The opera tells the story of the myth that Hyacinth died accidentally due to a discus thrown by Apollo, which struck Hyacinth on the head. Further, another myth tells, it was the wind god Zephyrus who was actually responsible for the death of Hyacinth. Zephyrus blew the discus off course, out of jealousy, so as to injure and kill Hyacinth. When he died, Apollo made a flower, the hyacinth, spring out from his spilled blood. Rufinus Widl was a priest, hence the story was modified ” changing the sexually desired character from Ovid's Hyacinth to Melia, his sister.
Apollo et Hyacinthus guide sections
