THE STANDARD OPERAGLASS

CHARLES ANNESLEY

THE NIBELUNGEN RING

A Festival Play in three days and a fore-evening by Richard WAGNER

The Rhinegold

     This grand dramatic work, which cannot any longer with justice be called an opera, differing as it does so considerably from the ordinary style of operas, is the result of many years of study and hard work.
     Wagner took the subject from the German mythology, the oldest representative of which is found in the Edda.
     We have first to do with the fore-evening, called the “Rhinegold.”
     The first scene is laid in the very depths of the Rhine, where we see three nymphs frolicking in the water. They are the guardians of the Rhinegold, which glimmers on a rock.
     Alberich, a Nibelung, highly charmed by their grace and beauty, tries to make love to each one of them alternately. As he is an ugly dwarf, they at first allure and then deride him, gliding away as soon as he comes near, and laughing at him. Discovering their mockery at last, he swears vengeance. He sees the Rhinegold shining brightly, and asks the nymphs what it means. They tell him of its wonderful qualities, which would render the owner all-powerful if he should form it into a ring and forswear love.
     Alberich, listening attentively, all at once climbs the rock, and, before the frightened nymphs can cry for help, has grasped the treasure and disappeared. Darkness comes on; the scene changes into an open district on mountain heights. In the background we see a grand castle, which the rising sun illumines. Wotan, the father of the gods, and Fricka, his wife, are slumbering on the ground. Awakening, their eyes fall on the castle for the first time. It is the “Walhalla,” the palace which the giants have built for them at Wotan’s bidding. As a reward for their services they are to obtain Freia, the goddess of youth; but already Wotan repents of his promise and forms plans with his wife to save her lovely sister. The giants Fafner and Fasold enter to claim their reward. While they negotiate, Loge, the god of fire, comes up, relates the history of Alberich’s theft of the Rhinegold, and tells Wotan of the gold’s power. Wotan decides to rob the dwarf, promising the treasure to the giants, who consent to accept it in Freia’s stead. But they distrust the gods and take Freia with them as a pledge. As soon as she disappears, the beautiful gods seem old and gray and wrinkled, for the golden apples to which Freia attends, and of which the gods partake daily to be forever youthful, wither as soon as she is gone. Then Wotan, without any further delay, starts for Nibelheim with Loge, justifying his intention by saying that the gold is stolen property. They disappear in a cleft, and we find ourselves in a subterranean cavern, the abode of the Nibelungs.
     lberich has forced his brother Mime to forge a “Tarnhelm” for him, which renders its wearer invisible. Mime vainly tries to keep it for himself; Alberich, the possessor of the all-powerful ring, which he himself formed, takes it by force and, making himself invisible strikes Mime with a whip, until the latter is half dead.
     Wotan and Loge, hearing his complaints, promise to help him. Alberich, coming forth again, is greatly flattered by Wotan and dexterously led on to show his might. He first changes himself into an enormous snake and then into a toad. Wotan quickly puts his foot on it, while Loge seizes the Tarnhelm. Alberich, becoming suddenly visible in his real shape, is bound and led away captive. The gods return to the mountain heights of the second scene, where Alberich is compelled to part with all his treasures, which are brought by the dwarfs. He is even obliged to leave the ring, which Wotan intends to keep for himself. With a dreadful curse upon the possessor of the ring, Alberich flies.
     When the giants reappear with Freia, the treasures are heaped before her; they are to cover her entirely, so it is decided, and not before will she be free. When all the gold has been piled up, and even the Tarnh elm thrown on the hoard, Fasold still sees Freia’s eye shine through it, and at last Wotan, who is most unwilling to part with the ring, is induced to do so by Erda, goddess of the earth, who appears to him and warns him. Now the pledge is kept and Freia is released. The giants quarrel over the possession of the ring, and Fafner kills Fasold, thereby fulfilling Alberich’s curse. With lightened hearts the gods cross the rainbow bridge and enter Walhalla, while the songs and wailings of the Rhine nymphs are beard, imploring the restitution of their lost treasure.

