The work was composed in 1704 by Alessandro Scarlatti on commission from Queen Marie Casimire Sobieska (known as Marysieńka), the French-born widow of Polish King Jan Sobieski.
The eponymous hero of the oratorio, St. Casimir (Kazimierz), was the second son of Casimir IV Jagiellon, the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania.
He ruled the country in the king’s absence from 1481 to 1483, and died the following year at 25.
Renowned for his piety and charity, he was later canonized and is venerated as one of Poland’s patron saints.
Sunday’s performance featured the Arianna Art Ensemble from Palermo, under Fabio Ciulla, with Italian singers Anastasia Terranova, Valeria La Grotta, Debora Troìa, Aurora Bruno and Luca Dordolo as soloists.
The concert was part of the Sobieski Music Festival, which explores the legacy of Baroque composers who benefitted from the patronage of Marysieńka Sobieska and her granddaughter Maria Klementyna Sobieska, titular queen of England, Scotland and Ireland through her marriage to James Francis Edward Stuart.
More festival events are scheduled for October in Rome, Frascati and Naples.
(mk/gs)