''Ciro'' (''Cyrus''), also written ''Il Ciro'', is a 1653 Italian '' drama per musica'' (

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 ...

) in a prologue and three acts with music by

Francesco Provenzale Francesco Provenzale (25 September 1632 – 6 September 1704) was an Italian Baroque composer and teacher.Fabris 2016. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. Notably Provenzale was the teacher of famed castrato 'i ...

and a libretto by Giulio Cesare Sorrentino. The story concerns the Persian king

Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia ( ; 530 BC), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Media ...

. The opera was probably first performed during

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

of that year at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in Naples, in a production by Giovan Battista Balbi (''fl'' 1636–1657).Alm 2001.Walker 1992, p. 788.Robinson & Fabris 2001.Fabris 2007, pp. 173–175. The opera was performed again in a revised version at the Teatro San Giovanni e San Paolo in Venice, beginning on 30 January 1654 or 4 February 1654. The libretto credits Sorrentino as the librettist,

Francesco Cavalli Francesco Cavalli (born Pietro Francesco Caletti-Bruni; 14 February 1602 – 14 January 1676) was a Venetian composer, organist and singer of the early Baroque period. He succeeded his teacher Claudio Monteverdi as the dominant and leading op ...

with revising and adding music and Balbi for the scenery, machines, and dances. Balbi also signed the libretto's introduction. The Venetian poet who, with Sorrentino's permission, revised the text to make it more suitable for presentation in that city is not named, but may have been

Aurelio Aureli Aurelio Aureli (Venice, before 1652 – id. after 1708) was an Italian librettist. Life Little is known about Aureli's life. He began his operatic career in 1652 with ''L'Erginda''. Until 1687, he worked as a librettist mainly in Venice, excep ...

or Balbi. The opera was revived again in 1665 in Venice with additional music by Andrea Mattioli. Manuscript scores of the 1654 and 1665 versions survive. The new prologue of the 1654 version in Venice included spectacular scenic effects and must have been regarded as successful, since it was used for other works by Cavalli, including ''

Erismena ''Erismena'' is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Francesco Cavalli. First performed in Venice in 1655, it was designated as a ''dramma per musica''. Libretto The Italian libretto was by Aurelio Aureli, the only work by this writer for ...

'' in 1655 and a revival of ''

Giasone ''Giasone'' (''Jason'') is an opera in three acts and a prologue with music by Francesco Cavalli and a libretto by Giacinto Andrea Cicognini. It was premiered at the Teatro San Cassiano, Venice on 5 January 1649, during carnival. The plot is ...

'' in 1666. In modern times,

René Jacobs René Jacobs (born 30 October 1946) is a Belgian musician. He came to fame as a countertenor, but later in his career he became known as a conductor of baroque and classical opera. Biography Countertenor Born in Ghent, Jacobs began his musi ...

used it for his 1985 recording of Cavalli's ''

Xerse ''Il Xerse'', usually written ''Xerse'' (; ), is an Italian opera by Francesco Cavalli (specifically, a ''dramma per musica'') about Xerxes I. The libretto was written by Nicolò Minato and was later set by both Giovanni Bononcini ('' Xerse'', ...

'' (for which the music of the original prologue has not been found).

Lionel Salter Lionel Salter (8 September 1914 – 1 March 2000) was an English pianist, conductor, writer and administrator who had a long association with the British Broadcasting Corporation.Sadie, Stanley, rev. Jon Stroop. 'Salter, Lionel (Paul)' in ''Gr ...

Review of Cavalli's ''Xerse'' conducted by René Jacobs
''

Gramophone A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...

'', October 1985, pp. 540, 543.

References

Sources * Alm, Irene (2001), "Balbi, Giovan Battista", in ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

''. London: Macmillan. * Bossi, Adolfo (2007)
"Francesco Cavalli"''Insula Fulcheria''
p. 112. *

Fabris, Dinko Dinko Fabris is an Italian musicologist. He specializes in lute music, the music of Naples, and Italian music in general, having written books on Italian composers such as Andrea Falconieri, Andrea Gabrieli, Francesco Provenzale and Francesco Ca ...

(2007). ''Music in Seventeenth-Century Naples: Francesco Provenzale (1624–1704)''. Aldershot, England; Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate Publishing. . * FitzGerald, Pablo. "Laments In The Early Operas Of Francesco Cavalli (1639-1649)" Universidad Complutense De Madrid Facultad De Geografía E Historia Departamento De Musicología, Trabajo De Fin De Grado. 2016, 65. * * * Robinson, Michael F.; Fabris, Dinko (2001). "Provenzale, Francesco", in ''

''. London: Macmillan. * Rosand, Ellen (1991). ''Opera in Seventeenth-Century Venice''. Berkeley:

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

. * Walker, Thomas (1992). "Cavalli, Francesco", vol. 1, pp. 783–789, in ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

'', four volumes, edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was published as the first edition ...

. London: Macmillan.

External links

''Il Ciro''
at the Opéra Baroque website
Libretto (Library of Congress)
Operas Operas by Francesco Cavalli 1654 operas Operas set in Iran Italian-language operas {{Italian-opera-stub