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Works of music related to Mary Magdalene

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Overview

Mary Magdalene first attracted the attention of librettists and composers of oratorios as a penitent convert and a witness of the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. The most popular oratorio was La passione di Gesu Cristo by Pietro Metastasio, which was set to music by numerous composers.

At the end of the 19th century, Mary Magdalene took a life of her own. At the center the operas by Michetti and Pedrollo is now her personal experience and biography. These two operas prepared the path for the most important operatic role for Mary Magdalene, in Jesus Christ Superstar (1970), as a former prostitute who cannot hide her love for Jesus. The success of the opera has made Mary Madgalene one of the most popular musical roles in contemporary times.

Performing Mary Magdalene (singers)

Only the names of a few singers have been recorded until the 19th century. Among the first interpreters of Mary Magdalene were sopranos Margherita Durastanti in 1708, in her first collaboration with composer Georg Frideric Haendel, and Caterina Cavalieri, for whom Antonio Salieri wrote the part in 1777. In the oratorios, however, the role was often played by a castrato, like Antonio Casati at Padua (1767), or Marcello Marinucci at Perugia (1800).

In 1970 Yvonne Elliman created the role of Mary Magdalene in the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar in the musical album and then on stage at Broadway and in the 1973 movie, reaching international success.

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