Opera Books
TWO HUNDRED
OPERA PLOTS
GLADYS DAVIDSON
Grand
Opera in Five Acts
By Giacomo Meyerbeer
Libretto
By Scribe
Chief
Characters
Selika, Inez, Vasco di Gama, Don Pedro, Nelusko
THE action takes place first in Portugal and after in Africa, the period being towards the end of the fifteenth century. Inez, daughter of the King of Portugal, is affianced to the great explorer, Vasco di Gama; and on the opening of the opera she is bewailing his long absence from her side. Her royal father wishes her to forget the explorer, declaring that he must now be dead, since nothing has been heard of him for so long a time; and he expresses his wish that she should marry his chief minister, Don Pedro, who is in love with her. Inez, however, declares she will remain faithful to her lover; and she is presently overjoyed by the sudden appearance of Vasco di Gama, who has just returned. He brings news of a new and wonderful country he has discovered, and produces two of the inhabitants, a male and a female, Nelusko and Selika, whom he has captured and brought away as slaves. The King of Portugal, however, is not pleased at the reappearance of Vasco, and so causes doubt to be thrown upon his story of the new land; and this so enrages Vasco that he speaks out violently against the injustice shown him, and is cast into prison for his intemperate speech. In his dungeon he is watched tenderly by the dusky Selika, who loves him; but Nelusko, who is jealous of her attachment to the white man, makes an attempt to stab him. Selika, however, prevents him from doing so; and on Vasco awakening, she gives him all the information he will require as to the course he must take when he sets forth on his next voyage, for she desires him to return to the island of which she is the Queen. When Vasco is released he finds that in order to save him from execution Irez has been compelled to betroth herself to Don Pedro; and the latter, wishing to wrest the glory of proving the existence of the new land from Vasco, has put himself in charge of the vessel which has been prepared for the new expedition, and sets forth, having kidnapped the native, Nelusko, as a guide. The native, however, smarting at the separation from his beloved Selika, in revenge guides the vessel on to a dangerous reef, where it is wrecked. Vasco di Gama meanwhile has set out on another vessel with Selika, and follows close on the track of Don Pedro; and seeing that he is drifting towards the reef he approaches and warns him of his danger. Don Pedro, however, believing his rival has only followed to steal from him the Princess Inez, whom he had forced to accompany him, does not heed his warning; and when his vessel is presently wrecked on the reef it is boarded by savages, who slay him and most of his crew. Inez, however, escapes to the neighbouring island, where she remains in hiding, and Nelusko, being one of the natives, is also unmolested. Selika is the queen of this island, and in order to save Vasco from the fury of her people, who would sacrifice him, she declares him to be her husband. An elaborate marriage ceremony is then arranged, but as it is about to take place the voice of the wandering Inez is heard not far away, and Vasco, recognising it with joy, rushes away to seek her. In the last scene he has found her, and the lovers have also succeeded in reaching his vessel in safety, and as they set sail for Portugal, full of joy at their reunion, the unhappy Selika flings herself beneath the drooping boughs of a poisonous tree, no longer desiring to live. Here she is found expiring by the faithful Nelusko, who, seeing that she cannot recover, clasps her in his arms and dies with her.
