Arminio

"Arminio" (HWV 36) is an opera composed by Georg Friedrich Händel.

Performance History

Together with Giustino and Berenice, "Arminio" is one of three operas Händel wrote within a period of half a year in 1736. He began with the composition of Giustino on August 14 1736, followed by that of "Arminio" on 15. September. Having finished "Arminio" he resumed work on "Giustino", which he finished on 20 October. In Mid-December, he went on to compose "Berenice".

"Arminio" was performed for the first time at the Covent Garden Theatre on 12 January 1737, earlier than "Giustino". It only saw five performances, the last one on 12th February.

The first modern performance took place on 23 February 1935 in Leipzig in a German language version by Max Seiffert and Hans Joachim Moser.

Libretto

The libretto is based on a libretto of the same name by Antonio Salvi, which had been set to music by Alessandro Scarlatti. The storyline deals with the Germanic leader Arminius, who defeated the Romans under Publius Quinctilius Varus in 9 A.D., and his wife Thusnelda. Although the overall subject matter is thus historical, the details of the story and the characters as presented in the opera are entirely fictional.

Roles

References

*citation|first=Winton|last=Dean|title=Handel's Operas, 1726-1741|publisher=Boydell Press|year=2006
id=ISBN 1843832682 The second of the two volume definitive reference on the operas of Handel
* Paul Henry Lang: "George Frideric Handel"
* Christopher Hogwood: "Händel"
* Albert Scheibler: "Sämtliche 53 Bühnenwerke des Georg Friedrich Händel"