About the work
Demofoonte is an opera seria in three acts by Gian Francesco de Majo to the libretto by Pietro Metastasio, set by at least 73 composers between 1733 and 1800. De Majo's setting premiered in 1763 at the Teatro Argentina in Rome.
Plot
An oracle demands that the Thracian king Demofoonte sacrifice a virgin every year for as long as 'the innocent usurper' occupies the throne. When the choice falls on Dircea, secretly married to the heir Timante, the couple seem doomed by reasons of state until discovered letters reveal the true parentage of both, lifting the sacrifice and the forced marriage alike.
Cultural significance
The premiere fell within de Majo's most productive years, during which he composed within a few years for stages in Venice, Turin, Rome, Vienna and Mannheim before dying in 1770 at only 38. Besides full settings by Gluck, Hasse and Vivaldi, Metastasio's text also inspired individual concert arias, including five by Mozart.