Gioachino Rossini – La scala di seta (The Silken Ladder)

This one-act comic farce was first performed in Venice at the Teatro San Moisè on May 9, 1812. This critical edition includes a preface in Italian and English and critical notes. It is another opera in the continuing series under the aegis of the Fondazione Rossini of Pesaro, which will eventually present the composer's entire output. Dorvil (tenor) is secretly married to Giulia (soprano), and ascends a quiet, silken ladder each evening to see his bride. Giulia's guardian has other ideas about her matrimonial future, and the plot thickens when he tries to marry her off. In the end, of course, the clandestine couple's true relationship is revealed and all is well.