Rita by Gaetano Donizetti. Short summary

5 seconds

Rita is married to Beppo, whom she despises and beats. Her first pirate husband, believed dead, returns. Beppo shows heroism and Rita stays with him.

1 minute

Rita is the oppressive hostess of the tavern, beating her husband Beppo, who does not like this treatment at all. Suddenly her first husband, the pirate Gaspar, whom everyone thought dead, returns. He, in turn, believed that Rita had been burned. Gaspar shows up for the death certificate, which he needs in order to marry a second time.

The men begin to share Rita. No one wants to be the spouse of a feisty woman, so the husbands play her at cards. Rita must go to the winner.

Gaspar wins. He is disappointed, but Beppo is happy. Moreover, he finds Gaspar and Rita’s marriage certificate. So, legally, he cannot be Rita’s husband.

But the pirate draws out the document. He is about to leave, but Beppo picks a fight. Rita is delighted by her second husband’s courage; she falls in love with him again, promising not to beat him again and to be an obedient wife.