A forgotten opera becomes a grandiose theatrical experience as a world premiere recording with top-class soloists and an outstanding directorial concept: Rossini's opera Demetrio e Polibio is the subject of a number of legends concerning, on the one hand, the time of its composition and, on the other, its authorship. Rossini reported in his memoirs that this opera was his first work, which he composed at the tender age of 13. However, the work was not premiered until 1812 in Rome, when Rossini had already been able to celebrate his first successes in Venice, as a commissioned work for the Mombellis, a four-member theater company consisting of the father Domenico, who was tenor, impresario, composer and director of the group, his two daughters Ester and Anna, who embodied the lovers as soprano and mezzo respectively, and the bass Ludovico Olivieri, a loyal friend of the family. This musically highly gifted and celebrated group dominated the stages of Italy at the beginning of the 19th century, and numerous works were specially tailored to them, including Demetrio e Polibio. The libretto for this opera came from Domenico's second wife Vincenzina, so that everything really stayed in the family.