Florian Leopold Gassmann must have been a gas. There is nothing funny about his other 21 operas but L’Opera Seria is a scream. Everything is lampooned, from squabbling stage mammas to brainless tenors. We know little about the piece’s 1769 premiere, but the audience at Vienna’s Burgtheater must have hyperventilated.
Florian Leopold Gassmann
L'Opera Seria, Nationale Reisopera
By Shirley Apthorp [Financial Times, 29 Mar 05]
Florian Leopold Gassmann must have been a gas. There is nothing funny about his other 21 operas but L'Opera Seria is a scream. Everything is lampooned, from squabbling stage mammas to brainless tenors. We know little about the piece's 1769 premiere, but the audience at Vienna's Burgtheater must have hyperventilated.
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