About the work
Attilio Regolo is a three-act opera seria by Johann Adolph Hasse, set to a libretto by Pietro Metastasio that the poet himself considered his most tightly constructed drama. Originally intended for Emperor Charles VI's name day in 1740, the setting was delayed by the emperor's death; the premiere finally took place on 12 January 1750 at the Dresden court theatre, commissioned by Elector Friedrich August (Augustus III).
Plot
The Roman consul Regulus returns to Rome from Carthaginian captivity to negotiate a prisoner exchange. Despite the pleas of his family and the people, he advises the Senate to reject Carthage's terms and voluntarily returns to certain death rather than break his word.
Cultural significance
Despite Metastasio's own high regard for the subject, the libretto was set by only four composers; Hasse's version is considered the best-known setting of this drama about Roman duty.