About the work
Artemisia is a three-act opera seria by Johann Adolph Hasse on a libretto by Giovanni Ambrogio Migliavacca, a student of Pietro Metastasio. It premiered on 6 February 1754, during the carnival season, at the Dresden court theatre in the Zwinger opera house.
Plot
The action is set in fifth-century BC Halicarnassus: Queen Artemisia intends to marry her army commander Dardano, but conspirators claim he is hiding the rightful heir to the throne and have him imprisoned on a false charge of treason. Only a testament from Ismene reveals that Dardano himself is the rightful heir, clearing the way for his marriage to Artemisia.
Cultural significance
In 1778 a Berlin adaptation appeared at the instigation of Frederick the Great, for which Johann Friedrich Reichardt revised the Artemisia and Nicandro roles and in which Elisabeth Mara sang the title role; in 1994 the work saw a modern revival at the Dresden Music Festival under Frieder Bernius.