Grand
Opera in Three Acts
By Giacomo Meyerbeer
Libretto
By Barbier and Carré
First
Produced
Paris, April, 1859
Chief
Characters
Dinorah, Höel, Corentin, Tonick
THE action takes place in Brittany, in the early Middle Ages. The villagers of Ploermel undertake a yearly pilgrimage to the Virgin’s shrine, and on one of these occasions two lovers, Höel, a goatherd, and Dinorah, his sweetheart, join the procession, and proceed to the shrine to ask a blessing on their union, which they are about to consummate. During the proceedings a terrific thunderstorm takes place, and Dinorah’s cottage is utterly destroyed by lightning. In order to comfort the weeping Dinorah, Höel determines to seek a magic treasure guarded by a goblin race known as the Korigans, of which he has learned the existence from an old wizard named Tonick. The wizard informs him that before he can gain power to take the treasure from its guardians he must spend a year in absolute solitude and silence in a far-off barren land; and the goatherd is compelled to set off on his quest immediately, without seeing his sweetheart again. Dinorah, on learning that her affianced has disappeared, imagines that he has wilfully abandoned her, and loses her reason; and when the opera opens she is found wandering through the woods with her pet goat, seeking her lost lover. She visits the cottage of Corentin, a bagpiper, who has himself just returned from three months’ wandering in uncanny regions, where he has been terror-stricken by the pranks of gnomes and elves; and being attracted by his music, she entices him to continue. Corentin, believing her to be connected with the supernatural folk he has just seen, dares not refuse her request, and the half-witted Dinorab accompanies his music with her own wild singing, now gay and now plaintive. They are interrupted by the entrance of a stranger, and the easily-startled Dinorah makes her escape through the low window. The newcomer is Höel, who has just returned from his year of solitude, and is now anxious to secure the treasure; but having further learnt that whoever first touches the magic gold will die, he has planned that he will persuade Corentin to fetch it from the weird Korigan folk. He therefore relates the story of the treasure to the bagpiper, omitting to mention the fate in store for the seizer of it, and Corentin gladly agrees to take the magic gold and share it with Höel, who sends for wine to put heart into his somewhat scared accomplice. In Act 2 Höel and Corentin appear in the wild and rocky district where the treasure is to be found, and here Corentin, at the thought of the unearthly beings he is about to encounter, and alarmed by the wild aspect of the place, is afraid to venture further. He is further determined to give up the quest by hearing a female voice in the distance singing the story of the legend, and revealing the fact that whosoever first touches it shall die; and then a violent altercation takes place between the pair, which is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Dinorah with her goat. It is she whose voice they heard singing the story of the treasure, and Höel, at the moment believing her to be a supernatural messenger sent to warn him against sending Corentin to his death, is filled with awe and shame for the deed he was about to do. As Dinorah approaches over a narrow unguarded bridge he recognises her as his beloved one, and at that moment the distraught girl, startled at the presence of the pair, loses her balance, and falls into the rushing torrent below. Höel dashes into the stream and rescues her with great difficulty, and bearing her to a place of safety sings to her the old familiar songs they had sung together in the old days. The intensity of his singing, and the tones of his well-remembered voice, aided by the shock of her fall, has the effect of restoring Dinorah to her reason once more; and Höel, allowing her to believe that she has just awakened from a troubled dream, determines to renounce his quest, since he is now satisfied that love is better than gold. Just as he has made this resolve, the chant of the Ploermel pilgrims again wending their way to the Virgin’s shrine is heard in the distance; and the reunited lovers depart hand in hand to join them in the chapel, and to celebrate their interrupted nuptials.
Grand
Opera in Five Acts
By Giacomo Meyerbeer
Libretto
By Scribe and Deschamps
First
Produced
Paris, February, 1836
Chief
Characters
Valentina, Marguerite de Valois, Raoul de Nangis, Count de St Bris,
Count de Nevers, Urbane, Marcel
THE
scene is laid in Tourairie and Paris during the August of 1572, when the
patched-up truce between the Catholics and Huguenots is nearing its
dreadful close. Raoul de Nangis, a young Protestant nobleman, has been
invited to a festival in the house of the Count de Nevers, a Catholic
gentleman, and during the revels he describes his meeting with a
beautiful lady whom he rescued recently from the insults of a crowd of
unruly students, and with whom he has fallen in love, not knowing her
name. As the feast proceeds a mysterious, veiled lady arrives and asks
for an interview with De Nevers; and as the pair retire to the garden
Raoul is shocked and grieved to see that the lady is his own beautiful
unknown, whom he thus believes to be a person of bad character. The lady
is in reality Valentina de St Bris, the betrothed of De Nevers, and she
has come to beg him to release her, as she has fallen in love with the
gallant young stranger who rescued her from insult recently. De Nevers,
though much grieved, grants her request, and then returns to his
friends. A second interruption shortly follows, this being caused by the
entrance of Urbane, the favourite page of Marguerite de Valois, who
brings a message from his royal mistress inviting Raoul to visit her at
Court, as she desires to speak with him. The guests are all amazed that
the somewhat despised young Protestant should receive such marked favour,
and they treat him with increased respect. The next scene takes place
in Marguerite de Valois’ apartments, where the royal lady informs Raoul
that she has arranged a marriage for him with a Catholic lady, wishing
thereby to cement the pre tended good feeling between the two
contending parties; and Raoul, believing his own love affair at an end,
and thinking it his duty to help the Protestant cause thus, agrees to
carry out the august lady’s wishes. When, however, he is introduced to
the lady who is to be his bride, and he discovers she is none other than
his fair and — as he imagines — false unknown, he refuses point-blank to
wed with her.
