September 4-13, 2026
Friday, September 3, 2026 | 7:30PM
Saturday, September 4, 2026 | 7:30PM
Sunday September 5, 2026 | 3:00PM
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Friday, September 11, 2026 | 7:30PM
Saturday, September 12, 2026 | 7:30PM
Sunday September 13, 2026 | 3:00PM
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4533 N Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90065
Table seating tickets include a plate of pasta and a glass of wine.
Run time: 2 hours 45 minutes
Sung in Italian with English dialogue; Presented with English supertitles.
Music by: Gaetano Donizetti
Librettist: Andrea Leone Tattola
New English Dialogue by: Josh Shaw
​Premiered: Premiere 1822, Naples
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Lost masterpiece. Big laughs. Bel canto sparkle.
A long-lost Donizetti comedy returns to the stage for its U.S. premiere.
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POP returns to the most Italian venue in town—the Garibaldina Society—for another U.S. premiere of a sparkling bel canto comedy. Written by one of opera’s most beloved composers, Gaetano Donizetti (The Elixir of Love, Don Pasquale, Lucia di Lammermoor), Il fortunato inganno (“The Happy Deception”) premiered in Naples in 1822 and then vanished for more than 170 years, not resurfacing until 1995 in Vadstena, Sweden. Determined to bring this comic gem to life, Artistic Director Josh Shaw embarked on a wild goose chase—including a trip to Italy—to track down the long-lost score.
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Like POP’s hit 2024 production of Don Bucefalo, the story centers on the outsized personalities, eccentricities, and backstage antics of a small opera company preparing a new production. All the beloved comic tropes are here: young love thwarted by a fuddy-duddy guardian, prima donnas vying for attention, composers and librettists at odds, tenors… being tenors, and of course a clever disguise that sets everything hilariously right. Expect big laughs, playful staging, slapstick, and glorious singing.
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This production is a full Italian night out! Table seating tickets include a slice of Neapolitan pizza and wine as this rarely heard Donizetti comedy unfolds just feet away. It’s opera, comedy, and dinner all rolled into one unforgettable evening.
Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance to hear this “lost” Donizetti comedy!
SYNOPSIS
Rehearsals are in full chaos at Lattanzio Lattrughelli’s opera company when romance adds fuel to the fire. Eugenia, a young actress, is in love with Edoardo, a cavalry lieutenant—but his gruff uncle, Colonel Franceschetti, refuses to let his nephew marry anyone from the stage. “Marry an artist?!?!? Never!”
Enter Aurelia, Eugenia’s clever aunt, with a performance of her own. Disguised as a glamorous countess, she convinces the Colonel she’s fallen for him, flatters his ego, and promptly changes his mind about the match. When the ruse is revealed, the Colonel sputters, fumes… and finally laughs it off. Love wins, the wedding is approved, and the show—of course—goes on.
Plan Your Visit
Venue
Parking
There is a parking lot at The Garibaldina, though we encourage carpooling or using the nearby Metro Gold Line Southwest Museum station. There is also neighborhood metered and street parking available. Please, do not park in the adjacent Superior Foods lot, as you may be towed.
