PIETRA DEL PARAGONE, LA
(The Touchstone)

Opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossinni (1792-1868), to a libretto by Luigi Romanelli. First performance: Milan, La Scala, 26 September 1812.

The action takes place in the luxurious house of Count Asdrubale (bass), where a group of his friends have gathered. They include the Marchesa Clarice (contralto), who is secretly in love with Asdrubale, the poet Pacuvio (buffo); the journalist; Macrobio(buffo); Aspasia (soprano) and Fulvia (mezzo-soprano), both of whom entertain aspirations towards the Count and his wealth; and Giocondo (tenor). Assisted by his servant Fabrizio (bass), who is disguised as a Turk, Asdrubale decides to test the sincerity of these friends of his. So he announces despairingly that a foreign creditor is demanding a promissory note from him in respect of a huge sum of money which he does not possess. His guests' reaction is to protect their own interests, saying they are unwilling to get involved in his affairs. Only Clarice and Giocondo are prepared to help their friend out of trouble. But then enter Fabrizio: he has a plan, which will happily solve the problem. Shortly afterwards, Clarice puts on a "performance" of her own, in hich she pretends to receive a letter from her twin brother, Lucindo, announcing that he is due to arrive soon. Lucindo then appears (it is actually Clarice dressed up) in officer's uniform and declares that he has come to take his sister away with him. At this point Asdrubale shows his feelings and asks Lucindo for permission to marry Clarice, whereupon Clarice reveals her true identity, everything is made clear, and the opera ends with the wedding of Clarice and Asdrubale, while Fulvia and Aspasia console themselves by marrying Macrobio and Pacuvio.

It was with La pietra del paragone that Rossini, not yet 21, made his debut at La Scala, Milan. The opera was a triumphant success, one of the most convincing of his entire career as a composer after its first performance, it had an unbroken run of 50 nights. Although this work was one of Rossini's most successful buffo operas, nowadays it is rarely staged.