The Italian Straw Hat

“How am I supposed to do that? I'm going mad!” On Fadinard’s wedding day, his horse eats the straw hat of a lady having a bit of fun with her lover in the bushes. But Anaide doesn’t dare return to her jealous husband Beaupertuis without her new Florentine hat: she simply has to get hold of a new one! An odyssey full of hijinks begins, taking Fadinard across the length and breadth of Paris ...

The memorable and tuneful score by Nino Rota, best known for his film music (La strada, La dolce vita, The Godfather), reflects the hectic pace of the plot. His farsa musicale revives the spirit of opera buffa with a nod towards Rossini. The acclaimed premiere of Bernd Mottl’s production for Graz Opera in May 2023 was called “delicious operatic fun” by the Kurier newspaper. The characters inhabit a landscape of oversized hat boxes. “We deliberately opted for a nostalgic black and white look,” explains Bernd Mottl, “because this focus on patterns and silhouettes allows you to delineate more clearly the differences between the characters.” All in all, an amusing treat!