Admeto, re di Tessaglia (Admetus, King of Thessaly; HWV 22) is a three-act opera written for the Royal Academy of Music (1719) with music composed by George Frideric Handel to an Italian-language libretto prepared by Nicola Haym. The story is partly based on Euripedes' Alcestis. The opera's first performance was at the Haymarket Theatre in London on 31 January 1727. The original cast included Faustina Bordoni as Alcestis and Francesca Cuzzoni as Antigona, as Admeto was the second of the five operas that Handel composed to feature specifically these two prime donne of the day.[1] The opera received 19 performances in its first season, and over the time from September 1727 to January 1732, received 16 additional performances. Admeto was revived in 1754 and received 5 additional performances. The last, 6 April 1754, proved to be the last opera performance that Handel saw of his own operas in his lifetime.[2]
Contents |
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast[3] 31 January 1727 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Alceste (Alcestis) | soprano | Faustina Bordoni-Hasse |
| Antigona | soprano | Francesca Cuzzoni-Sandoni |
| Admeto (Admetus) | contralto (castrato) | Francesco Bernardi Senesino |
| Ercole (Hercules) | bass | Giuseppe Maria Boschi |
| Trasimede (Thrasymedes) | alto | Antonio Baldi |
| Orindo | alto | Anna Dotti |
| Meraspe | baritone | Giovanni Battista Palmerini |
| Apollo | bass | |
| A voice | baritone |