''Chi soffre, speri'' (''Let him who Suffers Hope'') or ''L'Egisto'' is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

in a prologue and three acts by the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

composer

Virgilio Mazzocchi Virgilio Mazzocchi (22 July 1597 bapt. – 3 October 1646) was an Italian baroque composer. Biography He was born in Veja, near Civita Castellana, where he was baptized, as the younger brother of the more famous composer and learned lawyer ...

, performed with an

intermedio The intermedio (also intromessa, introdutto, tramessa, tramezzo, intermezzo, intermedii), in the Italian Renaissance, was a theatrical performance or spectacle with music and often dance, which was performed between the acts of a play to celeb ...

titled ''La fiera di Farfa'' with music by

Marco Marazzoli Marco Marazzoli (1602? – 26 January 1662) was an Italian priest and Baroque music 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 s ...

. It has been described as the "first

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

". In fact the

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

, by

Giulio Rospigliosi Pope Clement IX ( la, Clemens IX; it, Clemente IX; 28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 20 June 1667 to his death in December 1669. Biography Ear ...

(the future Pope Clement IX), is based on

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian people, Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanism, Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so we ...

and deals with a Christian-

Neoplatonic Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ide ...

allegory, regarding the relationships of ''Ozio'' (“Leisure”), ''Sentimento'' and ''Virtù'' (“Virtue”). During the intermezzi, which were composed by Marazzoli, ''

commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...

'' characters (like "the Neapolitan Coviello, the Bergamasque Zanni, Moschino" etc.) are introduced into this 'serious' context.Wolfgang Witzenmann: Article “Mazzocchi, Virgilio.” In: ''Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.'' Oxford University Press, accessed July 6, 2016. The use of the term "comedia musicale" in the printed score might go back to

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

'' (completed 1320), merely addressing a happy ending story. The opera was first performed at the

Palazzo Barberini The Palazzo Barberini ( en, Barberini Palace) is a 17th-century palace in Rome, facing the Piazza Barberini in Rione Trevi. Today, it houses the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, the main national collection of older paintings in Rome. History ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

on 12 February 1637. The surviving score is a revised version dating from 1639.

Roles

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

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

. 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 treasure 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.

References

Sources

*Amanda Holden (ed.): ''The Viking Opera Guide''. Viking, London 1993.
''Del Teatro (in Italian)''
*Roger Parker (ed.): ''The Oxford'' illustrated history of opera''. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1994. {{authoritycontrol Italian-language operas Operas by Virgilio Mazzocchi Operas by Marco Marazzoli Operas 1637 operas