''Le cantatrici villane'' (''The Boorish Singers'') is a comic opera (''dramma giocoso'') in two acts composed by

Valentino Fioravanti Valentino Fioravanti (11 September 1764 – 16 June 1837) was a celebrated Italian composer of ''opera buffas''. Fioravanti was born in Rome. One of the best ''opera buffa'' composers between Domenico Cimarosa and Gioacchino Rossini, he was ...

to a

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 Giuseppe Palomba. It was first performed in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

in 1799. A revised one act version premiered 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 ...

in Venice as ''Le virtuose ridicole'' in 1801. An opera by

Antonio Cagnoni Antonio Cagnoni (8 February 1828 – 30 April 1896) was an Italian composer. Primarily known for his twenty operas, his work is characterized by his use of leitmotifs and moderately dissonant harmonies. In addition to writing music for the sta ...

based on the same libretto and entitled '' Don Bucefalo'' premiered in Milan in 1847.

Roles

* Rosa, ''a peasant believed to be a widow'' (

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

)Roles and voice types based on Gelli (2007b) * Agata, ''a peasant'' (soprano) * Giannetta, ''a peasant'' (soprano) * Don Bucefalo, ''a timid and ignorant choirmaster'' ( bass) * Don Marco, ''a well-to-do student of Don Bucefalo and in love with Rosa'' (bass) * Carlino, ''a young soldier who has disappeared in Spain and husband of Rosa'' (

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

) * Giansimone, ''a waiter in the local inn'' (tenor)

Synopsis

The action takes place in 18th century

Casoria Casoria (; nap, Casòria) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about northeast of Naples. Casoria borders the following municipalities: Afragola, Arzano, Cardito, Casalnuovo d ...

, a village near

. Three country wenches (Agata, Giannetta and Rosa) have aspiration to become

bel canto Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

virtuose with the help of an ignorant choirmaster (Don Bucefalo) and another would be singer (Don Marco), but things get complicated with the unexpected return of bragging soldier and Rosa's jealous husband (Carlino).

Discography

* ''Le cantatrice villane'' (1CD) –

Alda Noni Alda Noni (30 April 1916 – 19 May 2011) was an Italian soprano leggiero, one of the leading soubrettes of the immediate postwar period. Born in Trieste, she first studied voice and piano in her native city, and completed her studies in Vien ...

, Ester Orell, Fernanda Cadoni,

Sesto Bruscantini Sesto Bruscantini (10 December 1919 – 4 May 2003) was an Italian baritone, one of the greatest buffo singers of the post-war era, especially renowned in Mozart and Rossini. Biography and career Bruscantini was born in Civitanova Marche, Marche, ...

, Franco Calabrese, Agostino Lazzari – Orchestra di Napoli,

Mario Rossi Mario Rossi may refer to: * Mario Rossi (architect) (1897–1961), an Italian architect who designed prominent Islamic buildings * Mario Rossi (conductor) (1902–1992), a prominent Italian conductor * Mario Rossi (racing driver) (1932–?), an Ame ...

–

Cetra Cetra, a Latin word borrowed from Greek language, Greek, is an Italian descendant of ''κιθάρα'' (cithara). It is a synonym for the cittern but has been used for the citole and cithara (the lyre-form) and cythara (the lyre-form developing i ...

reissued by Warner-Fonit (1951) * ''Le cantatrici villane'' (complete, 2 hours 15 minutes) Maria Angeles Peters, Giovanna Manci, Floriana Sovilla,

Ernesto Palacio Ernesto Palacio (born October 19, 1946, Lima) is a Peruvian tenor, particularly associated with Rossini and Mozart roles. Palacio first studied theology before turning to music. He began his vocal studies in Milan, and after winning first prize i ...

Orchestra Sinfonica del Licinio Refice, Roberto Tigani 2000 Bongiovanni

Notes and references

Sources

* Anderson, James (1993). ''The Complete Dictionary of Opera & Operetta''. Wings Books. * * Fornasier, Umberto, ''Cantatrici villane, Le'', in Gelli, Piero & Poletti Filippo eds. (2007). ''Dizionario dell'Opera 2008'', Milan: Baldini Castoldi Dalai, pp. 187–188. * Pessina, Marino, ''Don Bucefalo'', in Gelli, Piero & Poletti Filippo eds. (2007), ''op. cit.'', p. 333 * Polzonetti, Pierpaolo (2011)
''Italian Opera in the Age of the American Revolution''
Cambridge University Press.

External links

Libretto

Vocal scores for two arias from ''Le cantatrici villane''
at the

International Music Score Library Project The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based digital library of public-domain music scores. The project, which uses MediaWiki software ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantatrici Villane 1799 operas Operas Italian-language operas Opera buffa Operas set in Naples