About the work
Opera seria in three acts by Niccolò Piccinni to Pietro Metastasio's libretto 'Il re pastore', first performed in 1760 at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence, followed by a further staging at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples in 1765.
Plot
Alexander the Great conquers Sidon and seeks to restore the throne to its heir Abdolonymus, believed dead and living unrecognised as the shepherd Aminta. Aminta loves the noblewoman Elisa, while the displaced princess Tamiri and the nobleman Agenore form a second couple; in the end Alexander resolves every entanglement by granting each couple their own kingdom to rule.
Cultural significance
Metastasio's libretto about a ruler who tempers power with magnanimity was among the most frequently performed opera texts of the eighteenth century. That Piccinni brought the work back to the Teatro San Carlo five years after its premiere underlines his standing as one of the most frequently performed composers on that stage.