Peabody Chamber Opera presents
the first performance of a new edition of
Egisto
by Pierfrancesco Cavalli
edited from the MSS by Webb Wiggins and Roger Brunyate
Peabody Baroque Ensemble
Webb Wiggins, conductor
Roger Brunyate, stage director
Wednesday & Thursday, February 23 & 24, 2000, at 7:30 PM
Miriam A. Freidberg Concert Hall
Photo gallery
Opera at
Peabody home
Restoring a Hit: Stage director Roger Brunyate discusses the hit status of Cavalli’s Egisto in its own time, and the process of making a new performing edition today.
Synopsis of the Action
Over a year before the action begins, Egisto (a descendant of the sun-god Apollo) loved Clori and she him. But while together on the seashore on the island of Delos, they were captured by pirates and sold separately into captivity. At about the same time, Climene, a young woman on the island of Zacynthos, was captured by the selfsame pirates on the very day of her marriage to Lidio, and sold to the same cruel master as Egisto. Now, a year later, they have managed to escape, and Egisto has escorted Climene back to her home island of Zacynthos, where the main action takes place, and they each determine to find their original lovers. What they do not know is that the pirates brought Clori to Zacynthos, where she fell in love with Lidio, while Climene’s brother Ipparco also fell in love with her.
The action of the opera takes place during the day after Egisto and Climene have landed on Zacynthos. The division into acts reflects the passage of the day from dawn through night to dawn again in keeping with Egisto’s heritage as a descendant of the Sun. The first act (morning) establishes the situation with the two mis-matched couples: Lidio and Clori as lovers, and Egisto and Climene as friends. The second act (afternoon) concerns the attempts of Egisto and Climene to be reunited with their former lovers, only to be harshly rejected by them. The third act (night and dawn) brings the story to a happy conclusion, though catalyzed by two almost-tragic events: Lidio’s capture by Ipparco, and Egisto’s madness. In between, various scenes in the heavens show the machinations of the gods behind the sufferings of the characters on earth.
List of Performers
| LA NOTTE (Night) | Yoona Sophia Cho |
| L’AURORA (Dawn) | Elizabeth Baber |
| LIDIO, Climene’s former fiancé, now in love with Clori | Chad Michael Freeburg |
| CLORI, Egisto’s former beloved, now in love with Lidio | Maija Lisa Currie |
| EGISTO, a descendant of the Sun, in love with Clori | Kenneth Harmon |
| CLIMENE, Lidio’s former fiancée | Sung Eun Kim |
| IPPARCO, Climene’s brother, in love with Clori | Brian Ming Chu |
| DEMA, Ipparco’s elderly servant | Samuel Lowry |
| BELLEZZA (Beauty) | Alfonsina Molinari-Rosaly |
| VOLUPIA (Sensuality) | Yoona Sophia Cho |
| AMORE (Cupid) | Kathryn Aaron |
| VENERE (Venus), the mother of Cupid and enemy of Apollo | Sarah Berger |
| SEMELE | Jennifer Strauss |
| FEDRA (Phaedra) | Trina Renae Miller |
| DIDONE (Dido) | Karen Zizzi |
| HERO . . . four heroines who have died for love | Sarah Berger |
| APOLLO | Adrienne Foutz |
| FOUR HOURS, servants of Apollo | Jennifer Strauss, Trina Renae Miller, Alfonsina Molinari-Rosaly, Karen Zizzi |
| TWO ATTENDANTS | Taylor Brickley, Christopher Rhodovi |
| CONTINUO | Risa Carlson
(lute), Bozena Jedrzejczak (keyboard), Joshua Lee (gamba & bass), Adam J. Pearl (keyboard), Daniel Rippe (cello), Adam Wead (theorbo), Webb Wiggins (keyboard), Ting Zhou (keyboard) |
| STRINGS | Geoffrey Baker
(viola), Johanna Gutierrez (viola), Christine Moriyasu (violin), Marissa Murphy (violin) |
| WINDS | Mark DiPinto
(recorders), Justin Godoy (recorders), Jason Harlow (cornetto) |