Cleofide

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Cleofide (Cleophis) is an opera seria in three acts by Johann Adolf Hasse. The Italian libretto was adapted from Metastasio's Alessandro nell'Indie by Michelangelo Boccardi.

Boccardi's adaptaion of the libretto shifted the focus of the story to Cleofide, as the name suggests, instead of Alessandro as in Metastasio's original libretto.

Performance history

Cleofide was first performed on 13 September 1731 at the Grosses Königliches Opernhaus am Zwingerhof in Dresden.

Hasse returned to the same subject for a new production at the Teatro San Giovanni Gristostomo in Venice on 4 November 1736, however the music was almost completely different. On that occasion, the original title of Metastasio's libretto was used: Alessandro nell'Indie.

Although successful after its premiere, the opera has faded into relative obscurity today, though a revival was staged at the Semperoper Dresden in March 2005. An audio recording of the opera was also produced in 1986. One of Poro's arias, Generoso risuegliati, o core was featured in the film Farinelli (1994). Se mai più sarò geloso, a duet for Cleofide and Poro, is also relatively famous among baroque opera enthusiasts.

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere Cast, 13 September 1731
(Conductor:)
Alessandro Magno (Alexander the Great) alto castrato Domenico Annibali
Poro (Porus), an Indian ruler alto castrato Domenico Campioli
Cleofide (Cleophis) soprano Faustina Bordoni
Erissena soprano Maria Santina Cattaneo
Gandarte soprano castrato Ventura Rocchetti
Timagene alto castrato Nicolò Pozzi

Recordings

Hasse: Cleofide, Cappella Coloniensis

References

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