22-24 Sept 2006. The Aeneid-inspired performance Baldassarre Galuppis Didone Abbandonata is set against the backdrop of the Caio Melisso theatre in Spoleto (22-24 Sept 2006), which draws from Pietro Metastasios libretto and stays true to Virgils tragic finale. Composed in 1766 it marked Galuppis debut at the court of St Petersburg. Appreciated more overseas than at home, Galuppis music paved the way for successive musicians, thanks to the psychological depth and the accentuation of the pathetic and sentimental aspects of the characters. In the years immediately following 1766, Didone Abbandonata was only performed in a handful of cities in Italy (Modena, Florence, Venice and Genoa) before completely disappearing. The current production is the first modern-day performance, especially selected to mark the 300th anniversary of Galuppis birth. It also serves to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the opera season of the Teatro Sperimentale di Spoleto. Besides Didone Abbandonata, Spoleto will also host Rossinis Il Barbiere di Siviglia (14-17 Sept) and Donizettis Lucia di Lammermoor (1 Oct) at the S. Niccol theatre as well as three concerts at the Sala Pegasus of music by Puccini (16 Sept) and Rossini (23 Sep) and a Lieder concert (30 Sep). Paolo Di Nicola