About the work
Flavio is a dramma per musica in three acts by George Frideric Handel, its libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym after Matteo Noris's Flavio Cuniberto. It premiered on 14 May 1723 at the King's Theatre in London.
Plot
At the Lombard court in Pavia, Guido, son of the counsellor Ugone, is to marry Emilia, daughter of the counsellor Lotario. When King Flavio intervenes in a dispute between the two fathers and kills Lotario, the wedding is thrown into jeopardy, while Flavio's own attraction to Ugone's daughter Teodata deepens the entanglements.
Cultural significance
Flavio is among Handel's shortest operas, a brevity the premiere's own advertisement cited to justify a later start time. Its blend of tragedy and comic touches sets it apart from Handel's other opere serie.