material derived from her doctoral thesis. H has high expectations for Iestyn . It was so very nearly four stars, but I just felt there were too many issues for me to give it that rating with a clear conscience. Delpha (Dominique Visse, in fatsuit) approaches one of her victims. I have a new addition for those hallowed halls: Francesco Cavalli’s Ercole Amante, designed for the stage by David Alden. As in Ol’ Blue Eyes. Dr Glover has published a 1978 biography of Francesco Cavalli, and included material derived from her doctoral thesis. Review of Handel in London: The Making of a Genius. Dame Jane Alison Glover DBE (born 13 May 1949) is a British-born conductor and musicologist. Eliogabalo was the last surviving work of Cavalli, “the pre-eminent theatre musician of the mid-century” (Carter), the scores of whose almost 30 Venetian operas “shift flexibly between recitative and aria styles, sometimes within only a few bars”.. Here, Davide portraying the injured Italian pilot Francesco Cavalli who, after having an emergency landing in Malta, falls in love with the nurse who takes care of him. Unless of course you subscribe to the theory that Cavalli wrote Pur ti miro, in which case the best of Monteverdi *is* Cavalli? Thursday April 9, 2020: New England Conservatory Opera presents La Calisto, Francesco Cavalli's early Baroque opera. So please read this as a high 3.5. His eye for stories rarely falls flat and this production of Giasone does credit to his playful and tongue-in-cheek score. At the end of the interval, however, a spokesman announced that the changing temperature was making his voice unstable and he begged our indulgence. The dauntless Argonauts came to the shores of Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece, but their heroism has been put on hold. After having killed his first wife, he had to perform twelve tasks. As ever, Cavalli’s women are particularly strong: I feel compelled to note that both Medea and Hypsipyle are queens in their own right. In 1990, after a sizeable donation, the Glover Music School was opened at Monmouth School by Jane Glover, in memory of her father. ( Log Out /  The third portion of the limelight went to Flores’s Alinda, the classic cheeky maid who sings about how wonderful it is to be able to pick up men and drop them as you please (this Alinda, in a comic touch, was heavily pregnant). The things we do for art. The Yankees signed Cervelli as an international free agent in 2003. But Jason’s romantic adventures prove harder to shake off than he anticipates, when it transpires that his secret lover is none other than Medea, Queen of Colchis. For the last year they’ve been kept kicking their heels while their leader, Jason, diverts himself with a mysterious woman. [5] Since 2002, she has been Music Director of the Chicago ensemble Music of the Baroque. Here is him singing Massanet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adqyQ9AEBms. It seems that Visse is now the pantomime dame of Baroque operas: if you need a comedy nurse, he’s your man. As a matter of fact, having so much space suddenly available in the city centre, gave Nero the opportunity to build right on the Colle Oppio the most lavish and vast villa of the ancient Rome, the Domus Aurea.. It must have been rather like a reunion for them all. Performances are July 8, 10, 14 and 16, all at 8PM. (Remarkably, one of the tamer interpretations.) Here he made a very good job of making a hero unsympathetic, of stripping away the glamour of Jason of Thessaly and letting us see the silly little man beneath. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Which of these famous missions was *not* one of Hercules' twelve tasks? Hammarström had the best role, as Medea, and she brought power and intensity to her singing. The eponymous Jason sprawls in a love-fuelled stupor and sings for five minutes about how glorious sex is, but he just can’t manage any more just at the moment and longs only to ‘die’ (ahem) in the lap of his mistress. He believes that … Glover was the Music Director of the London Mozart Players from 1984 to 1991. Cavalli is not the most musical composer, to my ears (I still think his operas are more like sung dramas than proper opera), but he’s one of the most deliciously silly, dramatic and irreverent. Russell exemplifies the “can do” spirit of Haymarket Opera Company. Between the three of them, these women kept the stage alight. And that was something that came across: the sheer fun being had by all. Giasone is no exception. His Delizie contenti was predictably gorgeous, but I’d like to hear him record it one day when he’s firing on all cylinders. A great treat. The setting was vaguely 1930s with modern commando uniforms for the Argonauts, while the gods were resplendent in proper Baroque costumes to differentiate their reality from the mess of adultery and cowardice all around them. The book investigates the extent to which the women surrounding Mozart – his mother, sister, wife and his wife's sisters – influenced his development as a composer. Jason (Valer Sabadus) and his mystery lady Medea (Kristina Hammarström). A 1912 neighborhood meetinghouse has been converted … Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Here and There Classical Music News: Opera appointments, Anthony Tommasini,"A Rollicking Treat Infused With Grace and Gravitas,", Music of the Baroque – biography on Jane Glover, Music Director, Glyndebourne Touring Opera, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jane_Glover&oldid=999401256, People educated at Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls, Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Pages containing London Gazette template with parameter supp set to y, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 10 January 2021, at 00:14. Yes, my dear CTs, you certainly are doing it your way and my jaw is aching from the silly smile I have on my face. Vocally, however, Sabadus was very slightly off colour when we saw him. As Medea’s rival, Aspromonte was a loyal innocent, the purity of her voice backing up her character. As you’ve probably guessed, I went for Sabadus and enjoyed his performance, noting as ever his great gift for comedy and his willingness to make himself look ridiculous. (Oreste finds it hard to be entirely sad about this, as he has a long-cherished soft spot for his young mistress.) Jason (Valer Sabadus) and Aegeus (Raul Gimenez). [8], In September 2005, Macmillan published Glover's book Mozart's Women: His Family, His Friends, His Music. I’d spotted something odd in the first half, which I couldn’t identify exactly – my ear knew that it wasn’t perfect but I don’t have the music vocabulary to understand what I was hearing. Funnily enough, he was much, much better in the second half and we had plenty more of his characteristic bell-like long high notes, much to my delight. Career Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Change ). A search of the immigration and passenger lists has shown a number of people bearing the name Cavallo: Bartolomeo Cavallero, who arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1778 with his wife Maria and his six children; Diego, Antonio, Bartolomeo, Maria, Augustina, Andrea, and Louis Cavalli, who were all naturalized in Detroit in 1833. [2] She made her professional debut at the Wexford Festival in 1975 with the first modern performance of Eritrea[3] and joined Glyndebourne in 1979. For her part, she scolds him for womanising his way around her kingdom, teasingly claims that her elderly maid Delpha (Dominique Visse) is his beloved, and then finally outs herself. He and his wife Paula have two wonderful children and one glorious granddaughter. I believe H is; I’m not, as am just this minute arriving back in town from a family funeral and need some downtime after a couple of crazy weeks. Vocally, I thought most of the cast were very good. Francisco Cervelli (born March 6, 1986) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball catcher.He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, and Miami Marlins from 2008 through 2020.. He was the son of Giovanni Battista Caletti, organist and maestro di capellaat the cathedral at Crema.As a boy Francesco apparently excelled as a singer in the local choir; Venetian nobleman and governor Federico Cavalli noticed the boy and in 1616 persuaded the elder Caletti to let Francesco accompany him to Venice, where he would see to his musical studies. Amidst the glitz and glitter of Versailles’s Opéra Royal, everything was about to hit the fan in a very, very Baroque fashion. But Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676) was right there with the Master in time and place. Francesco Cavalli's Baroque opera is staged with a cheeky sensibility in Highland Park. The most lavish and vast villa of the ancient Rome, the Domus Aurea. As Medea’s rival, Aspromonte was a loyal innocent, the purity of her voice backing up her character. Her father, Robert Finlay Glover, MA (TCD), was headmaster of Monmouth School and it was through this connection that she was able to meet Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears aged only 16. facsimile of Francesco Cavalli’s manuscript scores belonging to the Contarini Collection. Although, I’ve just gotten to them singing “My Way”. Cavalli - The Requiem is the composer's last sacred work, … La Didone was premiered in 1641, a year after Monteverdi's Ritorno di Ulisse in Patria and a year before L'Incoronazione di Poppea. Though I can’t promise that my reaction won’t be the old: “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”. He came from a prestigious family; his grandfather, Luigi Einaudi, was President of Italy between 1948 and 1955 and his father, Giulio Einaudi, was a publisher who worked with some renowned authors, such as Italo Calvino and Primo Levi. (Her two children by Jason remain unslaughtered here: this is Venetian froth, not Greek tragedy.). Her brother, Richard Glover, served as Master Haberdasher (2015–16). ... in La Calisto by Francesco Cavalli. Perhaps I should mention Dominique Visse’s Delpha here, as an honorary woman. sorry to hear that. If one of your images appears uncredited in one of my posts, please get in touch with me and I will gladly add your credit. I do my best to locate the creators of all artwork used on this site, but sometimes