Power play in Scarlatti's most dramatic opera

For several seasons, the Matinee has been performing works by Alessandro Scarlatti, already underrated in his time. But: Il Mitridate Eupatore - what a work!

Great cast
Alessandro Scarlatti represents the important connection between the seventeenth century of Monteverdi and Cavalli, and the eighteenth century of Vivaldi and Handel. Mitridate, a role written for a soprano castrato, is the rightful heir to the kingdom of Pontus on the Black Sea. With the help of his sister Laodice, he chases away the usurper Farnace. The title role will now be performed by young French countertenor Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian, while good acquaintances will return to Amsterdam: soprano Julia Lezhneva and mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux.

Scarlatti's best work
For the first time, Scarlatti brings only serious characters to the stage - the mix with comic characters was seen as something out of seventeenth-century Venice. Also, the power play plays a bigger role than the love intrigues. Perhaps that is why this unique Mitridate was not a success at its premiere at the Venetian Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo. Connoisseurs nevertheless consider this opera Scarlatti's best work, full of beautiful arias and a use of counterpoint that is actually not inferior to the best Bach.