Antonio Vivaldi's long-lost opera returns to Prague after 278 years

London, May 5 : Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi's long-lost opera has been performed for the first time in 278 years, in the city of Prague.

Argippo, a tale of passion, love and trickery in an Indian maharaja's court, was written for the Czech capital and premiered there in 1730.

However, the opera later disappeared without trace.

A young Czech musician discovered most of the score in Germany and completed the missing parts.

Czech harpsichordist Ondrej Macek said he tracked the opera down in his native land and now the once-lost work of the composer has been formed in the Czech city of Prague.

"I found out that in 1733, three years after the premiere, the Italian music ensemble appeared in Regensburg. They'd been invited there after the theatre in Prague burnt down," BBC quoted him, as saying.

"I thought the Italians might have brought something with them, and I was lucky to find an anonymous music collection by various composers, which also included arias from Argippo," he added.

Despite the musical discovery, Macek was forced to use other Vivaldi works to replace more than a third of the opera since portions were lost during the 278 years since it was last performed.

ANI