新規更新December 15, 2019 at 06:42AM
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Hydaspes (Mancini)
Mccapra:
[[File:Cuzzoni und nicolino.jpg|thumb|[[Nicolò Grimaldi]] (Nicolini) in the role of Idaspe opposite [[Francesca Cuzzoni]] in a 1730 production in Venice.<ref></ref>]]
[[File:Title page of Songs In The New Opera Call'd Hydaspes, 1710.jpg|thumb|Title page of ''Songs In The New Opera Call'd Hydaspes'', 1710]]
[[File:Aria from Songs In The New Opera Call'd Hydaspes, 1710.jpg|thumb|Aria from ''Songs In The New Opera Call'd Hydaspes'', 1710]]
'''''Hydaspes''''' (also '''''L'Idaspe fedele''''') is an opera by [[Francesco Mancini (composer)|Francesco Mancini]] with a libretto by Giovanni Pietro Candi. It was first performed at the [[Her Majesty's Theatre|King's Theater]] in the Haymarket, London, on 23 March 1710.<ref name="CORAGO"></ref> It was the second opera in England to be sung entirely in Italian, after ''[[Almahide]]'',<ref></ref> and was an early London success for the famous [[castrato]] [[Nicolò Grimaldi]] in the title role.<ref></ref>
==Development==
The original libretto by Giovanni Pietro Candi and Giulio Convò was revised by Silvio Stampiglia and staged at the [[Early theatres in Naples#Teatro San Bartolomeo|teatro San Bartolomeo]] in [[Naples]] in 1705, with the title ''Gli amanti generosi.''<ref name="Grove"/> Nicolò Grimaldi brought the score with him when he came to London, and had considerable say over how the music was selected and adapted for a new London version.<ref name="IC">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> This work was undertaken by [[Johann Christoph Pepusch]] and the modified work was given the title ''Idaspe fedele''.<ref></ref> Among the material introduced by Pepusch were two arias borrowed from [[Giovanni Bononcini]]'s ''Regina creduta re''.<ref name="IC"/>
While ''[[Almahide]]'' (1710) is generally described as the first Italian opera in England, it had comic [[intermezzo|intermezzi]] in English between the acts. By not having these interludes, ''Idaspe fedele'' offered the first Italian-only opera experience to London audiences. This development came about as a result of an increasing taste for Italian style [[opera seria]], with no comic scenes at all.<ref name="IC"/>
The same libretto used in the London version of ''Idaspe'' was employed by [[Riccardo Broschi]] for his 1730 work ''Idaspe'' at the [[Teatro Malibran|Teatro S Giovanni Grisostomo]] that starred [[Farinelli]].<ref name="Grove"></ref>
==Roles and plot==
*Artaserse, king of Persia
*Dario, brother of Artaserse
*Idaspe, nephew of Artaserse, disguised as Acrone
*Arbace, captain of the guard
*Mandane, daughter of the king of Media
*Berenice, a Persian princess.<ref name="CORAGO"/>
Idaspe and his brother Artaserse are rivals for the affections of Berenice. The king condemns Idaspe to fight a lion in the amphitheatre with Berenice watching. Idaspe strangles the lion and the people demand mercy for him, leading to a general reconciliation.<ref name="FK"></ref>
==Performance history==
The first season saw performances on 23 and 30 March, 1, 15, 18, 21 and 28 April, and 2, 5, 12, 23, 30 May 1710.<ref name="OB"></ref> The original cast was [[Nicolo Grimaldi]] (Idaspe), Giovanni Cassani (Artaserse), [[Valentino Urbani]] (Dario), Lawrence (Arbace), [[Isabella Girardeau]] (Mandane) and [[Margherita de L'Epine]] (Berenice). The sets were designed by the Venetian Marco Rizzi.<ref></ref> The orchestra during the first season was composed of a mix of English and foreign players, mostly Italian and French.<ref name="FDC">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>
Performances were held in the second season on 22, 25 and 29 November, 2, 20, 27 and 30 December 1710, followed by 7, 10 and 17 February, 4 and 7 April and 30 May 1711. [[Elisabetta Pilotti-Schiavonetti]] replaced Margherita de L'Epine (Berenice) and [[Giuseppe Maria Boschi]] made his English debut replacing Cassani (Artaxerxes). The other cast members were Urbani (Dario), Grimaldi (Idaspe), Lawrence (Arbaces) and Girardeau (Mandane).<ref name="OB"/> The opera was revived at the Haymarket in 1712<ref name="CORAGO"/> and again on 27 August 1715 in a revised version.<ref></ref> Altogether there were 46 performances of ''Idaspe'' between 1710 and 1716.<ref name="IC"/>
At the end of May 1710 Walsh, Randall, and Hare published ''Songs in the new Opera, Call'd Hydaspes'', consisting of the overture and 40 arias. In January 1711 they published new new arias written for Boschi in ''The Additionall Songs in the new Opera, Call'd Hydaspes''.<ref name="OB"/>
==Critical reception==
The scene in which Idaspe (dressed in a flesh-coloured costume to simulate nakedness) strangles a lion caused a sensation and ensured that the opera achieved a tremendous box office success, despite the unusually high price of the tickets.<ref></ref>
The historian of opera Sutherland Edwards commented 'after appealing to the monster in a minor key, and telling him that he may tear his bosom, but cannot touch his heart, he attacks him in the relative major, and strangles him.'<ref name="SE">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> He suggests that "the ridiculous opera of ''Hydaspes'' could only have succeeded, despite its absurdities, because of the outstanding singing of Nicolini.<ref name="SE"/>
"Hydaspes with much vocal effort begs the lion to 'come on'. The lion... accepts the challenge and there is a struggle, Hydaspes and the lion pausing in the combat while Hydaspes declares his love for Berenice and explains matters generally in florid Italian singing. Hydaspes strangles the lion and... asks if any other monster is available."<ref name="FK"/>
==Harlequin Hydaspes==
In 1719 a burlesque English-language parody of the opera, called ''Harlequin Hydaspes'' had a single performance on 27 May at [[Lisle's Tennis Court|Lincoln's Inn Fields]].<ref name="RK"></ref> The work was written by Isabella Aubert, who had sung the role of Mandane in the 1715 production of ''Idaspe''.<ref></ref> In ''Harlequin Hydaspes'' Aubert herself took the role of [[harlequin]] (based on Idaspe). Christopher Bullock played 'the doctor' (Artaserse).<ref name="RK"/>
Much of the music from ''Idaspe'' was reused in ''Harlequin Hydaspes'', together with arias from [[Alessandro Scarlatti]]'s ''Pyrrhus and Demetrius'', ''[[Almahide]]'', [[Handel]]'s ''[[Rinaldo]]'' and ''[[Amadigi di Gaula |Amadigi]]'' and the pasticcio ''Clearte''.(1716).<ref name="IC"/>
==External links==
*[https://ift.tt/2Po0YH6 digital copy of ''Songs In The New Opera Call'd Hydaspes'']
*[https://ift.tt/2EklsdL libretto of "Hydaspes" on Google play]
==References==
[[Category:Opera in England]]
[[Category:Italian-language operas]]
[[Category:1710 operas]]
[[Category:Operas]]
[[Category:Operas by multiple composers]]
https://ift.tt/38Ddvy1
