Once upon a time an ageing, king with a Satanic sneer and a great peruke lived in a Baroque palace. From this palace he made occasional raids, foraging among his neighbors for the means to gratify his Teutonic tastes. For these raids he gathered from Europe the bravest and strongest soldiers that money could buy, them he drilled and disciplined as soldiers had never been disciplined before. He won battles, and became the hero of his countrymen. But battles palled, he was not amused. So he built Sanssouci, which in its Baroque lushness reflected his Northern, Germanic, emotional temperament; he became the patron of Bach, whose rich music fitted his rich taste; he imported Voltaire, who satisfied the needs of his rational, concise, superficial intellect; he tempted from France and Austria the most beautiful dancers of Europe to be his favorites and paramours.

"Barbarina" shows the period in its opulent, cultivated perfection, Frederick the Great in his strongest and weakest moments. It is for those who have regal tastes and regal minds, those who admire Baroque architecture, early eighteenth century music, and Voltairesque morals.