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''Henrico Leone'' (also ''Enrico Leone'') is an opera (''dramma per musica'') in three acts composed by 
The opera was performed in German at the
"Styling a Straitjacket for Steffani"
''
''Henrico Leone'' (also ''Enrico Leone'') is an opera (''dramma per musica'') in three acts composed by Agostino Steffani
Agostino Steffani (25 July 165412 February 1728) was an Italian ecclesiastic, diplomat and composer.
Biography
Steffani was born at Castelfranco Veneto on 25 July 1654. As a boy he was admitted as a chorister at San Marco, Venice. In 1667, ...
to an Italian 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 Ortensio Mauro. Based on the life of the powerful German prince Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180.
Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...
, the opera was first performed on 30 January 1689 in Hannover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...
to inaugurate the new royal theatre in the Leineschloss
The Leineschloss (English: Leine Palace), situated on the Leine in Hanover, Germany, is the former residence of the Hanoverian dukes, electors and kings. Currently it is the seat of the Landtag of Lower Saxony.
The first building on the site w ...
(Leine Palace).
The opera was performed in German at the Oper am Gänsemarkt
The Oper am Gänsemarkt was a theatre in Hamburg, Germany, built in 1678 after plans of Girolamo Sartorio at the Gänsemarkt square. It was the first public opera house to be established in Germany: not a court opera, as in many other towns. E ...
in Hamburg in 1696 with sets designed by Johann Oswald Harms
Johann Oswald Harms (baptised 30 April 1643 in Hamburg – 1708 in Braunschweig) was a German Baroque painter, engraver, and the first notable stage set designer of the Baroque. He worked for the Opernhaus am Taschenberg in Dresden, painting the ce ...
, who was inspired by Flemish seascapes. It was also performed in 1697, 1699 and 1716 in Braunschweig
Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...
, the residence of Henry the Lion, in an arrangement by Georg Caspar Schürmann
Georg Caspar Schürmann (1672 (or early 1673), in Idensen bei Neustadt am Rübenberge – 25 February 1751, in Wolfenbüttel) was a German Baroque composer. His name also appears as Schurmann and in Hochdeutsch as Scheuermann.
Life
Schürmann st ...
and a translation by Gottlieb Fiedler.
The opera was revived as ''Enrico Leone'' in Hannover in 1989 when it was performed by the Capella Agostino Steffani (today the Hannoversche Hofkapelle
Hannoversche Hofkapelle (''unofficial English translation'': The Hanoverian Court Orchestra), located in Hannover (Germany), remains faithful to the tradition of historic court orchestras and performs both chamber music and Symphony, symphonies. Th ...
) to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Hannover State Opera and of the composition. In May of that year the ensemble with the same soloists gave a concert performance of the opera at Boston's Jordan Hall
Jordan Hall is a 1,051-seat concert hall in Boston, Massachusetts, the principal performance space of the New England Conservatory. It is one block from Boston's Symphony Hall. It is the only conservatory building in the United States to be de ...
as part of the Boston Early Music Festival.Dyer, Richard (30 May 1989)"Styling a Straitjacket for Steffani"
''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
''. Retrieved 28 June 2013 via HighBeam Research
HighBeam Research was a paid search engine and full text online archive owned by Gale, a subsidiary of Cengage, for thousands of newspapers, magazines, academic journals, newswires, trade magazines, and encyclopedias in English. It was headquar ...
Recording
*''Enrico Leone'' – Capella Agostino Steffani conducted by Lajos Rovatkay; Monika Frimmer (Metilda), Ralf Popken (Enrico), Sabine Szameit (Idalba), Nagashima Yoko (Errea), Carola Guber (Eurillo), Dantes Diwiak (Almaro), Gerhard Faulstich (Ircano/Demone). Released on LP in 1986, reissued on CD in 1995. Label: CaligReferences
External links
* {{Authority control Operas by Agostino Steffani 1689 operas Italian-language operas Operas Operas set in the 12th century Operas set in Germany