RIENZI, THE LAST OF THE TRIBUNES

Grand tragic Opera in five acts by Richard Wagner

     In this first opera of Wagner’s one hardly recognizes the great master of later times. Though Wagner himself disowned this early child of his muse, there is a grand energy in it, which preserves it from triviality. The orchestration is brilliant, and here and there one may find traces of the peculiar power which led up to the greatness of after years, and which sometimes make one think of “Tannhäuser.”
     The libretto, taken by Wagner from Bulwer’s novel, is attractive and powerful.
     The hero, a pontifical notary, is a man of lofty ambition, dreaming in the midst of the depravity of the fourteenth century of reërecting the old Roma, and making her once more the Sovereign of the world. He receives help and encouragement from the Church; Cardinal Raimondo even bids him try all means in order to attain his end. The clergy as well as the people are oppressed by the mighty and insolent nobles.
     In the first scene we witness an act of brutality directed against Rienzi’s sister, Irene, who is, however, liberated by Adriano, son of the noble Colonna. A Colonna it was who murdered Rienzi’s little brother in sheer wantonness. Rienzi has sworn vengeance, but, seeing Adriano good and brave and in love with his sister, he wins him to his cause.
     The nobles having left Rome to fight out a quarrel which had been started among them, are forbidden to reënter the town. Rienzi calls the people to arms and is victorious. The strongholds of the nobles are burned, and they are only admitted into Rome on promising submission to the new laws, made and represented by Rienzi, who has been created Tribune of Rome.
     The hostile parties of Colonna and Orsini then join to destroy the hated plebeian. In the midst of the festivity in the Capitol, Orsini makes an attempt to murder Rienzi, but the latter wears a shirt of mail under his garments, and, besides, he is warned by Adriano, who has overheard the conspiracy. The whole plot fails, and the nobles who have taken part in it are unanimously condemned to death. But Adriano, full of remorse on account of his treason against his own father, implores Rienzi to save their lives, and as Irene joins her prayers to those of her lover, the culprits are pardoned and obliged to renew their oath of fidelity. From this time on Rienzi’s star begins to pale. The nobles do not adhere to their oath; in the third act they again give battle, and though Rienzi is again victorious, it is only at the cost of severe sacrifices. The nobles are slain, and now Adriano, who had in vain begged for peace, turns against Rienzi.
     In the fourth act Adriano denounces him as a traitor; the people, easily misled, begin to mistrust him, and when even the Church, which has assisted him up to this time, anathematizes him on account of his last bloody deed, all desert him. Irene alone clings to her brother, and repulses her lover scornfully when he tries to take her from Rienzi’s side. Both brother and sister retire into the Capitol, where Adriano once more vainly implores Irene to fly with him. For the last time Rienzi attempts to reassert his power, but his words are drowned in the general uproar. They are greeted by a hail of stones, the Capitol is set on fire, and they perish like heroes in the flames, through which Adriano makes his way at the last moment, and thus finds a common grave with his bride and her brother, the last of the Tribunes.

RIGOLETTO

Opera in three acts by Verdi

Text by Piave from Victor Hugo’s drama : “Le roi s’amuse”

     No opera has become popular in so short a time as “Rigoletto” in Italy. The music is very winning and is, like all that Verdi has written, full of exquisite melodies.
     In Germany it has not met with the same favor, which is due in great part to its awful libretto, which is a faithful copy of Hugo’s drama, and developed in a truly dramatic manner. The subject is, however, rather disgusting. Excepting Gilda, we do not meet with one noble character.
     The Duke of Man tua, a wild and debauched youth, covets every girl or woman he sees, and is assisted in his vile purpose by his jester, Rigoletto, an ugly, hump-backed man. We meet him first helping the Duke to seduce the wife of Count Ceprano, and afterward the wife of Count Monterone. Both husbands curse the vile Rigoletto and swear to be avenged. Monterone especially, appearing like a ghost in the midst of a festival, hurls such a fearful curse at them that Rigoletto shudders.
     This bad man has one tender point: it is his blind love for his beautiful daughter Gilda, whom he brings up carefully, keeping her hidden from the world, and shielding her from all wickedness.
     But the cunning Duke discovers her, and gains her love under the assumed name of a student, called Gualtier Maldé.
     Gilda is finally carried off by Ceprano and two other courtiers, aided by her own father, who holds the ladder, believing that Count Ce­prano’s wife is to be the victim. A mask blinds Rigoletto, and he discovers,, too late, by Gilda’s cries that he has been duped. Gilda is brought to the Duke’s palace. Rigoletto appears in the midst of the courtiers to claim Gilda, and then they hear that she, whom they believed to be his mistress, is his daughter, for whose honor he is willing to sacrifice everything. Gilda enters and, though she sees that she has been deceived, she implores her father to pardon the Duke, whom she still loves. But Rigoletto vows vengeance, and engages Sparafucile to stab the Duke. Sparafucile decoys him into his inn, where his sister Maddalena awaits him. She, too, is enamored of the Duke, who makes love to her, as to all young females, and she entreats her brother to have mercy on him. Sparafucile declares that lie will wait until midnight, and will spare him if another victim should turn up before then. Meanwhile Rigoletto persuades his daughter to fly from the Duke’s pursuit, but before he takes her away he wants to show her lover’s fickleness, in order to cure her of her love.
     She comes to the inn in masculine attire, and, hearing the discourse between Sparafucile and his sister, resolves to save her lover. She enters the inn and is instantly put to death, placed in a sack and given to Rigoletto, who proceeds to the river to dispose of the corpse. At this instant he hears the voice of the Duke, who passes by, singing a frivolous tune. Terrified, Rigoletto opens the sack, and recognizes his daughter, who is yet able to tell him that she gave her life for that of her seducer, and then expires. With an awful cry, the unhappy father sinks upon the corpse. Count Monterone ‘s curse has been fulfilled.

