Donizetti composed his little one act farsa Rita, ou il mari batu, during a time in Paris when he was between librettos for larger works. He had nothing to do but wait for his latest libretto to arrive from Italy, when he bumped into his friend and writer Gustave Vaez on the street. He begged the author to give him anything at all, just so that he would have something to set to music to while away the time, and Vaez came up with this delightful and original concoction. Donizetti set it within the week, and the two hoped to have it staged at the Opera-Comique sometime during the following season. However the theatrical management rejected it, and it wasn't performed until after the composer's death. The cast requires only three singers, and there are three arias in the opera, one for each of the characters. There are also three duets, a trio, and a grand finale, making eight pieces in all. The plot centers around Rita, a dominating wife who has inadvertently become a bigamist. When her original husband returns unexpectedly, the men argue over which one should remain married to her, as both would prefer to be free. But all ends happily, as Rita is left with her darling Peppe, her second husband, whom she loves. The lighthearted humor is complemented by a well crafted score. Rita became one of Donizetti's most popular and frequently performed operas after it was revived for twentieth-century audiences in 1955.

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