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Viva la Mamma is a work which plays strictly for laughs. A two-act dramma giocoso, Viva la Mamma shows us what can go wrong when the egos of actors get in the way of putting on a show. At the beginning of the opera, we meet a company in rehearsal, a prima donna refusing to take direction, and a director pulling his hair out in frustration. Not that any of the other principals are much better: everyone is acting the diva, even though, in the case of the lead tenor, the singer can barely perform the part he has been given. Originally titled Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali (The conventions and inconveniences of the stage), a wonderful play on words, Donizetti spliced together the titles of two plays by Antonio Simone Sografi . Le convenienze teatrali, opened at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples on 21 November 1827 while the full opera, based on both Le convenienze teatrali and Le inconvenienze teatrali received its premiere at Milan’s Teatro della Cannobiana on 20 April 1831.
During a rehearsal, a capricious soprano and an inadequate tenor are interrupted by Mamma Agata, bursting in to demand a better role for her daughter, Luigia. A fight takes place, but a bad news is soon to be learned: the Musico has fled! It is Mamma Agata that will offer to take over the castrato's role... With a succession of catastrophic and comical situations, Donizetti describes, with an inch of irony and lots of tenderness, life behind-the-scenes of the opera.
Daria, prima donna : Patrizia Ciofi ; Procolo, her husband : Charles Rice ; Luigia, seconda donna : Clara Meloni ; Mamma Agata : Laurent Naouri ; Guglielmo, primo tenore : Enea Scala ; Biscroma Strappaviscere, conductor : Pietro di Bianco ; Pippetto : Katherine Aitken ; Orchestra and Chorus of Opéra de Lyon
Musical direction : Lorenzo Viotti ; Staging and Costumes : Laurent Pelly ; Collaboration on costumes : Jean-Jacques Delmotte ; Sets : Chantal Thomas ; Lighting : Joël Adam
Italian
French
Production compagny : Telmondis
Coproduction compagny : Opéra de Lyon, France Télévisions
Running Time : 1x115'
Production Year : 2017
Distribution compagny : Telmondis Distribution
Video Format : HD