Didone abbandonata (Sarro)

Didone abbandonata was Metastasio's first original libretto, and Sarro's opera was the first of what were to be more than fifty musical settings of the work.

The opera premiered at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in Naples on 1 February 1724 along with a two-part comic intermezzo also composed by Sarro to a libretto by Metastasio, L'impresario delle Isole Canarie.

[1] Didone abbandonata was Sarro's sixteenth opera composed for the theatres in Naples and is considered an important example of his mature style.

He intended it as a showcase for her, and according to contemporary accounts, Bulgarelli had considerable influence on the work, especially in shaping Dido's scenes of jealousy in act 2.

However, on 23 September 2005, a shortened concert version was performed at the Schloss Elisabethenburg in Meiningen by the ensemble Les Amis de Philippe conducted by Ludger Rémy, a live recording of which was broadcast on MDR radio the following year.