Hard on the heels of Fedra (1/17) comes another Paisiello opera from Dynamic. Are we on the verge of a Paisiello revival? (He was a significant figure, by far the most popular opera composer in the Vienna of Mozart’s time.) Probably not: the reason for both productions was to mark the bicentenary of the composer’s death in 1816. Fedra, with its strong plot, was worth reviving, but the complexity of Trofonio’s Cave will test your credulity; it certainly taxed my patience.

La grotta di Trofonio was produced in Naples at the end of 1785. The libretto by Giuseppe Palomba was adapted from one written by Giovanni Battista Casti for Salieri, whose version had been performed in Vienna only a couple of months earlier. Don Piastrone is a ridiculous figure, given to quoting from classical philosophers. He has two daughters, the frivolous Dori and the bookish Eufelia, who wish for husbands to match their characters. They are wooed by Don Gasperone and Artemidoro respectively, though the latter really prefers Dori. The cave in which the fearsome-looking magician Trofonio dwells has special properties: anyone entering will experience a complete change of personality, which can only be reversed by re-entering by another way. The situations arising from this are further complicated by the arrival of Madama Bartolina and Rubinetta, who have been deserted by the young men. Everyone is paired off by the end, not necessarily predictably or even satisfactorily. The diagram in the booklet is a helpful guide to the relationships, but the introductory article is of a mind bending opacity. The libretto available online is essential but just as badly translated.

The music falls easily on the ear. The first part of Eufelia’s ‘In udir que’cari accenti’, a gentle Andante, includes attractive writing for oboe and bassoon, while the arias for Madama Bartolina and Rubinetta are effectively scored for the strings alone. In ‘Basta qui, ragazza astuta’ Gasperone looks forward to Mozart’s Papageno, and the quartet that opens Act 2 anticipates the mania of a Rossini comic finale. Giuseppe Grazioli conducts a lively performance that was probably good fun in the theatre. The veteran Daniela Mazzucato is a characterful Madama Bartolina; Roberto Scandiuzzi booms impressively as Trofonio. Of the less well-known singers, Caterina Di Tonno stands out as a bright-toned Rubinetta. But this is second-rate stuff, not really worth the bother.