ROBERT LE DIABLE

Opera in five acts by Meyerbeer

Text by Scribe and Delavigne

     Though the text which embodies the well-known story of Robert the Devil, Duke of Normandy, is often weak and involved, Meyerbeer has understood in masterly fashion how to adapt his music to it, infusing into it dramatic strength and taking his hearer captive from beginning to end. The instrumentation is brilliant, and the splendid parts for the human voice deserve like praise. The famous cavatina, “Air of Grace,” as it is called, where the bugle has such a fine part, and the duet in the fourth act between Robert and the Princess Isabella, in which the harp fairly rouses us to wonder whether we are not listening to celestial music, are but two of the enchanting features of an opera in which such passages abound.
     The following are the contents of the libretto:
     Robert, Duke of Normandy, has a friend of gloomy exterior, named Bertram, with whom he travels, but to whose evil influence he owes much trouble and sorrow. Without knowing it himself, Robert is the son of this erring knight, who is an inhabitant of hell. During his wanderings on earth he seduced Bertha, daughter of the Duke of Normandy, whose offspring Robert is. This youth is very wild, and has therefore been banished from his country.
     Arriving in Sicily, Isabella, the King’s daughter, and he fall mutually in love.
     In the first act we find Robert in Palermo, surrounded by other knights, to whom a young countryman of his, Raimbaut, tells the story of “Robert le Diable” and his fiendish father, warning everybody against them. Robert, giving his name, is about to deliver the unhappy Raimbaut to the hangman, when the peasant is saved by his bride. Alice, Robert’s foster sister. She has come to Palermo by order of Robert’s deceased mother, who sends her last will to her son, in case he should change his bad habits and prove himself worthy. Robert, feeling that he is not likely to do this, begs Alice to keep it for him. He confides in the innocent maiden, and she promises to reason with Isabella, whom Robert has irritated by his jealousy, and who has banished him from her presence.
     As a recompense for her service Alice asks Robert’s permission to marry Raimbaut. Seeing Robert’s friend, Bertram, she recognizes the latter’s likeness to Satan, whom she saw in a picture, and instinctively shrinks from him. When she leaves her master, Bertram induces his friend to try his fortune with the dice, and he loses all.
     In the second act we are introduced into the palace of Isabella, who laments Robert’s inconstancy. Alice enters, bringing Robert’s letter, and the latter instantly follows to crave his mistress’s pardon. She presents him with a new suit of armor, and he consents to meet the Prince of Granada in mortal combat. But Bertram lures him away by deceiving him with a phantom. Robert vainly seeks the Prince in the forest, and the Prince of Granada is in his absence victorious in the tournament and obtains Isabella’s hand.
     The third act opens with a view of the rocks of St. Irene, where Alice hopes to be united with Raimbaut. The peasant expects his bride, but meets Bertram instead, who makes him forget Alice, by giving him gold and dangerous advice. Raimbaut goes away to spend the money, while Bertram descends to the evil spirits in the deep. When Alice comes, Raimbaut is gone, and she hears the demons calling for Bertram. Bertram extracts a promise from her not to betray the dreadful secret of the cavern. She clings to the Saviour’s cross for protection, and is about to be destroyed by Bertram, when, Robert approaches, to whom she decides to reveal all. But Bertram’s renewed threats at last oblige her to leave them.
     Bertram now profits by Robert’s rage and de­spair at the loss of his bride, his wealth and his honor, to draw him on to entire destruction. He tells Robert that his rival used magic arts, and suggests that he should try the same expedient. Then he leads him to a ruined cloister; where he resuscitates the guilty nuns. They try to seduce Robert first by drink, then by gambling, and last of all by love. In the last, Helena, the most beautiful of the nuns, succeeds and makes him remove the cypress branch, a talisman by which in the fourth act he enters Isabella’s apartment unseen. He awakes his bride out of her magic sheep, to carry her off, but overcome by her tears and her appeal to his honor, he breaks the talisman, and is seized by the now awakened soldiers; but Bertram appears, and takes him under his protection.
     The fifth act opens with a chorus sung by monks, which is followed by a prayer for mercy. Robert, concealed in the vestibule of the cathedral, hears it full of contrition. But Bertram is with him, and, his term on earth being short, he confides to Robert the secret of his birth and appeals to him as his father.
     He almost succeeds, when Alice comes up, bringing the news that the Prince of Granada renounces Isabella’s hand, being unable to pass the threshold of the Church. Bertram urges Robert all the more vehemently to become one with him, suggesting that Isabella is likewise lost to him, who has transgressed the laws of the Church, when in the last extremity Alice produces his mother’s will, in which she warns him against Bertram, entreating him to save his soul. Then at last his good angel is victorious, his demon-father vanishes into the earth, and Robert, united by prayer to the others, is restored to a life of peace and goodness.

