The Italian Straw Hat

Nino Rota’s musical farce in two acts

It all begins with an unfortunate moment: on Fadinard’s wedding day, his horse eats the straw hat of an unknown lady from Florence. The hat’s owner, Anaide, who was secretly meeting her lover Emilio at the time, urgently needs an identical replacement in order not to arouse the slightest suspicion in her jealous husband. Fadinard, caught in this absurd situation, must find an exact copy of the hat eaten by the horse before his own wedding. The search takes him across Paris, where he encounters milliners, baronesses, officers, confused relatives, suspicious spouses, and all kinds of eccentric wedding guests. Instead of tragedy, a wildly fast-paced chaos unfolds, full of sudden twists, colourful characters, and a happy ending.

The Italian Straw Hat (Il cappello di paglia di Firenze, 1955) is a witty, energetic operatic farce by Nino Rota, demonstrating his immense talent for the stage. Alongside his classical output, the Italian composer achieved legendary status in cinema, most famously for The Godfather trilogy and his joint Academy Award for The Godfather Part II.

In this opera, Rota combines the playfulness of his film music with the lively spirit of 19th-century Italian comedy. The opera is based on Eugène Labiche and Marc-Michel’s classic farce Un chapeau de paille d’Italie, known for its absurd situations and comedic misunderstandings. It premiered on April 21, 1955 at Teatro Massimo in Palermo and quickly entered both the Italian and international opera repertoire.

Performance language: Estonian
Subtitles: Estonian, English
Premiere: February 27, 2027 – Small Building of Vanemuine Theatre