''L'Ormindo'' 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

Francesco Cavalli Francesco Cavalli (born Pietro Francesco Caletti-Bruni; 14 February 1602 – 14 January 1676) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian composer, organist and singer of the early Baroque music, Baroque period. He succeeded his teacher Claudio Monteverd ...

to an original 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 ...

Giovanni Faustini Giovanni Faustini (1615 – 19 December 1651) was an Italian librettist and opera impresario of the 17th century. He is best remembered for his collaborations with the composer Francesco Cavalli. Life and career Faustini was born in Venice. Impre ...

. The manuscript score is held at the

Biblioteca Marciana The Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark ( it, italic=no, Biblioteca Marciana, but in historical documents commonly referred to as ) is a public library in Venice, Italy. It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositori ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

,The score has been digitized b
IMSLP
while a copy of the original libretto has been digitized by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. The opera has set numbers with

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 repea ...

, and is set in

Anfa Anfa (Berber language: ''Anfa'' or ''Anaffa'', ⴰⵏⴼⴰ; ar, أنفا; es, Anafe; pt, Anafé) was the ancient toponym for Casablanca during the classical period. The city was founded by Berbers around the 10th century BC, with the Romans un ...

(

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

), in the

Mauri Mauri (from which derives the English term "Moors") was the Latin designation for the Berber population of Mauretania, located in the part of North Africa west of Numidia, in present-day northern Morocco and northwestern Algeria. Name ''Mauri' ...

kingdom of Fessa (

Fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...

Performance history

''Ormindo'' was first performed in 1644 at the

Teatro San Cassiano The Teatro San Cassiano (or Teatro di San Cassiano and other variants) in Venice was the world’s first public opera theatre, inaugurated as such in 1637. The first mention of its construction dates back to 1581. The name with which it is best know ...

, the world's first public opera house. After its 1644 run, it was probably not revived until 1967 when it was performed at

Glyndebourne Festival Opera Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. History Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...

. The version presented at Glyndebourne was arranged and conducted by

Raymond Leppard Raymond John Leppard (11 August 1927 – 22 October 2019) was a British-American conductor, harpsichordist, composer and editor. In the 1960s, he played a prime role in the rebirth of interest in Baroque music; in particular, he was one of the ...

. The work received its American premiere in 1968 in a performance at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

supervised by Leppard. Subsequently it was performed by the Washington Opera Society, using Juilliard's sets and Costumes. Singers were as follows: Amida -John Reardon; Erice - Michael Best; Ormindo - Frank Poretta; Sicle -Evelyn Mandac; Erisbe- Benita Valente. The United States premiere of the opera was given by the Juilliard Opera Theatre at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

in New York City on April 25, 1968 with a cast that included Grayson Hirst in the title role, Robert Shiesley as Amida, Alan Ord as Hariadeno, Barbara Shuttleworth as Erisbe,

Joanna Bruno Joanna Mary Bruno (born. 1944, West Orange, New Jersey), also known as Joanna Bruno-Clarke, is an American operatic soprano who had an active international career during the 1960s and 1970s. A lyric soprano, she often performed in operas by Giacom ...

as Nerillo, Wilma Shakesnider as Sicle, Michael Best as Erice, Anita Terzian Titus as Mirinda, and

Alan Titus Alan Titus (born in New York City, on October 28, 1945) is an internationally celebrated baritone. Life and career Titus studied under Aksel Schiøtz at the Colorado School of Music, and Hans Heinz at The Juilliard School. His official debut w ...

as Osmano. Although taken up by the

State Opera of South Australia State Opera South Australia (SOSA) is a professional opera company in Adelaide, South Australia, established in 1976. History State Opera South Australia was established in 1976 as a statutory corporation under the ''State Opera of South Aust ...

and staged in 1980, the opera remains something of a rarity. A recent performance was by the

Pittsburgh Opera Pittsburgh Opera is an American opera company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh Opera gives performances in several venues, primarily at the Benedum Center, with other performances at the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts Sch ...

in February, 2007, using a new performing edition by Peter Foster. It was conducted by Bernard McDonald and directed by Chas Rader-Shieber. Peter Foster's edition was also used by The

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Early Music Society in its November, 2008 performance of the work, conducted by Matthew Hall and directed by Roy Kimmey. The

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

School of Music performed the work in English on November 21–22, 2008 under the direction of Dr. Michael Johnson with conductor Dr. Andrew Hudson. It was performed by

Pinchgut Opera Pinchgut Opera is a chamber opera company in Sydney, Australia, presenting opera from the 17th and 18th centuries performed on period instruments. Founded in 2002, Pinchgut stages two operas each year in Sydney's City Recital Hall. It also perfo ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in December 2009.

The Royal Opera The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Cove ...

staged a new production, in an English translation, directed by Kasper Holten at

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...

in March 2014 - the first opera production at the newly opened

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is an indoor theatre forming part of Shakespeare's Globe, along with the Globe Theatre on Bankside, London. Built making use of 17th-century plans for an indoor theatre, the playhouse recalls the layout and style of th ...

. This production was revived the following year (in February 2015) at the same venue. The

Royal Irish Academy of Music The Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) in Dublin, Ireland, is one of Europe's oldest music conservatoires, specialising in classical music and the Irish harp. It is located in a Georgian building on Westland Row in Dublin. An institution whic ...

based in Dublin presented the first Irish production of the opera in January 2015 directed by Ben Barnes and conducted by David Adams.

