''L’occasione fa il ladro, ossia Il cambio della valigia'' (
English
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* English people
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Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
: ''Opportunity Makes a Thief, or The Exchanged Suitcase'') is an
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
(''
burletta
In theater and music history, a burletta (Italian, meaning "little joke", sometimes burla or burlettina) is a brief comic opera. In eighteenth-century Italy, a burletta was the comic intermezzo between the acts of an ''opera seria''. The extended ...
per musica'' or ''
farsa
Farsa (Italian, literally: ''farce'', plural: ''farse'') is a genre of opera, associated with Venice in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It is also sometimes called ''farsetta''.
Farse were normally one-act operas, sometimes performed to ...
'') in one act by
Gioachino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...
to an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
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 ...
by Luigi Prividali, based on ''Le prétendu par hasard, ou L’occasion fait le larron'', an 1810
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
by
Eugène Scribe
Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of man ...
.
Performance history
19th century
''L’occasione fa il ladro'' was first performed at the
Teatro San Moisè
The Teatro San Moisè was a theatre and opera house in Venice, active from 1620 to 1818. It was in a prominent location near the Palazzo Giustinian and the church of San Moisè at the entrance to the Grand Canal.
History
Built by the San Bernaba ...
,
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, on 24 November 1812. Of the five one-act operas that he wrote for the theatre, this was the one performed most often during the composer's lifetime but it was neglected after his death. There was, however, a revival at
Pesaro
Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...
in 1892 celebrating the hundredth anniversary of his birth there on 29 February 1792, with
Alessandro Bonci
Alessandro Bonci (February 10, 1870 – August 9, 1940) was an Italian lyric tenor known internationally for his association with the '' bel canto'' repertoire. He sang at many famous theatres, including New York's Metropolitan Opera, Milan's La ...
.
20th century and beyond
The opera was given at the Théâtre Nouveau in Nice in 1983
and, in 1987, presented at the
Rossini Opera Festival The Rossini Opera Festival (ROF) is an international music festival held in August of each year in Pesaro, Italy, the birthplace of the opera composer Gioachino Rossini. Its aim, in addition to studying the musical heritage of the composer, is to r ...
in Pesaro, directed by
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle (19 February 1932 – 11 August 1988) was a French opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the ...
, where it was recorded.
In the same year, it was given at the
Buxton Festival
The Buxton Festival is an annual summer festival of opera, music and (since 2000) a literary series, held in Buxton, Derbyshire, England since its beginnings in July 1979. The 2020 festival would have run but was cancelled due to the Covid-19 cri ...
. In addition it was "revived at the
Macerata Opera
The Macerata Opera is the name given to the coordinating bodies of the provincial and local government in Macerata, the provincial capital of the Marche region of Italy, which puts on performances of three or four operas each July and August under ...
(1992), in Paris, in Cologne and in the
Schlosstheater Schwetzingen
Schlosstheater Schwetzingen (Schwetzingen palace theater) is a court theater in Schwetzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The historic building, opened in 1753, is part of Schloss Schwetzingen and since 1952 the principal venue of the Schwetzing ...
".
In April 1991 it was presented at the Politeama Garibaldi in Palermo, conducted by Antonello Allemandi with the orchestra and chorus of the
Teatro Massimo
The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele is an opera house and opera company located on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo, Sicily. It was dedicated to King Victor Emanuel II.
It is the biggest in Italy, and one of the largest of Europe (at the time of its i ...
.
Rockwell Blake
Rockwell Blake (born January 10, 1951) is an American operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in Rossini operas. He was the first winner of the Richard Tucker Award.
Biography
Born and raised in Plattsburgh, NY, Blake was the son of a m ...
sang Count Alberto.
[ Performances and recordings listed on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk](_blank)
/ref> A performance under Gianluigi Gelmetti with the Stuttgarter Rundfunkorchester was given in 1992, the cast including Susan Patterson and Alessandro Corbelli
Alessandro Corbelli (born September 21, 1952) is an Italian baritone opera singer. One of the world's pre-eminent singers specializing in Mozart and Rossini, Corbelli has sung in many major opera houses around the world and won admiration for his ...
.
The Ponelle production was revived during the 2013 season at the Rossini Opera Festival. One reviewer notes that the cast members were mostly native Italians.
In Britain, Opera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and ...
presented a number of English-language performances in 2004 as part of their ''Eight Little Greats'' season. The opera was entitled ''Love’s Luggage Lost'', and the production was directed by Christopher Alden and conducted by David Parry.
The opera was presented in September 2017 at La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...
, directed by Elisabetta Brusa, in collaboration with the Venetian Accademia di Belle Arti.
Roles
Synopsis
:Time: 18th Century
:Place: In and near Naples[Osborne, Charles 1994, p. 23]
During a storm, three travellers take refuge in an inn in the country. Alberto has been betrothed to a woman whom he has never met, and is on his way to meet her. Don Parmenione, accompanied by Martino, is trying to trace a friend's sister, who has disappeared. When the storm is over, Alberto leaves, accidentally taking Parmenione's luggage with him instead of his own. Martino opens Alberto's suitcase and discovers, among his papers, a portrait, presumably of the bride-to-be. Parmenione decides to masquerade as Albert and claim the bride for himself.
At Don Eusebio's house, Ernestina, who has fallen on hard times, agrees to extend her stay and take on the role of Berenice's companion. Berenice, worried about marrying a man whom she has never met, asks Ernestina to pretend to be her. She herself will meanwhile play the role of a maid, so that she can observe Alberto and decide whether she is prepared to marry him. Parmenione, accompanied by Martino, now announces himself as Alberto and pays court to the disguised Ernestina, notwithstanding that she is not the lady in the portrait. The two are attracted to each other.
Alberto himself arrives, and meets the pretended maid, Berenice. A mutual attraction also springs up between these two, but Berenice is disconcerted to learn that Alberto has apparently already arrived and can prove who he is, whereas this man has no papers to identify him. The real Alberto and the imposter each try to convince Eusebio that they are who they say they are, and Berenice, who knows which one she would rather marry, subjects Parmenione to a severe cross-examination. He is eventually forced to admit his deception. Berenice can now marry Alberto and Parmenione can marry Ernestina – who turns out to be the woman he was trying to trace, the sister of his friend. And the portrait in Alberto's luggage? It was of his own sister, to be given to Berenice as a wedding-present.
Recordings
References
Notes
Sources
* Gossett, Philip; Brauner, Patricia (2001), "''L'occasione fa il ladro''" in Holden, Amanda (ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam.
* Osborne, Charles (1994), ''The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini'', London: Methuen; Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press.
* Osborne, Richard (1998), "''L'occasione fa il ladro''", in Stanley Sadie
Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...
(Ed.), ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...
'', Vol. xxxx. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Occasione Fa Il Ladro
Operas by Gioachino Rossini
Italian-language operas
1812 operas
One-act operas
Operas
Operas based on works by Eugène Scribe