About the work
Ipermestra is a three-act opera seria by Johann Adolph Hasse to a libretto by Pietro Metastasio. Its premiere on 8 January 1744 at the Vienna court theatre marked the wedding of Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria to Duke Charles Alexander of Lorraine; further performances followed in Naples in 1746 and at Hubertusburg in 1751.
Plot
King Danao receives an oracle that he will die at the hand of a son of Aegyptus, and orders his daughter Ipermestra to kill her betrothed Linceo on their wedding night. Torn between obedience and love, she spares him; after an uprising, Danao recognizes his wrongdoing and cedes rule to Ipermestra.
Cultural significance
The subject of Ipermestra torn between father and beloved was set to music around 30 times up to the 19th century — moderate circulation for a Metastasio libretto.