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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/14968-8.txt b/14968-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8f4c2b3 --- /dev/null +++ b/14968-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9826 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Standard Operas (12th edition), by George +P. Upton + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Standard Operas (12th edition) + +Author: George P. Upton + +Release Date: February 8, 2005 [eBook #14968] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STANDARD OPERAS (12TH +EDITION)*** + + +E-text prepared by David Newman, Keith M. Eckrich, and the Project +Gutenberg Online Disributed Proofreading Team + + + +THE STANDARD OPERAS + +Their Plots, Their Music, and Their Composers + +A Handbook + +by + +GEORGE P. UPTON + +Twelfth Edition + +Chicago: A. C. McClurg and Company + +1897 + + + + + + + +PREFACE. + + +The object of the compiler of this Handbook is to present to the +reader a brief but comprehensive sketch of each of the operas +contained in the modern repertory which are likely to be given during +regular seasons. To this end he has consulted the best authorities, +adding to the material thus collected his own observations, and in +each case presented a necessarily brief sketch of the composer, the +story of each opera, the general character of the music, its prominent +scenes and numbers,--the latter in the text most familiar to +opera-goers,--the date of first performances, with a statement of the +original cast wherever it has been possible to obtain it, and such +historical information concerning the opera and its composition as +will be of interest to the reader. The work has been prepared for the +general public rather than for musicians; and with this purpose in +view, technicalities have been avoided as far as possible, the aim +being to give musically uneducated lovers of opera a clear +understanding of the works they are likely to hear, and thus heighten +their enjoyment. In a word, the operas are described rather than +criticised, and the work is presented with as much thoroughness as +seemed possible considering the necessarily brief space allotted to +each. In the preparation of the Handbook, the compiler acknowledges +his indebtedness to Grove's excellent "Dictionary of Music" for dates +and other statistical information; and he has also made free use of +standard musical works in his library for historical events connected +with the performance and composition of the operas. It only remains to +submit this work to opera-goers with the hope that it may add to their +enjoyment and prove a valuable addition to their libraries.--G.P.U. + +CHICAGO, August, 1885. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +AUBER + + FRA DIAVOLO + + MASANIELLO + + THE CROWN DIAMONDS + + +BALFE + + THE BOHEMIAN GIRL + + THE ROSE OF CASTILE + + +BEETHOVEN + + FIDELIO + + +BELLINI + + NORMA + + LA SONNAMBULA + + I PURITANI + + +BIZET + + CARMEN + + +BOIELDIEU + + LA DAME BLANCHE + + +BOITO + + MEPHISTOPHELES + + +DELIBES + + LAKME + + +DONIZETTI + + THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT + + LA FAVORITA + + DON PASQUALE + + LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR + + L'ELISIR D'AMORE + + LUCREZIA BORGIA + + +FLOTOW + + MARTHA + + STRADELLA + + +GLUCK + + ORPHEUS + + +GOETZ + + THE TAMING OF THE SHREW + + +GOLDMARK + + THE QUEEN OF SHEBA + + MERLIN + + +GOUNOD + + FAUST + + ROMEO AND JULIET + + MIREILLE + + +HALEVY + + THE JEWESS + + +HUMPERDINCK + + HANSEL AND GRETEL + + +LEONCAVALLO + + I PAGLIACCI + + +MASCAGNI + + CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA + + +MEYERBEER + + THE HUGUENOTS + + THE STAR OF THE NORTH + + ROBERT THE DEVIL + + DINORAH + + THE PROPHET + + THE AFRICAN + + +MOZART + + THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO + + DON GIOVANNI + + THE MAGIC FLUTE + + +ROSSINI + + THE BARBER OF SEVILLE + + SEMIRAMIDE + + WILLIAM TELL + + +RUBINSTEIN + + NERO + + +THOMAS + + MIGNON + + +VERDI + + ERNANI + + RIGOLETTO + + LA TRAVIATA + + IL TROVATORE + + THE MASKED BALL + + AIDA + + OTHELLO + + FALSTAFF + + +WAGNER + + RIENZI + + THE FLYING DUTCHMAN + + TANNHÄUSER + + LOHENGRIN + + TRISTAN UND ISOLDE + + THE MASTERSINGERS + + THE RING OF THE NIBELUNG + + DAS RHEINGOLD + + DIE WALKÜRE + + SIEGFRIED + + DIE GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG + + PARSIFAL + + +WALLACE + + MARITANA + + +WEBER + + DER FREISCHÜTZ + + OBERON + + EURYANTHE + + +APPENDIX + + +INDEX + + + + + +AUBER. + +Daniel François Esprit Auber, one of the most prominent +representatives of the opera comique, was born at Caen, in Normandy, +Jan. 29, 1784. He first attracted attention in the musical world by +his songs and ballads, written when a mere boy. Young as he was, they +were great favorites in French and English drawing-rooms, and their +success diverted him from his commercial intentions to that profession +in which he was destined to achieve such popularity. His début was +made as an instrumental composer in his twentieth year, but before he +had reached his thirtieth he was engrossed with operatic composition. +His first two works were unsuccessful; but the third, "La Bergère +Châtelaine," proved the stepping-stone to a career of remarkable +popularity, during which he produced a large number of dramatic works, +which not only secured for him the enthusiastic admiration of the +Parisians, with whom he was always a favorite, but also carried his +name and fame throughout the world, and obtained for him marks of high +distinction from royalty, such as the office of Director of the +Conservatoire from Louis Philippe, and that of Imperial Maître de +Chapelle from Louis Napoleon. He died May 13, 1871, amid the fearful +scenes of the Paris Commune. His best-known operas are: "Masaniello" +(1828); "Fra Diavolo" (1830); "The Bronze Horse" (1835); "The Black +Domino" (1837); "The Crown Diamonds" (1841); and "Zerline" +(1851),--the last-named written for the great contralto, Mme. Alboni. +Of these, "Fra Diavolo," "Masaniello," and "The Crown Diamonds" are as +fresh as ever in their French and Italian settings, though their +finest successes in this country have been made in their English +dress. + + +FRA DIAVOLO. + +"Fra Diavolo," opera comique, in three acts, words by Scribe, was +first produced at the Opera Comique, Paris, Jan. 28, 1830; in English, +at Drury Lane, London, Nov. 3, 1831; in Italian, at the Lyceum, +London, July 9, 1857, for which occasion the spoken dialogue was +converted into accompanied recitative. The composer himself also, in +fitting it for the Italian stage, made some changes in the concerted +music and added several morceaux. The original Italian cast was as +follows:-- + + ZERLINA Mme. BOSIO. + LADY ALLCASH Mlle. MARAI. + FRA DIAVOLO Sig. GARDINI. + LORD ALLCASH Sig. RONCONI. + BEPPO Sig. TAGLIAFICO. + GIACOMO Sig. ZELGER. + +The original of the story of Fra Diavolo is to be found in Lesueur's +opera, "La Caverne," afterwards arranged as a spectacular piece and +produced in Paris in 1808 by Cuvellier and Franconi, and again in +Vienna in 1822 as a spectacle-pantomime, under the title of "The +Robber of the Abruzzi." In Scribe's adaptation the bandit, Fra +Diavolo, encounters an English nobleman and his pretty and susceptible +wife, Lord and Lady Allcash, at the inn of Terracina, kept by Matteo, +whose daughter Zerlina is loved by Lorenzo, a young soldier, on the +eve of starting to capture Fra Diavolo when the action of the opera +begins. In the first scene the English couple enter in great alarm, +having narrowly escaped the robbery of all their valuables by Fra +Diavolo's band. The bandit himself, who has followed them on their +journey in the disguise of a marquis, and has been particularly +attentive to the lady, enters the inn just as Lord Allcash has been +reproving his wife for her familiarity with a stranger. A quarrel +ensues in a duet of a very humorous character ("I don't object"). Upon +the entrance of Fra Diavolo, a quintet ("Oh, Rapture unbounded!") +ensues, which is one of the most effective and admirably harmonized +ensembles Auber has ever written. Fra Diavolo learns the trick by +which they saved the most of their valuables, and, enraged at the +failure of his band, lays his own plan to secure them. In an interview +with Zerlina, she, mistaking him for the Marquis, tells him the story +of Fra Diavolo in a romanza ("On Yonder Rock reclining"), which is so +fresh, vigorous, and full of color, that it has become a favorite the +world over. To further his schemes, Fra Diavolo makes love to Lady +Allcash and sings an exquisitely graceful barcarole to her ("The +Gondolier, fond Passion's Slave"), accompanying himself on the +mandolin. Lord Allcash interrupts the song, and the trio, "Bravi, +Bravi," occurs, which leads up to the finale of the act. Fra Diavolo +eludes the carbineers, who have returned, and they resume their search +for him, leaving him unmolested to perfect his plans for the robbery. + +The second act introduces Zerlina in her chamber about to retire. She +first lights Lord and Lady Allcash to their room, a running +conversation occurring between them in a trio ("Let us, I pray, good +Wife, to rest"), which by many good critics has been considered as the +best number in the work. Before Zerlina returns to her chamber, Fra +Diavolo and his companions, Beppo and Giacomo, conceal themselves in a +closet, and, somewhat in violation of dramatic consistency, Fra +Diavolo sings the beautiful serenade, "Young Agnes," which had been +agreed upon as a signal to his comrades that the coast was clear. +Zerlina enters, and after a pretty cavatina ("'Tis to-morrow") and a +prayer, charming for its simplicity ("Oh, Holy Virgin"), retires to +rest. The robbers in attempting to cross her room partially arouse +her. One of them rushes to the bed to stab her, but falls back +awe-stricken as she murmurs her prayer and sinks to rest again. The +trio which marks this scene, sung pianissimo, is quaint and simple and +yet very dramatic. The noise of the carbineers returning outside +interrupts the plan of the robbers. They conceal themselves in the +closet again. Zerlina rises and dresses herself. Lord and Lady Allcash +rush in _en deshabille_ to find out the cause of the uproar. Lorenzo +enters to greet Zerlina, when a sudden noise in the closet disturbs +the company. Fra Diavolo, knowing he will be detected, boldly steps +out into the room and declares that he is there to keep an appointment +with Zerlina. Lorenzo challenges him, and he promises to give him +satisfaction in the morning, and coolly effects his escape. One of his +comrades, however, is captured, and to secure his own liberty agrees +to betray his chief. + +The third act introduces Fra Diavolo once more among his native +mountains, and there is the real breath and vigor of the mountain air +in his opening song ("Proudly and wide my Standard flies"), and +rollicking freedom in the rondeau which follows it ("Then since Life +glides so fast away"). He exults in his liberty, and gleefully looks +forward to a meeting with Lord and Lady Allcash, which he anticipates +will redound to his personal profit. His exultation is interrupted by +the entrance of the villagers arrayed in festival attire in honor of +the approaching wedding ceremonies, singing a bright pastoral chorus +("Oh, Holy Virgin! bright and fair"). The finale of the act is +occupied with the development of the scheme between Lorenzo, Beppo, +and Giacomo, to ensnare Fra Diavolo and compass his death; and with +the final tragedy, in which Fra Diavolo meets his doom at the hands of +the carbineers, but not before he has declared Zerlina's innocence. +This finale is strong and very dramatic, and yet at the same time +simple, natural, and unstudied. The opera itself is a universal +favorite, not alone for its naturalness and quiet grace, but for its +bright and even boisterous humor, which is sustained by the typical +English tourist, who was for the first time introduced in opera by +Scribe. The text is full of spirit and gayety, and these qualities are +admirably reflected in the sparkling music of Auber. Not one of the +books which the versatile Scribe has supplied for the opera is more +replete with incident or brighter in humor. How well it was adapted +for musical treatment is shown by the fact that "Fra Diavolo" made +Auber's reputation at the Opera Comique. + + +MASANIELLO. + +"Masaniello," or "La Muette de Portici," a lyric opera in five acts, +words by Scribe and Delavigne, was first produced in Paris, Feb. 29, +1828; in English, at London, May 4, 1829; and in Italian, at London, +March 15, 1849. The original cast included Mme. Damoreau-Cinti as +Elvira, Mlle. Noblet as Fenella, and M. Massol as Pietro. In the +Italian version, Sig. Mario, Mme. Dorus-Gras, and Mlle. Leroux, a +famous mime and dancer, took the principal parts; while in its English +dress, Braham created one of the greatest successes on record, and +established it as the favorite opera of Auber among Englishmen. + +The scene of the opera is laid near Naples. The first act opens upon +the festivities attending the nuptials of Alphonso, son of the Duke of +Arcos, and the Princess Elvira. After a chorus of rejoicing, the +latter enters and sings a brilliant cavatina ("O, bel Momento") +expressive of her happiness. In the fourth scene the festivities are +interrupted by the appearance of Fenella, the dumb girl, who implores +the princess to save her from Selva, one of the Duke's officers, who +is seeking to return her to prison, from which she has escaped, and +where she has been confined at the orders of some unknown cavalier who +has been persecuting her. The part of Fenella is of course expressed +by pantomime throughout. The remainder of the act is intensely +dramatic. Elvira promises to protect Fenella, and then, after some +spirited choruses by the soldiers, enters the chapel with Alphonso. +During the ceremony Fenella discovers that he is her betrayer. She +attempts to go in, but is prevented by the soldiers. On the return of +the newly wedded pair Fenella meets Elvira and denounces her husband, +and the scene ends with a genuine Italian finale of excitement. + +The second act opens on the sea-shore, and shows the fishermen busy +with their nets and boats. Masaniello, brother of Fenella, enters, +brooding upon the wrongs of the people, and is implored by the +fishermen to cheer them with a song. He replies with the barcarole, +"Piu bello sorse il giorno,"--a lovely melody, which has been the +delight of all tenors. His friend Pietro enters and they join in a +duet ("Sara il morir") of a most vigorous and impassioned character, +expressive of Masaniello's grief for his sister and their mutual +resolution to strike a blow for freedom. At the conclusion of the duet +he beholds Fenella about to throw herself into the sea. He calls to +her and she rushes into his arms and describes to him the story of her +wrongs. He vows revenge, and in a magnificent, martial finale, which +must have been inspired by the revolutionary feeling with which the +whole atmosphere was charged at the time Auber wrote (1828), incites +the fishermen and people to rise in revolt against their tyrannical +oppressors. + +In the third act, after a passionate aria ("Il pianto rasciuga") by +Elvira, we are introduced to the market-place, crowded with +market-girls and fishermen disposing of their fruits and fish. After a +lively chorus, a fascinating and genuine Neapolitan tarantelle is +danced. The merry scene speedily changes to one of turmoil and +distress. Selva attempts to arrest Fenella, but the fishermen rescue +her and Masaniello gives the signal for the general uprising. Before +the combat begins, all kneel and sing the celebrated prayer, "Nume del +ciel," taken from one of Auber's early masses, and one of his most +inspired efforts. + +The fourth act opens in Masaniello's cottage. He deplores the coming +horrors of the day in a grand aria ("Dio! di me disponesti") which is +very dramatic in its quality. Fenella enters, and after describing the +tumult in the city sinks exhausted with fatigue. As she falls asleep +he sings a slumber song ("Scendi, o sonno dal ciel"), a most exquisite +melody, universally known as "L'Air du Sommeil." It is sung by the +best artists mezzo voce throughout, and when treated in this manner +never fails to impress the hearer with its tenderness and beauty. At +its close Pietro enters and once more rouses Masaniello to revenge by +informing him that Alphonso has escaped. After they leave the cottage, +the latter and Elvira enter and implore protection. Fenella is moved +to mercy, and a concerted number follows in which Masaniello promises +safety and is denounced by Pietro for his weakness. In the finale, the +magistrates and citizens enter, bearing the keys of the town and the +royal insignia, and declare Masaniello king in a chorus of a very +inspiriting and brilliant character. + +The last act is very powerful, both dramatically and musically. It +opens in the grounds of the Viceroy's palace, and Vesuvius is seen in +the distance, its smoke portending an eruption. Pietro and companions +enter with wine-cups in their hands, as from a banquet, and the former +sings a barcarole ("Ve' come il vento irato"). At its close other +fishermen enter and excitedly announce that troops are moving against +the people, that Vesuvius is about to burst into flame, and that +Masaniello, their leader, has lost his reason. This is confirmed by +the appearance of the hero in disordered attire, singing music through +which are filtered fragments of the fishermen's songs as they rise in +his disturbed brain. This scene, the third in the act, is one not only +of great power but of exquisite grace and tenderness, and requires an +artist of the highest rank for its proper presentation. Fenella rouses +him from his dejection, and he once more turns and plunges into the +fight, only to be killed by his own comrades. On learning of her +brother's death she unites the hands of Alphonso and Elvira, and then +in despair throws herself into the burning lava of Vesuvius. + +"Masaniello" made Auber's fame at the Grand Opera, as "Fra Diavolo" +made it at the Opera Comique. It has no points in common with that or +any other of his works. It is serious throughout, and full of power, +impetuosity, and broad dramatic treatment. Even Richard Wagner has +conceded its vigor, bold effects, and original harmonies. Its melodies +are spontaneous, its instrumentation full of color, and its stirring +incidents are always vigorously handled. In comparison with his other +works it seems like an inspiration. It is full of the revolutionary +spirit, and its performance in Brussels in 1830 was the cause of the +riots that drove the Dutch out of Belgium. + + +THE CROWN DIAMONDS. + +"The Crown Diamonds" ("Les Diamans de la Couronne"), opera comique, in +three acts, words by Scribe and St. George, one of the most charming +of Auber's light operas, was first produced in Paris in 1841, but its +reputation has been made on the English stage. It was first performed +in London, at the Princess Theatre, May 2, 1844, with Mme. Anna +Thillon, a charming singer and most fascinating woman, as Catarina; +but its success was made at Drury Lane in 1854 by Louisa Pyne and +Harrison, who took the parts of Catarina and Don Henrique. The other +rôles, Count de Campo