Roles

Synopsis

:Setting:

, a city of the Kingdom of Fessa in

Mauretania Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It stretched from central present-day Algeria westwards to the Atlantic, covering northern present-day Morocco, and southward to the Atlas Mountains. Its native inhabitants, ...

.Original libretto, p. 6. The Maghreb princes, Amida and Ormindo, who are assisting in the defense of Mauretania, are both in love with Erisbe who is unhappily married to Hariadeno, Fessa's elderly king. The princes agree to remain friends while they test her love. During the course of the opera, there is much plotting by Amore, Princess Sicle (Amida's abandoned lover) and Erice (Sicle's nurse) to interfere with the contest. Erice stages a

séance A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French word for "session", from the Old French ''seoir'', "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, spe ...

to communicate with the 'dead' Sicle who reproaches Amida for his inconstancy which had driven her to suicide. Amida, overcome with remorse, realizes that he still loves Princess Sicle and is overjoyed when it is revealed that she is actually alive and not a ghost. Meanwhile, Erisbe and Ormindo decide to elope to

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

, where Ormindo must defend his homeland from attack. When King Hariadeno discovers their adultery, he orders his captain, Osmano, to have them poisoned. However, Osmano substitutes a sleeping potion for the poison at the urging of Mirinda (Erisbe's confidante) who has promised to marry him if he spares the lovers. All ends more or less happily when the King learns that Ormindo is actually his son from a youthful liaison. He forgives everyone and cedes his kingdom to Ormindo.

Recordings

Complete *Cavalli: ''L'Ormindo'' (John Wakefield, tenor; Peter-Christoph Runge, baritone; Hanneke van Bork, soprano;

Anne Howells Anne Elizabeth Howells (12 January 1941 – 18 May 2022) was a British operatic mezzo-soprano. Biography Howells was born in Southport, Lancashire on 12 January 1941, the daughter of Trevor Howells and Mona Howells (née Hewart). She was educ ...

, mezzo-soprano; Federico Davia, bass; Jean Allister, contralto

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

;

, conductor). Recorded at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera House. Label: (1967) Argo *Cavalli: ''L'Ormindo'' (

Howard Crook Howard Crook (born June 15, 1947) is an American lyric tenor who has lived and worked in the Netherlands and France since the early 1980s. He was born in Rutherford, New Jersey, and educated at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio and then Unive ...

, tenor;

Dominique Visse Dominique Visse (born 30 August 1955) is a French countertenor and founder of the Ensemble Clément Janequin. Life and career Dominique Visse was a chorister at the Notre-Dame de Paris and studied organ and flute at the Versailles Conservatory. ...

, countertenor;

Sandrine Piau Sandrine Piau (born 5 June 1965) is a French soprano. She is particularly renowned in Baroque music although also excels in Romantic and modernist art songs. She has the versatility to perform works from Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart to Schumann, Debus ...

, soprano; Martin Oro, countertenor;

Les Paladins ''Les Paladins'' is an opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau first performed on 12 February 1760 at the Paris Opera. The author of the libretto is not known for sure but was probably one of the Duplat de Monticourt brothers. Rameau called ''Les Paladins'' ...

, ensemble;

Jérôme Correas Jérôme Correas (born 3 August 1966) is a French Conducting, conductor, harpsichordist and Bass (voice type), bass baritone. Life Born in Les Lilas, at the age of five Correas began studying the piano. In 1982, he met the great harpsichordist ...

, harpsichord and conductor). Label: (studio, June 2006) Pan Classics Excerpts *Cavalli: Arias and Duets from ''Didone, Egisto, Ormindo, Giasone and Callisto'' (Mario Cecchetti, tenor; Rosita Frisani, soprano; Gloria Banditelli, mezzo-soprano; Mediterraneo Concento, ensemble; Sergio Vartolo, conductor). Label: Naxos

References

;Sources *Daolmi, Davide, ''Ormindo, L''', in Gelli, Piero and Poletti, Filippo (eds), ''Dizionario dell'opera 2008'', Milan, Baldini Castoldi Dalai, 2007, pp. 948–949. *Glynias, Marissa A.
"Hargis Broaches Baroque Opera"
''

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper of Harvard University and was founded in 1873. Run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates, it served for many years as the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Beginning in the f ...

'', November 7, 2008. Accessed 12 November 2008. *Henahan, Donal
"Opera: L'Ormindo"
''

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 d ...

'', August 20, 1982. Accessed 12 November 2008. *McDonald, Bernard. "Cavalli's Ormindo: Tonality and Sexuality in Seventeenth-Century Venice." MMus thesis, University of Glasgow, 201

*Pittsburgh Opera
Program notes
for the company's 2007 performance. Accessed 12 November 2008. *Vartolo, Sergio
Liner notes
for ''Cavalli: Arias and Duets from Didone, Egisto, Ormindo, Giasone and Callisto'',

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

. Accessed 12 November 2008.

External links

Libretto onlineFull manuscript score from Biblioteca Marchiana
{{Authority control Italian-language operas Operas by Francesco Cavalli Operas 1644 operas