''La Dafne'' (''Daphne'') is an early Italian opera, written in 1608 by the Italian composer Marco da Gagliano from a libretto by

Ottavio Rinuccini Ottavio Rinuccini (20 January 1562 – 28 March 1621) was an Italian poet, courtier, and opera librettist at the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. In collaborating with Jacopo Peri to produce the first opera, '' Dafne'', i ...

. It is described as a ''favola in musica'' (fable set to music) composed in one act and a prologue. The opera is based on the myth of Daphne and

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= ...

as related by

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...

in the first book of the ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his '' magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the ...

''. An earlier version of the libretto had been set to music in 1597–98 by

Jacopo Peri Jacopo Peri (20 August 156112 August 1633), known under the pseudonym Il Zazzerino, was an Italian composer and singer of the transitional period between the Renaissance and Baroque styles, and is often called the inventor of opera. He wrote th ...

, whose '' Dafne'' is generally considered to be the first opera.

History

Gagliano's opera was first performed at the Ducal Palace,

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

in late February 1608. It had originally been intended to form part of the wedding celebrations of Prince Francesco Gonzaga of Mantua and

Margherita of Savoy Margherita of Savoy (''Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna''; 20 November 1851 – 4 January 1926) was Queen of Italy by marriage to Umberto I. Life Early life Margherita was born to Prince Ferdinand of Savoy, Duke of Genoa and Princess Elisabe ...

, but the arrival of the bride was delayed and the staging was brought forward (

Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is consider ...

's opera ''

L'Arianna ' ( SV 291, ''Ariadne'') is the lost second opera by Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi. One of the earliest operas in general, it was composed in 1607–1608 and first performed on 28 May 1608, as part of the musical festivities for a royal wed ...

'' was also written for the marriage but not performed until May). A private performance of ''Dafne'' was given in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

at the house of

Don Giovanni de' Medici Don Giovanni de' Medici (13 May 1567, in Florence – 19 July 1621, in Murano) was an Italian military commander, diplomat and architect. Medici was born the illegitimate son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleonora deg ...

on 9 February 1611. The Medici were the patrons of the Florentine Gagliano and the laurel (into which the heroine of the opera is transformed) was their symbol. The text of Rinuccini's ''Dafne'' was originally set by composer

during the Carnival of 1597 at the Palazzo Corsi, the home of the wealthy merchant and co-composer Jacopo Corsi. This score, while almost entirely lost save six musical excerpts, is marked as the first piece in the lexicon of what is now known as opera today. Of this composition, Rinuccini is quoted as saying "''Dafne'', written by me only to show in a simple experiment, una semplice prova, what music could do in our age, was set to music so gracefully by Peri that it pleased incredibly those few who heard it."''Dafne'' was originally set as an experiment that derived out of conversations by a group called the

Florentine Camerata The Florentine Camerata, also known as the Camerata de' Bardi, were a group of humanists, musicians, poets and intellectuals in late Renaissance Florence who gathered under the patronage of Count Giovanni de' Bardi to discuss and guide trends i ...

. The men of the Florentine Camerata sought to revive the classic Greek dramas under the hypothesis that all text was originally sung. From these experiments, stile recitativo, a style of singing that mimics speech, was created. The Camerata was headed by Count Giovanni de' Bardi and was composed of humanists, musicians, and intellectuals. Luca Bati, a composer and music teacher was also a member of this group and the teacher of Marco da Gagliano. While it is not officially stated by Gagliano whether or not he was present for the first incarnation of Dafne in 1597 by Jacopo Peri, it is known that he was a rising composition student in Florence at the time with strong connections to the Camerata just years before he completed his own setting of Dafne.