Mayor, Don Sebastian, Rebolledo, and Diana, were +filled by Mr. Horncastle, Mr. Reeves, Mr. Borrani, and Miss Pyne, +sister of the preceding, and with this cast the opera ran a hundred +nights. + +The story of the opera is laid in Portugal, time, 1777. The opening +scene discloses the ruins of a castle in the mountains, near the +monastery of St. Huberto, where Don Henrique, nephew of the Count de +Campo Mayor, Minister of Police at Coimbra, overtaken by a storm, +seeks shelter. At the time of his misfortune he is on his way to take +part in the approaching coronation, and also to sign a marriage +contract with his cousin Diana, daughter of the Minister of Police. He +solaces himself with a song ("Roll on, Roll on"), during which he +hears the blows of hammers in a distant cavern, and on looking round +discovers Rebolledo, the chief of the coiners, and two of his +comrades, with his trunk in their possession, the contents of which +they proceed to examine. Don Henrique conceals himself while Rebolledo +is singing a rollicking muleteer's song ("O'er Mountain steep, through +Valley roaming"). At its conclusion Rebolledo, about to summon the +other coiners to their secret work, discovers Don Henrique, and +thinking him a spy rushes upon him. He is saved by the sudden entrance +of Catarina, the leader of the gang, who tells the story of her life +in a concerted number that reminds one very strikingly of the bandit +song in "Fra Diavolo." After examining Don Henrique, and, to his +surprise, showing an intimate acquaintance with his projects, she +returns him his property, and allows him to depart on condition that +he shall not speak of what he has seen for a year. He consents; and +then follows another of the concerted numbers in which this opera +abounds, and in which occurs a charming rondo ("The Young Pedrillo"), +accompanied by a weird, clanging chorus. Before he can effect his +departure the gang find that they are surrounded by troops led by Don +Sebastian, a friend of Don Henrique. The coiners, in company with the +latter, however, make their escape in the disguise of monks on their +way to the neighboring monastery, singing a lugubrious chorus ("Unto +the Hermit of the Chapel"), while Catarina and Rebolledo elude the +soldiers by taking a subterranean passage, carrying with them a casket +containing some mysterious jewels. + +The second act opens in the Château de Coimbra, and discovers the +Count, Don Henrique, Don Sebastian, and Diana. The first scene reveals +to us that Don Henrique is in love with the mysterious Catarina, and +that Diana is in love with Don Sebastian. In a sportive mood Diana +requests Don Henrique to sing with her, and chooses a nocturne called +"The Brigand," which closes in gay bolero time ("In the Deep Ravine of +the Forest"). As they are singing it, Don Sebastian announces that a +carriage has been overturned and its occupants desire shelter. As the +duet proceeds, Catarina and Rebolledo enter, and a very flurried +quintet ("Oh, Surprise unexpected!") occurs, leading up to an ensemble +full of humor, with a repetition of the brigand song, this time by +Catarina and Diana, and closing with a bravura aria sung by Catarina +("Love! at once I break thy Fetters"). Catarina and Rebolledo accept +the proffered hospitality, but the latter quietly makes his exit when +Diana begins to read an account of a robbery which contains a +description of himself and his companion. Catarina remains, however, +in spite of Don Henrique's warning that she is in the house of the +Minister of Police. In a moment of passion he declares his love for +her and begs her to fly with him. She declines his proffer, but gives +him a ring as a souvenir. A pretty little duet ("If I could but +Courage feel") ensues between Diana and Don Henrique, in which she +gently taunts him with his inattention to her and his sudden interest +in the handsome stranger. At this juncture the Count enters in wild +excitement over the announcement that the crown jewels have been +stolen. Don Henrique's ring is recognized as one of them, and in the +excitement which ensues, Catarina finds herself in danger of +discovery, from which she is rescued by Diana, who promises Don +Henrique she will send her away in the Count's carriage if he will +agree to refuse to sign the marriage contract. He consents, and she +departs upon her errand. At this point in the scene Don Henrique sings +the beautiful ballad, "Oh, whisper what thou feelest!" originally +written for Mr. Harrison. This song leads up to a stirring finale, in +which Don Henrique refuses to sign the contract and Catarina makes her +escape. + +The last act opens in the anteroom of the royal palace at Lisbon, +where Diana is waiting for an audience with the Queen. She sings +another interpolated air, originally written for Louisa Pyne ("When +Doubt the tortured Frame is rending"), and at its close the Count, Don +Henrique, and Don Sebastian enter. While they are conversing, +Rebolledo appears, announced as the Count Fuentes, and a quintet +occurs, very slightly constructed, but full of humor. An usher +interrupts it by announcing the Queen will have a private audience +with the Count Fuentes. While awaiting her, the latter, in a +monologue, lets us into the secret that the real crown jewels have +been pledged for the national debt, and that he has been employed to +make duplicates of them to be worn on state occasions until the real +ones can be redeemed. The Queen enters, and expresses her satisfaction +with the work, and promotes him to the position of Minister of Secret +Police. On his departure she sings a charming cavatina ("Love, dwell +with me"), and at its close Count de Campo Mayor enters with the +decision of the Council that she shall wed the Prince of Spain. She +returns answer that she shall make her own choice. The Count seeks to +argue with her, when she threatens to confiscate his estate for +allowing the crown jewels to be stolen, and commands him to arrest his +daughter and nephew for harboring the thieves. Diana suddenly enters, +and an amusing trio ensues, the Queen standing with her back to Diana +lest she may be discovered. The latter fails to recognize her as +Catarina, and implores pardon for assisting in her escape. The +situation is still further complicated by the appearance of Don +Henrique, who has no difficulty in recognizing Catarina. Bewildered at +her presence in the Queen's apartments, he declares to Diana that he +will seize her and fly to some distant land. His rash resolution, +however, is thwarted by his arrest, on the authority of the Queen, for +treason. A martial finale introduces us to the Queen in state. Don +Henrique rushes forward to implore mercy for Catarina. The Queen +reveals herself at last, and announces to her people that she has +chosen Don Henrique, who has loved her for herself, for her husband +and their king. And thus closes one of the most sparkling, melodious, +and humorous of Auber's works. What the concerted numbers lack in +solidity of construction is compensated for by their grace and +sweetness. + + + + +BALFE. + +Michael William Balfe was born at Dublin, Ireland, May 15, 1808. Of +all the English opera-composers, his career was the most versatile, as +his success, for a time at least, was the most remarkable. At seven +years of age he scored a polacca of his own for a band. In his eighth +year he appeared as a violinist, and in his tenth was composing +ballads. At sixteen he was playing in the Drury Lane orchestra, and +about this time began taking lessons in composition. In 1825, aided by +the generosity of a patron, he went to Italy, where for three years he +studied singing and counterpoint. In his twentieth year he met +Rossini, who offered him an engagement as first barytone at the +Italian Opera in Paris. He made his début with success in 1828, and at +the close of his engagement returned to Italy, where he appeared again +on the stage. About this time (1829-1830) he began writing Italian +operas, and before he left Italy had produced three which met with +considerable success. In 1835 he returned to England; and it was in +this year that his first English opera, the "Siege of Rochelle," was +produced. It was played continuously at Drury Lane for over three +months. In 1836 appeared his "Maid of Artois;" in 1837, "Catharine +Grey" and "Joan of Arc;" and in 1838, "Falstaff." During these years +he was still singing in concerts and opera, and in 1840 appeared as +manager of the Lyceum. His finest works were produced after this +date,--"The Bohemian Girl" in 1843; "The Enchantress" in 1844; "The +Rose of Castile," "La Zingara," and "Satanella" in 1858, and "The +Puritan's Daughter" in 1861. His last opera was "The Knight of the +Leopard," known in Italian as "Il Talismano," which has also been +produced in English as "The Talisman." He married Mlle. Rosen, a +German singer, whom he met in Italy in 1835; and his daughter +Victoire, who subsequently married Sir John Crampton, and afterwards +the Duc de Frias, also appeared as a singer in 1856. Balfe died Oct. +20, 1870, upon his own estate in Hertfordshire. The analysis of his +three operas which are best known--"The Bohemian Girl," "Rose of +Castile," and "Puritan's Daughter"--will contain sufficient reference +to his ability as a composer. + + +THE BOHEMIAN GIRL. + +"The Bohemian Girl," grand opera in three acts, words by Bunn, adapted +from St. George's ballet of "The Gypsy," which appeared at the Paris +Grand Opera in 1839,--itself taken from a romance by Cervantes,--was +first produced in London, Nov. 27, 1843, at Drury Lane, with the +following cast:-- + + ARLINE Miss ROMER. + THADDEUS Mr. HARRISON. + GYPSY QUEEN Miss BETTS. + DEVILSHOOF Mr. STRETTON. + COUNT ARNHEIM Mr. BORRANI. + FLORESTEIN Mr. DURNSET. + +The fame of "The Bohemian Girl" was not confined to England. It was +translated into various European languages, and was one of the few +English operas which secured a favorable hearing even in critical +Germany. In its Italian form it was produced at Drury Lane as "La +Zingara," Feb. 6, 1858, with Mlle. Piccolomini as Arline; and also had +the honor of being selected for the state performance connected with +the marriage of the Princess Royal. The French version, under the name +of "La Bohémienne," for which Balfe added several numbers, besides +enlarging it to five acts, was produced at the Théâtre Lyrique, Paris, +in December, 1869, and gained for him the Cross of the Legion of +Honor. + +The scene of the opera is laid in Austria, and the first act +introduces us to the château and grounds of Count Arnheim, Governor of +Presburg, whose retainers are preparing for the chase. After a short +chorus the Count enters with his little daughter Arline and his nephew +Florestein. The Count sings a short solo ("A Soldier's Life"), and as +the choral response by his retainers and hunters dies away and they +leave the scene, Thaddeus, a Polish exile and fugitive, rushes in +excitedly, seeking to escape the Austrian soldiers. His opening number +is a very pathetic song ("'Tis sad to leave your Fatherland"). At the +end of the song a troop of gypsies enter, headed by Devilshoof, +singing a blithe chorus ("In the Gypsy's Life you may read"). He hears +Thaddeus's story and induces him to join them. Before the animated +strains fairly cease, Florestein and some of the hunters dash across +the grounds in quest of Arline, who has been attacked by a stag. +Thaddeus, seizing a rifle, joins them, and rescues the child by +killing the animal. The Count overwhelms him with gratitude, and urges +him to join in the coming festivities. He consents, and at the banquet +produces a commotion by refusing to drink the health of the Emperor. +The soldiers are about to rush upon him, when Devilshoof interferes. +The gypsy is arrested for his temerity, and taken into the castle. +Thaddeus departs and the festivities are resumed, but are speedily +interrupted again by the escape of Devilshoof, who takes Arline with +him. The finale of the act is very stirring, and contains one number, +a prayer ("Thou who in Might supreme"), which is extremely effective. + +Twelve years elapse between the first and second acts, and during this +time Count Arnheim has received no tidings of Arline, and has given +her up as lost forever. The act opens in the gypsy camp in the suburbs +of Presburg. Arline is seen asleep in the tent of the Queen, with +Thaddeus watching her. After a quaint little chorus ("Silence, +silence, the Lady Moon") sung by the gypsies, they depart in quest of +plunder, headed by Devilshoof, and soon find their victim in the +person of the foppish and half-drunken Florestein, who is returning +from a revel. He is speedily relieved of his jewelry, among which is a +medallion, which is carried off by Devilshoof. As the gypsies +disappear, Arline wakes and relates her dream to Thaddeus in a joyous +song ("I dreamed I dwelt in Marble Halls"), which has become one of +the world's favorites. At the close of the ballad Thaddeus tells her +the meaning of the scar upon her arm, and reveals himself as her +rescuer, but does not disclose to her the mystery of her birth. The +musical dialogue, with its ensemble, "The Secret of her Birth," will +never lose its charm. Thaddeus declares his love for her just as the +Queen, who is also in love with Thaddeus, enters. Arline also +confesses her love for Thaddeus, and, according to the customs of the +tribe, the Queen unites them, at the same time vowing vengeance +against the pair. + +The scene now changes to a street in the city. A great fair is in +progress, and the gypsies, as usual, resort to it. Arline enters at +their head, joyously singing, to the accompaniment of the rattling +castanets, "Come with the Gypsy Bride;" her companions, blithely +tripping along, responding with the chorus, "In the Gypsy's Life you +may read." They disappear down the street and reappear in the public +plaza. Arline, the Queen, Devilshoof, and Thaddeus sing an +unaccompanied quartet ("From the Valleys and Hills"), a number which +for grace and flowing harmony deserves a place in any opera. As they +mingle among the people an altercation occurs between Arline and +Florestein, who has attempted to insult her. The Queen recognizes +Florestein as the owner of the medallion, and for her courage in +resenting the insult maliciously presents Arline with it. Shortly +afterwards he observes the medallion on Arline's neck, and has her +arrested for theft. The next scene opens in the hall of justice. Count +Arnheim enters with a sad countenance, and as he observes Arline's +portrait, gives vent to his sorrow in that well-known melancholy +reverie, "The Heart bowed down," which has become famous the world +over. Arline is brought before him for trial. As it progresses he +observes the scar upon her arm and asks its cause. She tells the story +which Thaddeus had told her, and this solves the mystery. The Count +recognizes his daughter, and the act closes with a beautiful ensemble +("Praised be the Will of Heaven"). + +The last act opens in the salon of Count Arnheim. Arline is restored +to her old position, but her love for Thaddeus remains. He finds an +opportunity to have a meeting with her, through the cunning of +Devilshoof, who accompanies him. He once more tells his love in that +tender and impassioned song, "When other Lips and other Hearts," and +she promises to be faithful to him. As the sound of approaching steps +is heard, Thaddeus and his companion conceal themselves. A large +company enter, and Arline is presented to them. During the ceremony a +closely veiled woman appears, and when questioned discovers herself as +the Gypsy Queen. She reveals the hiding-place of her companions, and +Thaddeus is dragged forth and ordered to leave the house. Arline +declares her love for him, and her intention to go with him. She +implores her father to relent. Thaddeus avows his noble descent, and +boasts his ancestry and deeds in battle in that stirring martial song, +"When the Fair Land of Poland." The Count finally yields and gives his +daughter to Thaddeus. The Queen, filled with rage and despair, induces +one of the tribe to fire at him as he is embracing Arline; but by a +timely movement of Devilshoof the bullet intended for Thaddeus pierces +the breast of the Queen. As the curtain falls, the old song of the +gypsies is heard again as they disappear in the distance with +Devilshoof at their head. + +Many of the operas of Balfe, like other ballad operas, have become +unfashionable; but it is doubtful whether "The Bohemian Girl" will +ever lose its attraction for those who delight in song-melody, +charming orchestration, and sparkling, animated choruses. It leaped +into popularity at a bound, and its pretty melodies are still as fresh +as when they were first sung. + + +THE ROSE OF CASTILE. + +"The Rose of Castile," comic opera in three acts, words by Harris and +Falconer, adapted from Adolphe Adam's "Muletier de Tolède," was first +produced at the Lyceum Theatre, London, Oct. 29, 1857, with the +following cast:-- + + ELVIRA Miss LOUISA PYNE. + MANUEL W.H. HARRISON. + CARMEN Miss SUSAN PYNE. + DON PEDRO Mr. WEISS. + DON SALLUST Mr. ST. ALBYN. + DON FLORIO Mr. HONEY. + +The scene of the opera is laid in Spain. Elvira, the Rose of Castile, +Queen of Leon, has just ascended the throne, and her hand has been +demanded by the King of Castile for his brother, Don Sebastian the +Infant. Having learned that the latter is about to enter her dominions +disguised as a muleteer, the better to satisfy his curiosity about +her, she adopts the same expedient, and sets out to intercept him, +disguised as a peasant girl, taking with her one of her attendants. + +The first act opens upon a rural scene in front of a posada, where the +peasants are dancing and singing a lively chorus ("List to the gay +Castanet"). Elvira and Carmen, her attendant, enter upon the scene, +and are asked to join in the dance, but instead, Elvira delights them +with a song, a vocal scherzo ("Yes, I'll obey you"). The innkeeper is +rude to them, but they are protected from his coarseness by Manuel, +the muleteer, who suddenly appears and sings a rollicking song ("I am +a simple Muleteer") to the accompaniment of a tambourine and the +snappings of his whip. A dialogue duet follows, in which she accepts +his protection and escort. She has already recognized the Infant, and +he has fulfilled the motive of the story by falling in love with her. +At this point the three conspirators, Don Pedro, Don Sallust, and Don +Florio, enter, the first of whom has designs on the throne. They +indulge in a buffo trio, which develops into a spirited bacchanal +("Wine, Wine, the Magician thou art!"). Observing Elvira's likeness to +the Queen, they persuade her to personate her Majesty. She consents +with feigned reluctance, and after accepting their escort in place of +Manuel's, being sure that he will follow, she sings a quaint rondo +("Oh, were I the Queen of Spain!"), and the act closes with a +concerted number accompanying their departure. + +The second act opens in the throne-room of the palace, and is +introduced by a very expressive conspirators' chorus ("The Queen in +the Palace"); after which Don Pedro enters and gives expression to the +uncertainty of his schemes in a ballad ("Though Fortune darkly o'er me +frowns") which reminds one very forcibly of "The Heart bowed down," in +"The Bohemian Girl." The Queen, who has eluded the surveillance of