About the work
An opera in three acts by Gaspare Spontini to a libretto by Armand-Michel Dieulafoy and Charles Brifaut, based on Voltaire's 1761 tragedy of the same name. It premiered on 22 December 1819 at the Paris Opéra; after a lukewarm reception, Spontini withdrew it after seven performances and revised it repeatedly.
Plot
In Ephesus in 308 BC, Olimpie, the daughter of Alexander the Great and Statira believed dead, lives unrecognised as a slave under the name Aménais. Two rival commanders, Cassandre and Antigone, court her, while Statira, disguised as a priestess, accuses Cassandre of murdering Alexander; only when Antigone confesses and dies in the third act can Cassandre and Olimpie be united.
Cultural significance
After the 1819 failure, Spontini replaced the originally tragic ending with a reconciliatory one; the Berlin version of 1821, translated by E. T. A. Hoffmann, proved far more successful with 78 performances than the Paris original. Even so, the libretto's old-fashioned style could not hold its ground against the rising popularity of Rossini.