La pietra del paragone

LA PIETRA DEL PARAGONE The Touchstone concerns the Count Asdrubale who is wealthy and therefore of great interest to many women notably Aspasia Fulvia and Clarice Only Clarice however loves him for something other than his riches There are also male hangerson the corrupt journalist Macrobio the poetaster Pacuvio and Giocondo who is Asdrubales true friend but who has his own eyes on Clarice To test his friends and wouldbe fiancées Asdrubale pretends that he has been bankrupted Sure enough only Clarice and Giocondo stand by him and when his fortune is miraculously saved the three have the last laugh on everyone else or do they This production is set in what looks like the early 1960s But the real innovation is the use of blue screen technology using tiny cameras and sets along gigantic screens hanging over the stage a kind of video mixing makes the singers appear to inhabit any number of fanciful settings and perform a myriad of improbable actions