About the work
Partenope is an opera seria with comic elements in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The libretto derives from Silvio Stampiglia's text "La Partenope" (1699) as adapted after Antonio Caldara's 1707/08 setting. Handel completed the score on 12 February 1730; the premiere took place on 24 February 1730 at the King's Theatre in London.
Plot
Partenope, legendary queen and founder of Naples, is courted by the rivals Arsace, Armindo and Emilio. Meanwhile the disguised princess Rosmira, posing at court as the warrior Eurimene, pursues her former fiancé Arsace to avenge his desertion. After mistaken identities and a duel, Rosmira's true self is revealed and each couple is reunited.
Cultural significance
With an unusually high number of short, pointed arias and ensembles and a plot built on irony and disguise, Partenope stands among Handel's few decidedly comic operas. Commercially it drew only seven performances; it was the 1935 revival at the Göttingen Handel Festival, followed by later productions such as English National Opera's, that secured its place in the modern repertoire.