Li zite 'ngalera

Li zite 'ngalera (The Newlyweds on the Galley)[1] is a commedia per musica in three acts by the Italian composer Leonardo Vinci, first performed at the Teatro dei Fiorentini, Naples, on 3 January 1722. The libretto, by Bernardo Saddumene, is written in the Neapolitan language which characterizes it as commeddeja pe mmuseca.

Title page of the libretto, 1722

Roles
Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast: 3 January 1722[2]
Ciomma soprano Rosa Cirillo
Federico Mariani bass
Belluccia soprano Ippolita Costa
Ciccariello soprano (en travesti)
Carlo soprano (en travesti) Giacomina Ferrari
Titta contralto Filippo Calantro (Calandra)
Rapisto bass Giovanni Romaniello
Meneca tenor (en travesti) Simone de Falco
Colagnolo tenor
Assan bass
Schiava (slave girl) soprano Laura Monti

Synopsis

The young man Carlo abandons his old love Belluccia in favour of a new one, Ciomma. Disguised as a man, Belluccia pursues Carlo. She manages to make several local ladies, including Ciomma herself, fall in love with her. When Belluccia's father, the galley captain Federico, arrives, he threatens Carlo with death, but Belluccia takes pity on him and the couple are reconciled and married. At the end of the opera we see the newlyweds sail back to their old hometown on Federico's galley (hence the title).

Recordings

References
  1. Treadwell, Nina (July 1998). "Female Operatic Cross-Dressing: Bernardo Saddumene's Libretto for Leonardo Vinci's Li zite 'n galera (1722)". Cambridge Opera Journal. 10 (2): 131–156. doi:10.1017/S0954586700004900. JSTOR 823671. S2CID 191614577.
  2. Casaglia, Gherardo (2005)."Le zite ‘ngalera, 3 January 1722". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  3. Treasures of Naples Vol. 8 – Vinci: Li zite 'ngalera at AllMusic

Further reading
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