LE ROI L’A DIT
(THE KING HAS SAID IT)

Comic Opera in three acts by Léon Délibes

Text by Edmond Gondinet

     It is impossible to imagine music more charming or more full of grace and piquancy than that which we find in this delightful opera. Every part abounds in exquisite harmonies, which no words can give any idea of. On hearing them one is compelled to the conclusion that all the graces have stood godmother to this lovely child of their muse.
     The libretto, though on the whole somewhat insipid, is flavored with naïve and good-natured coquetry, which lends a certain charm to it.
     The Marquis de Moncoutour has long wished to be presented to the King Louis XIV., and as. he has been fortunate enough to catch the escaped paroquet of Mme. de Maintenon, he is at last to have his wish accomplished. By way of preparation for his audience he tries to learn the latest mode of bowing, his own being somewhat antiquated, and the Marquise and her four lovely daughters, and even Javotte, the nice little ladies’ maid, assist him. After many failures the old gentleman succeeds in making his bow to his own satisfaction, and he is put into a litter, and borne off, followed by his people’s benedictions. When they are gone, Benoit, a young peasant, comes to see Javotte, who is his sweetheart. He wishes to enter the Marquis’s service. Javotte thinks him too awkward, but she promises to intercede in his favor with Miton, a dancing master, who enters just as Benoit disappears. He has instructed the graceful Javotte in all the arts and graces of the noble world, and when he rehearses the steps and all the nice little tricks of his art with her, he is so delighted with his pupil that he pronounces her manners worthy of a Princess; but when Javotte tells him that she loves a peasant, he is filled with disgust, and orders her away. His real pupils, the four lovely daughters of the Marquis, now enter, and while the lesson goes on Miton hands a billet-doux from some lover to each of them. The two elder, Agatha and Chimene, are just in the act of reading theirs, when they hear a serenade outside, and shortly afterward the two lovers are standing in the room, having made their way through the window. The Marquis Flarembel and his friend, the Marquis de la Bluette, are just making a most ardent declaration of love, when Mme. la Marquise enters to present to her elder daughters the two bridegrooms she has chosen for them. The young men hide behind the ample dresses of the young ladies, and all begin to sing with great zeal, Miton beating the measure, so that some time elapses before the Marquise is able to state her errand. Of course her words excite great terror, the girls flying to the other side of the room with their lovers and receiving the two elderly suitors, Baron de Merlussac, and Gautru, a rich old financier, with great coolness and a refusal of their costly gifts. When the suitors are gone the two young strangers are detected, and the angry mother decides at once to send her daughters to a convent, from which they shall only issue on their wedding day.
     When they have departed in a most crestfallen condition, the old Marquis returns from his audience with the King and relates its astounding results. His Majesty had been so peremptory in his questioning about the Marquis’s son and heir, that the Marquis, losing his presence of mind, promised to present his son at Court on the King’s demand. The only question now is where to find a son to adopt, as the Marquis has only four daughters. Miton, the ever-useful, at once presents Benoit to the parents, engaging himself to drill the peasant into a nice cavalier in ten lessons. Benoit takes readily to his new position; he is fitted out at once, and when the merchants come, offering their best in cloth and finery, he treats them with an insolence worthy of the proudest seigneur. He even turns from his sweetheart, Javotte.
     In the second act Benoit, dressed like the finest cavalier, gives a masked ball in his father’s gardens. Half Versailles is invited, but, having taken the Court Almanac, to his aid, he has made the mistake of inviting many people who have long been dead. Those who do appear seem to him to be very insipid, and, wanting some friends with whom he can enjoy him­self, the useful Miton presents the Marquises de ha Bluette and de Flarembel, who are delighted to make the acquaintance of their sweethearts’ brother.
     Benoit hears from them that he has four charming sisters who have been sent to a convent, and he at once promises to assist his new friends. Meanwhile Javotte appears in the mask of an Oriental Queen and Benoit makes love to her, but he is very much stupefied when she takes off her mask, and he recognizes Javotte. She laughingly turns away from him, when the good-for-nothing youth’s new parents appear, to reproach him with his levity. But Benoit, nothing daunted, rushes away, telling the Marquis that he intends to visit his sisters in the convent. Miton tries in vain to recall him. Then the two old suitors of Agathe and Chimene appear, to complain that their deceased wife and grandmother were invited, and while the Marquis explains his son’s mistake, the four daughters rush in, having been liberated by their lovers and their unknown brother, whom they greet with a fondness very shocking to the old Marchioness. The elderly suitors withdraw, swearing to take vengeance on the inopportune brother.
     In the last act Benoit appears in his father’s house in a somewhat dilapidated state. He has spent the night amongst gay companions and met Gautru and de Merhussac successively, who have both fought him and believe they have killed him, Benoit having feigned to be dead on the spot.
     When the old Marquis enters, he is very much astonished at receiving two letters of condolence from his daughters’ suitors. Miton appears in mourning, explaining that, Mme. de Maintenon’s visit being expected, they must all wear dark colors, as she prefers these. Meanwhile Benoit has an interview with Javotte, in which he declares his love to be undiminished, and he at once asks his father to give him Javotte as his wife, threatening to reveal the Marquis’s deceit to the King if his request is not granted. In this dilemma help comes in the persons of the two young Marquises, who present their King’s condolences to old Moncoutour. This gentleman hears to his great relief that his son is supposed to have fallen in a duel, and so he is disposed of. Nobody is happier than Javotte, who now claims Benoit for her own, while the Marquis, who receives a Duke’s title from the King in compensation for his loss, gladly gives his two elder daughters to their young and noble lovers.
     The girls, well aware that they owe their happiness to their adopted brother, are glad to provide him with ample means for his marriage with Javotte, and the affair ends to everybody’s satisfaction.

