Griselda (Giovanni Bononcini)

Griselda is a dramma per musica in three acts that was composed by 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"). The Italian poet Paolo Antonio Rolli was hired to revise the text. Bononcini's opera premiered in London at the King’s Theatre on 22 February 1722.

Bononcini's brother, Antonio Maria Bononcini, also composed his own opera to Zeno's libretto four years earlier.

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 character Corrado was eliminated entirely and three of the main characters were renamed: Ottone became Rambaldo, Costanza became Almirena, and Roberto became Ernesto. The work was received well at its premiere and was successively performed numerous times over the next four months. One of the major reasons for this success was the prodigous acting and singing talent of Anastasia Robinson, who portrayed the title role. 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.

Griselda is one of only two London operas for which Bononcini published the overture and all the arias. Charles Burney owned a score of Griselda, but neither it nor any other score including recitatives is extant.

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