Teatro Nuovo is back again, this time with two Italian rarities, one more so than the other. The more familiar one is Donizetti’s Poliuto, which premiered at Teatro San Carlo in Naples in November of 1848, ten years after its completion and months after Donizetti’s death. The libretto is by Salvatore Cammarano. It is a powerful piece of work!*

Please consult the Teatro Nuovo website (http://www.teatronuovo.org) for complete information about tickets, singers, photos, synopses, etc. Poliuto is performed by an all-star cast tonight, as in July 19 at 7:30 in the Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center. Don’t miss it!

Why? Because it is rarely performed. In our time, Maria Callas and Franco Corelli revived it at La Scala in 1960, she as Paolina, Poliuto’s wife. Her voice fit the music well at the time. Corelli was Poliuto. The opening night was recorded (and is available on CDs…remember these?); there were a total of five performances. It followed a pattern: Callas took suggestions about operas to learn from supporters, she learned a role quickly, the theater gathered a suitable cast, director and conductor, she did a few performances, then moved on. Enjoy!

But the other offering by Teatro Nuovo is brand new territory for most of us. It is Crispino e la Comare (Crispino and the Fairy), a comedy composed by brothers Ricci: Federico (1805 to 1859) and Luigi (1809 to 1877). Opera lovers often think that the last traditional Italian comedy died with Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, only to be picked up briefly by Verdi (Falstaff) and others later in the form of operetta and the rebirth of the commedia dell’arte style of story and treatment. The Ricci brothers were very popular in their time, each working individually, but sometimes, as in Crispino, collaborating. These are not operettas, in the shape of Offenbach or Gilbert and Sullivan, but more of a continuation of a well-established tradition of Italian comedy.

The plot? Crispino is a poor man, long overdue on his rent. His wife Annetta sings in the streets, but, truth is, neither is doing well. The greedy landlord has his eyes on Annetta as an alternative to cash. All seems lost, Crispino wants to end it all by jumping in a well…but he is stopped at the last minute by the Fairy Godmother. Here’s the deal: she will give him power and support to judge and condemn the evil rich. In return, she’ll take care of the rent.

Crispino does so, his convictions alternating between pardon and condemnation. The greedy landlord is one of his victims. So far so good. But his “successes” distort his view of himself. He becomes arrogant, he drinks too much, he argues with Annetta, and worse, the Fairy Godmother takes Crispino down to the underworld to get an idea of what his endgame will look like.

Crispino repents, and all the good folks win and live happily ever after.

Crispino e la Comare is performed tomorrow night, June 20 at 7:30 in the Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center. Please consult the Teatro Nuovo website (http://www.teatronuovo.org) for complete information about tickets, singers, photos, synopses, etc. Don’t miss it!

*Donizetti met resistance originally by the censors in Naples. He had Paris in mind, and eveutally the story was revised and the libretto translated into French. As Les Martyrs it opened in Paris in April, 1840. The version performed here is the original composition.

Enjoy! Happy to do this, even if last minute!! OM