Sommeroper im Amthof - Crazy for Love - Opera by Pietro Antonio Coppola

What's it about?

Experience the rediscovery of a bel canto masterpiece in a wonderful setting. - Pietro Antonio CoppolaCrazy for LoveLibretto: Jacopo Ferretti "I am happy if I have inspired the Sicilian master to songs that come from the heart and speak to the heart!" says librettist Jacopo Ferretti about the opera "La pazza per amore". Its composer is Pietro Antonio Coppola, who died in Catania in 1876, exactly 150 years ago.In the new German version, the work is called "Verrückt vor Liebe" (Crazy for Love). And it is much more than the rediscovery of a treasure from the heyday of bel canto: a story of surprising psychological depth, which illuminates not only a great love, but also a complicated father-daughter relationship. And it deals with themes that concern everyone - trust and loss, loyalty and despair, abyss and salvation. 2026 will mark exactly 150 years since the Sicilian composer Pietro Antonio Coppola left this world; another reason for the Sommeroper im Amthof to bring his most frequently performed piece during his lifetime, "La pazza per amore", out of obscurity - in a new German version as "Verrückt vor Liebe". The premiere on February 14, 1835, at the Teatro Valle in Rome was such a resounding success that productions of the opera were staged in Florence, Venice, Bologna, and Vicenza in the same year. The following year, Coppola even exported his work to Lisbon, where he was engaged as a conductor and later as artistic director, and to Corfu. The subject matter of "La Pazza per amore" was widely known and popular at the time. Operas on the subject had been written in France and Italy for half a century, and Paisiello's from 1789 was still frequently performed at the time.It is about a young noblewoman named Nina, who is happily in love with the simple Enrico - so much so that even her father gives his blessing. But then a rich admirer appears, and the count breaks his word and promises him his daughter's hand. However, the new fiancé catches Nina and Enrico in flagrante and kills his rival in a duel. Nevertheless, the wedding does not happen, because Nina cannot live without Enrico and falls into madness.All of this lies in the past. In the present, Nina sleeps most of the time, recognizes no one, and only waits for Enrico's return.She is cared for by the loving maid Marianna, the good-natured doctor Simplicio, her father tormented by remorse, and his right-hand man, the estate manager Giorgio.What no one knows: Enrico miraculously survived and actually returns. But even his face is suddenly unfamiliar to Nina...Can this still end well?