Li zite 'ngalera explained

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.

Roles

!Role!Voice type!Premiere cast: 3 January 1722
CiommasopranoRosa Cirillo
Federico Marianibass
BellucciasopranoIppolita Costa
Ciccariellosoprano (en travesti)
Carlosoprano (en travesti)Giacomina Ferrari
TittacontraltoFilippo Calantro (Calandra)
RapistobassGiovanni Romaniello
Menecatenor (en travesti)Simone de Falco
Colagnolotenor
Assanbass
Schiava (slave girl)sopranoLaura 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. Female Operatic Cross-Dressing: Bernardo Saddumene's Libretto for Leonardo Vinci's Li zite 'n galera (1722). Cambridge Opera Journal. 10. 2. July 1998. 131–156. 10.1017/S0954586700004900. 823671. 191614577 .

Further reading