Cimarosa, Domenico (1749-1801)

L'Impresario in Angustie (AE505), a single-act opera with libretto by Giuseppe Maria Diodati, was composed for the Carnival season of 1786 for Teatro Nuovo in Naples before Cimarosa left for St. Petersburg. The opera were performed all over Europe, both in Italian and in translation. The popularity of the opera is attested to today by the numbers of manuscript copies of the work that are preserved in libraries throughout Europe, many of which reveal substantial differences in the plot and musical structure, adapted at the time to the exigencies of the performing company and the taste of the public. The present edition brings back to light the final version of the Viennese version of L'Impresario in Angustie which was staged for the first time at the Burgtheater in 1793, with explicit reference made from the partial autograph score by Cimarosa and the printed libretto used for the prima in 1786, and two enormously different scores, both with newly composed material relating to the Vienna performances of 1793. Like all of Cimarosa's stage works, it is remarkable for its vitality, melodic invention and assured handling of the orchestra.