Teatro Regio Torino 22 January 2020 - Il matrimonio segreto | GoComGo.com

Il matrimonio segreto

Teatro Regio Torino, Turin, Italy
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Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Turin, Italy
Starts at: 20:00
Acts: 2
Duration: 3h
Sung in: Italian
Titles in: French,Italian

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Overview

A resounding success since its première, this title is the perfect link between the comic operas of Mozart and Rossini, on the one hand, and Romanticism on the other. Perfect in its hilarious plot twists and brilliant melodic vein, more than two centuries later, it shows no signs of aging.

History
Premiere of this production: 07 February 1792, Imperial Hofburg Theatre, Vienna

Il matrimonio segreto (The Secret Marriage) is an opera in two acts, music by Domenico Cimarosa, on a libretto by Giovanni Bertati, based on the play The Clandestine Marriage by George Colman the Elder and David Garrick. It was first performed on 7 February 1792 at the Imperial Hofburg Theatre in Vienna in the presence of Emperor Leopold II.

Synopsis

We are in the household of Geronimo, a wealthy citizen of Bologna; he has two daughters, Elisetta and Carolina, and a sister Fidalma, who runs the household. He also has a young secretary, Paolino, who is secretly married to the younger daughter, Carolina.

Act I

Paolino is working to arrange a marriage contract between Elisetta and his patron, Count Robinson, hoping that as soon as Geronimo's older daughter is well married, his marriage to the younger one will be acceptable. Count Robinson has written a letter expressing interest - tempted by Elisetta's substantial dowry - and Geronimo is thrilled to think that his daughter will be a Countess. Fidalma confesses to her niece that she is in love, too, but only reveals in an aside to the audience that she has her eye on Paolino.

When the Count arrives he is disappointed to find that it is not Carolina who has been offered to him. He tells Paolino that he will be content with a smaller dowry and sends him off to arrange the match. Carolina doesn't dare tell the count that she is married, so when she admits she has no lover it excites him further; she tries to convince him she has no desire or qualification to be a countess, but he continues to pursue her. Elisetta accuses them both of betraying her, and the commotion attracts Fidalma who joins Carolina in trying to calm Elisetta; everyone tries at once to explain his or her feelings to the confused and exasperated Geronimo.

Act II

Geronimo insists that the Count must honor his contract and marry Elisetta, but the Count refuses. When he offers to accept a smaller dowry with Carolina's hand instead, Geronimo is delighted to save face and money - as long as Elisetta agrees.

Paolino is distraught, and throws himself on Fidalma's mercy, but is stunned to find that she hopes to marry him; he faints, giving her the idea that she returns his emotion and making Carolina think she has been betrayed, but he promises that they will leave the house at dawn and take refuge in the house of a relative.

The Count tells Elisetta all his bad habits and physical defects, hoping she'll reject him, but she stands firm - and he finally confesses that he cannot abide her. Geronimo can't persuade her either. Fidalma suggests sending Carolina to a convent, and Geronimo agrees. Carolina is broken-hearted and tries to confess her predicament to the Count, but they are interrupted by her sister, her aunt and her father who are gleeful at having caught them together, and Geronimo sends Paolino off with a letter to the Mother Superior.

After a brilliant and farcical finale Paolino and Carolina finally confess they have been married for two months; Geronimo and Fidalma are furious, but the Count and Elisetta advise them to forgive the newlyweds, adding that they themselves will marry after all.

Venue Info

Teatro Regio Torino - Turin
Location   Piazza Castello, 215

The Teatro Regio (Royal Theatre) is a prominent opera house and opera company in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. Its season runs from October to June with the presentation of eight or nine operas given from five to twelve performances of each.

Several buildings provided venues for operatic productions in Turin from the mid-16th century, but it was not until 1713 that a proper opera house was considered, and under the architect Filippo Juvarra planning began. However, the cornerstone was not laid until the reign of Charles Emmanuel III in 1738 after Juvarra's death. The work was supervised by Benedetto Alfieri until the theatre was completed.

Teatro Regio, 1740 to 1936
The Teatro Regio (Royal Theatre) was inaugurated on 26 December 1740 with Francesco Feo's Arsace. It was a sumptuously built facility, seating 1,500 and with 139 boxes located on five tiers plus a gallery.

However, the theatre was closed on royal order in 1792 and it became a warehouse. With the French occupation of Turin during the Napoleonic War the theatre was renamed the Teatro Nazionale and finally, after Napoleon's ascent to Emperor, renamed again as the Teatro Imperiale. Napoleon's fall in 1814 saw the theatre returned to its original name, the Regio. In the following years the opera house went through several periods of financial crisis and it was taken over by the city in 1870.

Other theatres were built and presented seasons of opera in Turin. Among them was the restored Teatro Carignano in 1824. It too was acquired by the municipality in 1932 and, after the destruction by fire of the Teatro Regio in 1936, the Carignano was to serve as the main venue for opera in the city until the Regio reopened in 1973.

Even before it burnt down, discussions about whether to rebuild the Regio or create a brand new theatre preoccupied Turin in the early twentieth century. Two plans were presented and the one selected expanded the seating capacity to 2,415 by removing the fourth and fifth levels of boxes and creating a huge amphitheatre. Work was completed in 1905 but the theatre closed during the First World War and re-opened in 1919. Until February 1936, seasons of opera were presented until fire destroyed all but the facade of the Teatro Regio. It remained closed for thirty-seven years. Arturo Toscanini was the conductor of the Turin Opera from 1895 to 1898, during which time several productions of the works of Wagner were given Italian premieres.

Rebuilt Teatro Regio after 1973
Following the fire, a national competition was launched to find an architect. However, due to the war and the overall financial situation, the foundation stone was laid on 25 September 1963. Even then, work did not start until September 1967 under architect Carlo Mollino.

The rebuilt theatre, with its striking contemporary interior design but hidden behind the original facade, was inaugurated on 10 April 1973 with a production of Verdi's I vespri siciliani directed by Maria Callas and Giuseppe Di Stefano.

The new house seats 1,750 and is elliptical in shape with a large orchestra level and 37 boxes around its perimeter. An acoustic shell was added to improve its sound.

The house presents a wide range of operas during its seasons, including contemporary works, although in the first years of the new century financial pressures have made the programming somewhat more conservative and favoring more 19th-century operas.

Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Turin, Italy
Starts at: 20:00
Acts: 2
Duration: 3h
Sung in: Italian
Titles in: French,Italian
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