Valentina is filled with grief, and her father, the Count de St
Bris, furious at the insult offered his daughter, challenges Raoul, the
scene ending in great confusion. Valentina is now commanded by her
father to marry De Nevers, who is attached to her; and the unhappy girl,
full of grief at the insult offered her by Raoul, whom she loves, and
believes still loves her, though compelled to acquiesce, begs to be
permitted to pass the night in the chapel, that she may pray there in
peace. Meanwhile St Bris has been persuaded to lay a plot for the
assassination of Raoul, when he comes for the duel arranged between
them; but Valentina overhears this plot, and finds means to send Raoul’s
servant, old Marcel, to warn his master. Marcel is too late, however, to
prevent Raoul keeping his appointment; and the young man is surrounded
by the plotters and about to lose his life when Marguerite de Valois
herself happens to pass with her retinue and rescues Raoul from further
danger. Valentina now issues from the chapel, and explanations follow,
by which Raoul is overjoyed to learn the real reason for his loved one’s
visit to De Nevers on the night of the feast, and to realise that she
returns the passion he himself has conceived for her. He begs her to
accept him as her suitor, but he is again plunged into despair by the
appearance of St Bris, who announces that his daughter’s nuptials with
De Nevers are about to be celebrated, the latter stepping forward and
leading away his reluctant and weeping bride. Raoul, however, is
determined to see his beloved one once again, and that night — the
fateful Eve of St Bartholomew—he visits her in De Nevers’ mansion. Even
whilst the lovers are in each other’s arms a party of Catholic
conspirators approach for purposes of settling details of the massacre
which is to take place that night; and the terrified Valentina conceals
Raoul behind the tapestry. The Catholic leaders enter and arrange their
plans for the slaughtering of the Huguenots on the tolling of the great
bell at midnight, the noble De Nevers alone refusing to join in the
dreadful work, and when they have departed to be in readiness the
lovers come forth, horrified at what they have heard. Valentina implores
Raoul not to venture forth into the streets again that night, promising
to keep him in hiding until the danger shall have passed, but her lover
nobly declares he must warn his companions in the faith, and with a last
passionate embrace he rushes forth as the great bell toIls out the
signal for the massacre to begin. In the last act the horrors of the
massacre are depicted, and Raoul, having warned those of his friends
whom he could reach, is about to enter a chapel where a number of them
are concealed, when he is joined by his old servant, Marcel, who brings
the news that De Nevers has been killed. As they speak together
Valentina comes to them, beseeching her lover once more to accept her
help in escaping the dreadful fate before him; but finding Raoul firmly
resolved to remain faithful to his religion and suffer with his Huguenot
brethren she determines to remain with him, and accepts his belief. As
the lovers kneel down to pray for strength old Marcel solemnly joins
their hands and blesses them, and at this moment they are discovered by
a party of the Catholic soldiery, headed by St Bris, who gives the order
for them to be shot down at sight, not knowing that his own fair
daughter is amongst them. Raoul and Valentina fall dead in each other’s
arms, Marcel dropping beside them; and the opera closes with the frantic
grief of St Bris on discovering that his beloved child has been slain by
his own misdirected zeal.
Grand
Opera in Five Acts
By Giacomo Meyerbeer
Libretto
By Scribe
First
Produced
Paris, April, 1849
Chief
Characters
Fides, Bertha, John of Leyden, Count Oberthal, Zacarie, Gione, Mathisen
THE
action takes place in Holland and Germany, in the time of the rise of
the Anabaptists, in 1534. John, a citizen of Leyden, is betrothed to
Bertha, a vassal of Count Oberthal; and as the maiden cannot be taken to
Leyden without the consent of the Count, she prepares to make her
request, accompanied by Fides, the mother of John. At this time the
Anabaptists, headed by their leaders, Gione, Zacarie and Mathisen, stir
up an insurrection in Holland, and incite the peasants on the estates of
Count Oberthal to rise against their lord. They attack the Count’s
castle, but are unsuccessful. Fides and Bertha now appear before the
Count with their request for the maiden to proceed to Leyden to be
united to her betrothed; but the Count is struck by the beauty of
Bertha, and being seized with a sudden passion for her, he refuses to
grant her request, and causes her to be retained as a captive, together
with Fides.
