The Apothecary

In Lo speziale (The Apothecary), the librettist Goldoni demonstrates his belief that ‘comedy was created to correct vice and ridicule bad behaviour’. Haydn exploits the satire with characteristic wit and colour, and feasts on the comic potential of the four entangled characters. Sempronio, a work-shy apothecary, spends his time with the newspapers, attempting to sift reality from fake news, but is readily distracted by the charms of his pretty ...