''Veremonda, l'amazzone di Aragona'' (''Veremonda, the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

''; also known as ''Il Delio'') 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 three acts and a prologue 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

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 ...

. The

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 ...

is by Giulio Cicognini with revisions by

Giulio Strozzi Giulio Strozzi (1583 - 31 March 1652) was a Venetian poet and libretto writer. His libretti were put to music by composers like Claudio Monteverdi, Francesco Cavalli, Francesco Manelli, and Francesco Sacrati. He sometimes used the pseudonym Luigi ...

. The date of the Venetian performance is uncertain.

Performance history

The Venetian libretto indicates 28 January 1652 but this could refer also to 1653 if the Venetian calendar applied (where the new year began on March 1). The opera was also performed at the Nuovo Teatro del Palazzo Reale in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

on 21 December 1652, to celebrate the

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capture of

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, which put an end to the revolt of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

(Naples was also a Spanish possession).

Roles in the Venetian libretto

Note: the Neapolitan libretto presents divergencies from the Venetian libretto including a different prologue (La Musica, La Poesia and L'Architettura) and an alternative name for Vespina (Callidia).

Revivals

The first performance since the mid-17th century was on 23 May 2015 for th
Spoleto Festival
in Charleston, USA. The conductor and musicologis
Aaron Carpenè
prepared the score from the manuscript conserved in the Marciana Library in Venice. The staging was by the Italian directo
Stefano Vizioli
and the sets and costumes by the Italian contemporary artis
Ugo Nespolo

Cast

Synopsis

The story takes place in Gibraltar during the siege of the Moorish fort of Calpe by the Spanish army. The atmosphere is set in the Prologue by Twilight exhorting the audience to enjoy the evening entertainments while the setting Sun warns the ladies that unlike dawn’s renewed beauty, their own splendour is destined to fade. Queen Veremonda is perplexed at the continual delay of the assault on the enemy fortress. The motive, unknown to her, is that the young and handsome general of the Spanish army Delio is having a secret love affair with the Moorish queen Zelemina. The two lovers, with the help of their respective servants meet every night in the woods by the citadel Veremonda discovers the deceit and gathers around her the ladies of the court. She commands them to abandon petticoats and amorous pursuits and join her amazonian army. They are to be trained for battle against the enemy. Veremonda has two motives for assuming military command. Firstly she must react against her husband King Alfonso’s indifference to the task at hand. He is dedicated to the pursuit of scientific studies which keep him distracted from his military and conjugal duties. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, the proud queen wants to oppose Delio who, having sworn loyalty to the Spanish crown, has defiantly betrayed his country through his treasonous affair with the enemy queen. Attired as a soldier and having convinced Delio to take her to study the citadel walls in order to understand how to attack them, Veremonda however has not reckoned with the darkness of the night and the remote forest that rouse the young general’s erotic appetite. While still in love with his fair Moorish queen, he is inflamed by the prospect of conquering his own queen through love or by force. Veremonda unconvincingly succeeds in delaying Delio’s pressing advances and urges him to enter into the fortress together thanks to a ring given to him by Zelemina that gives free access. Queen Zelemina joyously welcomes her lover but is also charmed by the graces of his young companion. Indeed, she considers ‘him’ more handsome and attractive than Delio. Despite the doubts of the lady-in-waiting Zaida who has guessed the true identity of Delio’s ‘friend’, the queen leaves the two youths to entertain themselves in the beautiful gardens of the citadel while she, her court and the army must leave to attend a religious celebration. During the Moors’ absence, Veremonda opens the door of the citadel to the Spanish army and her Amazons who, penetrating the enemy camp and encircling the fortress, conquer the enemy. The final scene celebrates the Spanish victory and the nuptial union between Delio and the converted Zelemina.

References

;Source

online at perso.orange.fr Retrieved 9 September 2011 {{Authority control Operas Operas by Francesco Cavalli 1652 operas