Born in Italy of French parents, Francesco Corselli (1705–1778) made a name for himself at the Farnese court in Parma. In search of greater opportunity, he then struck out for Madrid, where he not only became music tutor to the royal children and music director of the palace theater at the Buen Retiro but also supplied original material for the Royal Chapel. His opera Achille in Sciro, set to a frequently recycled libretto by Pietro Metastasio, dramatizes the moment when the divine mother of young Achilles sends him to the remote island of Skyros to sit out the Trojan War, disguised to no avail as a maiden in the entourage of the princess. As readers of Homer know, he blew his cover. This revival of the forgotten Corselli’s contribution to the entertainments for a royal wedding may well be the first since the premiere in 1744. White elephant or revelation? We’re about to find out. Ivor Bolton, a renowned Handelian, conducts. —Matthew Gurewitsch