“Betrothal in a Monastery (The Duenna)”, opera in four acts, Op. 86

Libretto by Mira Mendelson-Prokofieva and the composer after Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The Duenna. A four-act lyric-comic opera set in Seville.

Movements:
1. Act I
2. Act II
3. Act III
4. Act...Read more

Libretto by Mira Mendelson-Prokofieva and the composer after Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The Duenna. A four-act lyric-comic opera set in Seville.

Movements:
1. Act I
2. Act II
3. Act III
4. Act IV

Synopsis:
The action takes place in eighteenth-century Seville. The wealthy fish merchant Mendoza hopes to marry Don Jerome’s daughter Luisa. Jerome welcomes the financial advantages of the match, but Luisa loves the poor Antonio. Her brother Ferdinand is in love with Clara d’Almanza, whose conduct arouses his jealousy.
Luisa and her Duenna devise a deception. Disguised in the Duenna’s clothes, Luisa escapes from home; Mendoza interviews the Duenna, believing that she is Luisa. The supposed daughter insists on elopement rather than a formal wedding arranged by her father. Delighted, Mendoza obtains Jerome’s written consent to the marriage.
In the square Luisa meets Clara, who has fled her own home and is seeking refuge in a convent. The young women exchange identities for their own purposes. Luisa encounters Mendoza, who, taking her for Clara, agrees to help her meet Antonio. Their reunion causes further confusion for the jealous Ferdinand, who thinks Antonio is courting his beloved. Clara eventually reveals herself and the lovers are reconciled.
Meanwhile Jerome rehearses music with his companions, scarcely understanding the messages and permissions that pass through his hands. The Duenna maintains the deception until Mendoza has committed himself to their wedding.
At the monastery the monks feast and drink. The arrival of prospective bridal couples produces an abrupt show of piety; the sound of money persuades the superior to perform the ceremonies. Antonio and Luisa, Ferdinand and Clara, and Mendoza and the Duenna are united.
At Jerome’s house the wedding guests arrive. Mendoza introduces his wife, and Jerome discovers that she is the Duenna. Luisa and Antonio produce Jerome’s own written consent. Ferdinand presents Clara, whose wealth reconciles the father to the outcome. Jerome dismisses the deceived Mendoza and opens the wedding feast.

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