Il Signor Bruschino

Composer: ROSSINI, Gioachino
  • Il Signor Bruschino, ossia Il figliio per azzardoi, (Mr. Bruschino, or Son by Accident) premiered at the Teatro S. Moisé in Venice on January 17, 1813.1
    • Because this theater produced compact operas with a limited cast, Rossini opined later in life that writing for them was excellent for him as a young composer still perfecting his craft.
    • This is the final farsa that Rossini composed for the Teatro S. Moisé. Its satirical qualities and sharp-witted comedy look forward to his later work.2 
  • Genre: this opera is a farsa, a one-act Italian opera genre that was popular in the late 18th and early 19th C. The genre featured a small cast with set types of roles, usually a set of lovers, a couple comic roles and one or two minor characters. The genre featured a lot of improvised physical stage humor.3
  • Story: a zany comedy of mistaken identities. Sofia’s guardian has promised her in marriage to the son of old Signor Bruschino, but Sofia’s lover impersonates Bruschino’s son in hopes of marrying her instead (much to the confusion of Bruschino the elder).4
  • The overture contains a humorous experimental sound effect: Rossini’s score instructs the violins to tap their music stands with their bows.5

Sources

  1.  Philip Gossett and Richard Osborne, “Rossini, Gioachino (opera),” Grove Music Online (2002), accessed January 9, 2020, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-5000004337.
  2. Richard Osborne, “Signor Bruschino, Il,” Grove Music Online (2002), accessed January 9, 2020,  https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-5000009904. 
  3. Carlo Piazza, trans. Sarah J. Hyde, “Il signor Bruschino,” Accademia degli Incogniti: Festival di Torrechiara, accessed January 9, 2020, https://web.archive.org/web/20070603195513/http://www.festivalditorrechiara.it/ENGbruschino.htm. 
  4. Osborne, “Signor Bruschino, Il,” Grove Music Online. 
  5. Piazza, trans. Hyde, “Il signor Bruschino,” Accademia degli Incogniti: Festival di Torrechiara. 

Cut IDs

11137, 13681, 17060