Niobe, regina di Tebe
Niobe, regina di Tebe is an opera in three acts by Agostino Steffani, premiered at Salvatortheater, the Munich court theatre on 5 January 1688, during the carnival season . It is a tragedy focusing on the Ancient Greek character of Niobe. The libretto is by Luigi Orlandi, after Ovid's Metamorphoses. The score is in the National Library in Vienna. Excerpts have been published in Riemann Ausgewählte Werke iii. Long neglected, the opera was revived at Alice Tully Hall in New York City by the Clarion Music Society in 1977.[1] More recently the work was mounted in Schwetzingen in 2008, in London in 2010, and in Boston in 2011.
Roles
[edit]| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 5 January 1688
Conductor:- |
|---|---|---|
| Niobe, Queen of Thebes, brave but arrogant; punished by the gods for her pride | Soprano | Unknown |
| Anfione, King of Thebes; abdicates in favor of his wife Niobe; returns to protect Thebes from attack | Soprano Castrato | Unknown |
| Manto, Theban girl, priestess to the goddess Latona; falls in love with Tiberino | Soprano | Unknown |
| Tiresia, blind Theban seer and priest of Latona, Manto’s father; warns Niobe that her pride will anger the gods | Bass | Unknown |
| Clearte, prince and advisor to Anfione; secretly in love with Niobe | Tenor | Unknown |
| Creonte, Thessalonian prince bewitched into helping Poliferno attack Thebes | Alto Castrato | Unknown |
| Poliferno, magician; harbors a grudge against Anfione and sets out to overthrow him | Bass | Unknown |
| Tiberino, Prince of Alba; dreams of conquering Thebes; falls in love with Manto | Tenor | Unknown |
| Nerea, nurse to Niobe; advises the main characters | Contralto | Unknown |
Recordings
[edit]| Year | Cast: Niobe, Anfione, Manto, Tiresia, Clearte, Creonte, Poliferno, Tiberino, Nerea |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Karina Gauvin, Philippe Jaroussky, Amanda Forsythe, Christian Immler, Aaron Sheehan, Terry Wey, Jesse Blumberg, Colin Balzer, José Lemos |
Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra |
CD: Erato Cat: 0825646343546[2] |
| 2010 | Veronique Gens, Jacek Laszczkowski, Amanda Forsythe, Bruno Taddia, Tim Mead, Iestyn Davies, Alastair Miles, Lothar Odinius, Delphine Galou |
Thomas Hengelbrock, Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble, recorded at the Royal Opera House |
CD: Opus Arte[3] |
References
[edit]- ^ Donal Henahan (November 11, 1977). "Opera: 'Niobe' Tears and All". The New York Times.
- ^ William R. Braun (July 2015). "Steffani: Niobe, Regina di Tebe". Opera News. Vol. 80, no. 1.
- ^ William R. Braun (September 2010). "Steffani: Niobe, Regina di Tebe". Opera News.
External links
[edit]- Site of the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble's performance of Niobe at the Schwetzingen Festival 2008
- Site of the 2010 Covent Garden production (archived page)
- Review of the 2010 Covent Garden production from The Independent
- Site of the Boston Early Music Festival production
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