About the work
Semiramide riconosciuta is an opera seria in three acts by Johann Adolph Hasse, based on Pietro Metastasio's 1729 libretto. It is the first of several Hasse settings of the subject; it premiered on 4 November 1744 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.
Plot
The widowed Assyrian queen Semiramide secretly rules Babylon disguised as the supposed son of her late husband, King Nino. The Indian prince Scitalce recognises her as his former lover Idreno, while several suitors compete for the Bactrian princess Tamiri, including the Egyptian Sibari, who is secretly in love with Semiramide, and her own unrecognised brother Mirteo. Revelations about their true identities resolve the intrigue in the end.
Cultural significance
Metastasio's 1729 recognition drama is one of his more frequently set librettos, and Hasse himself returned to the subject more than once. Its premiere at the Teatro San Carlo, one of Italy's leading opera houses, reflects the standing Hasse's music held in Naples during the 1740s.