Librettist: Domingos Caldas Barbosa
Farce
Date: 1793
Language: Portuguese
Small-scale
Albina Saloia: soprano
Rosália: mezzo-soprano
Alonso: baritone
Valério: baritone
A Saloia Namorada takes place on the riverside of Lisbon and presents a simple, brief action, starring four characters representing the common people of the city. The plot centres on jealousy and feminine inconstancies, viewed by the male characters as minor issues resolvable through marriage – a theme made explicit in the libretto’s subtitle. Without resorting to disguises, class conflicts or complex plots, the work portrays gender relations in Portuguese society of the time, highlighting how the wishes and concerns of the female characters are devalued by their partners.¹
Fl | Ob | Cl | Bsn | Tpt | Hn | Vln | Vla | Vc | Cb²
Written in 1793 with a text by the Brazilian poet and librettist Domingos Caldas Barbosa, A saloia namorada is, together with A vingança da cigana, one of the most significant works from the period when the composer António Leal Moreira served as the first musical director of the newly inaugurated Teatro de São Carlos. The work was written for a benefit night for the castrati, singers in the theatre company, Domenico Caporalini and Michele Cavanna. As Ricardo Bernardes explains:
A Saloia follows the pattern of entremezes (interludes) from cordel literature, with its printed libretto structured over sixteen pages and a more or less free organisation of musical numbers. The presence of the modinha, as well as the almost physical confrontation, or ‘blows’ between characters, are also essential elements in defining this work within the general norms of this genre of musical theatre.³
Date: 1793
Venue: Teatro de São Carlos, Lisbon
Cast: Domenico Caporalini, Francesco Marchesi, Michel Cavanna, Paolo Boscoli and Orchestra of the Teatro de São Carlos
