| Il ritorno di Don Calandrino | |
| Genre Header: | Opera |
| Composer: | Domenico Cimarosa |
| Translated Name: | The Return of Don Calandrino |
| Native Name Lang: | it |
| Other Name: | Armidoro e Laurina |
| Genre: | Intermezzo |
| Librettist: | Giuseppe Petrosellini (?) |
| Language: | Italian |
| Premiere Date: | 1778 |
| Premiere Location: | Teatro Valle, Rome |
Il ritorno di Don Calandrino (The Return of Don Calandrino), also known as Armidoro e Laurina,[1] is an intermezzo in two acts by Domenico Cimarosa to an Italian libretto presumably written by Giuseppe Petrosellini.[2]
The premiere took place in 1778 at Teatro Valle in Rome. Performances in Livorno (1783), Prague (1785), Vienna (1787), Barcelona (1788), Florence (1788 and 1793) and Padua (1801) followed.[3] After a long break, the opera was revived in 2007 under the musical direction of Riccardo Muti in a series of performances at the Salzburg Festival,[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] in Las Palmas,[10] [11] Teatro Municipale in Piacenza,[12] in Pisa,[13] and the Ravenna Festival.[14]
| Role | Voice type | |
|---|---|---|
| Livietta | soprano castrato travesti | |
| Don Calandrino | soprano castrato[15] | |
| Monsieur Le Blonde | bass | |
| Irene | soprano castrato travesti | |
| Valerio | tenor |
The libretto gives a humorous account of characters and actions of Don Calandrino, the son of the podestà of Monte Secco (Abruzzo, Italy),[16] who pretends he knows everything, but in fact is incapable of even thinking logically; Livietta, a haughty and rich peasant girl, who tries to act as a lady, but invariably fails both in her language and manners; Monsieur Le Blonde, a French traveler eager to talk about places he has supposedly visited, but of which he knows nothing; Irene, a simple and humble girl; and Valerio, the Mayor of Monte Secco and Irene’s brother. After several turns, the story resolves in pairing Don Calandrino with Livietta, and Le Blonde with Irene.[17]
Notes
Cited sources