About the work
Ottone, re di Germania is an opera seria by George Frideric Handel to a libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym, based on Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino's text for Antonio Lotti's Dresden opera "Teofane". It premiered on 12 January 1723 at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket, London, with the newly arrived soprano Francesca Cuzzoni as Teofane.
Plot
The usurper Adelberto poses as Emperor Otto in Rome to marry the Byzantine princess Teofane. When the real Otto arrives, mistaken identity, imprisonment and a storm-tossed escape by sea entangle the characters until Otto and Teofane are finally united.
Cultural significance
With 34 documented performances in Handel's lifetime, Ottone was his most successful opera after Rinaldo. Cuzzoni's aria "Falsa immagine", which she initially refused to sing, became the hit of the season, and tickets reportedly changed hands for many times their face value.