About the work
Arrighetto is a one-act opera by Carlo Coccia to a libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on the tale of Madonna Beritola from Boccaccio's Decameron. It premiered on 9 January 1813 at the Teatro San Moisè in Venice.
Plot
Madonna Beritola has lost both her sons amid political persecution and lives in seclusion, until one son, unrecognised, serves at the court of Count Corrado and falls in love with his daughter; through complications and the threat of a death sentence, the plot leads to mother and son finally recognising each other.
Cultural significance
This short work, written for a small Venetian theatre, was among Coccia's early successes during his Venice years, before the rising star of Rossini pushed him into the background; as part of the rediscovery of lesser-known bel canto operas it was revived and recorded, among other places, at the Teatro Coccia in Novara in 2007.