the +conspirators, makes her appearance, surrounded by her attendants, and +sings that exquisite ballad, "The Convent Cell" ("Of Girlhood's happy +Days I dream"), one of the most beautiful songs ever written by any +composer, and certainly Balfe's most popular inspiration. At the close +of the ballad Manuel appears, and is granted an audience, in which he +informs her of the meeting with the peasant girl and boy, and declares +his belief that they were the Queen and Carmen. She ridicules the +statement, and a very funny trio buffo ensues ("I'm not the Queen, ha, +ha!"). He then informs her of the conspirators' plot to imprison her, +but she thwarts it by inducing a silly and pompous old Duchess to +assume the rôle of Queen for the day, and ride to the palace closely +veiled in the royal carriage. The plot succeeds, and the Duchess is +seized and conveyed to a convent. In the next scene there is another +spirited buffo number, in which Don Pedro and Don Florio are mourning +over the loss of their peasant girl, when, greatly to their relief, +she enters again, singing a very quaint and characteristic scena ("I'm +but a simple Peasant Maid"), which rouses the suspicions of the +conspirators. They are all the more perplexed when the Queen announces +herself, and declares her intention of marrying the muleteer. + +The last act opens with a song by Carmen ("Though Love's the greatest +Plague in Life"), which falls far below the excellence of the other +songs in the work. It is followed by a buffo duet between Carmen and +Florio, who agree to marry. The Queen and ladies enter, and the former +sings a bravura air ("Oh, joyous, happy Day!"), which was intended by +the composer to show Miss Pyne's vocal ability. At this point a +message is brought her from Don Sebastian, announcing his marriage. +Enraged at the discovery that the muleteer is not Don Sebastian, she +severely upbraids him, and he replies in another exquisite ballad +("'Twas Rank and Fame that tempted thee"). At its close she once more +declares she will be true to the muleteer. Don Pedro is delighted at +the apparent success of his scheme, as he believes he can force her to +abdicate if she marries a muleteer, and gives vent to his joy in a +martial song ("Hark! hark! methinks I hear"). The last scene is in the +throne-room, where Manuel announces he is king of Castile, and mounts +the throne singing a stirring song closely resembling, in its style, +the "Fair Land of Poland," in "The Bohemian Girl." Elvira expresses +her delight in a bravura air ("Oh, no! by Fortune blessed"), and the +curtain falls. The story of the opera is very complicated, and +sometimes tiresome; but the music is well sustained throughout, +especially the buffo numbers, while some of the ballads are among the +best ever written by an English composer. + + + + +BEETHOVEN. + +Ludwig Von Beethoven, the greatest of composers, was born Dec. 17, +1770, at Bonn, Germany, his father being a court singer in the chapel +of the Elector of Cologne. He studied in Vienna with Haydn, with whom +he did not always agree, however, and afterwards with Albrechtsberger. +His first symphony appeared in 1801, his earlier symphonies, in what +is called his first period, being written in the Mozart style. His +only opera, "Fidelio," for which he wrote four overtures, was first +brought out in Vienna in 1805; his oratorio, "Christ on the Mount of +Olives," in 1812; and his colossal Ninth Symphony, with its choral +setting of Schiller's "Ode to Joy," in 1824. In addition to his +symphonies, his opera, oratorios, and masses, and the immortal group +of sonatas for the piano, which were almost revelations in music, he +developed chamber music to an extent far beyond that reached by his +predecessors, Haydn and Mozart. His symphonies exhibit surprising +power, and a marvellous comprehension of the deeper feelings in life +and the influences of nature, both human and physical. He wrote with +the deepest earnestness, alike in the passion and the calm of his +music, and he invested it also with a genial humor as well as with the +highest expression of pathos. His works are epic in character. He was +the great tone-poet of music. His subjects were always lofty and +dignified, and to their treatment he brought not only a profound +knowledge of musical technicality, but intense sympathy with the +innermost feelings of human nature, for he was a humanitarian in the +broadest sense. By the common consent of the musical world he stands +at the head of all composers, and has always been their guide and +inspiration. He died March 26, 1827, in the midst of a raging thunder +storm, one of his latest utterances being a recognition of the "divine +spark" in Schubert's music. + + +FIDELIO. + +"Fidelio, oder die eheliche Liebe" ("Fidelio, or Conjugal Love"), +grand opera in two acts, words by Sonnleithner, translated freely from +Bouilly's "Léonore, ou l'Amour Conjugal," was first produced at the +Theatre An der Wien, Vienna, Nov. 20, 1805, the work at that time +being in three acts. A translation of the original programme of that +performance, with the exception of the usual price of admissions, is +appended:-- + + Imperial and Royal Theatre An der Wien. + New Opera. + To-day, Wednesday, 20 November, 1805, at the Imperial and Royal + Theatre An der Wien, will be given for the first time. + FIDELIO; + Or, Conjugal Love. + Opera in three acts, translated freely from the French text by + JOSEPH SONNLEITHNER. + The music is by LUDWIG VON BEETHOVEN. + + _Dramatis Personae_. + + _Don Fernando_, Minister Herr Weinkoff. + _Don Pizarro_, Governor of a State Prison Herr Meier. + _Florestan_, prisoner Herr Demmer. + _Leonora_, his wife, under the name of _Fidelio_ Fräulein Milder. + _Rocco_, chief jailer Herr Rothe. + _Marcellina_, his daughter Fräulein Müller. + _Jaquino_, turnkey Herr Cache. + _Captain of the Guard_ Herr Meister. + _Prisoners, Guards, People_. + +The action passes in a State prison in Spain, a few leagues from +Seville. The piece can be procured at the box-office for fifteen +kreutzers. + +During this first season the opera was performed three times and then +withdrawn. Breuning reduced it to two acts, and two or three of the +musical numbers were sacrificed, and in this form it was played twice +at the Imperial Private Theatre and again withdrawn. On these +occasions it had been given under Beethoven's favorite title, +"Leonore." In 1814 Treitschke revised it, and it was produced at the +Kärnthnerthor Theatre, Vienna, May 23, of that year, as "Fidelio," +which title it has ever since retained. Its first performance in Paris +was at the Théâtre Lyrique, May 5, 1860; in London, at the King's +Theatre, May 18, 1832; and in English at Covent Garden, June 12, 1835, +with Malibran in the title-rôle. Beethoven wrote four overtures for +this great work. The first was composed in 1805, the second in 1806, +the third in 1807, and the fourth in 1814. It is curious that there +has always been a confusion in their numbering, and the error remains +to this day. What is called No. 1 is in reality No. 3, and was +composed for a performance of the opera at Prague, the previous +overture having been too difficult for the strings. The splendid +"Leonora," No. 3, is in reality No. 2, and the No. 2 is No. 1. The +fourth, or the "Fidelio" overture, contains a new set of themes, but +the "Leonora" is the grandest of them all. + +The entire action of the opera transpires in a Spanish prison, of +which Don Pizarro is governor and Rocco the jailer. The porter of the +prison is Jacquino, who is in love with Marcellina, daughter of Rocco, +and she in turn is in love with Fidelio, Rocco's assistant, who has +assumed male disguise the better to assist her in her plans for the +rescue of her husband, Florestan, a Spanish nobleman. The latter, who +is the victim of Don Pizarro's hatred because he had thwarted some of +his evil designs, has been imprisoned by him unknown to the world, and +is slowly starving to death. Leonora, his wife, who in some way has +discovered that her husband is in the prison, has obtained employment +of Rocco, disguised as the young man Fidelio. + +The opera opens with a charming, playful love-scene between Jacquino +and Marcellina, whom the former is teasing to marry him. She puts him +off, and as he sorrowfully departs, sings the Hope aria, "Die +Hoffnung," a fresh, smoothly flowing melody, in which she pictures the +delight of a life with Fidelio. At its close Rocco enters with the +despondent Jacquino, shortly followed by Fidelio, who is very much +fatigued. The love-episode is brought out in the famous canon quartet, +"Mir ist so wunderbar," one of the most beautiful and restful numbers +in the opera. Rocco promises Marcellina's hand to Fidelio as the +reward of her fidelity, but in the characteristic and sonorous Gold +song, "Hat man nicht auch Geld daneben," reminds them that money as +well as love is necessary to housekeeping. In the next scene, while +Don Pizarro is giving instructions to Rocco, a packet of letters is +delivered to him, one of which informs him that Don Fernando is coming +the next day to inspect the prison, as he has been informed that it +contains several victims of arbitrary power. He at once determines +that Florestan shall die, and gives vent to his wrath in a furious +dramatic aria ("Ha! welch ein Augenblick!"). He attempts to bribe +Rocco to aid him. The jailer at first refuses, but subsequently, after +a stormy duet, consents to dig the grave. Fidelio has overheard the +scheme, and, as they disappear, rushes forward and sings the great +aria, "Abscheulicher!" one of the grandest and most impassioned +illustrations of dramatic intensity in the whole realm of music. The +recitative expresses intense horror at the intended murder, then +subsides into piteous sorrow, and at last breaks out into the glorious +adagio, "Komm Hoffnung," in which she sings of the immortal power of +love. The last scene of the act introduces the strong chorus of the +prisoners as they come out in the yard for air and sunlight, after +which Rocco relates to Fidelio his interview with Don Pizarro. The +latter orders the jailer to return the prisoners to their dungeons and +go on with the digging of the grave, and the act closes. + +The second act opens in Florestan's dungeon. The prisoner sings an +intensely mournful aria ("In des Lebens Frühlingstagen"), which has a +rapturous finale ("Und spür' Ich nicht linde"), as he sees his wife in +a vision. Rocco and Fidelio enter and begin digging the grave, to the +accompaniment of sepulchral music. She discovers that Florestan has +sunk back exhausted, and as she restores him recognizes her husband. +Don Pizarro enters, and after ordering Fidelio away, who meanwhile +conceals herself, attempts to stab Florestan. Fidelio, who has been +closely watching him, springs forward with a shriek, and interposes +herself between him and her husband. He once more advances to carry +out his purpose, when Fidelio draws a pistol and defies him. As she +does so, the sound of a trumpet is heard outside announcing the +arrival of Don Fernando. Don Pizarro rushes out in despair, and +Florestan and Leonora, no longer Fidelio, join in a duet ("O Namenlose +Freude") which is the very ecstasy of happiness. In the last scene Don +Fernando sets the prisoners free in the name of the king, and among +them Florestan. Pizarro is revealed in his true character, and is led +away to punishment. The happy pair are reunited, and Marcellina, to +Jacquino's delight, consents to marry him. The act closes with a +general song of jubilee. As a drama and as an opera "Fidelio" stands +almost alone in its perfect purity, in the moral grandeur of its +subject, and in the resplendent ideality of its music. + + + + +BELLINI. + +Vincenzo Bellini was born Nov. 3, 1802, at Catania, Sicily, and came +of musical parentage. By the generosity of a patron he was sent to +Naples, and studied at the Conservatory under Zingarelli. His first +opera was "Adelson e Salvino," and its remarkable merit secured him a +commission from the manager, Barbaja, for an opera for San Carlo. The +result was his first important work, "Bianca e Fernando," written in +1826. Its success was moderate; but he was so encouraged that he at +once went to Milan and wrote "Il Pirata," the tenor part for Rubini. +Its success was extraordinary, and the managers of La Scala +commissioned him for another work. In 1828 "La Straniera" appeared, +quickly followed by "Zaira" (1829), which failed at Parma, and "I +Capuletti ed i Montecchi," a version of "Romeo and Juliet," which made +a great success at Venice in 1830. A year later he composed "La +Sonnambula," unquestionably his best work, for La Scala, and it +speedily made the tour of Europe, and gained for him an extended +reputation. A year after its appearance he astonished the musical +world with "Norma," written, like "Sonnambula," for Mme. Pasta. These +are his greatest works. "Norma" was followed by "Beatrice di Tenda," +and this by "I Puritani," his last opera, written in Paris for the +four great artists, Grisi, Rubini, Tamburini, and Lablache. Bellini +died Sept. 23, 1835, in the twenty-ninth year of his age, preserving +his musical enthusiasm to the very last. He was a close follower of +Rossini, and studied his music diligently, and though without a very +profound knowledge of harmony or orchestration, succeeded in producing +at least three works, "Norma," "Sonnambula," and "I Puritani," which +were the delight of the opera-goers of his day, and still freshly hold +the stage. + + +NORMA. + +"Norma," a serious opera in two acts, words by Romani, was first +produced during the season of Lent, 1832, at Milan, with the principal +parts cast as follows:-- + + NORMA Mme. PASTA. + ADALGISA Mme. GRISI. + POLLIONE Sig. DONZELLI. + +It was first heard in London in 1833, and in Paris in 1855, and +Planché's English version of it was produced at Drury Lane in 1837. +The scene of the opera is laid among the Druids, in Gaul, after its +occupation by the Roman legions. In the first scene the Druids enter +with Oroveso, their priest, to the impressive strains of a religious +march which is almost as familiar as a household word. The priest +announces that Norma, the high priestess, will come and cut the sacred +branch and give the signal for the expulsion of the Romans. The next +scene introduces Pollione, the Roman proconsul, to whom Norma, in +defiance of her faith and traditions, has bound herself in secret +marriage, and by whom she has had two children. In a charmingly +melodious scena ("Meco all' altar di Venere") he reveals his +faithlessness and guilty love for Adalgisa, a young virgin of the +temple, who has consented to abandon her religion and fly with him to +Rome. In the fourth scene Norma enters attended by her priestesses, +and denounces the Druids for their warlike disposition, declaring that +the time has not yet come for shaking off the yoke of Rome, and that +when it does she will give the signal from the altar of the Druids. +After cutting the sacred mistletoe, she comes forward and invokes +peace from the moon in that exquisite prayer, "Casta Diva," which +electrified the world with its beauty and tenderness, and still holds +its place in popular favor, not alone by the grace of its +embellishments, but by the pathos of its melody. It is followed by +another cavatina of almost equal beauty and tenderness ("Ah! bello a +me ritorna"). In the next scene Adalgisa, retiring from the sacred +rites, sings of her love for Pollione, and as she closes is met by the +proconsul, who once more urges her to fly to Rome with him. The duet +between them is one of great power and beauty, and contains a +strikingly passionate number for the tenor ("Va, crudele"). Oppressed +by her conscience, she reveals her fatal promise to Norma, and +implores absolution from her vows. Norma yields to her entreaties, but +when she inquires the name and country of her lover, and Adalgisa +points to Pollione as he enters Norma's sanctuary, all the priestess's +love turns to wrath. In this scene the duet, "Perdoni e ti compiango," +is one of exceeding loveliness and peculiarly melodious tenderness. +The act closes with a terzetto of great power ("O! di qual sei tu"), +in which both the priestess and Adalgisa furiously denounce the +faithless Pollione. In the midst of their imprecations the sound of +the sacred shield is heard calling Norma to the rites. + +The second act opens in Norma's dwelling, and discovers her children +asleep on a couch. Norma enters with the purpose of killing them, but +the maternal instinct overcomes her vengeful thought that they are +Pollione's children. Adalgisa appears, and Norma announces her +intention to place her children in the Virgin's hands, and send her +and them to Pollione while she expiates her offence on the funeral +pyre. Adalgisa pleads with her not to abandon Pollione, who will +return to her repentant; and the most effective number in the opera +ensues,--the grand duet containing two of Bellini's most beautiful +inspirations, the "Deh! con te li prendi," and the familiar "Mira, O +Norma," whose strains have gone round the world and awakened universal +delight. Pollione, maddened by his passion for Adalgisa, impiously +attempts to tear her from the altar in the temple of Irminsul, +whereupon Norma enters the temple and strikes the sacred shield, +summoning the Druids. They meet, and she declares the meaning of the +signal is war, slaughter, and destruction. She chants a magnificent +hymn ("Guerra, guerra"), which is full of the very fury of battle. +Pollione, who has been intercepted in the temple, is brought before +her. Love is still stronger than resentment with her. In a very +dramatic scena ("In mia mano alfin tu sei") she informs him he is in +her power, but she will let him escape if he will renounce Adalgisa +and leave the country. He declares death would be preferable; +whereupon she threatens to denounce Adalgisa. Pity overcomes anger, +however. She snatches the sacred wreath from her brow and declares +herself the guilty one. Too late Pollione discovers the worth of the +woman he has abandoned, and a beautiful duet ("Qual cor tradisti") +forms the closing number. She ascends the funeral pyre with Pollione, +and in its flames they are purged of earthly crime. It is a memorable +fact in the history of this opera, that on its first performance it +was coldly received, and the Italian critics declared it had no +vitality; though no opera was ever written in which such intense +dramatic effect has been produced with simple melodic force, and no +Italian opera score to-day is more living or more likely to last than +that of Norma. + + +LA SONNAMBULA. + +"La Sonnambula," an opera in two acts, words by Romani, was first +produced in Milan, March 6, 1831, with the following cast:-- + + AMINA Mme. PASTA. + ELVINO Sig. RUBINI. + RODOLFO Sig. MARIANO. + LISA Mme. TOCCANI. + +It was brought out in the same year in Paris and London, and two years +after in English, with Malibran as Amina. The subject of the story was +taken from a vaudeville and ballet by Scribe. The scene is laid in +Switzerland. Amina, an orphan, the ward of Teresa, the miller's wife, +is about to marry Elvino, a well-to-do landholder of the village. +Lisa, mistress of the inn, is also in love with Elvino, and jealous of +her rival. Alessio, a peasant lad, is also in love with the landlady. +Such is the state of affairs on