About the work
Didone abbandonata is an opera seria in three acts by Giuseppe Sarti, setting Pietro Metastasio's libretto. Sarti, who had served the Danish royal court since 1753, wrote it for the Kongelige Teater in Copenhagen, where it premiered in December 1762. It was the first of two settings he made of the same text; twenty years later he wrote a second version in Padua.
Plot
The plot follows Virgil's Aeneid: the Trojan hero Enea loves Didone, Queen of Carthage, but must leave her to fulfil his destiny as the founder of Rome. The Moorish king Jarba, who is courting Didone, exploits her despair for his own plans of revenge and conquest. In the end Didone is left without hope as Carthage burns.
Cultural significance
Metastasio's 1724 libretto, with more than 60 settings by the end of the 19th century, ranks among the most frequently composed opera texts of its era — partly because, unlike most opera seria, it ends tragically. Sarti's Copenhagen setting stands in this long line of composers, from Domenico Sarro to Saverio Mercadante.