L'oca del Cairo
Encyclopedia
L'oca del Cairo is an opera buffa
in three acts, K.
422, begun by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
in July 1783 but abandoned in October.
The complete three act libretto
by Giovanni Battista Varesco
remains.
Mozart completed seven of the ten numbers of the first act, plus some recitative; his music amounts to about 45 minute
s.
The title is usually translated as The Goose of Cairo but sometimes as The Cairo Goose.
Don Pippo, a Spanish Marquess
, keeps his only daughter Celidora locked up in his tower. She is betrothed to Count Lionetto, but her true love is Biondello, a wealthy gentleman. Biondello makes a bet with the Marquis that if he can rescue Celidora from the tower within a year he wins her hand in marriage.
He succeeds by having himself smuggled into the tower garden inside a large mechanical goose.
Mozart's correspondence shows he was seeking a comical plot
to please the Viennese, but abandoned Varesco's libretto after six months because of its silly ending, a farcical travesty of the Trojan Horse
legend.
The first stage performance was on 6 June 1867 at Théâtre des Fantaisies-Parisiennes, Paris. Several versions have been prepared by adapting other music. The first performance (in concert) was in Frankfurt
in April 1860 with numbers taken from Lo sposo deluso
and some concert arias.
Fragments from both these incomplete operas plus Der Schauspieldirektor
have been combined as Waiting for Figaro, performed in 2002 by the Bampton Classical Opera
.
There are a few recordings.
Opera buffa
Opera buffa 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 bernesco’, ‘dramma comico’, ‘divertimento giocoso' etc...
in three acts, K.
Köchel-Verzeichnis
The Köchel-Verzeichnis is a complete, chronological catalogue of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart which was originally created by Ludwig von Köchel. It is abbreviated K or KV. For example, Mozart's Requiem in D minor was, according to Köchel's counting, the 626th piece Mozart composed....
422, begun by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
in July 1783 but abandoned in October.
The complete three act 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 Giovanni Battista Varesco
Varesco
Father Varesco was a chaplain, musician, poet and librettist to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His given name variously appears as Giambattista, Gianbattista, Giovanni Battista and Girolamo Giovanni Battista...
remains.
Mozart completed seven of the ten numbers of the first act, plus some recitative; his music amounts to about 45 minute
Minute
A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units...
s.
The title is usually translated as The Goose of Cairo but sometimes as The Cairo Goose.
Don Pippo, a Spanish Marquess
Marquess
A marquess or marquis is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The term is also used to translate equivalent oriental styles, as in imperial China, Japan, and Vietnam...
, keeps his only daughter Celidora locked up in his tower. She is betrothed to Count Lionetto, but her true love is Biondello, a wealthy gentleman. Biondello makes a bet with the Marquis that if he can rescue Celidora from the tower within a year he wins her hand in marriage.
He succeeds by having himself smuggled into the tower garden inside a large mechanical goose.
Mozart's correspondence shows he was seeking a comical plot
to please the Viennese, but abandoned Varesco's libretto after six months because of its silly ending, a farcical travesty of the Trojan Horse
Trojan Horse
The Trojan Horse is a tale from the Trojan War about the stratagem that allowed the Greeks finally to enter the city of Troy and end the conflict. In the canonical version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside...
legend.
The first stage performance was on 6 June 1867 at Théâtre des Fantaisies-Parisiennes, Paris. Several versions have been prepared by adapting other music. The first performance (in concert) was in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
in April 1860 with numbers taken from Lo sposo deluso
Lo sposo deluso
Lo sposo deluso, ossia La rivalità di tre donne per un solo amante is a two act opera buffa, K. 430, composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart between 1783 and 1784...
and some concert arias.
Fragments from both these incomplete operas plus Der Schauspieldirektor
Der Schauspieldirektor
Der Schauspieldirektor , K. 486, is a comic Singspiel written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Gottlieb Stephanie, an Austrian Schauspieldirektor....
have been combined as Waiting for Figaro, performed in 2002 by the Bampton Classical Opera
Bampton Classical Opera
Bampton Classical Opera is an opera company based in Bampton, Oxfordshire specialising in the production of lesser known opera from the Classical period...
.
There are a few recordings.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, June 6, 1867 (Conductor: Charles Constantin Charles Constantin (French conductor) Titus Charles Constantin was a French conductor, violinist and composer.He studied at the Paris Conservatoire and in June 1858 entered the composition class of Ambroise Thomas... ) |
|---|---|---|
| Don Pippo | bass | |
| Donna Pantea, his wife, believed to be dead | 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... |
|
| Celidora | soprano | |
| Biondello | 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... |
|
| Calandrino, Donna Pantea's nephew, friend of Biondello and lover of Lavina |
tenor | |
| Lavina, Celidora's companion | soprano | |
| Chichibio, Don Pippo's major-domo, in love with Auretta |
bass | |
| Auretta | soprano | |
Noted arias
Act 1- "" - Chichibio, Scene 1
- "" - Auretta, Scene 1
- "" - Don Pippo, Scene 3
External links
- David CairnsDavid Cairns (writer)David Cairns is a British journalist, non-fiction writer and musician. He is a leading authority on the life of Berlioz.-Biography:...
, Mozart and his Operas, 2006 - Libretto (composed numbers only) and Dramatis Personæ at http://opera.stanford.edu/Mozart/OcaDelCairo/