About the work
Opera seria in three acts by Niccolò Piccinni to Pietro Metastasio's libretto 'Ciro riconosciuto', first performed on 26 December 1759 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.
Plot
Fearing a prophecy, a Median king has his newborn grandson Ciro killed, but the child is secretly raised by a shepherd. Years later, the prince's rediscovery leads to dramatic mistaken identities until he is recognised as the rightful heir and his grandfather voluntarily cedes the throne to him.
Cultural significance
The work dates from Piccinni's most productive Neapolitan period, composed shortly after the worldwide success of 'La buona figliuola', and shows how readily he moved between comic and serious genres in parallel.