is an opera by Antonio Salieri in two acts, set to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte.
The work, a dramma giocoso, is set in Scotland, and was written for Adriana Ferrarese del Bene, the first Fiordiligi in Mozart's Così fan tutte.Glasow, E. Thomas, 'Cecilia Bartoli: The Salieri Album (review)', The Opera Quarterly, Volume 20, Number 2, Spring 2004, pp. 339-341
Performance history
The opera was first performed in Vienna on 11 December 1789. This was followed by a production in Dresden on 13 October 1790. It went on to receive several productions both in Germany and Austria between 1789 and 1805.'Die Oper in Italien und Deutschland zwischen 1770 und 1830', Das Opernprojekt , University of Cologne (accessed 26 June 2007)
La cifra received a recent performance in Cologne in June 2006, in a production conducted by Martin Haselböck and directed by Christian Stückl.Schwering, Markus, 'Das ist ein Mozart fürs Volk', , May 30, 2006 (accessed 26 June 2007) In August 2018, Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble performed La Cifra at La Mama as part of that summer's Mozart and Salieri Festival. It was the opera's North American premiere, conducted by Catherine O'Shaughnessy and directed by Bea Goodwin
Roles There are two cast lists written in different handwriting for the 1789 premiere of La cifra, one written at the end of the overture, and one written at the end of Salieri's commentary on his score. Both lists include a character, Gualtiere, who does not appear in the opera and a performer, Paolo Mandini, who was no longer with the company. Contemporary newspaper accounts list different performers in some of the roles. CastVoice typeCast list at end of overtureCast listed at end of scoreCast per newspaper accountsEurillasopranoAdriana Ferrarese del BeneAdriana Ferrarese del BeneAdriana Ferrarese del BeneLisotta, the daughter of RusticonesopranoBettina ColombatiBettina ColombatiDorothea BussaniRusticone, mayor and hotel ownerbassFrancesco BenucciFrancesco BenucciFrancesco BenucciMilord FidelingtenorFrancesco BussaniFrancesco BussaniVincenzo CalvesiLeandro, friend of Milord FidelingtenorGirolamo CruciatiNicolò Del SoleSandrino, the future groom of LisottabassPaolo MandiniGirolamo CruciatiGualtiere (character not in the opera)Nicolò Del SolePaolo Mandini
Synopsis
Fideling, a Scottish lord, is seeking a lost noblewoman with whom he had fallen in love. Lisotta, the daughter of the town's mayor, is betrothed to Sandrino, but is in love with Fideling and believes herself to be the woman he is searching for. Eurilla also loves Fideling but despairs because she is a mere shepherdess. In Act II, before her true identity is revealed, she sings 'Alfin son sola ... Sola e mesta' (In the end I am alone... Alone and sad). It finally emerges that Eurilla is in fact the daughter of a nobleman. She and Fideling are reunited and all ends happily in the finale.Liner notes for The Salieri Album (Decca 475 100-2)
Recordings
There is no known studio recording of the complete opera, However, The Salieri Album, (Cecilia Bartoli with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, conducted by Ádám Fischer, Decca 475 100–2) has two excerpts: 'E voi da buon marito ... Non vo’ gia che vi suonino' (Lisotta's recitative and aria from Act I) 'Alfin son sola ... Sola e mesta fra tormenti' (Eurilla's recitative and rondo from Act II)
References