Opera Factory - The Italian Girl in London (Cimarosa)

Opera Factory, in association with Spencer on Byron Hotel, is proud to present 'The Italian Girl in London', a sparkling one-act comedy by Cimarosa (adaptation by Rosemary Barnes).

This will be the second performance of this entertaining chamber opera and will include Cimarosa’s double flute concerto.

Cast:
Claire Filer – Livia (soprano)
Emma Sloman – Flora (soprano)
Cameron Barclay – Milord (tenor)
Paul Barrett – Don Polidoro (baritone)

Musical Director: Rosemary Barnes
Director: Paul Barrett

With a prelude of Cimarosa's double concerto for two flutes featuring Leon Reynolds and Claire Huang, accompanied by Rosemary Barnes (piano).

The Opera
Music by Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801)
Libretto by Abbott Giuseppe Petrosellini (1727-c.1797)
First performance Teatro Valle, Rome 10 July 1778
Performing version and translation by Rosemary Barnes ©2020

Originally a comic opera (or “intermezzo”) in two acts, The Italian Girl in London, in its day, it was a huge hit and travelled all over Europe, enduring many changes as it did so. Many distinguished composers made additions and alterations when they presented it on their turf. Cimarosa himself added two arias and a quartet when he presented it in Naples in 1794. Haydn made changes when he presented it at Esterhazy. And Cherubini added two arias and a trio when he presented it in France in 1790 (one of these arias, sung by Milord, is the opening number of our version). When the opera was given its London premiere at the Kings Theatre, Haymarket in 1788, the location was transferred to Amsterdam and the title changed to The Innkeeper or La Locandiera. Because of a papal edict forbidding the appearance of women on the stage, the female roles at the première were taken by castrati.

The action, as in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, takes place over one hectic day, in a London hostelry run by Madama Brillante (known in this version as Flora). The original five characters have been reduced to four, and the two acts compressed into one. The long Rossini-like finales, with several sections, have been considerably compressed as per a one-act version dating from 1929. The cast of characters is as follows:

Flora (soprano), a lively innkeeper, who has designs on Don Polidoro...
Don Polidoro (baritone), a flamboyant, homesick gentleman from Naples, who would prefer to pay court to his much younger compatriot Livia, also a guest in Flora’s inn, but has to content himself with flirting with Flora.

Milord (tenor), a rather morose young English aristocrat who has jilted Livia whilst on his Grand Tour in Italy and cannot live with the dishonour. He would prefer to kill himself rather than marry the woman of his father’s choice.

Livia (soprano), a young Italian girl staying at Flora’s inn, who has very bravely travelled alone to London seeking the love of her life, the young English milord, whose departure from Genova was so very sudden.

To book, please email admin@operafactory.com or phone 09 921 7801.