Crispino e la comare o Il medico e la morte (The Cobbler and the Fairy or The Doctor and Death) is an opera written collaboratively by Luigi Ricci and Federico Ricci with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave.
Crispino e la comare o Il medico e la morte (The Cobbler and the Fairy or The Doctor and Death) is an opera written collaboratively by Luigi Ricci and Federico Ricci with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave.
The premiere took place on 28 February 1850 at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice.
The work was very popular during the 19th century, and was a favourite of Italian touring companies in the Americas, and in the Asia-Pacific region.
It had its London premiere on 17 November 1857 at St James's Theatre. It was first performed in Paris on 4 April 1865 in Italian by the Théâtre Italien and was performed on 18 September 1869 as Le Docteur Crispin, with a French translation by Charles Nuitter and Alexandre Beaumont, at the Théâtre de l'Athénée on the rue Scribe. [1] Its Calcutta premiere was in 1867 at the Calcutta Opera House, [2] and its Australian premiere was on 11 August 1871 at the Princess Theatre (Melbourne). [3]
Though it was rarely performed in the 20th century, the Festival della Valle d'Itria in Martina Franca, Italy staged the work as part of its 39th opera festival in July 2013. Bass-baritone Domenico Colaianni sang Crispino, while the role of Annetta was taken by Stefania Bonfadelli. [4]
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 28 February 1850 [5] |
|---|---|---|
| Crispino Tachetto, the cobbler | bass | Carlo Cambiaggio |
| Fabrizio, a doctor | baritone | Luigi Rinaldini |
| Mirabolano, a doctor and apothecary | bass | Luigi Ciardi |
| Contino del Fioro, a Tuscan nobleman | tenor | Giuseppe Pasi |
| Don Asdrubale di Caparotta, a Sicilian miser | bass | Angelo Guglielmini |
| Bortolo, a mason | tenor | |
| Annetta, Crispino's wife | soprano | Giovannina Pecorini |
| Lisetta | mezzo-soprano | Paolina Prinetti |
| La Comare, the fairy | mezzo-soprano | Giovannina Bordoni |
Crispino is a poor cobbler who cannot make ends meet. He is helped by a fairy who encourages him to start practicing medicine, though he cannot even read. He is successful with the fairy's help but cannot bear prosperity gracefully and mistreats his wife. The fairy makes him aware of his faults and the cobbler's family is happily reunited.
Federico Ricci, was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. Born in Naples, he was the younger brother of Luigi Ricci, with whom he collaborated on several works.
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