Ezio
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Ezio (Aetius) is an opera by George Frideric Handel. It was his last opera based on a libretto by Pietro Metastasio. It was first performed at the King's Theatre, London on 15 January 1732. The same libretto was also set by Nicola Porpora for an opera of the same name, first performed four years earlier.
Handel's Ezio is considered one of the purest examples of opera seria with its absence of vocal ensembles.
The protagonist is the fifth-century AD Roman general Flavius Aetius (Ezio in Italian), returned from his victory over Attila.
[edit] Roles
Premiere 1732 | ||
---|---|---|
Ezio, Roman general | alto castrato | Senesino |
Fulvia, his lover | soprano | Anna Maria Strada |
Valentiniano, Roman emperor | alto | Anna Bagnolesi |
Onoria, his sister | alto | Francesca Bertolli |
Massimo, Fulvia's father | tenor | Giovanni Battista Pinacci |
Varo, Prefect of the Praetorian Guard | bass | Antonio Montagnana |