Temistocle (Themistocles) is an opera seria in three acts by the German composer Johann Christian Bach. The Italian text is an extensive revision of the libretto by Metastasio, by Mattia Verazi, court poet and private secretary to the Elector Palatine Carl Theodor.
The opera was the first of two for the Elector Palatine. Some of the music was reused from earlier works, including part of the overture from Carattaco (composed in London in 1767).
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Temistocle (Themistocles) is an opera seria in three acts by the German composer Johann Christian Bach. The Italian text is an extensive revision of the libretto by Metastasio, by Mattia Verazi, court poet and private secretary to the Elector Palatine Carl Theodor.
The opera was the first of two for the Elector Palatine. Some of the music was reused from earlier works, including part of the overture from Carattaco (composed in London in 1767).
Temistocle was first performed at the Hoftheater in Mannheim on 4 November 1772 , with a notable cast including Anton Raaff and Dorothea and Elisabeth Wendling, all singers that later worked with Mozart.
The opera takes place in Persia. Temistocle, together with his son Neocle, has been expelled from Athens. He arrives incognito at Susa, 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...
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