Opera Books
The Opera Goer’s
COMPLETE GUIDE
LEO MELITZ
Copyright 1908, 1911, 1921
SUPPLEMENT NO. 2
An opera in four acts and eight scenes by
Moussorgsky, text founded on the drama of the same name by Pushkin. First produced in
Petrograde in 1874.
CAST: Boris Godounoff—Baritone.
Feodor—Mezzosoprano. Xenia—Soprano. The Old Nurse—Contralto. Prince
Shouisky—Tenor. Andrey Stchelakov, clerk of the Douma—Baritone. Pimen, monk and
chronicler—Bass. The Pretender Dimitri, called Gregory—Tenor.
Marina—Soprano. Rangoni, a Jesuit in disguise—Bass. Varlaam—Bass.
Missail—Tenor. The Hostess—Mezzosoprano. Nikitin (Michael) constable. Place,
Russia. Time, 1598-1605.
ACT I. Scene I is laid in front of the Novodievitchi Convent
and the populace, sufficiently inspired by a Police Officer, are demanding that the Tzar
reassume the sceptre of Russia. The secretary of the Douma comes out of the convent, and
informs the crowd that the Tzar still refuses. The crowd again renews its appeal. Scene Il
is laid in a cell within the convent. Gregory awakes from a horrible dream. He bemoans the
fate of the murdered Tzarevitch. Scene III is in the great Square between the two
Cathedrals of the Assumption and the Archangels. The populace are awaiting the coming of
the Tzar. He appears amid cries of joy, addresses the people, and then enters the
Cathedral of the Assumption.
ACT II. Scene II is in an inn. Gregory and two monks who
have escaped from the convent with him, enter. Shortly afterwards a guard appears in
search of a fugitive whose description tallies with that of Gregory. He rushes from the
room with the guard in pursuit. Scene II is in the Tzar’s apartments in the Kremlin.
Word is brought to the Tzar that Dimitri who was murdered (impersonated by Gregory) has
reappeared and is rousing the people. The Tzar betrays great agony of mind.
ACT III. Scene I is in a garden before the Polish Castle of
Mniscek. In a love scene between the False Dimitri and Marina, she spurs him on to lead
the attack against Moscow so that he may seize the throne and make her queen. Scene Il is
in the Forest of Kromy where Dimitri’s army disperses a crowd of vagrants and rescues
some of his adherents. Scene III is before the Kremlin. A session is being held, presided
over by the Tzar to decide what judgment shall be meted out to the false Dimitri. An old
peasant tells the Tzar how he was cured of blindness when praying at the tomb of the dead
Tzarevitch, and the Tzar deeply impressed after counselling his son to reign wisely, prays
that his great Crimes may be forgiven him and falls dead.
An American opera in four acts by Reginald de
Koven. Text by Percy Mackaye. First produced at the Metröpolitan Opera House, March 8,
1917.
CAST: Geoffrey Chaucer, First Poet Laureate of England.
Knight. Squire, his son. Friar, Miller, Cook, Shipman, Summoner,
Pardoner—Alisoun’s Swains. Host. Man of Law. Joannes, the Prioress’
Servitor. Richard II, King of England. The Wife of Bath (Alison) The Prioress (Madame
Eglantine) Johanna. Pilgrims, Nobles, Choir-boys, Prelates, Nuns, Brooch-girls,
Serving-maids, etc. Place, England. Time, 1387.
ACT I. Scenes. The Tabard Inn, at Southwark, near London.
ACT II. Garden of the One-Nine-Pin Inn, at the little hamlet
of Bob-up-and-down, en route to Canterbury.
ACT III. The Hall of the Inn.
ACT IV. Before the west Front of Canterbury Cathedral.
The story has to do with the merry schemes of the Wife of
Bath who has fallen in love with Chaucer, who in his turn loves the Prioress, and of her
winning of a bet to gain possession of a certain brooch which carries with it
Chaucer’s promise of marriage. He is finally rescued by Richard II who decides that
the Wife may marry a sixth time only on condition that she marry a miller. A devoted
miller joyfully accepts the opportunity and the Proiress and Chaucer are reconciled.
CLEOPATRA’S
NIGHT
(Une Nuit de Cléopâtre)
An American Opera in two ads. Music by Henry
Hadley. (Op. 90). Text by Alice Leal Pollock, based on a story by Théophile Gautier.
CAST: Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt—Dramatic Soprano.
Meïamoun, a young Egyptian—Tenor. Mark Anthony— Baritone. Mardion, the
favourite maid to the Queen—Mezzo-soprano. Diomedes, Chief of Cleopatra’s
rowers. The Distiller of Poisons. Iras, a maiden—Mezzo-soprano. A
Eunuch—Baritone. Anthony’s Chief Officer—Baritone. A Guest—Tenor. A
Hungry Guest—Bass. A Female Guest—Mezzo-soprano. Place, Egypt. Time, midsummer.
First produced, January 31, 1920, at the Metropolitan Opera House.
ACT I. It is a hot and oppressive day in midsummer; and
Mardion, who is in love with Meïamoun, tells Iras of her unrequitted love for him and of
Cleopatra’s many amours as they wait for the Queen to come for her bath. Cleopatra
arrives with her retinue and her lament about the loneliness of queens is cut short by an
arrow which suddenly falls beside her bearing the message "I love you." The head
of Meïamoun appears in the water, and the guards are about to kill him, when Cleopatra,
upon learning of his love for herself, offers to give him a night of happiness if he will
be willing to die at sunrise. He consents and Mardion kills herself in despair and her
body is thrown to the crocodiles.
ACT II. The Queen keeps her guests waiting at the banquet on
the terraces of the palace while she lingers with Meïamoun. When she does enter with him
there is a scene of unlicensed passion. Finally the guests and the dancing-girls stroll
off into the garden. The dawn is breaking, and Cleopatra longs to save her lover from his
fate. But even she may not reverse an order once given. He drinks the poison prepared for
him and falls dead at her feet The arrival of Mark Anthony is announced; and with a
parting kiss on the lips of her dead lover, she goes to meet the Roman.
An opera in four acts by Riccardo Zandonai. Text
by Vaucaire and Zangarini, based on Lierre Louy’s "La Femme et le Pantin."
First produced in Milan in 1911. CAST: Conchita—Soprano. Mateo—Tenor.
Conchita’s mother—Mezzo-soprano. Rufina--Mezzo-soprano.
Estella—Mezzo-soprano. The Superintendent—Mezzo-soprano. Garcia, Dance Hall
Proprietor—Bass. Tonio, a waiter—Bass. Various characters in dance hall, factory
and street. Place, Seville. Time, present.
ACT I. In a cigar factory. Mateo, a wealthy Spaniard, comes
to visit the factory and Conchita recognizes him as the man who rescued her from the
unwelcome attentions of a policeman. She invites him to her home, and unseen by her, he
gives her mother some money to make some purchases. When she discovers it, she thinks he
has tried to buy her love, and refusing to have anything more to do with him, she leaves
home.
ACT II. In a dance hall, Conchita is supporting herself by
executing some very daring dances. Mateo, after a search, finds her and begs her to give
up this life and go and live in a little house he owns. She finally consents.
ACT III. A street in Seville. Instead of letting him in when
Mateo arrives at midnight, as agreed, Conchita talks with him out of the window and
arouses his jealousy by turning and calling as if to a male companion within. Mateo tries
to break into the house without success; Conchita taunts him, and he staggers off.
ACT IV. Conchita comes to Mateo’s house and tells him
she had expected that he would at least kill himself for love of her. He suddenly seizes
and beats her. She tries to stab him, and then confesses her love for him. He takes her in
his arms.
An American opera in four acts. Music by Walter
Damrosch. Text by W. J. Henderson, after the drama by Edmond Rostand. First production,
Metropolitan Opera House, February 27, 1913.
CAST: Cyrano de Bergerac—Baritone. Roxane—Soprano.
Duenna—Alto. Lise—Soprano. A Flower-Girl—Soprano. Christian—Tenor.
Ragueneau—Tenor. De Guiche—Bass. Le Bret—Bass. A Tall Musketeer-Bass.
Montfleury—Tenor. First Cavalier—Bass. Second Cavalier—Tenor. Third
Cavalier—Bass. A Cadet—Tenor. Chorus of Precieuses, Pages, Nuns, Cavaliers,
Gascony Cadets, Marquises, etc. Place, France. Time, Reign of Louis XIII.
ACT I. In the Hotel de Bourgogne, in Paris, a coterie
of literary ladies, whose leader is the witty Roxane, and their admirers are waiting for a
play to begin. Christian, who has recently joined the Gascony Cadets, tells Le Bret, who
is also a member, that he is hopelessly in love with Roxane. He learns from Le Bret that
she is the cousin of Cyrano, who has a nose that "None may speak of it, save under
breath: it is the very nose of death." When the audience is assembled and Montfieury
begins to sing, Cyrano forces him to retire. De Guiche makes a cutting remark about
Cyrano’s nose; and Cyrano after showing him how much more witty he could have made
this remark, challenges him to a duel, and wounds him. All leave the hotel except Cyrano
who tells Le Bret that he himself dares to love Roxane. As he is about to leave, De Guiche
returns with a hundred bravos and Cyrano joyously fights his way out.
ACT II. Into the pastry-shop of Ragueneau comes Cyrano and
begins to write verses to Roxane. When she appears, he drives all the other occupants of
the shop out into the street. Roxane, relying on his brotherly affection for her, tells
Cyrano that she loves Christian and asks him to watch over him. Cyrano, suppressing his
own grief and love, consents; and Roxane leaves. The "Gascony Cadets" enter and
congratulate Cyrano on his defeat of De Guiche and his bravos; and Cyrano recounts the
circumstances to them. Christian, wishing to prove his bravery, twits Cyrano on his nose
from time to time, during the story. Cyrano orders the others out of the room, and
explains to Christian that he is Roxane’s "brother," that she loves him
[Christian] and that he desires to help him woo her. Christian gladly agrees. A musketeer
presuming upon the fact that Christian was not punished for mentioning Cyrano’s nose,
speaks of it and is knocked down.
ACT III. De Guiche comes to tell Roxane, who is reclining in
the moonlight before her house, that he has been placed in command of the Gascony Cadets
and can now revenge himself on Cyrano. She suggests that his greatest revenge would be to
leave the Cadets behind when he starts for Arras. He agrees and then declares his love for
her. He leaves and she goes into her house. Cyrano and Christian appear. Cyrano
impersonates Christian and enchants Roxane, who appears on her balcony. A monk arrives
with a letter from De Guiche who says he will be there shortly, but which Roxane
interprets to the monk as a command to marry her at once to Christian. They go into the
house while Cyrano remains without to detain De Guiche. He arrives and Cyrano detains him
with a fanciful tale until the lovers reappear and he realises he has been outwitted. He
at once orders Cyrano and Christian to Arras.
ACT IV. Scene I. Cyrano has been writing love letters to
Roxane in Christian’s name. She suddenly appears upon the scene, and tells him she
would love him even if he were ugly. Christian becomes jealous and demands that Cyrano
tell her whose the letters are that she admires so much. He then rushes off into the
battle. Soon his dead body is brought in and Roxane finds Cyrano’s letter upon it.
Cyrano himself is wounded, and Roxane is borne off fainting by Ragueneau.
Scene II. Roxane seeks shelter at a convent where Cyrano has
already been carried. They meet before the convent and Roxane discovers that it is he and
not Christian she has learned to love through the letters. Le Bret and Ragueneau enter
hastily in search of Cyrano, and discover that his wound has reopened in his excitement
and that he is bleeding to death. He dies with the words, "My soldier’s
snow-white plume," and Roxane leaning over him.
An opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi. Text by
Méry and du Locle, after the tragedy of the same title. First produced in Paris in 1867.
CAST: Philip II, King of Spain. Don Carlos,
"Infant" of Spain. Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa. Grand Inquisitor, aged 90, blind. A
Friar. Elizabeth of Valois. The Princess Eboli. Theobald, Elizabeth’s page. The
Countess of Aremberg. The Count of Lerna. A Royal Herald. Flemish Ladies, Inquisitors,
Gentlemen, and Ladies of the Courts of France and Spain. Members of the Populace, Pages,
Guards, Familiars of the Holy Office, Soldiers, Magistrates, Deputies from the various
provinces constituting the Spanish Empire, etc. Time, about 1560.
ACT I. Forest of Fontainbleau. Don Carlos, son of Phillip II
and Crown Prince of Spain, is the affianced lover of the beautiful Elizabeth of Valois,
daughter of Henry II. Don Carlos and Elizabeth meet for the first time, and Don Carlos
pretends that he is only a messenger from the "Infant" with a gift for her. He
tells her of Don Carlos’s admiration for her. She opens the package and finds a
miniature of Don Carlos, and at once recognises him as the original. They fall deeply and
passionately in love with each other. A messenger arrives with the news that she is to
marry, for reasons of state, Phillip II, not his son, Don Carlos. The lovers are in
despair.
ACT II. The royal marriage is duly solemnised; but Don
Carlos can not overcome his love for Elizabeth. His friend, Rodrigo, advises him to go to
Flanders, to forget his passion; and Don Carlos asks Elizabeth to gain the requisite
permission from the King. Their interview serves to re-awaken the intensity of their love;
and Don Carlos clasps her in his arms forgetful of all else, and then flees from the
scene.
ACT III. Part I. The Queen’s Garden. During a carnival
Don Carlos meets the Princess Eboli, and mistaking her for Elizabeth, tells her of his
love. The Princess loves him herself, and she joyously removes her mask. When she learns
of her mistake, filled with jealousy, she threatens to reveal Don Carlos’s love for
Elizabeth to the King.
Part II. A large square before Nostra Donna d’Atocha,
with a funeral pile. The bells are ringing joyously. The Court and the Queen, and later
the King, enter, as for a holiday. Don Carlos appears at the head of a delegation of
Flemings and begs for mercy for them. The King refuses, and Don Carlos, drawing his sword,
vows to be their savior. The King orders him disarmed, but everyone is afraid to attempt
it until Rodrigo asks him for his sword and Don Carlos yields. The funeral pile is lighted
and the joyous song of the Inquisitors is heard.
ACT IV. Part I. In the King’s Library. The Grand
Inquisitor convinces the king that Don Carlos must be imprisoned. The Princess Eboli
arouses his jealousy by telling him of the love between his son and his wife.
Part II. The prison of Don Carlos. Rodrigo comes to visit
his friend and is shot by unknown men, by order of the Inquisition which fear his
enlightened spirit. Part III. The Cloisters of the Convent of St. Just. Don Carlos has
been freed at the demand of the populace and hastens to the Convent for a last farewell
with Elizabeth. Elizabeth is exhorting him to help Flanders, and so distract his mind from
his own sorrows, when the King suddenly arrives, having heard of their clandestine
meeting, and delivers his son over to the Inquisition.
Opera in four acts by Riccardo Zandonai. Text by
T. Riccardi, founded on the drama by Gabriele d’Annunzio. First produced at Turin,
Italy, February 1, 1914.
CAST: Giovanni, the lame—Baritone. Paolo, the
beau— tiful—Tenor, Malatestino, the one-eyed—Tenor, sons of Malatesta da.
Verrucchio. Ostasio, son of Guido Minore da Polenta—Baritone. Ser Toldo Berardengo, a
Notary—Tenor. A Jester—Bass. A Bowman—Tenor. Tower Warden—Baritone.
Francesca, daughter of Guido and sister of Ostasio—Soprano. Samaritana, a sister of
Francesca and Ostasio—Soprano. Biancofiore, Garsenda, Altichiara, women of Francesca,
Smaradi, a slave. Bowman, archers, and musicians. Place, Ravenna and Rimini.
ACT I. The court of the house of the Plentani. For reasons
of state it is necessary that Francesca marry Giovanni, the Lamester, or Gianciotto as he
is called; but as she would surely refuse to comply, a plot is laid whereby she is made to
think that Paolo, his handsome brother, is the destined bridegroom. She falls deeply in
love with him, and he with her, though they are not allowed to exchange a word.
ACT II. A platform of the tower of the Malatesti. A fight is
in progress between the Guelfs and the Ghibellines. Francesca, now married to Gianciotto,
meets Paolo for the first time and reproaches him for his deception of her. He protests
that he knew nothing of it, and declares his love for her. Word is brought of his election
as Captain of the People and the Commune of Florence and he sets out for Florence.
ACT III. The beautiful apartments of Francesca. She is
reading to her women from an ancient tome, the story of Lancelot and Guenevere. At
a whispered word from her slave she dismisses them, and Paolo sick for love of her,
enters. He has returned from Florence to see her. Together they continue reading the
story; and as the passion in the ancient tale increases so their passion for each other
increased until they give kiss for kiss.
ACT IV. Malatestino, the youngest brother of Gianciotto, who
himself loves Francesca, betrays the secret meeting of Francesca and Paolo of which he has
learned, by chance, to the husband. Gianciotto determines to learn the truth for himself.
He lies in wait for them; finds them together, and slays them in the early dawn.
Opera in one act by Puccini. Text by G. Forzano.
CAST: Gianni Schicchi. Lauretta. Zita, Rinuccio, Gherardo,
Nella Gherardino, Betto, Simone, Marco, La Ciesca—all relatives of Buoso Donati.
Master Spinelloccio, physician. Amantio Di Nicolao, notary. Pinellino, shoemaker. Guccio,
a dyer. Place, Florence. Time, 1299. First produced at Metropolitan Opera House, New York,
December 14, 1918.
The scene is laid in the bed-chamber of Buoso Donati. Donati
has been dead two hours and his relatives are reading the will. They find he has left all
to charity. Gianni Schicchi is called in and consulted. So far only those in the room know
Donati is dead. Schicchi hides the corpse, with the consent of the others, gets into bed,
and when the doctor calls, imitates Donati’s voice and pretends he wants to sleep.
The lawyer is sent for, and Schicchi dictates a new will in favour of himself, as sole
heir, to the consternation and of the anger of the others, who dare not interfere.
An opera in three Tableaux. Music by Enrique
Granados. Text by Fernando Periquet.
CAST: Rosario, a high-born lady, 25 years of age. Pepa, a
popular maja of Madrid, 25 years of age. Fernando, Captain of the Royal Spanish
Guard, 25 years of age. Paquiro, a toreador, 25 years of age. Ma jot and Majas. Place,
Madrid. Time, 1800. First produced at the Metropolitan Opera House, January 28, 1916. The
characters and settings were suggested by the paint. ings of Goya.
The opera opens with a crowd of majot and majas. enj
oying a holiday on the outskirts of Madrid. Some of them are tossing a pelele (a
man of straw) in a blanket, a popular pastime. Pepa, the present sweetheart of Paquiro,
drives up in her dog-cart; shortly afterwards the great lady, Rosario arrives in her
sedan-chair to keep a rendezvous with her lover, Fernando, the captain of the Royal Guard.
Paquiro arouses Fernando’s jealousy by reminding Rosario of a baile de candil she
once attended, and invites her to go again. Fernando accepts the invitation both for
himself and Rosario. Pepa, in a rage, swears to best Rosario.
Fernando brings Rosario to the ball. His haughty words and
bearing offend the majos and majas. Pepa taunts Fernando to madness, and in
the excitement Rosario faints. Fernando and Paquiro exchange chal.. lenges for a duel.
Later there is a passionate love scene in Rosario’s
garden between her and Fernando which is terminated by Paquiro reminding Fernando it is
time for the duel. The duel is fought, and Fernando is mortally wounded and dies in
Rosario’s arms.
An opera in five acts. Music by Massenet. Text by
M. M. Milliet, H. Gremont and A. Zanardini. First produced at the Théâtre de la Monnaie,
1881.
CAST: Salome. Herod. Herodias. Phanuel. John the Baptist.
Vitellius. The High Priest. Desert Chiefs, Merchants, Slaves, Dancers, Citizens, Jewish
priests, Sadducees and Pharisees, Arabian envoys, Nobles, Ro-mans. Place, Jerusalem. Time,
about 30 A.D.
ACT I. The great court of Herod’s Palace. Salome
arrives at the palace with a caravan bringing gifts to Herod. She was mysteriously
separated from Herodias in childhood, and does not know she is her daughter. Herod is
attracted toward her; but her one desire is to return to the Prophet in the wilderness who
was kind to her. Herodias enters, demanding John’s head as he has publically insulted
her by calling her Jezebel. Herod refuses. John enters and continues his denunciations.
The king and Herodias flee from him. Salome throws herself at his feet, and confesses her
love for him, but he demands that she turn her thought to the ideal love of the new faith
in which he believes.
ACT II. Herod is unable to break himself of his infatuation
for Salome and endangers the safety of his kingdom by conspiring against the Romans.
ACT III. Herodias consults Phanuel, an astrologer, who tells
her that Salome is her daughter. She sees Salome entering the Temple, recognises her as
her rival, in Herod’s affections, and repudiates her. Within the Temple Salome prays
to God to save John who has been thrown into prison. Herod tells Salome of his love and
she repulses him with: "I love another who is mightier than Caesar, stronger than any
hero." In a fury, he condemns them both to death.
ACT IV. Salome implores Herodias to save John, who, unknown
to her, has already been executed. When she learns of his death she attempts to kill
Herodias. Herodias cries, "Have mercy, I am your mother." "Then take back
your blood and my life," and Salome stabs herself instead.
Opera in one act by Puccini. Text by G. Adami
after "La Houppelande," by Didier Gold.
CAST: Michele, a skipper. Luigi, a longshoreman. Tinca, a
longshoreman. Talpa, a longshoreman. Giorgetta, Michele’s wife. Frugola, wife of
Talpa. Longshoremen, a Song Peddler, Midinettes, an Organ Grinder, Two Lovers. Place,
Seine River. First produced at the Metropolitan Opera House, December 14, 1918.
The scene is laid on a barge, just at sunset. The day’s
work is done and the two bargemen leave. Luigi lingers in the cabin and arranges with
Giorgetta to strike a match when it is safe for him to return. He then departs. Michele,
the husband, enters; and though he suspects his wife, reminds her of their early love and
how he used to shelter her under his cloak. Giorgetta receives these reminiscences coldly,
and retires to the cabin on the plea of weariness. The husband lights his pipe; and Luigi,
thinking it is the signal, clambers on board and is choked to death by Michele, who covers
the body with his cloak and resumes his smoking. Giorgetta, hearing the struggle, returns
to the deck and is relieved to find her husband so composed. She in her turn tries to
recall their former love-making; and in answer he suddenly flings back his coat and
reveals the dead body. He then throws his wife violently upon it.
An opera in three acts, by Bellini. Text
by Count Pepoli. First produced in Paris, January 25, 1835.
CAST: Lord Gautier Walton of the Puritans—Bass. Sir
George Walton, his brother—Bass. Lord Arthur Talbot of the Cavaliers—Tenor. Sir
Richard Forth of the Puritans—Baritone. Sir Benno Robertson, of the
Puritans—Tenor. Henrietta, of France, widow of Charles I.—Soprano. Elvira,
daughter of Lord Walton— Soprano. Puritans, Soldiers of the Commonwealth,
Men-At-Arms, Women, Pages, etc. Place, near Plymouth, England. Time, during the Wars
between Cromwell and the Stuarts.
