Opera seria in two acts by Dmitrij Bortnianskyi
Venice 1776
Creonte was Bortnianskyi's first performed opera. He used an abridged version of an Antigona text that Marco Coltellini had
written for the Russian court in 1771 as the libretto. Creonte received its premiere in 1776 and several further performances
at the St. Benedetto Theater in Venice; after Bortnianskyi's return to St. Petersburg, only a few individual arias are likely
to have been performed in private concerts.
After the composer's death, the score of the opera was given to the Capella library by his widow, where it was lost in the
course of the 19th century. The work was considered lost until a complete copy of the score was discovered in Lisbon by the
cellist and musicologist Pavel Serbin (member of Orchester Wiener Akademie). He is now also preparing the performance material
for the modern premiere of the work in a staged production. CREONTE is the first completely preserved opera by a Ukrainian
composer. Its revival adds a significant work to our knowledge of 18th century music.
