''Il Sant'Alessio'' (''Saint Alexius'') 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 libr ...

in three acts composed by

Stefano Landi Stefano Landi (baptized 26 February 1587 – 28 October 1639) was an Italian composer and teacher of the early Baroque Roman School. He was an influential early composer of opera, and wrote the earliest opera on a historical subject: '' Il ...

in 1631 with a libretto by Giulio Rospigliosi (the future

Pope Clement IX 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 ...

). Its first performance was probably in February 1632. ''Sant'Alessio'' was the first opera to be written on a historical subject. It describes the inner life of fifth-century Saint Alexis. The work broke new ground with a psychological characterization of a type that was new to opera. It also contains interspersed comic scenes that are anachronistically drawn from the contemporary life of Rome in the 17th century.

Musical context

Landi's religious context, in keeping with the Counter-Reformation spirit of

Jesuit drama Jesuit drama was a form of theatre practised in the colleges of the Society of Jesus between the 16th and 18th centuries, as a way of instructing students in rhetoric, assimilating Christian values and imparting Catholic doctrine. History In the ...

s, marks a new departure in the theatre in Rome, combining antiquarian interests in ancient drama with modern musical conceptions of recitative, ensembles and occasional arias. Musically, the work has considerable variety, with elements of comedy and tragedy, and went some way towards establishing specifically Christian opera in a Rome that remained musically conservative. Singers for the opera, all male, were recruited from the

Papal Chapel The papal household or pontifical household (usually not capitalized in the media and other nonofficial use, ), called until 1968 the Papal Court (''Aula Pontificia''), consists of dignitaries who assist the pope in carrying out particular ceremoni ...

and included castrati. The Barberinis, noted patrons of the arts, owed their current influence to the Barberini Pope Urban VIII. The librettist, Giulio Rospigliosi, became Pope Clement IX in 1667. The part of Sant'Alessio lies extremely high and was meant to be sung by a castrato. The accompanying orchestra is up-to-date, dispensing with the archaic viols and using violins, cellos, harps, lutes,

theorbo The theorbo is a plucked string instrument of the lute family, with an extended neck and a second pegbox. Like a lute, a theorbo has a curved-back sound box (a hollow box) with a wooden top, typically with a sound hole, and a neck extending ...

s, and harpsichords. The opera includes introductory canzonas which function as overtures; indeed they are the first overtures in the history of opera. Dances and comic sections mix with serious arias, recitatives, and even a madrigalian lament, for an overall dramatic variety which was extremely effective, as attested by the frequent performances of the opera at the time. ''Sant'Alessio'' was one of the first staged dramatic works successfully to mix both the

monodic In music, monody refers to a solo vocal style distinguished by having a single melodic line and instrumental accompaniment. Although such music is found in various cultures throughout history, the term is specifically applied to Italian song of ...

and polyphonic styles.

Performance history

The exact date of the first performance is stated differently in the literature. It might have been 17 February 1632,Grout, Donald Jay; Weigel Williams, Hermine: ''A Short History of Opera. Fourth Edition.'' Columbia University Press, New York 2003, , pp. 64-67. 18 February 1632, 21 February 1632Leopold, Silke: ''Il Sant’Alessio.'' In: ''Pipers Enzyklopädie des Musiktheaters.'' Vol 3: ''Werke. Henze - Massine.'' Piper, München/Zürich 1989, , pp. 407-409.Holden, Amanda (ed.): ''The Viking Opera Guide.'' Viking, London/New York 1993, , pp. 553-554. or 23 February 1632. Apparently a production for 2 March 1631 had been prepared, but no historical sources confirm an actual performance on that date. Landi seems to have revised the work before the performance of 1632. The place of the performance is also unsure. It might have been the Palazzo Barberini ai Giubbonari or 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 ...

alle Quattro Fontane, Rome. A revised version was performed in 1634. An ambitious all-male production of the piece, directed by baroque theatre specialist Benjamin Lazar and conducted by William Christie, premiered in Caen, Normandy on October 16, 2007. This acclaimed production involved eight countertenors, including

Philippe Jaroussky Philippe Jaroussky (born 13 February 1978) is a French countertenor. He began his musical career with the violin, winning an award at the Versailles conservatory, and then took up the piano before turning to singing. Unusually for a countertenor ...

as Sant'Alessio and

Max Emanuel Cenčić Max Emanuel Cenčić (born 21 September 1976) is a Croatian countertenor, as of 1994 based in Austria. He was a member of the Wiener Sängerknaben. Early career as a boy soprano Born Max Emanuel Cenčić in Zagreb, he started singing at a ve ...

as Sposa.Steve Smith
Bounty of Countertenors in 1631 Opera
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', October 31, 2007 One performance was broadcast in full as a live video webcast by

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services provi ...

on October 18, 2007.

Roles

Brief synopsis

The story of the opera begins with Saint Alexius, who has embraced a life of holy poverty, returning from the Holy Land as a beggar to his father's house in Rome. He keeps his identity a secret, even when his wife and mother decide to travel in search of him. He resists the temptations offered by

the Devil Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood ...

, with the help of an

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

. He dies in the poverty he has chosen, under the steps of his father's house, his identity revealed in a letter he holds as he dies.

Recording

*Landi: ''Il Sant'Alessio'' (Patricia Petibon, Sophie Marin-Degor, Mhairi Lawson, Stephanie Revidat, Maryseult Wieczorek, Steve Dugardin, Armand Gavriilides, Cecile Eloir, Katalin Karolyi, Christopher Josey,

Nicolas Rivenq Nicolas Rivenq (born 1958) is a contemporary French baritone. Born in London, Rivenq studied music at the "École d'Art lyrique" of the Paris Opéra, as well as the Indiana University. He has participated in numerous productions of baroque ...

, Clive Bayley, Bertrand Bontoux; Les Arts florissants; Conductor William Christie). Originally recorded 1996. Label: Warner Classics

Notes

References

* Period printed score: ''Il S. Alessio//Dramma Musicale//Dall'Eminentissimo, et Reverendissimo Signore//Card. Barberino//Fatto Rappresentare//Al Serenissimo Prencipe//Alessandro Carlo//Di Polonia//Dedicato a Sua Eminenza//E Posto in Musica//Da Stefano Landi Romano//Musico della Cappella di N.S.//e Cherico Benefitiato nella Basilica di S. Pietro'', Roma, Masotti, 1734 (accessibile for free online a
IMSLP
* Libretto a
librettidopera.it
* Emanuele, Marco (2007), ''Sant'Alessio'', in Gelli, Piero & Poletti, Filippo (eds), ''Dizionario dell'opera 2008'', Milan: Baldini Castoldi Dalai, p. 279, (reproduced online a
Opera Manager
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sant'Alessio, Il Italian-language operas Operas by Stefano Landi 1632 operas Operas