7,004
edits
Difference between revisions of "Demofoonte (Pietro Metastasio)"
Demofoonte (Pietro Metastasio) (view source)
Revision as of 19:48, 8 October 2023
, 19:48, 8 October 2023→Synopsis
| Line 35: | Line 35: | ||
==Synopsis== | ==Synopsis== | ||
=== English === | === English === | ||
(Source: English libretto, 1778, Vienna)<ref name="LibrettoEnglish"/>DEMOFONTES, during his reign in the Thracian Chersonesus, consulted the Oracle of Apollo; in order to know when the cruel rites, already prescribed by that Oracle, of sacrificing every year a virgin before his image, should end; and he obtained this answer: | (Source: English libretto, 1778, Vienna)<ref name="LibrettoEnglish"/> | ||
DEMOFONTES, during his reign in the Thracian Chersonesus, consulted the Oracle of Apollo; in order to know when the cruel rites, already prescribed by that Oracle, of sacrificing every year a virgin before his image, should end; and he obtained this answer: | |||
<poem>:"Heav'ns wrath shall cease, when to himself is known | <poem>:"Heav'ns wrath shall cease, when to himself is known | ||
:The innocent usurper of a throne."</poem> | :The innocent usurper of a throne."</poem> | ||
The king not being able to comprehend the dark meaning of this reply, and waiting in hope that time might render it more clear, prepared in the mean while<nowiki>*</nowiki> to perform the annual sacrifice, causing the name of the virgin victim to be drawn by lot out of an urn. Matusius, one of the nobles, pretended that Dircea, his supposed daughter, should not undergo the same lot with the rest, alledging the example of the king, who, to avoid exposing his daughters, kept them distant from Thrace. Demofontes, enraged at the rashness of Matusius, cruelly decreed that the innocent Dircea should be sacrificed without the decision of chance. Dircea was the wife of Timantes, supposed to be Demofontes' son and heir. They concealed their dangerous nuptials through fear of an ancient law, which condemned to death any subject who married with the royal heir. Demofontes, ignorant of the secret nuptials, had engaged Creusa, the King of Phrygia's daughter, for Timantes. On this basis the present Drama is founded. | The king not being able to comprehend the dark meaning of this reply, and waiting in hope that time might render it more clear, prepared in the mean while<nowiki>*</nowiki> to perform the annual sacrifice, causing the name of the virgin victim to be drawn by lot out of an urn. Matusius, one of the nobles, pretended that Dircea, his supposed daughter, should not undergo the same lot with the rest, alledging the example of the king, who, to avoid exposing his daughters, kept them distant from Thrace. Demofontes, enraged at the rashness of Matusius, cruelly decreed that the innocent Dircea should be sacrificed without the decision of chance. Dircea was the wife of Timantes, supposed to be Demofontes' son and heir. They concealed their dangerous nuptials through fear of an ancient law, which condemned to death any subject who married with the royal heir. Demofontes, ignorant of the secret nuptials, had engaged Creusa, the King of Phrygia's daughter, for Timantes. On this basis the present Drama is founded. | ||
Hygin. ex. Philarch. lib. 2 | Hygin. ex. Philarch. lib. 2 | ||