Argenore by Von Preussen, Mi. 09 Juni 2021, Ab (2021/2021), Unter der Regie von Ulrich Peters, Dirigat Attilio Cremonesi, Theater Münster, Münster, Deutschland

A baroque opera of almost Shakespearean dimensions: lies, betrayal and intrigue determine the idiosyncratic plot. King Argenore promises his daughter Palmide to the general Leonida, although she is secretly connected to General Ormondo. When an escape attempt by Ormondos and Palmides fails, he demands that his daughter kill her lover. This is the beginning of a cruel game that ultimately denies the protagonists a »lieto fine« (good ending), contrary to all baroque conventions. ARGENORE bears the signature of a highly educated and sensitive composer who viewed her age with self-confident independence and enlightened skepticism and commented artistically: Wilhelmine von Bayreuth (1709 – 1758). She is the eldest daughter of the "soldier king" Friedrich Wilhelm I and sister of Friedrich II. Married to the Bayreuth Margrave Friedrich, she had the Margravial Opera House built in the Franconian royal seat and composed ARGENORE for her husband's birthday. However, it is not certain whether the opera was actually first performed in 1740. Wilhelmine's autobiography suggests that the soldier king is portrayed in the tyrannical king Argenore. He had sentenced his own son to death after an escape attempt, but then had his friend Hans Hermann von Katte executed for "assistance" in order to punish the crown prince and Wilhelmine. The opera contains a large number of biographical features and - similar to Shakespeare's royal dramas - gives an impression of life at the Prussian court under Friedrich Wilhelm I.