‘na Santarella

About the play

Felice Sciosciammocca is the organist in a girls’ convent school run by an order of nuns. During the day he gives music lessons to the girls but also writes operettas in his spare time. In fact, he has been sneaking out at night for a whole month to rehearse one of his operettas that tonight will have its first performance in a Naples theatre. This must all be kept a secret if he wants to keep his day job and thus he has assumed an alias, Maestro Arturo Maletti, as composer of the operetta. In the same girls’ school there is a certain Annina Fiorelli who is passionate about singing and has secretly been learning the main role of the same operetta. On the other hand, the nuns think she is a real “Little Miss Perfect” and have given her the nickname of “Little Saint” (as the title of the play indicates). Unbeknown to her, however, she has been betrothed by her custodian uncle to a handsome young count, Eugenio Porretti, who would rather not marry a girl he has not seen before, even though he tries unsuccessfully to see her at the convent school. Nonetheless, Annina is sent by the nuns to her uncle’s in Rome, as requested, but is chaperoned by none other than the organist-composer himself. She easily convinces him to take her incognito to the theatre instead, just for the opening night, before taking her to Rome. When on the night the first lady petulantly runs out on the Maestro, Annina takes on the main role and success is assured. Quite by chance, Eugenio is also at the theatre, and not only becomes smitten with Annina (and she with him) when he runs into her by chance (not knowing who she really is), but actually convinces her and everyone else that she is the only one who could replace the absconding first lady. It is only the next day that both are once again brought together at the convent school, and this time each realizes who the other person really is, and all ends well: Annina and Eugenio will be married while the Maestro can be well pleased with his success as composer and unwitting matchmaker.