Le donne curiose 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 Luigi Sugana 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 play.

Performance history

It was first performed in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 on 27 November 1903 in a German translation as Die neugierigen Frauen. The first performance in Italian was in New York on 3 January 1912 with a distinguished cast led by Arturo Toscanini

Arturo Toscanini

Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...

, including Geraldine Farrar

Geraldine Farrar

Geraldine Farrar was an American soprano opera singer and film actress, noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following among young women, who were nicknamed "Gerry-flappers".- Early life and opera career :Farrar was born in Melrose,...

 and Hermann Jadlowker. Tullio Serafin

Tullio Serafin

-Biography:Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19th century bel canto operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti to become staples of 20th century repertoire...

 conducted the first performance in Milan on 16 January 1913.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 27 November 1903 (Conductor: Hugo Josef Rheinberger)	First performance in Italian, 3 January 1912 (Conductor: Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory... )
Arlecchino	bass	Georg Sieglitz	Antonio Scotti Antonio Scotti Antonio Scotti was an Italian baritone. He was a principal artist of the New York Metropolitan Opera for more than 33 seasons, but also sang with great success at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Milan's La Scala.-Life:Antonio Scotti was born in Naples, Italy...
Beatrice	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...	Charlotte Huhn	Rita Fornia Rita Fornia Rita Fornia was an American opera singer. She began her career in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century singing coloratura soprano roles. Early on in her career her voice darkened and dropped slightly causing her to focus more within the mezzo-soprano repertoire while still singing some...
Colombina	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...	Hermine Bosetti Hermine Bosetti Hermine Bosetti née von Flick , was a German coloratura soprano.Bosetti sang her debut in Wiesbaden as "Ännchen" in Der Freischütz. In 1900 she was a member of the Vienna State Opera and from 1901 until 1924 she was a star singer with the Bavarian State Opera...	Geraldine Farrar Geraldine Farrar Geraldine Farrar was an American soprano opera singer and film actress, noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following among young women, who were nicknamed "Gerry-flappers".- Early life and opera career :Farrar was born in Melrose,...
Florindo	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...	Hans Koppe	Hermann Jadlowker
Leandro	tenor	Hans Breuer	Jeanne Maubourg
Lelio	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...		Andres de Segurola
Ottavio	bass	Paul Bender	Adam Didur
Pantalone	baritone	Friedrich Brodersen Friedrich Brodersen Friedrich Brodersen was a German operatic baritone. Born in Bad Boll, he studied singing with Heinrich Bertram. He made his professional opera debut in 1900...	Antonio Pini-Corsi Antonio Pini-Corsi Antonio Pini-Corsi was an Italian operatic baritone of international renown. He possessed a ripe-toned voice of great flexibility and displayed tremendous skill at patter singing...
Rosaura	soprano	Ella Tordek	Bella Alten
Lunardo	bass
Mènego	bass
Mómolo	bass
Eleonora	soprano
Asdrubale	tenor
Almorò	tenor
Alvise	tenor
First gondolier	tenor
Second gondolier	bass

Synopsis

The story is a comedy set in 18th-century Venice about two wives checking up on the goings-on at their husband's club.

External links

vocal score at IMSLP