"Ah, lo previdi! ... Ah, t'invola ... Misera! ... Deh, non varcar", K. 272, is a concert aria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for solo soprano and orchestra, one of Mozart's first large-scale operatic concert pieces.
Sung by the character Andromeda, this extensive concert aria takes around twelve to fourteen minutes to perform. Paul Corneilson points out that the piece is "virtually a solo cantata but without the strict divisions between recitative and aria; one emotional state follows close behind another". There are various tempo markings, including Allegro risoluto, Allegro, Andante, Adagio and Andantino, consisting of 323 bars, primarily in the key of C minor. The work calls for two oboes, two horns in E and strings. The final cavatina "Deh, non varcar" features a lyrical accompaniment with the oboe, as Andromeda pleads for Perseus to wait for her in the afterlife.
This operatic version tells of the myth of Andromeda, condemned to be sacrificed to a sea monster. However she is saved by the hero Perseus. She is obliged to marry Eurystheus, heir to the kingdom of Argos, but is in love with Perseus. In this aria Andromeda berates Eurystheus with an emotional fury at the apparent suicide of Perseus. She believes he failed to prevent Perseus's death. Andromeda then reflects to (the absent) Perseus with an intense grief. The recitative and aria ends in a gentle cavatina "Deh, non vacar", with a quiet ending in B-flat major. The passionate writing hints at later roles for operatic sopranos, such as Elektra in Idomeneo, The Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni.
Composed in Salzburg in August 1777, the aria was written for Josepha Duschek, for whom Mozart later wrote "Bella mia fiamma, addio", K528 in Prague. Mozart recommended "Ah, lo previdi!" to his beloved Aloysia Weber, writing "I advise you to observe the expression marksâÂÂto think carefully of the meaning and the impact of the wordsâÂÂto put yourself in all seriousness into Andromeda's situation and position!âÂÂand to imagine that you really are that very person." The aria was published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1888. The original manuscript is housed in the Berlin State Library.
The text is by , taken from the 1772 opera Andromeda, probably composed by Giovanni Paisiello.