La Scala di Seta (The Silken Ladder) was composed by the 20-year-old Rossini in 1812 as the first of three contracted one-act operas for the Venetian impresario Antonio Cera (the other two would be L’Occasione fa il Ladro and Il Signor Bruschino). These days it seems that the sparkling overture has overshadowed the rest of this engaging farce, though it should be said that it is not on the level of the composer’s later comedies. In its day, though, La Scala di Seta was a palpable hit: “Great acclaim, for from the Overture to the final note of the Finale there was nothing but tumultuous applause,” wrote Rossini to his mother the morning after the premiere.
Listening to this appealing performance from the 2021 Rossini in Wildbad festival you can see why. The plot is both simple and complex. Dormont wants his ward Giulia to marry the pompous Blansac, but she is already secretly married to Dorvil. Giulia therefore hopes to palm her unwanted suitor onto her cousin Lucilla, which ultimately,...
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