Artaserse (Hasse)


Artaserse is an opera in three acts composed by Johann Adolph Hasse to an Italian libretto adapted from that by Metastasio by Giovanni Boldini first shown in Venice on 11 February 1730.

History

Artaserse premiered at the Teatro di San Giovanni Grisostomo in Venice on 11 February 1730, just 6 days after the libretto's first setting by Leonardo Vinci premiered in Rome.
Hasse wrote three settings of this libretto. The original one dates from 1730, just before he became Kapellmeister in Dresden. A second setting was made for the Court Theatre in Dresden in 1740. Finally, he composed a third one in 1760, when he was nearing the end of his career as Kapellmeister in Dresden.
His style, as well as musical taste, underwent considerable change during those 30 odd years, so much so that not a lot of the 1760 version sounds like the music of the 1730 and the 1740 versions. For instance, at the end of the first act of the 1760 version, Mandane's accompanied recitative and aria in which she calls upon the ghost of her father, King Xerxes, has been removed. Although this differs from the previous versions, this change actually makes the drama closer to the original by Metastasio.
To those three versions solely by Hasse, one must also add a myriad of pasticcios which use Hasse's setting as a basis, including for instance the notable Autumn 1734 London production put together by Nicola Porpora, starring Farinelli in arias written by Riccardo Broschi, but also, earlier that same year, a production for the Venice Carnival including additional music by Galuppi, starring both Farinelli and Caffarelli.
Hasse's Artaserse, in full or at least in part, was produced in:

Synopsis

Artaserse is based on the life of king Artaxerxes I of Persia, a ruler of the fifth century B.C., son of Xerxes I.
Seeing King Serse I's power in serious decline and ambitioning to mount the throne, Artabano, the commander of the royal guards and a powerful official in the Persian court, has murdered the sovereign and is now hoping to sacrifice the rest of the royal family to his design. And so, he accuses Dario, Serses I's eldest son and older brother of Artaserse, of the regicide and persuades the latter to avenge the crime. After Dario's demise, the only thing left wanting is now the death of Artaserse, which Artabano has plotted, but his plans are delayed by a succession of various incidents and in the meantime the treason is revealed.

Roles

CharacterDescription
ArtasersePrince and subsequently King of Persia; friend of Arbace and in love with Semira
MandaneSister of Artaserse; in love with Arbace
ArtabanoPrefect of the Royal Guard; father of Arbace and Semira
ArbaceBrother of Semira; friend of Artaserse; in love with Mandane
SemiraSister of Arbace; in love with Artaserse
MegabiseGeneral of the Persian army, Artabano's confidant; also in love with Semira

Aria distribution

Color key:
  • Artaserse
  • Mandane
  • Artabano
  • Arbace
  • Semira
  • Megabise
  • Duetto / coro
  • No aria in the scene
  • Scene does not exist

In other productions

The arias in bold italic are arias that are not part of Hasse's original opera.
ActSceneLondon
29 Oct. 1734
I1Un' altra volta o Febo
I1Conservati fedele
I2In sen mi tace
I3
I4Per pieta, bell' idol mio
I5Sogna il Guerrier le schiere
I5Bramar di perdere
I6Non ti son Padre
I6Torna innocente, e poi
I6Se al labbro mio non credi
I6Che pena al mio core
II1Rendimi il caro amico
II2Lascia cadermi in volto
II3Amalo, e se al tuo sguardo
II3Non temer, ch'io mai ti dica
II4Se d'un amor tirano
II4Se del fiume altera l'onda
II5Per questo dolce amplesso
II5Ah ingrato crudel
II5Pallido il sole
III1Pensa, che l'amor mio
III1Son qual nave che agitata
III2Spiega i lini, abbandona la sponda
III2Figlio, se piu non vivi
III3Mi credi spietata
III4Tu vuoi ch'io viva o cara
III5Or la nube procellosa
III5Giusto Rè, la Persia adora

ActSceneVenice
1734
I1Conservati fedele
I2Se penso al tuo periglio
I3
I4
I5Per pietà, bell' idol mio
I6Sogna il Guerrier le schiere
I7Bramar di perdere
I8
I9
I10
I11Deh respirar lasciatemi
I12Non ti son Padre
I13Torna innocente, e poi
I14Dimmi che un empio sei
I15Chi non sente al mio dolore
II1Rendimi il caro amico
II2Lascia cadermi in volto
II3
II4
II5Non temer, ch'io mai ti dica
II6Se d'un amor tirano
II7Se del fiume altera l'onda
II8
II9
II10
II11La sorte mia tiranna
II12Và trà le selve ircane
II13
II14Se tu mi voi felice
II15Cosi stupisce, e cade
III1Perche tarda è mai la morte
III2Lasciar morir l'autore
III3
III4Pallido il sole
III5Mi credi spietata
III6Non è ver, che sia contento
III7
III8Quell'ardor che il sen m'accende
III9
III10
III11
III12Giusto Rè, la Persia adora

Performers and voice types

Color key:
  • Unknown
  • Soprano
  • Contralto
  • Tenor
  • Bass
  • Soprano castrato
  • Contralto castrato

Recordings