Il Campiello - Synopsis

Synopsis

Setting

Mid 18th century. Throughout the opera the setting is the same: a small square ('campiello'). In one corner there is an inn where Astolfi (baritone role), an amiable Neapolitan gentleman, spendthrift, and ladies' man, is staying. In the houses around the inn live a number of single women, all of them in search of men or husbands. Gasparina (soprano) is a comically pretentious young woman who lives with her bookish uncle Fabrizio (baritone), also a Neapolitan as it turns out. Luçieta (soprano), is a young beauty in love with a haberdasher called Anzoleto (bass). She lives with her mother Dona Cate (tenor). Luçieta's rival is another attractive girl called Gnese (soprano) who lives with her mother Dona Pasqua (tenor). Both the mothers are comic roles played by men. Gnese is in love with a boy called Zorzeto who also lives in the square with his mother Orsola (mezzo-soprano).