Il giovedì grasso is a farsa

Farsa

Farsa is a genre of opera, associated with Venice in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It is also sometimes called farsetta....

in one act by Gaetano Donizetti

Gaetano Donizetti

Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...

, from a libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 by Domenico Gilardoni. The libretto was adapted from the French comedies Monsieur de Pourceaugnac

Monsieur de Pourceaugnac

Monsieur de Pourceaugnac is a 1985 French drama film directed by Michel Mitrani that is based on the 1669 play of the same name by Molière. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:...

by Molière

Molière

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...

 and Le nouveau Pourceaugnac by Charles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson

Charles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson

Charles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson Auguste-Simon-Jean-Chrysostome Poirson, known as Delestre-Poirson was a French playwright and theatre director....

 and Eugène Scribe

Eugène Scribe

Augustin Eugène Scribe , was a French dramatist and librettist. He is best known for the perfection of the so-called "well-made play" . This dramatic formula was a mainstay of popular theater for over 100 years.-Biography:...

. The opera uses spoken dialogue rather than recitative

Recitative

Recitative , also known by its Italian name "recitativo" , is a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech...

s, and the buffo role is given in the Neapolitan language

Neapolitan language

Neapolitan is the language of the city and region of Naples , and Campania. On October 14, 2008 a law by the Region of Campania stated that the Neapolitan language had to be protected....

. The work premiered at the Teatro del Fondo

Teatro del Fondo

The Teatro del Fondo is a theatre in Naples, now known as the Teatro Mercadante. Together with the Teatro San Carlo, it was originally one of the two royal opera houses of the 18th and 19th-century city....

 in Naples on 26 February 1829.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 26 February 1829 (Conductor: )
Ernesto Rousignac	tenor	Giovanni Battista Rubini Giovanni Battista Rubini Giovanni Battista Rubini was an Italian tenor, as famous in his time as Enrico Caruso in a later day. His ringing and expressive coloratura dexterity in the highest register of his voice, the tenorino, inspired the writing of operatic roles which today are almost impossible to cast...
Stefanina	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Rosalinda Grossi
Nina	contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...	Adelaide Comelli-Rubini
Sigismondo	bass	Luigi Lablache Luigi Lablache Luigi Lablache was an Italian opera singer of French and Irish heritage. He was most noted for his comic performances, possessing a powerful and agile bass voice, a wide range, and adroit acting skills: Leporello in Don Giovanni was one of his signature roles.-Biography:Luigi Lablache was born in...
The Colonel	baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...	Giovanni Battista Campagnoli
Teodoro	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	Giovanni Arrigotti
Camilla	mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...	Maria Carraro
Cola	bass	Giovanni Pace
Knights of the queen, domestic servants of Leicester, guards, soldiers, people

Synopsis

Time: 17th century

Place: "A house in the country, outside Paris"

The lovers Nina and Theodore are desperate since Nina is promised to Ernesto, a simple village boy. Sigysmondo, who is in his private life jealous of his own wife for false suspicions and believes that Ernesto is a fool, is their friend and decides to help them. Knowing that Ernesto will come exactly when Nina's father, the Colonel, will be in Paris, offers everyone to dress up like in "Cruel Thursday of abundance": He himself will be an imaginary friend from Ernesto's past and Camilla will be a former lover betrayed by Ernesto. Stephanina who isn't familiar with the Ernesto, is the one who opens the door to Ernesto and innocently tells him about the people and their scheme. Ernesto decides to fight back, refers to Sigismondo as to his friend and to Camilla as his former and betrayed lover, which allegedly confirms Sigismondo's suspicions. He also sends an urgent letter to the Colonel asking him to return home as soon as possible. Only when the Colonel is back Ernesto confesses to everyone that he, the simple village boy, is the one who had fooled them and let the lovers get married.

Recordings

Year	Cast (The Colonel, Nina, Teodoro, Sigismondo)	Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra	Label
1970	Federico Davià, Jill Gomez, Malcolm Williams, Elfego Esparza	David Atherton David Atherton David Atherton OBE, is an English conductor.-Background:Atherton was born in Blackpool, Lancashire in a musical family. He was educated at Blackpool Grammar School. His father, Robert Atherton, was the Music Master at St Joseph's College, Blackpool and was also a conductor... , Radio Teflis Eireann Symphony Orchestra (A recording of a performance at the Wexord Festival)	Audio CD: Foyer Cat: 1-CF 2036, Memories Cat: HR 4482
1971	Saturno Meletti, Mariella Devia Mariella Devia Mariella Devia is an Italian soprano, well known for performing many roles in the bel canto repertoire.Born in Chiusavecchia, Devia trained at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome with Iolanda Magnoni... , Antonio Bevacqua, Giorgio Gatti	Ottavio Ziino, Orchestra Aidem di Firenze	33rpm LP: Voce Cat: 110