Comic opera will be streamed Feb. 21
OPERA CLUB
The Opera Club invites residents to come and watch Rossini’s comic opera, “The Thieving Magpie” on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 2:30 p.m. (a new start time) in the Learning Center of Clubhouse 3.
Club member Lucy Poropat will introduce the opera, which revolves around a magpie, a noisy, chattering bird that causes mayhem by stealing a silver spoon and a silver coin to line its nest, thereby casting blame on a young woman about to be married to a soldier returning from the war.
Act 1 introduces Ninetta and Gianetto, who are about to be married. Ninetta also encounters her father Fernando, a deserter from the war, who asks his daughter to sell two pieces of family silver to a local peddlar to finance his continuing escape.
In Act 2, it is by happenstance that Fernando Villabella’s silver (the bride’s father) is engraved “F V” which are the same two initials as Fabrizio Vingradito (the groom’s father) initials. As a result, Ninetta gets charged with stealing and is sent to prison. She is subsequently brought to trial, found guilty and sentenced to death for stealing—under the existing law. Her father rushes in and is also arrested for his desertion, before a friend arrives with a royal pardon. Suddenly, the magpie appears to snatch a silver coin but is pursued to its nest where the missing silver spoon is recovered. The theft is promptly solved and the townspeople celebrate with the wedding of Ninetta and Gianetto.
The production is in Italian with English subtitles. People are encouraged to wear masks indoors, if desired. No dues or fees are required. For more information, contact Opera Club President Margaret Gillon at MargaretG@yahoo.com or call 562-370-3844.
—Margaret Gillon