the day before the wedding. Rodolfo, +the young lord of the village, next appears upon the scene. He has +arrived incognito for the purpose of looking up his estates, and stops +at Lisa's inn, where he meets Amina. He gives her many pretty +compliments, much to the dissatisfaction of the half-jealous Elvino, +who is inclined to quarrel with the disturber of his peace of mind. +Amina, who is subject to fits of somnambulism, has been mistaken for a +ghost by the peasants, and they warn Rodolfo that the village is +haunted. The information, however, does not disturb him, and he +quietly retires to his chamber. The officious Lisa also enters, and a +playful scene of flirtation ensues, during which Amina enters the +room, walking in her sleep. Lisa seeks shelter in a closet. Rodolfo, +to escape from the embarrassment of the situation, leaves the +apartment, and Amina reclines upon the bed as if it were her own. The +malicious Lisa hurries from the room to inform Elvino of what she has +seen, and thoughtlessly leaves her handkerchief. Elvino rushes to the +spot with other villagers, and finding Amina, as Lisa had described, +declares that she is guilty, and leaves her. Awakened by the noise, +the unfortunate girl, realizing the situation, sorrowfully throws +herself into Teresa's arms. The villagers implore Rodolfo to acquit +Amina of any blame, and he stoutly protests her innocence; but it is +of no avail in satisfying Elvino, who straightway offers his hand to +Lisa. In the last act Amina is seen stepping from the window of the +mill in her sleep. She crosses a frail bridge which yields beneath her +weight and threatens to precipitate her upon the wheel below; but she +passes it in safety, descends to the ground, and walks into her +lover's arms amid the jubilant songs of the villagers. Elvino is +convinced of her innocence, and they are wedded at once, while the +discovery of Lisa's handkerchief in Rodolfo's room pronounces her the +faithless one. + +Such is the simple little pastoral story to which Bellini has set some +of his most beautiful melodies, the most striking of which are the +aria, "Sovra il sen," in the third scene of the first act, where Amina +declares her happiness to Teresa; the beautiful aria for barytone in +the sixth scene, "Vi ravviso," descriptive of Rodolfo's delight in +revisiting the scenes of his youth; the playful duet between Amina and +Elvino, "Mai piu dubbi!" in which she rebukes him for his jealousy; +the humorous and very characteristic chorus of the villagers in the +tenth scene, "Osservate, l'uscio è aperto," as they tiptoe into +Rodolfo's apartment; the duet, "O mio dolor," in the next scene, in +which Amina asserts her innocence; the aria for tenor in the third +scene of the second act, "Tutto e sciolto," in which Elvino bemoans +his sad lot; and that joyous ecstatic outburst of birdlike melody, +"Ah! non giunge," which closes the opera. In fact, "Sonnambula" is so +replete with melodies of the purest and tenderest kind, that it is +difficult to specify particular ones. It is exquisitely idyllic +throughout, and the music is as quiet, peaceful, simple, and tender as +the charming pastoral scenes it illustrates. + + +I PURITANI. + +"I Puritani di Scozia," an opera in two acts, words by Count Pepoli, +was first produced at the Théâtre Italien, Paris, Jan. 25, 1835, and +in London in the following May, under the title of "I Puritani ed i +Cavalieri." The original cast was as follows:-- + + ELVIRA Mme. GRISI. + ARTURO Sig. RUBINI. + RICARDO Sig. TAMBURINI. + GIORGIO Sig. LABLACHE. + +This cast was one of unexampled strength, and was long known in Europe +as the Puritani quartet. The story of the opera is laid in England, +during the war between Charles II. and his Parliament, and the first +scene opens in Plymouth, then held by the parliamentary forces. The +fortress is commanded by Lord Walton, whose daughter, Elvira, is in +love with Lord Arthur Talbot, a young cavalier in the King's service. +Her hand had previously been promised to Sir Richard Forth, of the +parliamentary army; but to the great delight of the maiden, Sir George +Walton, brother of the commander, brings her the news that her father +has relented, and that Arthur will be admitted into the fortress that +the nuptials may be celebrated. Henrietta, widow of Charles I., is at +this time a prisoner in the fortress, under sentence of death passed +by Parliament. Arthur discovers her situation, and by concealing her +in Elvira's bridal veil seeks to effect her escape. On their way out +he encounters his rival; but the latter, discovering that the veiled +lady is not Elvira, allows them to pass. The escape is soon +discovered, and Elvira, thinking her lover has abandoned her, loses +her reason. Arthur is proscribed by the Parliament and sentenced to +death; but Sir Richard, moved by the appeals of Sir George Walton, who +hopes to restore his niece to reason, promises to use his influence +with Parliament to save Arthur's life should he be captured unarmed. +Arthur meanwhile manages to have an interview with Elvira; and the +latter, though still suffering from her mental malady, listens +joyfully to his explanation of his sudden flight. Their interview is +disturbed by a party of Puritans who enter and arrest him. He is +condemned to die on the spot; but before the sentence can be carried +out, a messenger appears with news of the king's defeat and the pardon +of Arthur. The joyful tidings restore Elvira to reason, and the lovers +are united. + +The libretto of "I Puritani" is one of the poorest ever furnished to +Bellini, but the music is some of his best. It is replete with +melodies, which are not only fascinating in their original setting, +but have long been favorites on the concert-stage. The opera is +usually performed in three acts, but was written in two. The prominent +numbers of the first act are the pathetic cavatina for Ricardo, "Ah! +per sempre io ti perdei," in which he mourns the loss of Elvira; a +lovely romanza for tenor ("A te o cara"); a brilliant polacca ("Son +vergin vezzosa") for Elvira, which is one of the delights of all +artists; and a concerted finale, brimming over with melody and closing +with the stirring anathema chorus, "Non casa, non spiaggia." The first +grand number in the second act is Elvira's mad song, "Qui la voce," in +which are brought out not only that rare gift for expressing pathos in +melody for which Bellini is so famous, but the sweetest of themes and +most graceful of embellishments. The remaining numbers are Elvira's +appeal to her lover ("Vien, diletto"), the magnificent duet for basses +("Suoni la tromba"), known as the "Liberty Duet," which in +sonorousness, majesty, and dramatic intensity hardly has an equal in +the whole range of Italian opera; a tender and plaintive romanza for +tenor ("A una fonte aflitto e solo"); a passionate duet for Arthur and +Elvira ("Star teco ognor"); and an adagio, sung by Arthur in the +finale ("Ella è tremante"). + + + + +BIZET. + +Georges Bizet was born at Paris, Oct. 25, 1838, and in an artistic +atmosphere, as his father, an excellent teacher, was married to a +sister of Mme. Delsarte, a talented pianist, and his uncle, a +musician, was the founder of the famous Delsarte system. He studied +successively with Marmontel and Benoist, and subsequently took lessons +in composition from Halevy, whose daughter he afterwards married. His +first work was an operetta of not much consequence, "Docteur Miracle," +written in 1857, and in the same year he took the Grand Prix de Rome. +On his return from Italy he composed "Vasco de Gama" and "Les Pecheurs +de Perles," neither of which met with much success. In 1867 "La Jolie +Fille de Perth" appeared, and in 1872, "Djamileh." During the +intervals of these larger works he wrote the Patrie overture and the +interludes to "L'Arlesienne," a very poetical score which Theodore +Thomas introduced to this country, and both works were received with +enthusiasm. At last he was to appreciate and enjoy a real dramatic +success, though it was his last work. "Carmen" appeared in 1875, and +achieved a magnificent success at the Opera Comique. It was brought +out in March, and in the following June he died of acute +heart-disease. He was a very promising composer, and specially +excelled in orchestration. During his last few years he was a close +student of Wagner, whose influence is apparent in this last work of +his life. + + +CARMEN. + +"Carmen," an opera in four acts, words by Meilhac and Halevy, adapted +from Prosper Merimée's romance of "Carmen," was first produced at the +Opera Comique, Paris, March 3, 1875, with Mme. Galli-Marie in the +title-rôle and Mlle. Chapuy as Michaela. The scene is laid in Seville, +time 1820. The first act opens in the public square, filled with a +troop of soldiers under command of Don José, and loungers who are +waiting the approach of the pretty girls who work in the cigar-factory +near by, and prettiest and most heartless of them all, Carmen. Before +they appear, Michaela, a village girl, enters the square, bearing a +message to Don José from his mother, but not finding him departs. The +cigar-girls at last pass by on their way to work, and with them +Carmen, who observes Don José sitting in an indifferent manner and +throws him the rose she wears in her bosom. As they disappear, +Michaela returns and delivers her message. The sight of the gentle +girl and the thought of home dispel Don José's sudden passion for +Carmen. He is about to throw away her rose, when a sudden disturbance +is heard in the factory. It is found that Carmen has quarrelled with +one of the girls and wounded her. She is arrested, and to prevent +further mischief her arms are pinioned. She so bewitches the +lieutenant, however, that he connives at her escape and succeeds in +effecting it, while she is led away to prison by the soldiers. In the +second act Carmen has returned to her wandering gypsy life, and we +find her with her companions in the cabaret of Lillas-Pastia, singing +and dancing. Among the new arrivals is Escamillo, the victorious +bull-fighter of Grenada, with whom Carmen is at once fascinated. When +the inn is closed, Escamillo and the soldiers depart, but Carmen waits +with two of the gypsies, who are smugglers, for the arrival of Don +José. They persuade her to induce him to join their band, and when the +lieutenant, wild with passion for her, enters the apartment, she +prevails upon him to remain in spite of the trumpet-call which summons +him to duty. An officer appears and orders him out. He refuses to go, +and when the officer attempts to use force Carmen summons the gypsies. +He is soon overpowered, and Don José escapes to the mountains. The +third act opens in the haunt of the smugglers, a wild, rocky, +cavernous place. Don José and Carmen, who is growing very indifferent +to him, are there. As the contrabandists finish their work and +gradually leave the scene, Escamillo, who has been following Carmen, +appears. His presence and his declarations as well arouse the jealousy +of Don José. They rush at each other for mortal combat, but the +smugglers separate them. Escamillo bides his time, invites them to the +approaching bullfight at Seville, and departs. While Don José is +upbraiding Carmen, the faithful Michaela, who has been guided to the +spot, begs him to accompany her, as his mother is dying. Duty +prevails, and he follows her as Escamillo's taunting song is heard +dying away in the distance. In the last act the drama hurries on to +the tragic dénouement. It is a gala-day in Seville, for Escamillo is +to fight. Carmen is there in his company, though her gypsy friends +have warned her Don José is searching for her. Amid great pomp +Escamillo enters the arena, and Carmen is about to follow, when Don +José appears and stops her. He appeals to her and tries to awaken the +old love. She will not listen, and at last in a fit of wild rage hurls +the ring he had given her at his feet. The shouts of the people in the +arena announce another victory for Escamillo. She cries out with joy. +Don José springs at her like a tiger, and stabs her just as Escamillo +emerges from the contest. + +Carmen is the largest and best-considered of all Bizet's works, and +one of the best in the modern French repertory. The overture is short +but very brilliant. After some characteristic choruses by the street +lads, soldiers, and cigar-girls, Carmen sings the Havanaise ("Amor, +misterioso angelo"), a quaint song in waltz time, the melody being +that of an old Spanish song by Tradier, called "El Aveglito." A +serious duet between Michaela and Don José ("Mia madre io la rivedo") +follows, which is very tender in its character. The next striking +number is the dance tempo, "Presso il bastion de Seviglia," a +seguidilla sung by Carmen while bewitching Don José. In the finale, as +she escapes, the Havanaise, which is the Carmen motive, is heard +again. + +The second-act music is peculiarly Spanish in color, particularly that +for the ballet. The opening song of the gypsies in the cabaret, to the +accompaniment of the castanets ("Vezzi e anella scintillar"), is +bewitching in its rhythm, and is followed in the next scene by a +stirring and very picturesque aria ("Toreador attento"), in which +Escamillo describes the bull-fight. A beautifully written quintet +("Abbiamo in vista"), and a strongly dramatic duet, beginning with +another fascinating dance tempo ("Voglio danzar pel tuo piacer"), and +including a beautiful pathetic melody for Don José ("Il fior che +avevi"), closes the music of the act. + +The third act contains two very striking numbers, the terzetto of the +card-players in the smugglers' haunt ("Mischiam! alziam!"), and +Michaela's aria ("Io dico no, non son paurosa"), the most effective +and beautiful number in the whole work, and the one which shows most +clearly the effect of Wagner's influence upon the composer. In the +finale of the act the Toreador's song is again heard as he disappears +in the distance after the quarrel with Don José. + +The last act is a hurly-burly of the bull-fight, the Toreador's taking +march, the stormy duet between Don José and Carmen, and the tragic +dénouement in which the Carmen motive is repeated. The color of the +whole work is Spanish, and the dance tempo is freely used and +beautifully worked up with Bizet's ingenious and scholarly +instrumentation. Except in the third act, however, the vocal parts are +inferior to the orchestral treatment. + + + + +BOIELDIEU. + +François Adrien Boieldieu was born Dec. 16, 1775, at Rouen, France. +Little is known of his earlier life, except that he studied for a time +with Broche, the cathedral organist. His first opera, "La Fille +Coupable," appeared in 1793, and was performed at Rouen with some +success. In 1795 a second opera, "Rosalie et Myrza," was performed in +the same city; after which he went to Paris, where he became +acquainted with many prominent musicians, among them Cherubini. His +first Paris opera was the "Famille Suisse" (1797), which had a +successful run. Several other operas followed, besides some excellent +pieces of chamber music which secured him the professorship of the +piano in the Conservatory. He also took lessons at this time of +Cherubini in counterpoint, and in 1803 brought out a very successful +work, "Ma Tante Aurore." We next hear of him in St. Petersburg, as +conductor of the Imperial Opera, where he composed many operas and +vaudevilles. He spent eight years in Russia, returning to Paris in +1811. The next year one of his best operas, "Jean de Paris," was +produced with extraordinary success. Though he subsequently wrote many +operas, fourteen years elapsed before his next great work, "La Dame +Blanche," appeared. Its success was unprecedented. All Europe was +delighted with it, and it is as fresh to-day as when it was first +produced. The remainder of Boieldieu's life was sad, owing to operatic +failures, pecuniary troubles, and declining health. He died at Jarcy, +near Paris, Oct. 8, 1834. + + +LA DAME BLANCE. + +"La Dame Blanche," opera comique in three acts, words by Scribe, +adapted from Walter Scott's novels, "The Monastery" and "Guy +Mannering," was first produced at the Opera Comique, Dec. 10, 1825, +and was first performed in English under the title of "The White +Maid," at Covent Garden, London, Jan. 2, 1827. The scene of the opera +is laid in Scotland. The Laird of Avenel, a zealous partisan of the +Stuarts, was proscribed after the battle of Culloden, and upon the eve +of going into exile intrusts Gaveston, his steward, with the care of +the castle, and of a considerable treasure which is concealed in a +statue called the White Lady. The traditions affirmed that this lady +was the protectress of the Avenels. All the clan were believers in the +story, and the villagers declared they had often seen her in the +neighborhood. Gaveston, however, does not share their superstition nor +believe in the legend, and some time after the departure of the Laird +he announces the sale of the castle, hoping to obtain it at a low rate +because the villagers will not dare to bid for it through fear of the +White Lady. The steward is led to do this because he has heard the +Laird is dead, and knows there is no heir to the property. Anna, an +orphan girl, who had been befriended by the Laird, determines to +frustrate Gaveston's designs, and appears in the village disguised as +the White Lady. She also writes to Dickson, a farmer, who is indebted +to her, to meet her at midnight in the castle of Avenel. He is too +superstitious to go, and George Brown, a young lieutenant who is +sharing his hospitality, volunteers in his stead. He encounters the +White Lady, and learns from her he will shortly meet a young lady who +has saved his life by her careful nursing after a battle,--Anna +meanwhile recognizing George as the person she had saved. When the day +of sale comes, Dickson is empowered by the farmers to purchase the +castle, so that it may not fall into Gaveston's hands. George and Anna +are there; and the former, though he has not a shilling, buys it under +instructions from Anna. When the time comes for payment, Anna produces +the treasure which had been concealed in the statue, and, still in the +disguise of the White Lady, discovers to him the secret of his birth +during the exile of his parents. Gaveston approaches the spectre and +tears off her veil, revealing Anna, his ward. Moved by the zeal and +fidelity of his father's protégée, George offers her his hand, which, +after some maidenly scruples, she accepts. + +The opera is full of beautiful songs, many of them Scotch in +character. In the first act the opening song of George ("Ah, what +Pleasure a Soldier to be!") is very poetical in its sentiment. It also +contains the characteristic ballad of the White Lady, with choral +responses ("Where yon Trees your Eye discovers"), and an exquisitely +graceful trio in the finale ("Heavens! what do I hear?"). The second +act opens with a very plaintive romanza ("Poor Margaret, spin away!"), +sung by Margaret, Anna's old nurse, at her spinning-wheel, as she +thinks of the absent Laird, followed in the fifth scene by a beautiful +cavatina for tenor ("Come, O Gentle Lady"). In the seventh scene is a +charming duet ("From these Halls"), and the act closes with an +ensemble for seven voices and chorus, which has hardly been excelled +in ingenuity of treatment. The third act opens with a charmingly +sentimental