Viva la mamma!
Music by Gaetano Donizetti
The Story of the Opera
Based on a comedy by Domenico Gilardoni
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West Bay Opera’s 48th Season (2003-2004) Viva la mamma! Music by Gaetano Donizetti The Story of the Opera Based on a comedy by Domenico Gilardoni |
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A provincial company is rehearsing a new work, Romulus and Ersilia, and struggling against daunting odds. The prima donna makes incessant and impossible demands; the imported Russian tenor cannot get his words or his music right; singers are fighting with each other and threatening to walk out. Impossible as it seems, matters take a turn for the worse with the arrival of Mamma Agatha (played by a baritone!), the mother of one of the singers. When this harridan appears she turns everything upside down, insisting on an aria for her daughter and even instructing the composer about the instrumental effects it should contain. Meanwhile, the tenor refuses to perform, and his role is taken over by the soprano’s agent who knows practically nothing about notes or rhythm. Yet another crisis looms when the loss of financial support threatens to force the cancellation of the performance. Nonetheless, all the obstacles are overcome in the end, and the curtain rises.
Originally titled Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali (“The Usages and Misusages of the Stage”), Donizetti’s uproarious comedy has enjoyed worldwide popularity since its first modern revival in 1963. It has appeared in many countries in a number of translations and under various titles, most notably as Viva la mamma.
(click the pictures below for a larger version)
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