La sposa fedele
La sposa fedele (The Faithful Bride) is an opera buffa (or according to some sources, dramma giocoso[1]) in three acts by Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi. The Italian libretto was by Pietro Chiari.
It was Guglielmi's most successful opera, mixing comedy and pathos.
There is an opera with the same title by Giovanni Pacini, first staged in 1819.
Performance history
La sposa fedele was first performed at the Teatro San Moisè in Venice on 26 December 1766,[2] though it is possible that it was given first in Cremona in 1765.
Other productions followed in Italy and elsewhere in Europe (including London at the King's Theatre on 31 October 1775) as La Rosinella, ossia La sposa fedele, La fedeltà in amore, La sposa costante, and La costanza di Rosinella. In Germany it was given as Robert und Kalliste, oder der Triumph der Treue. A German vocal score was published in 1777 in Berlin and Leipzig.
Roles
| Cast | Voice type | Premiere, 26 December 1766 |
|---|---|---|
| Rosinella | soprano | |
| Pasqualino | tenor | |
| Marchese del Vento Ponente | bass | |
| Conte Lelio | tenor | |
| Camilla | soprano | |
| Lauretta | contralto | |
| Valerio | bass | |
Synopsis
Rosinella and Pasqualino are separated when their ship is wrecked near the home of the Marchese del Vento Ponente. The Marchese and Conte Lelio have designs on Rosinella, but she is true to Pasqualino.
References
- Mary Hunter in New Grove Dictionary of Opera describes it as a dramma giocoso in her "Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. 2001. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.O901986pg1. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. , but as an opera buffa in her "La sposa fedele". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. 2001. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.O008557. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. . At this period, both designations may be equally correct.
- Or according to Mary Hunter in Grove, during Carnival 1767.
- Casaglia, Gherardo (2005)."La sposa fedele". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
- Hunter, Mary (1992). "La sposa fedele". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.O008557. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.