Each version of La Giuditta deals with the figure of Judith, from the Biblical Apocrypha, who liberated the besieged city of Bethulia by seducing and then beheading the enemy General Holofernes.
Incidental characters, such as, in the larger Scarlatti Giuditta, Achior, a captain so revolted by Holofernes' brutality that he defects to the Israelite army, do not occur in other versions.
"Scarlatti considered it his finest oratorio, and its dramatic structure, rapidly interweaving brief scenes in Holofernes's camp with events in the troubled city, is remarkable.
"[1] Alessandro Scarlatti: La Giuditta, Rome or Naples 1697, Libretto by Prince Antonio Ottoboni, father of the cardinal.
[3][4] Francisco António de Almeida: La Giuditta These oratorios are generally listed under Latin names: