Il ritorno di Don Calandrino (The Return of Don Calandrino), also known as Armidoro e Laurina,Rossi & Fauntleroy 1999, p. 193 is an intermezzo in two acts by Domenico Cimarosa with an Italian libretto presumably written by Giuseppe Petrosellini.Rossi & Fauntleroy 1999, p. 193
Performance history The premiere took place in 1778 at Teatro Valle in Rome. Performances in Livorno (1783), Prague (1785), Vienna (1787), Barcelona (1788), Florence (1788 and 1793) and Padua (1801) followed.Rossi & Fauntleroy 1999, p. 68 and 193 After a long break, the opera was revived in 2007, under the musical direction of Riccardo Muti in a series of performances at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival,Corriere della Sera (2007-05-27), Il Cimarosa di Muti, una scopertaLa Stampa (2007-05-27), Muti a Salisburgo porta la Napoli di CalandrinoLa Repubblica (2007-05-26), Muti porta Napoli a Salisburgo e Calandrino conquista tuttiDie Welt (2007-05-30), Musikfrühling an der SalzachDie Presse (2007-05-28), Was Bach, Mozart von Neapel lerntenDeutschlandradio Kultur (2007-05-29), Inspiriert durch Neapel in Las Palmas,El País (2007-11-11), Hipnotizados por Cimarosa y MutiLa Vanguardia (2007-11-11), Muti recupera el genio operístico de Cimarosa Teatro Municipale in Piacenza,Il Giornale della Musica, Un "ritorno" vivace e surreale in Pisa,Teatro.it, Il ritorno di Don Calandrino and the Ravenna Festival.OperaClick, Ravenna - Teatro Dante Alighieri: Il ritorno di Don Calandrino
Roles RoleVoice typeLiviettasoprano castrato travestiDon Calandrinosoprano castratoThe role was sung by tenors in the performances of the opera in 2007 referred to above.Monsieur Le BlondebassIrenesoprano castrato travestiValeriotenor
Synopsis The libretto gives a humorous account of characters and actions of Don Calandrino, the son of the podestà of Monte Secco (Abruzzo, Italy),Giustiniani 1803, p. 141 who pretends he knows everything, but in fact is incapable of even thinking logically; Livietta, a haughty and rich peasant girl, who tries to act as a lady, but invariably fails both in her language and manners; Monsieur Le Blonde, a French traveler eager to talk about places he has supposedly visited, but of which he knows nothing; Irene, a simple and humble girl; and Valerio, the Mayor of Monte Secco and Irene’s brother. After several turns, the story resolves in pairing Don Calandrino with Livietta, and Le Blonde with Irene.Rossi & Fauntleroy 1999, p. 193
Recordings YearCast(Livietta,Don Calandrino,Monsieur Le Blonde,Irene,Valerio)Conductor,OrchestraLabel2009Laura Giordano,Juan Francisco Gatell,Marco Vinco,Monica Tarone,Francesco MarsigliaRiccardo MutiOrchestra Giovanile Luigi CherubiniCD: Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso
References Notes
Cited sources Giustiniani, Lorenzo (1803), Dizionario geografico-ragionato del Regno di Napoli, Tomo VI Rossi, Nick, and Fauntleroy, Talmage (1999), Domenico Cimarosa: His Life and His Operas, Greenwood Press.
External links Libretto in Italian at the Google Books Libretto in Italian and German at the Saxon State and University Library Dresden Manuscript score at the International Music Score Library Project Manuscript score at the Bibliothèque nationale de France Score of Monsieur Le Blonde's aria at the