The contemporary musicologist Charles Burney characterized Hasse and his librettist Pietro Metastasio as two halves of a whole, possessing the same qualities of genius, taste, and judgment.
Performer Biography
Michael Hofstetter, the conductor of this recording, won the title 'Conductor of the Year' from Opernwelt for his 2011 performance of Hasse's Didone abbandonata.
Recording & Production
This production of Hasse's Didone abbandonata was originated by the Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München.
Composer Biography
Johann Adolph Hasse, a German composer, was affectionately called 'il caro sassone' (the dear Saxon) by Italians because his operatic style significantly represented their own.
Compositional Technique
Pietro Metastasio, the librettist, experimented with tragic endings in some of his opera seria works, including Didone abbandonata, despite the prevailing convention of happy endings.
Composer Biography
Hasse's wife, Faustina Hasse-Bordoni, a leading singer of her time and prima donna at the Dresden Opera, was the first to perform the title role in his Didone abbandonata.
Composition History
Hasse's opera Didone abbandonata was written in 1742 to celebrate the birthday of August III, the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, to whom Hasse was Kapellmeister.
