| Operas by Giovanni Bononcini |
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Xerse (1694) |
Xerse (Xerxes) is an opera in three acts by Giovanni Battista Bononcini. It was designated as a dramma per musica. The libretto was written by Silvio Stampiglia after that by Nicolò Minato which had been used for the 1654 opera of the same name by Francesco Cavalli. Stampiglia's version was in turn used as the basis for Handel's Serse.
Stampiglia's version keeps to the story used by Minato but there are major differences in the way the work as a whole is structured.
The opera was first performed in Rome at the Teatro di Tor di Nona on 25 January 1694.
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 25 January 1694 |
|---|---|---|
| Xerse | soprano castrato | Nicolò Paris 'Nicolino' |
| Romilda | soprano castrato | Antonio Romolo Ferrini |
| Adelanta | soprano castrato | Rinaldo Gherardini |
| Arsamene | alto castrato | Francesco Antonio Pistocchi |
| Amastre | alto castrato | Luigi Albarelli |
| Elviro | soprano castrato | Carlo Antonio Corno |
| Eumene | alto castrato | Benedetto Cini |
| Aristone | tenor | Pietro Paolo Alberti |
| Clito | tenor | Giuseppe Trivelli |
| Ariodate | bass | Matteo de Grandis |