About the work
L’olimpiade is an opera seria by Johann Adolph Hasse on Pietro Metastasio’s libretto of the same name, one of the most frequently set opera texts of the 18th century, with over 70 settings including ones by Vivaldi and Hasse himself. Hasse’s first version premiered on 16 February 1756 at the Dresden court theatre, with Angelo Amorevoli, Teresa Albuzzi-Todeschini and Angelo Maria Monticelli in the leading roles.
Plot
The Cretan prince Licida persuades his friend Megacle to compete in the Olympic Games under a false name in order to win the king’s daughter Aristea — not knowing that Megacle himself loves Aristea. Disguises and misunderstandings escalate until Licida is revealed as the long-lost son of King Clistene, and the story ends in a double wedding.
Cultural significance
Hasse himself later revised the work several times, including for Warsaw (1761/62) and Turin (1764), which shows both his continuing engagement with the subject and the lively international circulation of Metastasio’s text.