About the work
Il sogno di Scipione is a serenata that Mozart composed in 1772 for the golden jubilee of the ordination of the Salzburg Prince-Archbishop Sigismund von Schrattenbach. Pietro Metastasio's libretto had originally been written in 1735 for a birthday of Emperor Charles VI. Because Schrattenbach died shortly before the performance, the work was dedicated instead to his successor Hieronymus von Colloredo.
Plot
In a dream, the goddesses Fortuna and Costanza appear to the general Scipio and demand that he choose between them. After encountering his deceased ancestors, he chooses the constancy of virtue over fleeting fortune.
Cultural significance
According to some sources, the premiere on 1 May 1772 at the prince-archbishop's residence in Salzburg was incomplete; what survives is above all the closing aria paying homage to the new ruler.