The shepherd Mitridate took Elcino in and raised him as the brother of his daughter Erenia. Erenia’s love for Arsace, Artemio’s son, and the love of Sandane, Artemio’s daughter, for Elcino are disrupted by the hatred opposing their families. Mitridate tells Erenia that, years before, the King Astiage (Astyages) entrusted Arpago with getting rid of his grandson Ciro (Cyrus) because of a dream. Alone, Erenia remembers that her mother gave birth to a stillborn child, and that his father substituted Elcino for him, caring for him as for his own son. Owing to their love for their respective sisters, Arsace and Elcino reconcile. At the palace, Astiage, suspecting Arpago of not having fulfilled his task, pretends to feel remorse and to wish that Ciro could come back to life. Arpago, Mitridate and Erenia rejoice at this change of heart, and decide to present Elcino to the king: they organise a sacrifice during which Astiage feels drawn to Elcino. To warn him against the tyrant, Mitridate tells Elcino the story of Ciro: the young man decides to take revenge on behalf of the child. When Sandane walks in on him, she confesses her love to him. The act ends with a dance of temple guards. In the forest, Astiage rushes to Erenia’s rescue, as she is being chased by a wild beast. To take revenge for Elcino’s severity toward Arsace, she tells him that the young man is not her brother, and she promises to bring him the baby blanket with which he was found. Elcino, who came back to his flocks, has grand dreams. He is invited to eat with the king, and Arpago tells him that Ciro is alive. Seeing the baby blanket, Astiage understands who Elcino is, and he appeals to the goddesses for revenge. To avenge himself of Arpago’s poor services, the tyrant has him drink a cup filled with his son’s blood; he also sends Elcino to prison. The sky darkens, the sea becomes turbulent, and furies come out of clouds and begin to dance. Sandane worries about her lover’s fate. When she sees him in chains, they exchange vows quickly before Elcino is taken back to his dungeon. Erenia, overcome with guilt, tells Sandane about Ciro’s identity, and she declares her Queen. Astiage declares his love to Sandane: she rejects him and asks to die by her husband’s side, which sparks Astiage’s jealousy. The tyrant decides to set Ciro on fire before his wife’s eyes; but the guards have stopped obeying him. In the meantime, Arsace and Arpago have freed Elcino, who is now arriving with the conspirators. He learns about his true identity from Sandane, and takes the tyrant’s place. Erenia confesses to her father that she betrayed him and revealed Ciro’s identity to the King: he forgives her, because she allowed for fates to be accomplished. The play ends with Ciro’s accession: he ascends the throne accompanied by Sandane.

"On foot and by rod" puppet

Marionette with counterweight

Not specified

Ottoboni Pietro

Italy

Rome

Printed

Tyrant

Child abandonment

Conjuration

Magnanimity

Prophetic dream

Anthropophagy

Edifying

Heroic

Pastoral

Pietro Ottoboni, Il Ciro, 1712 (title page)

Italian

King

Captain

Father

Shepherd

Young woman

Prince

Sister

Music

Chorus

Interlude

Expository scene

Account of a dream

Disguised character (false identity)

Invisible force

Hunting scene

Board meeting

Monologue

Procession

Apparition of demons

Destruction of set elements

Thunderbolt

Release of a prisoner

Scene in the dark

Love rivalry

Scene of recognition

Change of social status

Clouds

Flying machine

Final wedding

Il Ciro

Cyrus

Térésa speaks soft and tender words to her child, showing how much love she has for them. However, Fabio, her lover, is knocking on the door. He asks her to join him to talk in private, but Térésa tries to resist. She soon gives in to his supplications and leaves with Fabio, abandoning her child.

Glove-puppet

Lemercier de Neuville Louis

France

Paris

Mother

Child

Lover

Dramatic

Satirical

Lemercier de Neuville, I Pupazzi. Front cover of the first edition, 1866.