''La Circe'' is an

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 three acts by

Josef Mysliveček Josef Mysliveček (9 March 1737 – 4 February 1781) was a Czech composer who contributed to the formation of late eighteenth-century classicism in music. Mysliveček provided his younger friend Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with significant com ...

set to a libretto by Domenico Perelli that is based on Greek legends about the sorceress

Circe In Greek mythology, Circe (; ) is an enchantress, sometimes considered a goddess or a nymph. In most accounts, Circe is described as the daughter of the sun god Helios and the Oceanid Perse (mythology), Perse. Circe was renowned for her vast kn ...

. This opera (and all the rest of Mysliveček's operas) belong to the serious type in Italian language referred to as ''

opera seria ''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abou ...

''.

Performance history

The opera was first performed at the

Teatro San Benedetto The Teatro San Benedetto was a theatre in Venice, particularly prominent in the operatic life of the city in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It saw the premieres of over 140 operas, including Rossini's ''L'italiana in Algeri'', and was the th ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

on 12 May 1779 to open the theater's unique

Ascension Ascension or ascending may refer to: Religion * "Ascension", the belief in some religions that some individuals have ascended into Heaven without dying first. The Catholic concept of the Assumption of Mary leaves open the question of her deat ...

operatic season. It was the last of the composer's three operas produced in Venice. No complete score survives from the production, only a few individual

aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

s that found their way into aria collections. The cast was distinguished, including as it did the great

castrato A castrato (Italian; : castrati) is a male singer who underwent castration before puberty in order to retain a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice can also occur in one who, due to an endocrino ...

Luigi Marchesi Luigi Marchesi (; 8 August 1754 – 14 December 1829) was an Italian castrato singer, one of the most prominent and charismatic to appear in Europe during the second half of the eighteenth century. His singing was praised by the likes of Mozart a ...

, one of the composer's close friends and professional associates, and the noted English

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 ...

Cecilia Davies.

Roles

Vocal set pieces

Act I, scene 3 - Cavatina of Ulisse, "Spiegar non sò qual è" (Music lost)
Act I, scene 4 - Aria of Prisco, "Ah, se per te del seno" (Music lost)
Act I, scene 5 - Aria of Circe, "Ah, come mai resistere"
Act I, scene 8 - Aria of Canente, "Sol quei che provano" (Music lost)
Act I, scene 9 - Aria of Ulisse, "Saprai con tuo rossore"
Act I, scene 11 - Aria of Sabino, "Pensa che sei Latino" (Music lost)
Act I, scene 12 - Trio for Ulisse, Prisco, and Circe, "Senti bell'idol mio" Act II, scene 1 - Aria of Clerinto, "Così talor se mira" (Music lost)
Act II, scene 2 - Aria of Sabino, "Vado alla cara sposa" (Music lost)
Act II, scene 3 - Aria of Prisco, "Di cento dubbi, e cento" (Music lost)
Act II, scene 6 - Aria of Ulisse, "Idol mio, pietoso il fato"
Act II, scene 7 - Aria of Circe, "Parti, fuggi, t'ascondi, crudele!"
Act II, scene 9 - Aria of Canente, "È già sereno il cielo" (Music lost)
Act II, scene 11 - Duet for Ulisse and Circe, "Non sia ver, bell'idol mio" (Music lost) Act III, scene 3 - Aria of Ulissa, "Dille, costante" (Music lost)
Act III, scene 4 - Aria of Sabino, "Nella crudele fiera tempesta" (Music lost)
Act III, scene 6 - Aria of Prisco, "Già i venti tacciono" (Music lost)
Act III, scene 10 - Aria of Circe, "D'un alma abbandonata" (Music lost)
Act III, scene 11 - Quartet for Circe, Prisco, Sabino, and Canente, "Alme amante, se sperate" (Music lost)

References

* Freeman, Daniel E. ''Josef Mysliveček, "Il Boemo."'' Sterling Heights, Mich.: Harmonie Park Press, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Circe Italian-language operas Operas by Josef Mysliveček 1779 operas Opera seria Operas Operas based on classical mythology Circe