Stichting Opera op Zak, the Grachtenfestival and Museum Van Loon team up to present a special Dutch production of La serva padrona in 'De meid de baas' (‘The servant turned mistress’). Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s (1710-1736) short opera buffa La serva padrona recounts a battle of the sexes. In an 18th-century display of feminism avant la lettre, a woman refuses to go on accepting her submissive position. The opera opens with Serpina, a maidservant, going on strike, though her master, Uberto, suspects nothing until he isn’t served his breakfast. And that's when the real battle begins. In a contest of verbal wit, the two protagonists give voice to their mutual dislike – and end up falling in love. The fight for power becomes a fight for love. But who is the true master of the house? The performance is played in a new Dutch translation by Alice Zwolschen.
In conjunction with Museum van Loon.