Giovanni Bononcini «Astarto» (Opera in three acts)
Libretto by Paolo Rolli, after Apostolo Zeno & Pietro Pariati (london edition, 1720)
First performance: London, King’s Theatre Haymarket, 19. November 1720
Performance in italian with German surtitles based on the critical edition by Giovanni Andrea Sechi

Elisa, Queen of Tiro, loves her admiral Clearco and – despite the difference in status – is ready to marry him. Their union is opposed by Fenicio, Clearco’s supposed father, Agenore, who loves Elisa, and Sidonia, who loves Clearco more than Nino. Only Fenicio knows that Clearco is in fact Astarto, the son of the king who was murdered when Elisa’s father usurped the throne ...

At first glance, the plot of «Astarto» reads as intricate and convoluted as that of any Baroque opera buffa. The work enjoyed great success, especially in London, following its première at the Teatro Capranica in Rome. «Astarto», Bononcini’s first work for the King’s Theatre at Haymarket, was so successful partly because it also marked the debut of the castrato Francesco Bernardi, known as Senesino, who was already celebrated in many places.

When the reconstructed successful London version of «Astarto» from 1720 is performed for the first time in the modern era at the Festival, the internationally sought-after Stefano Montanari will be at the conductor’s podium, the Enea Baroque Orchestra from Rome conducted by him, the director Silvia Paoli, who is already well-known and successful in Innsbruck, as well as a group of soloists who are equally enthusiastic about singing and playing.