''L'ajo nell'imbarazzo'' (''The Tutor Embarrassed'' or ''The Tutor in a Jam'') is a ''

melodramma ''Melodramma'' (plural: ''melodrammi'') is a 17th-century Italian term for a text to be set as an opera, or the opera itself. In the 19th century, it was used in a much narrower sense by English writers to discuss developments in the early Italia ...

giocoso'', or

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 libr ...

, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by

Jacopo Ferretti Jacopo Ferretti (16 July 1784 – 7 March 1852) was an Italian writer, poet and opera librettist. His name is sometimes written as Giacomo Ferretti. He is most famous for having supplied the libretti for two operas composed by Rossini and for fi ...

, after the 1807 play by Giovanni Giraud. At its premiere at the

Teatro Valle Teatro may refer to: * Theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific p ...

, Rome, on 4 February 1824, it "was greeted with wild enthusiasm ndit was with this opera that ..Donizetti had his first really lasting success"Osborne 1994, p. 156 During revisions planned for the 1826 production in Naples, Donizetti renamed the opera '' Don Gregorio'', and it is under that name that most later productions were staged.

Performance history

19th century Performances were given in many Italian cities and it became the first of the composer's operas to be given outside the country, with productions mounted in Vienna, Dresden, Barcelona, and Rio de Janeiro. However, before the planned Naples production of 1826, Donizetti revised the opera under the title of ''Don Gregorio'', and under that name, it premiered at the Teatro Nuovo 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 ...

on 11 June 1826. That same year, it also was given at La Scala. On 28 July 1846 it was first given in London, but "seems to have disappeared from view until it turned up again in Italy in the twentieth century". 20th century and beyond It was presented at the

Teatro Donizetti The Teatro Donizetti is an opera house in Bergamo, Italy. Built in the 1780s using a design by architect Giovanni Francesco Lucchini, the theatre was originally referred to as either the Teatro Nuovo or Teatro di Fiera. The first opera to be mo ...

in the composer's home town of Bergamo in 1959 and an Italian TV production was broadcast in 1964. A successful staging by the

Wexford Festival Wexford Festival Opera () is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in south-eastern Ireland during the months of October and November. The festival began in 1951 under Tom Walsh and a group of opera lovers who quickly gener ...

in 1973 led to it appearing in four additional European cities between 1975 and 1990 and a new video recording was made from live performances given by the Teatro Donizetti in November 2007.

Roles

Synopsis

:Time: Early nineteenth century :Place: An Italian city Marquis Giulio demands that his sons, Enrico and Pippetto, grow up in complete ignorance of all matters of the flesh. Yet Enrico has secretly married Gilda, and they even have a son. Exasperated by the life he's forced to lead, the youth begs the elderly tutor Gregorio for help, and has him meet his wife. When, however, the Marquis arrives, Gilda remains trapped in Gregorio's room. She worries, for she must nurse her child: Gregorio is forced to fetch the baby and bring it to her, hidden under his cloak. Leonarda, an old servant in the household, informs the Marquis of her suspicions; he discovers Gilda, but is convinced she must be the tutor's lover. In the tempestuous scene that follows, involving all the characters, the truth finally comes out. The Marquis realizes his error, and decides to entrust his younger son, Pippetto, to Enrico, so that he might help him learn "the ways of the world."

Recordings

References

Notes Cited sources * Ashbrook, William
"''Ajo nell'imbarazzo, L'"
in ''

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 ...

''. Ed. Stanley Sadie. Oxford Music Online (accessed 24 September 2011, by subscription) *Ashbrook, William (1998), "''Ajo nell'imbarazzo, L''" in Stanley Sadie (ed.), ''

'', vol. two. London: Macmillan. *Ashbrook, William; Sarah Hibberd (2001), "''L'ajo nell'imbarazzio, o Don Gregorio''" 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'', Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. Other sources *Ashbrook, William (1982), ''Donizetti and His Operas'', Cambridge University Press, *Weinstock, Herbert (1963), ''Donizetti and the World of Opera in Italy, Paris, and Vienna in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century'', New York: Pantheon Books.

External links

*
Libretto
(Italian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ajo nell'imbarazzo Italian-language operas Operas by Gaetano Donizetti 1824 operas Operas based on plays Operas Operas set in Italy