About the work
Merope is a three-act opera seria on the widely set libretto by Apostolo Zeno, first given music by Francesco Gasparini at the Teatro San Cassiano in Venice in 1712. Niccolò Jommelli composed his setting to open the 1741/42 carnival season at the Teatro San Giovanni Crisostomo in Venice, where it premiered on 26 December 1741.
Plot
Ten years before the action begins, the usurper Polifonte has had the Messenian king Cresfonte and his sons murdered; only the youngest son, Epitide, escaped and grew up in exile. To legitimise his rule, Polifonte now intends to marry the widowed queen Merope, while Epitide has secretly returned under a false name to seek revenge. Only when Merope, not knowing his true identity, orders his execution does the mistake come to light — Epitide overthrows Polifonte and assumes his rightful rule.
Cultural significance
Jommelli's setting was restaged repeatedly in the following years, including in Palermo in 1747, at the Viennese court theatre in 1749 and in Barcelona in 1751, evidence of its reach well beyond the Italian stage.