Il ratto della sposa
# Il ratto della sposa

Il ratto della sposa (The Kidnapped Fiancée) is an opera buffa in three acts by Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi. The Italian libretto was by Gaetano Martinelli.

## Performance history

It was first performed at the Teatro San Moisè in Venice in the autumn of 1765. A revised version was staged in London in 1768. The opera was successful and there were productions in succeeding decades, some entitled Lo sposo rapita or Il vecchio deluso.

## Roles

| Cast | Voice type |
| - | - |
| Gaudenzio, a spendthrift | tenor |
| Aurora, Gaudenzio's sister, in love with Gentilino | mezzo-soprano |
| Donna Ortensia, Gaudenzio's employer, with designs on her employee | soprano |
| Dorina, Donna Ortensia's maid, attracted to Gaudenzio | soprano |
| Gentilino | tenor |
| Polidoro, a rich old man | tenor |
| Biondino, Polidoro's nephew | tenor |
