About the work
Lo speziale is an opera buffa in three acts to a libretto by Carlo Goldoni. Haydn wrote it in 1768 to open the newly built opera house in the grounds of Eszterháza, where it premiered that autumn.
Plot
The apothecary's apprentice Mengone loves Grilletta, the ward of the apothecary Sempronio, who wants to marry her himself; the vain dandy Volpino also courts her. In the end Mengone disguises himself as a notary to secure a secret marriage.
Cultural significance
The opera was revived twice more in Haydn's lifetime, in 1770, but the music of the third act survives only incompletely, which still complicates modern performances today.