About the work
Dramma per musica in three acts by Antonio Vivaldi to a libretto by Giovanni Palazzi and Domenico Lalli, first performed on 26 October 1720 at the Teatro Sant'Angelo in Venice. The plot traces back, via Palazzi's source, to Pierre Corneille's tragedy "Héraclius" (1647).
Plot
Sultan Mamud once switched his legitimate son Zelim for Melindo, the illegitimate son of his favourite Damira. When Melindo's planned marriage to Princess Rosane threatens to expose the deception, Mamud reveals the true parentage, with far-reaching consequences for both sons, their mothers and Rosane herself.
Cultural significance
The opera became well known enough that Benedetto Marcello mocked it in his satire "Il teatro alla moda" at the end of 1720, which only raised its profile further. Vivaldi reused arias from his own, now-lost opera "La Candace" for the score, and the quintet "Anima mia, mio ben" is regarded as its musical high point.