''Rappresentatione di anima et di corpo'' (Italian for ''Portrayal of the Soul and the Body'') is a musical work by
Emilio de' Cavalieri to a
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 ...
by Agostino Manni (1548–1618). With it, Cavalieri regarded himself as the composer of the first
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 ...
or
oratorio
An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble.
Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...
. Whether he was actually the first is subject to some academic debate, as is whether the work is better categorized as an opera or an oratorio. It was first performed in Rome in February 1600 in the
Oratorio dei Filippini
The Oratorio dei Filippini (Oratory of Saint Philip Neri) is a building located in Rome and erected between 1637 and 1650 under the supervision of architect Francesco Borromini - in his Francesco Borromini, distinctive style. The oratory is adjac ...
adjacent to the church of
Santa Maria in Vallicella
Santa Maria in Vallicella, also called Chiesa Nuova, is a church in Rome, Italy, which today faces onto the main thoroughfare of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the corner of Via della Chiesa Nuova. It is the principal church of the Oratorians ...
.
The first opera
It was imagined during the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
, almost certainly incorrectly, that Greek drama was sung, not declaimed, and that therefore opera was a revival of ancient practice. On 10 November 1600 Emilio de Cavalieri wrote a letter arguing that he, not
Jacopo Peri
Jacopo Peri (20 August 156112 August 1633) was an Italian composer, singer and instrumentalist of the late Renaissance music, Renaissance and early Baroque music, Baroque periods. He wrote what is considered the first opera, the mostly lost ''D ...
, was the true reviver of Greek style acting with singing, i.e. opera. Peri later deferred to him in the preface to the published version of ''
Euridice'' in 1601. (''Euridice'' had received its first performance in October 1600). The music historian Joachim Steinheuer comments that Cavalieri was a pioneer of "recitation in singing or 'recitar cantando; this type of declamation was a major innovation in enabling the introduction of extended dramatic monologues and dialogues, as required in opera.
Since the ''Rappresentatione'' is fully staged, in three acts with a spoken prologue, it can be considered to be the earliest surviving opera.
Editions
There are modern editions of the "opera":
*Emilio de Cavalieri, (ed. Philip Thorby), ''Rappresentatione di anima et di corpo'', (King's Music, 1994);
* the
American Institute of Musicology, edition of 2007 (Modern score and one volume of facsimiles and translations).
Recordings
* directed by
Sergio Vartolo (Naxos 8.554096-97).
* by the ensembles Magnificat and The Whole Noyse with Judith Nelson (Anima) and Paul Hillier (Corpo), CD
Koch Records;
* by Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin & Choir of State Opera Berlin, conducted by René Jacobs; Cité de la Musique 2012 – Broadcast by ARTE;
* 2000 Basilica San Paolo Fuori Le Mura, Rome video recording of a concert performance conducted by Lorenzo Tozzi with Coro Lirico Sinfonico Romano and Roma Barroca Orchestra, with soloists Cecilia Gasdia (soprano), Furio Zanasi (baritone), Roberto Staccioli, Massimo Rossetti, Stefano Cucci, and Lucilla Tumino.
* Recorded in 2005 by ensemble
L'Arpeggiata
L'Arpeggiata is a European early music group led by Christina Pluhar, and founded by her in 2000. The group has presented both traditional early music and also several collaged and themed performances and recordings.
The group focuses on Italian ...
under the direction of
Christina Pluhar on Alpha Productions (France) B0007VF21Y.
* 2021
Theater an der Wien
The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prim ...
video recording conducted by
Giovanni Antonini, with
Il Giardino Armonico and
Arnold Schoenberg Chor, directed for stage by
Robert Carsen (Naxos Blu-Ray and DVD
).
References
Further reading
* Murray C. Bradshaw, and Agostino Manni, ''Emilio de'Cavalieri, Rappresentatione di anima, et di corpo: 1600'', (
American Institute of Musicology, 2007).
*
H. Wiley Hitchcock, "Cavalieri, Emilio"; also "Opera", "Intermedio", "Peri", "Rappresentatione". ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes.
The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...
'', (MacMillan, 1992).
* ''Composing opera from Dafne to Ulisse Errante'', (translated Tim Carter), Practica musica No. 2 (Kraków : Musica Jagellonica, 1994). (English translations of prefaces to 17th-century Italian operas, by Rinuccini, Peri, Caccini; Marco da Gagliano, Cavalieri, Agazzari, Vitali, Mazzocchi,
Ottavio Tronsarelli, Landi, Michelangelo Rossi, and Giacomo Badoaro. Includes Italian originals.)
External links
*
*
Librettoof the opera (in Italian).
{{authority control, state=collapsed
1600 operas
Italian-language operas
Operas by Emilio de Cavalieri
Opera oratorios
Operas