About the work
Nina, ossia la pazza per amore is a one-act commedia by Giovanni Paisiello to a libretto by Giovanni Battista Lorenzi and Giuseppe Carpani, based on the French opera 'Nina, ou la folle par amour' (1786) by Benoît-Joseph Marsollier and Nicolas Dalayrac. Commissioned by King Ferdinand IV, it premiered on 25 June 1789 at the theatre of the royal retreat of Belvedere in San Leucio near Caserta, where the king was then founding a model colony for silk weavers.
Plot
Nina has lost her mind after her father tried to marry her to a rich man instead of her beloved Lindoro, who then appeared to be killed in the resulting duel. She wanders between hope and waiting until it emerges that Lindoro has survived. Seeing him again restores her sanity, and her repentant father finally blesses their marriage.
Cultural significance
The title role, with its striking mad scene, became a signature part for sopranos such as Isabella Colbran and Giuditta Pasta and stayed in the Italian repertoire well into the 19th century. The work is regarded as an early example of opera semiseria, mixing tragic and comic elements, and thereby influenced 19th-century Italian music theatre.