aria for Anna ("With what delight I behold"), followed in +the third scene by a stirring chorus of mountaineers, leading up to +"the lay ever sung by the Clan of Avenel,"--the familiar old ballad, +"Robin Adair," which loses a little of its local color under French +treatment, but gains an added grace. It is stated on good authority +that two of Boieldieu's pupils, Adolph Adam and Labarre, assisted him +in the work, and that the lovely overture was written in one +evening,--Boieldieu taking the andante and the two others the +remaining movements. Though a little old-fashioned in some of its +phrasing, the opera still retains its freshness and beautiful +sentiment. Its popularity is best evinced by the fact that up to June, +1875, it had been given 1340 times at the theatre where it was first +produced. + + + + +BOITO. + +Arrigo Boito was born in 1840, and received his musical education in +the Conservatory at Milan, where he studied for nine years. In 1866 he +became a musical critic for several Italian papers, and about the same +time wrote several poems of more than ordinary merit. Both in +literature and music his taste was diversified; and he combined the +two talents in a remarkable degree in his opera of "Mephistopheles," +the only work by which he is known to the musical world at large. He +studied Goethe profoundly; and the notes which he has appended to the +score show a most intimate knowledge of the Faust legend. His text is +in one sense polyglot, as he has made use of portions of Marlowe's +"Doctor Faustus," as well as excerpts from Blaze de Bury, Lenau, +Widmann, and others who have treated the legend. He studied Wagner's +music also very closely, and to such purpose that after the first +performance of this opera at La Scala, in 1868, the critics called him +the Italian Wagner, and, in common with the public, condemned both him +and his work. After Wagner's "Lohengrin" had been produced in Italy +and met with success, Boito saw his opportunity to once more bring out +his work. It was performed at Bologna in 1875, and met with an +enthusiastic success. Its introduction to this country is largely due +to Mme. Christine Nilsson, though Mme. Marie Roze was the first artist +to appear in it here. + + +MEPHISTOPHELES. + +"Mephistopheles," grand opera in a prologue, four acts, and epilogue, +words by the composer, was first performed at La Scala, Milan, in +1868. The "Prologue in the Heavens" contains five numbers, a prelude, +and chorus of the mystic choir; instrumental scherzo, preluding the +appearance of Mephistopheles; dramatic interlude, in which he engages +to entrap Faust; a vocal scherzo by the chorus of cherubim; and the +Final Psalmody by the penitents on earth and chorus of spirits. The +prologue corresponds to Goethe's prologue in the heavens, the heavenly +choirs being heard in the background of clouds, accompanied by weird +trumpet-peals and flourishes in the orchestra, and closes with a +finale of magnificent power. + +The first act opens in the city of Frankfort, amid the noise of the +crowd and the clanging of holiday bells. Groups of students, burghers, +huntsmen, and peasants sing snatches of chorus. A cavalcade escorting +the Elector passes. Faust and Wagner enter, and retire as the peasants +begin to sing and dance a merry waltz rhythm ("Juhé! Juhé!"). As it +dies away they reappear, Faust being continually followed by a gray +friar,--Mephistopheles in disguise,--whose identity is disclosed by a +motive from the prologue. Faust shudders at his presence, but Wagner +laughs away his fears, and the scene then suddenly changes to Faust's +laboratory, whither he has been followed by the gray friar, who +conceals himself in an alcove. Faust sings a beautiful aria ("Dai +campi, dai prati"), and then, placing the Bible on a lectern, begins +to read. The sight of the book brings Mephistopheles out with a +shriek; and, questioned by Faust, he reveals his true self in a +massive and sonorous aria ("Son lo spirito"). He throws off his +disguise, and appears in the garb of a knight, offering to serve Faust +on earth if he will serve the powers of darkness in hell. The compact +is made, as in the first act of Gounod's "Faust;" and the curtain +falls as Faust is about to be whisked away in Mephistopheles's cloak. + +The second act opens in the garden, with Faust (under the name of +Henry), Marguerite, Mephistopheles, and Martha, Marguerite's mother, +strolling in couples. The music, which is of a very sensuous +character, is descriptive of the love-making between Faust and +Marguerite, and the sarcastic passion of Mephistopheles for Martha. It +is mostly in duet form, and closes with a quartet allegretto ("Addio, +fuggo"), which is very characteristic. The scene then suddenly changes +to the celebration of the Witches' Sabbath on the summits of the +Brocken, where, amid wild witch choruses, mighty dissonances, and +weird incantation music, Faust is shown a vision of the sorrow of +Marguerite. It would be impossible to select special numbers from this +closely interwoven music, excepting perhaps the song ("Ecco il mondo") +which Mephistopheles sings when the witches, after their incantation, +present him with a globe of glass which he likens to the earth. + +The third act opens in a prison, where Marguerite is awaiting the +penalty for murdering her babe. The action is very similar to that of +the last act of Gounod's "Faust." Her opening aria ("L' altra notte a +fondo al maro") is full of sad longings for the child and insane +moanings for mercy. Faust appeals to her to fly with him, and they +join in a duet of extraordinary sensuous beauty blended with pathos +("lontano, lontano"). Mephistopheles urges Faust away as the day +dawns, and pronounces her doom as she falls and dies, while the +angelic chorus resounding in the orchestra announces her salvation. + +In the fourth act a most abrupt change is made, both in a dramatic and +musical sense. The scene changes to the "Night of the Classical +Sabbath" on the banks of the Peneus, amid temples, statues, flowers, +and all the loveliness of nature in Greece. The music also changes +into the pure, sensuous Italian style. Faust, still with +Mephistopheles, pays court to Helen of Troy, who is accompanied by +Pantalis. The opening duet for the latter ("La luna immobile") is one +of exceeding grace and loveliness, and will always be the most popular +number in the work. With the exception of a powerfully dramatic scena, +in which Helen describes the horrors of the destruction of Troy, the +music is devoted to the love-making between Helen and Faust, and bears +no relation in form to the rest of the music of the work, being +essentially Italian in its smooth, flowing, melodious character. At +the close of the classical Sabbath another abrupt change is made, to +the death-scene of Faust, contained in an epilogue. It opens in his +laboratory, where he is reflecting upon the events of his +unsatisfactory life, and contemplating a happier existence in heaven. +Mephistopheles is still by his side as the tempter, offers him his +cloak, and urges him to fly again. The heavenly trumpets which rang +through the prologue are again heard, and the celestial choirs are +singing. Enraged, Mephistopheles summons the sirens, who lure Faust +with all their charms. Faust seizes the Sacred Volume, and declares +that he relies upon its word for salvation. He prays for help against +the demon. His prayer is answered; and as he dies a shower of roses +falls upon his body. The tempter disappears, and the finale of the +prologue, repeated, announces Faust has died in salvation. The opera +as a whole is episodical in its dramatic construction, and the music +is a mixture of two styles,--the Wagnerian and the conventional +Italian; but its orchestration is very bold and independent in +character, and the voice-parts are very striking in their adaptation +to the dramatic requirements. + + + + +DELIBES. + +Leo Delibes, the French composer, was born at St. Germain du Val in +1836, and was graduated at the Paris Conservatory, where he reached +high distinction. His first work, written in 1855, was an operetta +entitled "Deux Sous de Carbon;" but he did not make his mark until his +"Maitre Griffard" was produced at the Theatre Lyrique in 1857. In 1865 +he was appointed Chorus-master at the Opera, and there his real career +began. His first great triumph was in ballet-music, which has ever +since been his specialty. His first ballet, "La Source," was produced +at the Opera, Nov. 12, 1865, and delighted all Paris. It was followed +by a divertisement for the revival of Adam's "Corsaire" (1867), the +ballet "Coppelia" (1870), a three-act opera "Le Roi l'a dit" (1873), +and the exquisite ballet in three acts and five tableaux, "Sylvia" +(1876), with which Theodore Thomas has made American audiences +familiar. His opera "Lakme" was written in 1879. + + +LAKME. + +The romantic opera, "Lakme," written in 1879, was first performed in +this country by the American Opera Company in 1886, Mme. L'Allemand +taking the title-rôle. The principal characters are Lakme, daughter of +Nilakantha, an Indian priest, Gerald and Frederick, officers of the +British Army, Ellen and Rose, daughters of the Viceroy, and Mrs. +Benson, governess. The scene is laid in India. Nilakantha cherishes a +fond hatred of all foreigners. The two English officers, Gerald and +Frederick, accompanied by a bevy of ladies, intrude upon his sacred +grounds. They stroll about and gradually retire, but Gerald remains to +sketch some jewels, which Lakme has left upon a shrine while she goes +flower-gathering with her slave Mallika, evidently also to await +developments when she returns. Lakme soon comes sailing in on her +boat, and there is a desperate case of love at first sight. Their +demonstrations of affection are soon interrupted by the appearance of +the priest, whose anger Gerald escapes by fleeing, under cover of a +convenient thunder-storm. In the next act Lakme and her father appear +in the public market-place, disguised as penitents. He compels his +daughter to sing, hoping that her face and voice will induce her lover +to disclose himself. The ruse proves successful. Nilakantha waits his +opportunity, and stealing upon his enemy stabs him in the back and +makes good his escape. In the third act we find Gerald in a delightful +jungle, where Lakme has in some manner managed to conceal him, and +where she is carefully nursing him with the hope of permanently +retaining his love. She saves his life; but just at this juncture, and +while she is absent to obtain a draught of the water which, according +to the Indian legend, will make earthly love eternal, Gerald hears the +music of his regiment, and Frederick appears and urges him back to +duty. His allegiance to his queen, and possibly the remembrance of his +engagement to a young English girl, prove stronger than his love for +Lakme. The latter returns, discovers his faithlessness, gathers some +poisonous flowers, whose juices she drinks, and dies in Gerald's arms +just as the furious father appears. As one victim is sufficient to +appease the anger of Nilakantha's gods, Gerald is allowed to go +unharmed. + +The first act opens with a chorus of Hindoos, oriental in its +character, followed by a duet between Lakme and her father; the scene +closing with a sacred chant. The Hindoos gone, there is a charming +oriental duet ("'Neath yon Dome where Jasmines with the Roses are +blooming") between Lakme and her slave, which is one of the gems of +the opera. The English then appear and have a long, talky scene, +relieved by a pretty song for Frederick ("I would not give a Judgment +so absurd"), and another for Gerald ("Cheating Fancy coming to mislead +me"). As Lakme enters, Gerald conceals himself. She lays her flowers +at the base of the shrine and sings a restless love-song ("Why love I +thus to stray?"). Gerald discovers himself, and after a colloquy sings +his ardent love-song ("The God of Truth so glowing"), and the act +closes with Nilakantha's threats. + +The second act opens in the market square, lively with the choruses of +Hindoos, Chinamen, fruit-venders, and sailors, and later on with the +adventures of the English party in the crowd. Nilakantha appears and +addresses his daughter in a very pathetic aria ("Lakme, thy soft Looks +are over-clouded"). Soon follows Lakme's bell-song ("Where strays the +Hindoo Maiden?"), a brilliant and highly embellished aria with +tinkling accompaniment, which will always be a favorite. The +recognition follows; and the remaining numbers of importance are an +impassioned song by Gerald ("Ah! then 't is slumbering Love"), with a +mysterious response by Lakme ("In the Forest near at Hand"). A ballet, +followed by the stabbing of Gerald, closes the act. + +In the third act the action hastens to the tragic denouement. It opens +with a beautiful crooning song by Lakme ("'Neath the Dome of Moon and +Star") as she watches her sleeping lover. The remaining numbers of +interest are Gerald's song ("Tho' speechless I, my Heart remembers"), +followed by a pretty three-part chorus in the distance and Lakme's +dying measures, "To me the fairest Dream thou 'st given," and +"Farewell, the Dream is over." Though the opera is monotonous from +sameness of color and lack of dramatic interest, there are many +numbers which leave a charming impression by their grace, refinement, +and genuine poetical effect. + + + + +DONIZETTI. + +Gaetano Donizetti was born at Bergamo, Italy, Sept. 25, 1798. He +studied music both at Bologna and Naples, and then entered the army +rather than subject himself to the caprice of his father, who was +determined that he should devote himself to church music. While his +regiment was at Naples he wrote his first opera, "Enrico di Borgogna" +(1818), which was soon followed by a second, "Il Falegname de +Livonia." The success of the latter was so great that it not only +freed him from military service but gained him the honor of being +crowned. The first opera which spread his reputation through Europe +was "Anna Bolena," produced at Milan in 1830, and written for Pasta +and Rubini. Two years afterwards, "L' Elisir d' Amore" appeared, which +he is said to have written in fifteen days. He wrote with great +facility. "Il Furioso," "Parisina," "Torquato Tasso," "Lucrezia +Borgia," and "Gemma di Vergi" rapidly followed one another. In 1835 he +brought out "Marino Faliero," but its success was small. Ample +compensation was made, however, when in the same year "Lucia" appeared +and was received with acclamations of delight. He was invited to Paris +as the successor of Rossini, and wrote his "Marino Faliero" for the +Theatre des Italiens. In 1840 he revisited Paris and produced "Il +Poliuto," "La Fille du Regiment," and "La Favorita." Leaving Paris he +visited Rome, Milan, and Vienna, bringing out "Linda di Chamouni" in +the latter city. Returning to Paris again, he produced "Don Pasquale" +at the Théâtre des Italiens and "Don Sebastien" at the Académie, the +latter proving a failure. His last opera, "Catarina Comaro," was +brought out at Naples in 1844. This work also was a failure. It was +evident that his capacity for work was over. He grew sad and +melancholy, and during the last three years of his life was attacked +by fits of abstraction which gradually intensified and ended in +insanity and physical paralysis. He died at Bergamo, April 8, 1848. + + +THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT. + +"The Daughter of the Regiment" ("La Fille du Regiment") opera comique +in two acts, words by Bayard and St. Georges, was first produced at +the Opera Comique, Paris, Feb. 11, 1840, with Mme. Anna Thillon in the +rôle of Marie. Its first performance in English was at the Surrey +Theatre, London, Dec. 21, 1847, under the title of "The Daughter of +the Regiment," in which form it is best known in this country. In 1847 +it was performed as an Italian opera in London, with added +recitatives, and with Jenny Lind in the leading part. + +The music of the opera is light and sparkling, the principal interest +centring in the charming nature of the story and its humorous +situations, which afford capital opportunities for comedy acting. The +scene is laid in the Tyrol during its occupation by the French. Marie, +the heroine, and the vivandière of the Twenty-first regiment of +Napoleon's army, was adopted as the Daughter of the Regiment, because +she was found on the field, after a battle, by Sergeant Sulpice. On +her person was affixed a letter written by her father to the +Marchioness of Berkenfeld, which has been carefully preserved by the +Sergeant. At the beginning of the opera the little waif has grown into +a sprightly young woman, full of mischief and spirit, as is shown by +her opening song ("The Camp was my Birthplace"), in which she tells +the story of her life, and by the duet with Sulpice, known the world +over as "The Rataplan," which is of a very animated, stirring, and +martial character, to the accompaniment of rattling drums and sonorous +brasses. She is the special admiration of Tony, a Tyrolean peasant, +who has saved her from falling over a precipice. The soldiers of the +regiment are profuse in their gratitude to her deliverer, and +celebrate her rescue with ample potations, during which Marie sings +the Song of the Regiment ("All Men confess it"). Poor Tony, however, +who was found strolling in the camp, is placed under arrest as a spy, +though he succeeds in obtaining an interview with Marie and declares +his love for her. The declaration is followed by a charming duet ("No +longer can I doubt it"). Tony manages to clear up his record, and the +soldiers decide that he may have Marie's hand if he will consent to +join them. He blithely accepts the condition and dons the French +cockade. Everything seems auspicious, when suddenly the Marchioness of +Berkenfeld appears and dashes Tony's hopes to the ground. The +Sergeant, as in honor bound, delivers the letter he has been +preserving. After reading it she claims Marie as her niece, and +demands that the regiment shall give up its daughter, while Tony is +incontinently dismissed as an unsuitable person to be connected in any +capacity with her noble family. Marie sings a touching adieu to her +comrades ("Farewell, a long Farewell"), and the act closes with +smothered imprecations on the Marchioness by the soldiers, and +protestations of undying love by Tony. + +The second act opens in the castle of Berkenfeld, where Marie is duly +installed, though she does not take very kindly to her change of +surroundings. The old Sergeant is with her. Grand company is expected, +and the Marchioness desires Marie to rehearse a romance ("The Light of +Early Days was breaking"), which she is to sing to them. + +Before she finishes it she and the Sergeant break out into the +rollicking Rataplan and go through with the military evolutions, to +the horror of the Marchioness. While regret for the absent Tony keeps +her in a sad mood, she is suddenly cheered up by the sound of drums +and fifes, announcing the approach of soldiers. They are the gallant +Twenty-first, with Tony, now a colonel, at their head. He applies once +more for Marie's hand. The soldiers also put in a spirited choral +appeal ("We have come, our Child to free"). The Marchioness again +refuses. Tony proposes an elopement, to which Marie, in resentment at +her aunt's cruelty, consents. To thwart their plans, the Marchioness +reveals