Johann Christian Bach by Thomas Gainsborough

''Temistocle'' (''

Themistocles Themistocles (; ; ) was an Athenian politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy. As a politician, Themistocles was a populist, having th ...

'') 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 the German composer

Johann Christian Bach Johann Christian Bach (5 September 1735 – 1 January 1782) was a German composer of the Classical era, the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He received his early musical training from his father, and later from his half-brother, Carl ...

. The Italian text is an extensive revision of 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 ...

Metastasio Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of ''opera seria'' libretti. Early life Met ...

first set by

Antonio Caldara Antonio Caldara ( – 28 December 1736) was an Italian Baroque composer. Life Caldara was born in Venice (exact date unknown), the son of a violinist. He became a chorister at St Mark's in Venice, where he learned several instruments, probab ...

in 1736, by Mattia Verazi, court poet and private secretary to the Elector Palatine Carl Theodor. The opera was the first of two which J. C. Bach set for the Elector Palatine. Some of the music was reused from earlier works, including part of the

overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which ...

from ''Carattaco'' (composed in London in 1767).

Performance history

''Temistocle'' was first performed at the Court Theatre in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

on 4 November 1772,Grove gives the date as 5 November while Casaglia has 4 November. with a notable cast including Anton Raaff and

Dorothea Dorothea, also spelt Dorothee (German), Dorothée (French), and Dorotea, is a female given name from Greek (Dōrothéa) meaning "god's gift". In English it is more commonly spelt Dorothy. People with this name include: Aristocracy * Countes ...

and Elisabeth Wendling, all singers that later worked with

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Roles

Synopsis

The opera takes place in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Temistocle, together with his son Neocle, has been expelled from

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. He arrives incognito at

Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...

, the capital of his arch-enemy King Serse, to find that his daughter Aspasia (in love with the Athenian ambassador Lisimaco) has also made her way there, following a shipwreck. Eventually all is revealed and Serse magnanimously pardons everybody, unites the lovers and makes peace with Athens.

Recordings

A complete recording is available on Oriel Music Trust, OMT945. Conducted by

Charles Mackerras Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; (17 November 1925 – 14 July 2010) was an American-born Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associ ...

, the cast includes William McAlpine, Marie Hayward, Anne Evans, Patricia Kern,

April Cantelo April Rosemary Cantelo (2 April 1928 – 16 July 2024) was an English soprano. She created roles in operas by major composers, including the title role of ''Semele'' by John Eccles, Helena in Britten's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', and in sever ...

Raimund Herincx Raimund Frederick Herincx (23 August 1927 in LondonGrove, ''Herincx, Raimund'' – 10 February 2018), was a British operatic bass-baritone. Through a varied international career, Herincx performed in most of the world's great opera houses and with ...

, Maureen Lehane, BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra and Singers. The overture is available on CD, for example on ''Johann Christian Bach: Complete Opera Overtures'', performed by the Hanover Band conducted by

Anthony Halstead Anthony Halstead (born 18 June 1945 in Manchester, England) is a leading figure in the period-instruments movement. First known as a virtuoso on the natural horn, he has gradually moved into the role of conductor and has directed the Academy of ...

(

CPO Records CPO may refer to: Occupations * Certified Professional Organizer * Certified Protection Officer, a professional certification for security officers from the International Foundation for Protection Officers * Chief people officer, a corporate o ...

9999632, 2003).

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

lists a recording of ''Temistocle'' with Vladimir Delman, Herbert Handt, Kate Gamberucci, Renato Cesari, Radiotelevisione Italiana, Orchestra Alessandro Scarlatti di Napoli, .

References

External links

* {{Authority control Italian-language operas 1772 operas Operas by Johann Christian Bach Operas set in ancient Persia Operas