Johann Adolph HASSE
IL RE PASTORE
Drama per musica (Warsaw 1762)
ROLES
(an aria appears when you click on the name)
Alessandro , King of Macedonia.
Altus (g di passaggio) Altus clef, 2 arias
1755 Pasquale Bruscolini
Aminta , shepherd, later than Abdolonimo , recognized as the only legitimate heir of the Kingdom of Sidon, was Elisha's lover
High countertenor (up to g and a di passagio) or mezzo-soprano, soprano clef, 4 arias, 1 duet, 1 quartet
1755- Angelo Maria Monticelli
Elisha , noble virgin as the old lineage of Cadmus , beloved Aminta
Soprano, soprano clef, 3 arias, 1 duet, 1 quartet
1755 Teresa Albuzzi Todeschini.
Tamiri , escaped princess in shepherd's clothes, daughter of the tyrant Stratone , beloved Agenores
Soprano (lyric up to C), soprano clef, 3 arias, 1 quartet
1755- Catarina Pilaja
Agenore , Sidon nobleman, friend of Alexander, lover of Tamiris
High soprano (up to C) soprano (possibly high tenor?)
Soprano clef, 3 arias, 1 quartet
1755- Giuseppe Belli
Johann Adolph Hasse (1699-1783), il "divino Sassone" (the divine Saxon), as he was called in Italy at the time, was particularly successful in the Baroque period. Numerous operas by the composer were premiered all over Europe, in Vienna, Naples, Venice and above all in Dresden by Augustus the Strong and his son Augustus III, King of Poland. With our project "GIOVE IN ARGO" by Antonio Lotti, we were able to learn something about the patronage of this ruler. He loved culture, architecture and above all music theatre. Johann Adolph Hasse was his favorite composer and his court composer.
On the other hand, Antonio Bioni's "ISSIPILE" experience put us in contact with another very important artist in European history: Pietro Metastasio , the famous librettist. The preference for the Greco-Roman theme, but above all the extraordinary beauty of the dramaturgy and the language, prepared Europe for the classical period, which would soon emerge from the Baroque period in Europe. Metastasio was also "best friends" with Hasse.
So our next opera project will combine these two elements of previous productions: the Polish-Saxon cultural heritage of Augustus III with Hasse's music and the classicism of Metastasio's texts.
IL RE PASTORE is a libretto already known by Mozart. The important representative of Viennese classicism wrote the opera in 1775 (21 years old). Before him, however, the Dresdener Johann Richter wrote his only opera based on this libretto in 1750, Giuseppe Bono (Vienna, 1751), Hasse (1755) and Gluck (1757). Hasse's "Il re pastore" was written in Hubertusburg Castle (October 7, 1755), Seat of Augustus III. premiered in his private theatre. Many of Hasse's operas were premiered there. But Augustus III. also lived in Warsaw. The second version of the opera was performed again in Warsaw in 1762. The two versions are very different.
The theme of the opera is based on Greek mythology and history: it is about a ruler in Sidon (Lebanon) in the time of Alexander the Great, initially a shepherd, who is one day offered to become king on condition that he give up his love for what he doesn't agree. In this way he proves that he is ready to be a real and good ruler!
This material is currently in the SLUB (Saxon State and University Library) and is being transcribed into modern script with the help of the musicologist François Hou (https://ilsassone.wordpress.com).
Current information on the premiere of Hasse's music
Arias from the opera will be rehearsed as part of the workshop with Raphael Alpermann between September 18-23 and during the concert on September 23. listed and recorded.
To the project "RE PASTORE" >>