La cambiale di matrimonio
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| Operas by Gioachino Rossini |
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La cambiale di matrimonio (1810) |
La cambiale di matrimonio (The Bill of Marriage or The Marriage Contract) is a one-act operatic farsa comica by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Gaetano Rossi. The libretto was based on the play by Camillo Federici (1791) as well as on a previous libretto written by Giuseppe Checcherini for Carlo Coccia's 1807 opera, Il matrimonio per lettera di cambio. The opera debuted on November 3, 1810 at the Teatro San Moisè in Venice.[1]
Composed in a few days when he was 18 years old, La cambiale di matrimonio was Rossini's first professional opera. The overture, written when he was a student at the Liceo Musicale in Bologna, is an important part of the modern concert repertoire. [1]
Contents |
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, November 3, 1810[2] (Conductor: ) |
|---|---|---|
| Tobias Mill, an English merchant | bass | Luigi Raffanelli |
| Fanny, his daughter | soprano | Rosa Morandi |
| Edward Milfort, Fanny's lover | tenor | Tommaso Ricci |
| Slook, a Canadian merchant | bass | Nicola De Grecis |
| Norton, Mills' clerk | bass | Domenico Remolini |
| Clarina, Fanny's chambermaid | mezzo-soprano | Clementina Lanari |
[edit] Synopsis
In an 18th century English town, local merchant, Tobias Mill, receives a blank marriage contract from a Canadian businessman, Mr. Slook. Although quite surprised, Mill announces to his servants Norton and Clarina that he intends to accept the contract on behalf of his daughter Fanny. When Fanny and her penniless lover Edward Milfort hear about this, Milfort vows to fight the situation. Slook arrives on the scene and is surprised both by the elaborate reception he receives as well as by Mill’s desire to promptly effect the marriage. Slook addresses Fanny in a duet that soon expands as Milfort joins in to threaten him with bodily harm unless he leaves town immediately.
Slook offers to pull out of the contract, but Mill feels slighted and challenges him to a duel. Slook makes Milfort his heir and signs Fanny over to him and then prepares to leave town. Fanny and Milfort are thankful and Slook lounges around comfortably smoking a pipe. Mill, who does not yet know of the settlement, rages into the scene until all is revealed and ends in celebration.
The duet Dunque io son was later reused in Act I of The Barber of Seville.[3]
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ a b Osbourne, Richard: "Cambiale di matrimonio, La", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Retrieved on March 21, 2008), <http://www.grovemusic.com>
- ^ Role creators information from AmadeusOnline.net
- ^ Warrack, John & West, Ewan "Cambiale di matrimonio, La" The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera Oxford University Press, 1996 Oxford Reference Online (Retrieved on March 21, 2008), <http://www.oxfordreference.com>
[edit] External link
- Libretto, Deutsche Rossini Gesellschaft. Accessed 23 March 2008.
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