Ercole amante (Bembo)

This article is about the opera by Antonia Bembo. For the Cavalli opera of the same name, see Ercole amante.
Ercole amante
by Antonia Bembo
Portrait of Henry IV of France as Hercules
TranslationHercules in Love
LibrettistFrancesco Buti
LanguageItalian
Based on
Premiere
26 May 2023 (2023-05-26)
Liederhalle, Stuttgart

Ercole amante (Hercules in Love) is an 18th-century Italian-language opera in five acts.[1] It was composed in France in 1707 by Antonia Bembo with a libretto by Francesco Buti.[2] Bembo reused Buti's libretto from Francesco Cavalli's 1662 opera of the same name.[2] The libretto is based on stories of Hercules from Sophocles's Women of Trachis, Ovid's Metamorphoses, Pseudo-Apollodorus's Bibliotheca, and Seneca's Hercules Oetaeus.[3]

The opera was first performed in Stuttgart in 2023 in a concert version.[4] Ars Minerva plans to give the first staged performance in San Francisco in November 2025.[5] The Paris Opera is scheduled to perform Ercole in May 2026.[6]

Synopsis

Setting: Mythological ancient Greece

Act I

Ercole (Hercules) has defeated the Kingdom of Oechalia and killed its ruler, Eutyro. Ercole loves Eutyro's daughter Iole, but she is betrothed to Ercole's son Hyllo. Venere (Venus), goddess of love, arrives with the Graces and decides to help Ercole win Iole by casting a spell on her. Hearing of Venere's work, the goddess Giunone (Juno) decides to thwart Venere and Ercole.

Act II

The lovers Hyllo and Iole learn of Ercole's interest in her. Giunone sings that she will stop Venere. Pasithea, one of the Graces, goes to the cave of Sleep to seek his help in Venere's plans.

Act III

Ercole is in a deep slumber. Iole moves to kill Ercole, seeking to avenge her father. Ercole is awakened by the god Mercurio (Mercury). Ercole believes Hyllo was trying to kill him and wants his son dead. Dejanira, Ercole's wife, pleads for their son. Iole promises she will accept Ercole if he will spare Hyllo. Ercole exiles his wife and orders Hyllo confined to a tower overlooking the ocean.

Act IV

Hyllo jumps from his tower into the sea intending suicide. But Giunone calls upon Nettuno (Neptune), god of the sea, to save Hyllo. Iole and Dejanira do not know of the gods' intervention and believe Hyllo dead. They go to the grave of Iole's father. Eutyro's ghost appears, warning Iole she should not marry Ercole. Venere continues her schemes by creating an enchanted chair. When Iole sits in it, she feels affection for Ercole.

Act V

In Hades, Eutyro and the other victims of Ercole sing. Licco, a servant of Dejanira, plots to disrupt the wedding. At Licco's behest, Iole offers Ercole a shirt soaked in the blood of the centaur Nessus, who Ercole had killed. Ercole is poisoned by the shirt and dies. Giunone appears, triumphant, with Hyllo. He reunites with Iole. Ercole ascends to Heaven and marries Beauty.[7][8][9]

Composition

Antonia Bembo was born in the Republic of Venice circa 1640.[10] She had voice lessons from Francesco Cavalli in Venice in the 1750s and may also have studied composition under him.[11][12] Around 1676, she fled Venice to escape an abusive marriage and settled in Paris.[13] King Louis XIV heard her sing and awarded a pension.[13] She lived at the convent at the Church of Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle.[14]

Bembo's surviving works date from the 1690s and 1700s.[13] "Bembo's compositions sometimes sound thoroughly French, at other times purely Italian. Not infrequently, she deploys both styles in one work and even tries to merge them."[15] In this Bembo was like her contemporaries Paolo Lorenzani and Theobaldo di Gatti–two other Italian musicians working in Paris under the patronage of Louis XIV.[16]

