Nel cor più non mi sento

Jean-François Lesueur described La molinara, the title that under popular pressure replaced the original L’amor contrastato, first performed in the autumn of 1788 at the Teatro dei Fiorentini in Naples, as “this masterpiece among the many masterpieces of Paisiello”. Even today the score stands out in the repertoire of this composer from Taranto for its inventive joyfulness and Neapolitan wit, more brilliant and sceptical than usual, that characterise the much-ado-about-nothing of Rachelina’s entanglements.

Paisiello hit the mark and his apparently simple little tune, Nel cor più non mi sento, to be sung “sotto voce assai” was destined to become very famous indeed: Ludwig van Beethoven, Niccolò Paganini, Alessandro Rolla, Giovanni Bottesini, Mauro Giuliani, are just a few of the many composers seduced by the Paisiello's invention, who wrote series of Variations based on the celeber theme.

Authors: Giovanni Paisiello, Francesco Morlacchi, Angelica Catalani, Maria Malibran