Muzio Scevola

Muzio Scevola (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmuttsjo ʃˈʃɛːvola]; HWV 13) is an opera seria in three acts about Gaius Mucius Scaevola.

[5] The tyrant Tarquinio has recently been deposed from the throne of Rome for his many abuses of power and has allied with King Porsena of the neighbouring kingdom of Etruria.

At the Sublican Bridge in Rome, Oratio single-handedly fights off far higher numbers of invading Etruscans and then, wounded, and seeing his efforts failing, sets fire to the bridge, leaps into the Tiber and swims ashore, saving Rome and earning acclaim as a hero.

To demonstrate this, he thrusts his right hand into the fire on a sacrificial altar and holds it there, earning the last name "Scevola" (left-handed) for himself and his descendants.

Porsena is at first furious at Clelia's escape, but when he finally learns the truth about what a villain Tarquinio is, he decides to sign a truce with Rome.

A tremendous success, Rinaldo created a craze in London for Italian opera seria, a form focused overwhelmingly on solo arias for the star virtuoso singers.

The rivalry between those who supported one of the composers more than the other inspired a satirical ditty from John Byrom: Some say, compared to Bononcini That meinherr Handel's but a ninny.

Such collaborative efforts in opera composition were quite usual in Italy at the time, but Muzio Scevola was unique in England in being composed in that way.

Handel was generally considered to have "won" this "competition" with most audience members rating his music far more highly than the others.