ACT I. A fortress near Plymouth, commanded by Lord Walton.
His daughter, Elvira, has been promised in marriage to Sir Richard Forth by Lord Walton;
but when he finds she is in love with Lord Arthur Talbot, a cavalier, he relents and
arranges for her marriage with him. Upon his arrival, Talbot finds that Queen Henrietta is
imprisoned in the fortress and assists her to escape, wrapped in Elvira’s bridal
veil. On the way they encounter Forth; and when he discovers that the woman with Talbot is
not Elivira, he is content to let them pass. When the escape is discovered, Elvira
believes herself deserted and loses her reason.
ACT II. Another part of the fortress. It concerns itself
chiefly with exhibitions of Elvira’s madness.
ACT III. A grove near the fortress. Talbot, who is
proscribed, returns to see Elvira. The meeting temporarily restores her reason. Even when
he hears the men in pursuit of him, Talbot refuses to leave her and is captured. He is
about to be executed when word is brought of the pardoning of all prisoners; and this
shock of joy permanently restores Elvira’s reason.
JACQUERIE
(The Peasants’ Revolt)
An opera in three acts by Gino Marinuzzi. Text by
A. Donaudy. First produced by the Chicago Opera Co., 1920.
CAST: Isaura. Mazurec, her husband. William, her f ather.
The Viscount Corrado. Glorianda, his betrothed. Notary. The Giacomi. Peasants. Landlords.
Minstrel. Voices, etc. Time, the Middle Ages. Place, near little city of Nointel. Before
the marital home of Issura.
ACT I. Isaura and Mazurec are celebrating their marriage
when they discover that Viscount Corrado has placed a gleaming unsheathed sword above
their door to signify his intention of exercising his ancient right of taking "the
Virgins on their marriage night." When the Viscount appears, Mazurec pleads with him
to forego his privilege, but to no avail, and the father, William, attacks the Viscount
and is arrested.
ACT II. In the great-room of the castle. The Viscount and
Glorianda are celebrating their betrothal. It is a day of pardon and William is released.
Isaura, too, is returned to Mazurec, and becomes delirious in his arms, then dies, from
her sufferings.
ACT III. Mazurec has become deformed and almost
unrecognizable from his grief and is living alone in the woods. He with William joins
Giacomi in an attack upon the castle. The peasants and even the servants in the castle
have revolted. They are successful, and Glorianda is given to Mazurec to treat as the
Viscount treated Isaura. But as he takes her in his arms, he sees a vision of his Isaura
in the same plight and helps Glorianda escape through the woods. The castle goes up in
flames and the hymn of the enslaved, breaking their century old chains, rings
out,—"Let there be annihilation of the oppressors!"
THE JEWELS OF THE
MADONNA
(I Giojelli Della Madonna)
An opera in three acts by Wolf-Ferrari; plot by
the composer and the verse by C. Zangarini and E. Golisciani. First produced in Berlin,
December 23, 1911.
CAST: Gennaro, in love with Maliella—Tenor. Maliella,
in love with Rafaele—Soprano. Rafaele, leader of the Camorrists—Baritone.
Carmela, Gennaro’s mother— Mezzo-soprano. Biaise —Tenor.
Cicillo—Tenor. Stefla—Soprano. Concetta—Soprano. Serena—Soprano.
Rocco—Bass. Grazia, a dancer. Totonno, Venders, Monks, Populace. Place, Naples. Time,
the present.
ACT I. A small square in Naples in which stand the houses of
Carmela, Gennaro, and Biaso. It is the festival of the Madonna and the square is crowded.
Maliella, a potential Carmen, had been adopted when a baby by Carmela to fulifi a vow made
for the recovery of her son from a childish illness. She had been a foundling. Mali-ella
runs out of the house in a wild holiday mood and down to the sea. She soon returns pursued
by Rafacle and his band of Camorrists; he catches and kisses her, and she stabs his hand
with a dagger-like hat-pin. While hymns to the Virgin are chanted, Rafaele pours out his
passion to Maliella and says he would even rob the sacred image of its j ewels to bedeck
her in their glory. The superstitious girl is horrified; but after the procession which
appears has passed, she picks up the flower Rafaele has tossed her and runs indoors.
ACT. II The garden of Carmela’s house in the late
evening. Gennaro detains Maliella when she starts to leave the house with her bundle. In
answer to his pleading she tells him that Rafaele has offered to steal the jewels of the
Madonna. He locks the gate upon her and she goes back to her room resentfully. He then
takes several skeleton keys and some files, wraps them in a piece of leather and goes out.
Rafaele appears at the gate with his band; and he and Maliella have a love duel. It is
scarcely finished when a signal is given that some one approaches, and he leaves, but not
before she has promised to join him on the morrow. Gennaro enters and spreads before her
the jewels of the Madonna. She yields herself to his embrace in an ecstasy, half mystic,
half sensual
ACT III. A haunt of the Camorrist. The Camorrists, men and
women, are gathered together; and Rafaele tells them that the charm to him of Maliella, is
that he will be the first man to whom she has yielded herself. Maliella rushes in; and in
an agony confesses that she confused Gennaro with him the night before, and has yielded
herself to him. Furiously Rafaele flings her to the ground; and the jewels of the Madonna
fall from her cloak. Gennaro, half mad, has followed her in. The crowd, as superstitious
as it is criminal, recoils from both intruders. Rafaele curses her, and she rushes out to
drown herself. Gennaro finds a knife among the débris and stabs himself.
In a prologue, four acts, and eight tableaux, by
Gustave Charpentier. The sequel to Louise. First produced in Paris, June 4, 1913.
CAST: Julien—Tenor. The High Priest, The Peasant, The
Showman—Baritones. The Ofilciant—Tenor. Voice from the Abyss—Tenor. The
Bell-ringer—Tenor. The Acolyte—Tenor. A Woodcutter. A Gypsy. Four Comrades. A
Stonebreaker. Voice from the Abyss. Labourers. A Rowdy. Waiters in the Cabaret. A Student.
A Citizen. Louise, Beauty, The Young Girl, The Grandmother, The Grisette—Sopranos.
The Peasant Woman—Contralto. The Dream-maidens. The Chimeras. Fairies. A
Citizen’s Wife. A Girl. Two Grisettes. Levites, Augurs, Sages, Worshippers of Beauty,
Muses, Lovers, Chosen Poets, Hapless Poets, Woodcutters, Ditchers, Peasant Men and Women,
Gipsies, Breton Women, Carnival Crowd, Sacred Dancers, Carnival Dancers.
The story is allegorical and might be called the Dream of a
Poet’s Life. The Prologue is laid in Julien’s Villa Medici in Rome. Louise and
he are together and finally overcome by his emotions he flings himself into a chair and
falls asleep.
ACT I. Enthusiasm. Various dream-forms pass by him in
his search for supreme beauty, some encouraging him, some representing the cavilling
doubts of ordinary mortals. Louise suddenly appears as the incarnation of Supreme Beauty;
and he prostrates himself before her altar and receives her benediction.
ACT II. Doubt. Julien, wearied by his failure to
convert the world to a love of beauty, meets a peasant who advises him to "stay close
to the good earth." A Young Girl also urges him to stay. The Peasant invites him into
the warmth of his cottage but Julien curtly refuses, and is left alone with mysterious
voices.
ACT III. Impotence. Julien addresses the pitiless
heavens and the derisive Voices of the Tempest answer him. The Grandmother, the fond
memory of his youth, comes to him, and tries to win him back to faith and hopeful
resignation. There is a prolonged struggle between her and the choir of the Hapless Poets
for the possession of his soul.
ACT IV. Intoxication. He seeks forgetfulness of his
despair at the fruitlessness of his search in a travesty of the Temple of Beauty,
surrounded by fays, sirens and rabble. In the midst of the scene of ribald revelry, a
majestic phantom vision of the Temple of Beauty appears. He turns to the Grisette, who has
usurped Louise’s place. She heartlessly derides him; the vision vanishes; and he
falls dead at her feet.
The Grisette, the Young Girl, the Grandmother are none other
than Louise whose love responds to his changing state.
LA FORZA DEL DESTINO
(The Force of Destiny)
A Lyric drama in four acts. Music by Giuseppe
Verdi. Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, founded on a drama of the Duke of Rivas, called
"Don Alvaro o la Fuerzer del Sino."
CAST: Marquis of Calatrava. Donna Leonora, Don Carlo of
Vargas, his children. Don Alvaro. Preziosilla, gipsy girl. Abbot of the Franciscan friars.
Militone, a friar. Curra, Leonora’s maid. Trabucco, muleteer, afterwards a peddler. A
Spanish military surgeon. An Alcade. Muleteer, Spanish, and Italian peasants and soldiers,
Friars of the Order of St. Francis, etc. Place, Spain. Time, 18th Century. First produced
at the Imperial Theatre of St. Petersburg and at Madrid.
ACT I. Don Alvaro is a young nobleman from India who has
settled in Seville, where, however, he is not very well thought of. He falls in love with
Donna Leonora, the daughter of the Marquis of Calatrava, who, notwithstanding his love for
his daughter, is determined that she shall marry only a man of the highest origin.
Leonora, knowing her father’s aversion, and deeply in love with Alvaro, determines to
elope with him, aided by her confidante, Curra. On the point of departure with him, she
suddenly desires to see her father for a last time. Her father unexpectedly enters and
discovers Alvaro; he threatens him with death, and Alvaro in order to remove any suspicion
as to Leonora’s purity, offers to surrender himself to the Marquis. He flings down
his pistol which goes off and mortally wounds the Marquis who dies cursing his daughter.
ACT II. The Alcade, several peasant muleteers, and Don Carlo
of Vargas, the brother of Donna Leonora, are gathered in the kitchen of an inn in the
village of Hornachuelos. Don Carlo is searching for Don Alvaro to avenge the death of his
father and is disguised as a student of Salamanca, under the fictitious name of Pereda.
Leonora, in male attire arrives. During the supper, Preziosilla, a young gipsy, tells the
young men’s fortunes and exhorts them to enlist in the war for Italy’s freedom,
which all agree to do. In a very beautiful solo, Don Carlo tells them of his father’s
death. Leonora overhears his song and barely escapes discovery by him. She takes refuge in
a monastery where she tells the abbot her true name and that she intends to spend the
remainder of her life in a hermitage. After the abbot has recounted the trials she will
have to undergo, she departs for her cave.
ACT III. Meanwhile Don Alvaro has joined the Spanish army
under the name of Don Federico Herreros. One night he saves the life of Don Carlo who is
serving in the same army under the name of Don Felix Bornos. They become close friends and
go into battle side by side. In one of these engagements Don Alvaro is, as he supposes,
mortally wounded, and confides to Don Carlo’s care a valise containing a bundle of
letters which he is to destroy as soon as Don Alvaro dies. Don Carlo has sworn not to look
at the contents of the letters; but he becomes suspicious of his friend, opens the valise
and finds his sister’s picture. At that moment a surgeon brings word that Don Alvaro
may recover. Don Carlo is overjoyed at the idea of revenging his father’s death. The
scene changes to a camp near Velletri (Italy) where Don Carlo and Don Alvaro fight a duel,
in which Don Alvaro thinks he has killed his opponent. In expiation, Don Alvaro vows to
enter a monastery.
