Yes, the tragic Roman story of Virginia, her father Virginio, her fiancé Icilio, and the corrupt decemvir Appio Claudio (who used his client Marco Claudio to falsely claim Virginia as a slave) has been heavily treated by Italian librettists. [1, 2]

This classic historical episode from Livy's Ab Urbe Condita—where a father kills his daughter to save her virtue, sparking a rebellion that overthrew the Decemvirate—was a highly popular subject in Italian opera, especially during the 18th and 19th centuries. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Prominent Italian Libretti on the Decemvir Episode

The narrative has been adapted into several major Italian opera libretti:

• Salvadore Cammarano: One of the most famous Italian librettists of the 19th century (widely known for writing Lucia di Lammermoor), he penned the libretto for Virginia (1850). The music was composed by Saverio Mercadante. Cammarano based his text directly on the celebrated Italian tragedy Virginia by Vittorio Alfieri. Due to its themes of a popular uprising against a tyrannical government, the Bourbon censors banned it. It finally premiered at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples in 1866. [1, 2]
• Silvio Stampiglia: A highly influential early 18th-century librettist, he wrote La caduta de' Decemviri(The Fall of the Decemvirs). This libretto features all the exact historical figures you mentioned, including Appio Claudio, Lucio Virginio, Virginia, and Icilio. It was most famously set to music by the prominent Baroque composer Alessandro Scarlatti and premiered in Naples in 1697. [1, 2]
• Domenico Bancalari: He wrote an Italian libretto titled Virginia, which was set to music by the Venezuelan composer José Ángel Montero. Premiering in 1873, it is celebrated as the first opera ever composed in Venezuela, yet written entirely in the traditional Italian libretto style. [1]
• Fello Giuliani: He authored another 19th-century Italian libretto titled Virginia, which was set to music by composer Niccola Vaccaj and published around 1840. [1]

Summary of Operatic Characters & Roles

In these Italian libretti, the dramatic conflict closely tracks the ancient Roman account: [1]

• Appio Claudio: The tyrannical antagonist and chief of the Decemvirs.
• Virginia: The tragic, virtuous heroine.
• Virginio (Lucius Virginius): Her heroic father, a centurion who stabs her to protect her freedom.
• Icilio: Virginia's passionate fiancé and former tribune who rouses the public against the tyrant.
• Marco Claudio: The client used by Appio to falsely claim Virginia as his runaway slave. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Would you like more details on a specific composer's musical setting of this story, or do you want to explore how the plot changes between Alfieri's original play and Cammarano's opera libretto?