About the work
Catone in Utica is an opera seria by Carl Heinrich Graun, set to Pietro Metastasio's 1727 libretto. It premiered on 24 January 1744 at the Royal Court Opera in Berlin.
Plot
The Roman senator Cato defends the remnants of the republic in Utica against the victorious Caesar. While his daughter Marzia secretly loves Caesar and the Numidian prince Arbace courts her, Cato, after his military defeat, chooses to take his own life rather than abandon his principles.
Cultural significance
With around 30 settings, Metastasio's text was one of the most frequently staged opera subjects of the 18th century, and its stoic suicide ending stood unusually at odds with opera seria's customary reconciliation.