ACT IV. Don Alvaro has entered the monastery at
Hornachuelos, near which is Leonora’s cave, under the name of Father Raphael. Don
Carlo arrives cured of his wound and forces him to fight. They chose the ground before
Leonora’s cave; and Don Carlo is mortally wounded. Alvaro calls for help, and Leonora
recognizing his voice rushes out, and seeing her brother dying, stoops over him; he
thereupon stabs her to the heart. Don Alvaro flings himself to death from some rocks,
before the monks arrive singing the Miserere.
A lyric episode in two acts. Music by J.
Massenet. Text by Jules Claretie and H. Cain. First produced at Covent Garden, June 24,
1894.
CAST: Garrido, General of the Royalist troops. Remigio, a
farmer. Araquil, his son, Sergeant in the Biscayan Regiment. Ramon, Lieutenant in the
same. Bustamente, Sergeant in the same. Anita, a girl of Navarre, betrothed to Araquil.
Officers, Soldiers, Villagers, Military Chap-plain, and Surgeon. Place, Spain. Time,
during the Carlist war.
General Garrido of the Royalist troops has been vainly
trying to take a Basque village from the Carlist enemy, Zuccaraga. Araquil is madly in
love with Anita, but his father opposes their union as she has no dowry. Anita overhears
Garrido offer a fortune to any one who will take Zuccaraga. To Anita this offer means,
Araquil, marriage, happiness. She tells Garrido of her intention, and goes to
Zuccaraga’s camp. When Araquil learns where she has gone and knowing that Zuccaraga
loves pretty women, he is frantic and follows her. Shots are heard and Anita returns and
claims her reward from Garrido. She is caressing her gold when Araquil appears,
desperately wounded. She says she can marry him now; but he does not believe her story of
what she has done. Then suddenly the hell announcing Zuccaraga’s death begins to
toll, and Araquil realizes that she has told him the truth. He dies horrified at her
crime. Anita first tries to kill herself and then goes mad with grief.
An opera in four acts and two scenes by Xavier
Leroux, with a libretto adapted from his play by Catulle Mendès. First produced in
America at the Metropolitan Opera House, January 24, 1919.
CAST: Orlanda. Danielo. Giorgio d’Ast. Cardinal Sforza.
Pantasille. Mother Agramente. Violette. Vio-line. Viola. Pomone. Michela. Angioletta. Chiarina.
Two boys. Luc Agnolo. Castiglione. Cortez. Cesano. Vasari. Prosecutor. Two Novices.
Place, in the imagmary Kingdom of Bologna, Italy. Time, 16th century. ACT I. The court
yard of an inn near Bologna. The young Queen, Orlanda, affectionately called "the
little flame," has shown some sympathy with the teachings of Luther; and the
Pope’s nephew, Cardinal Cesar Sforza, decides she must expiate her heresy with her
life. He incites her Consort, Giorgio of Ast, an ambitious adventurer who is
humiliated by his own lack of authority, to consent to her death by promising him her
kingdom. They arrange to incite Danielo, whose brother had been put to death by the
Queen’s order, to be the assassin. The Queen is at the time at a convent in Assisi
and they must await her return.
ACT II. Scene I. Convent at Assisi. Danielo has fallen in
love with a beautiful yet unknown woman at the Convent at Assisi, and goes to take final
leave of her. In a passionate love scene he confesses to her (she is really Orlanda) that
he has been selected to carry out a dreadful plan and that death awaits him. Overcoming
his scruples she induces him to become her lover, and carries him off to one of her
castles. Scene II. At the Castle. It is the fatal day on which Danielo is to kill the
Queen. The lovers awake in each other’s arms in the castle. He falls asleep again,
and a gipsy warns Orlanda of the plot against her life. She awakes Danielo and tells him
she has had a dream in which she saw him attacking her with a knife. She then sends him to
the city to perform his deed and gives him her own stiletto.
ACT III. Scene I. The royal garden at Bologna. The Queen is
watching the dancers. Danielo creeps in and has raised his hand to strike before he
recognises her. She treats his act as a jest and throws him a kiss. Scene II is laid in
the same place a few minutes later. Danielo has been seized by the Cardinal’s orders.
Giorgio offers to save Danielo’s life if the Queen will abdicate. Finally, amid
tears, she consents and distributes the pearls from her crown to passing gipsies. The
Cardinal then turns her over to the Mother Superior of the Convent at Assisi.
ACT IV. In the chapel of the convent. Orlanda has been
sentenced to death. Left alone after her sentence is read, Danielo enters and demands that
she make her last confession to him. She finally yields; and he learns that she is
innocent of his brother’s murder. When the Cardinal and his suite enter for the
execution of Orlanda, Danielo attacks him. He is overcome and the Cardinal sentences the
lovers to die together. They stand clasped in each other’s arms by the block as the
curtain descends.
An opera in three acts by N. Rimsky-Korsakov.
Text by V. Bielsky, based on Pushkin’s "Golden Cock."
CAST: King Dodon—Baritone. Prince Guidon—Tenor.
Prince Afron—Baritone. Voevoda Polkan, the general— Baritone. Amelfa, the royal
housekeeper—Contralto. The Astrologer—Tenor. The Queen of Shemakhan—
Soprano. The Golden Cock—Soprano.
ACT I. A great hail in the palace of King Dodon. He is a
gluttonous man, much oppressed by the cares of state, and harassed by warlike neighbours.
During a meeting of his Boyards, he asks the advice of his two sons, but the wise old
general Voevoda Polkan disagrees with the suggestions of both of them. The entire assembly
becomes in an uproar; and in the midst of it, an astrologer offers the king a golden cock
which has the power to foretell events and give warnings of approaching danger. The bird
is placed on the spiral of the capital to send the citizens rushing for their weapons or
back to their peaceful occupations as its prophecies vary. Then the bird suddenly sounds
the alarm of great danger approaching, and Didon and his warriors set out to journey to
the land of the enemy.
ACT II. The moonlight of the narrow pass reveals the dead
bodies of Didon’s two sons. As the dawn breaks he sees a tent which he thinks belongs
to the victorious commander of the enemy, but from which, to his surprise, emerges a
beautiful woman. She lures him on, makes him dance, and finally agrees to become his
bride.
ACT III. Before Didon’s palace. The populace are
awaiting the King and his bride in vague alarm. The King and the Queen enter, followed by
a grotesque train of giants and dwarfs. Soon the Queen becomes bored. The astrologer
appears and claims as the reward which had been promised him, for his magic bird, the
Queen. Didon kills him with a blow from his sceptre and the bird flies at him and kills
him with its beak. There is a clap of thunder and the Queen and the bird disappear
together. In the epilogue the head of the astrologer appears, and he says that he and the
Queen alone were real, all the others are merely a dream.
A lyric tragedy in one act. Music by Joseph
Breil. Text in English by Jaques Byrne. First produced at the Metropolitan Opera House,
New York, March 12, 1919. Place, Muscovadia, a mythical country in the Balkans.
CAST: Count Stackareff, an impoverished nobleman, by night
the bandit Black Lorenzo. Carmelita, his daughter. Stephen Pauloff, her lover. Marta, an
old servant. Soldiers.
No one but his daughter knows the double life Count
Stackareff is leading. He tells her that he has captured a rich merchant and is awaiting
the return of a messenger with his ransom. Marta tells her that Stephen, whom she has met
in Vienna and loves, is on his way to see his sweetheart. This is the night of the Evil
One, according to legend. Marta tells Carmelita’s fortune, and the death card, the
ace of spades, is present at every cutting. Stephen arrives, and after a love scene
Carmelita learns that Stephen has been sent to capture the bandit Black Loreazo, dead or
alive. She prepares to elope with him. Her father enters and when Stephen tells him of his
mission, he escapes through the door shouting that he himself is the bandit. Carmelita
tries to prevent Stephen from pursuing him; and when she fails, stabs him. Two soldiers
bring in the dead body of her father, and when they see Stephen dead, they shoot
Carmelita.
A comic drama in three acts. Music by Rossini.
Text by Angelo Anelli.
CAST: Mustafa, Bey of Algeria. Elvira, his wife. Zulma,
confidential slave to Elvira. Haly, Captain of Algerian Corsari. Lindoro, young Italian,
favourite slave of Mustafa. Isabella, Italian Lady. Taddeo, companion of Isabella. Eunuchs
of the Harem, Algerian Corsari, Italian slaves, Pappataci, Women of the Harem, European
Slaves, Sailors. Place, Algeria. Produced at Metropolitan Opera House, December 5, 1919.
ACT I. Scene I. In the palace of Mustafa. He has tired of
his favourite wife and has decided to give her in marriage to an Italian slave, Lindoro,
despite her lamentations. He commands his vizier and Haly to abduct some beautiful Italian
lady to take her place in his affections. He then tells Lindoro of his plan for him and
overcomes his objects. Lindoro is still lamenting a sweetheart in Italy.
Scene II. On the seashore. Haly finds a wrecked vessel on
which is Isabella, the beautiful sweetheart of Lindoro, and an importunate suitor, Taddeo.
When they are captured, they arrange for him to pose as her uncle. They learn they are to
be taken to the Bey, to become part of his household. Isabella at once begins to scheme
for their escape.
ACT II. Apartments of the Bey. Mustafa is at once smitten
with Isabella, and for her sake saves the life of Taddeo who is condemned to die because
he refuses to work. Elvira and Lindoro enter; and he and Isabella at once recognise each
other. She demands that the Bey give up his plan of forcing him to marry Elvira; and there
is general consternation at her boldness.
ACT III. The same room as Act I. Mustafa boasts of his
ultimate success with Isabella; but as soon as he goes out, Lindoro and Isabella plan
their escape. Mustafa, believing Taddeo to be Isabella’s uncle, rewards him by making
him "Kaimakan," whose distasteful duty it is to bring Isabella to the Bey when
he sends for her.
Scene II. Isabella is summoned to the apartment of the Bey;
and she and others whom she had taken into her confidence, hide themselves about the
apartment. When Mustafa enters, Isabella calls Elvira into the room and they tell the Bey
that they belong to a secret Society, "Pappataci," whose members lead a life of
gluttony and sensuality. He is delighted to join; and they initiate him by a series of
stupid ceremonies, of which he is made the butte. He sits mumbling and eating while
Isabella, Lindoro, and Taddeo make their escape. When he discovers the deception it is too
late to recapture them; and he decides to take Elvira back into his favour.
Opera in three acts by Mascagni. Text by G.
Forzano, founded on Ouida’s novel, "Two Little Shoes." First produced in
Rome, April SO, 1917.
CAST : Lodoletta—Soprano. Flammen—Tenor.
Franz—Bass. Gianetto—Baritone. Antonio—Bass. A Mad Woman —
Mezzo-soprano. Vannard — Mezzo-soprano. Maud—Soprano. A Voice—Tenor. A
letter carrier, an old violinist. Place, a Dutch village and in Paris. Time, Second
Empire.
ACT I. It is Lodoletta’s bithday and the village is
making merry and decorating her cottage. Antonio, her foster-father, wants to buy her some
red "shoon" but is too poor. 11cr lover Gianetto brings her a handsome present.
Flammen and a party of his Parisian friends arrive, and he offers a gold piece to be
allowed to copy a picture of the Madonna he admires. Antonio consents in order to get the
money for his present. During the merrymaking which greets Lodoletta upon her return from
the flower-market, old Antonio falls from a tree and dies. She is inconsolable and refuses
to go to her lover’s home with him. He departs; and Flammen unaware of the
catastrophe, returns, finds her crying and comforts her.
