Performances: Nov 15-19, various hours

J. Bradley Baker, conductor

Overgrown with love triangles, mistaken identities and madness, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s La finta giardiniera (The Pretend Gardener) is a sharp-witted comic opera that does not shy away from emotional complexity. In a jealous rage, the Count Belfiore attacks his betrothed, Marchioness Violante, on their wedding night. Violante flees from her fiancé, with only a new name, Sandrina, and her trusted servant Roberto—now Nardo—in tow. “Sandrina” assumes the role of a gardener and settles into a new life, but when Belfiore arrives in town with his eye on marrying the noble Armida, her plan to start over quickly goes awry.

Written when Mozart was just 18, La finta giardiniera displays much of the charm and chaos that define his later comic masterpieces, making this early gem a delight to see and hear.

Performed in Italian with English supertitles.