ABSTRACT
Francesco Cavalli's Giasone has long been known as one of the most significant operas of the seventeenth century. Iseppo Fassetta responded with his own petition on 17 April 1649, calling Cavalli's suit unjust, and the accounts he had submitted chimerical; on 28 April Francesco Dello, Fassetta's legal representative, fired off another volley protesting Cavalli's claims. The documents reveal much about the fragility of Venice's theatrical companies, and they suggest that Cavalli may not always have been a willing participant at the theater he once had managed. For better or for worse, finding archival materials concerning seventeenth-century Venetian opera generally presents a number of challenges. Cavalli began his involvement at the Teatro S Cassiano as part of an artistic team that included a librettist, Oratio Persiani, and two singers, Felicita Uga and Giovanni Battista Bisucci. Giasone, arguably one of Cavalli's most successful operas, was followed the next winter by L'Orimonte, which may be closer to the bottom of the heap.
