Looking back on my interests since undergraduate days (if not earlier), one thing which has always fascinated me is the beginnings of an artistic career. When a young writer starts to write, or a young composer starts to compose, or a young painter starts to paint, then a fascinating link tends to be established between the individual talent and the tradition. Early works tend to be derivative, yet at the same time they often contain the "seeds" of a more individual approach that will gradually strengthen over time.
These thoughts are inspired by the appearance of the April edition of Opera today, which includes an article by me about Domenico Cimarosa's early career. He would go on to become the most successful opera composer of his day, but how did he start out? He was no infant prodigy like Mozart, and didn't compose his first opera until he was about 22. The article argues that the opera usually considered Cimarosa's third work in the genre, La finta parigina ("The Fake Parisian"), was actually very likely his first opera, and datable to 1772. It immediately becomes much more interesting if it was, of course. I feel an affection for this opera that I can't wholly explain, but that certainly has something to do with its homeliness and strong sense of locality. It combines several love stories, but the one I like most sees Cardillo, the local innkeeper, engaged to Preziosa, the local mozzarellara, or mozzarella-seller, who has a cheese shop just next door to the inn. I always think of this opera when eating mozzarella! I think the Cardillo-Preziosa subplot could be separated from the rest and treated as an intermezzo-style work, something like La serva padrona. It could be really delightful, and called something like The Cheese Seller or The Cheese Shop.