In Act 2 John of Leyden is discovered in an inn by the
Anabaptists, who are greatly impressed by his likeness to the
traditional paintings of the Hebrew King, David; and on learning also
that he is somewhat of a mystic and believes himself to have visions,
they show him great reverence, and entreat him to become their leader,
promising him great power and even regal honours. John, however, has
only thought for his beloved Bertha at this time, and refuses to listen
to their persuasions; and at this moment he is alarmed by the entrance
of Bertha, who has made her escape from the castle and seeks
protection. John thrusts her into hiding only a moment before the
entrance of Count Oberthal, who, furious at his disappointed passion,
demands the lover to instantly give up the girl, threatening to kill
his mother, Fides, whom he has brought with him, unless his order is
obeyed. John is now torn between his filial love for his mother and his
passion for the beautiful Bertha, but finally he agrees to save his
mother’s life, and so yields up the weeping and despairing Bertha to the
tyrant. Whilst Fides endeavours vainly to comfort her son the
Anabaptists appear again and once more make their offer to the
visionary; and John, smarting under his wrongs, no longer hesitates, but
gladly joins them in their rebellion. Fides having already departed
before their entrance, he decides to let her believe that he has been
slain, and so leaves a bloodstained garment behind him; and he then
departs with the Anabaptists, who make him their leader and cause him
to be regarded as a prophet.
In Act 3 the Anabaptists are found encamped in the forest near the
German city of Miinster, where provisions are brought to them by
skaters over a frozen lake. Amongst the prisoners brought in is Count
Oberthal, who is about to be executed, when John of Leyden interferes,
and he agrees to spare the captive’s life in return for news of Bertha.
Having learnt that she is not only still alive but is actually in
Münster, he calls his forces together, and proceeds to storm the city at
once.
Act 4 takes place in a street of the captured city, where Fides
appears begging for food, as she searches for her son, whose
bloodstained garments did not deceive her, and whom she believes to be
with the Anabaptists. She is presently joined by Bertha, in a pilgrim’s
dress, who is seeking means to revenge herself upon the Prophet, who she
believes slew her lover, not knowing that he is in reality John himself,
and the pair betake themselves to the Cathedral, where the ceremony of
crowning the victorious Prophet is about to take place. The ceremony
commences amidst a scene of great splendour and pomp, but it is quickly
interrupted by the joyful voice of Fides declaring that the great leader
is her son. John does not wish to be recognised by her, being desirous
that the people shall regard him as a Heavenly Messenger, and he
repudiates her statement utterly, commanding his followers to slay him
should she continue to assert her relationship. Rather than that her son
should thus lose his life, Fides withdraws her assertion, and is carried
away to prison for her rash declaration. In prison, she is visited by
John, upon whom she pours forth strong reproaches, and whom she finally
persuades to realise the wickedness of deceiving the ignorant people by
representing himself to them as a Prophet; and they are soon interrupted
by the entrance of Bertha, who unfolds a plan for destroying the Prophet
and his supporters. She is, however, filled with amazement and despair
on discovering that the despised Prophet and her beloved John are one
and the same person; and overcome with grief at the fall of her idol,
she stabs herself, and as she expires pours forth curses upon him. In
the last scene the Anabaptist leaders have learnt that their enemies are
about to overpower them, and they basely plan to save their own lives by
betraying their leader. Consequently, when John is holding revel in the
palace they enter with the leaders of the opposing force, including the
Bishop of Munster and Count Oberthal; but John has learnt of their
treachery, and has means for revenge at hand. As he is about to be
seized a terrific explosion is heard, and the palace bursts into flames,
and John of Leyden, his mother, Fides — who forgives him ere she dies—
and all his enemies die together in the burning palace.
Grand
Opera in Five Acts
By Giacomo Meyerbeer
Libretto
By Scribe and Delavigne
First
Produced
Paris, November, 1831
Chief
Characters
Isabella, Alice, Robert Bertram, Raimbaud
THE
scene is laid in the early part of the eleventh century. Robert, Duke
of Normandy, has earned for himself the title of “ Robert the Devil,”
owing to his wild and reckless life and also because he is supposed to
be the son of a fiend who took on human shape and married the Princess
Bertha of Normandy, whose child was Robert. The young Duke’s wild
extravagances are all incited by his constant companion, a mysterious
and strange knight named Bertram, who finally entices him to such
excesses that he is at last driven forth from his State by his indignant
subjects.
