Delitto e Dovere (Crime and Duty), a one-act opera, featuring music and libretto by Alberto E. Colla, makes its world premiere July 7 at the Festival di Spoleto. The story is loosely based on Oscar Wilde’s Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime – A Study of Duty. 
The scene is London in the late 1800s, a time known as the second industrial revolution, or the technological revolution. The period also coincided with widespread interest in paranormal phenomena including hypnosis, séances, chiromancy, etc. Indeed, palmistry lies at the center of this story.

Victorian London comes to life, a farcical society rife with outrageous caricatures and brimming with bawdy humor, reminiscent in many ways of life today. As Colla points out, “The satirical vein explodes inside the paradox. Crime becomes a duty – within the scope of petty human affairs – but that does not matter! The main thing is to respect the futile vanity of our own masks.”
The performance features seven singers, along with mimes and extras. The voice of Oscar Wilde provides commentary.  

Repeat performances are scheduled for July 8 & 9, inside the Auditorium della Stella at the Festival di Spoleto. 
This work was commissioned by Fondazione Teatro Coccia, of Novara.

DELITTO e DOVERE 
One-act opera by Alberto Colla
Libretto by the composer, loosely based on 
Oscar Wilde’s Lord Arthur Savile’s crime - A study of Duty 
WP: Spoleto, 7 July 2017
Direction: Paolo Gavazzeni and Piero Maranghi
Orchestra Talenti Musicali
Conductor: Giovanni Di Stefano
Instrumentation: 1(also picc) 1. 1 (also bcl) sax t 1 (also dbn)/ 1.2.1.1./ perc / strings
Duration: 70’


Find out more about Alberto Colla