''Il curioso indiscreto'' ("The Imprudent Curious Man"), is an opera (''

dramma giocoso ''Dramma giocoso'' (Italian, literally: drama with jokes; plural: ''drammi giocosi'') is a genre of opera common in the mid-18th century. The term is a contraction of ''dramma giocoso per musica'' and describes the opera's libretto (text). The ge ...

'') in three acts composed by

Pasquale Anfossi Pasquale Anfossi (5 April 1727 – February 1797) was an Italian opera composer. Born in Taggia, Liguria, he studied with Niccolò Piccinni and Antonio Sacchini, and worked mainly in London, Venice and Rome. He wrote more than 80 operas, both ...

. The

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

is based on an episode from the 17th-century Spanish novel '' Don Quixote''. The librettist is not known for sure but is thought to be either Giovanni Bertati or

Giuseppe Petrosellini Giuseppe Petrosellini (29 November 1727 – 1799) was an Italian poet and prolific librettist working primarily in the '' dramma giocoso'' and ''opera buffa'' genres. Petrosellini was born in Corneto, Papal State (now Tarquinia, Lazio) and spent ...

. The opera premiered at the Teatro delle Dame in Rome during the

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

season of 1777.

Background and performance history

The libretto is based on Chapters XXXIII and XXXIV of ''Don Quixote'' in which a curate staying in the same inn as Don Quixote reads aloud one of the innkeeper's favourite stories, "Ill-Advised Curiosity". It is unclear who Anfossi's librettist was. In his 1970 book ''Das alte Burgtheater als Opernbühne'', Otto Michtner lists Giovanni Bertati as the librettist. However, the 2000 edition of ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'' notes that could have been either Bertati or Giuseppe Petrosellini. The premiere of ''Il curioso indiscreto'' took place during the Carnival season of 1777 at Rome's Teatro delle Dame, where Anfossi's '' La vera costanza'' had premiered the previous year. Since women were not allowed to perform on stage in the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

at that time, the opera premiered with an all-male cast. The stage design was by Gabriele Montarenzi with costumes by Carlo Brogi and Vincenzo D'Amora. The performance included two untitled ballets choreographed by Giacomo Romolo.Libretti d'opera
Notes to libretto 390: ''Il curioso indiscreto''

Università degli Studi di Padova The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...

. Retrieved 27 December 2014 . The opera proved very popular and was subsequently performed in many Italian and European cities, including Vienna in 1783. For the Vienna performance,

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

added two of his own arias, "

Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio! "" ( K. 418) is a soprano aria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. History Mozart entered the aria into his catalogue on 20 June 1783 Vienna. It was performed in the Burgtheater, Vienna, on 30 June 1783, as an insertion aria for a performance of Pasquale ...

( K. 418) and "No, no che non sei capace" (K. 419) at the request of

Aloysia Weber ''Aloysia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are known generally as beebrushes.

who was singing the lead soprano role of Clorinda.Anonymous (1961)
"Anfossi, Pasquale"
'' Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'', Vol. 3. Treccani. Online version retrieved 27 December 2014 . ''Il curioso indiscreto'' was revived in 1984 with a performance at the Mozarteum in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

which included the two Mozart arias.Angermüller, Rudolph (2002)
"Pasquale Anfossis Il Curioso Indiscreto in Rovereto (1778)"
. ''Atti della L'Accademia Roveretana degli Agiati'', Serie VIII, volume II, A, pp. 119–145

Roles

Synopsis

Marchese Calandrano is afflicted with insatiable curiosity. He is betrothed to the beautiful Clorinda but wonders what she would do if another man paid court to her. He enlists the young Count Ripaverde, who is in love with Calandrano's niece Emilia, to test Clorinda's fidelity. This proves to be Calandrino's downfall, as Ripaverde and Clorinda fall in love. Calandrino's friend, Aurelio consoles Emilia and they too fall in love, as do Serpina (Clorinda's maid) and Prospero, (Clorinda's

maggiordomo A majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest (''major'') person of a household (''domūs'' or ''domicile'') staff, a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a large ...

). The opera ends with the three couples celebrating their new-found happiness together and Calandrano left without a fiancée.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curioso, indiscreto 1777 operas Italian-language operas Operas by Pasquale Anfossi Drammi giocosi Operas

Background and performance history

Roles

Synopsis

See also

References