About the work
Lucio Papirio dittatore is an opera seria in three acts by Johann Adolph Hasse, based on the libretto by Apostolo Zeno. It premiered on 18 January 1742 at the Kleines Kurfürstliches Theater in Dresden.
Plot
Based on an episode from Livy, the Roman dictator Lucio Papirio orders the cavalry commander Quinto Fabio not to attack during his absence. When Fabio disobeys and attacks the Samnites anyway, Papirio condemns him to death despite the military success. Soldiers, the Senate and the people intercede for Fabio until Papirio finally grants him clemency.
Cultural significance
Zeno's story of obedience and clemency stayed in the repertoire for decades: Hasse's Dresden version was also given in 1746 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples and, in revised form, in Berlin in 1766 and 1784.