Pietro Antonio Cestis 'Il pomo d'oro'

Splendour, excess, spectacle: Pietro Antonio Cesti’s Il pomo d’oro was unique even at its premiere in 1668—and at the same time an almost unperformable undertaking. The enormous scale, the multitude of roles and, not least, the absence of the music for two acts—only the libretto has survived—have made the opera legendary over time. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Innsbrucker Festwochen, Ottavio Dantone has reconstructed the missing parts from fragments and other works by Cesti, allowing this festive opera to be heard in its entirety for the first time since its premiere—magnificently staged by Fabio Ceresa and his team.

Over two consecutive evenings, the festival not only evokes the pomp and spectacle that characterised Baroque opera in general—none more so than Il pomo d’oro—but also portrays on stage the origins of what was perhaps the most famous war of antiquity: The Judgement of Paris, which led to the Trojan War.