La gazzetta
Synopsis
The action takes
place in the Aquila in Paris, a small hotel frequented by numerous groups of
tourists.
Act I
Upon
returning from a long trip around the world, Alberto is complaining that he has
not been able to find a girl he likes anywhere. He meets Madama La Rose, the
manageress of the hotel, and Mr. Traversen, an English eccentric and they are
all chatting while waiting for the day’s news (La Gazzette.com).
Pomponio,
a Neapolitan merchant, arrives at the hotel with his daughter Lisetta and his
secretary Tommasino. He has placed an advertisement in La Gazzette extolling
his daughter whom he wants to marry off preferably to a very rich suitor, and
is expecting to receive hundreds of applicants. The hotel manager, Filippo,
himself in love with Lisetta, is bewildered at her father’s mad behavior. At
this very moment, two new customers enter the hotel: Anselmo and Doralice, his
exuberant daughter. Lisetta returns with of lot of shopping bags. Alone with
Filippo, she complains about her father, when Alberto arrives, making at once
the connection with the young woman presented in La Gazzette. He tries
to seduce her but Filippo stops him by claiming that Lisetta is his wife. However,
when Doralice arrives, Alberto is once again certain that actually she is the
young woman mentioned in La Gazzette. Since she is even more to
his taste, all seems for the best. Alberto asks Pomponio for the hand of the
woman he thinks is his daughter.
The two
girls, accompanied by Filippo, return and Pomponio tells his daughter that he
has just found her a husband. However, he gets Alberto’s surname wrong, calling
him Filippo, to the great delight of the two people who think they have won the
game. Pomponio calls Alberto who enters but cannot see the young woman he loves
and is clearly astonished. Confusion reigns, especially since Lisetta and
Filippo continue to proclaim their mutual love, which irritates Pomponio. Now he decides to put in another advertisement and
invite the women of France to marry him.
Filippo now decides to play some dirty tricks on him. He starts by claiming to
be married to Madama La Rose and that he is waiting for an important person, a
Quaker, who is coming to the hotel to marry Lisetta. Lisetta is informed by her
father that Filippo is already married and so believes that she has been
betrayed. At this moment, the grand Quaker arrives with his entourage, but it
is actually Filippo in disguise. He immediately launches into a display of
gallantry and, above all, confuses the clueless Pomponio even more yet Lisetta shows her disagreement. Pomponio tries in vain to
convince his daughter. Her refusal provokes the simulated rage of the grand
Quaker who makes a scene in the hall of the hotel and shouts loudly that he has
been deceived and that he will destroy Pomponio.
Act II
Alberto talks things
over with Traversen who claims that he has won the heart of Doralice and is
waiting for the notary to formalize their union. At that moment, Filippo
returns as himself and apologizes that he was not able to explain himself to
Lisetta who after an initial anger admits that she will love him forever.
Alberto is stunned by Traversen’s announcement. He would like to drive Doralice
from his heart, but an inner voice tells him that the situation could well turn
around. Filippo confirms Doralice’s love to Alberto and they join forces to
challenge Pomponio to a duel because he had promised Lisetta to him and then
refused to let him have her. Pomponio is anything but reassured at the idea of
having to fight a duel with these two angry young men and his cowardice amuses
the two partners in crime who do all they can to terrify him. At the end,
Pomponio agrees to everything, very happy that he has managed to stay alive.
Filippo
devises a new plan so that Alberto and he can run away with Doralice and
Lisetta. To achieve this, they must all disguise themselves as Turks. Pomponio
arrives and tells his daughter that she must leave the hotel with him. As they
need to play for time, Madama La Rose suggests to Lisetta that she should
pretend to faint. When she pretends to come round, she describes how in her
dream she was welcomed by the heroes of the past who all denounced the
narrow-minded attitude of her father: either he must make concessions or he
will not see her again. Filippo announces the arrival of important guests from
Turkey who arrive to hail the great Pomponio, who must first put on Turkish
dress like theirs. Once they are all disguised as Turks and Pomponio can no
longer find his daughter, Madama La Rose explains the true picture to these two
blind fathers, telling them that their two daughters must be married to the men
they truly love. Under duress, Pomponio and Anselmo make the best of a bad
situation, forgive their daughters and accept their new sons-in-law. All’s well
that ends well.
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