When the opera opens he is discovered at Palermo taking part in a
grand tournament being held there, the prize for the victor being the
hand of Isabella, Princess of Sicily, with whom Robert is desperately in
love, and who returns his passion. Isabella, however, is alarmed and
offended by the wild conduct of her strange lover, for Robert recklessly
indulges his passion for gambling with the assembled cavaliers, to whom
he finally loses all his possessions, his folly being always encouraged
by his constant companion, Bertram, who is in reality his demon-father,
who is thus dogging his steps in the hope of securing his soul. A great
struggle is shown throughout the opera between the evil which Robert
inherits from his fiend-father and the good which he has received from
his mother. His better nature is aroused and encouraged by the influence
of Alice, a simple peasant maiden, who is his foster-sister, and who
appears at Palermo in company with a minstrel named Raimbaud, who is her
sweetheart, and who brings for Robert a message from his dead mother. In
the presence of the gentle Alice, Robert’s better nature prevails, and
at his entreaties she intercedes for him with the offended Princess, to
whom she reconciles him. However, the evil Bertram will not leave his
hoped-for victim in peace, and on the day of the tournament he prevents
Robert from attending and taking his part in the contest for the hand of
the Princess by luring him away by means of a phantom, which takes the
form of his great rival, the Prince of Granada. Robert, being now once
more under the influence of Bertram, the latter takes him to a cavern,
where he calls up demons and evil spirits to assist him in securing the
mastery of the young man; and afterwards he persuades him to visit the
Abbey of St. Irene, where the Princess Bertha is buried, and to pluck
from thence a magic bough which will give him marvellous powers. In this
latter place the fiends call up the spirits of the departed nuns, giving
them the shapes and allurements of enticing nymphs, and Robert, though
saved from the dangers of the cavern by Alice, who has come there to
meet her beloved Raimbaud, is so overcome by the promise of magical
powers in his second temptation that he seizes the enchanted bough and
seeks to make use of it at once. By means of this charm he enters,
unseen, the apartments of the Princess Isabella, and putting her
attendants into a magical slumber, rushes forward to seize his beloved
one in his arms, passionately declaring that he has ‘come to claim her
as his own, and means to carry her away by force. Isabella, however,
pleads so piteously for him to resist his ungovernable passion, and to
have mercy upon her unprotected state, that his better nature prevails
once more, and breaking his talisman he flies from her presence. Once
again Bertram decoys him away and endeavours to make him sign a contract
binding him to the demon for ever, but in this struggle Alice also
appears and seeks to overcome the evil influence which endangers her
foster-brother. The struggle between good and evil is a very severe one,
but in the end good triumphs, when Alice produces a letter from Robert’s
dead mother, in which the sorrowing and repentant Princess warns her son
against the allurements of the demon who is seeking to obtain his soul.
Robert now finally repudiates the baleful influence of his dark
companion, and seeing that he is defeated in the struggle the
fiend-father vanishes into the earth and molests him no more. Robert
then returns repentant to the Princess Isabella, who gladly receives
him, rejoicing at his victory over the evil influences which had dragged
him down; and the opera ends with the union of the now happy lovers.
Grand
Opera in Three Acts
By Giacomo Meyerbeer
Libretto
By Scribe
First
Produced
Paris, February, 1854
Chief
Characters
Catharine, Prascovia, Peter (The Czar), Danilowitz, George, Gritzensko
THE
scene is laid in Wyborg, Finland, and in the Czar’s palace. Peter, the
Czar, disguised as a carpenter, is working in the shipyards in Wyborg
for purposes of seeking certain information first-hand. Here he makes
the acquaintance of Danilowitz, a baker, with whom he becomes great
friends; and he also falls in love with Catharine, a vivandière, who is
a very beautiful maiden, with great influence over all she comes in
contact with. Her brother George is about to marry a village maiden,
Prascovia, when his wedding is interrupted by the arrival of some wild
Cossacks and Kalmucks, who would force the bridegroom to take service
with them at once; but Catherine arranges that George shall find a
substitute within a certain time, and she also calms the angry soldiery
by revealing herself to them as the daughter of one who was formerly
their priestess, and who foretold for Catharine a dazzling future. Peter
hears this and hopes to make the beautiful and inspired girl his Empress
in due course; but Catherine disappears, having disguised herself in
male attire and departed to serve in the army in the place of her
brother, so that the latter may continue his nuptials.
