Crispino e la comare o Il medico e la morte (The Cobbler and the Fairy or The Doctor and Death) is anopera writtencollaboratively byLuigi Ricci andFederico Ricci with an Italianlibretto byFrancesco Maria Piave.
Thepremiere took place on 28 February1850 at theTeatro San Benedetto in Venice.
The work was very popular during the 19th century, and was a favourite of Italian touring companies in the Americas, and in the Asia-Pacific region.
It had its London premiere on 17 November 1857 atSt James's Theatre. It was first performed in Paris on 4 April 1865 in Italian by theThéâtre Italien and was performed on 18 September 1869 asLe Docteur Crispin, with a French translation byCharles Nuitter andAlexandre Beaumont, at theThéâtre de l'Athénée on the rue Scribe.[1] ItsCalcutta premiere was in 1867 at the Calcutta Opera House,[2] and its Australian premiere was on 11 August 1871 at thePrincess Theatre (Melbourne).[3]
Though it was rarely performed in the 20th century, theFestival della Valle d'Itria inMartina Franca, Italy staged the work as part of its 39th opera festival in July 2013. Bass-baritone Domenico Colaianni sang Crispino, while the role of Annetta was taken byStefania Bonfadelli.[4]
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 28 February 1850[5] |
|---|---|---|
| Crispino Tachetto,the cobbler | bass | Carlo Cambiaggio |
| Fabrizio,a doctor | baritone | Luigi Rinaldini |
| Mirabolano,a doctor and apothecary | bass | Luigi Ciardi |
| Contino del Fioro,a Tuscan nobleman | tenor | Giuseppe Pasi |
| Don Asdrubale di Caparotta,a Sicilian miser | bass | Angelo Guglielmini |
| Bortolo,a mason | tenor | |
| Annetta,Crispino's wife | soprano | Giovannina Pecorini |
| Lisetta | mezzo-soprano | Paolina Prinetti |
| La Comare,the fairy | mezzo-soprano | Giovannina Bordoni |
Crispino is a poor cobbler who cannot make ends meet. He is helped by a fairy who encourages him to start practicing medicine, though he cannot even read. He is successful with the fairy's help but cannot bear prosperity gracefully and mistreats his wife. The fairy makes him aware of his faults and the cobbler's family is happily reunited.
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