Rappresentatione di Anima, et di Corpo

Emilio de Cavalieri regarded himself as the composer of the first opera or oratorio, with the "Rappresentazione di anima e di corpo", (libretto by Agostino Manni). Whether or not 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.

Since the "Rappresentazione" is fully staged, in three acts with a spoken prologue, it can be considered to be the first surviving opera as such. It was presented twice in February 1600. [Hitchcock, Cavalieri]

On the 10th November 1600 Emilio de Cavalieri wrote a letter arguing that he, not Jacopo Peri was the true reviver of Greek style acting with singing, i.e. opera. Peri later deferred to him in the preface to the publishedversion of "Euridice" in 1601.

It was imagined, almost certainly wrongly, that Greek drama was sung, not declaimed, therefore opera was a Renaissance revival of ancient practice.

There is a modern edition of the opera: Emilio de Cavalieri, (ed. Philip Thorby), "Rappresentatione di anima et di corpo", (King's Music, 1994). (Modern score & 1 vol. of Facsimilies and translations) and at least one recording directed by Sergio Varto.

References

* H. Wiley Hitchcock: "Cavalieri, Emilio de'", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed July 4, 2007), [http://www.grovemusic.com (subscription access)]
* H. Wiley Hitchcock, "Cavalieri, Emilio"; also "Opera", "Intermedio", "Peri", "Rappresentatione". "The New Grove Dictionary of Opera", (MacMillan, 1992).
* "Composing opera from Dafne to Ulisse Errante", (translated Tim Carter), Practica musica No. 2 (Krakow : 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.)

Notes