Ercole su'l Termodonte

Ercole su'l Termodonte
Dramma per musica by Antonio Vivaldi
Probable portrait of Antonio Vivaldi, c. 1723
Librettist	Antonio Salvi
Language	Italian
Premiere	23 January 1723 (1723-01-23) Teatro Capranica, Rome

Ercole su'l Termodonte (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɛrkole sul termoˈdonte]; Hercules in Thermodon) is a baroque Italian opera in three acts. In 1723, it became the sixteenth opera set to music by Antonio Vivaldi. Its catalogue number is RV 710. The libretto was written by Antonio Salvi (not Giacomo Francesco Bussani as previously misattributed).^[1] The opera was premiered on 23 January 1723 in Rome's Teatro Capranica.^[2] Due to a papal edict preventing women from appearing onstage in Rome, it premiered with castrati singing all the female roles.^[1] Vivaldi was both conductor and violin soloist.

Although the score was believed to have been lost, 30 arias and 2 duets were discovered in several archives, and the rest of the opera was reconstructed by Alessandro Ciccolini.

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Transcription

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere cast,^[2] 1723 (Conductor: Antonio Vivaldi )
Hercules (Ercole)	tenor	Giovanni Battista Pinacci
Antiope, Queen of the Amazons	mezzo-soprano castrato (en travesti)	Giovanni Ossi
Martesia,Antiope's daughter	soprano castrato (en travesti)	Girolamo Bartoluzzi
Hippolyte, Antiope's sister	soprano castrato (en travesti)	Giacinto Fontana, "Farfallino"
Orizia, Antiope's second sister	soprano castrato (en travesti)	Giovanni "Tedeschino" Dreyer
Theseus, prince of Athens	contralto castrato	Giovanni Battista Minelli
Alceste, king of Sparta	soprano castrato	Giovanni Carestini
Telamone, king of Ithaca	contralto castrato	Giuseppe Domenico Galletti

Synopsis

The story is based on the ninth of twelve legendary Labors of Hercules. To atone for killing his children in wrath, Hercules must perform twelve labors, the ninth of which is to travel to Thermodon and capture the sword of the Amazon Queen Antiope. (In other versions of the story, the quest was for her magical girdle.) The Amazons were a tribe of female warriors who put all their male children to death.

Hercules, accompanied by the heroes Theseus, Telamon and Alceste, attacks the Amazons and captures Martesia, daughter of the queen. The Amazons then capture Theseus and, as soon as Queen Antiope swears to sacrifice him, Hippolyte falls in love with him. In the end, the goddess Diana decrees the marriage of Hippolyte with Theseus, prince of Athens, and of Martesia with Alceste, king of Sparta.

Recordings

DVD: (Spoleto Festival 2006 - 2007) Vivaldi - Ercole su'l Termodonte / Il Complesso Barocco, conductor: Alan Curtis. Performers: Zachary Stains, Mary-Ellen Nesi, Laura Cherici, Luca Dordolo, Marina Bartoli, Randall Scotting, Filippo Mineccia / Il Complesso Barocco, conductor: Alan Curtis, director: John Pascoe. Dynamic, Italy.
CD: (2010) Vivaldi - Ercole su'l Termodonte / conductor: Fabio Biondi. With Vivica Genaux, Diana Damrau, Patrizia Ciofi, Joyce DiDonato, Romina Basso, Philippe Jaroussky, Rolando Villazón, Topi Lehtipuu. Virgin Classics. Recorded January 2009 in Florence, Italy.

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b Vitali, 2007
^ ^a ^b italianopera.org, accessed 16 December 2010

Sources

Talbot, Michael, Vivaldi and Rome: Observations and Hypotheses, Journal of the Royal Musical Association, Vol. 113, No. 1, 1988, 28–46.
Vitali, Carlo, Biondi's Labors Won, or Unearthing the Lost Vivaldi, Opera Today, 22 Oct 2007 (accessible online).

External links

Biondi's Labors Won, or Unearthing the Lost Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi

Operas

Ottone in villa (1713)
Orlando furioso (RV 819) (1714)
Orlando finto pazzo (1714)
Nerone fatto Cesare (1715)
La costanza trionfante degl'amori e de gl'odii (1716)
Arsilda, regina di Ponto (1716)
L'incoronazione di Dario (1717)
Tieteberga (1717)
Armida al campo d'Egitto (1718)
Scanderbeg (1718)
Teuzzone (1718)
Tito Manlio (1719)
La verità in cimento (1720)
La Silvia (1721)
Ercole su'l Termodonte (1723)
Giustino (1724)
Dorilla in Tempe (1726)
Farnace (1727)
Orlando furioso (RV 728) (1727)
Atenaide (1728)
Argippo (1730)
Alvilda regina de' Goti (1731)
Semiramide (1732)
La fida ninfa (1732)
Motezuma (1733)
L'Olimpiade (1734)
Bajazet (1735)
Griselda (1735)
L'oracolo in Messenia (1737)

Sacred music

Works with Op.

