''Lo frate 'nnamorato'' ( Neapolitan: ''The Brother in Love'') is a three-act ''commedia per musica'' (a form of ''

opera buffa Opera buffa (, "comic opera"; : ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramma bernesc ...

'') by

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Giovanni Battista Draghi (; 4 January 1710 – 16 or 17 March 1736), usually referred to as Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (), was an Italian Baroque composer, violinist, and organist, leading exponent of the Baroque; he is considered one of the g ...

, to a Neapolitan

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 th ...

by Gennaro Antonio Federico, first performed in 1732.

Composition history

The opera, written when the composer was only 22, is his first attempt at comic opera. (It was followed in 1733 by his better-known short opera, ''

La serva padrona ''La serva padrona'' (''The Maid Turned Mistress'') is a 1733 intermezzo by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–1736) to a libretto by Gennaro Federico, after the Play (theatre), play by Jacopo Angello Nelli. It is some 40 minutes long, in two par ...

''). The first performance was on 27 September 1732, at the Teatro dei Fiorentini,

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. A successful run was halted by a severe

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

, which closed the theatres in Naples until the autumn of 1733. It was re-presented during the 1734

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

season, in a version revised by the author.

Roles

At this time in history, when comic opera was in its infancy, librettists wrote works with both comic and serious characters.

Synopsis

Setting: House of Marcaniello; Capodimonte region of Naples Ascanio, the brother of Nina and Nena, was stolen by brigands in childhood and presumed lost; he was, however, found and adopted by Marcaniello. Now, Nina and Nena are the wards of their uncle, the Roman Don Carlo. Don Carlo wishes to marry Luggrezia, the daughter of Marcaniello, who himself wishes to marry Nina and to take Nena as a wife for his son, the foppish Don Pietro. Nina and Nena meanwhile have fallen in love with Ascanio, not realizing their relationship. The two maids Vanella (servant of Carlo) and Cardella (servant of Marcaniello) comment on and take part in the various intrigues which ensue. Finally, in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

with Carlo, the latter recognizes Ascanio as his lost nephew by a

birthmark A birthmark is a congenital, benign irregularity on the skin which is present at birth or appears shortly after birth—usually in the first month. Birthmarks can occur anywhere on the skin. They are caused by overgrowth of blood vessels, melanocy ...

on his arm. Ascanio and Luggrezia are now free to marry.

Orchestration

* Continuo * Flute/Oboe (flautist would play oboe in some numbers) * Strings

Recordings

key: conductor/Nena/Nina/Luggrezia/Ascanio/Carlo/Marcaniello/Pietro/Cardella/Vannella *Cillario/Girones/Cavicchioli/Cavicchioli/ Bonisolli/Lazzari/Mariotti/Basiola/Taylor Bonisolli/Fusco - 1969, live in Naples - Memories * Fabio Biondi/Biccirè/Adamonyte/di Castri/Belfiore/Alegret/Alaimo-N/Morace/Bove/Chierici - 2011, filmed in Jesi - Arthaus DVD *

Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He is current music director of the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the ...

/ Felle/ Manca di Nissa/D’Intino/ Focile/di Cesare/ Corbelli/de Simone/Curiel/ Norberg-Schulz - 1989, filmed at

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was a church). The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's ''Europa r ...

in Milan - Opus Arte DVD

Notes

References

* Raffaele Mellace, ''Frate 'nnamorato, Lo'', in Piero Gelli and Filippo Poletti (editors), ''Dizionario dell'opera 2008'', Milan, Baldini Castoldi Dalai, 2007, pp. 520–523, (reproduced a
Opera Manager

External links

''Ogni pena più spietata''
(

aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

from Act 1 of the opera) sung by

Janet Baker Dame Janet Abbott Baker (born 21 August 1933) is an English mezzo-soprano best known as an opera, concert, and lieder singer.Blyth, Alan, "Baker, Dame Janet (Abbott)" in Sadie, Stanley, ed.; John Tyrell; exec. ed. (2001). ''New Grove Dictionar ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Frate 'Nnamorato, Lo Operas Opera buffa 1732 operas Italian-language operas Operas set in Italy Operas by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi