'Il
Matrimonio Segreto' was produced at Vienna in 1792, and proved so very
much to the taste of the Emperor Leopold, who was present at the
performance, that he gave all the singers and musicians a magnificent
supper, and then insisted upon their performing the opera again from
beginning to end. Cimarosa was a prolific writer, the number of his
operas reaching the formidable total of seventy-six; but, save for 'Il
Matrimonio Segreto,' they have all been consigned to oblivion. Although
he was born only seven years before Mozart, and actually survived him
for ten years, he belongs entirely to the earlier school of opera buffa.
His talent is thoroughly Italian, untouched by German influence, and he
excels in portraying the gay superficiality of the Italian character
without attempting to dive far below the surface.
Even more prolific than Cimarosa was Paisiello (1741-1815), a composer
whose works, though immensely popular in their day, did not possess
individuality enough to defy the ravages of time. Paisiello deserves to
be remembered as the first man to write an opera on the tale of 'Il
Barbiere di Siviglia.' This work, though coldly received when it was
first performed, ended by establishing so firm a hold upon the
affections of the Italian public, that when Rossini tried to produce his
opera on the same subject, the Romans refused to give it a hearing.
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