In Act 2 Peter is discovered in a tent with the army, still in
disguise, and accompanied by Danilowitz, whom he has persuaded to attend
him by promising him promotion in the Czar’s service, and Catharine is
also there, in her soldier’s dress, doing sentry duty. Peter and
Danilowitz grow hilarious and pay rough attentions to a couple of
vivandières who are serving them, the former anxious to keep up his
disguise by copying the conduct of ordinary soldiers; and Catharine,
hearing the noise, peeps within the tent, being terribly grieved at
beholding her beloved Peter behaving in such a boorish manner,
believing that he never could have had any love for her. She is
discovered by the corporal, who reprimands her for neglecting her duty,
supposing her to be the male recruit she appears; and Catharine,
responding by an angry cuff, is chased by the corporal and others of his
companions until in despair she flings herself into the river. Meanwhile
Peter has been roused from his pretended revelry by a serious
insurrection in the camp, and now revealing himself as the Czar he
quells the discontent and receives the loyal homage of all. He is,
however, plunged into the deepest grief on learning that Catharine has
been near him in the garb of a recruit, who is reported missing, having
jumped into the river to escape the angry superior officer; and full of
grief he gives orders to Danilowitz to scour the country for the missing
girl, refusing to believe that she is drowned. Act 3 takes place in the
palace of Peter, who has returned from the campaign victorious, but very
unhanpy because the one person he wished to share in his triumph is
missing — the lovely Catherine. In order to forget her he takes up his
carpenter’s work again, and whilst engaged in this humble work Dan
ilowitz — whom he has raised to a high position — enters with the joyful
news that he has found Catherine, who has been rescued from the river by
a country woman. The poor girl has, however, lost her reason, owing to
her recent danger and unhappy feelings; and Peter is in despair again.
Danilowitz, however, hits on the plan of trying to restore her by
bringing her old friends and home surroundings about her once more, and
this has the desired effect. George and Prascovia are brought in to go
through part of the events connected with their marriage; and Peter also
appears in his carpenter’s garb. As Catharine thus beholds this
well-remembered scene her memory returns and she recognises Peter as her
lover; and the now happy Czar folds her in his arms with joy and
introduces her to all as their future Empress.
Opera
Comique in Three Acts
By Carl Millöcker
Libretto
By Zell and Genée
First
Produced
Vienna, 1882
Chief
Characters
Laura, Bronislava, Countess Palmatica, Symon, Janitsky, General
Ollendorf
THE
scene is laid in Kracow, in the beginning of the eighteenth century. The
Governor of the City, General Ollendorf, is offended with the Countess
Palmatica and her daughter Laura because the latter has scorned his
advances, and in order to revenge himself upon the pair he determines to
play a trick upon them. He induces a military prisoner convicted for
some petty offence, a poor student named Symon Symonovicz, to masquerade
as a wealthy young Prince, providing him with ample means and
introducing him to the Countess and her two daughters. Symon agrees to
secure his liberty even though under such false pretences as these, but
only on condition that his friend, Janitsky, shall accompany him. This
being agreed to, the pair are forthwith introduced to the Countess, who,
believing Symon to be a wealthy Prince, shows him great favour, hoping
to secure him as a husband for her daughter Laura — this being the
desire of the offended General, who does not intend to undeceive them
until the marriage is consummated. The Countess and her daughters have
been living for a long time in genteel poverty; and consequently the
mother rejoices greatly when Laura captures the supposed Prince, and her
sister, Bronislava, secures his friend, Janitsky. The two couples are,
however, genuinely in love with each other; and in the second act Symon
determines to undeceive Laura before the marriage takes place, and
writes her a note telling all. This note is, however, intercepted by the
watchful General; and, therefore, the marriage takes place, Symon
imagining that Laura is still willing to marry him even though knowing
him to be merely a beggar student. But the triumphant General, as soon
as the ceremony is over, discloses all, enjoying the great shock given
to the scandalised Countess and her aristocratic friends on discovering
that the gay bridegroom is but a penniless student, whom they thrust
from the house with contumely.
