|
|
Il rč pastore (The Shepherd King) is an opera, K. 208, written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a Italian libretto by Pietro Metastasio. It is an opera seria. The opera was first performed on April 23 1775 in Salzburg.
In 1775 the opera was commissioned for a visit by Archduke Maximillian Franz, son of Empress Maria Theresa, to Salzburg. After Mozart spent six weeks working on the opera, it was performed in in Archbishop's palace in Salzburg.
Metastasio wrote the libretto in 1751, basing it on a work by Torquato Tasso called Aminta. The libretto was picked up when Mozart (just 19 at the time) and his father saw a performance of it set to music composed by Felice Giardini — Mozart's version, however was 2 acts rather than Giardini's three.
Dramatis Personę
- Aminta, a shepherd, rightful heir to Sidon (soprano)
- Elisa, Phoenician shepherdess (soprano)
- Tamiri, daughter of the deposed tyrant, Stratone (soprano)
- Agenore, Sidonian aristocrat (tenor)
- Alessandro, King of Macedonia (tenor)Template:Opera-stub