''Alonso e Cora'' (''Alonso and Cora'') is an ''

opera seria ''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abou ...

'' in three acts by Francesco Bianchi. The

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

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

Giuseppe Sarti Giuseppe Sarti (also Sardi; baptised 1 December 1729 – 28 July 1802) 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 and he passed away on 28 July 1802. Som ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

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 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. The term derives from It ...

choruses, ensembles (including one quintet), and a ballet contributing to the grand conclusion in the last act. McClymonds, Marita P (1992), 'Alonso e Cora' in ''The

New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

'' vol 4 p 328

Simon Mayr Johann(es) Simon Mayr (also spelled Majer, Mayer, Maier), also known in Italian as Giovanni Simone Mayr or Simone Mayr (14 June 1763 – 2 December 1845), was a German composer. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the R ...

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 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 th ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

on 7 February 1786.

Roles

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.

References

* *McClymonds, Marita P (1992), 'Alonso e Cora' in ''The

'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London) *McClymonds, Marita P (1992), 'Vergine del sole, La' in ''The

'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London) {{authority control Opera seria Operas by Francesco Bianchi 1786 operas Italian-language operas Operas