About the work
Che originali! is a one-act farsa giocosa by Johann Simon Mayr to a libretto by Gaetano Rossi, based on a French farce of 1779. It premiered on 18 October 1798 at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice.
Plot
The music-obsessed Don Febeo insists on marrying off his daughters Aristea and the hypochondriac Rosina to musicians. The comic plot unfolds from the tangles caused by his fixed idea.
Cultural significance
The work was one of Mayr's most successful comic operas and was revived throughout the 19th century under numerous alternative titles, including Gli originali, Il pazzo per la musica and La musicomania — evidence of its lasting popularity on Italian stages.