In 1707, she completed her new version of Ercole amante, using Francesco Buti's libretto from Cavalli's 1662 opera of the same name.[2] It had been commissioned by Cardinal Mazarin to celebrate Louis XIV's marriage (June 9, 1660) to Maria Theresa of Spain, but the death of Mazarin (March 9, 1661) and delays in constructing a new theater (Théâtre des Tuileries) meant Cavalli's opera was not performed until February 1662.[17] Buti's libretto was available to Bembo as it had been published the year of its premiere by the king's music publishers, the Ballard firm, with the Italian lyrics and a French translation on facing pages.[18] Forty-five years later, Bembo dedicated her version to Louis XIV–Marie Theresa had died in 1683–who had been referred to as the "Hercule Gaulois" ("the French Hercules").[19][20]

It was not common to recycle a libretto that old for a work written in a new style and unknown why it was written, since operas at the time were usually commissioned.[21] Bembo's style in Ercole is French in form with its dances and chorus but is set in an Italian style akin to Jean-Baptiste Lully, the leading Italian composer in France in the late Seventeenth Century, and André Campra, Lully's successor in that role.[16][22] There is no evidence that the opera was performed at the time,[16] although one scholar has stated the work was performed before Louis XIV in 1707.[23] Yvonne Rokseth attributed the lack of a staging to a change in musical tastes in France, Italian-style works like Bembo's having fallen out of favor.[24]

The holographic score is held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France, having been acquired by the library in the 1930s.[2] That score was brought to public attention in 1937 with Rokseth's article on Bembo in The Musical Quarterly.[25][26]

Performances

Il Gusto Barocco premiered Ercole in a concert version on May 23, 2023, at the Liederhalle in Stuttgart.[27] Jörg Halubek conducted the performance from the harpsichord and Yannick Debus sang the title role.[27] A critic wrote of the premiere: "This is a mature work–the artist was born in the 1640s–whose style combines Italian and French influences around a Mannerist poetry with a somewhat tangled plot, including a magic seat and a poisoned tunic. The musical line is quite flattering, sometimes as disconcerting as it is daring. It is necessarily moving to hear a work resonate for the very first time more than three hundred years after its composition."[27] Another review was critical of the "copious and detrimental cuts" made by Halubek:

Recitatives are shortened ruthlessly to less than their bare bones. The entire excision of Juno asking Pasithea and her husband Somnus if she may borrow his rod (so that the dangerously randy Hercules can be lulled asleep) means that the alluring preceding music for Pasithea and her retinue . . . becomes isolated from its purpose. Act 5 scene 1 is an ombra tour de force that should have four of Hercules’ victims in hell taking turns to exult at impending vengeance, but it is shredded down to merely a sliver for one spectral gloater.

[28]

Classic Produktion Osnabrück released the Stuttgart performance on compact disc on May 22, 2025.[29]

Il Gusto Barocco again performed the opera in a concert version during the Early Music Days festival in Herne on November 11, 2023.[30][31] Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln broadcast the concert live.[32]

Ars Minerva, an opera company that specializes in rarely performed works, will perform Ercole in San Francisco in November 2025.[33] It will star Zachary Gordin, Aura Veruni, Kindra Scharich, Maxwell Ary, and Sara Coudin; Céline Ricci is to direct the production and Matthew Dirst will conduct the music.[33] The Paris Opera with Capella Mediterranea is scheduled to perform the opera in May 2026 at the Opéra Bastille.[34] Leonardo García-Alarcón is to conduct and Andreas Wolf is to sing the title role.[35]

Two arias from Ercole–"Mingannasti in verità" and "Volgete altrove il guardo"–were sung by Mariana Flores at a BBC Proms concert at Cadogan Hall on July 29, 2019.[36]

