Ciro (opera)

thumb|Title page of the 1654 Venetian libretto

'''''Ciro''''' (''Cyrus''), also written '''''Il Ciro''''', is a 1653 Italian ''drama per musica'' (opera) in a prologue and three acts with music by Francesco Provenzale and a libretto by Giulio Cesare Sorrentino. The story concerns the Persian king Cyrus the Great. The opera was probably first performed during Carnival of that year at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in Naples, in a production by Giovan Battista Balbi (''fl'' 1636–1657).<ref name=Alm>Alm 2001.</ref><ref name=Walker>Walker 1992, p. 788.</ref><ref name=Robinson2001>Robinson & Fabris 2001.</ref><ref name=Fabris2007>Fabris 2007, pp. 173–175.</ref>

The opera was performed again in a revised version at the Teatro San Giovanni e San Paolo in Venice, beginning on 30 January 1654<ref name=Walker/> or 4 February 1654.<ref name=Robinson2001/> The libretto credits Sorrentino as the librettist, Francesco Cavalli with revising and adding music and Balbi for the scenery, machines, and dances. Balbi also signed the libretto's introduction.<ref name=Fabris2007/> The Venetian poet who, with Sorrentino's permission, revised the text to make it more suitable for presentation in that city is not named,<ref>Rosand 1991, p. 157.</ref> but may have been Aurelio Aureli<ref name=Walker/> or Balbi.<ref name=Fabris2007/> The opera was revived again in 1665 in Venice with additional music by Andrea Mattioli.<ref name=Walker/><ref name=Robinson2001/> Manuscript scores of the 1654 and 1665 versions survive.<ref name=Walker/>

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'' in 1655 and a revival of ''Giasone'' in 1666.<ref>Rosand 1991, p. 160.</ref> In modern times, René Jacobs used it for his 1985 recording of Cavalli's ''Xerse'' (for which the music of the original prologue has not been found).<ref>Lionel Salter, [https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/32256/page/98 Review of Cavalli's ''Xerse'' conducted by René Jacobs], ''Gramophone'', October 1985, pp. 540, 543.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

'''Sources''' * Alm, Irene (2001), "Balbi, Giovan Battista", in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians''. London: Macmillan. * Bossi, Adolfo (2007). [https://www.comune.crema.cr.it/sites/default/files/insula_fulcheria_2007_5_a-a.bossi_francesco_cavalli.pdf "Francesco Cavalli"], [https://www.comune.crema.cr.it/museo-civico-crema-del-cremasco/insula-fulcheria ''Insula Fulcheria''], p. 112. * Fabris, Dinko (2007). ''Music in Seventeenth-Century Naples: Francesco Provenzale (1624–1704)''. Aldershot, England; Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate Publishing. {{ISBN|0754637212}}. * 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. * {{Cite journal|author = Palmisciano, Vincenzo|title = Sulla biografia di Giulio Cesare Sorrentino|journal = Studi secenteschi|volume = LXI (2020)|pages = 295–298}} * {{Cite journal|author = Palmisciano, Vincenzo|title = Un ritrovamento per Domenico Basile e due per Girolamo Fontanella|journal = Studi secenteschi|volume = LVI (2015)|pages = 417–420}} * Robinson, Michael F.; Fabris, Dinko (2001). "Provenzale, Francesco", in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians''. London: Macmillan. * Rosand, Ellen (1991). ''Opera in Seventeenth-Century Venice''. Berkeley: University of California Press. {{ISBN|0520068084}} * Walker, Thomas (1992). "Cavalli, Francesco", vol. 1, pp. 783–789, in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', four volumes, edited by Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan.

== External links == *[https://operabaroque.fr/CAVALLI_CIRO.htm ''Il Ciro''] at the Opéra Baroque website *[https://www.loc.gov/resource/music.musschatz-19825/?sp=2&st=gallery Libretto (Library of Congress)]

Category:Operas Category:Operas by Francesco Cavalli Category:1654 operas Category:Operas set in Iran Category:Italian-language operas