About the work
Lucio Silla is an opera seria that sixteen-year-old Mozart composed for Milan. The libretto by Giovanni de Gamerra, revised before the premiere by Pietro Metastasio, is set in the Rome of the dictator Sulla in 79 BC. It premiered on 26 December 1772 at the Teatro Regio Ducale.
Plot
The dictator Sulla wants to force Giunia, the daughter of his political rival, to marry him. Her secretly returned betrothed Cecilio is captured after a failed assassination attempt. In the end Sulla renounces Giunia, pardons Cecilio and steps down from power.
Cultural significance
Despite a major box-office success with more than twenty performances, Mozart received no further commissions from Italy afterwards; "Lucio Silla" remained his last opera written for Milan.