Il pastor fido

Diana, virgin huntress goddess, has become displeased with Arcadia and has let it be known that only through the marriage of a couple descended from heavenly ancestors, one of whom will be "a faithful shepherd", will her wrath be appeased. The couple who are believed to fit this description are the hunter Silvio, but he has no interest in love, being dedicated to Diana and only interested in hunting, and the shepherdess Amarilli, who however is in love with the shepherd Mirtillo, whose ancestry is unknown. The shepherd Mirtillo is unhappy due to his great love for Amarilli, who is going to have to marry the hunter Silvio in order to please the goddess Diana. Amarilli is also unhappy about her proposed marriage as she has fallen in love with Mirtillo, whose family background is not known, although she has not told him she loves him. Mirtillo overhears her lamenting her love for him and woos her, but she rejects him as her duty is to marry Silvio for the sake of the common welfare. Mirtillo is in such despair at this that he resolves on suicide. The shepherdess Eurilla is also in love with Mirtillo, prevents him from killing himself, and offers to try to win Amarilli for him. Eurilla is really only interested in winning Mirtillo for herself. Silvio, the hunter, has no interest in girls or getting married at all, he wishes to remain chaste like his patroness the goddess Diana. Yet another shepherdess, Dorinda, is smitten with Silvio but he rejects her love, to her sorrow. In a r…

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