from Act I of the Italian opera
La Calisto by Francesco Cavalli
Libretto: Giovanni Faustini
Role: Mercurio, Mercury, messenger of the gods
Voice Part: baritone
Setting: a parched forest, Pelsgia, Peloponnese
Synopsis: Calisto has gone off with the God Giove, who she thinks is her mistress Diana. Watching the deception, Mercurio comments that trickery is the best way to win a woman.