Organization

Lighting designer

Ulrik Gad

Conductor

Ivor Bolton

Stage director

Mariame Clément

Set designer

Julia Hansen

Choreographer

Mathieu Guilhaumon

Singer

Countertenor

Tim Mead

Ulisse

Soprano

Francesca Aspromonte

Deidamia

Sabina Puértolas

Teagene

Franco Fagioli

Achille

Pirra

Tenor

Krystian Adam

Arcade

Bass

Mirco Palazzi

Licomede

Gabriel Diaz

Iolanda Massimo

Costume designer

Harpsichord

Juan Sancho

Nearco

MusikTheater an der Wien

Teatro Real de Madrid

Others

Coro Intermezzo

Orchestra

Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla

Caio Duran

Achille in Sciro -  (Achilles in Scyros)

Madrid

Spain

Teatro Real

Sala Principal

Disguise and transvestism were an essential part of opera plots from the Venetian origins of this genre. In line with this tradition -   continued by ópera seria – the episode of Aquiles on the island of Esciros inspired more than 30 compositions for voice based on the libretto of Metastasio in 1737: Tetis, mother of Aquiles, disguises her son as a woman to hide him in the court of King Licomedes and prevent his participation in the Trojan War.  (What else is missing?). However, the plan begins to come apart when Aquiles, incapable of subduing his virility, falls in love with Princess Deidamia.

Francesco Corselli is a fundamental name in Spanish opera of the 18th century:  as Kapellmeister of the Royal Chapel of Madrid for nearly 30 years, he was the principal supplier of opera to the Spanish court. Some of these were under the artistic direction of the famous castrato Farinelli. First seen in 1744 at the Real Coliseo del Buen Retiro in Madrid, Achille in Sciro was composed to celebrate the marriage of the Infanta of Spain, Maria Teresa Rafaela to the Dauphin of France. Staging this opera was postponed by the interruption of the pandemic and it represents a momentous milestone in the recovery of our musical heritage.

Production booklet

Further reading