Dramma per musica in three acts
Music by Francesco Cavalli
Libretto by Nicolò Minato
Concert performance in Italian with German surtitles

Capella Mediterranea
Conductor: Leonardo Garcia Alarcon

Francesco Cavalli’s Pompeo Magno is a glorious tale of confusion and intrigue. Alongside Antonio Cesti, Cavalli is the foremost Italian opera composer of the generation following Claudio Monteverdi. The work centres on the Roman general Gnaeus Pompeius (Pompeo Magno) as he returns to Rome victorious from his third campaign of conquest. But at the Roman court, clandestine battles are being fought around love, desire, betrayal and jealousy, behind closed doors and with no resounding battle cries. First performed at the Teatro San Salvatore in Venice in 1666, Pompeo Magno paints a picture of a decadent society, weaving together all the elements of Venetian musical theatre to create a dense and multifaceted drama. Conductor Leonardo García Alarcón has made a name for himself as a specialist in Cavalli’s operas, having presented them for many years with his Capella Mediterranea. Now he brings Pompeo Magno to the MusikTheater an der Wien with renowned singers including Max Emanuel Cencic, Valer Sabadus and Mariana Flores.