About the work
Almira, Königin von Castilien is a Singspiel in three acts and Handel's first opera, composed at nineteen for Hamburg's Gänsemarkt opera house. Friedrich Christian Feustking's libretto draws on an earlier Italian text by Giulio Pancieri; the premiere took place on 8 January 1705, with the composer and writer Johann Mattheson singing the role of Fernando. As was customary at the Gänsemarkt, German recitatives alternate with arias sung in Italian.
Plot
Under her late father's will, Queen Almira of Castile must marry a man from the house of Consalvo, yet she secretly loves her secretary Fernando, whose origins are unknown. Jealousy, disguise and mistaken affections entangle several couples until Fernando turns out to be Consalvo's long-lost son, so that Almira's love match fulfils the testament after all.
Cultural significance
Almira was a considerable success, running to roughly twenty performances by February 1705, an unusually long run for the Gänsemarkt stage. It is the only one of Handel's Hamburg operas whose music survives largely intact; he later reused a sarabande theme from the score for the famous aria "Lascia ch'io pianga" in Rinaldo.