Eliogabalo

Eliogabalo (Heliogabalus) is an opera by the Italian composer Francesco Cavalli based on the life of the Roman emperor Heliogabalus. The author of the original libretto is unknown but it was probably reworked by Aurelio Aureli . The opera was composed in 1667 and premiered during the Venetian Carnival season of 1668 but it was withdrawn after only a few performances and replaced by another opera of the same name by Giovanni Antonio Boretti, perhaps because Cavalli's style was considered too old-fashioned.

Eliogabalo was revived at La Monnaie in 2004 by René Jacobs. Its North American premiere took place in 2007 at the Aspen Music Festival, conducted by Jane Glover.[1] Gotham Chamber Opera in performed it in 2013 in a Manhattan nightclub, The Box, directed by James Marvel.[2][3]

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere cast, 1668
(Conductor: - )
Eliogabalo countertenor
Alessandro mezzo-soprano
Giuliano countertenor
Flavia Gemmira soprano
Eritea soprano
Atilia soprano
Lenia tenor
Zotico mezzo-soprano
Nerbulone bass-baritone
Tiferne
Due consoli

References

  1. ↑ "Racy Eliogabalo gets new life" by Kyle MacMillan, The Denver Post, 22 August 2007
  2. ↑ "Shock Tactics" by Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 8 April 2013
  3. ↑ "An Emperor in Drag and Other Decadencies" by Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times, 19 March 2013

External links