I due Figaro by Saverio Mercadante

I due Figaro, o sia Il soggetto di una commedia is an opera (melodramma buffo) in two acts by Saverio Mercadante to a libretto by Felice Romani based on Les deux Figaro by Honoré-Antoine Richaud Martelly. The opera was composed in 1826 but its production was delayed for some years due to censors' intervention. I due Figaro premiered on 26 January 1835 at the Teatro del Príncipe in Madrid. The manuscript of I due Figaro was discovered in 2009 in Madrid by an Italian musicologist. Two years later, in June 2011, the first production of the opera in modern times was presented at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival and the Ravenna Festival, conducted by Riccardo Muti. Amore Opera staged the US premiere at the Connelly Theater in New York City on 18 October 2011, conducted by Gregory Buchalter. The music of this opera, enriched by several dances of Spanish sonority but hampered by a libretto at times weak, was judged "lightweight and brilliant, gracefully written, often refined in the effects of the counterpoint, in the intertwining of the internal voices, in the quality of instrumentation and rhythmic inventiveness". The opera is introduced by the Sinfonia caratteristica spagnola, a lively ouverture based on typical Spanish dances, that obtained a good success and was also printed as a separate piece.

Text from the Wikipedia article "I due Figaro (Mercadante)", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

About the Composer

Saverio Mercadante is the composer of record for this opera.

Text from the Wikipedia article "Saverio Mercadante", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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