Arminio is an opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 composed by George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...

.

Performance History

Together with Giustino

Giustino

Giustino is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Pietro Pariati's Giustino, after Nicolo Beregan's Il Giustino.-Performance history:...

 and Berenice

Berenice (opera)

Berenice is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel to an Italian libretto, written in Italy in 1709 and originally entitled Berenice, regina d'Egitto , by Antonio Salvi....

, Arminio is one of three operas Handel wrote within a period of half a year in 1736. He began with the composition of Giustino

Giustino

Giustino is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Pietro Pariati's Giustino, after Nicolo Beregan's Il Giustino.-Performance history:...

 on 14 August 1736, followed by that of Arminio on 15 September. Having finished Arminio he resumed work on Giustino, which he finished on 20 October. In Mid-December, he went on to compose Berenice.

Arminio was performed for the first time at the Covent Garden Theatre

Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...

 on 12 January 1737, earlier than Giustino. It only saw five performances, the last one on 12 February.

The first modern performance took place on 23 February 1935 in Leipzig

Leipzig

Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...

 in a German-language version by Max Seiffert

Max Seiffert

Max Seiffert was a German musicologist and music arranger.-Biography:Seiffert was born in Beeskow an der Spree, Germany; and died in Schleswig, Germany. He was first educated at the Joachimsthal Gymnasium at Berlin, and then at the University of Berlin where he received a Ph.D. in 1891 for the...

 and Hans Joachim Moser.

Libretto

The libretto is based on a libretto of the same name by Antonio Salvi

Antonio Salvi

Antonio Salvi was an Italian physician, court poet and librettist. He was in the service of the ducal court in Florence and the favourite librettist of Prince Ferdinando de' Medici. Salvi was one of the developers of the opera seria.- Life :Salvi was a court physician in Florence for the De'...

, which had been set to music by Alessandro Scarlatti

Alessandro Scarlatti

Alessandro Scarlatti was an Italian Baroque composer especially famous for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti.-Life:Scarlatti was born in...

. The storyline deals with the Germanic leader Arminius

Arminius

Arminius , also known as Armin or Hermann was a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci who defeated a Roman army in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest...

, who defeated the Romans under Publius Quinctilius Varus

Publius Quinctilius Varus

Publius Quinctilius Varus was a Roman politician and general under Emperor Augustus, mainly remembered for having lost three Roman legions and his own life when attacked by Germanic leader Arminius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.-Life:His paternal grandfather was senator Sextus Quinctilius...

 in AD 9

9

Year 9 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sabinus and Camerinus...

, and his wife Thusnelda

Thusnelda

Thusnelda was the daughter of the Cheruscan prince Segestes. Her father had intended her for someone else, but Arminius, who subsequently led a coalition of Germanic tribes to victory over Publius Quinctilius Varus and his legions in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, eloped with her and...

. Although the subject matter thus is historical, the details of the story and the characters, as presented in the opera, are entirely fictional.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 12 January 1737 (Conductor: - )
Arminio (Arminius)	alto Alto Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...  castrato Castrato A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's...	Domenico Annibali Domenico Annibali Domenico Annibali was an Italian castrato who had an active international career from 1725-1764. He began his career in his native country and was then committed to the Grosses Königliches Opernhaus in Dresden from 1729 until his retirement from the stage 35 years later...
Tusnelda (Thusnelda)	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Anna Maria Strada Anna Maria Strada Anna Maria Strada was an Italian soprano of the 18th century. She is best remembered for her association with the composer George Frideric Handel, in whose operas Strada sang.-Career:...
Sigismondo (Sigismund)	soprano castrato	Gioacchino Conti Gioacchino Conti Gioacchino Conti , best known as Gizziello, was an Italian soprano castrato opera singer.-Biography:Conti was born in Arpino...  (Gizziello)
Ramise	alto	Francesca Bertolli Francesca Bertolli Francesca Bertolli was an Italian contralto of the 18th century. She is best remembered for her association with the composer George Frideric Handel, in whose operas she sang....
Segeste	bass	Henry Reinhold Henry Reinhold Henry Reinhold was a singer, reputed to be the son of the archbishop of Dresden.He was born in Dresden and showed an early aptitude for music, which his family apparently discouraged. But he secretly left Dresden to follow Handel, a friend of his reputed father, to London...
Varo (Varus)	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	John Beard John Beard (tenor) John Beard was an English tenor of the 18th century. He is best remembered for creating an extensive number of roles in the operas and oratorios of George Frideric Handel....
Tullio (Tullius)	alto	Maria Caterina Negri