Mitridate Eupatore

Operas by Alessandro Scarlatti
L'honestà negli amori (1680) Il Pompeo (1683) Mitridate Eupatore (1707) Tigrane (1715) Il trionfo dell'onore (1718) Griselda (1721)
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Il Mitridate Eupatore (Mithridates Eupator) is an opera seria in five acts by the Italian composer Alessandro Scarlatti with a libretto by Girolamo Frigimelica Roberti.^[1] It was first performed at the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo, Venice on 5 January, 1707. A failure at its premiere, Mitridate Eupatore is now considered one of the finest of Scarlatti's operas.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 5 January, 1707 Conductor: the composer
Mitridate, right but dispossessed heir to the throne of Pontus, disguised as Eupatore, ambassador of Ptolemy, king of Egypt	castrato (soprano)
Stratonica Mitridate's mother, party to the assassination of her husband, and now wife of Farnace	soprano
Laodice Mitridate's sister, married against her will to the peasant Nicomede	soprano
Nicomede Pontus peasant, of noble birth and great heart, married to unwilling Laodice, but without ever trying to consummate their marriage	castrato (soprano)
Issicratea Mitridate's wife, desguised as Antigono, second ambassador of the king of Egypt	contralto
Farnace Stratonica's former lover and now her husband, usurper of the throne of Pontus	castrato (contralto)
Pelopida Farnace's minister and confidant	tenor
Mutes: Mitridate Evergete, Stratonica's first husband; Ptolemy, King of Egypt, and Mitridate and Laodice's friend; Cleopatra, Ptolemy's sister

Synopsis

In the ancient kingdom of Pontus, Farnace has seized the throne, killing the king and marrying his wife, Stratonica. The murdered king's daughter, Laodice, has been married to the ruined nobleman, Nicomede, now reduced to working as a cowherd, while her brother, Mitridate Eupatore, has taken refuge in Egypt. Mitridate and his wife, Issicratea, arrive at the court of Pontus disguised as Egyptian ambassadors. They promise Mitridate's head to the usurping king and queen in return for peace between Egypt and Pontus. Mitridate's mother assents to the death of her own son. Mitridate meets his sister Laodice and reveals his true identity. Mitridate and Issicratea assassinate Farnace and Stratonica, and Nicomede announces to the people the return of their rightful king.

References

Notes

1. ^ the original libretto (Il Mitridate Eupatore. Tragedia per musica, Venice, Rossetti, 1707) is accessible for free online in books.google

Sources

• Amadeus Almanac, accessed 10 November 2010
• The Viking Opera Guide ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)
• Del Teatro (in Italian)
• Magazine de l'opéra baroque (in French)