Let us offer some notes on a manuscript of Francesco Cavalli’s melodramma, "Erismena".
This is a unique source, as far as is known, for an Italian opera: Erismena.
It consists of 176 leaves of good quality
It consists of 176 leaves of good quality
paper in a contemporary goatskin binding and measures 218 x 289 mm.
The
The
music is by the Italian composer Pietro Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676).
The
The
original Italian text, by Aurelio Aureli (fl 1652–1708), is present, and it is accompanied by
an English 'rhythmic' translation.
Prefacing the main body of the
Prefacing the main body of the
opera is a prologue featuring a different cast of characters from those in
Italian sources.
The manuscript is in an unidentified scribal hand and
The manuscript is in an unidentified scribal hand and
dates from the second half of the 17th century.
According to Eric Walter
According to Eric Walter
White, A History of Opera (London), the manuscript held a slip
of paper dated 1673 when discovered in the 1961.
Based on an assessment
Based on an assessment
of the binding, the binding expert David Pearson has dated it to 1661.
The manuscript appears to be in good condition for its age, although its
The manuscript appears to be in good condition for its age, although its
binding is somewhat worn.
On the basis that the sheet dated 1673 found with the manuscript contained a
list of provisions for the navy, White suggested that the manuscript may have
belonged to Samuel Pepys, though there is no other evidence of this.
The
The
manuscript bears the bookplate of the music collector Robert Smith (1741-
1810).
It was sold in 1813, and nothing of its subsequent whereabouts is
It was sold in 1813, and nothing of its subsequent whereabouts is
known until 1961, when it was purchased by James
Stevens Cox at a bookshop in south-west England.
On the death of Cox it
On the death of Cox it
passed to his son, G. S. Cox.
Aside from a description in
Aside from a description in
White’s A History of Opera, the manuscript has received little
scholarly attention.
It does not appear to have been exhibited or published.
It does not appear to have been exhibited or published.
In the 1961 it was made available to the Lionel Salter, whose
unpublished performing score of Erismena, based on this source, was used in
a BBC studio recording and in a performance and recording directed
by Alan Curtis.
The
manuscript meets Waverley criteria 1 and 3. It is intimately
connected with Italian history and national life, and of outstanding significance
for the study of music and theatre in Italy.
It is of national importance in
It is of national importance in
being an early extant score of an Italian opera.
Italian opera
Italian opera
dominated the English stage in the 18th century.
The manuscript pre-dates the
The manuscript pre-dates the
next surviving examples by some 30 years.
The allegorical nature of the
The allegorical nature of the
prologue is also significant, and suggests that it was intended for a royal
audience.
The prologue is an early example of an opera prologue.
The prologue is an early example of an opera prologue.
This is a manuscript full score of the opera Erismena by Pietro Francesco
Cavalli (1602-1676), the leading composer of Italian opera in the mid-17th
century.
ERISMENA, in three acts preceded by a prologue and with an Italian
ERISMENA, in three acts preceded by a prologue and with an Italian
text by Aurelio Aureli (fl 1652–1708), was first performed in Venice in 1655
and staged in several other Italian cities in the following 20 years.
Manuscript
Manuscript
scores of the versions performed in Venezia in 1655 and 1670 are preserved in
a library in Venezia, but without the prologue’s text.
Several printed
Several printed
copies of the Italian libretto also survive.
No two prologues in the libretti are
No two prologues in the libretti are
the same, suggesting that a new prologue was provided for each production,
as was common practice.
The present manuscript of Erismena, which dates from 1660, is
unique among extant sources for the work.
The manuscript was prepared for a
performance, rather than simply for study purposes.
There are no comparable manuscripts in
private collections: the manuscript is unique in several respects, outlined
below.
In Europe, ‘Semi-opera’ or ‘dramatic opera’ - spoken drama
interspersed with musical scenes - was the dominant form of musical
entertainment.
