Opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti Libretto by Domenico Gilardoni
Fully-Staged Production Sung in Italian with English surtitles
First Performance Teatro della Canobbiana, Milan, Italy, 1831
Background
The opera was originally a one-act farsa which premiered at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples in 1827, before Donizetti revised it as a two-act work with added recitatives and other material. Inspired by two comedies written by Antonio Simone Sografi between 1794 and 1816 it follows the theatrical traditions of Goldoni, Gozzi and Metastasio, subjecting the bad habits of the operatic world to biting criticism. Convenienze has appeared in a number of translations and under various titles such as Viva la Mamma and Viva la Diva.
Giuseppe Toia, from Palermo, has portrayed diverse roles such as Fiorello in 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' and Escamillo in 'Carmen.' Notable highlights include debuts at esteemed venues like the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari and the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. His 2023 debut at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro marked a significant milestone, along with his venture into film with 'Attanasio, cantante vanesio' at the Teatro Massimo. Upcoming plans feature his portrayal of Don Magnifico in 'Cenerentola'.
Born in Cagliari, Matteo Loi earned acclaim for roles like Leporello in 'Don Giovanni' and Dandini in 'La Cenerentola'. Notable engagements include performances at esteemed venues like the Theater an der Wien and Wiener Kammeroper in Vienna. Upcoming plans feature diverse roles, including Schaunard in 'La Bohème' at the Opéra de St Etienne in 2024 and Biscroma Strappaviscere in 'Le Convenienze ed Inconvenienze teatrali' at Wexford Festival 2024.
Paola Leoci is the award winner of the 69th Aslico Award for Young Opera Singers performing the role of Fiorilla in Il Turco in Italia and Despina in Così fan tutte. Recent accolades include winning First Absolute Prize at the Lousada Opera Competition in Portugal and being a semi-finalist at the 60th Tenor Viñas Contest in Barcelona. Upcoming engagements feature roles like Eurice in Adelaide di Borgogna at the Rossini Festival in Pesaro and Luigia in Le Convenienze ed Inconvenienze teatrali at Wexford Festival Opera.
The tenor Alberto Robert has earned accolades such as winning the Opera Competition of the Celaya Conservatory and receiving a scholarship from Fundación Ópera Actual. He debuted as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni in 2021 and performed as Don Ramiro in Cenerentola in 2021. Currently at the Stuttgart State Opera, he's taken on roles like Il Conte Almaviva and Don Ramiro.
William was a 2023 Nevill Holt Opera Associate Artist and a member of the Rossini Opera Festival’s highly acclaimed young artist programme, the Accademia Rossiniana “Alberto Zedda”. His roles include the Page (Sir John in Love), Ufficiale (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Il Conte (Le nozze di Figaro) and Ein Musiklehrer (Ariadne auf Naxos). He was a member of the Accademia Rossiniana Alberto Zedda and appeared as Don Alvaro (Il viaggio a Reims, ROF). William is a Wexford Factory Alumni and performed Taddeo in L’Italiana in Algeri atWFO 2023.
Born in Puglia, Danila graduated with top marks in conducting from the Conservatorio “A. Casella” in L'Aquila. She conducted various orchestras, including the Istituzione Sinfonica Abruzzese and the Orchestra Metropolitana della Città di Bari. Notably, she was the first woman to conduct an opera title at the Festival della Valle d'Itria in Martina Franca.
Orpha has directed Lalla Roukh WFO, Bohème, Don Pasquale, Cenerentola INO, Albert Herring RAO, A Quiet Place Opera Zuid, Powder Her Face, Dead Man Walking Royal Danish Opera /Den Norske, Billy Budd, I Capuleti e i Montecchi Opera North/Opera Australia, Fidelio Longborough, Jenufa, Hoffmann, Fiddler on the Roof, Bohème Malmö Opera, Wuthering Heights Opéra National de Lorraine, Carmelites RNCM, Raising Icarus Barber Opera and Così Fan Tutte OTC.
Since 1994, Daniele has been Head of Lighting and Lighting Designer for the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. Among his many productions in Italy and around the world are Il trovatore, Rigoletto and La traviata (Maggio Musicale), Carmen (Rome), Lohengrin (Bilbao), Jérusalem (Zurich) and La fille du régiment (Tel Aviv).
September 2023
Choreographer and Assistant Director
Amy Share Kissiov
Assistant Lighting Designer
Paolo Bonapace
The Plot
Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali (Conventions and Inconveniences of the Stage) is a two-act farce that shines an exaggerated spotlight on the behind-the-scenes working of a theatre and the rehearsal process, showing what can go wrong when the egos of the performers get in the way of putting on a good show. The title refers to the ‘convenienze’, which were the rules relating to the ranking of singers (primo, secondo, comprimario) in the 19th-century Italian opera and the number of scenes, arias etc., that they were entitled to expect.
A regional (and mediocre) operatic troupe is rehearsing a new work and faces numerous obstacles. The prima donna acts every bit the diva, refusing to rehearse. The Tenor finds himself in the wrong production and quite out of his depth. The Seconda Donna’s mother (played by a baritone) demands that her daughter be given a more prominent role, before deciding to take on several roles herself. Not be outshone, the Prima Donna’s husband takes to the stage too.
When the show eventually collapses and the company tries to flee under cover of night, rather than pay back all the investors (whose money has already been spent), the Impresario has other plans…
