Ormindo

Francesco Cavalli
Operas Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo (1639) Gli amori d'Apollo e di Dafne (1640) La Didone (1641) La virtù dei strali d'Amore (1642) Egisto (1643) L'Ormindo (1644) Doriclea (1645) Il Giasone (1649) Orimonte (1650) Oristeo (1651) La Calisto (1652) Eritrea (1652) Veremonda (1652) Rosinda (1653) Orione (1653) Ciro (1654) Xerse (1655) Statira principessa di Persia (1655) Erismena (1655) Artemisia (1657) Hipermestra (1658) Elena (1659) Ercole amante (1662) Scipione affricano (1664) Mutio Scevola (1665) Pompeo Magno (1666) Eliogabalo (1667)
v · d · e

Ormindo (L'Ormindo) is an opera in three acts and a Prologue by Francesco Cavalli to an original Italian libretto by Giovanni Faustini. The manuscript score and libretto, which describes the work as a favola dramatica musicale, are held at the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice. The opera has set numbers with recitative, and is set in Fez in the ancient Kingdom of Mauretania.

Performance history

Ormindo was first performed at the Teatro San Cassiano, Venice, 1644. It is now rarely staged. It was arranged by Raymond Leppard for performance at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1967, and this was probably the first time Ormindo had been performed since 1644. The work received its American premiere in 1968 in a performance at the Juilliard School supervised by Leppard. A recent performance was by the Pittsburgh Opera in February, 2007, using a new performing edition by Peter Foster. It was conducted by Bernard McDonald and directed by Chas Rader-Shieber. Peter Foster's edition was also used by The Harvard Early Music Society in its November, 2008 performance of the work, conducted by Matthew Hall and directed by Roy Kimmey. The Baylor University School of Music performed the work in English on November 21-22, 2008 under the direction of Dr. Michael Johnson with conductor Dr. Andrew Hudson. It was performed by Pinchgut Opera of Sydney in December 2009.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 1644 (Conductor: - )
Amida, Prince of Tremisene	tenor
Amore (Cupid)	soprano
Custode	tenor
Erice, Sicle's nurse	tenor
Erisbe, the wife of Hariadeno	soprano
Hariadeno, King of Mauretania	bass
Il Destino (Destiny)	tenor
L'Armonia (Harmony)	soprano
La Fortuna (Fortune)	mezzo-soprano
Melide, Sicle's lady-in-waiting	soprano
Mirinda, Erisbe's confidante	soprano
Nerillo, Amida's page	mezzo-soprano
Ormindo, Prince of Tunis	alto
Osman, King Hariadeno's captain	tenor
Sicle, Princess of Susio (Scotland)	soprano
Messo (Messenger)	mezzo-soprano
The Winds, Ormindo's soldiers, Amida's soldiers, Mauritanian soldiers, Erisbe's ladies-in-waiting

Synopsis

Setting: Fez in the ancient Kingdom of Mauretania.

The foreign princes, Amida and Ormindo, who are assisting in the defense of Mauretania, are both in love with Erisbe who is unhappily married to Hariadeno, Mauretania's elderly king. The princes agree to remain friends while they test her love. During the course of the opera, there is much plotting by Amore, Princess Sicle (Amida's abandoned lover) and Erice (Sicle's nurse) to interfere with the contest. Erice stages a séance to communicate with the 'dead' Sicle who reproaches Amida for his inconstancy which had driven her to suicide. Amida, overcome with remorse, realizes that he still loves Princess Sicle and is overjoyed when it is revealed that she is actually alive and not a ghost. Meanwhile, Erisbe and Ormindo decide to elope to Tunis, where Ormindo must defend his homeland from attack. When King Hariadeno discovers their adultery, he orders his captain, Osmano, to have them poisoned. However, Osmano substitutes a sleeping potion for the poison at the urging of Mirinda (Erisbe's confidante) who has promised to marry him if he spares the lovers. All ends more or less happily when the King learns that Ormindo is actually his son from a youthful liaison. He forgives everyone and cedes his kingdom to Ormindo.

Recordings

Complete

• Cavalli: L'Ormindo (John Wakefield, tenor; Peter-Christoph Runge, baritone; Hanneke van Bork, soprano; Anne Howells, mezzo-soprano; Federico Davia, bass; London Philharmonic Orchestra; Raymond Leppard, conductor). Recorded at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera House. Label: Decca.
• Cavalli: L'Ormindo (Howard Crook, tenor; Dominique Visse, countertenor; Sandrine Piau, soprano; Martin Oro, countertenor; Les Paladins, ensemble; Jerome Correas, harpsichord and conductor). Label: Pan Classics.

Excerpts

• Cavalli: Arias and Duets from Didone, Egisto, Ormindo, Giasone and Callisto (Mario Cecchetti, tenor; Rosita Frisani, soprano; Gloria Banditelli, mezzo-soprano; Mediterraneo Concento, ensemble; Sergio Vartolo, conductor). Label: Naxos.

References

Sources

• Glynias, Marissa A., "Hargis Broaches Baroque Opera", The Harvard Crimson, November 7, 2008. Accessed 12 November 2008.
• Henahan, Donal, "Opera: L'Ormindo", New York Times, August 20, 1982. Accessed 12 November 2008.
• McDonald, Bernard. "Cavalli's Ormindo: Tonality and Sexuality in Seventeenth-Century Venice." MMus thesis, University of Glasgow, 2010.[1]
• Pittsburgh Opera, Program notes for the company's 2007 performance. Accessed 12 November 2008.
• Vartolo, Sergio, Liner notes for Cavalli: Arias and Duets from Didone, Egisto, Ormindo, Giasone and Callisto, Naxos Records. Accessed 12 November 2008.