Conservati fedele

[1] The Newberry Library (Case MS 6A, 48), Chicago, acquired the manuscript (6 sheets, 11 pages) through a bequest of the opera singer Claire Dux (Mrs Charles H. Swift).

[1] The text is taken from Metastasio's libretto Artaserse which had been set to music by a number of composers, among them Johann Christian Bach whom Mozart had met just a short time before in London.

Other Mozart works based on Metastasio texts include his last opera, La clemenza di Tito, and the earlier Il re pastore.

The lyrics chosen by Mozart are the parting verses of Artaserse's sister, Mandane, in act 1, scene 1, as she bids farewell to her lover Arbace: Conservati fedele; Pensa ch'io resto, e peno, E qualche volta almeno Ricordati di me.

The text of "Conservati fedele" has also been set to music by Leonardo Vinci (1690–1730) and Hasse (1699–1783) in their respective operas Artaserse, by Antonio Salieri and Marianne von Martines (1744–1812)[3] as concert arias, twice by Joseph Martin Kraus (1756–1792), by Ferdinando Carulli (1770–1841) for voice and guitar, and by Theodor von Schacht (1748–1823) as a canon for three equal voices accompanied by cembalo and/or guitar.