La finta semplice
Encyclopedia
La finta semplice K.
51 (46a) is an opera buffa
in three acts for soloists and orchestra, composed in 1769 by then 12-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
to an Italian libretto by the court poet Marco Coltellini
based on an early work by Carlo Goldoni
. It was performed at the court of Palace of the Archbishop, Salzburg, 1 May 1769.
Mozart composed the music using the model of comedy started by Philippe Destouches with La fausse Agnès, ou le Poète campagnard (1734). The form of libretto includes the introduction, a duet and three finals.
to Mozart's father Leopold
during a visit made to Imperial capital of Vienna by the Mozart family (1767–1769). The Emperor suggested to Leopold that Wolfgang write an opera for performance by the imperial opera company. Leopold took the suggestion as a concrete request, and set Wolfgang to work composing La finta semplice--without taking the precaution of obtaining a legal contract. When the opera was finished, the performers apparently disliked it, and various intrigues ultimately prevented it from coming to performance in Vienna. Leopold was angry, and wrote a long letter of protest to the Emperor. The Emperor ordered an inquiry, but its result was that the opera was not to be produced.
The Mozarts left Vienna with La finta semplice still unperformed. It was then produced in their home town of Salzburg, under the auspices of Leopold's employer, Prince-Archbishop Schrattenbach
.
The episode in Vienna was evidently quite damaging to Wolfgang's career. During the Vienna visit, Joseph II's mother, the Empress Maria Theresa
, developed a very hostile view of the Mozart family. The empress was an important relative of a fair number of monarchs and aristocrats who might have been in a position to give Wolfgang a permanent job.
Here is what she wrote (12 December 1771) to one potential employer, her 17-year-old son Ferdinand
, Imperial Governor of Milan
.
Ferdinand, who knew Mozart as a result of his Italian journey
and was interested in hiring him, took his mother's advice. Elsewhere in Italy, Mozart received a very cool reception from another Ferdinand, the King of Naples
; Melograni conjectures that he had received the Empress's bad recommendation from his wife, her daughter Maria Carolina
.
Act 1
Captain Fracasso and his Hungarian troops are stationed near Cremona. He lodges in the home of Don Cassandro. Captain Fracasso falls in love with Giacinta, and Simone with Ninetta. Fracasso and Giacinta want to marry, as do Simone and Ninetta. But they can't do it without the consent of Cassandro and Polidoro. The two brothers are comfortable with their status quo – they don't want to marry, or to part with their sister. A plan is devised to outwit the brothers, with the help of Rosina. She poses as a naïve simpleton and makes both brothers fall in love with her until they agree to the marriages. Polidoro falls in love with Rosina first and proposes marriage immediately. At first Cassandro is indifferent, but eventually his defences are completely disarmed through Rosina's naïve innocence. So far, the plan is working.
Act 2
Polidoro still believes Rosina plans to marry him. Rosina coaches him for a confrontation with his brother. Polidoro demands half of his inheritance from Cassandro. Giacinta fears a quarrel between the brothers, but the others look forward to their fight. Rosina and Fracasso congratulate each other for their successful plan to outdo Cassandro. They continue to engineer the rest of the plot. Simone takes Giacinta into hiding. Fracasso tells the brothers that Giacinta absconded with the family inheritance and ran away. The plan is so successful that Ninetta follows. Simone announces that Ninetta has stolen whatever she could get and also fled. The brothers promise to marry both girls to whoever can bring them back. Fracasso and Simone volunteer.
Act 3
Simone catches up with Ninetta and they get married. Giacinta is afraid her brother will not agree to her marrying Fracasso, but he assures her Rosina has taken care of everything. Fracasso and Giacinta pair off. Finally Rosina rejects Polidoro and marries Cassandro. All ends well for everybody except Polidoro.
Act 2
Act 3
Köchel-Verzeichnis
The Köchel-Verzeichnis is a complete, chronological catalogue of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart which was originally created by Ludwig von Köchel. It is abbreviated K or KV. For example, Mozart's Requiem in D minor was, according to Köchel's counting, the 626th piece Mozart composed....
