- In 1791, Cimarosa moved from Russia to Vienna and was appointed court Kapellmeister by Habsburg Emperor Leopold II (1747-1792).1 The comic opera Il Matrimonio Segreto was one of Cimarosa’s first commissions from Emperor Leopold.
- Il matrimonio segreto (The Secret Marriage) premiered in Vienna in 1792 to great success.
- The Emperor liked this opera so much that he ordered it to be encored in his own private residence on the evening of its premiere. (He also provided dinner for the performers!)2
- Il Matrimoni segreto was based on an English comedy, The Clandestine Marriage3 by George Colman (1732-1794) and actor/Drury Lane Theater producer David Garrick (1717-1779). In turn, Colman & Garrick’s play was based on William Hogarth’s satirical Marriage à la Mode engravings.4
- Synopsis and more from the Pittsburgh Opera
Sources
- “Leopold II,” Encyclopædia Brittanica (May 1, 2019), accessed August 21, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leopold-II-Holy-Roman-emperor.
- Gordana Lazarevich, “Matrimonio segreto, Il,” Grove Music Online (2002), accessed August 21, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-5000008882.
- Jennifer E. Johnson and Gordana Lazarevich, “Cimarosa, Domenico,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed August 21, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000005785.
- Gordana Lazarevich, “Matrimonio segreto, Il,” Grove Music Online (2002), accessed August 21, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-5000008882.
Cut IDs
43126