La vedova scaltra is an 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...

 in three acts by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari was an Italian composer and teacher. He is best known for his comic operas such as Il segreto di Susanna...

 to a text by Mario Ghisalberti, 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 original play (also called La vedova scaltra) first given in 1748.

Performance history

It was first performed at the Teatro Reale dell'Opera in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 on 5 March 1931. It was revived in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, in celebration of the 300th anniversary of the birth of Carlo Goldoni, in February 2007. This performance, with Anne-Lise Sollied, Maurizo Muraro and Emanuele D'Aguanno as the main soloists, has been recorded (see below).

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 5 March 1931 (Conductor: Gino Marinuzzi Gino Marinuzzi Gino Marinuzzi was an Italian conductor and composer, particularly associated with Wagner and the Italian repertory.... )
Rosaura, a widow	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...	Adelaide Saraceni
Monsieur Le Beau, a Frenchman	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...	Alessio De Paolis Alessio De Paolis Alessio De Paolis was an Italian operatic tenor who specialized in character roles. He was a prominent member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City where he sang from 1938 to 1964. At the Met De Paolis performed 51 different roles, primarily in the Italian and French repertoires, in a...
Conte di Bosco Nero, an Italian	tenor	Alessandro Ziliani
Milord Runebif, an Englishman	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...	Giulio Cirino
Don Alvaro di Castiglia, a Spaniard	baritone	Giacomo Vaghi Giacomo Vaghi Giacomo Vaghi was an Italian opera singer who had an active international career from 1925-1956. Along with Tancredi Pasero and Ezio Pinza, he was one of the leading operatic basses of his generation. He possessed a rich voice with a dark timbre that drew him particular acclaim in the operas of...
Marionette	soprano	Rina De Ferrari
Folletto	tenor	Adelio Zagonara
Arlecchino	baritone	Emilio Ghirardini
Birif	bass	Mario Bianchi
Majordomo	bass	Pierantonio Prodi

Synopsis

The story is a comedy about a young widow courted by four suitors of different nationalities.

Recordings

Wolf-Ferrari: La vedova scaltra - Teatro La Fenice Orchestra

• Conductor: Karl Martin
• Director: Massimo Gasparon
• Principal singers: Anne-Lise Sollied (Rosaura), Maurizio Muraro (Runebif), Emanuele D'Aguanno (Le Beau), Mark Milhofer (Bosco Nero), Riccardo Zanellato (Castiglia), Elena Rossi (Marionette), Alex Esposito (Arlecchino), Claudio Zancopé (Birif), Luca Favaron (Folletto), Antonio Casagrande (servant)
• Recording date: 1 September 2008
• Label: Naxos - (CD and DVD)