The sense of the funny. “Li zite ‘ngalera” at La Scala

The direction does not exalt current events, which would nevertheless exist. And not even a strong idea emerges, indeed an idea tout court. A missed opportunity

The work Shut them up in jail it is not a prison drama but one of the first comic operas: the “zites” are the engaged couples and the “jail” is the rowing ship (which, however, on stage, ouch ouch, is a sailing ship, these directors…). It was the year 1722, in Naples, and the delicious “commeddeja” by Bernardo Saddumene, in the Neapolitan language of the time that was difficult to understand for current Neapolitans and impossible for non-natives, had the good fortune to be covered with notes by Leonardo Vinci, a genius right from the name. Whether they were serious or comic operas, Vinci wrote seemingly simple but wonderful music, especially for his enchanting melodic facility. La Scala was therefore right to give the Zite a chance, which in any case are a revelation only for Italian critics, given that they have been performed and recorded several times in recent times.