The Greek myth of Andromeda has been the source material for numerous opera libretti. According to Grove Music Online, the tale of the rescue of Andromeda from a sea monster by Perseus was one of the most popular subjects of early opera with more than 25 unrelated opera libretti written and performed before 1800. While less often a source for the opera stage after 1800, the myth has remained an inspiration for opera adaptations into the 21st century.

Overview

Myth The myth centers on Andromeda, the daughter of Queen Cassiopeia and King Cepheus of Aethiopia. Cassiopeia has angered the Nereids, sea nymphs, by boasting that she is more beautiful than they. The Nereids appeal to Poseidon who threatens the safety of Aethiopia as punishment. In order to appease him, Cassiopeia and Cepheus offer up Andromeda as a human sacrifice. She is stripped naked and is chained to a rock in Jaffa with the intent that she be consumed by the sea creature Cetus sent by Poseidon. She is rescued by Perseus, who arrives by flight on winged sandals or Pegasus, fresh from his defeat of the Gorgon Medusa.

Opera adaptations The earliest known opera based on the Andromeda myth was performed in Venice in 1587. Other early operas based on the myth were composed by Girolamo Giacobbi (1610), Domenico Belli (1618), and Claudio Monteverdi (premiered 1620). Francesco Manelli and Benedetto Ferrari's was a groundbreaking moment in the history of opera when it was staged in Venice in 1637 for the inauguration of the Teatro San Cassiano. Considered the "first commercial opera", the event marked the first time in theatre history that an opera was staged in a public theatre with tickets available for purchase by the general public.

Pedro Calderón de la Barca's play with music (1653) has sometimes been designated an opera or semi-opera as it contains scenes with sung arias and sung dialogue (ie recitative). Its score of uncertain authorship is often attributed to Juan Hidalgo. The work has been referred to in some sources as "Spain’s first opera"; although there are other potential candidates both earlier and later for that claim depending on how one defines what an opera is and what makes an opera Spanish in origin.

Music historian Dale E. Monson asserts that most, but not all, of the opera adaptations of the Andromeda myth have ignored the details of the wider myth and focused the various opera adaptations on the part of the story dealing with the sea monster Cetus's defeat by Perseus. Some opera librettists, such as Philippe Quinault who wrote for Lully's Persée (1682) and whose libretto Andromeda was first set by Gioacchino Cocchi in 1755, chose to introduce a foreign prince or other competing suitor into the story not found in the original myth in order to create a love triangle in the relationship between Andromeda and Perseus. In Johann Friedrich Reichardt and Antonio de' Filistri da Caramondani's Andromeda (1788) an invented third seductor, Fineo, tries to steal Andromeda.

In 2004 the Venice Baroque Orchestra revived the 1726 pastiche Andromeda Liberata in a reconstruction by the violinist Olivier Fourés. Fourés attributed a large portion of the score to Antonio Vivaldi; an attribution disputed by musicologist Michael Talbot who asserted that Vivaldi contributed only a small amount of music. The New York Times coverage of this work stated: "Andromeda is now a subject of a fierce dispute within the normally quiet world of music scholarship, led by two contestants who could pass for David and Goliath".

The librretto for Ibert's Persée et Andromède (1921) chose to emphasize Andromeda's endangerment not from starvation or vulnerability to the elements but from the boredom of her captivity at Jaffa. Other 20th and 21st century operas on the Andromeda myth include works composed by (1924), Salvatore Sciarrino (1990), and Agustí Charles (2021).

