About the work
Siroe, re di Persia is an opera seria in three acts by Giuseppe Sarti, setting Pietro Metastasio's libretto. Sarti wrote it for the Teatro Regio in Turin, where it premiered on 26 December 1779, shortly after he had become maestro di cappella at Milan Cathedral.
Plot
In seventh-century Persia, the rightful heir Siroe refuses to warn his father Cosroe of a conspiracy without naming the conspirators, and is himself condemned to death as a result. Only when his apparent adversary Emira reveals her true identity and foils a plot by his brother Medarse against the king is Siroe's innocence established; Cosroe abdicates, and Siroe ascends the throne together with Emira.
Cultural significance
Metastasio's libretto of 1726 was one of the most frequently set of its time, including by Handel (1728) and Hasse. Sarti's Turin version of 1779 falls in his most productive period as a sought-after opera seria composer, shortly before his move to Russia.