Librettist: Pietro Metastasio
Libretto was renewed by Giuseppe Caravita for the Portuguese version
Serious opera in three acts (2nd ver. in two acts)
Date: 1794 (2nd ver. 1808)
Language: Italian
Large-scale
Demofoonte: tenor
Dircea: soprano
Creusa: soprano
Timante: soprano
Cherinto: soprano
Matusio: tenor
Adrasto: bass
Chorus
The opera revolves around King Demofoonte and the annual obligation to sacrifice a young virgin to save the kingdom. Dircea, daughter of Matusio, is betrothed to Timante but is in danger of being offered as a sacrifice. Timante tries to convince his father to forgive Dircea, but Demofoonte insists on tradition.
Meanwhile, Princess Creusa is sent to marry Timante, but he refuses her out of love for Dircea. Conflicts, misunderstandings and acts of courage and generosity mark the efforts of Timante, Dircea and their allies to escape the sacrifice. Dircea, showing nobility and concern for the welfare of Timante and her son Olinto, moves them and intercedes with Demofoonte.
The climax reveals family secrets: Timante discovers that Dircea is in fact the daughter of Demofoonte and that he himself is not the legitimate son of the queen, but of Matusio. Thus, the impediment to his marriage to Dircea is removed, and the true heir to the throne, Cherinto, can marry Creusa. The opera ends with reconciliations, forgiveness and celebration, with the chorus singing the joy of the resolution of the conflicts.
Fl | Ob | Cl | Bsn | 2 Hn | Tpt | Timp | Vln | Vla | Vc | Cb | Cemb
Score (Act I): Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal
The first version of Marcos Portugal’s opera Il Demofonte, composed on a libretto by Pietro Metastasio, premiered at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan during the Carnival of 1794. Fourteen years later, in response to a commission from a French general, the composer adapted his Il Demofonte – whose text was also adapted by Giuseppe Caravita – to be presented on the birthday of Napoleon Bonaparte, on August 15, 1808, at a time when Francesco Antonio Lodi had been forced to administer the theatre by Junot¹.
Date: Carnival 1794 (2nd ver. 1808)
Venue: Teatro alla Scala, Milan (2nd ver. Teatro de São Carlos, Lisbon)
Cast (Teatro alla Scala): Gustavo Lazzerini, Giuseppa Grassini, Maria Tadelieri, Luigi Marchesi, Giuseppe Battazzi, Gaetano De Paoli, Giusepp’Antonio Fedeli, Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala
Cast (Teatro de São Carlos): Diomiro Tramezzani, Luigia Calderini, Angela Bianchi, Eutemia Eckart Neri, Maria Calvi, Giuseppe Tavani, Michele Bologna and Orchestra of the Teatro de São Carlos