ROMEO E GIULIETTA

Grand Opera in five acts by Ch. Gounod

Text by Barbier and Carré

     This highly favored opera by Gounod presents much that is worthy of admiration, though it does not rise to the high level of his “Marguerite” (“Faust”). The libretto follows Shake. speare’s version pretty accurately.
     The first act opens with the masked ball in Capuletti’s palace, where the first meeting between the lovers takes place, Romeo being disguised as a pilgrim. They fall in hove with each other, and Tybalt, Capuhet’s nephew, recognizing Romeo, reveals, but too late, their true names and swears to take revenge on his foe, who has thus entered the Capulet’s house unin­vited.
     The second act represents the famous scene en the balcony between Juliet and her lover.
     In the third act Romeo visits Friar Lorenzo’s cell, to get advice from him. There he meets Juliet. Lorenzo unites the lovers, hoping thereby to reconcile the hostile houses of the Montagus and the Capulets.
     The following scene represents the street before Capulet’s palace, where the rivals meet; there ensues the double duel, first between Tybalt and Romeo’s friend Mercutio, who falls, and then between Romeo, who burns to avenge his comrade, and Tybalt. Tybalt is killed, and Romeo is obliged to fly, all the Capulets being after him.
     In the fourth act Romeo sees Juliet in her room, but when the morning dawns he is obliged to leave, while Juliet’s father comes to remind her of his last promise to the dying Tybalt, which was to marry Juliet to Count Paris.
     Juliet in great perplexity turns to Friar Lorenzo for help. He gives her a draught which will cause her to fall into a deep swoon, and after being laid in her ancestors’ tomb she is to be awakened by Romeo and carried away into security.
     In the fifth act Romeo, after having taken poison, enters the tomb to bid farewell to Juliet, whom he, by a fatal misunderstanding, believes to be dead. She awakes, and seeing her bridegroom die before her eyes, she stabs herself, to be united with her hover in death, if not in life.