In Act 3 Symon is in despair, having now been deserted by his
temporary benefactor and not permitted to see his bride; and he is about
to take his life when his friend Jenitsky appears, revealing himself in
his true character as an important Polish officer who is engaged in a
conspiracy the object of which is to re-establish King Stanislaus upon
his throne. He asks Symon to join the party, which is a very strong one;
and the Beggar Student agrees and distinguishes himself so well by his
daring and bravery that the plot succeeds, chiefly owing to his efforts.
He is, therefore, rewarded with wealth and the honour of nobility; and
the Countess is now willing to forgive him for his deception and to
acknowledge him as Laura’s husband. Janitsky secures the hand of
Bronislava, and the two pairs of lovers are made happy.
Opera
Comique in Four Acts
By Edmond Missa
Libretto
By Carré and Hartmann
Founded on “Ouida’” “Two Little Wooden Shoes”
Chief
Characters
Muguette, Melka, Lana, Lionel, Klotz, Jean
THE
scene is laid in Antwerp and Paris, about 1820. The first act opens in
the market at Antwerp, where Muguette, a pretty flower-girl, is seen
selling her lovely wares. She is an orphan who lives in a tiny cottage
left her by a kindly, pleasant foster-father, who had found her in
infancy in a bed of lilies-of-the-valley, from which fact she had
derived her name. She is desired as a wife by Jean, a fellow-worker in
the market; but Muguette declines his offer, having no love for him.
Presently two strangers appear, Klotz, a travelling art-dealer, and
Lionel, an artist. The latter seeks a model for his new picture, end on
beholding Muguette he sees that she has the exact frail, ethereal beauty
he desires, and he at once secures her promise to sit for him. The pair
fall in love with each other, and Lionel gives Muguette books to read,
so that she improves rapidly under his tuition. After a while, however,
Lionel has to return to Paris, and as he bids her a tender farewell
Muguette has a foreboding he will not return.
In Act 2 Muguette is seen, ill and unhappy, grieving for the loss
of Lionel, whom she has never heard of since he left her; and she has to
suffer the gibes of her companions for her loverless state — especially
those of the jealous Jean, who is rendered furious because she still
refuses his advances, from which he is protected by her one girlfriend,
Lina. One day Klotz, the art-dealer, appears in the neighbourhood once
more; and learning from him that her beloved Lionel is in Paris she
resolves to seek him, and sets off one night in a blinding snowstorm,
sinking exhausted by the way. She is, however, found by the kindly
Klotz, who brings her safely to Paris.
In Act 3 they arrive at the studio of Lionel, who now has another
model, Melka, a showy but good-natured girl, who knows well enough that
the artist has thought for none other than his lost flower-girl. When
Muguette presently appears on the scene, therefore, she lets the pretty
flower-girl realise that Lionel still loves her; and then she arranges
for her to poise on the dias in her stead whilst she takes Klotz away.
Then, when the absorbed Lionel looks up from his work and beholds his
beloved Muguette standing before him, he is filled with amazement and
joy, and the opera closes with the happy embrace of the reunited lovers.
