Semiramide riconosciuta

Semiramide riconosciuta (Semiramis recognized or revealed) is an opera libretto by Pietro Metastasio (1698-1782), written in 1729. It is for opera seria, and accordingly consists of recitatives and da capo arias. It tells a story of the legendary Semiramis, wife of the Biblical Nimrod.

Characters

The voice types and character descriptions are taken from the text set to music in 1729 by Leonardo Vinci:^[1]

• Semiramide (soprano), Assyrian queen, in masculine dress under the name Nimrod; in love with Scitalce, who had previously known her in Egypt under the name Idreno
• Mirteo (soprano), Egyptian prince, brother of Semiramis (though he does not know this), in love with Tamiri
• Ircano (contralto), Scythian prince, in love with Tamiri
• Scitalce (contralto), Indian prince, in love with Semiramide
• Tamiri (soprano), Bactrian princess, in love with Scitalce
• Sibari (tenor), confidante of and secretly in love with Semiramide

Operas

The libretto has been used as the text for operas by several composers, including:

• Semiramide riconosciuta by Leonardo Vinci, premiered 6 February 1729
• Semiramide riconosciuta by Nicola Porpora, premiered 26 December 1729
• Semiramide riconosciuta by Niccolò Jommelli, premiered 1741
• Semiramide riconosciuta by Giovanni Battista Lampugnani, premiered 1741
• Semiramide riconosciuta by Johann Adolph Hasse, premiered 26 December 1744
• La Semiramide riconosciuta by Domènec Terradellas, premiered 1746
• La Semiramide riconosciuta by Christoph Willibald Gluck, premiered 1748
• La Semiramide riconosciuta by Baldassare Galuppi, premiered 1749
• La Semiramide riconosciuta by Giovanni Marco Rutini, premiered 1752
• Semiramide riconosciuta by Gioacchino Cocchi, premiered 1753
• Semiramide riconosciuta by Andrea Bernasconi, premiered 1765
• Semiramide by Antonio Salieri, premiered 1782
• Semiramide riconosciuta by Giacomo Meyerbeer, premiered 1819

References