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At the start of the opera, Giustino is asleep, dreaming of the glory and power the goddess Fortune has promised him. Giustino's first contact with royalty soon comes, when he saves the Emperor's sister from a bear. Later Giustino once again shows his worth, this time saving Empress Arianna from a sea monster.

Finally, misunderstandings, jealousy and greed turn against Giustino, but love and the rule of the righteous ultimately triumph.

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The opera tells, in a humorous tone, of the adventures of the naive and cheerful peasant Marenka, who suffers after being promised in marriage to Vasek, whom she does not know. He is the half-witted, stuttering son of Micha, a rich man. Marenka loves Jenik, a poor, honest young villager. Jenik is actually also the son of Micha's first marriage, but he ran away from home due to disagreements with his stepmother. When the matchmaker suggests that Jenik give Marenka up, he pretends to accept the situation in exchange for a payment of 300 florins, on condition that Marenka can only marry a son of Micha’s. Marenka feels betrayed by her beloved Jenik and her friends think she has been sold, but in the end truth and love will shine through.

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The King of Jerusalem, Hidraot, entrusts his niece, Armide, a Muslim princess, with the task of fighting the Christian crusader army of Godfrey of Bouillon, who is trying to conquer the city. The princess has unleashed all her fury to stop the enemies of her kingdom and has captured hundreds of them with the spell of her gaze, all except for Reinaldo, whom she cannot seduce and has to kill. But she cannot commit the crime herself because she has fallen in love with the young warrior. Defeated and abandoned by her lover, she desperately mourns his betrayal and departure.

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Oberon orders Puck to find a herb to make a magic elixir: whoever drinks it will fall in love with the first creature they see when they wake. Lysander and Hermia are going to get married. Demetrius is in love with Hermia and Helena with Demetrius. Oberon decides to help Helena, but Puck mistakenly pours elixir into Lysander's eyes. When he wakes up, he sees Helena, which makes him fall in love with her. Oberon also casts a spell on Tytania, while Puck casts a spell on one of the rustics, giving him a donkey’s head. Tytania wakes up, sees the donkey and falls in love with him. Oberon realises everything has gone wrong, so he decides to cast a spell on Demetrius, who, when he wakes up and sees Helena, falls in love with her. She and Hermia quarrel and Lysander and Demetrius decide to fight a duel. Before the sun rises, Oberon decides to remove the spell from his queen and become reconciled with her. When dawn breaks, everything returns to normal: everyone is with the right partner and life is back on the right track, in an unchangeable social order.

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Cleopatra dreams of becoming the country's sole sovereign and no longer sharing the throne with her brother Ptolemy. To claim the crown, Cleopatra allies with her enemy and seduces the conqueror of Egypt, Julius Caesar. Their love grows unexpectedly, defying war and political intrigue.

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Carlo, the eldest son of the Count of Moor, is seduced by a life of banditry after falling victim to a conspiracy by his brother Francesco, who strips him of his inheritance and sows deceit in his family. As Carlo sinks into a world of violence, his beloved Amalia fights to stay by his side, but Francesco tries to separate them by making her and her father believe Carlo has died in the war. When Carlo decides to return home, Francesco gives him a rude reception, but, cornered, he commits suicide and their father dies of grief. As Carlo does not feel he can drag Amalia into a disorderly outlaw’s life, he kills her and leaves to seek his own death.

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Ariane, a strong, independent woman, becomes Bluebeard's sixth wife and, on arriving at his castle, finds his five previous wives kidnapped there. Instead of following her path of liberation, they are unable to start a new life and prefer to remain subservient. Despite her efforts, Ariane realises she cannot impose her worldview on those who do not wish to change their destiny. In the end, it is she who abandons the castle, leaving behind a world of shadows that appears doomed to repeat itself.

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The defeated Farnace, King of Pontus, orders his wife Tamiri to kill her son and commit suicide to prevent them falling into enemy hands. Tamiri's mother, Berenice, hates Farnace and conspires with Pompey, the Roman general, to kill him. Selinda, Farnace's sister, is a prisoner of the Roman Aquilio, who falls in love with her, as does Berenice's captain, Gilades. She faces up to them to save her brother, and all ends happily.

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Ginevra, the daughter of the King of Scotland, is courted by Polinesso, but she is in love with Ariodante and has become engaged to him. Polinesso, seeking revenge on Ariodante, takes advantage of the unrequited love felt him by Dalinda, Ginevra's maid, convincing her to dress in Ginevra's clothes and let him into the royal quarters. Ariodante goes to his rendezvous with Ginevra that night and is so devastated by what he sees that he throws himself off a cliff into the sea. Ariodante's brother, Lurcanio, has secretly witnessed the scene and tells everything to the king, who condemns his daughter to death for faithlessness. But Ariodante has not died and he meets Dalinda in the forest. Disillusioned with Polinesso, she decides to tell him about the deception he has plotted. To defend Ariodante's honour, Lurcanio challenges Polinesso to a duel and kills him. Ariodante appears to save Ginevra from death and clarify everything before the king.