About the work
Didone abbandonata is a two-act opera by Saverio Mercadante to a text adapted by Andrea Leone Tottola from Pietro Metastasio's libretto of the same name. It premiered at the Teatro Regio in Turin on 18 January 1823, one of Mercadante's earliest major works for the stage.
Plot
The Carthaginian queen Dido falls in love with the Trojan hero Aeneas, who is nonetheless bound by divine command to sail on and found Rome. Jarba, the Moorish king spurned by Dido, exploits Aeneas's departure to attack Carthage. In her despair, Dido throws herself into the flames of the burning city.
Cultural significance
The opera received further performances on other Italian stages after its premiere but, like many settings of Metastasio's libretto from the period, later fell into obscurity. It did not receive its first modern revival until 2018, at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music.