''La catena d'Adone'' (''The Chain of Adonis'') is the only surviving

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 ...

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

Domenico Mazzocchi Domenico Mazzocchi (baptised 1592 in Civita Castellana21 January 1665 in Veja) was an Italian Baroque composer of only vocal music, of the generation after Claudio Monteverdi. He was a learned Roman lawyer, studied music with Giovanni Maria Nanin ...

. It was commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini and first performed at the Palazzo Conti,

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 February 12, 1626. The libretto, in a prologue and five acts, is by Ottavio Tronsarelli and is based on episodes from

Giambattista Marino Giovanni Battista was a common Italian given name (see Battista for those with the surname) in the 16th-18th centuries. It refers to "John the Baptist" in English, the French equivalent is "Jean-Baptiste". Common nicknames include Giambattista, Gi ...

's epic poem ''Adone'' (1623).

Historical importance

''La catena d'Adone'' was an important step in the development of Roman opera. The demarcation between

recitative Recitative (, also known by its Italian name "''recitativo''" ()) is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat ...

and

aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

grew more distinct in this work as Mazzocchi tried to escape what he called the "monotony" of Florentine opera.

Roles

The prologue includes

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

(

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

) and

cyclopes In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...

. The opera itself has roles for the enchantress Falsirena ( soprano);

Adone ADONE (''big AdA'') was a high-energy (beam energy 1.5 GeV, center-of-mass energy 3 GeV) particle collider. It collided electrons with their antiparticles, positrons. It was 105 meters in circumference. It was operated from 1969 to 1993, by ...

( alto); Plutone ( bass); Venere (soprano); Idonia (soprano) and Arsete (bass), advisers of Falsirena ; Oraspe (tenor) ; Amore (soprano) ; Eco (alto) ; nymphs and shepherds. At the premiere, Adone was sung by the 'artificial'

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typica ...

Sances, a brother of composer Giovanni Felice, is styled an '"artificial" contralto' (namely, a non-castrated male falsettist) in

Rodolfo Celletti Rodolfo Celletti (1917–2004) was an Italian musicologist, critic, voice teacher, and novelist. Considered one of the leading scholars of the operatic voice and the history of operatic performance, he published many books and articles on the subje ...

, ''La grana della voce. Opere, direttori e cantanti'', 2ª edition, Rome, Baldini & Castoldi, 2000, p. 42, (i.e. countertenor) Lorenzo Sances. Falsirena was sung by the composer and castrato Loreto Vittori.

Synopsis

In the prologue, Apollo descends from the clouds and laments Venere's desertion of her husband, the god

Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...

, for the young Adone. In the opera proper (drawn from Cantos XII and XIII of Marino's poem), Adone has to flee from Venere's former lover, the god Marte, and takes refuge in the land of the enchantress Falsirena, who falls in love with him. Falsirena keeps him captive in her realm by means of a magic, invisible chain. She asks Plutone to find out who Adone's love is, then pretends to be Venere. But the real goddess arrives, frees Adone and binds Falsirena to a rock with her own chain.

Recordings

*''La catena d'Adone'', Reinoud Van Mechelen (Adone), Luciana Mancini (Falsirena), Merel Elishevah Kriegsman (Venere/Ninfa), Catherine Lybaert (Amore/Ninfa), Scherzi Musicali conducted by Nicolas Achten (2 CDs, Alpha, 2010)

Notes

Sources

*''A Short History of Opera'' by Donald Jay Grout (Columbia University Press, 2003 ed.) *Marina Vaccarini, ''Catena d'Adone, La'', in Gelli, Piero & Poletti Filippo eds. (2007). ''Dizionario dell'Opera 2008'', Milan: Baldini Castoldi Dalai, pp. 208-209. (in Italian; reproduced online a
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External links

Libretto in Italian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catena d'Adone, La Italian-language operas Operas 1626 operas Operas by Domenico Mazzocchi