LA REGINETTA DELLE ROSE

Sentimental Opera in three acts by Ruggiero Leoncavallo

Text by Zandonai

     This opera was first produced in Rome, 1912. The scene changes several times.
     Act I. At a charity fair in London, Max, the heir-apparent of Portowa, is among the visitors. He there sees an extremely pretty flower girl, Lillian, and falls desperately in love with her. The tutor of Max, Gin, prevails upon her to follow the prince of Portowa, as without her he will not return there. Max is on his way to his own coronation, his father having just died, but Lillian is ignorant of this and of his royal rank, acting in the matter just out of mere good-nature.
     Act II. This is at the palace of Portowa. Lillian is at once arrested after her arrival as a dangerous person. She sees her lover in royal robes, but thinks she is the victim of a plot. Max reassures her. The dowager queen, Max’s mother, schemes to make him marry his royal cousin, Anita, but Anita is in love with Max’s cousin, Pedro, and is not inclined to further this plan. The populace of Portowa, being of a free-and-easy disposition, in the meantime have heard of Lillian’s incarceration, and threaten to upset the throne if she is not liberated immediately. The dowager stops interfering and leaves for parts unknown.
     Act III. Max, after freeing Lillian, invites her to share the throne with him. He proclaims her not alone his consort, but dubs her his "reginetta delle rose" (little queen of roses), and signs the act of succession with a rose stem instead of a penholder.

LA REINE FIAMETTA

Tragic Opera by Xavier H. N. Leroux

Book based on Italian chronicles

     The initial performance of this work took place at Paris, 1903. The scene is Bologna, and the time the fifteenth century.
     A military adventurer, Giorgio d’Asti, meets the Cardinal Cesare Sforza, who offers him the throne if he will rid the country of Queen Orlanda. Together they concoct a clever plot for the assassination of the queen. A youth, Danielo, is chosen as the fittest instrument. At first Danielo refuses to listen, as he is unwilling to kill a woman. But Sforza prevails upon him by telling him a mendacious story to the effect that his brother ·had been murdered at the instigation of the queen. Then he is given a dagger and speeded on his mission of death.
     The queen, ignorant of the plot, is meanwhile greatly enjoying herself in a Clarissian convent, where she has been admitted under the pseudonym of Helena. And it is there she meets Danielo. Instantly they fall in love with each other, neither being aware of the purposes or identity of the other. At last, though, Danielo discovers who it is he has learned to love. The discovery unmans him. He is handed over to a tribunal of Franciscan friars. Queen Orlanda, abdicating in order to save her lover’s life, is herself condemned as a heretic. But the two lovers are nevertheless united in death. The same axe strikes both.

RUSSLAN AND LUDMILLA

Fairy Opera in five acts by Michael Ivanovitch Glinka

Text after a poem of the same name by Pushkin

     This highly tuneful opera has been the forerunner of fanciful works of a similar scope by later Russian composers like Rimsky-Korsakoff, Stravinsky, and others. It uses for the first time in Russian opera a deal of Oriental color, and is in this as in other respects a pioneer work.
     It was first produced in Petrograd, where it shocked many by its lack of conventionality, and delighted others, and has since been performed with great approval at Berlin and other capitals.
     The first act takes us to the festivities held by Prince Svetozar of Kiev in honor of his daughter’s suitors, these being Russlan, the Russian knight-errant; Ratmir, the ardent Tartar prince; and a rather faint-hearted Varangian chief, Farlaf. The daughter, fair Ludmilla, smiles on Russlan, and her father orders thereupon the nuptials to be solemnized immediately. But mortals must reckon with the favor or disfavor of supernatural beings. And scarcely is finished the jubilant invocation to Lel, the god of Love, when a terrific storm approaches. Flashes of lightning and terrific claps of thunder are heard, and darkness descends upon the scene. When light returns it is seen that the princess is missing. Then Svetozar, distracted at the loss of his child, makes a solemn vow to bestow her upon him who will discover Ludmilla and restore her to him. The three suitors at once take up this challenge and set out for unknown parts to find the missing princess.
     The second act deals with the supernatural beings who are concerned in the fate of Ludmilla. Russlan finds Finn, a mighty sorcerer and the good genius of Russlan, in his cave, and discloses to him that Ludmilla has been carried off by Chernomor, the wonder-working dwarf, who is enamored of the princess. Finn warns Russlan against the magical schemes of Naina, tells him how to avoid her counter-plots, and speeds him on the way. Farlaf meanwhile has already despaired of winning the maiden by legitimate means. He meets Naina, who advises him to steal Ludmilla from whoever is going to rescue her. She promises to frustrate the efforts of both Russian and Ratmir to overcome him.
     Russian arrives upon a deserted battle-field shrouded in mist and strewn with the bodies of the fallen. He picks up there a wondrous spear and shield and perceives simultaneously the severed gigantic head of Chernomor’ s brother. The lifeless head nevertheless blows in self-protection a devastating gale through its nostrils, a breath sufficient in its power to kill Russian. However, our hero by a mighty spear-thrust renders the head impotent, and underneath this head Russian unearths the magical sword by which he will free his sweetheart.
     In the third act the scene shifts to the enchanted abode of Naina. A chorus of seductive Persian virgins is wheedling Ratmir, the Tartar suitor, and Gorislava pleads with Ratmir to come back to her whom he has basely deserted. Her appeal is heard, but Ratmir soon forgets her again to follow the fascinations of the other maidens. Russlan enters the place, and likewise is threatened by a similar fate. Finn, his powerful protector, saves him, and by the incantations of Finn the splendid palace of Naina crumbles into dust, whereupon Russlan is at liberty to continue his search for Ludmilla.
     The fourth act at last discovers Russlan on the right track, in the enchanted domain of Chernomor. Ludmilla is there, having succumbed from weariness to sleep. The powerful ogre, Chernomor, suddenly makes his appearance, seats himself near Ludmilla, and orders the festivities in her honor continued. It is at this moment that Russlan intrudes, and the wonder-working dwarf plunges her immediately into a trance, and then issues forth to encounter his bold foe, RussIan. But Russlan by the aid of the magic sword conquers. However, he is unable to break the spell which holds Ludmilla in the bonds of unconsciousness. Ratmir and his reconciled sweetheart, Gorislava, now join him, and on their advice he takes his way back to Kiev.
     The fifth act opens with the display of Naina’s power, since Russian’s bride has, by the connivance of this female demon, been taken away from Russlan by Farlaf. Chernomor’s spell, though, still holds good. Farlaf is unable to awaken Ludmilla to life, although he brings her back to her father’s home in Kiev. But at last Russlan comes on the scene ready and able to rescue her, for Russlan brings with him the magic ring of Finn, and delivers her. The opera concludes with general rejoicing.

