Par CAVALLI FRANCESCO. In 1662, Cavalli’s career was at its zenith. The two dozen operas he had written for Venice had helped establish Venice as the world’s first operatic superpower. “Scipione Affricano” (Venice 1664), Cavalli’s first opera after returning from France, was one of his most successful compositions. In a period that valued new works over familiar ones, “Scipione” was one of a handful of operas to live on after its premiere season: it was revived eight times and chosen to inaugurate Rome’s Teatro Tordinona in 1671. Cavalli’s librettist, Nicolò Minato, was inspired by historical accounts of the life of the Roman general Scipio, whose defeat of Carthage in 202 BCE earned him the honorary agnomen “Africanus.” In setting Minato’s libretto, Cavalli drew upon the lyrical gifts that have made operas like “La Calisto” and “Giasone” so popular today. But at the same time “Scipione Affricano” also shows the composer embracing aspects of his two years in France, and responding to musical changes that, in the 1660s, were rapidly altering the face of Italian opera: the growing dominance of arias, a clearer sense of aria organization, and increased interplay between voice and instruments. The first goal of this edition is a practical one: to develop a version of the opera suited to the needs of both professional and student performers. A second goal is to reconstruct the opera’s complete performance history. An amply documented appendix reconstructs earlier versions of 21 arias. Other appendices print the surviving additional music from revivals in Rome and Venice. The edition is framed by a substantial Introduction, covering the drama, the musical style, the composition, premiere, and revivals, and a guide for performance today, plus a detailed “decoding” of the sources. - series Francesco Cavalli – Opere / Date parution : 2022-11-08/ Répertoire / Opéra

Opera In Three Acts. Par SAINT-SAENS CAMILLE. Today, 'Samson et Dalila? is undoubtedly one of the best-known of Camille Saint-Saëns's thirteen operas, being more present in the repertoire of international stages than most other French 19th century compositions. During Saint-Saëns's lifetime, the opera was already regarded as the pinnacle of his dramatic stage works. The fact that the work's genesis and first performances nonetheless posed substantial difficulties is shown in this edition by Andreas Jacob and Fabien Guilloux (libretto edition). A detailed recount of this complex history, based on meticulous comparisons of all libretti and other musical sources, is the great merit of this critical edition. The edition contains the full score, edited versions of both original libretti, a historical Foreword (Fr/En/Ger), a Critical Commentary (Eng), facsimile pages of 'Livret de mise-en-scène? from the first Paris production, and a musical appendix containing the 'Air de Ballet? (which was inserted before the Bacchanale in act 3 for performances at the Paris Opéra). The underlaid text in the score is presented in two languages and contains the libretto text by Ferdinand Lemaire as well as the text of the Weimar premiere by Richard Pohl (1877), a performance that was initiated by Franz Liszt./ Répertoire / Chant et Orchestre

Monteverdi’s opera “L’Orfeo”, based on the legend of Thracian singer Orpheus and his love of Eurydice, is a masterpiece of musical declamation and ornamentation. It was first performed during the 1607 carnevale in the “Palazzo Ducale” in Mantua. When an edition remains true to its sources, this certainly does not mean that it is not also practical to use, as is demonstrated in this Bärenreiter edition of Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo”. Edited by Rinaldo Alessandrini, the new publication follows the Bärenreiter edition of Monteverdi’s “Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria”. Two contemporary prints of “L’Orfeo” from the years 1609 and 1615 have been passed down to us. Four copies of each of these prints still survive today in public libraries. The later print includes many corrections to the earlier edition and was accordingly used as the primary source for this Bärenreiter edition. However, when solving musical problems the editor frequently follows the more coherent style of the earlier print. The numerous interesting variants, not only between the two editions but also amongst the eight surviving copies, are listed in the critical commentary. This edition of “L’Orfeo” offers in addition to Monteverdi’s somewhat sparse original figures also figures added to the bass line by the editor. The continuo player should, however, feel free to follow his own judgment. The notation has been, when necessary, adapted to suit modern practice, for example with regard to the clefs. The sections that were originally written in “chiavetta” have been transposed a fifth lower. In the appendix these sections also appear in their original notation in facsimile as well as transposed a fourth lower. - Detailed introduction by the editor (Ital/Eng/Ger) on the work’s genesis and performance practice - Comprehensive critical commentary (Eng) in the score - Idiomatic piano reduction Edition no.: BA 8793-90 ISMN: 9790006533121 Composer / Author: Monteverdi, Claudio Title: L'Orfeo Favola in musica in one prologue and five acts Detailed instrumentation: Soprano solo (7), Tenor solo (4), Bass solo (3), Mixed choir: SSATTB, Male choir: TTBBB, Orchestra Librettist: Striggio, Alessandro (junior) Editor: Alessandrini, Rinaldo Foreword / Introduction: Alessandrini, Rinaldo Product format: Piano reduction, Urtext edition Language(s) of work: Italian Language(s) of text: German, Italian, English Publisher: Bärenreiter Binding: Paperback Print run: 1st printing 2012 Pages / Format: XIV, 143 S. - 27,0 x 19,0 cm Weight: 428 g

Cavalli, Francesco La Calisto Dramma per musica in three acts Urtext from Francesco Cavalli - Opere Edition no. TP 891 ISMN 9790006205356 ?La Calisto? received its first performance in Venice in 1651 but only really achieved its breakthrough in the 20th century. It is one of Cavalli?s most frequently-performed operas today. The reason for this success may have been the late acknowledgement of its masterly dramatic and musical structure. The musical text is not presented in the usual small study score format, but in the vocal score format (19 x 27 cm). This results in an optimal and well-presented layout of the work. The study score is ideal for analysis as well as for rehearsing the vocal parts. - Reduced-size full score based on the first volume of the new Bärenreiter series, ?Francesco Cavalli ? Opere? - Reflects the latest state of research - Foreword (Eng) by the editor - English translation of the libretto included separately (not singable) - Practical for study and rehearsing the vocal parts