A Night in Venice Music by Johann Strauss; Book and Lyrics by Friedrich Zell and Richard Genée Premiere: Théâtre des Variétés, Paris, December 17, 1864
Think of operetta…and you think of the waltz. And what better composer to dish it up operetta-style than the Waltz King himself, Johann Strauss. What he began with Die Fledermaus, he continued a decade later with one of the recognized gems of the Golden Age of Viennese Operetta. A Night in Venice has all the ingredients—mistaken identities, a masked ball, romantic gondola rides, and even a macaroni cook—all set in the splendor and intrigue of Venice's Carnival. And all of this to a scintillating musical score that never lets up!
Anticipating the arrival in town of the philandering Duke of Urbino, Venetian Senator Delacqua intends to send his wife Barbara by gondola to an out-of-town aunt. Barbara, however, has other plans—namely a romantic evening with her lover Enrico. She engages the fisher-girl Annina to take her place in the gondola. What the disguised Annina doesn't know is that the disguised gondolier is none other than her sweetheart, Caramello, who just happens to be the personal barber of the womanizing duke. Caramello carries Annina off to a masked ball, where Delacqua is holding court with a phony wife, Ciboletta, the girlfriend of the pastry cook Pappacoda. Nothing more need be said—the "perfect" plot for an operetta!
