It is the third century. As a result of the fortunes of war and a cowardly second husband, Sofonisba, a Carthaginian princess, is a prisoner of Rome. Her husband tells her that he cannot free her or prevent her from the humiliation and shame of a Roman triumphal parade, so he asks her instead to die like a true Carthaginian princess and gives her a potion to drink to kill herself. But a clever servant substitutes a sweet liqueur for the poison, and Sofonisba lives, restored to wealth and her throne by a suddenly benevolent Scipione, the Roman counsel.
Jennifer Larmore, Paul Evans and Rebecca Evans head the cast, with Marco Guidarini conducting the Geoffrey Mitchell Choir and the Philharmonia Orchestra.