ACT II is laid in the autumn in the same village. Flammen is
painting Lodoletta’s picture. The village misinterprets their relations, and shuns
her. Gianetto again offers her his heart and hand; she refuses while denying his
imputation of evil and defending the painter. The painter, returning after an interval,
finds her in tears, and declares his love for her. But her purity and innocence triumph,
she will not accept the kind of love he offers and runs away.
ACT III is laid in the garden and in the villa of Flammen in
Paris on New Year’s Eve. Flammen is entertaining his friends. He can enjoy nothing,
for her thoughts are always with Lodoletta. Soon after he returns to the villa, Lodoletta
enters the garden, worn out and in rags; she has come to offer him her love. When she sees
the lights and the beautifully dressed women, she realizes he is not for her and dies,
with the illusion that his lips are pressed on hers. After the party breaks up, Flammen
stumbles over her shoes, finds her dead body, and flings himself upon it crying that he
will die for love of her.
A lyric comedy in four acts and eight scenes.
Music by Albert Wolff. Text by Maurice Maeterlinck. First produced at Metropolitan Opera
House, New York, December 27, 1919.
CAST : Tyltyl. Mytyl. Mummy Tyl. Daddy Tyl. Granny Tyl.
Gaffer Tyl. The Maternal Love. The Joy of Understanding. Light. Father Time. Bread. The
Little Girl. The Little Lovers. The Joy of Being Just. The Joy of Seeing What is
Beautiful. The Fairy. The Night. The Cat. The Dog. Neighbour Berlingot. Happiness. A
Child. Milk. Water. Sugar. Fire. Children. Time, Christmas Eve.
ACT I. Tableau I. On Christmas Eve, Tyltyl and Mytyl,
the two children of a woodcutter, are awakened from their sleep by a bright light shining
in their room. They run to the window and watch the Christmas celebration of their rich
neighbours. The door of their own house opens, and the fairy Berylune enters and bids the
children go to seek the Blue Bird of Happiness for her little daughter who is ill. She
gives Tyltyl a green cap with a diamond in it which will transform things when he turned.
Tyltyl turns the diamond and everything is altered. The furniture takes life and becomes
resplendent; the door of the clock opens and the Hours dance out. The souls of Bread,
Sugar, Water, Fire, etc., together with Light appear. The Cat and the Dog become persons
with animal heads. In the midst of the enchantment, a loud knock from Daddy Tyl is heard,
and Tyltyl turns the diamond so briskly that all of the souls can not return to their
original elements. Those so prevented, with the two children, go out through the window,
Bread carrying the cage in which to put the Blue Bird. Daddy and Mummy Tyl enter to find
the children, as they think, quietly sleeping.
Tableau II. The Land of Memory. The two children see
their Grandmother and Grandfather sitting before a peasant’s hut as the mists
gradually rise. Their little dead brothers and sisters run out of the house to greet them.
After a visit with them, they start back with a bird which, when they examine it closely,
turns out to be black not blue, and which they release as they leave.
ACT II. Tableau III. The Palace of the Night. Light
leads the children to the Palace and then leaves them. When Tyltyl claims the Blue Bird
from Night, she gives him the keys to the caverns where the plagues and evils are
imprisoned, and which he insists upon opening one by one. When he opens the forbidden door
of Destiny, he finds a beautiful garden filled with birds that die when the children catch
them. They go into a forest where the spirit of the Oak wants to kill them for seeking the
Blue Bird.
Tableau IV. The Palace of Happiness. The great
luxuries are having a banquet and try to make the children join them; but Tyltyl turns his
diamond and the palace radiates an ethereal brightness. The Luxuries take refuge in the
Cave of Miseries and the children meet the various Happinesses and Joys.
ACT III. Tableau V. The Cemetery. It is midnight and
at a turn of Tyltyl’s diamond the place loses its horror and becomes beautful.
Tableau VI. The Kingdom of the Future. Everywhere are
crowds of Unborn Children in azure garments. Mytyl and Tyltyl watch Father Time sending
the children down to earth to be born. Light tells Tyltyl that she has the Blue Bird. He
turns his diamond.
ACT IV. Tableau VII. Before Tyltyl’s house at
daybreak. Light and the other souls take leave of the children. The clock strikes and the
children enter their home without the Blue Bird.
Tableau VIII. The Awakening. Christmas Morning. Mummy
Tyl comes in to awaken the sleeping children. They try to tell her all that has happened
to them, but she fears they are sick. Their neighbour, Mine. Beringot, comes in to ask
Tyltyl for his bird for her little sick daughter. He gives it to her gladly; and shortly
afterwards the little girl enters well and happy with the cage in her hand. The children
play with it and the bird escapes. Tyltyl addresses the audience, "If any of you
should find him, would you be so very kind as to give him back to us? We need him for our
happiness, later on."
A musical drama in one act, based on the
"Cat and the Cherub" of C. B. Fernald. Text by Camillo Zanoni. Music by Franco
Leoni. Place, the Chinese Quarter in San Francisco. Time, the present. First produced at
Covent Garden, June 28, 1905.
CAST : Win-Shee, a learned doctor. Chim-Fen, a proprietor of
an opium den. Hoo-Tsin, a wealthy merchant. Win-San-Luy, Win-Shee’s son. Hoo-Chee,
Hoo-Tsin’s little son. Ah-Yoe, Hoo-Tsin’s niece. Hua-Quee, Hoo-Chee’s
nurse. A policeman, an opium maniac, a fortuneteller, Chinese men, women and children.
It is the Chinese New Year, and the devout are going to the
House of Prayer, and the late revellers returning from opium dens. Chem-Fen, the
proprietor of one of these dens, pretends to love the nurse, Hua-Quee, in order to gain
access to the house of Hoo-Tsin, whose niece, AhYoe, is the real object of his ambitions.
Ah-Yoe is in love with Win-San-Luy, however. Chim-Fen overhears Hoo-Tsin consulting the
father of Win-San-Luy, a learned astrologer, as to the future of his beloved little son,
and determines to use the predictions of evil fortune that are to befall the child, for
purposes of his own. He kidnaps the child. The frantic father offers the hand of his niece
as a reward to whomever can find him. Win-San-Luy suspects Chim-Fen, forces his way into
the opium den and rescues the child. Chim-Fen pursues him, kills him with a hatchet, and
pushes the child down a trap-door. Ah-Yoe goes mad, and Win-Shee, Win-San-Luy’s
father, determines to discover his murderer.
After an interval the scene opens on the second night.
Win-Shee hears the child cry and rescues him. He then lies in wait for Chim-Fen and
strangles him with his own que so cleverly that a passing policeman sees only two Chinamen
quietly talking.
THE LOVE OF
THREE KINGS
(L’Amore Dei Tre Re)
An opera in three acts by Italo Montemezzi. Text
by Sem Benelli, from his tragic poem of the same title. First produced in Milan, April 10,
1913.
CAST Archibaldo, King of Altura—Bass. Manfredo, son of
Archibaldo—Baritone. Avito, a former prince of Altura—Tenor. Flaminio, a castle
guard—Tenor. Fiora, wife of Manf redo—Soprano. A Youth, a Boy Child, a Voice
behind the scenes, a Handmaiden, an Old Woman, People of Altrua. Place, a remote castle in
Italy, forty years after a barbarian invasion, led by Archibaldo. Time, the Middle Ages.
ACT I. A spacious hail, opening on a terrace and lighted by
a lantern, used as a signal lantern. The old blind king, Archibaldo, enters with Flaminio,
and they talk of Avito, to whom Flaminio is secretly attached, and who was betrothed to
Fiora when Archibaldo forced hex to marry his son, Manfredo, as part of the terms of
peace. As his son, whose arrival he is awaiting, comes not, he orders the lantern
extinguished and goes out with his companion. But before he goes, he intimates that he is
doubtful of Fiora’s fealty. After their departure, Fiora and Avito come out of her
chamber; and he notices that the lantern no longer burns and fears that they are
discovered. She reassures him, and he goes out. The old blind Archibaldo returns and she
tells him she has come out to watch for the arrival of her husband. The husband who has
forsaken the siege of an enemy’s stronghold, to return to his wife, enters; and they
all retire to their chambers.
ACT II. The terrace of the castle in the afternoon. Manfredo
and Fiora enter; and Fiora promises to wave her scarf to her husband, who is returning to
the siege, as long as she can see his marching men. He, too, goes out; and while she is
waving to him, Avito appears to bid her farewell. She drops the scarf and they kiss as if
dying of love. Old Archibaldo enters and in his blindness senses what has happened. Avito
wants to kill him but Flaminio prevents him, and advises him to depart. The old man hears
his retreating footsteps and becomes more suspicious. Suddenly it is seen that Manfredo is
returning, and Flaminio is sent to learn the reason. Old Archibaldo accuses Flora of
having a lover; and when she admits it, though refusing to divulge his name, the old man
strangles her. When Manfredo arrives she is dead. His father pours out the tale to him;
but even then he can not bring himself to hate her.
ACT III. The crypt of the castle with Fiora lying on her
bier. A crowd of her fellow countrymen come to view the body. After their departure, Avito
appears and laments beside it. In an ecstasy of love he presses his lips upon hers, which
old Archibaldo has caused to be touched with poison. Manfredo enters and finds him there
beside his wife and yet he feels no hate for the man who loved her, even as he did, rather
a sense of comrade-ship. Avito dies; and Manfredo presses his lips to those of Fiora and
draws in the remaining poison. Here the old king finds them both dead beside the woman
they loved.
An opera in four acts by Umberto Giordano. Text
by Renato Simoni after the play by Victorien Sardon and E. Moreau. First produced at the
Metropolitan Opera House, New York, January 25, 1915.
CAST : Napoleon Bonaparte—Baritone. Lefebvre, a
sergeant of the National Guard, later a Marshal of France and Duke of Danzig—Tenor.
Fouche, officer of the National Guards, later Minister of Police—Baritone. Count de
Neipperg—Tenor. Vinaigre, drummer boy—Tenor. Despréaux, dancing
master—Tenor. Gelsomino, page— Baritone. Leroy, tailor—Baritone. De
Brigode, chamberlain—Baritone. Roustan, head of the Mamelukes— Baritone.
Catherine Huebscher, "Madame Sans Gêne," laundress, later Duchess of
Danzig—Soprano. Toinette, Julia, La Rossa, laundresses—Sopranos. Queen Caroline,
Princess Elisa, sisters of Napoleon—Sopranos. Mine. de Bulow, matron of honour to the
Empress—Soprano. Maturio, Constant, valet to Napoleon. The voice of the Empress,
Citizens, Shopkeepers, Villagers, Soldier, Ladies of the Court Officials, Diplomatists,
Academicians, Hunters, Pages and two Mamelukes. Place, Paris. Time, August 10, 1792, and
September, 1811.
ACT I is laid in the stormy days of the Revolution and
during the scene constant cannon shots are heard. Catherine, "Madame Sans
Gêne," has met with a rough adventure with some soldiers, and she is giving a
humorous account of it to the laundresses in her employ. She tells of her romantic
engagement to her childhood friend, Lefebvre. Left alone for a moment, she is surprised to
have a wounded Austrian officer, Neipperg, stumble in and ask refuge. She hides him in her
own room; and shortly afterward the pursuit, led by her lover, enters and searches the
place. Lefebvre finds the officer in her room, but does not tell the others. He makes a
feint to learn her real feelings toward the man by telling her he is dead; and as she
shows no emotion, his own jealousy is stilled. He promises to arrange for the flight of
the man that night.
