Bavarian-born Johann Simon Mayr achieved renown as an Italianate opera composer, his earlier work taking the form of sacred oratorios. Gioas is a combination of both forms, being a parody-oratorio closely following Mayr’s opera I misteri eleusini, which was considered by Stendhal to be “among [the] most powerful musical works of the age”. This mythical drama of kings, priests and goddesses was ideally suited for its intended devotional use, and it joins other pioneering recordings from Franz Hauk which include David and Samuele.
