Francesco Araja

[1] He was born and received his musical education in Naples and began to compose operas at the age of 20.

It was staged in 1736 as Сила любви и ненависти (Sila lyubvi i nenavisti - The Power of Love and Hatred) with a supplement to the Russian translation by Vasily Trediakovsky printed as a booklet.

[2] This was followed by Semiramide (Il finto Nino, overo La Semiramide riconosciuta) in 1737, Artaserse in 1738, Seleuco with Russian translation by Sumarokov, premiered in Moscow 1744, Scipione with Russian translation by Adam Olsufiev, in St. Petersburg 1745, Mitridate in 1747, and others.

This opera was a great success, and Araja received 100 half-imperials[3] and a luxurious sable coat valued at 500 rubles as a gift from Empress Elizaveta Petrovna.

His next two operas were premiered in different Russian towns: Amor prigioniero in Oranienbaum in 1755, and Iphigenia in Tauride in Moscow in 1758.