[2] Ariadne auf Naxos belonged to the genre known as German melodrama,[3] an attempt is to merge spoken dialogue with music, making it the only form of opera with no singing.

Brandes wrote the text of Ariadne auf Naxos for his wife Charlotte, a famous singer and actress of the day.

In 1778 he wrote to his father expressing the desire to compose a duodrama entitled Semiramide on the model of Benda's Ariadne auf Naxos and Medea.

[5] Other composers who admired and were influenced by Benda's melodramas include Carl Maria von Weber and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Most recently, the work was performed in August 2005 at the Edinburgh International Festival in a double bill with Mozart's Zaide.