Il filosofo di campagna
Opera by Baldassare Galuppi
Illustration from the 1795 publication of Goldoni's libretto
LibrettistCarlo Goldoni
LanguageItalian
Premiere
26 October 1754 (1754-10-26)
Teatro San Samuele, Venice

Il filosofo di campagna (The Country Philosopher) is a dramma giocoso per musica in 3 acts by composer Baldassare Galuppi. The opera uses an Italian language libretto by Carlo Goldoni. The work premiered at the Teatro San Samuele in Venice on 26 October 1754.[1]

Il filosofo di campagna, which has been defined a "masterly opera",[2] obtained a great success, with many performances throughout Europe.[2][3]

Roles

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Roles Voice type Premiere cast,[1]
26 October 1754
Eugenia, daughter of Don Tritemio, unmarried soprano Giovannina Baglioni
Rinaldo, nobleman, in love with Eugenia soprano Angela Conti-Leonardi
Nardo, rich farmer, known as "the Philosopher" bass Francesco Baglioni
Lesbina, housemaid of Don Tritemio soprano Clementina Baglioni
Don Tritemio, coming from the city and lodging in the village bass Francesco Carattoli
Lena, niece of Nardo soprano Anna Zanini
Capocchio, notary of the village tenor Giacomo Caldinelli

Synopsis

Drawing for a libretto (undated)

Tritemio wants his daughter Eugenia to marry Nardo, a rich farmer, known as "the Philosopher", but Eugenia is in love with the nobleman Rinaldo. Lesbina, housemaid of Tritemio, in order to avoid that Nardo meets Eugenia, takes the place of the girl. Nardo, who has never seen Eugenia before, ends up falling in love with Lesbina, convinced that she is the true daughter of Tritemio.

After a series of misunderstandings Nardo learns of the true identity of Lesbina, but he accepts the housemaid all the same and remains in love with her.

Lesbina persuades Tritemio that she wants to marry him and a notary is called. When the notary arrives, without Tritemio knowing it, a double wedding is celebrated, between Nardo and Lesbina and between Rinaldo and Eugenia. Tritemio has to resign himself to the situation, but he finds his consolation marrying Lena, a niece of Nardo.

Recordings

Year Cast: Eugenia,
Rinaldo,
Nardo,
Lesbina,
Don Tritemio		 Conductor,
opera house and orchestra		 Label
1956Anna Moffo,
Florindo Andreolli,
Rolando Panerai,
Elena Rizzieri,
Mario Petri		Renato Fasano,
I Virtuosi di Roma		Audio CD: Testament,
Cat: TES 1195[4]
2001Paola Antonucci,
Patrizio Saudelli,
Alessandro Calamai,
Patrizia Cigna,
Giorgio Gatti		Francesco Piva,
Intermusicale Ensemble		Audio CD: Bongiovanni,
Cat: GB 2256/8-2[5]

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Casaglia, Gherardo (2005)."Il filosofo di campagna". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  2. 1 2 Monson 1992
  3. ↑ Mellace 1996.
  4. ↑ "Baldassare Galuppi – Il Filosofo di Campagna – Renato Fasano (1956)". operaclass. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "Baldassare Galuppi – Il Filosofo di Campagna – Francesco Piva (2001)". operaclass.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.

Sources

  • Monson, Dale E. (1992). "Il filosofo di campagna". In Sadie, Stanley (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-522186-2.
  • Mellace, Raffaele (1996). "Il filosofo di campagna". In Gelli, Piero (ed.). Dizionario dell'opera (in Italian). Milan: Baldini & Castoldi. ISBN 88-8089-177-4.

Further reading

  • Piero Paci, "Note sul ritrovamento di una edizione sconosciuta de il Filosofo di campagna di Goldoni (Genova, Bernardo Tarigo, 1756)", in Teca – Testimonianze Editoria Cultura Arte, no. 5, March 2014, Pàtron Editore Bologna, pp. 85–103.
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