''Ercole su'l Termodonte'' (; ''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

Thermodon The Terme River (; ; , rendered Thermodon) is a short river in Samsun Province, Turkey draining into the Black Sea. Its sources are in the Pontic Mountains. It runs through the fertile Çarşamba plain to Salıpazarı, where it splits into ...

'') is a

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Italian opera Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous ope ...

in three acts. In 1723, it became the sixteenth opera set to music by

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

. Its catalogue number is RV 710. The

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 th ...

was written by Antonio Salvi (not Giacomo Francesco Bussani as previously misattributed).''Vitali'', 2007 The opera was premiered on 23 January 1723 in Rome's

Teatro Capranica The Teatro Capranica is a theatre situated at 101 Piazza Capranica in the Colonna (rione of Rome), Colonna district of Rome. Originally constructed in 1679 by the Capranica family and housed in the early Renaissance architecture, Renaissance Palazz ...

.italianopera.org
accessed 16 December 2010 Due to a papal edict preventing women from appearing onstage in Rome, it premiered with

castrati A castrato (Italian; : castrati) is a male singer who underwent castration before puberty in order to retain a singing human voice, voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice can also occur in one who, due to ...

singing all the female roles. Vivaldi was both conductor and violin soloist. Although the score was believed to have been lost, 30 arias and 2 duets were discovered in several archives, and the rest of the opera was reconstructed by Alessandro Ciccolini.

Roles

Synopsis

The story is based on the ninth of twelve legendary

Labors of Hercules Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labo ...

. To atone for killing his children in wrath, Hercules must perform twelve labors, the ninth of which is to travel to

and capture the sword of the

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

Queen Antiope. (In other versions of the story, the quest was for her magical girdle.) The

Amazons The Amazons (Ancient Greek: ', singular '; in Latin ', ') were a people in Greek mythology, portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, Labours of Heracles, the ''Argonautica'' and the ''Iliad''. ...

were a tribe of female warriors who put all their male children to death. Hercules, accompanied by the heroes

Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...

Telamon In Greek mythology, Telamon (; Ancient Greek: Τελαμών, ''Telamōn'' means "broad strap") was the son of King Aeacus of Aegina, and Endeïs, a mountain nymph. The elder brother of Peleus, Telamon sailed alongside Jason as one of his Argon ...

and Alceste, attacks the Amazons and captures Martesia, daughter of the queen. The Amazons then capture Theseus and, as soon as Queen Antiope swears to sacrifice him, Hippolyte falls in love with him. In the end, the goddess Diana decrees the marriage of

Hippolyte In Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; ''Hippolytē''), was a daughter of Ares and Otrera,Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', 30 queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Greek word fou ...

with Theseus, prince of Athens, and of Martesia with Alceste, king of Sparta.

Recordings

* DVD: (Spoleto Festival 2006 - 2007) Vivaldi - Ercole su'l Termodonte / Il Complesso Barocco, conductor: Alan Curtis. Performers: Zachary Stains, Mary-Ellen Nesi, Laura Cherici, Luca Dordolo, Marina Bartoli, Randall Scotting, Filippo Mineccia / Il Complesso Barocco, conductor: Alan Curtis, director: John Pascoe. Dynamic, Italy. * CD: (2010) Vivaldi - Ercole su'l Termodonte / conductor: Fabio Biondi. With Vivica Genaux, Diana Damrau, Patrizia Ciofi,

Joyce DiDonato Joyce DiDonato (née Flaherty; born February 13, 1969) is an American opera singer and recitalist. A coloratura mezzo-soprano, she has performed operas and concert works spanning from the 19th-century Romantic era to those by Handel and Mozart. ...

, Romina Basso, Philippe Jaroussky, Rolando Villazón, Topi Lehtipuu. Virgin Classics. Recorded January 2009 in Florence, Italy.

References

Notes Sources * Talbot, Michael, Vivaldi and Rome: Observations and Hypotheses, ''Journal of the Royal Musical Association'', Vol. 113, No. 1, 1988, 28–46. * Vitali, Carlo, Biondi's Labors Won, or Unearthing the Lost Vivaldi, ''Opera Today'', 22 Oct 2007
accessible online
.

External links

Biondi's Labors Won, or Unearthing the Lost Vivaldi
{{authority control Heracles in fiction Operas by Antonio Vivaldi Operas 1723 operas Operas based on classical mythology