Composition Techniques

The score of the opera was printed in Florence on 20 October 1608. Gagliano utilizes techniques of both the old

intermedi The intermedio (also intromessa, introdutto, tramessa, tramezzo, intermezzo, intermedii), in the Italian Renaissance, was a theatrical performance or spectacle with music and often dance, which was performed between the acts of a play to celeb ...

style and of fledgling opera style throughout, including a detailed preface with his personal performance suggestions. It contains detailed instructions on how to perform the work. Among other things, Gagliano recommends clearly separating the soloists from the chorus, positioning the orchestra in front of the stage so the singers can see them properly, and having a second actor to play Apollo in the combat scene with the Python in case the singer should be out of breath for the big aria which follows. Gagliano also indicates that the instruments voiced in the choral sections and ritornellos should play prior to the start of the opera, though no overture is actually written. The text is 445 lines in total. While short, it offers heightened emotions and dramatic opportunities, including the eight stanza chorus that celebrates the nymph's flight from Apollo's attack called, ‘Bella ninfa fugitive.’ Typical of composition techniques at the birth of Italian opera, Gagliano set Rinuccini's text of ''Dafne'' with homophonic choruses intertwined with intermittent choral polyphony. His homophonic choruses, though lacking in a unified textual theme, did provide textual clarity, highlighting the importance of comprehensible singing, especially when setting moral text. This is typified in the opening scene of ''Dafne'' through a five-part chorus of the text “Hear our plaint and prayer, O Monarch and King of Heaven.” The chorus is a prominent figure throughout the composition, at times adding to the action of the story and at other times, providing reflective commentary.

Roles

Synopsis

The prologue is delivered by the poet Ovid as he sings the text: :''"Da' fortunati campi, ove immortali'' :''godonsi all'ombra de' frondosi mirti'' :''i graditi dal ciel felici spirti,'' :''mostromi in questa notte a voi mortali.'' :''Quel mi son io, che su la dotta lira'' :''cantai le fiamme celesti de' celesti amanti'' :''e i trasformati lor vari sembianti'' :''soave sì, ch'il mondo ancor m'ammira."'' "From the joyful fields, where the happy spirits beloved of heaven enjoy themselves immortal in the shade of leafy myrtle trees, I show up before you mortals tonight. I am he who with his learned lyre sang of divine lovers' heavenly passions and of their variously metamorphosed features, so sweetly that the world still admires me." When the opera proper begins, the god Apollo slays the Python, a monster which has been terrifying the Greek island of

Delos The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island ar ...

. Cupid and Venus are unimpressed by Apollo's boasting and about his conquest and his feelings of being invincible. Because of this, they plot revenge on Apollo. Cupid shoots two arrows, the first of which makes Apollo fall in love with the nymph Daphne, daughter of the river god. The second arrow causes the object of his desire to flee from him. As Daphne rejects his advances, she calls out to her mother for help and is turned into a laurel tree to avoid his love. Still in love with Daphne, Apollo makes the laurel the emblem of his love forever and a sign of victory and award throughout ancient Greece.

Recitatives, Arias, and Choruses

;Prologue and Act 1 #"Prologo; Da' fortunati campi" (Ovidio) #"Scena prima Tra queste ombre segrete" (Pastore I+II/Ninfa I/Tirsi/Coro/Ninfa II) #"Ohimè! che veggio" (Coro) #"Pur giaque estinto al fine" (Apollo) #"Almo Dio, che'l carro ardente" (Coro/Ninfe/Tirsi/Pastori) #"Scena seconda Che tu vadia cercando" (Amore/Apollo/Venere) #"Nudo, Arcier, che l'arco tendi" (Coro) #"Scena terza Per queste piante ombrose" (Dafne/Pastore I/II) #"Ogni ninfa in doglie e'n pianti" (Coro) #"Deh come lieto in questo piagge torno" (Apollo/Dafne/Pastore IITirsi/Amore/Pastore I) #"Una al pianto in abbandono" (Coro) #"Scena quarta Qual d'ei mortali o d'ei celesti" (Amore/Venere) #"Non si nasconde in selva" (Coro) #"Scena quinta Qual nuova meraviglia" (Tirsi/Pastore I/II) #"Piangete Ninfe" (Ninfa I) #"Sparse più non vedrem di quel fin' oro" (Pastore I/II) #"Piangete, Ninfe" (Coro/Pastore I) #"Scena sesta Ma, vedete lui stesso" (Tirsi/Apollo) #"Ballo Bella Ninfa fuggitiva" (Coro/Amore/Venere/Apollo/Ninfa I+II/Pastore I)

