L’equivoco stravagante

STORY

Act I

The action takes place both outside and inside the house of Gamberotto, a peasant who has grown rich, and his beautiful literary-leaning daughter Ernestina, whom he wants to see married. He has also prepared a match for her, with Buralicchio. However, she does not know yet that Ermanno, a penniless young man, is in love with her. For some time he has been hanging around her house hoping to meet her. To help win her over, he has enlisted the aid of Gamberotto’s servants, Rosalia and Frontino.

We first meet Ernestina in her library, studying books alongside a group of literary gentlemen. She feels something missing in her life; sometimes she feels on fire, she claims, with her blood rushing through her veins. Love is to blame!

Next we meet Ernestina’s two rival suitors. First there’s Buralicchio, described as young, stupid, but rich – the latter characteristic inevitably making him her father’s choice. He sings an aria explaining how his own fascinating good looks turn all the girls he meets into putty in his hands.

Then there’s poor but smart Ermanno, whom Ernestina prefers. He manages to get himself admitted to Gamberotto’s house disguised as a tutor to Ernestina – which pleases her no end. Later on Ermanno is thrown out of the house by Gamberotto as an impoverished nobody: obviously Ermanno is extremely unhappy at this because he, unlike Buralicchio, is actually in love with Ernestina, as we hear in his cavatina near the end of the opera.

Act II

From the start Ermanno has had an ally in the house, the wily servant Frontino, who comes up with a cunning plan to put Buralicchio off Ernestina permanently. He forges a letter which he allows Buralicchio to read in which it is stated that not only is Ernestina really Ernestino, but that he’s actually a male castrato dressed as a woman to evade conscription into the army. Buralicchio falls for this extravagant deception and sends for the army commander to arrest Ernestina.

Meanwhile, Ermanno complains to Gamberotto about the way he has been unceremoniously chased out of the house, but is assured that, once the marriage has been performed, his job of tutor will once more be available to him. Left alone, Ermanno can do no more than give vent to his despair. Seeing him run off, Ernestina orders Rosalia to bring him to her: their dialogue begins in funereal tones, but gradually slips into a more delicately intimate style, broken into half-way through by Gamberotto and Buralicchio, the former exceedingly indignant with his daughter, the latter inclined to let things slide for the moment, in anticipation of his imminent revenge. Soldiers, in fact, come in with no further waste of time, and arrest Ernestina without a word of explanation.

Having his daughter imprisoned unsurprisingly horrifies Gamberotto. But with his rival Buralicchio now refusing to marry Ernestina, this leaves the field wide open to Ermanno. And in fact, though a few minor matters remain to be cleared up – as with all the best comedies – there’s a happy end in sight and, as Ernestina explains in her rondo with chorus, the danger is over. Ermanno has rescued her from prison and the now friendly soldiers are on their way to battle. Ernestina ends in triumph.