OVERVIEW

Dramma giocoso translates as comic drama. Such genre subtitles were also given to the finest two operas composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte. It is the latter of the two that has a similar theme to Salieri’s School of Jealousy. They are both comedies from the 18th century about relationships, full of disguises and situational humour in the spirit of Carlo Goldoni. In its time, it became one of the most popular operas of the famous imperial Kapellmeister, when 60 productions of the opera were performed in opera houses from Lisbon to Moscow over more than three decades. The main plot of the story is a rehearsal conducted by someone else – and very much reminiscent of the opera on the libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte Così fan tutte. However, The School of Jealousy is far more frivolous, filled with extreme explosions of loving passion and jealousy, in contrast to the cool indifference shown by the three couples of different social classes.