Italian opera Il rè pastore (The Shepherd King), a two acts opera seria (drama) composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1775 when he was 19 years old.
- Libretto / text by Pietro Metastasio, adapted by Gianbattista Varesco, Salzburg court chaplain.
- First Performance: Salzburg, Palace of the Archbishop, April 23, 1775. The occasion was the visit from the archduke Maximilian Franz, the youngest son of Empress Maria Theresa.
- Setting: Sidon, 330 B.C.
- Opera Seria / Drama Opera
Main Characters of Il rè pastore
- Alessandro, King of Macedonia (tenor)
- Agenore, Sidonian aristocrat (tenor)
- Tamiri, daughter of the deposed tyrant Stratone (soprano)
- Aminta, Shepherd, rightful heir to Sidon (soprano)
- Elisa, Phoenician shepherdess (soprano)
Plot / Synopsis of Mozart's Il Re Pastore
The king of Macedonia, Alessandro, has overthrown Stratone, the tyrant of Sidon, but aims to find the rightful king.
Act I
In a meadow. The city of Sidon can be seen from a distance
Elisa is with her lover Aminta, the shepherd. She assures him that the war between King Alessandro and Stratone, the tyrant of Sidon, will not affect their love for each other. Having deposed Stratone, Alessandro searches for the rightful heir to Sidon. He thinks that Aminta is the rightful heir. He comes to Aminta in disguise and offers him to take him to Alessandro. Aminta wants to remain a shepherd. Meantime, Agenore encounters his beloved Tamiri, daughter of Stratone. Tamiri is comforted to learn that Agenore still loves her.
Elisa gets permission from her father to marry Aminta. Agenore tells Aminta that he is the rightful heir to the throne and that his father was driven out by Stratone when he was a baby. Aminta promises to return to Elisa after claming his throne. Aminta loves Elisa but Alessandro suggests that when Aminta is hailed king, royal duties take precedence over love. Alessandro suggests that Tamiri marry Aminta in order to ascend her father's throne. Aminta disagrees. The opera's lovely aria sung by Aminta, 'L'amero, saro costante', declares his love for Elisa.
Act II
At a Macedonian Camp
Elisa is prevented by Agenore from seeing Aminta. He also discourages Aminta from pursuing her. Alessandro tells Aminta to dress like a king so he can be presented to his subjects. He also decides that Tamiri marry Aminta. Aminta is distraught. Agenore is upset. He breaks the news to Elisa. Tamiri does not want to marry Aminta. Agenore, too, is tormented by the planned marriage.
Tamiri tells Alessandro that she and Agenore are in love. The women threw themselves in Alessandro's mercy. Elisa begs him to give her back Aminta. Realizing the potential injustice he was about to inflict, Alessandro tells Aminta to marry Elisa and Tamiri to marry Agenore. Aminta is crowned king of Sidon.
Operas Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Die Zauberflöte, Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, Der Schauspieldirektor, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Idomeneo, Il rè pastore, Ascanio in Alba, La finta semplice , Lucio Silla, Il sogno di Scipione, La clemenza di Tito, Mitridate rè di Ponto, Bastien und Bastienne
Sources:
Mozart and His Operas, edited by Stanley Sadie, 2000
Opera, Editor-in-Chief, András Batta, 2000, English Edition
The Da Capo Opera Manual by Nicholas Ivor Martin, New York, 1997
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