About the work
Demofoonte is an opera seria in three acts by Johann Adolph Hasse, based on Pietro Metastasio's libretto. This second Hasse setting of the subject, ten years after his first Dresden version, premiered on 4 November 1758 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.
Plot
According to an oracle, King Demofoonte of Thrace has a maiden chosen by lot sacrificed every year, but spares his own, unrecognised daughter. When the nobleman Matusio demands the same exemption for his supposed daughter Dircea, the king condemns her to death — all the more so because Dircea has secretly married the crown prince Timante and has a son with him, violating a law against commoners marrying the heir. The resolution reveals that Timante is really Matusio's biological son and Dircea the king's true daughter, resolving both conflicts.
Cultural significance
That Hasse set the same Metastasio text twice within ten years attests to its lasting popularity; the Naples version was written for the renowned Teatro San Carlo.