Description

In an opulent early‑twentieth‑century salon, the ailing aristocrat Cesàre D’Arconte drifts between a half‑forgotten grandeur and an uneasy solitude. Surrounded by polished silver ashtrays and the quiet service of his loyal but bewildered valet, he summons a rare kindness for the young Nellina, whose presence hints at a fragile hope amidst his decadence. The arrival of Don Candido, a stiff‑jacketed cleric‑turned‑secretary, triggers a fraught conversation about “liquidations” and the gentleman’s desire to step away from a lifetime of tangled affairs.

The first act sets a stage where personal histories clash with social ritual: Cesàre’s cynicism about love, Don Candido’s thinly veiled skepticism, and the lingering question of what the future holds for the household’s younger members. Listeners will feel the tension between duty and desire, as the characters navigate pride, nostalgia, and the looming change that threatens to upend their carefully arranged world.

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