Poro (opera)

Poro, re dell'Indie ("Porus, King of the Pakistani region", HWV 28) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Alessandro nell'Indie by Metastasio, and based on Alexander the Great's encounter with King Porus in 326 BC. The libretto had already been set to music by Leonardo Vinci in 1729 and by Antonio Vivaldi among others and was used as the text for more than sixty operas throughout the 18th century.

Graham Cummings has examined in detail the composition history of Poro in the context of Handel's work on his London operas during the 1730s, and has postulated the principal time of Handel's composing from September 1730 to 16 January 1731, with small revisions prior to the 2 February premiere.

The opera shifted the story's emphasis from Alessandro to Poro and Cleofide, and their relationship.

The opera was first given at the King's Theatre in London on 2 February 1731 and on 15 further occasions. A run of 16 performances was a mark of success for the time as is the fact that the work was revived on 23 December 1731, and again in a revised form on 8 December 1736. It was also given in Hamburg and Brunswick.

The first modern performance, also in Brunswick, was in 1928. The first UK performance since Handel's time was in 1966 at Abingdon. As with all Baroque opera seria, Poro went unperformed for many years, but with the revival of interest in Baroque music and historically informed musical performance since the 1960s,Poro, like all Handel operas, receives performances at festivals and opera houses today. Among other performances, Poro was staged at the Göttingen International Handel Festival in 2006 and by the London Handel Festival in 2007.

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