:''To be distinguished from Giuditta a German operetta by

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; hu, Lehár Ferenc ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is ''The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life a ...

.'' Note La Giuditta may refer to one of several Italian oratorios, further elaborated below. Each version of La Giuditta deals with the figure of Judith, from the Biblical Apocrypha, who liberated the besieged city of Bethulia by seducing and then beheading the enemy General

Holofernes In the deuterocanonical Book of Judith, Holofernes ( grc, Ὀλοφέρνης; he, הולופרנס) was an invading Assyrian general known for having been beheaded by Judith, a Hebrew widow who entered his camp and beheaded him while he was ...

. Judith and Holofernes are the two main roles common to all versions. Incidental characters, such as, in the larger Scarlatti Giuditta, Achior, a captain so revolted by Holofernes' brutality that he defects to the Israelite army, do not occur in other versions.

Italian language oratorios

Scarlatti's Rome Giuditta

Alessandro Scarlatti: ''La Giuditta'', Rome, 1693. Libretto by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni. "Scarlatti considered it his finest oratorio, and its dramatic structure, rapidly interweaving brief scenes in Holofernes's camp with events in the troubled city, is remarkable." :Recordings: * Giuditta: Mária Zádori, Oloferne: Drew Minter, Achior: Guy de Mey, Capella Savaria dir.

Nicholas McGegan James Nicholas McGegan OBE (born 14 January 1950 in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England) is a British harpsichordist, flutist, conductor and early music expert. Biography McGegan received his early education at Nottingham High School. He sub ...

. Hungaroton, HCD 12910 * Giuditta: Céline Ricci, Oloferne (countertenor): Martin Oro. Achior (tenor): Vincenzo Di Donato. Parlement de Musique. dir. Martin Gester. Ambronay.

Scarlatti's Cambridge Giuditta

Alessandro Scarlatti: ''La Giuditta'', Rome or Naples 1697, Libretto by Prince Antonio Ottoboni, father of the cardinal. This smaller setting for three voices, strings and basso continuo, is known today as the "Cambridge" Giuditta, since its manuscript is conserved in th
Rowe Music Library
of

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

.Musicweb-International
/ref> :Recordings: * Giuditta: Rosita Frisani, Oloferne: Mario Nuvoli, Nutrice: Marco Lazzara. Alessandro Stradella Consort, dir.

Estevan Velardi Estevan is the eighth-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is approximately north of the Canada–United States border. The Souris River runs by the city. This city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Estevan No. 5. History The ...

. Bongiovanni 2006 * Giuditta: Julianne Baird, Oloferne: Philip Anderson, Nutrice: Marshall Coid. The Queen's Chamber Band, dir. Elaine Comparone. Albany 2007. * Giuditta: Sophie Landy, Oloferne: Carl Ghazarossian, Nutrice: Raphaël Pichon. Ensemble Baroque di Nice, dir. Gilbert Bezzina. live 2008.

Almeida's Giuditta

Francisco António de Almeida: La Giuditta :Recording: * Giuditta:

Lena Lootens Lena Lootens is a Belgian soprano. She has performed in Claudio Monteverdi's ''L'Incoronazione di Poppea'', and with the Concerto Vocale, amongst many others. On 23 June 1988 she performed two works by C. P. E. Bach, his ''Magnificat'' and the orat ...

, Oloferne: Martyn Hill, Achiorre: Francesca Congiu, Ozias: Axel Köhler. Concerto Köln,

René Jacobs René Jacobs (born 30 October 1946) is a Belgian musician. He came to fame as a countertenor, but later in his career he became known as a conductor of baroque and classical opera. Biography Countertenor Born in Ghent, Jacobs began his music ...

. Harmonia Mundi.

Metastasio's Giuditta

Metastasio Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of ''opera seria'' libretti. Early life Me ...

's libretto, printed in some editions as ''Giuditta'', is better known as '' Betulia liberata'' ("The Liberation of Bethulia"), K. 118, 1771. The original libretto by

was for

Georg Reutter II Johann Adam Joseph Karl Georg Reutter, during his life known as Georg Reutter the Younger (6 April 1708 – 11 March 1772) was an Austrian composer. Karl Geiringer, ''Haydn: A Creative Life in Music'', 1982, p. 19: "There were two Viennese comp ...

(1734), and also set by 30 other composers, including the 15-year-old Mozart.

Other composers

Marco da Gagliano Marco da Gagliano (1 May 1582 – 25 February 1643) was an Italian composer of the early Baroque era. He was important in the early history of opera and the development of the solo and concerted madrigal. Life He was born in Florence and li ...

''La Giuditta'' 1626; three-act opera (lost), libretto Andrea Salvadori, used as the basis for the Judith of

Martin Opitz Martin Opitz von Boberfeld (23 December 1597 – 20 August 1639) was a German poet, regarded as the greatest of that nation during his lifetime. Biography Opitz was born in Bunzlau (Bolesławiec) in Lower Silesia, in the Principality of ...

(1635). *

Maurizio Cazzati Maurizio Cazzati (1 March 1616 – 28 September 1678) was a northern Italian composer of the seventeenth century. Biography Cazzati was born in Luzzara in the Duchy of Mantua. In spite of being almost unknown today, during his lifetime he served ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

24 March 1668. Libretto Count Astorre Orsi. *

Antonio Draghi Antonio Draghi (17 January 1634 – 16 January 1700) was a Baroque composer. He possibly was the brother of Giovanni Battista Draghi. Draghi was born at Rimini in Italy, and was one of the most prolific composers of his time. His contribution t ...

, Vienna 1668 * Marc' Antonio Ziani Vienna 1686 *

Antonio Lotti Antonio Lotti (5 January 1667 – 5 January 1740) was an Italian composer of the Baroque era. Biography Lotti was born in Venice, although his father Matteo was '' Kapellmeister'' at Hanover at the time. Oral tradition says that in 1682, Lotti ...

La Giuditta a 3 voci, Vienna 1701 * Carlo Badia, Vienna 1704 *

Benedetto Marcello Benedetto Giacomo Marcello (; 31 July or 1 August 1686 – 24 July 1739) was an Italian composer, writer, advocate, magistrate, and teacher. Life Born in Venice, Benedetto Marcello was a member of a noble family and in his compositions he is f ...

, 1709 to his own libretto * Carlo Badia (second setting), Vienna 1710 * Giuseppe Porsile, Vienna 1723

Latin oratorios

These oratorios are generally listed under Latin names: *

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widesprea ...

: ''

Juditha triumphans ''Juditha triumphans devicta Holofernis barbarie'' (Latin: 'Judith triumphant over the barbarians of Holofernes'), RV 644, is an oratorio by Antonio Vivaldi, the only survivor of the four that he is known to have composed. Although the rest of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giuditta, La Oratorios