![La Douleur et les regrets d'Andromaque sur le corps d'Hector son mari by Jacques-Louis David (1783) [Musée du Louvre]](http://www.operatoday.com/Andromaque.png)
03 Feb 2008
ROSSINI: Ermione
Ermione: Azione tragica in two acts.
Recently in Repertoire
Lohengrin, Bayreuth 2011 Live
Opera in three acts. Words and music by Richard Wagner.
Parsifal, Bayreuth 2012 Live
Parsifal. Bühnenweihfestspiel (“stage dedication play”) in three acts.
Music from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“German poet, dramatist and novelist. One of the most important literary and cultural figures of his age, he was recognized during his lifetime for his accomplishments of almost universal breadth. However, it is his literary works that have most consistently sustained his reputation, and that also serve to demonstrate most clearly his many-faceted relationship to music. . . .
Operas based on the works of Friedrich von Schiller
This theme relates to operas based on the works of Friedrich von Schiller.
Operas Based on French Literature
Here are operas based on French literature from Balzac, Hugo and beyond:
Jules Massenet: Le Cid
Le Cid, Opéra in 4 acts
Vincenzo Bellini: I puritani
I puritani, opera seria in three acts
Vincenzo Bellini: Zaira
Zaira, Tragedia lirica in two acts.
G. F. Handel: Athalia
Athalia: Oratorio (sacred drama) in 3 acts
DONIZETTI: Lucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia: Melodramma in a prologue and two acts.
BERTIN: La Esmeralda
La Esmeralda: Opéra in four acts.
VERDI: Ernani — Florence 1957
Ernani: Dramma lirico in four parts.
von Waltershausen: Oberst Chabert
Oberst Chabert (Colonel Chabert): Tragic opera in 3 acts.
VERDI: Otello — La Scala 1954
Otello: Dramma lirico in four acts.
Music composed by Giuseppe Verdi. Libretto by Arrigo Boito after The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice by William Shakespeare.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a comedy in five acts with incidental music.
HAHN: Le Marchand de Venise
Le Marchand de Venise (“The Merchant of Venice”): Opéra in three acts.
STORACE: Gli Equivoci
Gli Equivoci (The Comedy of Errors): Opera in two acts.
MARTIN: Der Sturm
Der Sturm: Opera in three acts
PURCELL: The Fairy-Queen
The Fairy-Queen: Semi-opera in five acts.
VERDI: Macbeth — Vienna 2009
Macbeth: Melodramma in quattro parti.
OPERA TODAY ARCHIVES »
Repertoire
Music composed by Gioachino Rossini. Libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola after Jean Racine’s Andromaque.
First Performance: 27 March 1819, Teatro San Carlo, Naples
| Principal Characters: | |
| Ermione [Hermione], daughter of Menelaus and Hélène, promised to Pyrrhus | Soprano |
| Andromaca [Andromaque], widow of Hector and captive of Pyrrhus | Contralto |
| Astianatte [Astyanax], son of Andromaque | Silent |
| Pirro [Pyrrhus], son of Achille, king of Épire (Ipiros) | Tenor |
| Oreste, son of Agamemnon | Tenor |
| Pilade [Pylade], friend of Oreste | Tenor |
| Fenicio [Phoenix], tutor to Achille and then to Pyrrhus | Bass |
| Cleone [Cléone], confidante of Hermione | Mezzo-Soprano |
| Cefisa [Céphise], confidante of Andromaque | Mezzo-Soprano |
| Attalo [Attalus], servant of Pyrrhus | Tenor |
Setting: Buthrot, city of Épire (Ipiros), in a room of Pirro’s palace.
Synopsis:
After having defeated the Trojans, Pirro returns to his country with numerous prisoners among which there is Andromaca and her child, Astianatte. Pirro breaks his promise to Ermione because of his love for Andromaca. Remaining faithful to the memory of Hector, Andromaca rejects his advances. Oreste, who has been sent to Buthrote by the Greek kings to demand that Pirro fulfill his duty, declares his love to Ermione. Yet Ermione, tormented by jealousy, seeks to regain the heart of Pirro. Ermione rejects Oreste and his demand for the death of Astianatte (so as to avoid inevitable revenge). But, Pirro, in the presence of the court and Ermione, asks Andromaca to marry him. Andromaca falsely consents to the wedding, but in reality she wants only to save her child. Humiliated, Ermione induces Oreste to kill Pirro. When Oreste shows her the bloody dagger, Ermione is horrified and calls the Furies upon him. Oreste, stunned and delirious, is dragged away by his companions to a ship.