RIP VAN WINKLE

Opera in three acts and seven scenes by Reginald de Koven

Text by Mackaye

     This opera was produced for the first time at Chicago in 1920. The scenes are laid in a Dutch community in the Catskills during the middle of the eighteenth century.
     Act I. Nicholas Vedder, landlord of the village inn, has two daughters, Katrina and Peterkee. Katrina, a shrewish girl, is betrothed to Rip Van Winkle, a happy-go-lucky vagabond of the village, while Peterkee, still in her early teens, attends the school of Derrick Van Bummel whose son, Jan, desires Katrina’s hand for himself and is favored by Nicholas because of his prosperity. The wedding settlement between Katrina and Rip is ready to be signed but Rip cannot be found. At last he comes in with a group of school children with whom he has been playing, having forgottsn his wedding engagement with Katrina. She be-rates him soundly and leaves him crestfallen.
     A goose girl now persuades Rip to join her and the children in a dance which is ended by a thunder shower. Peterkee arrives just in time to hear Rip’s story of Hendrick Hudson who returns every twenty years in the ghostly Half Moon to hold a bowling party in the mountains. At the climax of the tale, there is a clap of thunder and Hendrick Hudson him-self appears. All flee in terror save Rip and Peterkee whom the navigator invites to his party at midnight when he promises to give Rip a magic flask as a wedding gift. As Hudson vanishes upon the reappearance of Katrina, she mocks Rip’s account of what has happened and tells him to return with the magic flask by tomorrow’s sunset or she will marry Jan. Peterkee and Rip start out to the mountains to keep their rendezvous with Hudson.
     Act II. After stopping at Rip’s hut to prepare for their journey, they continue on their way and encounter Dirck Spuytenduyvil, mate of the Half Moon, with two kegs of liquor which Rip helps carry to the mountain peak. There they are welcomed by Hendrick Hudson and his ghostly crew to the party of nine-pins, during which Hendrick and Dirck plot to have Rip marry Peterkee. To this end, she is allowed to win the magic flask and is sent back to the village while Rip is given a sleeping potion which will detain him on the mountain peak until the next appearance of the Half Moon.
     Act III. The score of years has passed. Rip awakens and is amazed to find that he is an old man. He makes his way to his hut which is in ruins. Here Peterkee, in bridal clothes, comes to search for the magic flask, and, seeing the white-bearded and weather-beaten Rip, she thinks him a fairy goblin.
     On the village green, Hans Van Bummel, younger brother of Jan who married Katrina, is about to be wedded to Peterkee. Barking dogs and mocking children announce the entrance of Rip who has come to claim his bride at sundown. In swift compassion, Peterkee hands the old man the magic flask. As he raises it to his lips, there is a great burst of thunder and lightning and Hendrick Hudson and his crew troop forth from the church. The draught from the flask has miraculously restored Rip’s youth and he and Peterkee celebrats their wedding.

