Secchia Rapita

La secchia rapita (The Stolen Bucket), music by Jules Burgmein- alias Giulio Ricord- and libretto by Renato Simoni, was the second of three operettas composed by Ricordi, and has now been revived in a modern edition that faithfully follows the autograph manuscript. The libretto, which has truly hilarious situations, is taken from the famous mock-heroic poem by Tassoni. The opera hinges on historical facts which happened during the war between the cities of Bologna and Modena, at the time of Emperor Frederick II. During the battle of Zappolino, fought on November 15, 1325, the Bologna forces, though numerically superior to those of Modena, suffered a major defeat; before returning to Modena, as a gesture of scorn, the Modenese stole a wooden bucket from a well; the bucket still exists and is now kept at Modena's town hall. Performed by the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi and the Soloists and Chorus of the Civica Scuola di Musica along with several world-renowned soloists, this is a world premiere recording.