Alessandro nell’Indie marks the return of a Baroque opera sensation to the stage of the MusikTheater an der Wien: Leonardo Vinci’s long-forgotten masterpiece combines historical drama with virtuoso vocal artistry. Max Emanuel Cencic’s colorful production unfolds an emotionally charged tale of love, power, and sacrifice—carried by an extraordinary ensemble of leading countertenors.
The composer Leonardo Vinci was the eccentric star of Neapolitan and Roman opera in the 1720s, whose works were almost completely forgotten until a concert performance of his last opera, Artaserse, rekindled enthusiasm for his music a few years ago. Vinci's penultimate opera,Alessandro nell'Indie, also remained unperformed for almost 300 years until singer and director Max Emanuel Cencic brought it back to the stage for the first time at the Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival in 2022. The opera, which premiered in Rome in 1730 and deals with Alexander the Great's (Alessandro) campaign in India, is the first setting of one of Pietro Metastasio's most successful libretti.
In it, Alexander falls in love with the Indian queen Cleofide, who has already promised her heart to King Poro, whom Alexander has defeated. This sparks an emotionally charged drama involving love, intrigue, jealousy, and sacrifice. Since women were not allowed to appear in public in the Papal States in the 18th century, Vinci composedAlessandro nell’Indie exclusively for male singers. With a wink, Max Emanuel Cencic plays with the opulent means of Baroque theater in his production and tells the intricate story in the style of a Bollywood revue. To this end, he has assembled a spectacular ensemble of five of the best countertenors of the younger generation: Bruno de Sá, Dennis Orellana, Maayan Licht, Jake Arditti, and Nicholas Tamagna will be performing, as well as tenor Stefan Sbonnik.
Premiere April 10,
Further performances: April 12, 14, 17, 19, and 21, 2026
