About the work
Ser Marcantonio is an opera buffa by Stefano Pavesi to a libretto by Angelo Anelli. It premiered on 26 September 1810 at Teatro alla Scala in Milan.
Plot
The wealthy, miserly and unmarried Ser Marcantonio is to be married off against his will to a young bride who seems innocent, while a scheming widow in love with his nephew tries to deprive him of his inheritance. Mistaken identities and disguises ultimately make a fool of the old man.
Cultural significance
More than three decades later, Anelli's libretto became the basis for Giovanni Ruffini and Gaetano Donizetti's 'Don Pasquale' (1843), one of the most frequently performed works of comic opera. Pavesi's own setting, by contrast, fell largely into obscurity and was not recorded again until 2011.