l'Ospedale
L'Ospedale from Solomon's Knot on Vimeo.
how nice to hear something of a future golden age, at least in early opera, with healthy vocal production, expressive singing, dynamic playing and fearless acting Anna Picard, Opera Magazine
Project overview
Solomon's Knot's first fully-staged opera production, l'Ospedale is a mid-17th-century 'dramma burlesco' by Antonio Abati, set to music by an unknown composer. Our production, by director James Hurley, brings the piece into the 21st century or even beyond: this a post-NHS, almost post-apocalyptic vision of healthcare, where certainly nothing comes for free and the system reaches its limits.
l'Ospedale is a satire and commentary on patients, doctors, medical practices and what we would today call "healthcare policy". The witty, pun-littered Italian libretto by Abati is often extremely funny, and was obviously meant to be enjoyed privately by conoscenti. It does, however, reach a violent climax and has a number of strong moral messages. In the context of our production, which incorporates two madrigals by Gesualdo, l'Ospedale becomes a highly entertaining, thought-provoking challenge to our ideas of what it is to be ill, and how we should be cured.
Project repertoire & personnel
anonymous - l'Ospedale (c.1650)
incorporating 'Io tacerò' & 'Mercè!, grido piangendo' by Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613)
Innamorato - soprano
Forestiero - soprano
Matto - countertenor
Cortigiano - tenor
Povero - baritone
Medico - bass
2 theorbos/baroque guitar ~ 'cello ~ violone ~ harpsichord ~ organ
Performances
10-21 November 2015. Wilton's Music Hall, London
11-12 March 2017. Bury Court Opera
Developed on an Aldeburgh Music Open Space residency
Press
"a pretty unimprovable contemporary premiere" Arts Desk **** full review
"Wilton's is the ideal space for this spookily topical and entertaining endeavour" Evening Standard ****
"an operatic Carry on Matron, only darker" The Guardian *** full review
"the seeds of something refreshing and different in what has quietly become a rather samey Early Music scene in this country" Opera Now
The Times ****
Project overview
Solomon's Knot's first fully-staged opera production, l'Ospedale is a mid-17th-century 'dramma burlesco' by Antonio Abati, set to music by an unknown composer. Our production, by director James Hurley, brings the piece into the 21st century or even beyond: this a post-NHS, almost post-apocalyptic vision of healthcare, where certainly nothing comes for free and the system reaches its limits.
l'Ospedale is a satire and commentary on patients, doctors, medical practices and what we would today call "healthcare policy". The witty, pun-littered Italian libretto by Abati is often extremely funny, and was obviously meant to be enjoyed privately by conoscenti. It does, however, reach a violent climax and has a number of strong moral messages. In the context of our production, which incorporates two madrigals by Gesualdo, l'Ospedale becomes a highly entertaining, thought-provoking challenge to our ideas of what it is to be ill, and how we should be cured.
Project repertoire & personnel
anonymous - l'Ospedale (c.1650)
incorporating 'Io tacerò' & 'Mercè!, grido piangendo' by Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613)
Innamorato - soprano
Forestiero - soprano
Matto - countertenor
Cortigiano - tenor
Povero - baritone
Medico - bass
2 theorbos/baroque guitar ~ 'cello ~ violone ~ harpsichord ~ organ
Performances
10-21 November 2015. Wilton's Music Hall, London
11-12 March 2017. Bury Court Opera
Developed on an Aldeburgh Music Open Space residency
Press
"a pretty unimprovable contemporary premiere" Arts Desk **** full review
"Wilton's is the ideal space for this spookily topical and entertaining endeavour" Evening Standard ****
"an operatic Carry on Matron, only darker" The Guardian *** full review
"the seeds of something refreshing and different in what has quietly become a rather samey Early Music scene in this country" Opera Now
The Times ****
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