About the work
Teseo is an opera seria by George Frideric Handel to a libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym, who adapted Philippe Quinault's French text for Lully's "Thésée". It premiered on 10 January 1713 at the Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket, London – the only five-act opera in Handel's output.
Plot
The warrior Teseo fights for King Egeo of Athens and loves Agilea, whom the king has instead promised to the sorceress Medea. Only when Medea's campaign of revenge against Teseo fails and she renounces her fury can Teseo and Agilea come together, while Clizia and Arcane are also united.
Cultural significance
The premiere was dogged by misfortune: after the second performance the theatre manager absconded with the box-office takings, leaving singers and orchestra unpaid, and the stage machinery for flying dragons and transformations repeatedly broke down. Even so, Teseo held the stage for thirteen performances and was not revived again until the 1947 Göttingen Handel Festival.