About the work
Alessandro nell'Indie is an opera seria by Johann Christian Bach, set to Pietro Metastasio's often-set libretto of the same name. Bach composed it for the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, where it premiered on 20 January 1762 – his last opera for an Italian stage before he moved to London that same year.
Plot
Alexander the Great has defeated the Indian king Porus at the Hydaspes but magnanimously forgives him and lets him keep his kingdom. Entwined with this main plot are the mutual romantic entanglements of Porus's betrothed Cleofide, Porus himself, and the scheming general Timagenes, which are resolved in a final reconciliation.
Cultural significance
Bach cast the premiere with sought-after singers of the day: Tommaso Guarducci, Clementina Spagnoli and Anton Raaff. Metastasio's text, his most popular libretto after Artaserse, was set by more than 60 composers, including Handel and Hasse.