About the work
Romolo ed Ersilia is a three-act opera seria by Johann Adolph Hasse to a libretto by Pietro Metastasio. It was commissioned for the wedding of Archduke Leopold to the Spanish infanta Maria Ludovica and premiered on 6 August 1765 at the Innsbruck court theatre.
Plot
Rome's founder Romolo wishes to marry the Sabine princess Ersilia but is rejected by her father Curzio, sparking war between Romans and Sabines. Romolo's magnanimity toward the defeated ultimately allows the two peoples to reconcile, and the wedding to take place.
Cultural significance
It was one of the last major stage works Hasse wrote for a Habsburg wedding; after nearly 250 years without a performance, it was revived by the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music in 2011.