''Demofoonte'' is a
dramma per musica
Dramma per musica ( Italian, literally: ''drama for music'', plural: ''drammi per musica'') is a libretto. The term was used by dramatists in Italy and elsewhere between the mid-17th and mid-19th centuries. In modern times the same meaning of ''dr ...
or
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...
in 3 acts by
composer Christoph Willibald Gluck
Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...
. The work uses an Italian language
libretto by
Pietro Metastasio. The opera premiered on 6 January 1743 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 ...
in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4  ...
.
Roles
Revivals
The first modern performance of the opera took place at the
Theater an der Wien
The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served pri ...
in
Vienna, Austria
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
on November 23, 2014. The opera was conducted by
Alan Curtis (harpsichordist)
Alan Curtis (November 17, 1934July 15, 2015) was an American harpsichordist, musicologist, and conductor of baroque opera.
Born in Mason, Michigan, Curtis graduated from studies at the University of Illinois, and received his PhD in 1960 wi ...
, featured his Il Complesso Barocco as well as
Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen in the
primo uomo role of Timante.
References
{{Authority control
Operas
1743 operas
Italian-language operas
Operas by Christoph Willibald Gluck