FANTASIO & FORTUNIO

The Italian composer Giampaolo Testoni wrote the librettos for his own one-act operas Fortunio and Fantasio, which are being paired together, based on the plays of the French Romantic dramatist Alfred de Musset.

Giampaolo Testoni: Fantasio
Opera premiere
This performance is not recommended for chrildren under the age of 14.

In the royal court, the young and idle Fantasio puts on the clothes of the deceased jester who was much loved by the Princess. All that to reach his only goal in life: to be loved by somebody. Fantasio is set on the verge of imagination and reality – sometimes it is impossible to tell what belongs to fantasy, and what belongs to the real world. Even the title character tries to be someone else on the stage of his made-up world from what he is in reality, which is not only expressed by his dressing in disguise, but also by the fact that his role is written for female voice.

General cast
King........................................................................................................ Géza Gábor
Prince..................................................................................................... Zoltán Megyesi
Marinoni................................................................................................. Marcell Bakonyi
Elisabetta............................................................................................... Zsófia Nagy
Governess of Elisabetta......................................................................... Lúcia Megyesi Schwartz
Fantasio................................................................................................. Gabriella Balga
Spark...................................................................................................... Attila Erdős
Royal Secretary / Hartman / Gravedigger / Tailor / Flamel..................... Donát Varga

Conductor: Balázs Kocsár

Authors
Composer: Giampaolo Testoni
Libretto after the play by Alfred de Musset: Giampaolo Testoni
Translated by: Ferenc Anger
Proofreader: Mária Anna Kovács
Director: Mária Harangi
Performance space: Mária Harangi
Costume designer: Richárd Márton
Choreographer: Csaba Sebestyén

Giampaolo Testoni: Fortunio
Opera premiere
This performance is not recommended for chrildren under the age of 14.

The young student, Fortunio, helps out his boss’s wife in disguise: while he hides the fact that the woman is meeting another man, the bored title character, who has been living an apathetic life, discovers the beauty of love himself. The musical comedy paints a world of love and illusion, in which the main characters dress in disguise, letting pretence and deception generate a series of funny and bitter games and misunderstandings. The role of Fortunio was written for female voice, suggesting that the title character tries to get away from his own reality in an attempt to play his life on the stage of a world made up by his imagination.

General cast
Andrea, a notary......................................... Géza Gábor
Giacometta................................................. Zsófia Nagy
Clavaroche, an officer................................. Attila Erdős
Maddalena, a housekeeper........................ Lúcia Megyesi Schwartz
Fortunio, Apprentice notary........................ Gabriella Balga
Guglielmo, Apprentice notary..................... Donát Varga
Landry, Apprentice notary.......................... Marcell Bakonyi
Pietro, a gardener...................................... Zoltán Megyesi

Conductor: Balázs Kocsár

Authors
Composer: Giampaolo Testoni
Libretto after the play by Alfred de Musset: Giampaolo Testoni
Translated by: Ferenc Anger
Proofreader: Mária Anna Kovács
Director: Mária Harangi
Set design: Mária Harangi
Costume designer: Richárd Márton
Choreographer: Csaba Sebestyén