- L’inganno felice (The Happy Deception) is a 1-act farsa which premiered on January 8, 1812 at the Teatro S. Moisè in Venice.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. (See also La scala di seta, Il signor Bruschino, and The Marriage Contract.)
- Genre: this opera is a farsa comica, 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.2
- Story: This opera contains more melodramatic elements than the typical slapstick farsa. Isabella, a duchess, is presumed dead after she is shipped off to sea by the the villain Ormondo for rejecting his advances. She is rescued and lives secretly in a seaside mining village until her husband (and the villain) appear and drama ensues.3
Sources
- 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.
- 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.
- Richard Osborne, “Inganno felice, L’,” Grove Music Online (2002), accessed January 9, 2020, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-5000009766.
Cut IDs
43570