Recordings

* 1975 - Musica Pacifica, conducted by Paul Vorwerk, with Robert White, Mauritia Thornburg, Su Harrison, Mary Rawcliffe, Susan Judy, Anne Turner (sop), Dale Terbeek (ct), Hayden Blanchard, Jonathan Mack (ten), Myron Myers (b); (ABC Command, Quadraphonic) * 1977 - Monteverdi-Chor Hamburg, Camerata Accademica Hamburg, conducted by

Jürgen Jürgens Jürgen Jürgens (5 October 1925 – 4 August 1994) was a German choral conductor and academic teacher. He founded and directed the Monteverdi-Chor Hamburg, a pioneering ensemble for Monteverdi's music. Biography Born in Frankfurt am Main, Jür ...

, with Norma Lerer,

Barbara Schlick Barbara Schlick (born 21 July 1943, Würzburg) is a German soprano who is particularly admired for interpretations of the concert literature of the baroque era. Career Schlick studied singing under at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg and in E ...

, Ine Kollecker, Nigel Rogers, Ian Partridge, David Thomas, Berthold Possemeyer; (

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

Archiv) * 1984 - Apollo Ensemble, directed by Roger Glanville-Hicks, with

Gerald English Gerald English (6 November 1925 – 6 February 2019) was an English tenor. He performed operatic and concert repertoire, was a recording artist, and was a sometime academic. He gave many premiere performances of works by composers such as Igor ...

, Victoria Watson, Jeannie Marsh. Digitally recorded by 3MBS-FM, Melbourne, Australia * 1995 -

Ensemble Elyma Ensemble Elyma is an early music ensemble specialising in the baroque musical heritage of Latin America, led by Gabriel Garrido. Selected discography SeDiscography* 1991 Sigismondo d'India ''Arie, madrigali e baletti'' María Cristina Kiehr, Nadia ...

, conducted by Gabriel Garrido, with María Cristina Kiehr, Roberta Invernizzi, Adriana Fernandez, Jordi Ricart, Achim Schulz Anderson, Furio Zanasi. Studio di Musica Antica Antonio Il Verso, Palermo; ( K617) * 2008 - Ensemble Fuoco E Cenere, conducted by Jay Bernfeld, with Chantal Santon,

Guillemette Laurens Guillemette Laurens (born 6 November 1957 in Fontainebleau, France) is a French operatic mezzo-soprano. Guillemette trained at the Academy of Toulouse and debuted as Baba in ''The Rake's Progress'' at Salle Favart. She took part in the premiere ...

, Daphné Touchais, Mathieu Abelli; (Arion)

References

Notes Sources *Carter, Tim (2001),"''Dafne'', Marco Da Gagliano" in Holden, Amanda (Ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam. pp. 286–287. *Brenac Jean-Claude
"Marco di GAGLIANO"
on jean-claude.brenac.pagesperso-orange.fr *Emanuele, Marco (2007), ''Dafne'', in Gelli, Piero & Poletti, Filippo (eds), ''Dizionario dell'opera 2008'', Milan: Baldini Castoldi Dalai, p. 279, (accessible for free online a
Del Teatro
*Hanning, Barbara R., (1998), "''Dafne''" (''sic'') in

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

, (Ed.), ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...

'', Vol. One, pp. 1041–1042. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. * Parker, Roger (ed.) (1994), ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Opera'' London and New York: Oxford University Press.

External links

Libretto in Italian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dafne Operas by Marco da Gagliano Italian-language operas 1608 operas Operas Operas based on Metamorphoses