Emilio de’ Cavalieri Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo (Portrayal of the Soul and the Body) opera to libretto by Agostino Manni. First performed in 1600, Cavalieri believed this to be the first opera. Directed 2021 by Robert Carson at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria. Stars Georg Nigl (Time/The World/Damned Soul), Cyril Auvity (Intellect), Anett Fritsch (The Soul), Daniel Schmutzhard (The Body), Florian Boesch (Councilor), Margherita Maria Sala (Peace), Michal Marhold and Matus Simko (Companions of Peace), Carlo Vistoli (Guardian Angel), Giuseppina Bridelli (Mundane Life/Blessed Soul). Giovanni Antonini conducts the Arnold Schoenberg and Il Giardino Armonico. Sets by Robert Carson and Luis Carvalho; costumes by Luis Carvalho; lighting by Robert Carsen and Peter van Praet; choreography by Lonera Randi; dramaturgy by Ian Burton. Directed for TV by Paul Landsmann and Peter Landsmann. Sung in Italian. Released 2023, disc has stereo sound only. Grade: NA
Experts today argue whether Cavalieri wrote an oratorio or an opera. And if it’s an opera, was he the the first as he claimed? Well, he was for sure around at the beginning. The music is available in CDs. There are a surprisingly large number of streamed videos of this music on YouTube and other Internet providers including what appears to be a full version of the music by Il Giardino Armonico. But Carsen is the first to produce a video of this music performed as an opera published in Blu-ray for home theaters. The musical forces involved for this are modest, so we cover this even though there is no surround sound.
As mentioned, there are many streamed videos of Rappresentatione music on the Internet. But I find nothing streamed that clearly comes from this Carsen staged production. Gramophone named this its “Blu-ray of the Month“ for June 2023. If you have any special interest in early music, I’m confident you will find this Naxos production worthwhile.
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