Calypso Publicola

Calypso Publicola was a noted singer in the Empire of Exponent and later in Trellin. She was known as a court favorite of Ryarna, Duchess of Tkena, and moved to Bara ti'Emla with the Ryarna after the death of Ryarna's husband Maximinius V.

Life

Born in January 1762, Calypso Publicola was the daughter of machinist Celer Publicola and the writer Petrina Calvus. At the age of nine, her parents divorced. In this divorce, they gave her father Celer custody. Under the custody of her father, Calypso suffered severe neglect. At the age of fifteen, her father remarried to seamstress Sabia Cato, and began making it increasingly clear that his daughter was unwelcome in the home. Calypso moved from home at the early age of seventeen. Desperate to provide for herself, at the age of eighteen, she joined The Royal Opera Company (TROC) as stand-in and came under the tutelage of the company's sopranos. Shortly after beginnign work with TROC, she met Archippus Albus, who worked as the conpany's secretary and assistant music director.

In the summer of 1781, Calypso married Archippus. Her new father-in-law Verus Albus worked as the primary music and theatre director in TROC, and Verus continued her training and tutelage. In 1783, due to debt, the young couple took in a widowed tenant named Amara Tegula. In 1789, Archippus died of dysentery. Amara & Calypso remained housemates until she died in 1798.

Career

Calypso Publicalo was employed as a singer at the Paradisa Opera House during the years 1780-1795. In the year 1781, Calypso and four other actors of the TROC were called to the capital by Avitus Tappo, who had recently created The Royal Theatre & Opera Company (TRTOC). Avitus Tappo's play Anastius & Diana was performed at Duchess Ryarna's fortieth birthday party, with Calypso starring as Diana. Ryarna enjoyed the performance so much that she requested her husband to hire TRTOC each year thereafter. In addition to this private performance, Calypso continued to perform at The Royal Theatre & Opera House upon request of Avitus and Ryarna, in addition to her performances at the Paradisa Opera House. Calypso maintained a full career until her death. She was known for her captivating voice and wide vocal range. Calypso performed in over 120 roles at The Royal Theatre & Opera House, monopolizing most of the company’s lead female roles and some of their male roles. Some of her most famous theater roles included Cephalus in the story of Octavis & The Donkey and Diana in the story of Anastius & Diana. Aside from Anastius & Diana, Ryarna enjoyed the tragic stories of The Lady & The Ogre, Dragons Redemption, and The Story of Junius by playwright Avitus Tappo. As an opera singer, Calypso performed private concerts for Ryarna at her home upon request, and later moved with Ryarna to the Trellinese city of Bara ti'Emla, where she performed both private concerts exclusively for Ryarna and her circle, as well as larger public venues. These private concerts included The Marriage of Ampelius, Maximinus Verrucosus, and The Magic Horn by composer Firminus Lepidus. At the opera house, however, many of her performances were from the composer Horus Blasio. These included crowd favorites like Nadia, Basilius Messalla, and Callias - Fire Song.

Legacy

Historian Eustorgius Cinna describes her importance in Exponents opera and theater history in his book The Cultural History of Exponent: Reign of Ryarna. In this, he described her ability to engage her audience as inspirational. Noting that her most moving performances were not her opera performances, but her tragedies. She was known for being able to capture a wide range of human emotions on stage, moving even the hardest of men with her performances.