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La gazza ladra

[The Thieving Magpie]

Melodramma in two acts by
GIOVANNI GHERARDINI

First performance:
Milan - Teatro alla Scala
31 May 1817

Critical Edition by
ALBERTO ZEDDA

FONDAZIONE ROSSINI PESARO 1979

CHARACTERS:
FABRIZIO VINGRADITO, wealthy tenant farmer, bass
LUCIA, Fabrizio's wife, mezzo-soprano
GIANNETTO, Fabrizio's son, a soldier, tenor
NINETTA, maidservant in Fabrizio's house, soprano
FERNANDO VILLABELLA, Ninetta's father, a soldier, bass
GOTTARDO, Podestà [mayor] of the village, bass
PIPPO, a young peasant in Fabrizio's service, contralto
ISACCO, a peddler, tenor
ANTONIO, a jailor, tenor
GIORGIO, the mayor's servant, bass
ERNESTO, Fernando's companion and friend, a soldier, bass
MAGISTRATE of the village, bass
GREGORIO, a jailor, silent
A BAILIFF, silent
Mixed chorus of men at arms, peasant men and women, Fabrizio's family
A magpie

The scene is laid in a large village not far from Paris

Instrumentation: 2 Flutes/2 Piccolos, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 2 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Timpani, Bass Drum, Triangle, 2 Side Drums, Bell, Strings, Continuo
Performance time: 3h 15m

La gazza ladra is based on a true story: a French servant girl was tried and executed for theft; later the townspeople discovered a magpie was the real thief and, remorseful, they instituted an annual mass in her memory. Gherardini's libretto, with its last-minute rescue of the heroine, puts the opera firmly in the genre of semiseria, but its fusion of elements puts emphasis on the dramatic rather than the comic. The music moves from a light-hearted, pastoral tone to one of deep tragedy. The complex character of the Podestà moves from the buffo to evil threats to remorse and shame; the duets between Ninetta and Pippo on the one hand and Giannetto on the other are tender and moving. The funeral march of the Act II finale is laden with grief, yet the happy ending itself expresses the joy of each character (save the Podestà).

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