The original plot was the work of Corlo Gozzi, an 18th century Venetian poet who had viewed the positive and negative sides of many political marriages.
他是在看過好友萊茵哈特所導演的一部中國童話劇「杜蘭多」後，受到感動，乃決定將其譜成歌劇。「杜蘭多」的原始腳本，是一位威尼斯詩人果齊在十八世紀末的作品。