Lucio Silla

Lucio Silla (pronounced /ˈluːtʃoʊ ˈsɪlɒ/, Italian pronunciation: [ˈluːtʃo ˈsilla]), K. 135, is an Italian opera in three acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was written by Giovanni de Gamerra.

It was first performed on 26 December 1772 at the Teatro Regio Ducal in Milan and was regarded as "a moderate success".

Handel's opera Silla (1713) covered the same subject. Other operas with the same title were also composed by Pasquale Anfossi (1774), and Johann Christian Bach (1776).

Performance history

The opera was given its first performance in the UK on 7 March 1967 at Camden Town Hall in London. Its US premiere followed in 1968 with a performance in Baltimore on 19 January.

Lucio Silla is not often performed today, although it was given by The Santa Fe Opera in 2005 and in Warsaw in June 2011. It was performed by the Classical Opera Company in London on 8 March 2012, conducted by Ian Page. Performances were presented at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona in June and July 2013. That same year, it was performed at the Mozartwoche Salzburg in January and the Salzburg Festival in the summer; both performances were directed and choreographed by Opera Atelier's Co-Artistic Directors, Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg.