Librettist: Anonymous (attributed to Francesco Puttini)
Dramma giocoso
Date: 1785
Language: Italian
Small-scale
Rosina: soprano
Ernesto: soprano
Baronesa Irene: soprano
Liseta: soprano
Il Conde Errico: tenor
Villotto: bass
Masino: bass
Chorus
The fisherwoman Rosina secretly married Count Errico and had a son by him, but was later rejected. Errico’s aunt, Baroness Irene, intends to marry the knight Ernesto, but fears that her nephew Errico’s alleged interest in Rosina may tarnish the family’s reputation and make her own union impossible. The rich but foolish Villotto is then chosen to marry Rosina, but in the end, Errico rediscovers his love, the Baroness yields, and the story reaches a happy conclusion.1
2 Fl | 2 Ob | 2 Tpt | 2 Hn | Vln | Vla | Vc | Cb
Publisher (Ouverture): AVA Musical Editions
Score: Biblioteca do Palácio Nacional da Ajuda
La vera costanza is a dramma giocoso with music by Jerónimo Francisco de Lima, premiered in 1785 at the Teatro de Salvaterra and presented again in 1789 at the Teatro da Ajuda in Lisbon.2 The libretto, although anonymous, is sometimes attributed to Francesco Puttini and had already been set to music by Pasquale Anfossi (1776) and by Joseph Haydn (1779). Composed during the reign of Queen Maria I for the musicians of the Patriarchal See and the Royal Chapel, the work reveals the importance of scenography in its first stage direction, which anticipates wave, lightning and thunder effects accompanying the opening symphony.3
Date: Carnival of 17854
Venue: Real Teatro de Salvaterra de Magos
Cast: Carlo Reyna, Giovanni Gelati, Giuseppe Romanini, Giovanni Ripa, Luca Manna, Antonio Bartolini and Antonio Puzzi
Scores & Materials: Biblioteca do Palácio Nacional da Ajuda AVA Musical Editions (Ouverture)
