Prima la musica poi le parole di A. Salieri

The work, published in 1786, belongs to the comical musical theatre and features preparations before a performance.
The orchestra is composed of 9 elements, the concert Master, one harpsichord player and 4 opera singers.
“Prima la musica poi le parole” by A. Salieri is an entertaining play that was performed for the first time in Vienna on 7 February 1786 in the Castle of Schönbrunn. It is one of the most actual and successful works by the composer.
The short opera features preparations for another opera, using the technique of metatheater that was successfully used in theatre productions during the 18th century as an effective expression of the Viennese tradition at the Court of Joseph II.
The libretto of the Italian poet Giovanni Battista Casti is specifically prepared to underline all the typical elements of comical grotesque theatre, such as the whims of prima donnas and the rivalry beween the librettist and the composer. It is an opportunity to put on show the world of melodramma of that period. The immediate and spontaneous sense of humour is based on well-established models of the musical theare of the time. Therefore the four protagonists sometimes babble, make allusions, speak with a falsetto voice, emphasize their acting, challenge their skills at a cracking pace that is perfect and relaxed and make this work purely entertaining.
The show is performed by the Orchestra Musicultura 2000, directed by the Master and Director Luigi De Filippi, and by the baritones Stefano Spada and Juan Possidente (who play the roles of the Poet and the Chapel Master) and the sopranos Nunzia Santodirocco and Elisabetta Russo (as Eleonora and Tonina).