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The Impresario from Smyrna

(L'impresario delle Smirne)

Carlo Goldoni - 1757.

Comedy depicting the vanities of eighteenth-century Italian opera singers.

Ali, a wealthy merchant from Smyrna, is planning to introduce Italian opera into Turkey and has enlisted the aid of two agents, Count Lasca and Nibio. Ali is attracted to three pretty sopranos, Lucrezia, Tognina, and Annina, but their constant bickering over who is to be considered the prima donna and the exorbitant demands of all concerned make him reconsider his plans. He returns to the relative peace of his Smyrna harem, leaving the company a small sum of money, which they decide to spend on launching a theatre.