Armida Abbandonata (Armida Abandoned) is an opera in three acts by the Italian composer Niccolò Jommelli. The libretto, by Francesco Saverio De Rogatis, is based on the epic poem Jerusalem Delivered by Torquato Tasso. The opera was first performed at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, on 30 May 1770. The young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was in the audience. He described the work as "beautiful but too serious and old-fashioned for the theatre". Nevertheless, despite a lukewarm reception at its premiere, Armida abbandonata was widely performed throughout Italy in the following years.
Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 30 May 1770[1] Conductor: Nicola Fabio |
---|---|---|
Armida | soprano | Maria Anna Lucia De Amicis-Buonsollazzi |
Rinaldo | castrato (soprano) | Giuseppe Aprile (Sciroletto) |
Tancredi | tenor | Arcangelo Cortoni |
Erminia | soprano | Apollonia Marchetti |
Rambaldo | castrato (contralto) | Pietro Santi |
Dano | castrato (soprano) | Gerlando Speciali |
Ubaldo | castrato (soprano) | Tommaso Galeazzi |