Semiramide riconosciuta is an Italian opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 with serious action, or dramma per musica

Dramma per musica

Dramma per musica is a term which was used by dramatists in Italy and elsewhere between the late-17th and mid-19th centuries...

, by Nicola Porpora

Nicola Porpora

Nicola Porpora was an Italian composer of Baroque operas and teacher of singing, whose most famous singing student was the castrato Farinelli. One of his other students was composer Matteo Capranica.-Biography:Porpora was born in Naples...

, set to a 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...

 by the renowned poet Metastasio

Metastasio

Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi, better known by his pseudonym of Metastasio, was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of opera seria libretti.-Early life:...

 with some textual changes, possibly by Domenico Lalli. The opera was written for some of the finest contemporary singers, and includes a technically-demanding series of da capo

Da capo

Da Capo is a musical term in Italian, meaning from the beginning . It is often abbreviated D.C. It is a composer or publisher's directive to repeat the previous part of music, often used to save space. In small pieces this might be the same thing as a repeat, but in larger works D.C...

 aria

Aria

An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...

s.

Performance history

The opera was first performed on 26 December 1729 at the Teatro San Giovanni Gristostomo in Venice. Metastasio's libretto had been used in Rome, on 6 February that same year, for another setting of the same title by Leonardo Vinci

Leonardo Vinci

Leonardo Vinci was an Italian composer, best known for his operas.He was born at Strongoli and educated at Naples under Gaetano Greco in the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesù Cristo. He first became known for his opere buffe in Neapolitan dialect in 1719; he also composed many opere serie...

.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere cast, 26 December 1729
Semiramide, an Egyptian princess	soprano	Lucia Facchinelli
Merteo, an Egyptian prince, brother of Semiramide	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...	Carlo Maria Broschi "Farinelli" Farinelli Farinelli , was the stage name of Carlo Maria Broschi, celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera.- Early years :...
Sibari, also formerly in love with Semiramide	alto Alto Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...  castrato	Domenico Gizzi
Idreno/Scitalce, an Indian prince, former lover of Semiramide	soprano castrato	Nicolò Grimaldi "Nicolini"
Tamiri, princess of Bactria	soprano	Antonia "Anna" Negri
Ircano, a Scythian prince	bass	Giuseppe Maria Boschi Giuseppe Maria Boschi Giuseppe Maria Boschi was an Italian bass singer - though in modern terms a baritone - of the 18th century. He is best remembered for his association with the composer George Frideric Handel, whom he worked for in both Italy and London.During the first decade of the century he is known to have...

Synopsis

The Egyptian princess Semiramide rules Assyria disguised as a man. Princess Tamiri prepares to choose a husband from three candidates, setting in motion a series of events that lead to Semiramide being reunited with her lover Scitalce, and the exposure of the villainy of his rival Sibari.