Niobe, regina di Tebe is an opera in three acts by Agostino Steffani, premiered at Salvatortheater, the Munich court theatre on 5 January 1688, during the carnival season . It is a tragedy focusing on the Ancient Greek character of Niobe. The libretto is by Luigi Orlandi, after Ovid's Metamorphoses. The score is in the National Library in Vienna. Excerpts have been published in Riemann Ausgewählte Werke iii. Long neglected, the opera was revived at Alice Tully Hall in New York City by the Clarion Music Society in 1977.[1] More recently the work was mounted in Schwetzingen in 2008, in London in 2010, and in Boston in 2011.

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere cast, 5 January 1688

Conductor:-

Niobe, Queen of Thebes, brave but arrogant; punished by the gods for her pride Soprano Unknown
Anfione, King of Thebes; abdicates in favor of his wife Niobe; returns to protect Thebes from attack Soprano Castrato Unknown
Manto, Theban girl, priestess to the goddess Latona; falls in love with Tiberino Soprano Unknown
Tiresia, blind Theban seer and priest of Latona, Manto’s father; warns Niobe that her pride will anger the gods Bass Unknown
Clearte, prince and advisor to Anfione; secretly in love with Niobe Tenor Unknown
Creonte, Thessalonian prince bewitched into helping Poliferno attack Thebes Alto Castrato Unknown
Poliferno, magician; harbors a grudge against Anfione and sets out to overthrow him Bass Unknown
Tiberino, Prince of Alba; dreams of conquering Thebes; falls in love with Manto Tenor Unknown
Nerea, nurse to Niobe; advises the main characters Contralto Unknown

Recordings

Year Cast:
Niobe,
Anfione,
Manto,
Tiresia,
Clearte,
Creonte,
Poliferno,
Tiberino,
Nerea 		Conductor,
Opera House and Orchestra 		Label
2013 Karina Gauvin,
Philippe Jaroussky,
Amanda Forsythe,
Christian Immler,
Aaron Sheehan,
Terry Wey,
Jesse Blumberg,
Colin Balzer,
José Lemos 		Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs,
Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra 		CD: Erato
Cat: 0825646343546[2]
2010 Veronique Gens,
Jacek Laszczkowski,
Amanda Forsythe,
Bruno Taddia,
Tim Mead,
Iestyn Davies,
Alastair Miles,
Lothar Odinius,
Delphine Galou 		Thomas Hengelbrock,
Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble,
recorded at the Royal Opera House 		CD: Opus Arte[3]

References

  1. ^ Donal Henahan (November 11, 1977). "Opera: 'Niobe' Tears and All". The New York Times.
  2. ^ William R. Braun (July 2015). "Steffani: Niobe, Regina di Tebe". Opera News. Vol. 80, no. 1.
  3. ^ William R. Braun (September 2010). "Steffani: Niobe, Regina di Tebe". Opera News.

External links


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