Embracing my Geek!

...well, I'm embracing my Geek -as come to find out, I get rather squirrelly when it comes to things opera -but especially when it comes to things touching on Verdi, his contemporaries and associates.. On the bookshelves in the back of my mind, I keep a catalogue of operas that I would love to find recordings of, as they are, invariably, operas no one would ever do live -being too obscure; too costly; too much of a dig into musical depths of history..! Foremost on my list is an opera that was written by Franco Faccio. Faccio was a schoolmate of Arrigo Boito; Boito came to be the librettist for Verdi, and created the librettos to two of the maestro's greatest works: Otello and Falstaff, both after Shakespeare.. -but Faccio; I knew that Boito had written a libretto, based on Hamlet (Amletto) for faccio, who composed an opera from it - charting a course of much tribulation, and no more than two serious productions, which did not come off very well; but Boito, and Verdi as well, had great faith in Faccio (who, incidentally, went on to be an amazing conductor; on the podium at the premieres of Verdi's operas Aida and Otello). ..-sorry- (squirreling about in the Geek).. It has been many years that this work has intrigued me, especially for all the godparents at its birth.. But I'd never imagined coming across anything on the opera .. as it's far too obscure.. So imagine my surprise in receiving a flier from Opera Delaware (-who- honestly- I'd never signed up to received anything from) alerting me to their season this year - which includes a full production of Faccio's opera AMLETTO!! ..the history alone and convolutions of this work's inception and initial productions, makes this event of great importance.. And as Washington National Opera mount their Ring cycle, it is also heartening to know that there remain companies who wish to investigate .. adventurous ..if potentially ruinous, journeys which resonate full of the 'unknown'.. and envelope a willing audience in the rich tapestry of Italian opera history.. Thank you, Opera Delaware!