Twelve Trio Sonatas, Op. 1 (1705)
Twelve Trio Sonatas, Op. 2 (1709)
L'estro armonico, Op. 3 (1711)
La stravaganza, Op. 4 (1714)
Six Violin Sonatas, Op. 5 (1716)
Six Violin Concertos, Op. 6 (1716–1721)
Twelve Concertos, Op. 7 (1716–1717)
Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione, Op. 8
- 1723, includes Le quattro stagioni
Mandolin Concerto, RV 425 (1725)
La cetra, Op. 9 (1727)
Concerto alla rustica for string orchestra (c. 1725–1730)
Six Flute Concertos, Op. 10 (1728)
Six Concertos, Op. 11 (1729)
Six Violin Concertos, Op. 12 (1729)
Grosso mogul, RV 208 (early violin concerto)
Flute Concerto Il gran mogol, RV 431a (c. 1730)
Lute Concerto, RV 93 (1730s)
Concerto in C major, RV 559

Other

Namesakes

Category

Hercules (Heracles)

Hercle
Ercole
Hercule
Alcide

Family

Zeus (father)
Alcmene (mother)
Megara, Omphale, Deianira, and Hebe (wives)
Heracleidae (children)

Events

Literature

Poems	Heracles Papyrus Shield of Heracles Catalogue of Women L'Atlàntida
Plays	Herakles Women of Trachis Hercules Furens Hercules Oetaeus
Other	The Labours of Hercules Hercules and the Wagoner

Art

Hercules and the lion of Nemea (5th century BCE)
Hercules of the Forum Boarium (2nd century BCE)
Lansdowne Heracles (c. 125)
Statue of Hercules, Dura-Europos (c. 150–256)
Farnese Hercules (216)
Hercules slaying Antaeus (c. 1460)
Hercules and Deianira (c. 1470)
Hercules and the Hydra (c. 1475)
Hercules Killing the Stymphalian Birds (1500)
Hercules and Antaeus (c. 1500–1510)
The Choice of Hercules (c. 1520–1525)
Hercules and Antaeus (1531)
Hercules and Cacus (1534)
The Origin of the Milky Way (1575–1580)
The Choice of Hercules (1596)
Hercules and Omphale (1603)
Hercules Fighting the Nemean Lion (1634)
Hercules and the Hydra (1634)
Hercules Separates Mounts Calpe and Abylla (1634)
The Death of Hercules (1634)
Hercules's Dog Discovers Purple Dye (1636)
The Origin of the Milky Way (1637)
Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides (1638)
Landscape with Hercules and Cacus (c. 1660)
Hercules and Omphale (1732–1734)
Libertas Americana (1783)
The Sanctuary of Hercules (1884)
Hercules the Archer (1909)
Achelous and Hercules (1947)
The Twelve Labors of Hercules (1981)
The Labors of Herakles (2006–2008)
Hercules and the Erymanthian Boar
Hercules and the Nemean Lion

Opera

Ercole amante (1662)
Alcide (1693)
Ercole su'l Termodonte (1723)
Admeto (1727)
Laßt uns sorgen, laßt uns wachen, BWV 213 (1733)
Hercules (1744)
Le nozze d'Ercole e d'Ebe (1747)
The Choice of Hercules (1750)
Hercule mourant (1761)
Le Rouet d'Omphale (1871)
Déjanire (1911)
Atlántida (1962)
Hercules vs. Vampires (2010)

Films

Italian series	Hercules (1957) Hercules Unchained (1959) Goliath and the Dragon (1960) The Loves of Hercules (1960) Hercules and the Conquest of Atlantis (1961) Hercules in the Haunted World (1961) Hercules in the Valley of Woe (1961) The Fury of Hercules (1962) Hercules, Samson and Ulysses (1963) Hercules vs. Moloch (1963) Hercules the Invincible (1964) Hercules Against Rome (1964) Hercules Against the Sons of the Sun (1964) The Triumph of Hercules (1964) Samson and His Mighty Challenge (1964) Hercules and the Tyrants of Babylon (1964) Hercules and the Princess of Troy (1965) Hercules the Avenger (1965)
Other European live-action	Herakles (1962) Hercules Against the Moon Men (1964)
American films live-action	The Warrior's Husband (1933) The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962) Jason and the Argonauts (1963) Hercules in New York (1970) Hercules (1983) The Adventures of Hercules (1985) Jason and the Argonauts (2000) Immortals (2011) The Legend of Hercules (2014) Hercules (2014)
Animated films	Hercules (1995) Hercules (1997) Hercules: Zero to Hero (1998) Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus (1998)