Johann Adolf Hasse - Piramo e Tisbe (Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin)

Information

Composer: Johann Adolf Hasse

• Piramo e Tisbe

Anett Fritsch, soprano (Piramo)

Roberta Mameli, soprano (Tisbe)

Jeremy Ovenden, tenor (Il Padre)

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin

Bernhard Forck, concertmaster

Date: 2025

Label: harmonia mundi

_____________________

Johann Adolph Hasse’s Piramo e Tisbe (1768) marks a turning point in opera history. Known as one of the most performed composers of the late Baroque, Hasse here created an “Intermezzo tragico” that broke with tradition and anticipated the dramatic flow of Viennese Classicism. The story of two star-crossed lovers, drawn from Ovid and later parodied in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, echoes the tragic intensity of Romeo and Juliet. Hasse’s music, colorful, expressive, and emotionally direct, sheds conventional formulas to achieve a striking theatrical immediacy, making the work a milestone in the evolution of operatic expression.

Johann Adolph Hasse (1699–1783) was a leading German composer of late Baroque opera in the Italian style. Beginning as a singer, he launched his composing career in 1721 and gained fame in Italy with Sesostrate (1726), earning the nickname “il Sassone.” He studied with Porpora and Scarlatti, later marrying the celebrated mezzo-soprano Faustina Bordoni. From 1731 he served as music director of the Dresden Opera, where he remained until 1763 before retiring to Vienna. Hasse composed over 60 operas, many with Metastasio librettos, as well as oratorios, masses, and instrumental works. Renowned for melodic beauty and balance, his overtures influenced the emerging symphony.

Founded in 1982, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (Akamus) has become one of the world’s leading period-instrument chamber orchestras. A frequent guest on major international stages, it also presents a long-running subscription series at the Konzerthaus Berlin and regularly performs baroque opera at the Berlin State Opera. Led by concertmasters Bernhard Forck, Georg Kallweit, and Mayumi Hirasaki, Akamus collaborates with renowned conductors and soloists, and maintains close partnerships with the RIAS Kammerchor, Bavarian Radio Chorus, and Audi Jugendchorakademie. With about 100 acclaimed recordings, the ensemble has won major awards including a Grammy, Bach Medal, and Telemann Prize.