the images have become divorced from their artist information by the time I find them. II. Jason, astonished, accepts her offer of magical assistance in his quest for the fleece – for Medea is, of course, a sorceress – and then the two lovers plan to scarper, leaving behind Medea’s elderly husband Aegeus, King of Athens (the father of Theseus, for those whom enjoy keeping their myth-cycles straight). That's Roberto Cavalli and granddaughter Mariacarla with (from right): son Robin; son-in-law Joseph Aicoviello, daughter Rachele, and granddaughter Maria Eva; wife Eva; and daughter Cristiana with fiancé Francesco Agostinelli. She is splendid as she calls upon the fiends of hell, wreathed in smoke and wielding a sorcerer’s staff; ferocious as she encounters her rival; she only feels unconvincing at the end, when the laws of opera require her to forgive and make peace. He might be thoroughly enjoying himself but, as his fellow Argonaut Hercules tells him, it’s time to move on. There on the step, looking for all the world as they did on one of my record sleeves, distinguished, elegant and with the kindliest of eyes, were Peter Pears and Benjamin Britten my hero.". Based on a libretto by Giacinto Andrea Cicognini, Cavalli’s opera was first performed on 5 January 1649 in Venice. I’m fine, thank you – just tired and in need of a few evenings cuddled up at home with a good book! Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. It’s always great to have an excuse to go to Versailles and spend a few hours in this jewel of an opera house, and it was also wonderful to tick off one more Cavalli opera. He’s a weak, vacillating, dreamy creature who only lifts a weapon once in the entire opera, and that’s to threaten a woman. Jason is a figure of mockery: a man ‘effeminate’ in the Baroque sense of the word, whose manly qualities have been diluted through excessive sex with women. And Cavalli was a central figure in the evolution of opera, easily the best known and most popular composer of such works in his age. To make matters worse, his fiancee Hypsipyle, Queen of Lemnos, has grown tired of waiting for him and is coming to fetch him home. Her hand is also 4Readying Cavalli's Operas for the Stage: Manuscript, Edition, Production. Glover was a BBC governor from 1990 to 1995. On 29 May 1672, fearing that her husband would kill her, Mancini left Rome accompanied by her sister Hortense Mancini. Ercole amante (Hercules in Love, French: Hercule amoureux) is an opera in a prologue and five acts by Francesco Cavalli.Its Italian libretto is by Francesco Buti [], based on Sophocles' The Trachiniae and on the ninth book of Ovid's Metamorphoses.The first performance took place on 7 February 1662 in the Salle des Machines of the Tuileries in Paris. In 1990, after a sizeable donation, the Glover Music School[1] was opened at Monmouth School by Jane Glover, in memory of her father. Cavalli's La Calisto at NEC is presented as part of the Pratt Residency and Performance Series for Early Music, established through the generosity of Life Trustee Harold I. Pratt and his wife, Frances. I’m also having trouble with Cavalli beyond the (very) amusing nature of his stories. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Oh goodness, they’ve just started “O sole mio”. The performances are taking place in an outdoor courtyard of an old box factory, now home to an art gallery in what is billed as “Brooklyn’s Venice,” by the Gowanus Canal, and is produced by Vertical Player Repertory. (English Touring Opera at the Hackney Empire, 14 October 2016) On Friday night it was time for the second opera in ETO’s autumn Baroque trilogy (the first was their Battle of Britain Xerxes).This time we were going back to the mid-17th century for Cavalli’s Calisto, which on the surface is an exuberant pantomime in song about gods behaving badly in the forests of Arcadia. I thought it was “the bassist”. When this recording was made in 2006, recordings and even performances of the operas of Francesco Cavalli were rare. In smaller roles, Günes Gürie (Besso) and Taras Berezhansky (Ercole) were both impressive, but didn’t really have enough chance to shine. Approximate Run Time: Cavalli's La Calisto plays in 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission. [7], Glover was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2003 New Year Honours and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to music. A 3.75 if you like…, A splendid message to end on: ‘Make Love Not War’ proclaims the tableau at the final curtain, I know I was taking the piss out of the Three Countertenors CD, but upon listening to it seriously again today, I have to admit Dominique Visse is passable when he’s (a) not a nurse, (b) singing in French, and (c) actually singing, and not speak-singing or lapsing in and out of his CT voice. Save me. He has a very good voice, but the style just seemed completely inappropriate. Francesco Cavalli—Requiem (Ensemble Polyharmonique/Alexander Schneider). Indeed, she comes out of this as the one moulding the story to her own ends. She has been both principal conductor and principal guest conductor of the Huddersfield Choral Society and continues to work with the choir on a semi-regular basis. Was it Cavalli? Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. And so divine meddling brings a great storm, that blows the Argo off-course, Golden Fleece and all, and washes the Argonauts up on the shores of the Iberus. Cavalli was born in 1602, not long after the earliest operas were written. Many are difficult to stage, but those who persist, find works that have a good deal of power and were critical to the development of opera as it is known today. Of course, Oreste returns with the unfortunate news that Jason has impregnated another woman and scarpered with her. Buy CDs,DVDs online at hbdirect.com: Francisco Cavalli: Ercole Amante / Bolton/Concerto Koln, Netherlands Opera Chorus [2 DVD] Composers: Francesco Cavalli (1602 - 1676) Performers: Anna Bonitatibus Veronica Cangemi Marlin Miller Jeremy Ovenden Anna Panzarella Luca Pisaroni Label: BBC Opus Arte Conductors: Ivor Bolton Ensembles: Concerto Koln Netherlands Opera Chorus - BOA 1020 . 64; "A Midsummer Night's Dream" incidental music), Britten (Les Illuminations; Nocturne; Sinfonietta). Once Aegeus (Raúl Giménez) hears about his wife’s flight, he decides to follow her – because, despite everything, he actually loves Medea – accompanied by his long-suffering hunchbacked and stuttering servant Demo (Migran Agadzhanyan). Ercole Amante was commissioned by Cardinal Mazarin for the wedding of Louis XIV and Maria Theresa of Spain in 1660. As Jason’s two lovers meet head on, things are about to get messy. (Opéra Royal de Versailles, 9 March 2018). Sit back and marvel. My latest adventure is as Giove, King of the Gods, in Francesco Cavalli’s La Calisto.. Still, if you have a comedy nurse in Cavalli, she’s always after the young men. She has conducted opera at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, English National Opera, Glyndebourne, Berlin Staatsoper, Royal Danish Opera, Opéra National du Rhin, Opéra National de Bordeaux, Glimmerglass Opera, New York City Opera, and Teatro La Fenice. Album Description. Apollo (Francesca Aspromonte) and Cupid (Mary Feminear) have already had a spat in the prologue about whom Jason should marry: Apollo champions Medea, who is his descendant; Cupid has already made plans for Hypsipyle. Jove (Alejandro Meerapfel) and Aeolus (Dominique Visse), Cavalli’s operas have little time for heroes. Did I mention that Jason has also given each woman twin sons? In December 2013, she became the third woman ever to conduct at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, leading Mozart's The Magic Flute in the production of Julie Taymor; the New York Times wrote, "...Ms. Glover's appearance, and the magisterial performance and nuance she drew from the orchestra, were the news here. He wrote 41 operas, and 27 of them survive. I’ll be eagerly keeping my eye on Versailles’s programming in the seasons to come, hoping we might have some more Baroque to look forward to. Meanwhile, on the banks of the river Iberus, Hypsipyle (Francesca Aspromonte) pauses with her band of excitable maids and her loyal servant Oreste (Alejandro Meerapfel). Sick with love of Jason, she sends Oreste off to find out the latest news, while her maids – led by the spirited Alinda (Mariana Flores) try to jolly her along. And Cavalli was a central figure in the evolution of opera, easily the best known and most popular composer of such works in his age. After reading Music as an undergraduate at St Hugh's College, Oxford, she went on to complete a DPhil on 17th-century Venetian Opera. In a neat touch, the orchestra were Cappella Mediterranea and the conductor was Leonardo Garcia Alarcón, who were behind the recording of Elena that did so much to get Sabadus established as a leading man back in the day. The Venetian reception and transformation of ancient texts—by Ovid, Virgil, Tacitus, and Diodorus Siculus—form the background for her penetrating analyses of the musical and dramatic representation of five extraordinary women as presented in operas by Claudio Monteverdi, Francesco Cavalli, and their successors in Venice: Dido, queen of Carthage (Cavalli); Octavia, wife of Nero (Monteverdi); the nymph … Good use was made of the stage, too, although I tired rather quickly of watching lustful old Delpha despoiling yet more young soldiers. The opera was composed for the Venice Carnival Season of 1668, but first performed 331 years later. Sit back and marvel. Thus he received a PhD in Music History from Princeton University in 1980, with a dissertation entitled “The Autograph Manuscripts of Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676),” about the life work of an early opera composer. Stellar CD, as you can probably tell; an essential for any CT aficionado’s collection. As ever, Cavalli’s women are particularly strong: I feel compelled to note that both Medea and Hypsipyle are queens in their own right. One of the stars was Agadzhanyan as Demo, partly for his exuberant performance, but also for the sheer command he exercised over his lines: singing Baroque opera is difficult enough without having to ‘stutter’ your music, and he did a wonderful job of singing the clown-sidekick role.