About the work
Semiramide is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Gaetano Rossi, based on Voltaire's 1748 tragedy Sémiramis. It was Rossini's last opera written for an Italian stage. The premiere took place on 3 February 1823 at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, with Isabella Colbran in the title role.
Plot
Fifteen years after the unexplained death of her husband, King Nino, Queen Semiramide of Babylon names the young general Arsace as her successor and future husband, unaware that he is her son Ninia, believed dead. The murdered king's ghost demands atonement. In the tomb, Arsace tries to strike down the true assassin Assur but accidentally kills his mother in the dark; the opera ends with the revelation that Ninia will ascend the throne.
Cultural significance
Semiramide is regarded as one of the most demanding works of the bel canto repertoire, requiring coloratura singing of extreme virtuosity. After decades of neglect, the opera returned to the stages of major opera houses from the 1960s onward, driven above all by performances with Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne.