Teseo
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- For the missile, see Teseo.
Teseo (or 'Theseus') is an opera seria in five acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Philippe Quinault's Thésée.
It was Handel's third London opera, intended to follow the success of Rinaldo after the unpopular Il pastor fido.
[edit] Performance history
The opera was first given at the Queen's Theatre in London on 10 January 1713 and on 14 further occasions in the following months. The singers included the castratos Valeriano Pellegrini and Valentino Urbani. There were no further revivals until it was rediscovered and performed under Fritz Lehmann in Göttingen on 29 June 1947.
[edit] Roles
- Teseo - (soprano castrato)
- King Egeo - (alto castrato)
- Princess Agilea - (soprano)
- Clitia - (soprano)
- Arcano - (alto)
- Medea - (soprano)
- Priest of the goddess Minerva (bass)
[edit] Sources
Teseo by Anthony Hicks, in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Opera', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7