Cimarosa: Il Matrimonio Segreto

Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801) was one of the most important and successful Italian composers of the eighteenth century, with a considerable international reputation. Among his admirers were Goethe and Stendhal, the latter saying of Il matrimonio segreto that "None of the women I have enjoyed gave me such a delightful, careless moment." Cimarosa beat out Mozart for the post of court music director in Vienna, and at the height of his fame, Il matrimonio segreto became his greatest success. Emperor Leopold II was so taken with the opera that he invited Cimarosa and the cast to dine with him after the premiere, and then to return to the theater and repeat it all over again! Today, Il matrimonio segreto is one of the few comic operas to look back on an uninterrupted performance tradition of over 200 years.