51 (46a) is an opera buffa
Opera buffa
Opera buffa is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ‘commedia in musica’, ‘commedia per musica’, ‘dramma bernesco’, ‘dramma comico’, ‘divertimento giocoso' etc...
in three acts for soloists and orchestra, composed in 1769 by then 12-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
to an Italian libretto by the court poet Marco Coltellini
Marco Coltellini
Marco Coltellini was an Italian opera librettist and printer.He was probably born in Livorno and embarked on a career in the Church, but had to leave after fathering four daughters. He set up a printing shop in Livorno to publish the works of Enlightenment figures such as Francesco Algarotti and...
based on an early work by 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...
. It was performed at the court of Palace of the Archbishop, Salzburg, 1 May 1769.
Mozart composed the music using the model of comedy started by Philippe Destouches with La fausse Agnès, ou le Poète campagnard (1734). The form of libretto includes the introduction, a duet and three finals.
Composition history
The opera was something of a career setback for Mozart, amid a childhood otherwise characterized by success and stardom. The instigation of the work was a remark made by Emperor Joseph IIJoseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
to Mozart's father Leopold
Leopold Mozart
Johann Georg Leopold Mozart was a German composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist. Mozart is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule.-Childhood and student years:He was born in Augsburg, son of...
during a visit made to Imperial capital of Vienna by the Mozart family (1767–1769). The Emperor suggested to Leopold that Wolfgang write an opera for performance by the imperial opera company. Leopold took the suggestion as a concrete request, and set Wolfgang to work composing La finta semplice--without taking the precaution of obtaining a legal contract. When the opera was finished, the performers apparently disliked it, and various intrigues ultimately prevented it from coming to performance in Vienna. Leopold was angry, and wrote a long letter of protest to the Emperor. The Emperor ordered an inquiry, but its result was that the opera was not to be produced.
The Mozarts left Vienna with La finta semplice still unperformed. It was then produced in their home town of Salzburg, under the auspices of Leopold's employer, Prince-Archbishop Schrattenbach
Sigismund von Schrattenbach
Sigismund Graf von Schrattenbach was the Archbishop of Salzburg from 1753 to 1771. He was the son of Otto Heinrich, Graf von Schrattenbach, and Maria Theresa, Countess of Wildenstein, widowed Baroness Gall von Gallenstein.After studying theology, he was ordained a priest in 1723...
.
The episode in Vienna was evidently quite damaging to Wolfgang's career. During the Vienna visit, Joseph II's mother, the Empress Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
, developed a very hostile view of the Mozart family. The empress was an important relative of a fair number of monarchs and aristocrats who might have been in a position to give Wolfgang a permanent job.
Here is what she wrote (12 December 1771) to one potential employer, her 17-year-old son Ferdinand
Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este
Archduke Ferdinand Karl Anton Joseph Johann Stanislaus of Austria-Este was a son of Holy Roman Emperor Franz I and Maria Theresa of Austria. He was the founder of the House of Austria-Este and Governor of the Duchy of Milan between 1765 and 1796...
, Imperial Governor of Milan
Milan
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 ,...
.
- You ask me to take the young Salzburger into your service. I do not know why, not believing that you have need of a composer or of useless people. If however it would give you pleasure, I have no wish to hinder you. What I say is intended only to prevent your burdening yourself with useless people and giving titles to people of that sort. If they are in your service it degrades that service when these people go about the world like beggars. Besides, he has a large family.
Ferdinand, who knew Mozart as a result of his Italian journey
Mozart in Italy
Between 1769 and 1773, the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his father Leopold Mozart made three Italian journeys. The first, an extended tour of 15 months, was financed by performances for the nobility and by public concerts, and took in the most important Italian cities...
and was interested in hiring him, took his mother's advice. Elsewhere in Italy, Mozart received a very cool reception from another Ferdinand, the King of Naples
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand I reigned variously over Naples, Sicily, and the Two Sicilies from 1759 until his death. He was the third son of King Charles III of Spain by his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. On 10 August 1759, Charles succeeded his elder brother, Ferdinand VI, as King Charles III of Spain...
; Melograni conjectures that he had received the Empress's bad recommendation from his wife, her daughter Maria Carolina
Maria Carolina of Austria
Maria Carolina of Austria was Queen of Naples and Sicily as the wife of King Ferdinand IV & III. As de facto ruler of her husband's kingdoms, Maria Carolina oversaw the promulgation of many reforms, including the revocation of the ban on Freemasonry, the enlargement of the navy under her...
