description Cin-ci-là Overview
Cin-ci-là is an Italian operetta with music by Virgilio Ranzato and a libretto by Carlo Lombardo. First performed in 1925, it uses a fictionalized Chinese setting for a comic and romantic stage story shaped by the period's European conventions of exoticism. The work belongs to the Italian operetta tradition of the 1920s and was widely successful in that context, combining spoken theatrical action with songs, ensembles, and orchestral accompaniment.
help Cin-ci-là FAQ
What is Cin-ci-là about?
A film troupe arrives in Macao, where the Mandarin Fon-Ki asks the Paris actress Cin-Ci-Là to help educate a sheltered prince about love. The plot mixes backstage cinema, romance, and a fictionalized Chinese setting ([University of Malta](https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/112643)).
Who wrote Cin-ci-là, and when was it first performed?
Virgilio Ranzato composed the music and Carlo Lombardo wrote the libretto. It premiered at Milan's Teatro Dal Verme on December 18, 1925 ([Trentino Cultura](https://www.cultura.trentino.it/Appuntamenti/Cin-Ci-La2)).
Is Cin-ci-là a realistic story about China?
No. It uses a made-up Macao court and the comic exoticism common in European operetta of the 1920s. The setting is a theatrical convention, not a documentary portrait of Chinese society.
What other operetta is associated with Cin-ci-là?
Il paese dei campanelli is the best-known companion title by the Lombardo and Ranzato partnership. It premiered in Milan in 1923, two years before Cin-ci-là, and both works remained part of the Italian operetta repertory ([Cin Ci La](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin_Ci_La)).
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