Hacienda Xcanatún was a working plantation, not a lush spa and restaurant, when Pergolesi wrote his opera buffo, “La Serva Padrona,” in 1730.
Now that the opera is scheduled to be performed at the hacienda, the audience will be asked to dress for the occasion: In their best 1730 clothes.
The Italian opera will be sung in Spanish and musicians will play original instruments at original pitch. Today’s orchestras “tune” to A=440; however, in 1730 they tuned the instruments to A=415.
So the audience will hear this opera just how it was performed 288 years ago.
“The Servant Turned Mistress,” its title in English, is a 45-minute-long comic piece by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710 – 1736) to a libretto by Gennaro Antonio Federico, after the play by Jacopo Angello Nelli. The opera was originally performed as an intermezzo between the acts of a larger serious opera.
Instrumentalists are from the Yucatán Symphony Orchestra; the director/producer is Keith Paulson-Thorp.
Performances are 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21 and Thursday, Feb. 22 at Hacienda Xcanatún. Tickets are 250 pesos (cash only) but can be reserved with a credit card. Call today 999-930-2140… limited seating. Reserve tickets with credit card. Tickets canceled fewer than seven days before the concert will be charged to the credit card.