All-sung opera of the kind performed in Italy was
All-sung opera of the kind performed in Italy was
extremely rare before 1700.
This manuscript of Erismena is of outstanding
This manuscript of Erismena is of outstanding
significance in being the earliest extant score of a full-length, all-sung opera.
It is one of only two known examples to pre-date the 18th century,
the other being Louis Grabu’s Albion and Albanius, which was printed in 1687.
The Erismena manuscript is also the earliest example - by some 30 years - of
the EXporting of Italian opera.
The stage in 18th-
The stage in 18th-
century Europe was dominated by Italian opera.
This sole 17th-century example is
therefore highly significant for the study of opera, and
Italian influence on European culture more generally, and is all the more
important for containing the complete literary text of the work.
The diarist John Evelyn wrote in his diary entry for 5 January 1674, "I saw an
Italian Opera in musique".
Some writers have suggested that he was mistaken, and that the work may
have been the FRENCH opera Ariane.
But Evelyn was well travelled, and
But Evelyn was well travelled, and
unlikely to have mistaken a French opera for an Italian one.
This manuscript
This manuscript
of Erismena is highly significant in that it provides solid evidence that Italian
opera was indeed known in Europe in the Restoration, several decades
before the Italian operas of Handel dominated London's "Mercato di Fieno" (Haymarket).
It supports
It supports
the argument that Evelyn did indeed see an Italian opera, and, as the only
opera by an Italian composer for which evidence of a 17th-century English
performance exists, is a strong candidate for being the opera seen by Evelyn.
The inclusion of an English-language singing translation of a foreign opera
libretto in this manuscript is unprecedented.
The literary text is
The literary text is
therefore of outstanding significance for the study of literature and
culture of the 17th century, and of Italian influence on world literature.
It is
It is
an early example of a translation of an Italian libretto.
The next known example, Arsinoe, ‘an opera after the Italian
manner’ based on a libretto by Tomaso Stanzani, dates from 1705.
The prologue in this manuscript of Erismena is of great significance for
different reasons.
Unlike the text in the main body of the opera, the English
Unlike the text in the main body of the opera, the English
words in the prologue do not appear to be a translation from the Italian.
The
The
English prologue features a different cast of "PERSONAGGI" from those in Italian
libretti, and was almost certainly newly written for the English version.
The
The
prologue is set to music, which is unusual in a stage work.
Normal
Normal
practice was for the prologue to be spoken by a single actor.
The handful of
The handful of
stage works performed with sung prologues for several characters,
such as the opera Ariane (1674) and John Crowne’s court masque
Calisto (1675), were designed for a royal audience.
Their prologues were
Their prologues were
allegories designed to glorify the king.
The English prologue to Erismena
The English prologue to Erismena
makes similar use of allegorical personifications, in this case Fortune, Beauty,
Virtue and Fancy.
This prologue text provides new opportunities for the study
This prologue text provides new opportunities for the study
of allegory in literature and the use of allegorical prologues on
stage. The inclusion of such a prologue in Erismena strongly
suggests that this adaptation of the opera was connected with the
royal court.
The literary texts of the Ariane and Calisto prologues also survive, along
with a few others from the 1670s.
The Erismena
The Erismena
manuscript is highly significant.
There is opportunity for further study of the music to
establish whether the prologue music is also by Cavalli, or whether it was
composed by someone else - perhaps Italian - especially for the
adaptation.
Indeed, the manuscript offers significant opportunities for the
Indeed, the manuscript offers significant opportunities for the
study of Italian influence on European music.
Charles II was particularly
Charles II was particularly
concerned that England should not fall behind European achievement in the
performing arts, and a number of Italian musicians - among them Giovanni
Battista Draghi and Pietro Reggio - were employed at his court.
Further study
Further study
of this extraordinary manuscript may shed light on the identity of the copyist
and translator, and open up new avenues for research into 17th century music
and theatre.
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