to Marie that early in life she had been secretly married to +an officer of lower family position than her own, and that this +officer was Marie's father. Unable to dispute the wishes of her +mother, she renounces Tony in an agony of grief. At last Marie's +sorrow arouses old associations in the mind of the Marchioness, and +she consents to the union of Tony and Marie. + +While the music of the opera is light, it is none the less very +attractive, and the work is nearly always popular when performed by +good artists, owing to the comedy strength of the three leading parts, +Marie, Tony, and the Sergeant. The rôle of the heroine, small as it +is, has always been a favorite one with such great artists as Jenny +Lind, Patti, Sontag, and Albani, while in this country Miss Kellogg +and Mrs. Richings-Bernard made great successes in the part. The latter +singer, indeed, and her father, whose personation of the Sergeant was +very remarkable, were among the first to perform the work in the +United States. + + +LA FAVORITA. + +"La Favorita," an opera in four acts, words by Royer and Waëtz, the +subject taken from the French drama, "Le Comte de Commingues," was +first produced at the Académie, Paris, Dec. 2, 1840, with Mme. Stolz +as Leonora, Duprez as Fernando, and Baroelhst as Balthasar. Its +success in England, where it was first produced Feb. 16, 1847, was +made by Grisi and Mario. The scene of the opera is laid in Spain, and +the first act opens in the convent of St. James, of Compostella, where +the young novice, Fernando, is about to take monastic vows. Before the +rites take place he is seized with a sudden passion for Leonora, a +beautiful maiden who has been worshipping in the cloisters. He +confesses his love to Balthasar, the superior, who orders him to leave +the convent and go out into the world. Leonora, meanwhile, is beloved +by Alphonso, king of Castile, who has provided her a secret retreat on +the island of St. Leon. Though threatened by the pontiff with +excommunication, he has resolved to repudiate his queen, in order that +he may carry out his intention of marrying the beautiful Leonora. To +her asylum a bevy of maidens conducts Fernando. He declares his +passion for her and finds it reciprocated. He urges her to fly with +him, but she declares it impossible, and giving him a commission in +the army signed by the King, urges him to go to the wars and win +honors for her sake. + +In the second act Balthasar, in the name of the pontiff, visits their +retreat and pronounces the papal anathema upon the guilty pair. The +same curse is threatened to all the attendants unless Leonora is +driven from the King, and the act closes with their vengeful menaces. + +In the third act Fernando returns victorious from the war with the +Moors. Already beginning to fear the result of the papal malediction, +and having learned of Leonora's passion for the victor, Alphonso heaps +rewards upon him, even to the extent of giving him Leonora's hand. +Fernando, who is ignorant of her past relations to the King, eagerly +accepts the proffer; but Leonora, in despair, sends her attendant, +Inez, to inform him of the real nature of the situation and implore +his forgiveness. The King intercepts her, and the marriage takes place +at once, Fernando not discovering Leonora's shame until it is revealed +by the courtiers, who avoid him. He flies from the world to the +convent once more for shelter and consolation, followed by Leonora, +who dies in his arms after she has obtained forgiveness. + +The music of the work is very dramatic in its character, some of the +finales being the strongest Donizetti has written. In the first act +there is a beautifully melodious aria ("Una Vergine"), in which +Fernando describes to Balthasar the vision of Leonora which had +appeared to him at his orisons, and a very tender duet ("Deh, vanne! +deh, parti") between Fernando and Leonora, in which they sorrowfully +part from each other. In the second act the King has a very passionate +aria, where he curses his courtiers for leaguing against him at Rome, +followed by a very dramatic duet with Leonora ("Ah! l'alto ardor"). +The third act contains the beautiful aria, "O mio Fernando!" which is +a favorite with all contraltos. It is remarkable for its warmth and +richness, as well as its dramatic spirit, and the act closes with a +concerted finale of splendid power, in which Fernando breaks his +sword, and once more Balthasar anathematizes the King. The fourth act +is the most beautiful of all in its music and the most powerful in +dramatic effect. The chorus of monks in the first scene ("Scaviam +l'asilo") is remarkable for its religious character and solemnity. In +the third scene occurs one of the tenderest and loveliest romanzas +ever written ("Spirto gentil"), which Donizetti transferred to this +work from his opera, "Le Duc d'Albe," which had not been performed, +and the libretto of which was originally written by Scribe for +Rossini. The closing duet between Fernando and Leonora is full of +pathos and beauty, and forms a fitting close to an act which, in one +sense at least, is an inspiration, as the whole act was composed in +four hours,--a proof of the marvellous ease and facility with which +Donizetti wrote. + + +DON PASQUALE. + +"Don Pasquale," an opera buffa in three acts, was first produced at +the Théâtre des Italiens in Paris, Jan. 4, 1843, with the following +extraordinary cast: + + NORINA Mme. GRISI. + ERNESTO Sig. MARIO. + DR. MALATESTA Sig. TAMBURINI. + DON PASQUALE Sig. LABLACHE. + +The scene of this brilliant and gay little opera is laid in Rome. Don +Pasquale is in a rage with Ernesto, his nephew, because he will not +marry to suit him. Dr. Malatesta, his friend and physician, who is +also very much attached to the nephew, contrives a plot in the +latter's interest. He visits the Don, and urges him to marry a lady, +pretending that she is his sister, though in reality she is Norina, +with whom Ernesto is in love. He then calls upon Norina, and lets her +into the secret of the plot, and instructs her how to play her part. +She is to consent to the marriage contract, and then so harass the Don +that he will not only be glad to get rid of her, but will give his +consent to her marriage with Ernesto. The second act opens in Don +Pasquale's house, where Ernesto is bewailing his fate. The Don enters, +magnificently dressed, and ready for the marriage. Norina appears with +Malatesta, and feigns reluctance to enter into the contract; but when +the notary arrives she consents to sign. No sooner, however, has she +signed it than she drops her assumed modesty. Ernesto, who is present, +is bewildered at the condition of affairs, but is kept quiet by a sign +from the Doctor. Norina refuses all the Don's amatory demonstrations, +and declares Ernesto shall be her escort. She summons the servants, +and lays out a scheme of housekeeping so extravagant that the Don is +enraged, and declares he will not pay the bills. She insists he shall, +for she is now master of the house. In the third act we find Norina +entertaining milliners and modistes. Don Pasquale enters, and learning +that she is going to the theatre forbids it, which leads to a quarrel, +during which Norina boxes his ears. As she leaves the room she drops a +letter, the reading of which adds the pangs of jealousy to his other +troubles. The Doctor at this juncture happens in and condoles with +him. The Don insists that Norina shall quit his house at once. In the +next scene he taxes her with having a lover concealed in the house, +and orders her to leave. The Doctor counsels him to let his nephew +marry Norina; and in the course of explanations the Don discovers that +the Doctor's sister and Norina are one and the same person, and that +the marriage was a sham. He is only too glad of an escape to quarrel +with the Doctor for his plot, and the young couple are speedily +united, and have the old man's blessing. + +The charm of the opera lies in its comic situations, and the gay, +bright music with which they are illustrated. It is replete with humor +and spirit, and flows along in such a bright stream that it is almost +impossible to cull out special numbers, though it contains two duets +and a quartet which are of more than ordinary beauty, and the +exquisite serenade in the last act, "Com'e gentil," which has been +heard on almost every concert-stage of the world, and still holds its +place in universal popular esteem. For brilliant gayety it stands in +the front rank of all comic operas, though Donizetti was but three +weeks in writing it. It is said that when it was in rehearsal its fate +was uncertain. The orchestra and singers received it very coldly; but +when the rehearsal was over, Donizetti merely shrugged his shoulders +and remarked to his friend, M. Dormoy, the publisher: "Let them alone; +they know nothing about it. I know what is the matter with 'Don +Pasquale.' Come with me." They went to the composer's house. Rummaging +among a pile of manuscripts, Donizetti pulled out a song. "This is +what 'Don Pasquale' wants," he said. "Take it to Mario and tell him to +learn it at once." Mario obeyed, and when the opera was performed sang +it to the accompaniment of a tambourine, which Lablache played behind +the scenes. The opera was a success at once, and no song has ever been +more popular. + +In strange contrast with the gay humor of "Don Pasquale," it may be +stated that in the same year Donizetti wrote the mournful "Don +Sebastian," which has been described as "a funeral in five acts." +Crowest, in his "Anecdotes," declares that the serenade is suggestive +of Highland music, and that many of his other operas are Scottish in +color. He accounts for this upon the theory that the composer was of +Scotch descent, his grandfather having been a native of Perthshire, by +the name of Izett, and that his father, who married an Italian lady, +was Donald Izett. The change from Donald Izett to Donizetti was an +easy one. The story, however, is of doubtful authenticity. + + +LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR. + +"Lucia di Lammermoor," an opera in three acts, words by Cammarano, was +first produced at Naples in 1835, with Mme. Persiani and Sig. Duprez, +for whom the work was written, in the principal rôles of Lucia and +Edgardo. Its first presentation at Paris was Aug. 10, 1839; in London, +April 5, 1838; and in English, at the Princess Theatre, London, Jan. +19, 1843. The subject of the opera is taken from Sir Walter Scott's +novel, "The Bride of Lammermoor," and the scene is laid in Scotland, +time, about 1669. + +Sir Henry Ashton, of Lammermoor, brother of Lucy, the heroine, has +arranged a marriage between her and Lord Arthur Bucklaw, in order to +recover the fortune which he has dissipated, and to save himself from +political peril he has incurred by his participation in movements +against the reigning dynasty. Sir Edgar Ravenswood, with whom he is at +enmity, is deeply attached to Lucy, who reciprocates his love, and on +the eve of his departure on an embassy to France pledges herself to +him. During his absence Edgar's letters are intercepted by her +brother, who hints to her of his infidelity, and finally shows her a +forged paper which she accepts as the proof that he is untrue. +Overcome with grief at her lover's supposed unfaithfulness, and +yielding to the pressure of her brother's necessities, she at last +consents to her union with Lord Arthur. The marriage contract is +signed with great ceremony, and just as she has placed her name to the +fatal paper, Edgar suddenly appears. Learning from Lucy what she has +done, he tramples the contract under foot, hurls an imprecation upon +the house of Lammermoor, and bursts out of the room in a terrible +rage. Sir Henry follows him, and a fierce quarrel ensues, which ends +in a challenge. Meanwhile, at night, after the newly wedded couple +have retired, a noise is heard in their apartment. The attendants rush +in and find Lord Arthur dying from wounds inflicted by Lucy, whose +grief has made her insane. When she returns to reason, the thought of +what she has done and the horror of her situation overcome her, and +shortly death puts an end to her wretchedness. Ignorant of her fate, +Edgar goes to the churchyard of Ravenswood, which has been selected as +the rendezvous for the duel with Sir Henry. While impatiently waiting +his appearance, the bell of the castle tolls, and some of the +attendants accosting him bring the news of her death. The despairing +lover kills himself among the graves of his ancestors, and the sombre +story ends. + +The popular verdict has stamped "Lucia" as Donizetti's masterpiece, +and if the consensus of musicians could be obtained, it would +unquestionably confirm the verdict. It contains incomparably the +grandest of his arias for tenor, the Tomb song in the last act, and +one of the finest dramatic concerted numbers, the sextet in the second +act, that can be found in any Italian opera. Like the quartet in +"Rigoletto," it stands out in such bold relief, and is so thoroughly +original and spontaneous, that it may be classed as an inspiration. +The music throughout is of the most sombre character. It does not +contain a joyous phrase. And yet it can never be charged with +monotony. Every aria, though its tone is serious and more often +melancholy, has its own characteristics, and the climaxes are worked +up with great power. In the first act, for instance, the contrasts are +very marked between Henry's aria ("Cruda, funesta smania"), the chorus +of hunters ("Come vinti da stanchezza"), Henry's second aria ("La +pietade in suo favore"), in which he threatens vengeance upon Edgar, +the dramatic and beautifully written arias for Lucy, "Regnava nel +silenzio" and "Quando rapita in estasi," and the passionate farewell +duet between Lucy and Edgar, which is the very ecstasy of commingled +love and sorrow. The second act contains a powerful duet ("Le tradirmi +tu potrai") between Lucy and Henry; but the musical interest of the +act centres in the great sextet, "Chi mi frena," which ensues when +Edgar makes his unexpected appearance upon the scene of the marriage +contract. For beauty, power, richness of melody and dramatic +expression, few concerted numbers by any composer can rival it. The +last act also contains two numbers which are always the delight of +great artists,--the mad song of Lucy, "Oh, gioja che si senti," and +the magnificent tomb scena, "Tomba degl'avi miei," which affords even +the most accomplished tenor ample scope for his highest powers. + + +L'ELISIR D'AMORE. + +"L'Elisir d'Amore," an opera buffa in two acts, words by Romani, was +first produced in Milan, in 1832, and in English, at Drury Lane, in +1839, as "The Love Spell." The heroine of this graceful little opera +is Adina, a capricious country girl, who is loved by Nemorino, a young +farmer, whose uncle lies at the point of death, and by Belcore, a +sergeant, whose troops are billeted upon the neighboring village. +While Adina keeps both these suitors in suspense, Dr. Dulcamara, a +travelling quack, arrives at the village in great state to vend his +nostrums. Nemorino applies to him for a bottle of the Elixir of +Love,--with the magical properties of which he has become acquainted +in a romance Adina has been reading that very morning. The mountebank, +of course, has no such liquid, but he passes off on the simple peasant +a bottle of wine, and assures him that if he drinks of it he can +command the love of any one on the morrow. To thoroughly test its +efficacy, Nemorino drinks the whole of it. When he encounters Adina he +is half tipsy, and accosts her in such disrespectful style that she +becomes enraged, and determines to give her hand to the sergeant, and +promises to marry him in a week. Meanwhile an order comes for the +departure of the sergeant's detachment, and he begs her to marry him +the same day. She gives her consent, and the second act opens with the +assembling of the villagers to witness the signing of the marriage +contract. While the sergeant, Adina, and the notary have retired to +sign and witness the contract, Nemorino enters in despair, and finding +Dulcamara enjoying a repast, he implores him to give him some charm +that will make Adina love him at once. Having no money, the quack +refuses to assist him, and Nemorino is again plunged into despair. At +this juncture the sergeant enters, not in the best of humor, for Adina +has declined to sign the contract until evening. Discovering that +Nemorino wants money, he urges him to enlist. The bonus of twenty +crowns is a temptation. Nemorino enlists, takes the money, hurries to +the quack, and obtains a second bottle of the elixir, which is much +more powerful than the first. In the next scene the girls of the +village have discovered that Nemorino's uncle has died and left him +all the property, though Nemorino himself has not heard of it. They +crowd about him, trying to attract his attention with their charms and +blandishments. He attributes his sudden popularity to the effects of +the elixir, and even the quack is somewhat bewildered at the +remarkable change. Nemorino now determines to pay Adina off in kind, +and at last rouses her jealousy. Meanwhile Dulcamara acquaints her +with the effects of the elixir and advises her to try some of it, and +during the interview inadvertently informs her of Nemorino's +attachment for her. Struck with his devotion, she repays the sergeant +herself, announces her change of mind, and bestows her hand upon the +faithful Nemorino. Like "Don Pasquale," the opera is exceedingly +graceful in its construction, and very bright and gay in its musical +effects, particularly in the duets, of which there are two,--one +between Dulcamara and Nemorino in the first act ("Obbligato, ah! si +obbligato"), and one between Dulcamara and Adina in the second act +("Quanto amore! ed io spietata"), which are charming in their spirit +and humor. There is also an admirable buffo song in the first act, +beginning with the recitative, "Udite, udite, o rustici," in which the +Doctor describes his wares to the rustics, and a beautiful romanza in +the second act for tenor ("Una furtiva lagrima"), which is of +world-wide popularity, and bears the same relation to the general +setting of the work that the Serenade does to "Don Pasquale." + + +LUCREZIA BORGIA. + +"Lucrezia Borgia," an opera in three acts, words by Romani, was first +produced at La Scala, Milan, in 1834. The subject was taken from +Victor Hugo's tragedy of the same name, and its text was freely +adapted by Romani. When it was produced in Paris, in 1840, Victor Hugo +took steps to suppress any further representations. The libretto was +then rewritten, under the title of "La Rinegata," the Italian +characters were changed to Turks, and in this mutilated form the +performances were resumed. It was in this opera that Signor Mario made +his English début, in 1839, with great success. Its first presentation +in English was at London, Dec. 30, 1843. + +The history of Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Rodrigo Borgia, afterwards +Pope Alexander VI., and sister of Cæsar Borgia, is too well known to +need recapitulation. It is necessary to the comprehension of the story +of the opera, however, to state that she had an illegitimate son, +named Genarro, who was left when an infant with a fisherman, but who +subsequently entered the Venetian army and rose to an eminent rank. +The