La scuola de' gelosi

Template:Salieri operasLa scuola de' gelosi (The School of Jealousy) is a dramma giocoso in two acts by Antonio Salieri, set to a libretto by Caterino Mazzolà.

Performance history

It was first performed at the Teatro S Moisè in Venice on the 27 December 1778. In 1783 it was given in Vienna, with a cast including Francesco Benucci as Blasio and Nancy Storace as the countess, the original Figaro and Susanna in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. It reached London in 1786, where, as in many other European cities, it enjoyed great success.

Roles

• Count Bandiera (tenor)
• Countess Bandiera (soprano)
• Blasio, a grain dealer (bass)
• Ernestina, his wife (soprano)
• Lumaca, Blasio's servant (bass)
• Carlotta, a chambermaid (soprano)
• The Lieutenant, Blasio's cousin and a friend of the count (tenor)

Synopsis

The plot of the opera involves love intrigues, attempted seductions and provocations to jealousy between members of the three different social strata: the aristocracy, the bourgeoisie and the working class. The role of the Lieutenant is a close parallel to that of Don Alfonso in Mozart's Così fan tutte.

References

• Rice, John A.: "La scuola de' gelosi", Grove Music Online ed L. Macy (accessed 04 May 2007), grovemusic.com, subscription access.
• Rice, John A.: La scuola de' gelosi in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Opera', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7