About the work
Dramma giocoso in two acts by Vicente Martín y Soler to a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on Carlo Goldoni's French-language comedy 'Le bourru bienfaisant' (1771); first performed on 4 January 1786 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, with Nancy Storace and Francesco Benucci in the leading roles.
Plot
The wealthy but quick-tempered Ferramondo is meant to find a rich husband for his niece Angelica, since her brother Giocondo has been ruined by his wife Lucilla's extravagant spending. When Ferramondo learns that Angelica truly loves the penniless Valerio, he relents and provides the dowry himself.
Cultural significance
The opera was the first collaboration between Martín y Soler and Da Ponte and was written in the same year and at the same house as Mozart's 'Le nozze di Figaro'; for a 1789 revival, after Martín y Soler had already left for Saint Petersburg, Mozart himself composed two substitute arias (K. 582 and K. 583) for the work.