ACT II is laid in the Chateau of Compiègne, nineteen years
later. Lefebvre, Duke of Danzig, is the trusted general of Napoleon, now at the height of
his power, and is married to Catherine. Catherine who has remained a woman of the people,
scandalises the Court by her many breaches of etiquette. Napoleon has even suggested that
Lefebvre divorce her, but he is far too much in love with her. Neipperg, now Austrian
ambassador, is said to be in love with the Empress. The two sisters of Napoleon come to
visit Catherine, and in a most amusing scene she so offends them by her manners that they
depart vowing vengeance. Shortly afterward she is summoned to the Cabinet of Napoleon.
ACT III. Cabinet of Napoleon. Napoleon hears the report of
Neipperg’s feigned departure, but is jealous and suspicious of him. Catherine enters,
and in response to Napoleon’s accusation that she covers his court with ridicule, she
first defies him, then so wins his heart by her recitals of her experiences as a lowly
vivandiere, and her reminding him that he still owes her a laundry bill, he contracted as
a young lieutenant, that he kisses her and all is forgiven. Roustan tells Napoleon that
the secret door of the Empress’s apartments is ajar; the lights are turned out; and
as they wait, Neipperg, with Mine. de Bulow enters, and approachs the Empress’s door.
Napoleon has him arrested in spite of Catherine’s assertions of his innocence.
ACT IV is laid in the same scene. Napoleon tries to make
Catherine admit she knows of the guilt of the Empress; then as she refuses, he commands
her to announce to the Empress the arrival of Neipperg. She reluctantly complies and
receives a package from the Empress, which, when Napoleon opens it, proves to be a letter
to her father, the Emperor of Austria, asking him to recall the count. Napoleon, delighted
that his suspicions are unfounded, extols Catherine’s loyalty before the whole court.
A comedy-opera in five acts by Henry Rabaud. Text
by Lucien Népoty. First produced in America at the Metropolitan Opera House, December 19,
1917.
CAST : Princess Saamcheddine. Fattoumah, the Killjoy.
Mârouf. The Sultan. The Vizier. Ali. A fellah, Ahmad, the pastry-cook. First Merchant.
Second Merchant. A Donkey-driver. A Sea Captain. First Muezzin Second Muezzin. First
Policeman. Second Policeman. Mamelukes, Caravaneers, Slaves, Ladies of the Harem.
Populace.
ACT I. In Cairo. Mârouf’s wife demands a cake made of
honey; and when he can only provide her with one made of sugar, she makes such an outcry
that two policemen think he has beaten her, and give him a hundred strokes with their
staves. Whereupon he runs away with some passing sailors.
ACT II. In the market-place of Khaïtân. Mârouf, who has
been shipwrecked, is rescued by Ali an old schoolfriend. Ali is the richest man in
Khaïtân, and he determines to dress Mârouf sumptuously, and pass him off as the richest
man in the world. His scheme works so well that the Sultan hears of this wonderful
personage, and invites him to dinner at his palace.
ACT III. The Sultan has been so much impressed with the
story of this fabulously rich man that he forces his daughter upon him in marriage.
Mârouf is so delighted, when he finds the princess is beautiful and not homely like his
wife, that he faints away, though not before he has betrayed to her the true state of
affairs as to his penniless-ness. She, however, loves him and protects him.
ACT IV. The Sultan becomes suspicious of the non-arrival of
the much heralded caravans of Mârouf and tries to find out the truth, but his daughter
fools him to the top of her bent. Later, when Mârouf comes in, the princess questions him
and he gaily admits the fraud. She in turn joins in his mirth. But fearing that her father
may not view it in the same amusing light, they decide to elope together.
ACT V. A plain near Khaïtân. The pair find a fellah
ploughing and ask food from him. While he is absent preparing it, the princess begins to
plough; her shaft dislodges a ring that has been attached to a great stone that seem to
hide a treasure. Mârouf struggles to move the stone and the ring comes off in his hand;
it is engraved with mystic characters. The princess polishes it in order to see the
lettering, and the fellah suddenly appears, turned into a Genie, and creates wealth for
them such as Mârouf had claimed. When the Sultan arrives in pursuit of the runaways he
sees the vast caravans that have magically appeared and is overjoyed.
An opera in three acts, music by Charles Gounod,
founded on a poem of Frederick Mistral by Michel Carré.
CAST : Mireille, the daughter of Ramon. Vincent, her lover.
Vincenette, the sister of Vincent. Ramon, a wealthy farmer. Ambroise, the father of
Vincent. Taven, a fortune-teller. Ourrias, the rival of Vincent. Andre-loun, a shepherd
boy. Clemence, a peasant girl. A passerby. Place, the Province of Maillaine.
ACT I is laid in a mulberry plantation where Mireille is
surrounded by the neighbouring village girls who, after singing a pastoral chorus, tease
her about her affection for Vincent, the handsome but poor basketmaker. Mireille admits
she loves him, and Taven, a reputed witch, warns her to be careful as her father will
bitterly oppose such a match. Vincent arrives and the two young people express their
undying love for each other.
ACT II. In the Arena of Arles, after a chorus and a dance by
a crowd of citizens and peasants, Mireille and Vincent meet again for a few miuutes. They
separate; and Ourrias, a wild herdsman who has gained her father’s consent to his
suite, approaches Mireille and she repulses his advances. He reports her refusal to her
father; and when Ambroise (the father of Vincent) asks Ramon’s consent to the union
of the lovers, he meets with a stern refusal. Whereupon Mireille vows she will marry no
one else. Ramon casts off his daughter, and Ourrias vows vengeance. The two lovers,
however, renew their vows.
ACT III. A harvest festival is being celebrated at
Ramon’s house. A shepherd boy sings and plays on a bagpipe. Mireille, unable to shake
off her despondency, retires to her room, attended by Vincenette, who tells her that
Vincent has been wounded by Ourrias with an iron trident, but that he will recover.
Mireille determines to make a pilgrimage to the Church of Sainte Marie in behalf of her
lover.
ACT IV. A crowd of pilgrims enter the Church of Sainte Marie
singing a religious march. Vincent enters and Mireille, who does not recognise him, falls
unconscious in his arms. During the chant of the pilgrims her sanity returns; and
recognising him, she declares she sees Heaven opening and that they will be forever
united. Her father, Ramon (now repentant), Vincenette and the pilgrims witness their
reunion.
A lyric drama in four acts and five tableaux.
Music by Henry Février. Text by Maurice Maeterlinck. First produced in Paris, January 13,
1909.
CAST : Guido Colonna, Commander of the Pisan Garrison. Marco
Colonna, Guido’s father. Prinzivalle, General in the pay of Florence. Trivulzio,
Commissioner of the Florentine Republic. Borso and Torello, Guido’s Lieutenants.
Vedio, Prinzivalle’s Secretary. Giovanna (Monna Vanna) Guido’s wife. Nobles,
soldiers, peasants, etc. Place, Pisa and vicinity. Time, end of the 15th Century.
ACT I. Great Hall of Guido Colonna’s palace. Besieged
by the Florentines, Pisa is in the last extremity. All envoys have failed. Finally Marco
Colonna, the father of Guido, is sent and returns with the message that Pirnzivalle will
raise the siege if Monna Vanna will spend the night in his tent, clad only in her cloak.
In spite of her husband’s almost violently jealous objections, she says she is
willing to make the sacrifice to save the people of the city from death.
ACT II. In Prinzivalle’s tent. Prinzivalle disarms and
arrests the commissioner of the Florentines, sent to spy upon him. Monna Vanna enters; and
in return Prinzivalle sends the promised food to Pisa. He pours out his love for her,
which he tells her began when they were children and played in a garden together. She
remains outwardly firm in her devotion to her husband, though inwardly moved by his
generosity. Word is brought that the Florentine commissioners are coming to arrest him and
that he must fly. Monna Vanna persuades him to return with her to Pisa where he shall be
an honoured guest, and he consents.
ACT III. The Great Hall of Guido’s palace. Guido is
almost beside himself with jealousy. The acclamation of the citizens who are greeting
Monna Vanna as their saviour, only adds to his sufferings. Monna Vanna enters with
Prinzivalle and in spite of all her assertions that Prinzivalle treated her with the
utmost respect he could show to a sister and that she still loves her husband, Guido will
not believe her. He orders Prinzivalle cast into prison; and Monna Vanna, suddenly
feigning an ecstasy of cruel triumph, insists that he did wrong her after all, and that
she desires to be his jailer so that she may revenge herself. Guido believes her and gives
her the key to the dungeon in which Prinzivalle is confined.
ACT IV. The Prison. Monna Vanna enters and leads Prinzivalle
out to freedom. Her love for him, awakened by the contrast between his generous treatment
of her and her husband’s insane jealousy, she goes with him out into the sunlight.
An opera in four acts and a prologue by Borodin.
Produced at Metropolitan Opera House, New York, December 30, 1915.
CAST : Prince Igor. Skoula. Eroshka. Prince Galitsky.
Yaroslavna, the wife of Igor. Kontchakovna, the daughter of Khan Kontchak, Vladimir, son
of Igor. Ovlour. Khan Kontchak. Khan Gzak. Peasants, soldiers, citizens, etc.
The Prologue. Prince Igor, who is about to start on a
campaign against the Khan of the Polovsy, refuses to heed the warnings of his wife and his
people who interpret a recent eclipse into a bad omen. Prince Galitsky bribes Skoula and
Eroshka to encourage Prince Igor in his determination to depart as he himself wants to
usurp Igor’s place. Igor, unsuspectingly entrusts his wife to his care.
ACT I. Scene I is laid in the court-yard of Galitsky’s
house, where the people are welcoming him as their prince. A group of young women beg the
prince to restore one of their friends whom he has carried off; but he frightens them
away.
Scene II. The young women appeal to Yaroslavna, who is
lamenting Igor’s absence, and while they are relating the story, Galitsky enters.
Yaroslavna questions him as to the truth of their story and he only laughs. Word is
brought that Igor and his son have been taken captive, and that an attack upon them is
eminent.
ACT II. The Polovtsy Camp: Vladimir has fallen in love with
Kontchakovna. She is sure her father will consent to the marriage, but Vladimir is
doubtful if his father, Prince Igor, will. Kontchak offers Igor freedom if he will promise
not to wage war on him again, but he refuses.
ACT II. Igor learns that an attack is to be made on his
city. He escapes. He tries to persuade his son to accompany him but Kontchakovna clings to
him, and the father leaves alone. When the Khan learns of Igor’s escape, he refuses
to pursue, retains Vladimir as a hostage, and marries him to his daughter.
ACT IV. Igor arrives safely at the Kremlin, and is welComed
with great rejoicing.
An American folk-opera in three acts. Music by
Reginald De Koven. Text by Percy Mackaye. The first opera that was written in America as a
commission by producers of opera.
CAST : Rip Van Winkle. Hendrick Hudson. Dirck Spuytenduyvil.
Derrick Van Bummel. Hans Van Bummel (Mute). Peterkee Vedder, Katrina Vedder. Goose Girl.
Old Dutchmen of the Tavern. Women at the Fountain. Children of the Village. Crew of the
"Half Moon." Fairies of the Mountain. Place, in the Catskill Mountains. Time,
middle of 18th century.
This version of Rip Van Winkle differs quite widely from the
version played for so many years by Joseph Jefferson. In the first act, Rip is a young man
about to be married to Katrina. He forgets his wedding, and goes off fishing with some
children. With little Peterkee, Katrina’s sister beside him, he tells the children of
the legend of Hendrick Hudson’s reappearance in his ghostly ship every twenty years.
