San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist / 1675 Stradella / Ansaldi), oratorio

San Giovanni Battista <Italian> / St John the Baptist (1675) is an oratorio by Alessandro Stradella (mus.) and Girardo Ansaldi (libr.).

Abstract

The most celebrated of all oratorios of the composer. "A concertino of two violins and continuo with a concerto grosso of violin, two violas and continuo" used "with variety and skill: six of the 14 arias are accompanied by continuo only and seven by the orchestra".

John the Baptist goes to the court of Herod Antipas to try to convince him to send away the wife Herodias and to renounce worldly pleasures and his lascivious life. Naturally Herodias and her daughter Salome manage to convince Herod to send Giovanni to prison. Then the libretto follows the New Testament story of the death of John the Baptist. When Herod offers to give Salome whatever she asks, in gratitude for having danced so exotically for him at the festivities for his birthday, her mother suggests that she ask for Giovanni’s head, which she does. At the end of the libretto, Herod is in doubt as to whether he did the right thing, whereas Salome is overjoyed he killed Giovanni.

Characters

• John the Baptist = contralto
• Herod Antipas = bass
• Herodias = soprano
• The Daughter of Herodias (Salome) = soprano
• A chorus.

Editions, performances

Premiered in Rome, Italy: S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Quaresima 1675.

• San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist / 1949 / @1675 Stradella), Perugia production (oratorio) Perugia, Italy: Church of San Pietro, 18 settembre 1949 - Maria Callas (Salome), Cesare Siepi (Herod Antipas)

• San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist / 1960 Maghini / @1675 Stradella), radio production (oratorio) Il Santo: G.Las - Erodiade: R.Gary-Falachi - Erode: G. Tadeo - Il Consigliere/Uno dei Discepoli: G. Sinimberghi - La madre di Erodiade: J. Mancini. OrchEstra Sinfonica e coro di Milano della Rai - Direttore Ruggero Maghini - Registrazione del 23.05.1960

• San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist / 1986 / @1675 Stradella), New York production (oratorio) New York, NY: Corpus Christi Church, February 1986 - Louise Basbas, conductor, Andrea von Ramm (John), Mary Ann Hart (Herodias & Salome), Robert Kuehn (Herod Antipas)

• San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist / 19?? Cillario / @1675 Stradella), sound recording (oratorio) Carlo Felice Cillario, conductor -- Les Musiciens du Louvre -- Adriana Lazzerini (John the Baptist) Elena Barcis (Salome) -- Zimra Ornatt (Herodias), Giorgio Tadeo (Herod Antipas) -- Angelicum Orchestra Milan -- Coro Polifonico Turin

• San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist / 1992 Minkowski / @1675 Stradella), sound recording (oratorio) Marc Minkowski, conductor -- Les Musiciens du Louvre -- Gerard Lesne (John the Baptist) Catherine Bott (Salome) -- Christine Batty (Herodias), Philippe Huttenlocher (Herod Antipas)

• San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist / 2008 De Marchi / @1675 Stradella), sound recording (oratorio) Alessandro De Marchi -- Academia Montis Regalis -- Martin Oro (John the Baptist) Anke Herrmann (Salome) -- Elena Cecchi Fedi (Herodias), Antonio Abete (Herod Antipas)

References

• Smither, 1 (1977) 316-27.

External links

• IMSLP