Poro, re dell’Indie - Schedule, Program & Tickets
Poro, re dell’Indie
Date:
Time:
Location:
25.11.2025 , Tuesday
19:00
Theater an der Wien, Linke Wienzeile 6, 1060 Vienna
Seating plan
A DRAMMA PER MUSICA IN THREE ACTS
LIBRETTO AFTER PIETRO METASTASIO
Handel's London operatic empire was in financial crisis at the end of the 1720s: the castrato Senesino, the company's leading figure until then, had turned his back on the Thames, and Johann Christoph Pepusch's English-language Beggar's Opera had shown audiences that theatrical enjoyment was possible beyond Italian coloratura arias. Handel responded in his own way: He lured Senesino back by offering him a particularly spectacular role. For the new opera, he drew on Metastasio's libretto Alessandro nell'Indie, which depicts Alexander the Great's military exploits in India. But Handel shifted the cast: While in Leonardo Vinci's version—performed this season at the MusikTheater an der Wien—the title character Alessandro takes center stage, Handel's version focuses on the Indian king Poro, the role written for Senesino. The premiere in 1731 was ultimately a triumph: there is evidence of nine performances attended by the enthusiastic King George II. In Vienna, the title role is played by one of the great countertenors of our time, Max Emanuel Cencic.
Concert performance in Italian with German surtitles
Introduction to the work 30 minutes before the start of the performance
Subject to change.
LIBRETTO AFTER PIETRO METASTASIO
Handel's London operatic empire was in financial crisis at the end of the 1720s: the castrato Senesino, the company's leading figure until then, had turned his back on the Thames, and Johann Christoph Pepusch's English-language Beggar's Opera had shown audiences that theatrical enjoyment was possible beyond Italian coloratura arias. Handel responded in his own way: He lured Senesino back by offering him a particularly spectacular role. For the new opera, he drew on Metastasio's libretto Alessandro nell'Indie, which depicts Alexander the Great's military exploits in India. But Handel shifted the cast: While in Leonardo Vinci's version—performed this season at the MusikTheater an der Wien—the title character Alessandro takes center stage, Handel's version focuses on the Indian king Poro, the role written for Senesino. The premiere in 1731 was ultimately a triumph: there is evidence of nine performances attended by the enthusiastic King George II. In Vienna, the title role is played by one of the great countertenors of our time, Max Emanuel Cencic.
Concert performance in Italian with German surtitles
Introduction to the work 30 minutes before the start of the performance
Subject to change.