About the work
One-act Singspiel "Sieg der fruchtbaren Pomona" ("Triumph of Fruitful Pomona") by Reinhard Keiser to a libretto by Christian Heinrich Postel, premiered on 19 October 1702 at the Oper am Gänsemarkt in Hamburg, commissioned for the birthday of King Frederick IV of Denmark. It was the first of four Keiser operas written for the Danish crown and also marked the end of his long-standing collaboration with Postel.
Plot
The messenger god Mercury stages a contest among the four seasons: Flora and Zephyrus represent spring, Ceres summer, Pomona and Bacchus autumn, and Vulcan winter. Jupiter declares Pomona the winner and bestows his blessing on the Danish royal couple, Frederick IV and Louise.
Cultural significance
As an allegorical occasional piece for the Danish court, Pomona differs from Keiser's historical-heroic operas for the regular Hamburg audience. After long obscurity, the work returned to the stage in a production by the Capella Orlandi Bremen under Thomas Ihlenfeldt, with performances in Keiser's birthplace of Teuchern and at the Komische Oper Berlin.