, K. 126, is a dramatic serenade in one act (azione teatrale) composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a libretto by Pietro Metastasio, which is based on the book Somnium Scipionis by Cicero; has been set to music several times. Mozart had originally composed the work at the age of 15 for his patron, Prince-Archbishop Sigismund von Schrattenbach. After the bishop's death before it could be performed, Mozart dedicated it to Schrattenbach's successor, Count Colloredo. It was given a private performance in the Archbishop's Palace in Salzburg on 1 May 1772, although not in its entirety. Only one aria, the final chorus and the recitative dedicating it to the new Prince-Archbishop were performed. It is highly unlikely that it was ever performed in its entirety in Mozart's lifetime. Performance history In 1979, Il sogno di Scipione was exhumed for in Salzburg, and given a complete performance. The participants in this performance – Peter Schreier (Scipio), Lucia Popp (Costanza), Edita Gruberová (Fortuna), Claes-Håkan Ahnsjö (Publio), Thomas Moser (Emilio) and Edith Mathis (Licenza) with the Salzburger Kammerchor and Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg under Leopold Hager – on 16–19 January of that year, then made the work's first recording, issued originally on LP as Deutsche Grammophon 2740 218/2709 098 and reissued on CD in 1991 in the Philips Complete Mozart Edition as 422 531-2 PME2. In 2001, Gotham Chamber Opera presented the U.S. stage premiere of Il sogno di Scipione at the Abrons Arts Center in New York City and presented a revival of the work in April 2012 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater in New York City as part of their tenth anniversary program. Judith Weir's 1991 chamber opera, Scipio's Dream, is based on Il sogno di Scipione with an adaptation of the original Metastasio libretto and a re-composition of the score which was cut to around one fifth of its length; it was recorded and broadcast by the BBC in a performance by Vocem and Endymion, conducted by Andrew Parrott, directed by Margaret Williams. Roles Synopsis Place: North Africa, during the reign of Massinissa, King of Eastern Numidia Time: 200 B.C. Fortuna and Constanza approach the sleeping Scipio and offer to accompany him through life. However, first he has to choose between Fortuna, the provider of the world’s good things, and the reliable, trustworthy Constanza. Scipio asks for time to think. Neither in his heart nor mind can he take in