Roles

Roles, voice types, 2023 Stuttgart, 2025 San Francisco, 2026 Paris
Role Voice type 2023 concert premiere, Stuttgart
Conductor: Jörg Halubek[37] 		2025, Ars Minerva, San Francisco
Conductor: Matthew Dirst[38] 		2026, Paris Opera
Conductor:Leonardo García-Alarcón[35]
Ercole (Hercules) bass Yannick Debus Zachary Gordin Andreas Wolf
Dejanira, wife of Ercole alto Alena Dantcheva Kindra Scharich Deepa Johnny
Iole, daughter of King Eutyro soprano Anita Rosati Lila Khazoum Ana Vieira Leite
Hillo, son of Ercole & Dejanira tenor David Tricou Max Ary Alasdair Kent
Pasithea, one of the Graces soprano Chelsea Zurflü Teona Todua
Giunone (Juno), goddess soprano Flore Van Meersche Aura Veruni Julie Fuchs
Venere (Venus), goddess of love soprano Chelsea Zurflü Melissa Sondhi Sandrine Piau
Licco, servant of Dejanira tenor Andrès Montilla-Acurero Marcel Beekman
Nettuno (Neptune), god of the sea baritone Hans Porten Alex Rosen
Ghost of King Eutyro baritone Hans Porten Alex Rosen