LE ROI D’YS

Opera in three acts by Edouard Lalo

Libretto by Blau after a Breton legend

     The first production was given in Paris in 1898. The scenes are laid in legendary Brittany.
     Act I. Margared and Rozenn, daughters of the King of Ys, a city on the Breton sea, both love the warrior Mylio who cares only for Rozenn. Margared, the Pearl of Brittany, has been betrothed by her father for political reasons to Prince Karnac. Shortly after she is led away to be robed for her marriage, she learns that Mylio has returned to Ys and refuses to wed Karnac. The Prince challenges the Breton king to mortal combat and Mylio picks up Karnac’s gauntlet.
     Act II. Margared is torn by conflicting emotions. Seeing her sister Rozenn’s tender parting with Mylio, she cries that she hopes he will never return from battle. Rozenn, believing her sister mad, tries in vain to calm her. Margared curses her and St. Corentin, patron saint of Brittany. When Mylio comes back victorious, Margared, her love turned to hatred, steals to the defeated Karnac and offers to help him conquer Ys by opening the dykes which hold back the waters of the sea.
     Act III. Rozenn is wedded to Mylio according to the charming customs of ancient Brittany. As the nuptial procession returns from the chapel, Margared warns them that the flood gates are down and the waters are already filling the streets of the city. On a hill near the sea, the people of Ys kneel in prayer as the waves roll higher. Margared admits her guilt and suddenly, eager to atone for the evil she has done, she casts herself from a great rock into the raging flood. A vision of St. Corentin appears in a golden glory to accept her sacrifice and the floods retire. The city is saved.

LA RONDINE

Opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini

Libretto by Adami

     The first performance was given at Monte Carlo in 1917. The scenes are laid in France during the Second Empire.
     Magda, a beautiful demi-mondaine living under the protection of the rich banker, Rambaldo, is unable to forget her first love who was a poor young student. At a Bal Bullier she meets Ruggero who is also young and poor and a student. He falls in love with her at first sight and she responds to his impetuous wooing.
     They leave Paris for Nice where they plan to lead an idyllic existence. Ruggero writes to his parents for their consent to his marriage. He describes Magda with a lover’s glowing ardour but his parents reply that if the girl he loves be virtuous, she will be received with open arms. Since remorse cannot undo the past, Magda now believes that she is unworthy Ruggero’s love and like Violetta in La Traviata, she renounces her happiness and dismisses Ruggero lest she should bring dishonor upon him.

LE ROSSIGNOL

Lyric opera in three acts by Igor Stravinsky

Libretto by the composer after Hans Andersen’s fairy tale

     The initial performance was given in Paris in 1914. The scenes are laid in China during legendary times.
     The Emperor of China hears a little brown bird singing and the beauty of its song so delights him that he coaxes it to come to live in the palace. All the court is happy, listening to the modest little bird. Then envoys of the Emperor of Japan bring an artificial nightingale, decked with pearls and gleaming precious stones, to the Chinese ruler. There is. a contest between the two small singers and the thrills of the jeweled bird so enchant the Son of Heaven and his courtiers that the little brown nightingale is forgotten. One day the Emperor happens to ask about the bird and learns that it has flown away. He is so angry that he banishes the nightingale from his realm.
     Then Death comes to court. He seats himself on the Emperor’s bed and steals his sceptre and crown. Just as he is about to place his icy hand upon the’ royal brow, the little nightingale flies in and Death, listeniug to the exquisite melody of his song, is charmed and foregoes his prey. The next morning the courtiers enter the royal bedchamber, expecting to find the Son of Heaven a corpse, but he is alive and well. Then all pay honor to the little brown nightingale.

RUSSALKA

Opera in three acts by Alexander Dargomijsky

Libretto by the composer from a poem by Pushkin

     This opera was first produced in Petrograd in 1856. Russia in its legendary youth furnishes the setting.
     Act I. A young Prince betrays Natasha, daughter of an old Miller. When the Prince is forced to abandon Natasha and marry in his own rank, he seeks to console the girl with gifts of jewels and gold. Left alone to face the consequences of their secret union, Natasha throws herself into the mill-stream and becomes a Russalka whose duty it is to lure mortals to a watery doom.
     Act II. The Prince celebrates his nuptials. The happiness of the occasion is marred by the eerie, wailing cry of the Russalka each time the Prince attempts to embrace his bride.
     Act III. Several years have passed. The mill has fallen into ruins and Natasha’s father has become crazed through his misfortunes. The unhappy Prince, wandering one day about the scene of his early love, encounters a Russalka child who tells him that she is his daughter and that her mother bids him join them at the bottom of the stream. While he is hesitating, the Mad Miller, with a hideously meaningless laugh, flings him into the pond. A final tableau shows the Prince happily reunited with the Russalka and their child.

Last updated October 21, 2006