Contracts, wills, marriages and rings. Opera and private law

Opera, for its inherent multimedia nature (text, music, scenography, ballet, representation), lends itself to analysis of interdisciplinary nature, including those that touch upon legal topics. The stories told in the great masterpieces of European opera are, frequently, based on facts relevant for criminal law: murders, abductions, extortions, kidnappings, massacres, and other types of crimes fill the stories of opera since its origin. In the events narrated in the texts of musical theatre, in the masterpieces by Verdi, Donizetti, Bellini, Wagner, and many others there are, however, also addressed issues that touch upon the less obvious areas of private law: librettos often talk about contracts, donations, wills, weddings, family relationships, debts and money issues in general. In Gaetano Donizetti’s , Nemorino - in love with the beautiful but indifferent Adina - is the victim of a real contract scam perpetrated by Dulcamara. In by Vincenzo Bellini, Elvino snatches the engagement rin