Alonso e Cora is an opera seria

Opera seria

Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to c. 1770...

in three acts by Francesco Bianchi. The libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 was by Giuseppe Foppa, after Ferdinando Moretti's Idalide, o sia La vergine del sole, as used by Giuseppe Sarti

Giuseppe Sarti

Giuseppe Sarti was an Italian opera composer.-Biography:He was born at Faenza. His date of birth is not known, but he was baptised on 1 December 1729. Some earlier sources say he was born on 28 December, but his baptism certificate proves the later date impossible...

 in Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 in 1783. The original source of this text was in turn Jean François Marmontel's Les Incas, ou La destruction de l'empire du Pérou (1777).

The opera was notable for its spectacular effects which included sea scenes and a volcanic eruption, and its opulent music which involved concertato

Concertato

Concertato is a term in early Baroque music referring to either a genre or a style of music in which groups of instruments or voices share a melody, usually in alternation, and almost always over a basso continuo...

 choruses, ensembles (including one quintet), and a ballet contributing to the grand conclusion in the last act.

Simon Mayr

Simon Mayr

Johann Simon Mayr , also known in Italian as Giovanni Simone Mayr or Simone Mayr was a German composer.- Life :...

 also set a version of the story, under the same title, for Milan in 1803.

Performance history

The opera was first performed at the Teatro San Benedetto

Teatro San Benedetto

The Teatro San Benedetto was a theatre in Venice, particularly prominent in the operatic life of the city in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It saw the premieres of over 140 operas, including Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri, and was the theatre of choice for the presentation of opera seria until...

 in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 on 7 February 1786.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 7 February 1786 (Conductor: Antonio Capuzzi)
Alonso, a conquistador	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...  castrato Castrato A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's...	Domenico Bedini
Cora, an Inca sun maiden	soprano	Anna Andreozzi-De Santis
Berinto	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	Giuseppe Desirò
Ataliba, Inca ruler	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	Vincenzo Maffoli
Zamoro	soprano castrato	Domenico Masi
Amazili	soprano	Teresa Benvenuti

Synopsis

A love story set in the new world. Alonso, the Spanish conquistador, rescues Cora, an Inca maiden, when the Temple of the Sun is destroyed by a volcanic eruption, but thereby unwittingly breaks the law that forbids her to leave the temple, on pain of being sacrificed to the gods. Alonso is willing to die with her, but the people take mercy and abolish the ancient law.