Artaserse (Hasse)

Artaserse is an opera (dramma per musica) in three acts composed by Johann Adolph Hasse to an Italian libretto adapted from that by Metastasio by Giovanni Boldini. It premiered at the Teatro di San Giovanni Grisostomo in Venice on 11 February 1730, shortly after the libretto's first setting by Leonardo Vinci premiered in Rome 6 days earlier. Metastasio's libretto, Artaserse, has been used in more than 90 works. Hasse himself would later re-work the score for performances at the Opernhaus am Zwinger in Dresden (1740) and the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples (1760).

Artaserse
Opera by Johann Adolph Hasse
Title page of the original libretto for Hasse's first setting of the work
LibrettistPietro Metastasio (adapted by G. Boldini)
Premiere
11 February 1730 (1730-02-11)
Teatro di San Giovanni Grisostomo, Venice

Roles
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 11 February 1730
Conductor: –
Artaserse Prince and subsequently King of Persia; friend of Arbace and in love with Semira tenor Filippo Giorgi
Mandane Sister of Artaserse; in love with Arbace soprano Francesca Cuzzoni
Artabano Prefect of the Royal Guard; father of Arbace and Semira alto castrato Nicolò Grimaldi ("Nicolini")
Arbace Brother of Semira; Friend of Artaserse; in love with Mandane soprano castrato Carlo Broschi ("Farinelli")
Semira Sister of Arbace; in love with Artaserse contralto Maria Maddalena Pieri
Megabise General of the Persian Army and confidant of Artabano; also in love with Semira soprano castrato Castoro Antonio Castori

Recordings
  • Hasse Artaserse, Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia, conductor: Corrado Rovaris; Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani (tenor) as Artaserse, Maria Grazia Schiavo (soprano) as Mandane, Sonia Prina (contralto) as Artabano, Franco Fagioli (countertenor) as Arbace, Rosa Bove (mezzo-soprano) as Semira, Antonio Giovannini (countertenor) as Megabise. Recording date: July 2012, Festival della Valle d'Itria, Martina Franca release: 2016, Label: Dynamic Cat. CDS7715/1–3 (CD), 37715 (DVD).


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