See also

References

  1. ^ Laini, Marinella (1994). "Antonia Bembo". In Sadie, Stanley (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Vol. 1. London: Macmillan. p. 399. ISBN 0935859926.
  2. ^ a b c d Laini 1994, p. 399.
  3. ^ Fontijn, Claire A. (2006). Desperate Measures: The Life and Music of Antonia Padoani Bembo. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 243. ISBN 9780195350555. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  4. ^ Bracq, Tania (June 1, 2023). "Antonia Bembo, le «gusto barocco» entre Brenta et Neckar" [Antonia Bembo, the "baroque taste" between Brenta and Neckar]. Forumopera.com (in French). Brussels: Forumopera.com, A.S.B.L. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  5. ^ Salazar, David (August 23, 2025). "Ars Minerva to Present 'Ercole Amante'". OperaWire. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  6. ^ "Ercole Amante, Opéra National de Paris (2026)". Operabase. Copenhagen: Arts Consolidated, ApS. 2025. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  7. ^ Fontijn 2006, p. 243–244.
  8. ^ Prunières, Henry (1913). L'opera italien en France avant Lulli [Italian Opera in France Before Lully]. Bibliotheque de l'institut francais de Florence (Universite de Grenoble) 1. Ser. Collection d'histoire et de linguistique francaise et italienne comparees ;(t.III) (in French). Paris: Édouard Champion. pp. 282–288. OCLC 2099182.
  9. ^ Nestola, Barbara (December 2007). "Bembo, Antonia: Ercole Amante (opéra italien)". Philidor. Versailles, France: Centre de musique baroque de Versailles.
  10. ^ Gutiérrez, Laury (March 8, 2021). "Antonia Bembo: The Resistant Exile". Tafelmusik. Toronto: Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Chamber Choir. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  11. ^ Fontijn, Claire A.; Laini, Marinella (1994). "Antonia Bembo". In Sadie, Julie Anne; Samuel, Rhian (eds.). The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers. New York: W.W. Norton. pp. 56–57. ISBN 0393034879. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  12. ^ Vlaardingerbroek, Kees (December 10, 2023). "Antonia Padoani Bembo—Composer and Singer between Venice and Paris". The European Conservative. Budapest: European Conservative Nonprofit, Ltd.
  13. ^ a b c Fontijn & Laini 1994, p. 56.
  14. ^ Rokseth, Yvonne (April 1937). "Antonia Bembo, Composer to Louis XIV". The Musical Quarterly. 23 (2). Translated by Reese, Gustave. New York: G. Schirmer: 147–169, at 148. doi:10.1093/mq/XXIII.2.147. ISSN 0027-4631.
  15. ^ Vlaardingerbroek 2023.
  16. ^ a b c Fontijn & Laini 1994, p. 57.
  17. ^ Gastoué, Amédée; Leroquais, Victor; Pirro, André; Expert, Henry; Prunières, Henry (1934). La Musique française du Moyen âge à la Révolution [French Music from the Middle Ages to the Revolution] (in French). Paris: Editions des Bibliothèques nationales de France. pp. 105–106. LCCN 35003171.
  18. ^ Rokseth 1937, p. 158.
  19. ^ Fontijn 2006, p. 241–242.
  20. ^ Nestola 2007.
  21. ^ Jackson, Barbara Garvey (2003). "The Seventeenth Century". In Glickman, Sylvia; Schleifer, Martha Furman (eds.). From Convent to Concert Hall: A Guide to Women Composers. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 73. ISBN 1573564117.
  22. ^ Jackson 2003, p. 73.
  23. ^ Sadie, Julie Anne (1991). "Paris and Versailles". In Sadie, Julie Anne (ed.). Companion to Baroque Music. New York: Schirmer Books. p. 106. ISBN 0028722752.
  24. ^ Rokseth 1937, p. 159.
  25. ^ McVicker, Mary F. (2016). Women Opera Composers: Biographies from the 1500s to the 21st Century. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 24. ISBN 9781476623610. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  26. ^ Rokseth 1937.
  27. ^ a b c Bracq 2023.
  28. ^ Vickers, David (2025). "Bembo: Ercole amante (Halubek)". Gramaphone. London: Mark Allen Group. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  29. ^ JPC (2025). "Antonia Bembo (1640-1720), L'Ercole amante (Oper in 5 Akten)". jpc.de. Georgsmarienhütte, Germany: jpc-Schallplatten-Versandhandelsgesellschaft mbH. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  30. ^ Jens Klier (November 23, 2023). "Pariser Schnittmuster neu entdeckt: Bembos L'Ercole amante von Il Gusto Barocco in Herne". Bachtrack. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  31. ^ Ruel, Chris (September 7, 2023). "WDR 3 Culture Radio Unveils Days of Old Music Herne 2023 Schedule". OperaWire. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  32. ^ Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (11 November 2023). "Amore mit Amour: Antonia Bembos Oper 'L'Ercole amante'" [Love with Love: Antonia Bembo's Opera 'Hercules in Love']. Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (in German). Cologne: Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts.
  33. ^ a b Salazar 2025.
  34. ^ "Ercole amante (Bembo)–Paris Opera house (2026)". Opera Online. Paris: Opera Online, S.A. 2025. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  35. ^ a b Operabase 2025.
  36. ^ "Proms at Cadogan Hall 2: A Celebration of Barbara Strozzi, 13:00, Mon 29 Jul 2019, Cadogan Hall". BBC. London. 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  37. ^ Il Gusto Barocco (2023). "Uraufführung: Antonia Bembo (1640–1720), «L'Ercole amante»" [World Premiere: Antonia Bembo (1640–1720), 'Hercules in Love']. Il Gusto Barocco (in German). Stuttgart. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  38. ^ Ars Minerva (2025). "Ercole Amante–An Opera composed by Antonia Bembo in 1707 on a libretto by Francesco Buti". Ars Minerva. San Francisco. Retrieved August 24, 2025.

Further reading

  • Fontijn, Claire A. (2006b). "Hercules in Love". Desperate Measures: The Life and Music of Antonia Padoani Bembo. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 241–272. ISBN 9780195350555. Detailed analysis of the opera.
  • Solomon, Jon (2024). "Hercules and Opera at the Court of Louis XIV: Ercole amante". In Stafford, Emma (ed.). Hercules Performed: The Hero on Stage from the Enlightenment to the Early Twenty-First Century. Metaforms: Studies in the Reception of Classical Antiquity, vol. 25. Leiden: Brill. pp. 293–310. doi:10.1163/9789004696938_014. ISBN 978-90-04-69575-7. ISSN 2212-9405.
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