Completed in 1819, it was premiered at the Teatro Vecchio in Mantua sometime during the carnival season of 1820-1821; the exact date is uncertain.

The libretto by Bartolomeo Merelli is based on the play Die deutschen Kleinstädter [de] by August von Kotzebue.

Donizetti's autograph score has vanished, but an incomplete copy of the work, missing a quintet from Act II, exists in the library of the Conservatoire de Paris.

Merelli, in his Cenni biografici, blamed the failure of the work, despite "many successful numbers", on the "caprices and ill will of several of the singers, especially the prima donna".

She carries with her a portrait of Claudio as a love token, but passes it off as being of the King; consequently, upon his appearance in the village her lover is treated as if he is royalty.