La Circe is an opera

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 three acts by Josef Mysliveček

Josef Myslivecek

Josef Mysliveček was a Czech composer who contributed to the formation of late eighteenth-century classicism in music...

 set to a libretto by Domenico Perelli that is based on Greek legends about the sorceress Circe

Circe

In Greek mythology, Circe is a minor goddess of magic , described in Homer's Odyssey as "The loveliest of all immortals", living on the island of Aeaea, famous for her part in the adventures of Odysseus.By most accounts, Circe was the daughter of Helios, the god of the sun, and Perse, an Oceanid...

. This opera (and all the rest of Mysliveček's operas) belong to the serious type in Italian language referred to as opera seria

Opera seria

Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to c. 1770...

.

Performance history

The opera was first performed at the Teatro San Benedetto

Teatro San Benedetto

The Teatro San Benedetto was a theatre in Venice, particularly prominent in the operatic life of the city in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It saw the premieres of over 140 operas, including Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri, and was the theatre of choice for the presentation of opera seria until...

 in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 on 12 May 1779 to open the theater's unique Ascension

Feast of the Ascension

The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is one of the great solemnities, in the Christian liturgical calendar, and commemorates the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day from Easter day...

 operatic season. It was the last of the composer's three operas produced in Venice. No complete score survives from the production, only a few individual aria

Aria

An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...

s that found their way into aria collections. The cast was distinguished, including as it did the great 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...

 Luigi Marchesi

Luigi Marchesi

Luigi Marchesi was an Italian castrato singer, one of the most prominent and charismatic to appear in Europe during the second half of the eighteenth century.-Biography:Luigi Ludovico Marchesi was born in Milan...

, one of the composer's close friends and professional associates, and the noted English 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...

 Cecilia Davies

Cecilia Davies

Cecilia Davies was an English classical soprano who had an active international career in concerts and operas during the second half of the 18th century. In Italy she was dubbed with the name "l'Inglesina". She was the sister of Marianne Davies who was the first professional glass harmonica musician...

.

Roles

Cast	Voice type	Premiere, 12 May 1779, Teatro San Benedetto, Venice
Circe, queen of the Sarmatians, lover of Ulisse	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...	Cecilia Davies Cecilia Davies Cecilia Davies was an English classical soprano who had an active international career in concerts and operas during the second half of the 18th century. In Italy she was dubbed with the name "l'Inglesina". She was the sister of Marianne Davies who was the first professional glass harmonica musician...
Ulisse, king of Ithaca, lover of Circe	soprano 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...	Luigi Marchesi Luigi Marchesi Luigi Marchesi was an Italian castrato singer, one of the most prominent and charismatic to appear in Europe during the second half of the eighteenth century.-Biography:Luigi Ludovico Marchesi was born in Milan...
Prisco, king of Lazio, lover of Circe, and betrothed to Canente	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...	Giacinto Perrone
Canente, noblewoman of Lazio, betrothed to Prisco	soprano	Vittoria Moreschi Bolzano
Sabino, ambassador of Lazio, confidant of Prisco	soprano castrato	Gaetano Quistapace
Clerinto, general of the guards of Circe	uncertain	Giuseppe Desirò

Vocal Set Pieces

Act I, scene 3 - Cavatina of Ulisse, "Spiegar non sò qual è" (Music lost)

Act I, scene 4 - Aria of Prisco, "Ah, se per te del seno" (Music lost)

Act I, scene 5 - Aria of Circe, "Ah, come mai resistere" (Music lost)

Act I, scene 8 - Aria of Canente, "Sol quei che provano" (Music lost)

Act I, scene 9 - Aria of Ulisse, "Saprai con tuo rossore"

Act I, scene 11 - Aria of Sabino, "Pensa che sei Latino" (Music lost)

Act I, scene 12 - Trio for Ulisse, Prisco, and Circe, "Senti bell'idol mio"


Act II, scene 1 - Aria of Clerinto, "Così talor se mira" (Music lost)

Act II, scene 2 - Aria of Sabino, "Vado alla cara sposa" (Music lost)

Act II, scene 3 - Aria of Prisco, "Di cento dubbi, e cento" (Music lost)

Act II, scene 6 - Aria of Ulisse, "Idol mio, pietoso il fato" (Music lost)

Act II, scene 9 - Aria of Canente, "È già sereno il cielo" (Music lost)

Act II, scene 11 - Duet for Ulisse and Circe, "Non sia ver, bell'idol mio" (Music lost)


Act III, scene 3 - Aria of Ulissa, "Dille, costante" (Music lost)

Act III, scene 4 - Aria of Sabino, "Nella crudele fiera tempesta" (Music lost)

Act III, scene 6 - Aria of Prisco, "Già i venti tacciono" (Music lost)

Act III, scene 10 - Aria of Circe, "D'un alma abbandonata" (Music lost)

Act III, scene 11 - Quartet for Circe, Prisco, Sabino, and Canente, "Alme amante, se sperate" (Music lost)