Chi soffre, speri
Encyclopedia
Chi soffre, speri or L'Egisto is an opera
in a prologue and three acts by the Italian
composers Virgilio Mazzocchi
and Marco Marazzoli
. It has been described as the "first comic opera
". The libretto
, by Giulio Rospigliosi (the future Pope Clement IX), is based on Boccaccio. It was first performed at the Palazzo Barberini
, Rome
on 12 February 1637. The surviving score is a revised version dating from 1639.
. He does so and Alvida is so impressed by the strength of his love that she marries him. In the ruins of the tower they find buried treaure and a heliotrope
which cures Alvida's desperately ill son. In a sub-plot, Lucinda, who is in love with Egisto, disguises herself as a man. She comes near to killing herself when Egisto rejects her but in the end it turns out that she is Egisto's long-lost sister.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in a prologue and three acts by the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
composers Virgilio Mazzocchi
Virgilio Mazzocchi
Virgilio Mazzocchi was an Italian baroque composer.He was born in Civita Castellana, the younger brother of Domenico Mazzocchi. Like his brother, who shared some features of his career, he was largely a composer of sacred vocal music.Mazzocchi is associated with providing music for the papal chapels...
and Marco Marazzoli
Marco Marazzoli
Marco Marazzoli was an Italian priest and composer.-Early life:Born at Parma, Marazzoli received early training as a priest, and was ordained around 1625. He moved to Rome in 1626, and entered the service of Cardinal Antonio Barberini...
. It has been described as the "first comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
". The libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
, by Giulio Rospigliosi (the future Pope Clement IX), is based on Boccaccio. It was first performed at the Palazzo Barberini
Palazzo Barberini
Palazzo Barberini is a palace in Rome, facing the piazza of the same name in Rione Trevi and is home to the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica.-History:...
, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
on 12 February 1637. The surviving score is a revised version dating from 1639.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast |
|---|---|---|
| Egisto in love with Alvida | castrato Castrato A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's... |
|
| Alvida a young widow | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
|
| Silvano Egisto's friend | bass | |
| Coviello Egisto's servant | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
|
| Zanni Egisto's servant | tenor | |
| Moschino Egisto's page | soprano | |
| Lucinda Alvida's servant, in love with Egisto | soprano | |
| Rosilda | soprano | |
Synopsis
The impoverished Egisto is in love with the young widow Alvida. She rejects his advances unless he destroys the things dearest to him: a tower he has inherited and his favourite falconFalcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
. He does so and Alvida is so impressed by the strength of his love that she marries him. In the ruins of the tower they find buried treaure and a heliotrope
Heliotrope
Heliotrope may refer to:Natural science* Heliotropium, a genus of flowering plants* A plant that exhibits heliotropism, diurnal motion in response to the sun's movement* Heliotrope Media and entertainment...
which cures Alvida's desperately ill son. In a sub-plot, Lucinda, who is in love with Egisto, disguises herself as a man. She comes near to killing herself when Egisto rejects her but in the end it turns out that she is Egisto's long-lost sister.
Sources
- The Viking Opera Guide ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)
- Del Teatro (in Italian)
- Le magazine de l'opéra baroque
- The Oxford Illustrated History of Opera ed. Parker (OUP, 1994)