''Agnese'' is an 1809 semi-serious opera by

Ferdinando Paer Ferdinando Paer (1 June 1771 – 3 May 1839) was an Italian composer known for his operas. He was of Austrian descent and used the German spelling Pär in application for printing in Venice, and later in France the spelling Paër. Life He was bor ...

, to a libretto by Luigi Buonavoglia. It was originally composed for private and amateur performance at the Palazzo Scotti near

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

. The opera became the composer's first major success. In 1814 Agnes ran at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

for over 50 nights, more performances than ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

'' in the same season, but lost out to ''Don Giovanni'' in London in 1817. The composer having moved to Paris he revised ''Agnese'' for the Théâtre Italien in 1824 with

Giuditta Pasta Giuditta Angiola Maria Costanza Pasta (; 26 October 1797 – 1 April 1865) was an Italian opera singer. A soprano, she has been compared to the 20th-century soprano Maria Callas. Career Early career Pasta was born Giuditta Angiola Maria Costanz ...

in the role of Agnese and Marco Bordogni as Ernesto.

Recordings

*Agnese - DVD - María Rey-Joly (Agnese), Edgardo Rocha (Ernesto), Markus Werba (Uberto), Lucia Cirillo (Carlotta), Giulia Della Peruta, Vespina), Andrea Giovannini (Don Girolamo), Filippo Morace (Don Pasquale), Federico Benetti (Il custode dei pazzi) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Torino,

Diego Fasolis Diego Fasolis (born 19 April 1958) is a Swiss classical organist and conductor, the leader of the ensemble I Barocchisti. He has conducted operas in historically informed performance at major European opera houses and festivals, and has made award- ...

. Dynamic Gramophone
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References

{{Opera-stub operas Operas by Ferdinando Paer 1809 operas Opera semiseria Italian-language operas