''Artemisia'' is the last opera of

Domenico Cimarosa Domenico Cimarosa (; 17 December 1749 – 11 January 1801) was an Music of Italy, Italian composer of the Neapolitan School and of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He wrote more than eighty operas, the best known of which is ''Il ...

. 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 ...

, in three acts, is by Count Giovanni Battista Colloredo. Cimarosa died on 11 January 1801 before writing the music to Act III; with the first performance given at the

Teatro La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (; "The Phoenix (mythology), Phoenix Theatre") is a historic opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especial ...

in Venice on 17 January 1801. It also included interpolations by other hands in the first two acts.Rossi (1993), p. 153 In the opera, Artemisia, Queen of

Caria Caria (; from Greek language, Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; ) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Carians were described by Herodotus as being Anatolian main ...

, the widow of

Mausolus Mausolus ( or , ''Mauśoλ'') was a ruler of Caria (377–353 Common Era, BCE) and a satrap of the Achaemenid Empire. He enjoyed the status of king or dynast by virtue of the powerful position created by his father Hecatomnus ( ), who was the fi ...

, had to deal with a variety of unwanted suitors. The opera is not to be confused with Cimarosa's earlier opera (1797), ''Artemisia, Regina di Caria (Artemisa, Queen of Caria''), which has a similar storyline, but is set to a different libretto.Rossi (1999), p. 154.

References

;Notes ;Sources * Rossi, Nick and Talmage Fauntleroy (1999). ''Domenico Cimarosa: his Life and Operas.'' Westport CT and London: Greenwood Press. * Cimarosa, Domenico, Simone Perugini (Editor), ‘’Artemisia’’ Full Score and Vocal Score, Critical Edition by Simone Perugini. Accademia Lirica Toscana “Domenico Cimarosa” Edition. {{Domenico Cimarosa Operas 1801 operas Italian-language operas Opera seria Operas by Domenico Cimarosa Operas set in Greece Unfinished operas Opera world premieres at La Fenice