Fra i due litiganti il terzo gode
Encyclopedia
Fra i due litiganti il terzo gode ("While Two Dispute, the Third Enjoys") is a dramma giocoso
in two acts by Giuseppe Sarti
. The libretto was after Carlo Goldoni
's Le nozze (The Marriage).
One aria from this opera, Come un agnello, is famously quoted by Mozart at the end of Don Giovanni
.
on 14 September 1782. It became very successful, being produced under different names, in different languages, and in numerous European cities. For instance, it was performed as Le nozze di Dorina, with inserted arias by Giovanni Battista Viotti
, for the opening of the Théâtre de Monsieur in Paris on 6 January 1791. The work also accumulated music composed by Pasquale Anfossi
, Antonio Salieri
, and Stephen Storace
in addition to the composer himself.
Dramma giocoso
Dramma giocoso is the name of a genre of opera common in the mid-18th century. The term is a contraction of "dramma giocoso per musica" and is essentially a description of the text rather than the opera as a whole...
in two acts by Giuseppe Sarti
Giuseppe Sarti
Giuseppe Sarti was an Italian opera composer.-Biography:He was born at Faenza. His date of birth is not known, but he was baptised on 1 December 1729. Some earlier sources say he was born on 28 December, but his baptism certificate proves the later date impossible...
. The libretto was after Carlo Goldoni
Carlo Goldoni
Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays of Goldoni for their ingenious mix of wit and honesty...
's Le nozze (The Marriage).
One aria from this opera, Come un agnello, is famously quoted by Mozart at the end of Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
.
Performance history
It was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala in MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
on 14 September 1782. It became very successful, being produced under different names, in different languages, and in numerous European cities. For instance, it was performed as Le nozze di Dorina, with inserted arias by Giovanni Battista Viotti
Giovanni Battista Viotti
Giovanni Battista Viotti was an Italian violinist whose virtuosity was famed and whose work as a composer featured a prominent violin and an appealing lyrical tunefulness...
, for the opening of the Théâtre de Monsieur in Paris on 6 January 1791. The work also accumulated music composed by Pasquale Anfossi
Pasquale Anfossi
Bonifacio Domenico Pasquale Anfossi was an Italian opera composer. Born in Taggia, Liguria, he studied with Niccolò Piccinni and Antonio Sacchini, and worked mainly in London, Venice and Rome....
, Antonio Salieri
Antonio Salieri
Antonio Salieri was a Venetian classical composer, conductor and teacher born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, but who spent his adult life and career as a faithful subject of the Habsburg monarchy....
, and Stephen Storace
Stephen Storace
Stephen Storace was an English composer. His sister was the famous opera singer Nancy Storace. He was born in London in the Parish of St Marylebone to an English mother and Italian father...
in addition to the composer himself.
Roles
| Cast | Voice type | Premiere, September 14, 1782 (Conductor:Unknown) |
|---|---|---|
| Count Belfiore | bass | Giovanni Marliani |
| Countess Belfiore | 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... |
Angela Marzorati |
| Masotto, steward to the Count and Countess, in love with Dorina | 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... |
Antonio Palmini |
| Dorina. a serving maid | soprano | Nancy Storace Nancy Storace Nancy Storace , , was an English operatic soprano... |
| Titta, servant to the Count, also pursuing Dorina | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Francesco Benucci |
| Mingone, the gardener, likewise interested in Dorina | tenor | Giuseppe Lolli |
| Livietta, the Countess's maid | soprano | Vittoria Moreschi Balzani |