The setting is 18th-century Venice, and the action begins in the house of Pantalone. He and Dr. Lombardi have just consented to the marriage of their children, Clarice and Silvio, and the young couple could not be happier. The rascal servant Truffaldino enters, announcing that his master, Federigo Rasponi, wants to speak with the father of Clarice, who was betrothed to Federigo. The two fathers are confused because supposedly Federigo had been killed in Turin by a gentle- man named Florindo after Federigo refused to allow his sister, Beatrice, to marry Florindo. The local innkeeper, Brighella, recognizes “Federigo” as Beatrice masquerading as her brother. Craving independence and needing funds, she has come to Venice in disguise to claim Clarice’s dowry, and to find her lover, Florindo. Brighella holds his tongue and the plot thickens.
