Opera Guide– La Virtù dei Strali d'Amore
Baroque Opera The Power of Love's Arrows by Francesco Cavalli
Oct 10, 2009
La Virtù dei Strali d'Amore (The Power of Love's Arrows) was composed by the prolific Venetian opera composer Francesco Cavalli - a pupil of Claudio Monteverdi - with a libretto by Giovanni Faustini. The story is part serious and part comic, filled with love, confusion, intrigue, and an unmanageably large cast of characters (twenty-five in all).
La Virtù premiered at the Teatro San Cassiano in Venice in 1642. After being presumed lost for many years, it was rediscovered. Its first modern performance was staged in 2007 by Bowling Green State University and the Eastman School for the Performing Arts, and its first performance in Italy since the seventeenth century took place at Venice's Teatro Malibran in October 2008. (The latter performance solved the problem of the large cast by having each singer play multiple roles.)
Characters in La Virtù dei Strali d'Amore
Humans
- Erabena, princess of Athens (Soprano)
- Meonte, her lover (Tenor)
- Pallante, prince of Thrace (Tenor)
- Erino, his servant (Soprano)
- Evagora, king of Cyprus (Baritone)
- Darete, his son (Baritone)
- Cleria, his sister (Soprano)
- Clito and Leucippe, her friends (Soprani)
- Cleandra, a good sorceress (Soprano)
- Ericlea, an evil sorceress (Soprano)
- Clarindo, a peasant (Soprano)
- Dalinda, his lover (Soprano)
- Alfisa, her sister (Soprano)
- Two sailors (Tenor and Baritone)
Gods
- Amore (Cupid), god of love (Soprano)
- Psiche (Psyche), his wife (Soprano)
- Venere (Venus), goddess of love and Amore's mother (Soprano)
- Marte (Mars), god of war (Baritone)
- Giove (Jupiter), king of the gods (Baritone)
- Mercurio (Mercury), his messenger (Tenor)
- Saturno (Saturn), god of the harvest (Baritone)
- Aurora, goddess of dawn (Soprano)
- Fama (Pheme), goddess of rumor (Soprano)
Synopsis of La Virtù dei Strali d'Amore
Act I
Pallante learns that Darete is being held captive by Ericlea. He and Meonte pursue Cleria, who has rejected both of their advances. They fight; Pallante wounds Meonte and then flees. Erabena (disguised as the servant Eumete) rushes to Meonte's side and, believing him dead, attempts to kill herself. Two sailors stop her, and Cleandra takes Meonte away on her ship to heal him, promising Erabena that he will return.
Cleria tells her friends how Pallante rescued her from Meonte. They beg her to return his love, but she refuses. They leave, fearing the woods at night, and Pallante enters with Erino, who advises his master to be more aggressive in his pursuit of Cleria. They fall asleep. Ericlea and her demons appear with Darete, whom they torture.
Act II
Marte orders Amore to make Cleria fall in love with Pallante, but Amore refuses and flees to earth. Pallante sets off to rescue Darete. Amore falls asleep under a tree, where Erabena finds him and, angry at love's treachery, stabs him with one of his arrows. Amore awakens and, suddenly in love with Erabena, follows her.
Having healed Meonte, Cleandra prophesies that he will find his love and the secret of his birth by the end of the day. Psiche, Amore's wife, asks Giove to bring back Amore; he sends Saturno and Mercurio to do so. Amore continues to pursue Erabena but is captured, leaving his arrows scattered on the ground.
Act III
Evagora orders Cleria to love Pallante despite her claim that she would rather die. She accidentally pricks her finger on one of Amore's arrows, instantly falling in love with Pallante, who has rushed to help her. Pallante then goes to rescue Darete.
Erabena, still in disguise, tells Meonte that she dreamed Erabena had accused him of unfaithfulness. He admits to being in love with Cleria, but claims that it is the fault of Cupid's arrows. She challenges him to a duel for Erabena's honor; using Amore's arrow as her weapon, she stabs him, and he falls in love with her again.
Pallante fights Ericlea and frees Darete. When he encounters Meonte, they challenge each other, but Cleandra stops the fight by revealing that they are long-lost brothers. Meonte swears loyalty to Evagora, and the two couples are married. Meanwhile, Amore claims that the spell of his arrow has worn off and is reunited to Psiche.
Sources:
- Bowling Green State University Opera Theater
- La Virtù dei Strali d'Amore libretto (trans. James Pfundstein)
- Venezia – Teatro Malibran, “La virtù de’ strali d’amore” in prima rappresentazione italiana
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