To capitalise on this rivalry, according to Handel's first biographer John Mainwaring, which was not between the composers themselves but their "fans", the Academy decided to have both of them write an act each of an opera, with the third Academy composer Filippo Amadei composing a third act. Such collaborative efforts in opera composition were quite usual in Italy at the time, but "Muzio Scevola" was unique in England in being composed in that way. Handel was generally considered to have "won" this "competition" with most audience members rating his music far more highly than the others.