The longest opera encore in history
OperaIl matrimonio segreto, a dramma giocoso in two acts, is Domenico Cimarosa’s best-known opera. The first performance took place on 7 February 1792 at the Hofburgtheater in Vienna in the presence of Emperor Leopold II who liked it so much at the premiere in 1792 that, after giving dinner to the whole company, he asked for a complete second performance – perhaps the longest encore in history.
As with the best opera buffa of the 18th-century, it contains a plot full of impossible situations (might one daughter be married already?), elaborate disguises and, of course, a happy ending. Elements of the music are unmistakably Mozartian but others anticipate Rossini, such as the patter of fast words sung on a repeated note and some comic nonsense sounds. In every way, Il matrimonio segreto is ideally suited to a young talented cast, which Teatro Regio di Parma has assembled for this new production brought to you by Slippedisc, courtesy of OperaVision, made in collaboration with the Auditorio de Tenerife and Teatro Massimo of Palermo. Singers are Giulia Mazzola as Carolina, Antonio Mandrillo as Paolino, Veta Pilipenko as Fidalma, Francesco Leone as Geronimo. subtitles in English and Italian.
The Plot: Geronimo is a man of standing with a business to run and two daughters, Elisetta and Carolina, to marry off. A little nostalgic for his native Italy, Geronimo runs a thriving cake boutique in 1950’s New York. Between an aristocratic customer and a humble delivery boy, will his daughters make the right choices in love?
Available tonight 10 March 2024 at 1900 CET / 1800 London/ 1300 NY
In a recital many years ago Benno Moisewich offered to play as an encore any Beethoven sonata chosen by the audience
Finally he played the Appassionata
It may be the second longest encore….
It seems Mousewich frequently did this
No that would be Rudolph Serkin in 1921; after the Brandenburg 5, Adolph Busch suggested he play an encore. With nothing else prepared Serkin launched into the Goldberg Variations (50+ mins!).
I believe exactly the same happened at Esterhazy at the premiere of La Fidelta Premiata. Pity the un-unionised musicians in their frantic ‘I just want to go home’ moments of exhaustion.
Things that no longer happen since the downfall of absurdly rich nobility and the rise of long-play recordings.