Wolfgang Amadé Mozart, at age 14, became close friends with Mysliveček in Bologna in 1770, and Mozart considered him an important stylistic model.
The aria 'Se cerca, se dice' in this opera is notable for its three stanzas, challenging composers who usually worked with two-stanza arias.
Mysliveček, born in Prague in 1737, abandoned his family's milling business at age 25 to become a professional composer, inspired by Italian opera.
Josef Mysliveček, the composer of this opera, was nicknamed 'the Divine Bohemian' by his contemporaries who found his name difficult to remember.
At its 1778 premiere, Mysliveček's L'Olimpiade was highly praised, with the Gazzetta Universale reporting that the composer 'surpassed himself'.
L'Olimpiade, a musical drama by Metastasio, was set by over fifty composers from 1733 through the 18th century and into the next.
This recording is based on the first modern-day stage revival of L'Olimpiade, which took place in Bologna in 2012.
