Il cappello di paglia di Firenze (literally translated as The Florentine Straw Hat but usually titled in English language producations as The Italian Straw Hat) is an opera by Nino Rota[1] to an Italian-language libretto by the composer and Ernesta Rota, based on the play Le chapeau de paille d'Italie by Eugène Labiche and Marc Michel.[2]
The opera premièred at the Teatro Massimo, Palermo on 21 April 1955. The first performance in the United States was at the Santa Fe Opera in 1977 with Stephen Dickson as Emilio. The first New York City performance, starring Vincenzo Manno as Fadinard, took place in 1978.
However, the most famous rendition of the opera was a cinematographic one, shot in Cinecitta and conducted by Rota himself, in 1975. It starred the famous mezzo-soprano Viorica Cortez, as well as other respected opera singers, such as Ugo Benelli, Alfredo Mariotti, Mario Basiola and Giorgio Zancanaro. The musical recording has been released as a CD by BMG Italia. Copies of the film, quite rare to find, make fine collector's items.