Pirro e Demetrio is a in three acts by Alessandro Scarlatti. It was premiered in January of 1694 at the Teatro Sa Bartolomeo and was one of the few Scarlatti operas to achieve international renown. Operas in those days were not usually given more than one or two runs. Like the movies today, new ones were produced frequently and they were shown in the city for which they had been produced. Pirro e Demetrio, on the other hand, was produced in Rome, Milan, Florence, Brunswick, and London. There is even an English translation extant of the Italian libretto.

The story is based around a love intrigue involving two couples, two sisters and two brothers who eventually end up paired off with one another. The libretto isn't very interesting, but the music is quite so. Most of the arias are in the aria form, and there are also some songs taken from dance pieces, such as the and the . Scarlatti included some strophic airs. The recitative is broken down somewhat in places, as passages take over and bring the declamation closer to song texture.

Some of the arias are modified to suit dramatic purposes. One such example is the aria "Veder parmi un ombra nera". Pirro begins his aria, but before he can even get through the A section of the form, he breaks down into recitative as he is interrupted. The B section consists of the recitative of some would be assassins, but as their designs are frustrated, he resumes his aria, repeating the now altered A section to complete the form.

Many of the melodic inflections that we consider standard in recitatives and arias were created by Scarlatti, and they begin to show up here in Pirro e Demetrio. To close pieces he often used the melodic inflection of a lowered second degree, creating a Neapolitan sixth chord in the harmony. The lowered third degree is used for expressive effect to introduce the minor modality to the ending. He introduces his arias with a beginning in which he repeats the first phrase of the aria. The initial statement of the phrase can be followed by an instrumental introduction after which the aria begins in earnest. The scene structures in Pirro e Demetrio are not standardized as they are in later works. There is quite a breadth of diversity of structure that lends interest overall to the opera.



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