.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, May 1, 1769 (Conductor: – ) |
Intended Cast, 1768 (Vienna) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fracasso, a Hungarian captain lodging with Cassandro |
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... |
Joseph Meissner | Filippo Laschi |
| Rosina, his sister, a baroness | 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... |
Maria Magdalena Haydn Michael Haydn Johann Michael Haydn was an Austrian composer of the classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn.-Life:... |
|
| Cassandro, a tyrannical misogynist | bass | Joseph Hornung | Francesco Carattoli |
| Polidoro, his timid brother | tenor | Anton Franz Spitzeder | |
| Giacinta, their sister, evidently no longer young |
mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Maria Anna Braunhofer Maria Anna Braunhofer Maria Anna Braunhofer was an operatic soprano, who created several roles in operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.... |
|
| Simone, Fracasso's orderly, in love with Ninetta |
bass | Felix Winter | |
| Ninetta, Giacinta's maid | soprano | Maria Anna Fesemayer | Antonia Bernasconi |
Synopsis
- Place: Cassandro's estate near Cremona
- Time: mid-18th century
Act 1
Captain Fracasso and his Hungarian troops are stationed near Cremona. He lodges in the home of Don Cassandro. Captain Fracasso falls in love with Giacinta, and Simone with Ninetta. Fracasso and Giacinta want to marry, as do Simone and Ninetta. But they can't do it without the consent of Cassandro and Polidoro. The two brothers are comfortable with their status quo – they don't want to marry, or to part with their sister. A plan is devised to outwit the brothers, with the help of Rosina. She poses as a naïve simpleton and makes both brothers fall in love with her until they agree to the marriages. Polidoro falls in love with Rosina first and proposes marriage immediately. At first Cassandro is indifferent, but eventually his defences are completely disarmed through Rosina's naïve innocence. So far, the plan is working.
Act 2
Polidoro still believes Rosina plans to marry him. Rosina coaches him for a confrontation with his brother. Polidoro demands half of his inheritance from Cassandro. Giacinta fears a quarrel between the brothers, but the others look forward to their fight. Rosina and Fracasso congratulate each other for their successful plan to outdo Cassandro. They continue to engineer the rest of the plot. Simone takes Giacinta into hiding. Fracasso tells the brothers that Giacinta absconded with the family inheritance and ran away. The plan is so successful that Ninetta follows. Simone announces that Ninetta has stolen whatever she could get and also fled. The brothers promise to marry both girls to whoever can bring them back. Fracasso and Simone volunteer.
Act 3
Simone catches up with Ninetta and they get married. Giacinta is afraid her brother will not agree to her marrying Fracasso, but he assures her Rosina has taken care of everything. Fracasso and Giacinta pair off. Finally Rosina rejects Polidoro and marries Cassandro. All ends well for everybody except Polidoro.
Noted arias
Act 1- "Chi mi vuol bene" – Ninetta
- "Colla bocca e non col core" – Rosina
- "Cosa ha mai la donna indosso" – Polidoro
- "Ella vuole ed io torrei" – Cassandro
- "Guarda la donna in viso" – Fracasso
- "Non c'è al mondo" – Cassandro
- "Marito io vorrei" – Giacinta
- "Senti l'eco ove t'aggiri" – Rosina
- "Troppa briga a prender moglie" – Simone
Act 2
- "Con certe persone" – Simone
- "Ho sentito a dir di tutte" – Rosina
- "In voi belle è leggiadria" – Fracasso
- "Sposa cara" – Polidoro
- "Ubriaco non son io" – Cassandro
- "Un marito, donne care" – Ninetta
- "Se a maritarmi arrivo" – Giacinta
- "Amoretti che ascosi" – Rosina
Act 3
- "Che scompiglio" – Giacinta
- "Nelle guerre d'amore" – Fracasso
- "Sono in amore" – Ninetta
- "Vieni, vieni, o mia Ninetta" – Simone
Recordings
- W.A. Mozart: La Finta Semplice, Orfeo, 85843
- W.A. Mozart: La Finta Semplice, Brillant alias Joan Records, BC 99726 (on 5 CDs)
- W.A. Mozart: La Finta Semplice, Philips, 422528-2
- W.A. Mozart: La Finta Semplice, DGG, 073 4251 (DVD video)