Francesco Cavalli may have been Claudio Monteverdi's most important successor. His opera La Calisto, dating from the 1640s, is a typical Venetian opera: a remarkable mix of farce and tragedy, an erotic opera in which gods and people, above all, long for physical love. The setting created by Herbert Wernicke for this production at the Munt Theater (1996) resembles a magic box: a playful representation
… of earth and the universe, where gods descend from heaven to withdraw to earth through hatches in the floor for a pleasant get-together. A long evening for viewers, but totally worth it. Praise to all who contributed to this production. To the singers who let themselves be hoisted up in primitive elevators, run across the stage and still deliver excellent singing performances. To the director who manages to save the audience a long sit by never losing sight of humor. To the musicians for the enjoyment of listening and to René Jacobs who blew the dust of this long forgotten gem. (CP)more
