About the work
Il signor Bruschino, ossia Il figlio per azzardo is a one-act farsa giocosa by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa, based on the French comedy Le fils par hasard by Alissan de Chazet and Maurice Ourry. It premiered on 27 January 1813 at the Teatro San Moisè in Venice.
Plot
To prevent his beloved Sofia from marrying the son of Signor Bruschino, whom she has never met, Florville uses intercepted letters to pass himself off as that son. When the real young Bruschino appears and is taken for an impostor, the confusion multiplies until the truth comes out and Florville is nonetheless allowed to marry Sofia.
Cultural significance
The last of six farse Rossini wrote for the Teatro San Moisè failed at its premiere but is among his most frequently staged one-act operas today; its overture is famous for having the second violins tap their bows on their music stands in rhythm, an effect that unsettled the 1813 audience.