opera opens with a brilliant festival in the gardens of the +Barberigo Palace, which is attended by Genarro, Orsini, and others, +all of them cordial haters of the detestable Borgias. While they are +telling tales of Lucrezia's cruel deeds, Genarro lies down and goes to +sleep, and Orsini in a spirited aria ("Nelle fatal di Rimini") relates +to his companions the story of Genarro's gallantry at the battle of +Rimini. As they leave, Lucrezia approaches, masked, in a gondola, and +is received by Gubetta, with whom she has come to Venice on some +secret errand. She discovers Genarro asleep, and expresses her delight +at his beauty, and at the same time her maternal love, in a brilliant +aria ("Com'e bello"). As she kisses his hand he wakes, and in the duet +which follows tells her the story of his early life in an exquisite +romanza ("Di pescatore ignobile"), which is one of the most familiar +numbers in Italian opera. He begs her to reveal her name, but she +refuses. As he continues to implore her, his friends return and +denounce her to Genarro as the hated Borgia, in a concerted number +("Chi siam noi sol chiarirla") of great dramatic power, which closes +the first act. + +The second act opens in the public square of Ferrara, with the palace +of the Borgias on the right. The Duke Alphonso, Lucrezia's husband, +who has been observant of Lucrezia's attachment to Genarro, vows +vengeance in a passionate aria ("Vieni la mia vendetta"). In the next +scene Genarro, who has been taunted by his friends with being a victim +of Lucrezia's fascinations, recklessly rushes up to the palace door +and strikes off the first letter of her name with his dagger. When +Lucrezia discovers the insult, she demands of the Duke that the guilty +person shall be arrested and condemned to death. The Duke has already +seized Genarro, and agrees to carry out his wife's demands. When the +prisoner is brought before them for judgment, she is horror-stricken +to find he is her son. She implores his life, but the infuriated Duke +retaliates upon her with the declaration that she is his paramour. The +duet between them ("O! a te bada"), in which Lucrezia passes from +humble entreaties to rage and menace, is a fine instance of +Donizetti's dramatic power. The Duke, however, is resolute in his +determination, and will only allow her to choose the mode of Genarro's +death. She selects the Borgia wine, which is poisoned. Genarro is +called in, and after a trio ("Le ti tradisce"), which is one of the +strongest numbers in the opera, he is given the fatal draught under +the pretence of a farewell greeting from the Duke, who then leaves +mother and son together. She gives him an antidote, and he is thus +saved from the fate which the Duke had intended for him. + +The last act opens at a banquet in the palace of the Princess Negroni, +which is attended by Genarro and his friends, Lucrezia, meanwhile, +supposing that he has gone to Venice. During the repast she has +managed to poison their wine. In the midst of the gay revel Orsini +sings the popular drinking-song, "Il segreto per esser felici," which +is now familiar the world over. The festivities are interrupted, +however, by the appearance of Lucrezia, who reveals herself with the +taunting declaration: "Yes, I am Borgia. A mournful dance ye gave me +in Venice, and I return ye a supper in Ferrara." She then announces +that they are poisoned. The music is changed with great skill from the +wild revelry of drinking-songs to the sombre strains of approaching +death. Five coffins are shown them, when Genarro suddenly reveals +himself to Lucrezia and asks for the sixth. The horror-stricken woman +again perceives that her son has been poisoned by her own hand. As his +companions leave the apartment she implores Genarro to take the +antidote once more, and at last reveals herself as his mother. He +steadily refuses to save himself, however, since his companions have +to die, and expires in her arms just as the Duke and his followers +enter. She discloses Genarro's relationship, and then dies with the +despairing cry on her lips that Heaven has pronounced its final +judgment upon her. Among all of Donizetti's operas, not one, unless it +be "Lucia," is more popular than "Lucrezia Borgia," which may be +attributed to the fact that while the story itself is one of +fascinating dramatic interest, the musical numbers are simple, +beautiful, and effective. + + + + +FLOTOW. + +Friedrich von Flotow was born April 27, 1812, in the duchy of +Mecklenberg-Schwerin, and in 1827 went to Paris, where he studied +music under Reicha. His first work was "Stradella," a mere sketch in +its original form, which was brought out at the Palais Royal in 1837; +but his first public success was made in 1839, with his opera, "Le +Naufrage de la Méduse," which had a run, and was afterwards produced +in Germany under the title of "Die Matrosen." "L'Esclave de Camoens" +appeared in Paris in 1843; "Stradella," rewritten as an opera, in +Hamburg (1844); "L'Âme en peine," in Paris (1846); "Martha," in Vienna +(1847). The works of his later period, which never equalled his +earlier ones in popularity, were "Die Grossfürstin" (1850); "Indra" +(1853); "Rubezahl" (1854); "Hilda" (1855); "Der Müller von Meran" +(1856); "La Veuve Grapin" (1859); "L'Ombre" (1869); "Naïda" (1873); +"Il Flor d'Harlem" (1876); and "Enchanteresse" (1878). Of these later +works, "L'Ombre" was the most successful, and was received with favor +in France, Italy, Spain, and England, in which latter country it was +performed under the title of "The Phantom." In 1856 he received the +appointment of Intendant of the theatre of the Grand Duke of +Mecklenberg, and he entered upon his duties with high hopes of making +the theatre exercise the same influence upon music in Germany as the +Weimar stage; but court intrigues and rivalries of artists so +disgusted him that he resigned in 1863 and went to Paris, and a few +years later to Vienna, where he took up his abode. Outside of a few of +his operas his works are little known, though he composed a +"Fackeltanz," some incidental music to the "Winter's Tale" of +Shakspeare, and several overtures, songs, and chamber-pieces. An +interesting episode in his career occurred in 1838, when he brought +out an opera in three acts, the "Duc de Guise," at the Théâtre de la +Renaissance, the libretto based upon Dumas's "Henri III." The +performance was organized by the Princess Czartoryska, for the benefit +of the Poles. Mme. de Lagrange made her début in a leading part, and +the parts of the choristers were filled by duchesses and princesses of +the Faubourg St. Germain, upon whose persons two million dollars worth +of diamonds were blazing,--sufficient evidence that the performance +was brilliant in at least one sense. He died at Wiesbaden, Jan. 24, +1883. + + +MARTHA. + +"Martha," an opera in three acts, libretto by St. Georges, translated +into German by Friedrich, was first produced at Vienna, Nov. 25, 1847, +with Mlle. Anna Zerr in the title-rôle, Herr Ander as Lionel, and Carl +Formes as Plunkett. It was first produced in English and Italian at +London in 1858, and in French at Paris in 1865. The history of its +origin is interesting. M. de St. Georges, at the request of the +manager of the Paris Grand Opera, wrote in 1842 the libretto to a +ballet entitled "Lady Henrietta, or the Servant of Greenwich," the +subject being suggested to him by the adventures of two ladies of his +acquaintance who had mingled with servants at a fair. The music was +confided to three composers. The first act was given to Herr von +Flotow, the second to Herr Burgmuller, and the third to M. Deldeves. +The ballet had such a remarkable success, and Flotow was so delighted +with the plot, that he entreated St. Georges to rewrite it for an +opera. The latter consented, and the result of their collaboration was +the appearance of one of the most popular operas which has ever been +placed upon the stage. + +The scene of the opera is laid at Richmond, England, and the time is +during the reign of Queen Anne, though the Italian version places it +in the fifteenth century, and the French in the nineteenth. Lady +Henrietta, an attendant upon the Queen, tired of the amusements of +court life, contrives a plan to visit the servants' fair at Richmond +disguised as a servant-girl, and accompanied by Nancy, her maid, and +Sir Tristan, her somewhat aged cousin, who is also her devoted +admirer. In the first three scenes their plans are laid much to the +disgust of Sir Tristan, who is to pass as John, while his fair cousin +masquerades as Martha. The duet between the ladies ("Of the Knights so +brave and charming"), and the trio with Tristan, are in dance time, +and full of animation. The fourth scene opens in the market-place at +Richmond, where the people are gathering to the fair. Thither also +resort Plunkett, a farmer, and Lionel, his brother by adoption, whose +parentage is unknown, and who has no souvenir of his father except a +ring which has been left for him, with instructions to present it to +the Queen if he ever finds himself in trouble. Lionel tells his story +in an aria ("Lost, proscribed, an humble Stranger") which is +universally popular, and the melody of which has been set to various +words. They have come to the fair to procure help for their farm. +While the sheriff, according to law, is binding the girls for a year's +service, Plunkett and Lionel meet Martha and Nancy, and are so +delighted with their appearance that they tender them the customary +bonus, or "earnest-money," which secures them. Too late for escape, +they find that they are actually engaged, and they are obliged to +drive away with the young farmers, leaving Sir Tristan in despair. + +The second act opens in the farm-house, where the four have arrived. +The farmers inquire their names, and seek to find out what they can +do, testing them first at the spinning-wheel. The spinning quartet +("When the Foot the Wheel turns lightly") is very gay and full of +humor, and is one of the most delightful concerted numbers in the +opera. The brothers soon find that their new servants are useless, but +they are so pleased with them that they decide to keep them. At last +Nancy, in a pet, kicks her wheel over and runs off, followed by +Plunkett. Lionel, left alone with Martha, grows very tender to the new +servant, and at last finds himself violently in love. He snatches a +rose from her bosom, and refuses to return it unless she will consent +to sing. She replies with the familiar ballad, "'Tis the last Rose of +Summer," which Flotow has interpolated in this scene, and in the +performance of which he makes a charming effect by introducing the +tenor in the close. Her singing only makes him the more desperately +enamoured, and he asks her to be his wife on the spot, only to find +himself the victim of Martha's sport, although his devotion and +sincerity have made a deep impression upon her. Plunkett and Nancy at +last return, and another charming quartet follows ("Midnight sounds"), +better known as the "Good Night Quartet." The two brothers retire, but +Martha and Nancy, aided by Tristan, who has followed them and +discovered their whereabouts, make good their escape. The next scene +opens in the woods, where several farmers are drinking and carousing, +among them Plunkett, who sings a rollicking drinking-song ("I want to +ask you"). Their sport is interrupted by a hunting-party, composed of +the Queen and her court ladies. Plunkett and Lionel recognize their +fugitive servants among them, though the ladies disclaim all knowledge +of them. Plunkett attempts to seize Nancy, but the huntresses attack +him and chase him away, leaving Lionel and Lady Henrietta together +again. The scene contains two of the most beautiful numbers in the +opera,--the tenor solo, "Like a Dream bright and fair" ("M' appari" in +the Italian version), and a romance for soprano ("Here in deepest +forest Shadows"); and the act closes with a beautiful concerted +finale, quintet and chorus, which is worked up with great power. In +this finale the despairing Lionel bethinks him of his ring. He gives +it to Plunkett, desiring him to present it to the Queen. By means of +the jewel it is discovered that he is the only son of the late Earl of +Derby, and she orders his estates, of which he has been unjustly +deprived, to be restored to him. + +The last act is not important in a musical sense, for the climax is +attained in the previous finale. The dramatic dénouement is soon +reached, and the Lady Henrietta, who has for some time been seriously +in love with Lionel, is at last united to him; and it is almost +needless to add that the fortunes of Plunkett and Nancy are also +joined. The charm of "Martha" is its liveliness in action and +tunefulness in music. Though not a great opera from a musical point of +view, it is one of the most popular in the modern repertory, and +though few others have been performed so many times, it still retains +that popularity. Its melodies, though sung in every country of the +civilized world by amateurs and professional artists, have not yet +lost their charms. + + +STRADELLA. + +"Stradella," a romantic opera in three acts, was first written as a +lyric drama and produced at the Palais Royal Theatre, Paris, in 1837, +and was subsequently rewritten in its present form under the title of +"Alessandro Stradella" and produced at Hamburg, Dec. 30, 1844. The +English version, which was somewhat altered by Bunn, was produced in +London, June 6, 1846. The story follows the historic narrative of +Stradella, the Italian musician, except in the dénouement. Stradella +woos and wins Leonora, the fair ward of Bassi, a rich Venetian +nobleman, with whom the latter is himself in love. They fly to Rome +and are married. Bassi hires two bravoes, Barbarino and Malvolio, to +follow them and kill Stradella. They track him to his house, and while +the bridal party are absent enter and conceal themselves, Bassi being +with them. Upon this occasion, however, they do not wait to accomplish +their purpose. Subsequently they gain admission again in the guise of +pilgrims, and are hospitably received by Stradella. In the next scene +Stradella, Leonora, and the two bravoes are together in the same +apartment, singing the praises of their native Italy. During their +laudations the chorus of a band of pilgrims on their way to the shrine +of the Virgin is heard, and Leonora and Stradella go out to greet +them. The bravoes have been so moved by Stradella's singing that they +hesitate in their purpose. Bassi enters and upbraids them, and +finally, by the proffer of a still larger sum, induces them to consent +to carry out his design. They conceal themselves. Stradella returns +and rehearses a hymn to the Virgin which he is to sing at the +festivities on the morrow. Its exquisite beauty touches them so deeply +that they rush out of their hiding-place, and falling at his feet +confess the object of their visit and implore his forgiveness. Leonora +enters, and is astonished to find her guardian present. Explanations +follow, a reconciliation is effected, and the lovers are happy. The +dénouement differs from the historical story, which, according to +Bonnet, Bourdelot, and others, ends with the death of the lovers at +Genoa, at the hands of the hired assassins. + +The opera is one of the most charming of Flotow's works for its apt +union of very melodious music with dramatic interest. Its most +beautiful numbers are Stradella's serenade ("Horch, Liebchen, +horch!"), the following nocturne ("Durch die Thäler, über Hügel"), the +brilliant and animated carnival chorus ("Freudesausen, Jubelbrausen") +of the masqueraders who assist in the elopement, in the first act; the +aria of Leonora in her bridal chamber ("Seid meiner Wonne"), the +rollicking drinking-song of the two bravoes ("'Raus mit dem Nass aus +dem Fass") and the bandit ballad ("Tief in den Abruzzen ") sung by +Stradella, in the second act; an exquisite terzetto ("Sag doch an, +Freund Barbarino") sung by Bassi and the two bravoes when they +hesitate to perform their work, and Stradella's lovely hymn to the +Virgin ("Jungfrau Maria! Himmlisch verklärte"), in the last act. + + + + +GLUCK. + +Christoph Willibald Gluck, one of the most eminent of German operatic +composers, was born at Weidenwang in the Upper Palatinate, July 2, +1714. He began his musical studies in a Bohemian Jesuits' School at +the age of twelve. In his eighteenth year he went to Prague, where he +continued his education with Czernhorsky. Four years later he was +fortunate enough to secure Prince Melzi for a patron, who sent him to +Milan, where he completed his studies with Sammartini. From 1741 to +1745 he produced numerous operas, which were well received, and in the +latter year visited London, where he brought out several works, among +them "La Caduta de' Giganti." His English experience was far from +satisfactory, and he soon returned to Germany, stopping at Paris on +the way, where Rameau's operas had a strong influence upon him. From +1746 to 1762 he wrote a large number of operas, with varying success +so far as performance was concerned, but with great and lasting +benefit to his style and fame, as was shown when his "Orpheus" was +first produced, Oct. 5, 1762. Its success determined him at once to +acquaint the musical world with his purpose to reform the opera by +making it dramatically musical instead of purely lyric, thus paving +the way for the great innovator of Baireuth. "Alceste," produced in +1767, was the first embodiment of these ideas. Strong criticism +greeted it, to which he replied with "Iphigénie en Aulide," written in +1772, and performed for the first time in Paris two years later, under +the auspices of Marie Antoinette, who had once been his pupil. It was +followed by "Orpheus and Eurydice," adapted from his earlier work of +the same name, which met with brilliant success. In 1777 he brought +out "Armide." It aroused an unprecedented excitement. Piccini was at +that time in Paris. He was the representative of the old Italian +school. His partisans gathered about him, and a furious war was waged +between the Gluckists and Piccinists for three or four years; the +combatants displaying a bitterness of criticism and invective even +worse than that which Wagner brought down upon his devoted head. When +Gluck brought out his great work, "Iphigénie en Tauride," in 1779, +however, the Piccinists quitted the field and acknowledged the +reformer's superiority. "Echo et Narcisse" was written in the same +year, but "Iphigénie en Tauride" was his last great work. He retired +shortly afterwards to Vienna, where he died Nov. 15, 1787. + + +ORPHEUS. + +"Orpheus," the libretto by the Italian poet Calzabigi, was first +produced at Vienna, Oct. 5, 1762, and for the first time outlined the +new ideas which Gluck had advanced for the reform of the lyric stage. +Twelve years later the composer revised the work. Several new numbers +were added, its acts were extended to three, and the principal rôle +was rewritten for a high tenor in place of the alto, to whom it had +been originally assigned. In this form it was brought out at the Paris +Académie, Aug. 2, 1774. In 1859 it was revived in Paris, for which +occasion Berlioz restored the original alto part for Mme. +Viardot-Garcia. With its performances in this country by the American +Opera Troupe during the season of 1885-86, under the direction of Mr. +Theodore Thomas, our