Operas based on the Andromeda myth

YearTitleComposerLibrettistDescriptionFirst PerformanceNotesReferences1587Andromedaunknownunknown"tragedia boschereccia"1587, VeniceSung in Italian1610AndromedaGirolamo GiacobbiRidolfo Campeggi1610, San Petronio, BolognaSung in Italian1618L'Andromeda favola marittimaDomenico BelliJacopo Cicognini9 March 1618, Florence, Sung in Italian1620Claudio Monteverdi Ercole Mariglianifavola in musicaMarch 1620Created between 1618 and 1620. The music is lost, but a libretto published in 1620 was later found.1637Francesco Manelli Benedetto Ferrariopera in three actsFebruary 1637, VeniceSung in Italian. Performed for the opening of the Teatro San Cassiano.1638AndromedaMichelangelo Rossi"Cantata e cambuttuta"1638 Carnival, FerraraWhile labeled a type of cantata by its creators, this work is considered the first opera staged in the city of Ferrara.1644AndromedaMarco ScacchiVirgilio Puccitelli6 March 1644, VilniusSung in Polish.1653 Juan Hidalgo?Pedro Calderón de la Barcaplay with musicSung in Spanish. According to musicologist Louise K. Stein this play with music could be considered a semi-opera because it included fully-sung scenes with sung dialogue. While the composer is unknown, it is speculated that court musician Juan Hidalgo, who frequently collaborated with la Barca, is the composer.1662AndromedaIsidore TortonaCarlo Bassi17 May 1662, PiacenzaSung in Italian. Starred Silvia Gailarti Manni in the title role at premiere.1675Die errettete Unschuld, oder Andromeda und PerseusJohann Wolfgang FranckAdapted by Franck from Andromède by Pierre Corneille1675, AnsbachSung in German. It was revived in Hamburg in 16791682PerséeJean-Baptiste LullyPhilippe Quinaulttragédie lyrique18 April 1682, Théâtre du Palais-Royal, ParisSung in French.1692AndromedaJohann Sigismund KusserunknownSingspiel in three acts.20 February 1692, Opernhaus am Hagenmarkt, Braunschweig Sung in German.1707AndromedaAntonio Maria BononciniPietro BernardoniPoemetto dramatico Sung in Italian.1709Il trionfo d'AmoreAntonio Caldaraunknownserenata1709, Rome, Palazzo BonelliSung in Italian1714AndromedaMarc'Antonio ZianiPietro Pariatipoemetto drammatic1714, Vienna HofoperThe last of Ziani's many operas.1721L'AndromedaDomenico SarroGiuseppe Di RosaDrama per musica da cantarsi1721, NaplesSung in Italian.1725Andromeda liberataunknown1725, Cologne1726Andromeda LiberataVarious; including Antonio VivaldiVariouspastiche 18 September 1726Sung in Italian. 1738Le nozze di Perseo e AndromedaGiuseppe Maria Orlandiniazione drammatica in 3 acts9 April 1738, FlorenceSung in Italian 1750Andromeda liberataVariousunknownpastiche1750, ViennaOne of three operas performed by a company led by Rocco Lo Presti in 1750. While specific details on the other two operas performed are known, the exact date and location of the Andromeda liberata performance is unclear. The cast was led by Vittoria Tesi, Angelo Maria Amorevoli, and Giovanni Cinzio Tedeschi. The opera used new text by an unknown poet, and the music was a mix of both old and new material by a variety of composers. New music was contributed by Georg Christoph Wagenseil and Ignaz Holzbauer. Borrowed material included music by Girolamo Abos, Andrea Bernasconi, Baldassare Galuppi, George Frideric Handel, Johann Adolph Hasse, Niccolò Jommelli, Leonardo Leo, and Domenico Sarro.1753AndromedaDavide Perezunknownopera seria1753, LisbonGrove Music Online indicates that this may have been a reworking or recycling of music Perez had used earlier in his 1750 opera Andromaca.1755AndromedaGioacchino Cocchidramma per mussica18 January 1755, TurinSung in Italian. Performed for the Carnival season at the Teatro Regio.1771AndromedaGiuseppe CollaVittorio Amedeo Cigna-Santiopera seria in 3 acts26 December 1771, Teatro Regio, TurinSung in Italian1771AndromedaIgnazio FiorilloVittorio Amedeo Cigna-Santi1771, Kassel 1774AndromedaGiovanni PaisielloVittorio Amedeo Cigna-Santi January 1774, Milan, Teatro Regio DucaleSung in Italian 1775Perseo ed AndromedaGiuseppe GazzanigaVittorio Amedeo Cigna-Santiopera seria15 September 1775, Florence, Teatro della PergolaSung in Italian1776AndromedaunknownmonodramaWas first staged in Braunschweig in 1776 on an unknown day. Score was published that year.Sung in German.1780PerséeFrançois-André Danican Philidor Jean-François Marmontel, adapted from the libretto by Philippe Quinault27 October 1780, ParisSung in French.1781Anton ZimmermannWolfgang von Kempelen and Benedikt Dominik Anton Cremerimelodrama in one act3 April 1781, Hofburgtheater, ViennaSung in German.1783Andromeda und PerseusGeorg DruschetzkyBenedict Dominik Anton Cremerimelodrama1783, LinzSung in German1784Andromeda e PerseoPalmaCarnival 1784, Rome, Teatro Argentina1787Andromeda e Perseo Michael HaydnGiambattista Varesco14 March 17871788AndromedaJohann Friedrich ReichardtAntonio de' Filistri da Caramondani"singeschauspiel" in three acts11 January 1788, Königliche Opernhaus, BerlinSung in German.1792 AndromedaPossibly Johann Gottlieb Naumannunknownopera seria1792, DresdenThe authorship of this opera is uncertain.1796AndromedaNiccolò Antonio ZingarelliGiovanni Bertati1796, VeniceSung in Italian 1798AndromedaGiuseppe SartiFerdinando Morettidramma per musica1798, St Petersburg, Hermitage TheatreSources vary as to whether the premiere occurred on 24 October or 24 November in 1798. 1802Andromeda i PerseyAlexey TitovAleksandr Yakovlevich KnyazhninmelodramaSung in Russian.1805AndromedaVittorio TrentoGiovanni Schmidtopera seria in 2 acts30 May 1805, Naples, Teatro di San CarloSung in Italian.1807AndromedaFriedrich SchneiderHeinrich Seidelopera in three actsFirst staged in Leipzig in 1807.Sung in German,1807AndromedaJózef ElsnerLudwik Osińskiopera in one act14 January 1807, National Theatre, WarsawSung in Polish.1921Persée et AndromèdeJacques IbertMichael Veberopera in two acts15 May 1929, ParisComposed in 1921, the work did not premiere until eight years later. Sung in French. 1924Madeleine Mauriceopera in three acts23 April 1924, Stadttheater BaselFrench-language opera completed in 1913. It was not staged or published until 1924 when it was performed in a German-language translation by Hanns von Gumppenberg.1990Perseo e AndromedaSalvatore SciarrinoSalvatore Sciarrino, after Jules Laforgueopera in one act27 January 1991, Staatsoper StuttgartCompleted in 1990. First performed in 1991, and published in 1992.2021Andrómeda encadenadaAgustí CharlesMarc Rosich,chamber opera28 October 2021, Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona, SpainSung in Spanish.

Other related works Andromède (1650), a play by Pierre Corneille for which composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier contributed music in its 1682 revival. The Flying Lovers, or Perseus and Andromeda (1716), a pantomime with music by Johann Christoph Pepusch and a libretto by John Weaver which was staged at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. While technically a pantomime, this work has elements close enough to an opera that it has been listed as such in some published material. Andromède et Persée (), a secular cantata by composer Laurent Gervais "Ah, lo previdi" (1777), a concert aria for soprano and orchestra by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The text is taken from the Andromeda libretto by Vittorio Amedeo Cigna-Santi, and is sung by the character Andromeda. Andromède (1883), a symphonic poem by Augusta Holmès inspired by the Andromeda myth

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