Griselda (Giovanni Bononcini)

The opera uses a revised version of the 1701 Italian libretto by Apostolo Zeno that was based on Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron (X, 10, "The Patient Griselda").

[2] The plot of Zeno’s libretto was for the most part retained in Bononcini's opera but the text was almost entirely rewritten by Paolo Antonio Rolli.

The opera was later revived by Handel and Heidegger’s company on 22 May 1733 under the urging of Francesco Bernardi, called Senesino, who portrayed Gualtiero in the original production.

something in that Rural Cottage of Griselda, her forlorn Condition, her Poverty, her Solitude, her Resignation, her Innocent Slumbers, and that lulling Dolce Sogno that’s sung over her; it had an Effect upon me, that—in short I never was so well deceiv’d at any [other Opera].

"[2] Probably the most famous song from the opera is Ernesto's aria, "Per la gloria d’adorarvi," which remains to this day a popular selection for concert and recital performance.

He tests her virtue and steadfastness with a series of cruel ordeals, including telling her a lie that their long-lost daughter was killed on his orders.

Gualtiero banishes Griselda from the court and announces that he intends to take another wife, the young woman Almirena, who is, unknown to all, their missing daughter.