''Siroe'', or ''Siroe re di Persia'' ('' Siroes, King of Persia''), is an

opera seria ''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abo ...

in three acts by

Johann Adolph Hasse Johann Adolph Hasse (baptised 25 March 1699 – 16 December 1783) was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a co ...

. The

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

was by

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 ...

. As with many of the latter's libretti, ''Siroe'' was also set by Hasse's contemporaries, for example Vinci,

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

and

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

(see his ''

Siroe ''Siroe, re di Persia'' ('' Siroes, King of Persia'', HWV 24), is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was his 12th opera for the Royal Academy of Music and was written for the sopranos Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordo ...

'' of 1728).

Performance history

''Siroe'' was first performed on 2 May 1733 at the Teatro Malvezzi in Bologna. It was produced again in Naples at the

Teatro di San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent t ...

on 4 November 1747. Hasse was asked to reset the opera for the

Elector of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

and this version was first performed on 3 August 1763 at the

Opernhaus am Zwinger The (Opera house at the Zwinger) was a theatre in Dresden, Saxony, Germany, opened in 1719. The architect of the Zwinger, Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, was also responsible for the opera house situated next to its south-western pavilion. The build ...

in Dresden. ''Siroe'' received its modern-day premiere in an uncut version by Ensemble Serse in September 2008 in a performance which, including two fifteen-minute intervals, lasted just under five hours. ''Siroe'' was revived in an abridged form for the 2011

London Handel Festival The London Handel Festival is an annual music festival centred on the compositions of George Frideric Handel which was founded in 1978. The festival also features other composers, but its main purpose is to showcase a range of Handel's work. It in ...

by Ensemble Serse at

St George's Hanover Square Church St George's, Hanover Square, is an Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London (the Queen Ann ...

in London on 15 April 2011 in a performance which lasted two and a half hours. In 2018 the

Nederlandse Reisopera The Nederlandse Reisopera (formerly Nationale Reisopera) is a Dutch opera company based in Enschede, Netherlands. Founded in 1955, the company performs an annual season of fully staged operas. The organization regularly tours their productions, and ...

staged performances in the Netherlands of a version lasting about 3 hours.

Roles

Synopsis

Medarse wishes to supplant Siroe as Cosroe's heir. Siroe is in love with Emira, daughter of Cosroe's former enemy Asbite, disguised as a man called Idaspe, while Siroe is loved in turn by his father's mistress Laodice. Eventually Cosroe recognizes the loyalty of Siroe and Emira, and makes Siroe the new king.

References

External links

*
Ensemble Serse review and historical notes
accessed 28 April 2011 {{authority control 1733 operas Operas by Johann Adolf Hasse Operas set in ancient Persia Opera seria Italian-language operas Operas

Performance history

Roles

Synopsis

References

Further reading

External links