On 10 May 1740, the birthday opera “Argenore” by Wilhelmine of Bayreuth (1709-1758) was to be premiered at the Margrave’s Theatre in Bayreuth – a celebration that never took place. The gloomy dramma per musica opera, in which only one character who has been exiled survives and King Argenore rules with unprecedented cruelty, unmistakably reflects the composer’s life circumstances: the unwanted princess at the Prussian court, the arbitrariness of her father Frederick William I and the conflict-ridden relationship with brother Frederick II are expressed in King Argenore and the prodigal son Eumenes/Ormondo. Musically, the opera