Demetrio (1773)
Template:Mysliveček operas Demetrio is an eighteenth-century Italian opera in 3 acts by the Czech composer Josef Mysliveček. It was the composer's first setting of a libretto by the Italian poet Metastasio that was first performed in 1731, one of the most popular of the Metastasian librettos in Mysliveček's day. For a performance in the 1770s, it would only be expected that a libretto of such age would be abbreviated and altered to suit contemporary operatic taste. The cuts and changes in the text made for the 1770 performance of Mysliveček's opera are not attributable. All of Mysliveček's operas are of the serious type in Italian language referred to as opera seria.
Performance history
The opera was first performed at the Teatro Nuovo in Pavia on 24 May 1773.[1] It was commissioned to serve as the first opera to be played in a newly-constructed theater in the city, and it was considered to be a great honor for Mysliveček to compose the inaugural opera. The organizers were able to attract only one distinguished singer for the cast, however: the soprano Lucrezia Aguiari, whose name has been linked romantically to Mysliveček's erroneously in earlier musicological literature.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 24 May 1773, Teatro Nuovo, Pavia |
|---|---|---|
| Cleonice | soprano | Lucrezia Aguiari |
| Alceste | soprano castrato | Giovanni Rubinelli |
| Fenicio | tenor | Giuseppe Afferri |
| Olinto | bass | Giuseppe Benedetti |
| Barsene | soprano | Anna Benvenuti |
| Mitrane | soprano | Rosa Polidoro |
See also
References
- ^ Detailed documentation concerning the Pavia performance of Mysliveček's Demetrio of 1773 is found in Daniel E. Freeman, Josef Mysliveček, "Il Boemo" (Sterling Heights, Mich.: Harmonie Park Press, 2009).