la pazza per amore

see 'interior of the argentina theater' by giovanni paolo pannini /

"...opera is after all an anachronistic performance art, set in a museum context and patronized by a convention-loving public almost as exclusive as the aristocracy for which it was first created..."

Philip Brett

"... while the heartbeats quickened i set myself to watch the stage, which in somewhat rudimentary fashion, was intended to depict a garden: papier-mâché trees and bushes scattered here and there, in one corner some form of temple or pavilion in corinthian style, and a great dark backdrop to simulate the night sky, in which a white circle, through which rays of lamplight weakly shone, did duty for the moon..."

floria tosca / the diary of baron scarpia

paola capriolo