''Il Sant'Alessio'' (''Saint Alexius'') is an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

in three acts composed by

Stefano Landi Stefano Landi (baptized 26 February 1587 – 28 October 1639) was an Italian composer and teacher of the early Baroque Roman School. He was an influential early composer of opera, and wrote the earliest opera on a historical subject: ''Il Sa ...

in 1631 with a libretto by Giulio Rospigliosi (the future

Pope Clement IX Pope Clement IX (; ; 28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 20 June 1667 to his death in December 1669. Giulio Rospigliosi was born into the noble Ro ...

). Its first performance was probably in February 1632. ''Sant'Alessio'' was the first opera to be written on a

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

subject. It describes the inner life of fifth-century Saint Alexis. The work broke new ground with a psychological characterization of a type that was new to opera. It also contains interspersed comic scenes that are anachronistically drawn from the contemporary life of Rome in the 17th century.

Musical context

Landi's religious context, in keeping with the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

spirit of

Jesuit drama Jesuit drama was a form of theatre practised in the colleges of the Society of Jesus between the 16th and 18th centuries, as a way of instructing students in rhetoric, assimilating Christian values and imparting Catholic doctrine. History In the ...

s, marks a new departure in the theatre in Rome, combining antiquarian interests in ancient drama with modern musical conceptions of recitative, ensembles and occasional arias. Musically, the work has considerable variety, with elements of comedy and tragedy, and went some way towards establishing specifically Christian opera in a Rome that remained musically conservative. Singers for the opera, all male, were recruited from the Papal Chapel and included

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 ...

. The Barberinis, noted patrons of the arts, owed their current influence to the Barberini Pope Urban VIII. The librettist, Giulio Rospigliosi, became Pope Clement IX in 1667. The part of Sant'Alessio lies extremely high and was meant to be sung by a castrato. The accompanying orchestra is up-to-date, dispensing with the archaic viols and using violins, cellos, harps, lutes,

theorbo The theorbo is a plucked string instrument of the lute family, with an extended neck that houses the second pegbox. Like a lute, a theorbo has a curved-back sound box with a flat top, typically with one or three sound holes decorated with rose ...

s, and harpsichords. The opera includes introductory canzonas which function as overtures; indeed they are the first overtures in the history of opera. Dances and comic sections mix with serious arias, recitatives, and even a madrigalian lament, for an overall dramatic variety which was extremely effective, as attested by the frequent performances of the opera at the time. ''Sant'Alessio'' was one of the first staged dramatic works successfully to mix both the

monodic In music, monody refers to a solo vocal style distinguished by having a single melodic line and instrumental accompaniment. Although such music is found in various cultures throughout history, the term is specifically applied to Italian song of ...

and

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...

styles.

Performance history

The exact date of the first performance is stated differently in the literature. It might have been 17 February 1632,Grout, Donald Jay; Weigel Williams, Hermine: ''A Short History of Opera. Fourth Edition.'' Columbia University Press, New York 2003, , pp. 64-67. 18 February 1632, 21 February 1632Leopold, Silke: ''Il Sant’Alessio.'' In: ''Pipers Enzyklopädie des Musiktheaters.'' Vol 3: ''Werke. Henze - Massine.'' Piper, München/Zürich 1989, , pp. 407-409.Holden, Amanda (ed.): ''The Viking Opera Guide.'' Viking, London/New York 1993, , pp. 553-554. or 23 February 1632. Apparently a production for 2 March 1631 had been prepared, but no historical sources confirm an actual performance on that date. Landi seems to have revised the work before the performance of 1632. The place of the performance is also unsure. It might have been the

Palazzo Barberini ai Giubbonari Palazzo Barberini ai Giubbonari, also called Casa Grande Barberini, to distinguish it from the Palazzo Barberini, more famous palace in the Trevi district, is a historic palace in Rome. It was the Barberini family, family's first residence in th ...

or the

Palazzo Barberini The Palazzo Barberini () is a 17th-century palace in Rome, facing the Piazza Barberini in Rione Trevi. Today, it houses the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, the main national collection of older paintings in Rome. History Around 1549 Cardinal ...

alle Quattro Fontane, Rome. A revised version was performed in 1634. An ambitious all-male production of the piece, directed by baroque theatre specialist Benjamin Lazar and conducted by William Christie, premiered in

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

, Normandy on 16 October 2007. This acclaimed production involved eight countertenors, including

Philippe Jaroussky Philippe Jaroussky (; born 13 February 1978) is a French countertenor. He began his musical career with the violin, winning an award at the Versailles conservatory, and then took up the piano before turning to singing. Unusually for a counterteno ...

as Sant'Alessio and

Max Emanuel Cenčić Max Emanuel Cenčić (born 21 September 1976) is a Croatian countertenor and stage director. He was a member of the Vienna Boys' Choir. Life and career Early years Max Emanuel Cenčić was born in Zagreb. He started singing at a very earl ...

as Sposa.Steve Smith
Bounty of Countertenors in 1631 Opera
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', October 31, 2007 One performance was broadcast in full as a live video webcast by

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air Public broadcasting, public television network. The second flagship network of France Télévisions, it broadcasts a wide range of general and specialized programming. France 3 is structured as a Region ...

on 18 October 2007.

Roles

Brief synopsis

The story of the opera begins with Saint Alexius, who has embraced a life of holy poverty, returning from the Holy Land as a beggar to his father's house in Rome. He keeps his identity a secret, even when his wife and mother decide to travel in search of him. He resists the temptations offered by

the Devil Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or 'e ...

, with the help of an

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

. He dies in the poverty he has chosen, under the steps of his father's house, his identity revealed in a letter he holds as he dies.

Recording

*Landi: ''Il Sant'Alessio'':

Patricia Petibon Patricia Petibon (born 27 February 1970) is a French soprano. Life Born in Montargis, Petibon's parents were both teachers. She initially studied the visual arts, including painting and subsequently changed her academic focus and earned a bac ...

(Sant'Alessio), Sophie Marin-Degor (sposa), Mhairi Lawson (Curzio), Stephanie Revidat (angelo), Maryseult Wieczorek (Religione), Steve Dugardin (Marzio), Armand Gavriilidès (nunzio), Cecile Eloir (madre), Katalin Karolyi (nutrice), Christopher Josey (Adrasto),

Nicolas Rivenq Nicolas Rivenq (born 1958) is a contemporary French baritone. Born in London, Rivenq studied music at the "École d'Art lyrique" of the Paris Opéra, as well as the Indiana University. He has participated in numerous productions of baroque mu ...

(Eufemiano), Clive Bayley (demonio), Bertrand Bontoux (uno del coro); Les Arts florissants; Conductor William Christie. Originally recorded 1996. Label: Warner Classics

Notes

References

* Period printed score: ''Il S. Alessio//Dramma Musicale//Dall'Eminentissimo, et Reverendissimo Signore//Card. Barberino//Fatto Rappresentare//Al Serenissimo Prencipe//Alessandro Carlo//Di Polonia//Dedicato a Sua Eminenza//E Posto in Musica//Da Stefano Landi Romano//Musico della Cappella di N.S.//e Cherico Benefitiato nella Basilica di S. Pietro'', Roma, Masotti, 1734 (accessibile for free online a
IMSLP
* Libretto a
librettidopera.it
* Emanuele, Marco (2007), ''Sant'Alessio'', in Gelli, Piero & Poletti, Filippo (eds), ''Dizionario dell'opera 2008'', Milan: Baldini Castoldi Dalai, p. 279, (reproduced online a
Opera Manager
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sant'Alessio, Il Italian-language operas Operas by Stefano Landi 1632 operas Operas