This recitative and aria were written to Metastasio's text for "Didone abbandonata" (Dido's Abandonment). This text, like many of Metastasio's librettos, is based on Greek and Roman mythology and history—in this case, the story of Dido and Aeneas. The story has provided material for countless other operas, such as Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and for the second part of Berlioz's Les Troyens. In this aria, Dido tries to convince Aeneas not to leave her, despite the commandments of the gods and his vow to create a new homeland for the Trojan survivors of the war. She tells him that he may leave, citing this as the proof of her love. For a moment, she proudly reproaches him for having the heart to betray her, but then plaintively asks him how he can leave her. In the aria "Ah, non lasciarmi, no" (Ah, do not leave me, no), the first verse is very graceful and has, in the hands of a skillful performer, a level of seductiveness. However, in the second part, Dido's eventual suicide is hinted at in the mournful minor passages of "Di vita mancherei nel dirti addio, che viver non potrei fra tanti affani" (I shall lose my life in saying farewell to you, for I could not live with such suffering), and then the melody returns to her pleas not to leave her.

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