John Matsumoto Giampietro directs Juilliard Opera’s production of two short Italian comedic love stories composed more than a century apart. Rossini’s La scala di seta (“Silken Ladder”) is a one-act farsa comica, a genre of opera that showcases both the performers’ physical comedy and singing skills. It features an overture that has become a staple in concert halls and a romantic entanglement that leads to hilarious misunderstandings.

Nino Rota's one-act radio opera I due timidi ("The Two Timid Ones") also features sitcom-esque circumstances. Rota, who is best known as composer of The Godfather theme, offers beautiful operatic melodies for the soloist cast of this production, accompanied by the Juilliard Orchestra conducted by Patrick Furrer.