La Calisto

"La Calisto" is an opera by Francesco Cavalli with a libretto by Giovanni Faustini. The libretto was published in 1651 by Giuliani and Batti. The opera received its first performance on 28 November 1651 at the Teatro San Apollinare, Venice. At the time, the San Apollinare was equipped with complex stage machinery, which the theatre intended to use in the premiere production of "La Calisto" to impress audiences with stage spectacle. However, the first performances had small audiences, as the run of 11 performances from 28 November to 31 December 1651 attracted only about 1200 patrons to a theatre that housed 400. In addition, Faustini died during the first run, on 19 December. [Glixon, Beth L. and Glixon, Jonathan E., "Marco Faustini and Venetian Opera Production in the 1650s: Recent Archival Discoveries" (Winter 1992). "The Journal of Musicology", 10 (1): pp. 48-73.]

The opera has been more successfully revived in modern times. Raymond Leppard's "realisation" (as he termed his orchestrations) for Glyndebourne was significant for creating new audiences for baroque opera; the recording of this production has been re-released on compact disc (see "Selected recordings" below).

Roles

ynopsis

The story is based on the myth of Callisto from Ovid's "Metamorphoses".
Jane Glover has commented on the treatment of the story of Callisto in the opera in the context of contemporary Venetian opera, and how the librettist had to invent complications to formulaic plots to meet audience demands. [Glover, Jane, "The Peak Period of Venetian Public Opera: The 1650s" (1975-1976). "Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association", 102: pp. 67-82.]

elected recordings

* Soloists including Janet Baker and Ileana Cotrubaş, Glyndebourne Festival Chorus, LPO, Raymond Leppard (Decca, 1971)
* Concerto Vocale, René Jacobs (Harmonia Mundi, 1995)
* Glimmerglass Opera, Jane Glover (BBC Music, 1996) - extracts from a live performance

References

ources

*"Viking Opera Guide" edited by Amanda Holden (Viking, 1993)