Body & Soul: Cavalieri’s Rappresentatione—A Turning Point in Musical Drama

Crescendo presents their last concert of the 2024-25 season with two compositions of a rarely heard early baroque work for soloists, chorus and orchestra: Rappresentatione di Anima e di Corpo (Representation of Soul and Body) by Emilio de’ Cavalieri. This musical drama in three acts was composed in 1600, and is the first musical work of its kind. Written and published at a turning point in musical history, the beginning of the revolutionary Baroque era, this work is considered both an opera and an oratorio. Among a cast of allegorical figures, the two main characters Soul and Body, argue about the meaning of their existence. They are tempted to enjoy material goods by Pleasure, World, and Worldly Life, and urged to pursue a virtuous life by Counsel, Intellect, and the Guardian Angel. The conflict also includes visions of hell with the appearance of the Damned Souls, and of heaven in the voices of the  Blessed Souls and the Angels. Also on the program are two short balletti by Cavalieri and his contemporary Cristofano Malvezzi, composed for the marriage of their patrons Ferdinand II of Medici and Christina of Lorraine. Malvezzi’s piece features thirty voices, divided into seven choirs, creating an auditory climax for this performance.

Tickets range from $10 to $75, and are available online at www.crescendomusic.org, or on a first-come-first-served basis at the door, 45 minutes prior to the concerts.