ABSTRACT
This chapter has focused on Elfrida as a sensitive expression of theatrical, political, and aesthetic culture in Naples in the late eighteenth century. Rather than determining whether it belongs to or exemplifies a specific stylistic trend within local tragic opera, such as those articulated by Lorenzo Mattei, the focus has rested on how well Calzabigi and Paisiello assimilated ideas circulating within contemporary theatrical culture into their drama. This approach is the basis for the close consideration of the dialogue, albeit an oblique literary one, between theoreticians such as Planelli and Mattei with practitioners such as Calzabigi and Paisiello. The results as outlined above have yielded valuable contextual insights that exercised broad influences on the creation and specific content of Elfrida. The examination of Elfrida has likewise revealed the continued and close rapport between theatrical traditions and political culture in Naples.
