Rita by Gaetano Donizetti (Sung in English)
English translation by James Hurley
Orchestration by Francis Griffin
With the If Opera Company and Bristol Ensemble
Rita, the somewhat tyrannical inn-owner and wife of Peppe is shocked by the return of her former husband Gasparo whom she had thought dead by drowning (he had run away to far-off lands). Gasparo is back to acquire Rita’s death certificate so he can remarry – because he, in turn, thought she had died. In the middle is poor Peppe who wants out, and perhaps Gasparo’s return provides the opportunity? The opera is a comedy of deceit and ill-manners (it was originally called The Beaten Husband which tells you something of Rita’s inclinations) but it glitters with Donizetti’s trademark vivacity, formed around eight core musical ‘numbers’ connected by spoken dialogue. The opera has, in the past few decades, become one of the most frequently performed of Donizetti’s short operas.
IfOpera welcomed two brilliant directors to this double bill, Lysanne van Overbeek and Daisy Brown; joined by designer Bettina John and the current Mackerras Fellow at ENO, conductor Olivia Clarke.
Lighting design by Luca Panetta, stage managment by Gusta Mathews and Kate Stockwell, costume supervisor Charlie Rowen, costume assistants Linda Savini and Jasmie Barron.
CAST – Rita
RITA Natasha Page
PEPPE Jack Dolan
GASPARO Kieran Rayner
BORTOLO Christopher Gillett
Il segreto di Susanna by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (Sung in Italian with English surtitles)
Italian libretto by Enrico Golisciani
Orchestration Juan David Molano
Il segreto di Susanna (Susanna’s Secret) is a simple comedy of confusions. Conte Gil returns home to the smell of tobacco – and suspects his beautiful wife Susannah has a lover. The outrageous ways in which Gil seeks to discover the existence of another man whilst his wife tries desperately, with the help of their servant, to conceal her real secret, produce a riotous evening suffused with some absolutely gorgeous music. Wolf-Ferrari shot to fame with this perfect little opera and it remains a popular part of the repertoire across the world.
IfOpera welcomed two brilliant directors to If Opera for this double bill, Lysanne van Overbeek and Daisy Brown; joined by designer Bettina John and the current Mackerras Fellow at ENO, conductor Olivia Clarke.
Lighting design by Luca Panetta, stage managment by Gusta Mathews and Kate Stockwell, costume supervisor Charlie Rowen, costume assistants Linda Savini and Jasmie Barron.
CAST – Il segreto di Susanna
SUSANNA Katherine McIndoe
CONTE GIL Philip Smith
SANTE Christopher Gillett
TIK TOK GIRLS Jess Hope, Clover Kayne, Lara Marie Muller
Photo by Bettina John 
Photo by Bettina John
