Last Updated on September 28, 2025
Pim Pim Pim Pinone finds his Pimpinona.
4.2 out of 5.0 starsIn 1725, Georg Philipp Telemann premiered Pimpinone in Hamburg, delivering a sharp, comedic intermezzo that captured the changing tastes of 18th-century opera audiences. Pimpinone pokes fun at social norms and gender dynamics of the time. The story follows a clever maid who manipulates her way into marriage with her bumbling employer, only to take control of the household. It was a hit with audiences of the time, reflecting a growing appetite for relatable, down-to-earth characters and satirical storytelling, a work that would influence the evolution of comic opera for decades.
Some sixty years before Mozart wrote The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, both critiques of aristocracy, privilege and social injustice, Telemann’s light, satirical and fast-paced opera saw Pimpinone fall in love with his maid Vespetta, marry her with the expectation that she’d be a quiet and unassuming housekeeper, only to be outwitted by her as she realised there was more to life.
The opening night of Pimpinone at the Linbury, Royal Opera House saw the opera, originally an intermezzo work, performed between the acts of a more serious opera (Handel’s Tamerlano), turned inside out into the star attraction. Musical interludes from Telemann’s own Sinfonia Spirituosa in D Major glued the work together through three acts into one production of around 90 minutes. With just two singers on stage and the orchestra of the ENO in the pit conducted by Peggy Wu, it was a fabulous opportunity to see a seldom-performed work that clearly had a major influence on the opera world.
It proved to be great entertainment too, with memorable moments including Grisha Martirosyan using Sesame Street style hand puppets to mimic the women his wife was gossiping with, switching brilliantly between a deliberately creaky falsetto for ‘Sò quel che si dice’ and his own mellifluous baritone.
Both singers are Jette Parker artists, and part of the joy of these productions is to see the operatic stars of the future on stage at an early stage of their careers. Both showed immense promise, though both had voices that would perhaps better suit a later work.
Isabela Diaz, playing Vespetta, is a young Chilean soprano who we saw on the Main Stage last year singing Barbarina in the Marriage of Figaro. Her cheeky, endearing and coquettish Vespetta was beautifully sung with a powerful voice that was rather overwhelming at times in the Linbury. Grisha Martirosyan as Pimpinone had a wonderful range and lyrical baritone voice. We look forward to seeing more of both of them throughout 2025. Neither the singers nor the orchestra really produced baroque-style opera, but the production did provide a great showcase for their voices and for their acting ability. ‘Nel petto il cuor mi giubila’ was delightfully funny – we all felt ‘in on the plot’.
In Act 2, Pimpinone affectionately patter-sings, “Pim, Pim, Pim, Pim, Pimpinina!,” – a precursor to “Pa, pa, pa, Papagena” from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, written sixty-six years later.
But by Act 3, things have changed as Pimpinone discovers another side to his bride. In the end, the couple settle down to a new order, as Pimpinone confesses that he really loves his wife.
A simple but effective set from Anna Yates placed this production in the 1960s with Miles Van De Rohe chairs and a portrait of the lascivious Pimpinone hanging from the wall, draped in tinsel. Was the family portrait deliberately ugly by comparison? Costumes were remarkable – I particularly loved the Christmas Tree skirt worn by Vespetta in the opening numbers, together with her mannered baroque ‘Coppelia’ dance.
The Orchestra of the English National Opera were in the pit, conducted by Peggy Wu. Spirited and capable, they matched the singers well for the most part.
Worth catching to see two young stars in the making and to enjoy a fast-moving and entertaining show that’s seldom staged
2nd – 17th May 2025
Linbury Theatre
Royal Opera House,
Covent Garden,
London WC2E 9DD
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