L’equivoco stravagante (A Bizarre Deception), written when Rossini was only nineteen, is part social satire and part pure opera buffa, revolving around the efforts of a scheming servant, Frontino, to break the relationship between Ernestina, daughter of a nouveau riche farmer, and the wealthy but stupid suitor, Buralicchio, so that Ermanno, a penniless young tutor, may seek to have his love for Ernestina requited. Buralicchio is deceived into believing that Ernestina is in fact Gamberotto’s castrated son, dressed in women’s clothes, in order to avoid military service, and this bizarre deception, (the equivoco stravagante of the title), eventually leads, through equally bizarre misadventures, to a happy ending for Ernestina and Ermanno. Particularly in ensembles, Rossini’s music is noteworthy for the dramatic impetus and memorable melodies that were to become the hallmarks of his later works.