A laugh-out-loud story and a snappy score bubbling with rhythmic verve and melodic invention! Don’t miss Haymarket favorites Erica Schuller and Ryan de Ryke as they reprise their critically acclaimed portrayals in an updated production of Georg Philipp Telemann’s delightful 1725 comic intermezzo.

Seeking a husband, the sly servant Vespetta (Italian for “little wasp”) sets her sights on the wealthy old merchant Pimpinone. He seeks a new chambermaid, one who is hardworking and never entertains visitors or goes on outings to the opera. Vespetta’s crafty flattery works its charm and Pimpinone jubilantly hires her on the spot. In act two she convinces him to marry her. By act three, she has turned the tables upside down and Pimpinone sings a very different tune.

Composer Georg Philipp Telemann breathed new life into stock comic characters from the 17th century in this delightful 1725 comic intermezzo, and the snappy score for two singers and string orchestra bubbles with rhythmic verve and melodic invention. The story of a cunning young servant girl who cons a gullible older rich man was a favorite among the lower social orders who aspired to the lifestyles of the nobility. Telemann takes the highlights from a sparkling Italian libretto by Pietro Pariati (originally set to music by Tomaso Albinoni in 1708, it was a smash hit in Venice and traveled as far as Moscow) and combines them with a new text by German poet Johann Philipp Praetorious. Originally performed between the acts of Telemann’s own version of Handel’s famous serious opera Tamerlano at the Gänsemarkt Theater in Hamburg, Pimpinone soon took on a life of its own and was heard all over Europe.

Performances:

Saturday, March 30, 2019 - 7:30pm
Sunday, March 31, 2019 - 5:00pm
Tuesday, April 2, 2019 - 7:30pm

Studebaker Theater
410 S Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60605

Tickets: $30 - $95

*Student Tickets will be available at the door for $10.

*Please note that the balcony seating is not handicap accessible

Sung in German with English Supertitles
Running Time: 2 hours with intermission

Cast

Erica Schuller, Vespetta
Ryan de Ryke, Pimpinone

Production Team

Sarah Edgar, Stage Director
Craig Trompeter, Music Director
Meriem Bahri, Costume Design
Lindsey Lyddan, Set and Lighting Design