''Achille in Sciro'' is an opera and libretto by

Pietro Metastasio Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of '' opera seria'' libretti. Early life Me ...

telling the story of

Achilles on Skyros Achilles on Skyros is an episode in the myth of Achilles, a Greek hero of the Trojan War. Not existing in Homer's epic poem ''Iliad'', the episode is written down in detail in some later versions of the story, particularly the ''Achilleid'' by the ...

. It was first set to music by

Antonio Caldara Antonio Caldara (ca 1670 – 28 December 1736) was an Italian Baroque composer. Life Caldara was born in Venice (exact date unknown), the son of a violinist. He became a chorister at St Mark's in Venice, where he learned several instruments, ...

in 1736, and premiered at the wedding of

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

and

Francis of Lorraine Francis I (Francis Stephen; french: François Étienne; german: Franz Stefan; 8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765) was Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Grand Duke of Tuscany. He became the ruler of the Holy ...

in Vienna.Italian Opera in Central Europe 1614 Melania Bucciarelli, Norbert Dubowy, Reinhard Strohm - 2006 -3830503814 1780 - Page 252 "Plot and occasion Metastasio's Achille in Sciro was first performed in Vienna on 13 February 1736 for the wedding of Princess Maria ...Shortly after, in 1737, the composer Sarri used the same libretto for the inauguration of the Teatro S. Carlo in Naples.1 ... Venice (1739, Chiarini), Turin (1740, Leo) and Madrid (1744, Corselli) before Hasse composed the music for another ... “Tre intonazioni dell'Achille in Sciro a confronto: Caldara, Leo, Hasse”, Il Saggiatore Musicale, 3 (1996), p. In 1772, Johann Anton Koch translated the libretto to German under the name "Achilles in Scyro".

Theme

The libretto is centres around the Greek mythological hero

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...

. For his libretto, Metastasio drew from various works as inspiration for its themes. The plot has also similarities with the 1664 libretto ''L'Achille in Sciro'' by Ippolito Bentivoglio, which was set to music in 1663 by Giovanni Legrenzi. The work is subtitled "dramma immaginato".

Selected settings

* Achille in Sciro (Sarro), 1737, modern revival conducted by Sardelli recorded by Dynamic *

Niccolò Jommelli Niccolò Jommelli (; 10 September 1714 – 25 August 1774) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan School. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he was responsible for certain operatic reforms including redu ...

1749

References

{{Authority control Libretti by Metastasio Achilles