He and Peterkee suddenly see Hudson who offers them a magic flask, if they will come to
the hills at midnight. They go; and Hudson plots to marry Rip to Peterkee instead of
Katrina. They send the child back to the world and keep Rip in the hills by a magic
draught. Twenty years later, Rip, as an old, white bearded man, returns to the village to
find Peterkee on the point of marrying; he has come to claim his promised bride. In the
midst of the mockery that greets his claim, Hudson and his men appear and Rip’s youth
is magically restored to him.
A tragic opera in three acts by Gioachino Antonio
Rossini. Text by Rossi, founded on the tragedy of Voltaire, "Semiramis." First
produced in Venice, February 3, 1823.
CAST : Semiramide, Queen of Babylon—Soprano. Arsaces,
commander in the Assyrian army, afterwards the son of Ninus and heir to the
throne—Contralto. The Ghost of Ninus—Bass. Oroe, chief of the Magi—Bass.
Assur, a Prince of the Royal Blood—Bass. Azema, Princess of the Royal
Blood—Soprano. Idrenus of the royal household—Tenor. Mitranes, of the royal
household—Baritone. Magi, Guards, Satraps, Slaves. Place, Babylon.
Semiramide, assisted by her lover Assur, has murdered her
husband, King Ninus. She becomes enamoured of a comely youth, Arsaces, the victorious
leader of her army, thought to be a Scythian but who is in reality her own son, a fact
known only to Oroe, the chief priest. Arsaces is himself in love with the royal princess
Azema.
At a gathering in the temple, the Ghost of King Ninus
announces Arsaces as his successor and summons him to come at midnight to his tomb, there
to learn how he was assassinated. Assur hides in the tomb intending to kill Arsaces; but
Semiramide, who has learned he is her son, arrives in time to save him and to receive the
death wound intended for him. Arsaces then kills Assur, ascends the throne and marries
Azema.
An American opera in two parts. Music by Charles
Wakefield Cadman. Text by Nelle Richmond Eberhart. First produced at the Metropolitan
Opera House, March 23, 1918.
CAST : Shanewis. Mrs. Everton. Amy Everton. Lionel. Philip.
Shanewis is a beautiful Indian girl who has been given a
musical education by the wealthy Mrs. Everton. Lionel is engaged to Amy Everton, but he
falls in love with Shanewis and follows her to the Indian reservation. There he witnesses
a pow-wow and becomes even more madly infatuated with her. Mrs. Everton tries to recall
him to his duty to his race without success. He is finally killed by a former lover of
Shanewis who has a morbid hatred of the white race. Amy and Shanewis kneel beside him as
he dies.
SOEUR ANGELICA
(Sister Angelica)
Opera in one act by Puccini. Text by G. Forzano.
First produced at Metropolitan Opera House, New York, December 14, 1918.
CAST : Sister Angelica. The Princess, her aunt. The Abbess.
The Sister Monitor. The Mistresses of the Novices. Sister Genevieve. Sister Osmina. Sister
Dolcina. The Sick Nurse Sister. The Questuants. The Novices. The Postulants. Place, a
convent. Time, latter part of the 17th Century.
Sister Angelica has retired to the convent to expiate an
unfortunate past, and her first contact with the outside world is through her aunt who
comes to have a document signed. Sister Angelica asks about the child that she abandoned,
and the aunt responds harshly that it is dead. Sister Angelica in remorse puts an end to
her life; but before she dies she prays for pardon and the doors of the church open and
the Virgin is seen on the threshold surrounded by angels.
THE SPANISH HOUR
(L’Heure Espagnole)
Opera in one act by Maurice Ravel. Text by Franc
Nohain. First produced in Paris in 1911. Place, Toledo. Time, 18th Century.
CAST : Torquemada, an absent-minded clockmaker. Concepcion,
his wife. Ramiro, a muleteer. Gonzalve, her lover. Inigo, a banker. A gallant.
The scene is laid in Torquemada’s shop. Since this is
his day to regulate the public clocks, he asks Ramiro who arrives to have his watch fixed,
to await his return. Concepcion desires to get rid of the waiting Ramiro in order to
receive her lover; he, upon his side, is embarrassed in her presence. He offers to carry
to her room a heavy clock which her husband said was too heavy for him to lift. While he
is gone, Gonzalve arrives and is hidden in a large grandfather’s clock. The muleteer
returns and carries Gonzalve in the clock into Concepcion’s room. Inigo, a banker and
another gallant enter, and Inigo, too, is hidden in a clock. Meanwhile, the prowess of the
muleteer so wins Concepcion’s admiration, that she begins a flirtation with him.
While they are in another room, the husband returns and finds the two rejected
philanderers bidden in his clocks. He does not seem to object in the least; and the opera
ends in a sparkling quintet.
An opera in three acts by F. von Flotow.
CAST : Stradella. Bassi. Barbarino. Malvollo. Leonora.
Place, Venice and Rome.
ACT I. A small piazza overlooking the canal. Stradella, a
famous singer, falls in love with Leonora, whose guardian, Bassi, wishes to marry her. He
comes to woo her in his gondola, and tries to persuade her to escape with him; but she
insists she is too carefully guarded to attempt it. Then a band of carnival masqueraders
appear and with their assistance the lovers are able to flee.
ACT II and ACT III. Stradella’s house near Rome.
Stradella and Leonora are about to be married; and Stradella spends his time singing and
making love to her. Bassi has sent two cut-throats, Barbarino and Malvolio, after them to
murder Stradella; but they are so charmed by his songs that they refuse to perform their
mission. Even Bassi when he arrives is conquered by the wonder of his music, and all ends
happily.
Opera in one act by John Adam Hugo. Text in
English by Jutta Bell-Ranske. First produced at the Metropolitan Opera House, March 12,
1919.
CAST : Temple Dancer—Soprano. Guard—Tenor.
Yoga—Bass. Priests.
The leading dancer of the Temple of Mahadeo, which is
supported by selling the beauty of its dancers to passers-by, falls in love with a youth
not of her faith. After a ceremony in the Temple, she pleads for a sign from the god as to
what she shall do, and as she receives none, she threatens the temple. The temple guard,
returning, hears her, and threatens to kill her. She begs to be allowed to do a
dance-prayer before the god, before being slain, and with a snake wound around her, so
fascinates the temple-guard that he promises to protect her. In a love-scene between them,
she drops a letter telling of her plan to steal the jewels of the god. He determines to
torture her. She begs for water; and when he gives it to her poisons it and cajoles the
guard into drinking it. As he falls dead at her feet, she curses the temple. A
thunder-storm comes as if in answer; and a bolt of lightning strikes her dead as she
attempts to grasp the jewels.
A lyric comedy in four acts. Music and text by
Ruggiero Leoncavallo, after the play by P. Berton and Cb. Simon. First produced in Milan,
1900.
CAST : Zazà. Anaide, her mother. Floriana, Concert Hall
singer. Natalia, Zazà’s maid. Mine. Dufresne. Milio Dufresne. Cascart, Concert Hall
singer. Bussy, journalist. Marlardot, proprietor of a Concert Hall. Lartigon, monologist.
Duclou, stage managre. Michelin, journalist, habitue of the Concert Hall. Marco, butler in
Dufresne’s house. Totò. Singers, Dancers, Scene Shifters, Firemen, Property men,
etc. Place, Paris. Time, present.
ACT I. Zazà, a Music Hall favourite, favours most among her
many admirers Milio Dufresne, who is apparently indifferent to her. She makes a wager with
Bussy, who has written a Musical Review for her, that she can overcome his coldness; and
she finally succeeds.
ACT II. Zazà falls deeply in love with Dufresne, and he
spends most of his time with her. He is called away on business and she goes to the
station to see him off. Meanwhile her mother and her singing partner Cascart, who
disapprove of her infatuation, plan to bring it to naught. When Zazà returns, Cascart
tells her that he has seen Dufresne in Paris with another woman. Thinking it is another
sweetheart, she, at once jealous, follows him to Paris.
ACT IV. Dufresne is leaving to return to Zazà, and his wife
has accompanied him to the station when Zazà and her maid arrive at his home. The butler
mistaking them for some one whom Mme. Dufresne expects, admits them and Zazà discovers
that Dufresne is married and meets his little child. Though she had intended to betray to
his wife her relations with him, the meeting with the child makes her depart without
creating a scene, or divulging their relations.
ACT V. Zazà comes home broken-hearted, though she still has
a faint hope that Dufresne’s love for her is genuine. Dufresne returns and tries to
continue the old deception; but she tells him that she has seen Totò. He is furious, and
she tells him in retaliating anger that she told his wife everything. Then, when she finds
that his love for his wife is real, and his attraction toward her has been merely a
passing fancy, she relents, tells him the truth, and sends him back to his family.
A choral drama by Rutland Boughton. English
Rhyming Verse by Gilbert Murray from Euripides. First produced August 22, 1922, at
Glastonbury by the Glaston-bury Players. Then by British National Opera Co. at Covent
Garden, January 11, 1924.
CAST. Admetus, King of Pherae—Tenor; Alkestis, his
wife—Contralto; Pheres, his father—Bass; First Child—Soprano; Second
Child—Soprano; The Handmaid— Soprano; Youth—Soprano; Chief
Citizen—Tenor; The God Apollo—Tenor; The Hero Herakies—Baritone; Thanatos
(Death)—Bass. Chorus of Elders of Pherae, etc.
SCENE. Outside the ancient Castle of Admetus near Pherae, in
Thessaly.
Admetus, King of Pherae, in Thessaly, had obtained from the
Gods as a special gift that, when his time came to die, he might live if someone who loved
him would die in his stead. When the time came, his own parents refused to die for him,
but his wife, Alkestis, offered herself and died.
Just after the funeral, the hero Hercules, on his wanderings
through Thessaly, came to Admetus’s house asking hospitality. Admetus, already
bitterly ashamed of his selfishness, determined at least to be true to’ the Laws of
Hospitality. So he concealed his wife’s death, and entertained Hercules. Hercules
discovered the truth from a slave, whom he found weeping for his mistress, and amazed at
the sacrifice which Alkestis had made for her husband, went forth into the night to
wrestle with Death for the life of Alkestis.
In due course Hercules returned, bringing with him an
unknown woman, deeply shrouded and unable to speak. He compelled the heart-broken Admetus,
against his will, to take the unknown woman into his house, and, lifting her veil,
revealed Alkestis returned from the dead.
Opera in one act, by Béla Bartok. Hungarian text
by Béla Balazs.
CAST : Count Bluebeard—Baritone;
Judith—Mezzo-soprano; The Other Wives.
SCENE : A Hall in Bluebeard’s Castle.
A Bard first appears and cries to the spirits to begin their
story. Bluebeard’s Hall is then revealed, a dark rocky cave filled with gloom.
Bluebeard and Judith are conversing. Judith freely consents to leave her family and follow
him forever; for she is deeply in love with Bluebeard, who has a most attractive
personality. He tests her strength of will; but she tells him that if he sends her away
she will lie forever on his doorstep. He now closes the door. It becomes gradually lighter
and now seven large doors are revealed leading out of the room. He asks Judith if she
knows the curse on his stronghold. It is no wonder that no light ever shines through and
that it is always silence in the Castle. She examines the place and cries to him to open
the seven doors and finally demands that they shall be opened. He knocks on one and she is
affrighted by the sighs which echo and re-echo; but still she asks for the key, and
caresses him in order to obtain it. A door opens slightly and a blood-red streak appears.
She sees chains and implements. Bluebeard tells her it is his torture chamber, and asks if
she is afraid. Judith shudders but answers "No." She tells him that already the
sun has come in and all the doors shall open and the wind shall enter the place. She says
she will do this because she loves him. She opens the second door. Another streak of light
joins the first. She sees a thousand terrible things. He tells her that it is his armoury.
