L'opera seria - Music Theater at the Vienna

Comic opera in three acts
Libretto by Ranieri de’ Calzabigi

The composer Sospiro and the poet Delirio want to proudly present their new opera. But now the problems begin: The impresario Fallito wants cuts, the prima donna Stonatrilla wants more attention, another singer wants a new aria, and the two castrato singers don’t even show up. Meanwhile, the mothers of the singers interfere in everything. Nevertheless, the performance of the opera Oranzebe eventually takes place – and ends in delightful chaos. Composer Florian Leopold Gassmann and his librettist Ranieri de’ Calzabigi have created with L’opera seria the most extravagant opera parody of the 18th century. By satirizing the shortcomings of serious opera with self-important singers, senseless virtuosity, pompous staging, and hollow pathos, L’opera seria celebrates the wit and character portrayal of Opera buffa. It is no coincidence that librettist Ranieri de’ Calzabigi was the driving force behind Christoph Willibald Gluck's opera reform, while Florian Leopold Gassmann, as court conductor under Joseph II, served as the link between Gluck and the generation of the Viennese Classicism. Director Laurent Pelly, who masterfully combines satirical sharpness and comedy in his productions, brings L’opera seria back to the city of its premiere. Christophe Rousset, a specialist in 18th-century music who regularly performs at the MusikTheater an der Wien, conducts his ensemble Les Talens Lyriques.

In Italian with German and English surtitles
Introduction to the work 30 minutes before the performance begins.