BEMF Opera | 1999 Centerpiece Opera
Cavalli’s Ercole Amante
June 8, 9, 11, and 12, 1999
Emerson Majestic Theatre, Boston, MA
June 22, 23, and 24, 2007
Utrecht Early Music Festival, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Cavalli’s 1662 Ercole Amante, written for the wedding of Louis XIV to the Spanish Infanta Maria Theresa, is one of the richest opera scores fo the 17th-century, set to a colorful libretto by Francesco Buti with elegant ballets between each act by Jean-Baptiste Lully. The BEMF American première production—which will travel around the world—promises to delight you with over 80 beautiful costumes and glorious music—ranging from solos, duets, and trios to 8-part choirs, and very fine orchestral writing—played and sung by some of the world’s leading Early Music specialists, all of whom are distinguished soloists brought together for the first time.

Directors
Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors
Jack Edwards, Stage Director
Robin Linklater, Designer
Lucy Graham, Choreographer & Movement Advisor
L. Stacy Eddy, Lighting Designer
Anna Watkins, Costume Supervisor
Artists
Paul Guttry, Il Tevere
Claron McFadden, Cinthia
Nathaniel Watson, Ercole
Ellen Hargis, Venere
Laurie Reviol, Deborah Leath Rentz & Kamala Soparkar, Le Tre Grazie
Meredith Hall, Giunone
Lisa Saffer, Iole
William Hite, Hyllo
Steve Dugardin, Paggio
Olof Lilja, Licco
Ann Hallenberg, Deianira
Deborah Leath Rentz, Pasithea
Florian Eckhardt, Sonno
Donald Wilkinson, Nettunno
Harry van der Kamp, Ombra d’Eutiro
Chorus
Kamala Soparkar, James Deselms, Clifford Rust & members of the Handel & Haydn Society Chorus
Dancers
Audra Carabetta, Tina M. Cassidy, Florian Eckhardt, Susan McNichol, Melinda Sullivan & Kaj Sylegård
The King’s Noyse/Boston Early Music Festival Violin Band
David Douglass, concertmaster
Scott Metcalfe, Ingrid Matthews, Christopher Verrette, Robert Mealy & Julie Andrijeski, violin; Margriet Tindemans, Patrick Jordan, Jane Starkman & Laura Jeppesen, viola; Emily Walhout, Alice Robbins, Brent Wissick & John Mark Rozendaal, bass violin; Stephen Stubbs, Andrea Damiani & Lucas Harris, chitarrone; Paul O’Dette, archlute & theorbo; Paul O’Dette & Andrea Damiani, Spanish guitar; Alexander Weimann & Peter Sykes, harpsichord; Maxine Eilander, double harp; Erin Headley, lirone & viola da gamba; Bruce Haynes & Geoffrey Burgess, Baroque oboe & recorder; Marilyn Boenau, bassoon; Dennis Ferry & Fred Holmgren, trumpet; John Grimes, percussion