''Ciro in Armenia'' is a

dramma per musica The phrase ''dramma per musica'' (also spelled ''drama per musica''; Italian language, Italian, literally: 'play (or drama) for music', plural: ''drammi per musica'') is commonly found after the title in Italian opera librettos beginning in the ...

or opera in three acts by composer Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini. The work premiered in Milan on 26 December 1753 at the

Teatro Regio Ducale The Teatro Regio Ducale (Italian, "Royal Ducal Theatre") was the opera house in Milan from 26 December 1717 until 25 February 1776, when it was burned down following a carnival gala. Many famous composers and their operas are associated with it, i ...

. The work uses an Italian language

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 ...

by the composer which is based on a work by Umberto Manferrari and G. Manfredi.

Background

Pinottini was one of the earliest female Italian opera composers, and this opera was considered her finest achievement. Pinottini had previously composed two other operas; the first of which, ''II Restauro di Arcadia'', also premiered at the Teatro Regio Ducal in 1747. The complete score of ''Ciro in Armenia'' was preserved in Dresden, but was transferred by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to Russia. Today it is owned by the

Russian State Library The Russian State Library () is one of the three national libraries of Russia, located in Moscow. It is the largest library in the country, second largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world. Its holdings crossed over 47 million ...

in Moscow. Parts from the opera survive also in the collection of the library at the

Milan Conservatory The Milan Conservatory, also known as the Conservatorio di Milano and the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, is a Music school, college of music in Milan, Italy. History The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital ...

, some of which have been recorded.

Tom Service Tom Service (born 8 March 1976) is a Scottish writer, music journalist, and television and radio presenter. He has written regularly for ''The Guardian'' since 1999 and presented on BBC Radio 3 since 2001. He is a regular presenter of the Proms ...

, music critic for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', included the work is his 2015 list of the 10 best operas written by women composers.

Roles

The information in this section is taken from the published libretto.

Synopsis

The story is elaborated (unhistorically) from

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...

's account in his ''

Anabasis Anabasis (from Greek ''ana'' = "upward", ''bainein'' = "to step or march") is an expedition from a coastline into the interior of a country. Anabase and Anabasis may also refer to: History * '' Anabasis Alexandri'' (''Anabasis of Alexander''), ...

'' of

Cyrus the Younger Cyrus the Younger ( ''Kūruš''; ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis, he died in 401 BC in battle during a failed attempt to oust his ...

's campaign in 401 BC. The plot centres on the plans of Ciro (Cyrus) to wage war against

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

in league with the

Medes The Medes were an Iron Age Iranian peoples, Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media (region), Media between western Iran, western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, they occupied the m ...

. However the King of

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, formerly a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

of the Medes, changes allegiance to side with the Assyrians, prompting Cyrus to invade Armenia. Cyrus quickly overwhelms the Armenians. Tigrane, son of the Armenian King Arsace, was a childhood friend of Ciro and persuades him generously to forgive Arsace, allowing the marriage of Tigrane with the Phrygian princess Palmide.

Arsaces Arsaces or Arsakes (, , Graecized form of Old Persian ) is the eponymous Greek form of the dynastic name of the Parthian Empire of Iran adopted by all epigraphically attested rulers of the Parthian Empire, Arsacid dynasties. The indigenous Parthian ...

and

Tigranes Tigranes (, ) is the Greek rendering of the Old Iranian name ''*Tigrāna''. This was the name of a number of historical figures, primarily kings of Armenia. The name of Tigranes, which was theophoric in nature, was uncommon during the Achae ...

were both names of a number of Armenian kings, but no rulers with these names were on the throne at the time when the story is set.

References

External links

Libretto
in

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. {{authority control Operas 1753 operas Italian-language operas Lost operas Operas set in Armenia Cultural depictions of ancient Persian people Cultural depictions of kings Operas set in ancient Persia Operas based on real people