Ciro in Babilonia

Ciro in Babilonia, ossia La caduta di Baldassare (Cyrus in Babylon, or The Downfall of Belshazzar) is an azione sacra in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Francesco Aventi. It was first performed at the Teatro Comunale in Ferrara during Lent, 1812. The exact date of the premiere is unknown but is believed to be 14 March. During Lent it was the custom for Italian opera houses either to close or to stage works on themes from the Bible. Ciro in Babilonia is one of two Lenten operas by Rossini (along with Mosè in Egitto) and is based on the Biblical story of the overthrow of the Babylonian king Belshazzar by the Persian ruler Cyrus the Great.

Ciro in Babilonia
Azione sacra by Gioachino Rossini
Set design by Alessandro Sanquirico at La Scala, 1818
LibrettistFrancesco Aventi
LanguageItalian
Premiere
14 March 1812 (1812-03-14)
Teatro Comunale, Ferrara

Performance history

In a concert form, the work's UK premiere took place on 30 January 1823 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London.[1] The quasi-opera premiered in the United States on 7 July 2012 at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts as part of the Festival, starring contralto Ewa Podleś in the title role, tenor Michael Spyres as Baldassare (Belshazzar), and soprano Jessica Pratt as Amira, with Will Crutchfield conducting. Performances with the same principal singers opened in a more elaborate staging on 10 August 2012 at the Rossini Festival in Pesaro. [2]

Roles
Role Voice type Premiere Cast, 14 (?) March 1812[3]
(Conductor: – )
Baldassare, King of Assyria tenor Eliodoro Bianchi
Ciro, King of Persia contralto Marietta Marcolini
Amira, wife of Ciro, imprisoned by Baldassare soprano Elisabetta Manfredini-Guarmani
Argene, confidant of Amira mezzo-soprano Anna Savinelli
Zambri, Babylonian prince bass Giovanni Layner
Arbace, captain in Baldassare's army tenor Francesco Savinelli
Daniello, prophet bass Giovanni Fraschi

Synopsis
Time: 539 B.C.
Place: Babylon[4]

Recordings
Year Cast:
Baldassare, Ciro, Amira, Argene		 Conductor,
Opera House and Orchestra		 Label [5]
1988 Ernesto Palacio,
Caterina Calvi,
Daniela Dessi,
Oriana Ferraris		 Carlo Rizzi,
Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo and Coro Francesco Cilea di Reggio
(Recording of a performance in the Teatro Chiabrera, Savona, 30 October)		 Audio CD: Hunt, Cat: 105;
Arkadia, Cat: CDAK 105.2;
Celestial Audio, Cat: CA 502

[6]

2004 Riccardo Botta,
Annarita Gemmabella,
Luisa Islam-Ali-Zade,
Maria Soulis		 Antonino Fogliani,
Württembergische Philharmonie Orchestra and ARS Brunensis Chamber Choir
(Recorded at 3 performances at the Rossini in Wildbad Festival, July)		 Audio CD: Naxos Records
Cat: 8.660203/4
2008 Cyril Auvity,
Nora Gubisch,
Elena de la Merced,
Sophie Daneman		 Jean-Claude Malgoire,
La Grande Écurie et La Chambre du Roy and Choeur de Chambre de Namur
(Recording of a concert performance in the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, 12 January)		 Audio CD: Premiere Opera
Cat: ??
2012 Michael Spyres,
Ewa Podleś,
Jessica Pratt,
Carmen Romeu		 Will Crutchfield,
Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna,
(Recording of a performance at the Rossini Festival in Pesaro, August)		 DVD: Opus Arte,
Cat: OA1108D
Blu-ray: Cat OABD7123D

References

Notes

  1. Gossett and Brauner 2001, p. 768
  2. Mike Silverman, "Review: US premiere for Rossini opera at Caramoor", San Francisco Chronicle, 9 July 2012 online at sfgate.com. Retrieved 10 July 2012
  3. Casaglia, Gherardo (2005)."Ciro in Babilonia". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  4. Osborne, Charles 1996, p. 16
  5. Recordings of Ciro in Babilonia on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
  6. "Gioacchino Rossini: Ciro in Babilonia". Recording details and review (in French) on concertonet.com 9 December 2013

Sources

  • Gossett, Philip; Brauner, Patricia (2001), "Ciro in Babilonia", in Holden, Amanda (ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam. ISBN 0-14-029312-4
  • Osborne, Charles (1994), The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0-931340-71-3
  • Osborne, Richard (1998), "Ciro in Babilonia", in Stanley Sadie (Ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol. One, p. 873. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-333-73432-7 ISBN 1-56159-228-5
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