Il campanello di notte by Donizetti, tor 19 sep 2024, Från (2024/2024), Regisserad av Attila Toronykõy,, Dirigent Sámuel Csaba Tóth, Levente Zsíros, Eiffel Art Studios, Budapest, Ungern

Comic opera in one act, in Hungarian, with Hungarian surtitles. What to do when the bell rings in the middle of an amorous encounter at night? And then it rings again, and again, and again? Gaetano Donizetti presents this awkward situation with his typical intricate sense of humour, and shows us how an unwanted husband can be kept away from his marriage bed with the help of some cunning and disguise. Donizetti’s comic opera Il campanello was created in an especially difficult period for the Teatro Nuovo theatre in Naples. It was premiered in 1836, when the composer – and in this case librettist – wanted to help the director and artists of the theatre with the problems caused by the cholera epidemic and financial difficulties. His efforts were successful, and his new work became incredibly popular across Europe in an instant. There were some changes made to the piece over the years, for example the originally spoken dialogues were turned into recitatives, and the Neapolitan dialect of the buffo character that carried a strong comic effect was “translated” into Italian with the permission of the composer. The production now played at the Eiffel Art Studios is staged by Attila Toronykőy.