''La Doriclea'' is a 1672 opera in three acts by

Alessandro Stradella Antonio Alessandro Boncompagno Stradella (Bologna, 3 July 1643 – Genoa, 25 February 1682) was an Italian composer of the middle Baroque period. He enjoyed a dazzling career as a freelance composer, writing on commission, and collaborating with ...

, first performed in Rome. It was Stradella's first opera. The libretto is probably by the Roman aristocrat and scholar .Brian Robins
Review of the recording conducted by Andrea de Carlo
''

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

'', May 2019, p. 628: "The detailed booklet note allows me to correct the date of composition and performance to Rome in the early 1670s rather than 1681, as I formerly suggested. ... The libretto sconsidered to be almost certainly the work of the Roman nobleman and man of letters Flavio Orsini."

Giovanni Filippo Apolloni Giovanni Filippo Apolloni (1620 – 15 May 1688) was an Italian poet and librettist. Born in Arezzo, he has sometimes been referred to as "Giovanni Apollonio Apolloni", but the second given name is spurious.Walker, Thomas (2001)"Apolloni, Giovanni ...

may also have been involved. The manuscript score was lost, rediscovered in 1938, then lost again until its recent re-discovery. According to Brian Robins, writing in the British magazine ''

'', the libretto "is a brilliantly sardonic and sharply observed depiction of the vicissitudes and pleasures of love as seen through the joys and misadventures of three couples." The first modern performance was on 8 May 2004 at the Fifth Festival Luci e Tintinnii at the in

Colle di Val d'Elsa Colle di Val d'Elsa or Colle Val d'Elsa is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Siena, Tuscany. It has a population of c. 21,600 . Its name means "Hill of Elsa Valley", where Elsa (river), Elsa is the name of the river which crosses it and Val ...

, a semi-staged production by the Alessandro Stradella Consort conducted by Estevan Velardi. A recording was made, but the conductor Velardi and the record producer Concerto Classics failed to obtain the necessary rights for wide release from the diocesan archive of

Rieti Rieti (; , Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina region. T ...

, the owner of the manuscript score. In 2017, a double ruling by the Civil Court of Rome awarded the rights to the Arcana company and conductor Andrea De Carlo. The latter conducted a semi-staged performance on 2 September 2017 in the Auditorium

Parco della Musica Auditorium Parco della Musica is a public music complex in Rome, Italy, with three concert halls and an outdoor theater in a park setting. It was designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano. Jürgen Reinhold of Müller-BBM was in charge of acousti ...

in Rome, as part of the Festival Barocco Alessandro Stradella, and recorded it immediately thereafter. As of 2022, both recordings are available as digital downloads.

Roles

*Doriclea, ''lover of Fidalbo; later disguised as ''Lindoro (

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

) *Fidalbo, ''lover of Doriclea'' (

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

) *Lucinda, ''noblewoman, lover of Celindo'' (soprano) *Celindo, ''nobleman, lover of Lucinda'' (

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

) *Delfina, ''older woman of lower rank'' (alto) *Giraldo, ''manservant to Lucinda'' (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

)

Recordings

* 2004: ''La Doriclea'', Rosita Frisani (Doriclea), Gianluca Belfiori Doro (Fidalbo), Cristina Jannicola (Lucinda), Carlo Putelli (Celindo), Linda Campanella (Delfina), Vito Priante (Giraldo), Alessandro Stradella Consort, conducted by Estévan Velardi. 4 CDs: Concerto Classics . Duration: 252 minutes 42 seconds.''La Doriclea'' conducted by Velardi: (es); (in). Linda Campanella sings the role of Delfina as given in the product description, not Lindora as shown on the back of the CD box. Online version (2022).Alessandro Stradella: ''La Doriclea'', Estévan Velardi & Alessandro Stradella Consort (Act
123
,

Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and digital music store operated by Amazon. As of January 2020, the service had 55 million subscribers. It was the first music store to sell music without digital rights manag ...

, 2022. Does not include booklet. * 2017: ''La Doriclea'',

Emőke Baráth Emőke Baráth (born November 21, 1985) is a Hungarian soprano. She began her musical studies in Gödöllő, majoring in piano and cello, and then continued harp and vocal studies at thKing St. Stephen's Secondary School of Music in Budapest She ...

(Doriclea), Giuseppina Bridelli (Lucinda), Gabriella Martellacci (Delfina),

Xavier Sabata Xavier Sabata Corominas (born 1976 in Avià, Catalonia) is a Spanish operatic countertenor. Discography *''I Dilettanti'' - cantatas and arias by Emanuele d'Astorga, Giacomo Maccari, Benedetto Marcello, Giovanni Maria Ruggieri. Latinitas nost ...

(Fidalbo), Luca Cervoni (Celindo), Riccardo Novaro (Giraldo),

Il Pomo d'Oro ''Il pomo d'oro'' (''The Golden Apple'') is an opera in a prologue and five acts by the Italy, Italian composer Antonio Cesti with a libretto by Francesco Sbarra (1611-1668). It was first performed before the imperial court in a specially constr ...

, conducted by Andrea De Carlo. Recorded at the Scuderie Farnese arnese Stables(at the

Villa Farnese The Villa Farnese, also known as Villa Caprarola, is a pentagonal mansion in the town of Caprarola in the province of Viterbo, Northern Lazio, Italy, approximately north-west of Rome, originally commissioned and owned by the House of Farnese. A p ...

), Caprarola, Viterbo, Italy, 3-9 September 2017; 3 CDs: Arcana A 454. Duration: 188 minutes.Jonathan Sutherland (26 February 2018)
"Alessandro Stradella: cloaks, daggers and musical genius"
bachtrack website: "De Carlo’s most recent endeavour in 2017 was Stradella’s last opera, ''La Doriclea'', featuring soprano Emöke Barath accompanied by Joyce diDonato’s favourite baroque ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro instead of the director’s usual Mare Nostrum musicians. The plot is more amusing than sainted nuns or reformed prostitutes and a number of fast patter buffo arias anticipate the rhythm and wit of Rossini. The character of Giraldo is a direct forebear of Mozart’s Leporello over one hundred years later." Online version (2018).Stradella: ''La Doriclea'', Il Pomo D'oro & Andrea De Carlo
Amazon Music, 2018. Includes booklet.

References

External links

Opéra Baroque website {{Alessandro Stradella Operas 1672 operas Operas by Alessandro Stradella