Opera@Home Presents Mozart's LA FINTAS in Repertory at Greenwich Playhouse
By: BWW News Desk Sep. 22, 2010
Two early Mozart operas La Finta Semplice (The Pretended Simpleton) and La Finta Giardiniera (The Pretended Garden - Girl) in a bilingual version that combines dialogues in English and arias in Italian performed in the intimate atmosphere of Greenwich Playhouse.
Produced by Michael Corby Directed by Jose Gandia
LA FINTA Semplice
(The Pretended Simpleton) Libretto by Carlo Goldoni and Marco Coltellini. (Running time 2 hours with interval)
The libretto was written by master of Comedy Del Arte, the music composed by genius Mozart when he was only 12 years old.
The story is convoluted... as operatic farces often are. The soldier Fracasso and his underling Sgt. Simone are billeted at Don Cassandro's house. They fall in love with their host's sister Giacinta and her maid Ninetta (in like
order), but Don Cassandro and his younger brother Don Polidoro aren't keen on letting their sister and maid marry the guests. So the lovers conspire to have Fracasso's beautiful sister Rosina distract the disagreeable brothers away by pretending to be an innocent blond. As a result we have the two rich but witless men fighting for the love of Rosina in a chain of hilarious situations.
LA FINTA Giardiniera
(The Pretended Garden-Girl) Libretto Giuseppe Petrosellini
(Running time 2 hours 15mins with interval)
18 year old Mozart wrote home excitedly to his mother in Salzburg: "My opera (La Finta Giardiniera) was such a success it is impossible for me to describe the applause". In comic opera fashion of this time, La Finta Giardiniera features a conjunction of upper and lower class characters, the eponymous gardener Sandrina, being a Marchesa in search of her lover, Count Belfiore, who believes he had killed her in a lover's quarrel. She disguises herself as a gardener and enters into the service of Don Anchise, who immediately becomes infatuated by the pretty Garden-Girl and proposes marriage. The story follows Count Belfiore and Marchesa. Violante is disguised as the gardener Sandrina and confronts Belfiore, who is by this point engaged to Arminda, niece of Don Anchise. In a fit of jealousy Arminda kidnaps Violante. When Violante is found both she nd Belfiore nearly go mad until eventually Violante decides to forgive Belfiore.
LA FINTA SEMPLICE: SEPTEMBER 21, 23, 25, 28, 30 @7.30pm
OCTOBER Sunday, 3rd @ 4.00pm
5, 7, 9 @7.30pm
Sunday, 26th @ 4.00pm
OCTOBER 1, 2, 6, 8 @ 7.30 pm
Sunday, 10th @ 4.00pmTICKETS: £15, £12 (concessions),
£20 Season ticket (for both productions)BOX OFFICE 020 8858 9256 boxoffice@galleontheatre.co.uk
VENUE: GREENWICH PLAYHOUSE, Greenwich Station Forecourt,
189 Greenwich High Road, LONDON SE10 8JAwww.galleontheatre.co.uk
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