About the work
Baroque Singspiel in five acts by Reinhard Keiser after an Italian model, adapted by the librettist Breymann, premiered in 1710 at the Oper am Gänsemarkt in Hamburg. Unusually for Keiser, the work spans five acts; the text mixes German passages with a number of Italian arias.
Plot
The widowed Queen Arsinoe of Cyrene wants to break her daughter Berenice's engagement to the Egyptian prince Tolomeo in order to marry her to King Demetrius of Macedon – but falls in love with him herself. After Demetrius's apparent poisoning and mysterious return, the entanglements are resolved: Berenice accepts Tolomeo after all, while Arsinoe is united with Demetrius.
Cultural significance
The opera became known above all for its soprano entrance aria with four obbligato recorders, which has also been released separately on record. After its success in 1710, Arsinoe long disappeared from the stage until the Berlin Kammeroper rediscovered the work in 2006 under the direction of Kay Kuntze.