Still she is unafraid. In the third door are seen jewels. Judith is now stained with the
blood-red light. The fourth door shows flower gardens but only adds to the sinister light.
The fifth reveals wide landscapes—still washed in gory light; the sixth has naught
but a pooi of silent, dead waters. "Tears they are, Judith," he tells her. A
long and passionate scene follows when Judith begs for the key of the seventh door which
reveals his other wives. "See all my earlier wives," Bluebeard says, "they
are still living." The wives pass proudly before her, pallid visions, but splendid in
their regal robes. Judith declares she is but as a beggar beside them, and is still
willing to be his. Bluebeard fetches crown, mantle and jewels and puts them on her. As he
places a sombre cloak on her, she shrinks and cries and at last breaks down and follows
the other wives through the seventh door. The light has gradually disappeared and
Bluebeard cries out that with him it remains night forever and disappears from view.
HUGH THE DROVER
Or Love in the Stocks
A romantic ballad-opera in two acts, by R.
Vaughan Williams. Words by Harold Child. First produced at Royal College of Music, London,
July 4, 1924; then by the British National Opera Co., at His Majesty’s Theatre,
London, on July 14, 1924.
CAST : (In order of entrance) A Cheap Jack—Bari-tone; A
Shell-Fish Seller—Bass; A Primrose Seller— Contralto; A Showman—High
Baritone; A Ballad Seller—Tenor; Susan—Soprana; Nancy—Contralto;
William—Tenor; Robert—Bass; Mary (the Constable’s daughter)—Soprano;
Aunt Jane (the Constable’s sister)—Contralto; The Turnkey—Tenor; The
Constable— Bass; John the Butcher—Bass Baritone; A Fool, a member of the
chorus—Baritone; Hugh the Drover— Tenor; An Innkeeper, (a member of the
chorus)—Bass; A Sergeant—High Baritone; Chorus : Inhabitants of the town,
Toy-lamb sellers, Primrose sellers, Village Boys, Soldiers. Non-singing Characters :
Stall-keepers, Showman’s troupe, Bugler, Drummer.
PLACE : A small town in the Cotswolds. Perion: Early years
of the nineteenth century (about 1812). TIME : Act I., about 11 a.m. on Monday, April
30th. Act II., 4 a.m. on Tuesday, May 1st.
ACT I. A fair in an open field near the town. Stalls and
booths with sellers and buyers. A party of men and women enters and gathers round a
showman. Susan, Nancy, William and Robert crowd round a ballad-singer, looking a t his
ballads. He sings one, "On Tuesday morning the bells they shall ring." At the
end of it, Mary bursts into tears. Her father, the Constable, enters and asks for the
reason of the tears—Hasn’t he, like a good father, picked her a fine fellow for
a husband in John the butcher? John, who is the village bully, asks whether he is not good
enough. Let them show her a richer and a stronger man in all the town. But Mary refuses to
take his arm. The entry of the Morris-men makes a diversion. At length, Aunt Jane and Mary
are left on the stage by themselves. Mary confesses she does not love the butcher. Hugh
the Drover, wandering in, overhears the end of the conversation. He sings a song to the
linnet, and then another about his own wild business. Mary falls under his spell; but
their love-making is broken into by the return of Aunt Jane who has brought Mary’s
father to stop these goings-on. The Showman’s return, followed by a crowd of
holiday-makers, eager for a show-fight, affords the Drover the opportunity of a fight with
John the Butcher, for a prize of twenty pounds. The Drover, taunted with poverty, produces
a bag of fifty pounds as his pledge. When the Butcher says it is to be a fight to the
death, the Drover declares the stake too low, and says he will fight John for the prize of
Mary, his bethrothed. The ring is arranged and Hugh and John have a sparring match on the
stage. The fight is stopped once by a foul blow. At last, John falls and is counted out.
The Drover has won. Mary goes to Hugh; but John presently brings the Constable back and
charges Hugh with being in Napoleon’s pay as a spy. Hugh is surrounded and put in the
stocks.
ACT II. The market place in the town. It is dark (4 a.m.).
Lights shine from the windows of the inn, where singing is heard. Hugh is sitting in the
stocks motionless. John wanders across drunk and insults Hugh, striking him. Mary comes
out of the Constable’s house secretly; she has obtained the key of the stocks. Hugh
is free, but they dally with love-making, and the Constable is heard calling for his boots
and raising the town. Hugh gets back into the stocks again. Mary crouches beside him. The
cloak covers them both. They say the spy has escaped but they find him safe in the stocks.
The villagers are sent back to bed. The Turnkey sleeps. Hugh and Mary begin to creep away
quietly. Horns are heard; people are coming. Back the two go to the stocks. This time,
Mary puts her feet in too; but she has dropped a shoe and cannot find it. Dawn is
approaching. The May Song is heard, and a procession enters, singing and greeting May Day.
John batters on Jane’s window, calling for Mary, whose disappearance is now
discovered. A commotion ensues and Mary’s shoe is found. It is not long before they
notice the four feet in the stocks and Mary herself is discovered. She refuses to leave
Hugh. The Constable, her father, then disowns her, and tells the butcher he can have the
drab, but not a penny will he give with her. John abandons his claim. There is a fight
between the supporters of John and those of Hugh. John is dragged to the stocks. A bugle
and drum are heard. A sergeant and a small company of soldiers enter to arrest the spy.
The sergeant, however, recognizes in Hugh his friend and boon companion, a loyal servant
to the King. However, he insists on some prize, and so claims John the Butcher and takes
him away for the army. So the Drover gets his bride, at last, with her father’s
blessing.
Music drama by Rutland Boughton. Libretto adapted
from the play of William Sharp (Fiona Macleod). First produced in August, 1914, at
Glastonbury, England.
CAST : Dalua, a shadow-god—Baritone; Etain, a lost
faery maiden—Soprano; Eochaidh, King of Ireland— Baritone; A Spirit
Voice—Mezzo-Soprano; Manus, a peasant—Bass; Maive, his wife-Contralto; Midir, a
prince of faery—Tenor; An Old Bard—Bass. Choruses of Tree Spirits, Faeries,
Druids, Warriors and Court Women.
ACT I. Dalua, the Shadow that lies behind Life, is derided
in the woods by ghostly voices. The tree-spirits dance amongst the trees, mocking at him.
To him comes Etain, a girl of the faery-folk, who is lost and has forgotten all but her
name in her wanderings; and later there comes the dreamer, Eochaidh, King of Ireland. The
scene changes to the peasant hut of Manus and Maive. Etain has sheltered there from the
storm. Eochaidh follows in search of his heart’s desire. It seems as though he might
find it, but the call of the faery-folk lingers in Etain’s mind.
ACT II. A festival in honor of the completed year of
Etain’s marriage with Eochaidh. Both are oppressed, in different ways, by a
presentiment of unearthly happenings. Eochaidh has been visited by strange dreams. Etain
withdraws in a strange manner. A stranger, Midir, a prince of the faery-folk enters, and
asks a boon of the King, who accedes it without knowing what it is he grants. Midir sings
of legends of love, and demands as his boon that he may kiss Etain’s hand. Etain
reappears, and hearing Midir’s song of "the lordly ones who dwell in the
hills," she falls under his spell, and, deaf to the pleadings of Eochaidh, she
follows Midir, as in a trance, back to the Land of Heart’s Desire. Dalua (who
represents Oblivion) enters, and at his touch, Eochaidh falls to the ground lifeless.
Tragedy in four acts. Music and text by Arrigo
Boito. Left unfinished at his death in 1918. Completed and first produced under Arturo
Toscanini, May 1, 1924, at La Scala, Milan.
CAST : Nerone-Tenor; Simon Magus, Nero’s agent—
Baritone; Fanuel, leader of the Christians—Baritone; Asteria, a
snake-charmer—Soprano; Rubria, a Vestal Virgin—Mezzo-Soprano;
Tigellino—Bass; Dositeo— Baritone; Perside—Soprano; Cerinto—Contralto;
Il Tempiere—Tenor; Primo Viandante—Tenor; Secondo Viandante—Baritone; Lo
Schiavo Ammonitore—Baritone; Terpnos—Announcer. Groups of Ambibarii, Gaditanean
girls, Augustinian cavalry, trumpeters, freemen, charioteers of the Green faction and of
the Blue faction, the mob, slaves, senators, a company of Dionysian actors, three
companies of the foreign legion, priests, matrons, students, pretorians, Christians.
Non-singing parts : A Spanish girl, the Arcigallo, an idol-seller, a flamen, the
successful charioteer, a gladiator-trainer, zither-players, sistrum-players, merchants,
etc.
ACT I. On the Appian Way near Rome. Nero has foully murdered
his mother Agrippina. Simon Magus (the agent of Nero’s terrible cruelties) is digging
the grave for her ashes. Suddenly a wild cry of "Nero, matricide" rings out, and
Nero rushes on in terror, hugging the cinerary urn under his toga. Urged by Simon to carry
out the funeral expiatory rites, he is about to comply, when there arises from one of the
tombs a figure which Nero takes to be one of the Eumenides. It is really Asteria, but he
flies before the accusing apparition. Rubria, a Vestal Virgin, converted to Christianity,
enters and makes her prayers among the tombs. Simon begs Fanuel, the Christian leader, to
reveal to him the secret of his divine power, and uses both persuasion and menace to wring
it from him. The crowd comes to fetch Nero back in triumph to Rome. Banishing his terror,
he mounts the triumphal car and drives in gorgeous procession toward the city.
ACT II. In the Temple of the sorcerer. Simon Magus arranges
his obscene rites, and uses Asteria to impose on Nero, who discovers the fraud, and breaks
down altar and shrine in ungovernable rage. He even flings a burning torch into the mouth
of the oracle, and calls on his Pretorian guards to wreck the temple.
ACT III. The Christians conduct their simple worship in an
olive orchard on the Pincian Hill, near Rome. Fanuel, their leader, is betrayed and
condemned to death in the Arena.
ACT IV. Part of the city near the Maximilian Arena. Chariots
pass across the stage. Crowds of Roman people and strange Orientals fill the city and
throng round the Emperor. One of the many street incidents is a dance by an Oriental girl
to double-flute and castanets. A string of Christians is led to martyrdom in the arena.
But the holiday-making is turned into dire confusion by the outbreak of the Great Fire.
Flames burst out from the Amnphitheatre. The populace fly hither and thither. The second
scene is in the crypt beneath. Fanuel searches for Rubria, who has paid the price of her
effort to save the Christians. He finds her, still breathing, amongst the falling ruins.
The opera ends with her farewell message, as she dies in the Christian faith.
Opera in one act, by Gustav Holst. Libretto by
the composer. First produced May 14, 1923, by the British National Opera Co., at Covent
Garden.
CAST : The Fool—Speaking Part; His
Mother—Contralto; The Wizard—Baritone, also speaks; The Princess—Soprano;
The Troubadour—Tenor; The Traveller— Bass; A Peasant—Speaking Part; Three
Girls— Soprano; The Troubadour’s Retainers—Bass. Chorus of Courtiers and
Subjects of the Princess. Ballet of Spirits of Earth, Spirits of Water, and Spirits of
Fire. It is night. The Wizard is performing a magic rite. He calls upon the Spirits of the
Earth to bring him a cup for working magic. Then he invokes the Spirits of Water to bring
the sweetest essence of Love. Finally, he calls up the Spirits of Fire. The spell cast,
the Wizard settles down to sleep. The Mother enters dragging The Fool after her. She
utters mysteriously the prophecy made at his birth.
He wins a bride with the
glance of his eye,
With
a look he kills a foe.
He achieves where others foe,
&nb