Il Muto is a fictional opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 by Albrizzio, within the musical The Phantom of the Opera

The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)

The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...

, just as Hannibal and Don Juan Triumphant

Don Juan Triumphant

Don Juan Triumphant is the name of a fictional piece of music written by the title character in the novel The Phantom of the Opera. In the musical adaptation, the concept is expanded as an opera within a musical.-The novel:...

are operas inside the show. Il Muto is Italian for "The Mute." It is featured in the scene in which the Phantom hangs Joseph Buquet

Joseph Buquet

Joseph Buquet is a fictional character in The Phantom of the Opera.He is the chief stagehand for the theatre who claims to have seen the Opera Ghost. He is the one to first describe Erik, saying, "He is extraordinarily thin and his dress-coat hangs on a skeleton frame. His eyes are so deep that...

.

Plot of Il Muto

Il Muto is supposedly based on and a parody

Parody

A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...

 of the opera The Marriage of Figaro

The Marriage of Figaro

Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...

.

In the Phantom of the Opera musical and in the film's plot (AKA Act I)

A wealthy Countess (played by Carlotta) is having an affair with a pageboy (servant) named Serafimo (played by Christine). To avoid her husband's wrath she makes Serafimo disguise as one of her maids while one of the maids assumes the role of Serafimo (played by Meg). However, her husband, Don Attillo (played by Piangi), senses the deception; he pretends to leave the country, but instead conceals himself behind a screen in his wife's room. The Countess, believing her husband to be far away, removes Serafimo's disguise and kisses him (her since Christine is playing a male role), laughing about the apparent success of her deception. This aria, with its musical simulation of laughter, shares some similarities with "Mein Herr Marquis" from Die Fledermaus

Die Fledermaus

Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...

. There is a momentary interruption when the Phantom tries to express his anger that the managers forgot to leave Box Five empty. After the interruption from the Phantom, Carlotta and the other characters on the stage then start singing the aria again. But while this countess and the other characters sing it, Carlotta loses her voice and has to be taken off stage. However, the managers announce that they will let the performance continue in 10 minutes with Christine as the Countess, but in the mean time just sit back and watch the ballet performance from Act Three. The rest of the scene is unknown because of the Phantom's interruption.

Act III

Although most of the plot of this act is unknown, it features a ballet entitled "Dance of the Country Nymphs". It is seen after Carlotta loses her voice. At the end of it, the Phantom murders Joseph Buquet.

Cast of Characters

• The Countess (Donna Bianca): Having an affair with Serafimo. Played by Carlotta Giudicelli.
• Serafimo, A Page-boy: Having an affair with the countess. A mute. Played by Christine.
• Don Attilio, a Count: Married to the Countess. Played by Ubaldo Piangi.

Others

• Jeweller
• Two Epicene men
• Hairdresser
• Confidante
• A Maid (played by Meg)
• Shepherds & Shepherdesses