109. — COSI FAN TUTTE
“THE SCHOOL FOR LOVERS”
Opera
Comique in Two Acts
By Johann Chrysostomus Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto
By Da Ponte (Afterwards revised by L. Scbnider and E. Devruent)
First
Produced
Vienna, January, 1790
Chief
Characters
Fiordiligi, Dorabella, Despina, Don Ferrando, Don Guglielmo, Don
Alfonso
THE story in its revised form is as follows :—Two cavaliers, Don Ferrando and Don Guglielmo, have great faith in the fidelity of their betrothed ladies, Fiordiligi and Dorabella; but being laughed at for their confidence by a cynical old bachelor, Don Alfonso, they allow him to persuade them to put the two ladies through a severe test. They consequently pretend to depart on a long journey with their regiment; but in a few days they return disguised as officers of another regiment, and, having altered their appearance entirely, they procure an introduction to the two ladies and proceed to pay them great attention, each making love to the betrothed of his friend. Fiordiligi and Dorabella are very indignant at the attentions paid to them by the new-comers, and their lovers are consequently delighted, and triumph over the unbelieving Don Alfonso; but the wily old bachelor arranges a deeper plot still. He persuades the two young men still to keep up their disguise but to feign such despair at the indifference of the ladies that they recklessly pretend to poison themselves in their presence. Ferrando and Guglielmo agree to this also, and secure the aid of Despina, the attendant on the two ladies, to assist them. In this plot Don Alfonso very nearly succeeds; for when the strange officers feign to poison themselves in their presence Fiordiligi and Dorabella are terribly concerned, and show great pity for the love-sick swains. Despina, however, at last considers it unfair that her young mistresses should be thus deceived further, and she finds means to reveal the secret of the plot to them. The two girls now carry the war into the enemy’s camp, and play a fine trick upon their lovers. They boldly accept the new suitors, and even go so far as to sign the marriage contracts, taking care, however, that these shall be false documents, the notary being Despina in borrowed garments; and then when Ferrando and Guglielmo appear in their own form once more, furious at their supposed fickleness, they tease them still further, keeping up the deception a little longer, and then at last laughingly reveal the fact that they have cleverly turned the tables on them. The young men are now ashamed that they should have even pretended to doubt the fidelity of their chosen ladies, and very contritely sue for pardon; and this being readily granted the happy couples are reunited, and the old bachelor is compelled to retire crestfallen.
Opera
Comique in Two Acts
By Johann Chrysostomus Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto
By Da Ponte
First
Produced
Prague, October, 1787
Chief
Characters
Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, Zerlina, Don Giovanni, Don Ottavio, Leporello,
Masetto
THE scene is laid in Spain, in the city of Seville. Don Giovanni, an unscrupulous, reckless and licentious young nobleman, with the aid of his servant, Leporello, enters the chamber of Donna Anna, the beautiful daughter of an old Spanish Grandee, the Governor of the City, and attempts to carry her off as he has already captured many other fair ladies of Seville. The lady’s father, however, hearing his daughter’s cries, comes out to defend her, together with her betrothed, Don Ottavio; and in the struggle which ensues the Governor is slain by Don Giovanni, who makes his escape with his servant. Donna Anna makes a vow to bring her father’s murderer to death, and her lover agrees to assist her in her search for the libertine, his reward to be the hand of the lady he loves, and who now refuses to wed him until her vow is consummated. Don Giovanni, however, is not the least disturbed by the pursuit of the lady who seeks revenge on him; and, ignoring also the fact that he is pursued by another distressed maiden, the Donna Elvira, a former victim of his fleeting passion, he proceeds to continue to amuse himself with wild festivals and orgies, in all of which he is aided and abetted by his equally gay and rascally servant Leporello. He endeavours to steal the honour of a pretty peasant maiden, Zerlina, who is about to be wedded to her humble lover, Masetto; but this vile plan is thwarted by the timely appearance of Donna Elvira, Donna Anna and Don Ottavio, who have joined their forces against the libertine, who is compelled at last to make a hasty retreat from their presence. As he wends his way through the streets of Seville at midnight in company with the rogue Leporello he passes a statue which has been erected to the memory of the late governor, whom he slew; and as he proceeds to mock this representation of his dead victim, the statue replies to his words of scorn, warning him that he will die before the morrow. The cowardly Leporello is filled with terror, and beseeches his excited master to hasten from the spot; but Don Giovanni has no fear, and recklessly invites the statue to join him at supper that night, passing on his way with laughing indifference. Later on Don Giovanni is seated at supper with his wild companions; and in the midst of the revels Donna Elvira appears, having come to give her callous betrayer another chance of forgiveness if he will agree to repent of his excesses, for she fears that some terrible fate is in store for him if he continues in his wild and careless folly and wickedness. But all her loving entreaties are in vain, and Don Giovanni only laughs at her fears and repudiates her advances. At this moment, however, the sound of a heavy and unaccustomed tread is heard without; and, to the terror of all except the reckless libertine himself, the animated statue of the dead governor enters the banquet-hall, declaring that he has come in answer to the host’s invitation. The statue endeavours to turn the wild young man from his evil ways; but finding that all his warnings and threats are in vain he bids him prepare to meet his just doom. Even now Don Giovanni refuses to repent; and as a result the statue suddenly vanishes and the ground opens, from whence issue fierce flames and a horde of demons, who seize the libertine and drag him down to their own dreadful regions.
Last updated October 31, 2006