Leader, Philip Whiteway
Conductor, Walton O'Donnell
Overture to an Italian Comedy (Ah, perdona se ti inganno) (Sorry to deceive you!).....Arthur Benjamin
Arthur Benjamin 's ' Overture to an Italian Comedy ' was first performed at a Patron's Fund Concert at the Royal College of Music. It was written as an overture to his opera, Prima Dortna , which has not yet been produced.
The Overture has as sub-title,
' Ah, perdona se ti inganno ', and it would be taking no grave liberty to translate that by the familiar ' Sorry you've been troubled ', though ' inganno' implies deceit rather than mere bother. But there is no doubt whatever that comedy is the inspiration of the overture. The bustling gaiety of the principal theme is irresistible.