About the work
Opera seria in three acts by Thomas Arne, to a libretto adapted from the Italian by Giovanni Gualberto Bottarelli after Pietro Metastasio's 'L'olimpiade' (1733); first performed on 27 April 1765 at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket, London.
Plot
At the ancient Olympic Games, the Cretan prince Megacle competes under a false name on behalf of his friend Licida, who is courting Princess Aristea — even though Megacle himself was once betrothed to Aristea and still loves her. Only when Licida is finally revealed to be the long-lost son of King Clistene of Sicyon do the entanglements of friendship, love and honour resolve.
Cultural significance
Unlike the success of 'Artaxerxes' three years earlier, Arne's only setting of an Italian-language Metastasio text failed completely with audiences and was withdrawn after just two performances; the work nonetheless shows Arne's continuing ambition to succeed in Italian-style opera seria.