readers are already familiar. The three soloists +during that season were Helene Hastreiter, Emma Juch, and Minnie +Dilthey. + +The story, except in its denouement, closely follows the antique +legend. After performing the funeral rites of Eurydice, Orpheus +resolves to seek for her in the world of Shades, having received +permission from Zeus upon condition that he will not look upon her +until they have safely returned. Orpheus descends to Hades; and though +his way is barred by phantoms, his pleading appeals and the tender +tones of his harp induce them to make way for him. He finds Eurydice +in the Elysian fields, and taking her by the hand leads her on to the +upper world. In a fatal moment he yields to her desire to see him, and +she sinks back lifeless. Love, however, comes to the rescue, and full +of compassion restores her. Thus the happy lovers are reunited; and +the opera closes without the tragic denouement of the old myth. In the +American performances the opera was divided into four acts, which is +the order we shall follow. + +The short overture is characterized by a grandeur and solemnity that +well befit the pathetic story. The curtain rises upon a grotto +containing the tomb of Eurydice, against which Orpheus mournfully +leans, while upon its steps youths and maidens are strewing flowers as +they chant the sombre song, "Ah! in our still and mournful Meadow." +The sad wail of Orpheus upon the single word "Eurydice" is heard +through its strains, which continually increase in solemnity. At last, +as if too much to bear, Orpheus interrupts their threnody with the +words, "The Sounds of your Lament increase my bitter Anguish." The +chorus in reply resumes its melancholy tribute to Eurydice and then +retires, leaving Orpheus alone, who in a monologue full of pathos and +sorrow ("My Eurydice! my Eurydice! lost forever"), sings his grief and +implores the gods to restore his loved one. In answer to his prayer, +Amor, god of love, appears and announces that the gods have been moved +to compassion; and if his song and lyre can appease the phantoms, +death shall give back Eurydice upon the conditions already named. The +act closes with the joyful song of Orpheus: "Will pitying Heaven with +wondrous Favor restore mine own?" + +The second act opens in the abysses of the underworld. Flames shoot up +amid great masses of rock and from yawning caverns, throwing their +lurid glare upon the phantoms, who writhing in furious indignation +demand in wild and threatening chorus, as the tones of Orpheus's lyre +are heard, "Who through this awful Place, thinking alive to pass, +rashly dares venture here?" Madly they call upon Cerberus "to kill thy +new Prey here." The barking of the triple-headed monster is heard in +the tones of the orchestra. They surround Orpheus as he approaches, +and with renewed clamor continue this thrilling chorus. In the midst +of its cruel intensity is heard the appealing voice of Orpheus ("In +Pity be moved by my Grief"). With overwhelming wrath comes the +reiterated monosyllable, "No," from the Furies,--one of the most +daring and powerful effects ever made in dramatic music,--followed by +another appalling chorus, as they announce to him, "These are the +Depths of Hell, where the Avengers dwell." At last they are touched by +the charm of his music and the sorrow of his story; and as their fury +dies away, the song of Orpheus grows more exultant as he contemplates +the reunion with Eurydice. + +The gates of the lower world are opened, and in the third act Orpheus +enters Elysium. The scene begins with a tender, lovely song by +Eurydice and her companions ("In this tranquil and lovely Abode of the +Blest"), the melody taken by the flute with string accompaniment. All +is bright and cheerful and in striking contrast with the gloom and +terror of the Stygian scene we have just left. After a short +recitative ("How mild a Day, without a Noon"), Orpheus seeks her. She +is brought to him by a crowd of shadows; and breaking out in joyful +song he takes her by the hand and turns his face to the upper world. + +The fourth act is almost entirely an impassioned duet between Orpheus +and Eurydice. He releases her hand for fear that he may turn and look +upon her. Eurydice chides him ("Am I changed or grown old that thou +wilt not behold me?"). In vain he urges her to follow him. She +upbraids him for his coldness, and demands one glance as a test of his +love. He still refuses, and then she sorrowfully bids him farewell. At +last, overcome with weariness and sorrow, he gazes upon her; and at +that instant she falls lifeless. Then Orpheus breaks out in that +immortal song, the _Che faro senza Eurydice_ ("I have lost my +Eurydice"), the beauty and pathos of which neither time nor change of +musical custom can ever mar. He is about to take his life with his +sword; but Amor suddenly appears upon the scene, stays his hand, and +tells him the gods are moved by his sufferings. He restores Eurydice +to life, and the opera closes with a beautiful terzetto in Love's +temple. The denouement is followed by ballet music. + + + + +GOETZ. + +Hermann Goetz, to whose life attaches a mournful interest, was born at +Koenigsberg, Dec. 17, 1840. He had no regular instruction in music +until his seventeenth year. At that period he began his studies with +Köhler, and then passed successively under the tuition of Stern, +Ulrich, and Von Bülow. At the age of twenty-three he obtained a +position as organist at Winterthur, and also taught at Zurich. It was +during this time that he composed his opera, "The Taming of the +Shrew," meanwhile supporting himself as he best could, sometimes +struggling with actual poverty. For years he attempted to secure a +hearing for his opera; but it was not until 1874 that its great merit +was recognized, for in that year it was produced at Mannheim with +instant success. Its fame travelled all over Germany. It was performed +in Vienna in 1875, and the same year in Leipsic and Berlin, and +reached London in 1878. It was not heard in this country until the +season of 1885-86, when it was produced by the American Opera Company. +The composer did not live long enough, however, to enjoy the fruits of +his work, as he died in 1876. He also left behind him an unfinished +score of a second opera, "Francesca di Rimini," which was completed by +his friend Franke at his request, but proved a failure. His other +works include a symphony in F, a suite for orchestra, and many chamber +compositions. + + +THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. + +"The Taming of the Shrew," as related in the sketch of the composer's +life, was written about the year 1863, and first produced at Mannheim +in 1872. Its first performance in this country was in January, 1886, +when the cast was as follows:-- + + KATHARINE PAULINE L'ALLEMAND. + BIANCA KATE BENSBERG. + PETRUCHIO WILLIAM H. LEE. + BAPTISTA W.H. HAMILTON. + LUCENTIO W.H. FESSENDEN. + HORTENSIO ALONZO STODDARD. + A TAILOR JOHN HOWSON. + +The libretto is freely adapted from Shakspeare's comedy by Joseph +Victor Widmann. The plot is very simple. Baptista, a rich Paduan +gentleman, has two daughters,--Katharine, the shrew, and Bianca, of +sweet and lovable disposition. Both Hortensio and Lucentio are in love +with Bianca; but the obdurate father will not listen to either until +Katharine shall have been married. In this apparently hopeless +situation a gleam of comfort appears, in the suit which the rich +gallant Petruchio, of Verona, pays to Katharine, in disgust with the +sycophants who have been manifesting such deference to his wealth. The +remainder of the story is occupied with the details of the various +processes by which he breaks and tames the shrew, and the ingenious +ruse by which Lucentio gains the hand of the lovely Bianca. + +The curtain rises upon a night scene in Padua, with Lucentio before +Bianca's house singing a melodious serenade. Its strains are +interrupted, however, by a hurly-burly in the house, caused by the +shrew's demonstrations. The tumult is transferred to the street, and +gives occasion for a very vigorous ensemble. When the crowd disperses, +Lucentio resumes his serenade, Bianca appears upon the balcony, and +the two join in a very pleasing duet. This number is also interrupted +by Hortensio, at the head of a band of street musicians, who has also +come to serenade his mistress. The encounter of the two lovers brings +on a quarrel, which is averted, however, by the interposition of +Baptista. A duet follows between them, at the close of which Lucentio +retires. Petruchio now appears upon the scene, and learns from +Hortensio of Katharine's vixenish disposition, which determines him to +woo her. With a stirring song ("She is a Wife for such a Man +created"), the act comes to an end. + +The second act opens in a chamber in Baptista's house, where Katharine +is berating Bianca for accepting serenades from suitors, and abuses +her even to blows. The scene closes with a vigorous song for Katharine +("I'll give myself to no one"), which is greeted with cynical applause +by Petruchio, Baptista, Lucentio, and Hortensio, who enter, the last +two disguised as teachers. In the next scene, Petruchio and Katharine +alone, we have the turbulent wooing, which is accompanied throughout +by characteristic music. As the others return Petruchio announces his +success in the song, "All is well," the theme of which is taken by the +quintet, closing the act. + +The third is the most interesting act of the three. It opens on the +day selected for the wedding of Katharine and Petruchio, in Baptista's +garden; the first number being a charming quintet for Katharine, +Bianca, Lucentio, Hortensio, and Baptista. The guests are present, but +Petruchio is not there. An explanation is made, followed by a chorus +as the guests leave; and then Bianca is free to take her lessons, in +one of which Lucentio makes his avowal of love to her. The arrangement +of the two lessons is both unique and skilful. Lucentio turns the +familiar opening lines of the Æneid, "Arma virumque cano," etc., into +a love-song by declarations interposed between them; while Hortensio +explains the mysteries of the scale to her, each line of his love-song +beginning with one of its letters. It is soon found, however, that +Lucentio is the accepted lover. Baptista now enters and announces +Petruchio's return, which leads to a charming quartet. The finale of +the opera, which is very spirited, includes the preparations for the +marriage-feast, the wedding, and the scene in which Petruchio abruptly +forces his bride to leave with him for his country house. + + + + +GOLDMARK. + +Karl Goldmark was born at Keszthely, Hungary, May 18, 1832. He first +studied with the violinist Jansa at Vienna, and in his fifteenth year +entered the Conservatory in that city. Little is known of the events +of his early life. Indeed, his success in his profession is generally +credited more to his native ability and industry than to the influence +of teachers or schools. He began composition at an early period, and +produced his works in concerts with much success under the +encouragement of Hellmesberger and others, who recognized his ability +before he had made any impression out of Vienna. Four of his +compositions during the past fifteen years, the "Sakuntala" overture, +the operas "The Queen of Sheba" and "Merlin," and "Die Iändliche +Hochzeit" (The Country Wedding) symphony have made a permanent +reputation for him. The overture and operas have been performed +several times in this country. Besides these he has written several +pieces of chamber music. + + +THE QUEEN OF SHEBA. + +"The Queen of Sheba" was first produced in Vienna, March 10, 1875, and +was first heard in this country at New York, Dec. 2, 1885, when the +cast was as follows:-- + + KING SOLOMON Herr ROBINSON. + HIGH-PRIEST Herr FISCHER. + SULAMITH Fraülein LEHMANN. + ASSAD Herr STRITT. + BAAL HANAN Herr ALEXI. + QUEEN OF SHEBA Frau KRAMER-WEIDL. + ASTAROTH Fraülein BRANDT. + +The libretto by Mosenthal is one of rare excellence in its skilful +treatment of situations and arrangement of scenes with the view to +spectacular and dramatic effect. The Biblical story has but little to +do with the action of the opera beyond the mere fact of the famous +visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon. The stirring episodes during +the journey and the visit spring from the librettist's imagination. +The story in substance is as follows:-- + +King Solomon, learning of the Queen's intention to visit him, sends +his favorite courtier Assad to escort her. While she waits outside the +gates of Jerusalem, Assad announces her arrival to the King and +Sulamith, the daughter of the high-priest, to whom the courtier is +affianced. Observing his disturbed looks, the King, after dismissing +his attendants, inquires the cause. Assad replies that on their +journey through the forest he had encountered a nymph bathing whose +beauty had so impressed him as to banish even the thoughts of his +affianced. The wise Solomon counsels him to marry Sulamith at once. +Meanwhile the Queen comes into the King's presence, and as she lifts +her veil reveals the unknown fair one. She affects ignorance of +Assad's passion; but when she learns that he is to wed Sulamith love +for him springs up in her own breast. Upon the day of the wedding +ceremony Assad, carried away by his longing for the Queen, declares +her to be his divinity, and is condemned to death for profaning the +Temple. Both the Queen and Sulamith appeal to the King for mercy. He +consents at last to save his life, but banishes him to the desert. The +Queen seeks him there, and makes an avowal of her love; but Assad +repulses her. As Sulamith comes upon the scene a simoom sweeps across +the desert. They perish in each other's arms; while in a mirage the +Queen and her attendants are seen journeying to their home. + +The first act opens in the great hall of Solomon's palace with a +brilliant, joyous chorus ("Open the Halls, adorn the Portals") in +praise of the King's glory. After the entrance of the high-priest, +Sulamith sings a fascinating bridal song ("My own Assad returns"), +richly oriental both in music and sentiment, dreamy and luxurious in +its tone, and yet full of joyous expectation, with characteristic +choral refrain and dainty accompaniment. The fourth and fifth scenes +are full of agitation and unrest, and lead up to Assad's explanation +of his perturbed condition ("At Lebanon's Foot I met Arabia's Queen"), +a monologue aria of rich glowing color and reaching a fine dramatic +climax as it progresses from its sensuous opening to the passionate +intensity of its finale. It is followed by the entrance of the Queen, +accompanied by a brilliant march and a jubilant chorus ("To the Sun of +the South our Welcome we bring") and a stirring concerted number, +describing the recognition of the Queen by Assad; after which the +chorus resumes its jubilant strain, bringing the act to a close. + +The second act opens in the gardens of the palace and discloses the +Queen, who gives expression to her love for Assad and her hatred of +Sulamith in an impassioned aria ("Let me from the festal Splendor"). +In the second scene Astaroth, her slave, appears and lures Assad by a +weird strain, which is one of the most effective passages in the opera +("As the Heron calls in the Reeds"). After a short arioso by Assad +("Magical Sounds, intoxicating Fragrance"), a passionate duet with the +Queen follows, interrupted by the call of the Temple-guard to prayer. +The scene changes to the interior of the sanctuary with its religious +service; and with it the music changes also to solemn Hebrew melodies +with the accompaniment of the sacred instruments, leading up to the +stirring finale in which Assad declares his passion for the Queen, +amid choruses of execration by the people. + +The third act opens in the banquet-hall upon a scene of festivity +introduced by the graceful bee dance of the Almas. It is followed by +the powerful appeal of the Queen for Assad's life, rising to an +intensely dramatic pitch as she warns the King of the revenge of her +armed hosts ("When Sheba's iron Lances splinter and Zion's Throne in +Ruins falls"). In sad contrast comes the mournful chant which +accompanies Sulamith as she passes to the vestal's home ("The Hour +that robbed me of him"), and ends in her despairing cry rising above +the chorus of attendants as Solomon also refuses her petition. + +The last act passes in the desert. Assad beneath a solitary palm-tree +laments the destiny which pursues him ("Whither shall I wend my weary +Steps?"). In the next scene the Queen appears, and an agitated duet +follows, ending with her repulse. Assad in despair calls upon death to +relieve him. The sky darkens. Clouds of sand envelop the fugitive. The +palm bends before the blast as the simoom sweeps by. The storm at last +subsides. The sky grows brighter; and the Queen and her attendants, +with their elephants and camels, appear in a mirage journeying +eastward as Sulamith and her lover expire in each other's arms. As +their duet dies away, the chorus of maidens brings the act to a close +with a few strains from the love-song in the first act. + + +MERLIN. + +The opera of "Merlin" was first performed at Vienna, Nov. 17, 1886, +and was heard for the first time in this country at New York, Jan. 3, +1887, under the direction of Mr. Walter Damrosch, with the following +cast:-- + + KING ARTHUR Herr ROBINSON. + MODRED Herr KEMLITZ. + LANCELOT Herr BURSCH. + GAWEIN Herr HEINRICH. + GLENDOWER Herr VON MILDE. + MERLIN Herr ALVARY. + VIVIANE Fraülein LEHMANN. + BEDWYR Herr SIEGLITZ. + THE FAY MORGANA Fraülein BRANDT. + THE DEMON Herr FISCHER. + +The libretto of the opera is by Siegfried Lipiner. The scene is laid +in Wales, and the hero, Merlin, is familiar as one of the knights of +King Arthur's round-table. The story is as follows:-- + +The Devil, ambitious to banish all good from the world, unites himself +to a virgin in order that he may beget a child who shall aid him in +his fell purpose. The child is Merlin, who partakes of the mother's +goodness, and instead of aiding his father, seeks to thwart his +design. The Devil thereupon consults the Fay Morgana, who tells him +that Merlin will lose his power if he falls in love. In the opening +scene King Arthur sends Lancelot to Merlin for aid, who promises him +victory and achieves it by the assistance of his familiar, a demon, +who is in league with the Devil. Tired of his service to Merlin, the +demon contrives to have him meet the beautiful Viviane, with whom he +falls in love. The second act transpires in Merlin's enchanted garden, +and reveals his growing passion, and at the same time his waning power +of magic; for when once more Arthur summons his aid he attempts to +tear himself away from her only to realize his weakness. She seeks to +detain him by throwing a magic veil over him which has been given her +by the demon; in an instant the scene changes, and Merlin appears +confined to a rock by fiery chains, while the demon mocks him from a +neighboring eminence, and Viviane gives way to anguish. In the last +act Viviane is told by the Fay Morgana that Merlin's release can only +be secured by woman's self-sacrifice. Once more an appeal for help +comes to him from Arthur, and he promises his soul to the demon in +exchange for his freedom. His chains fall off. He rushes into the +battle and secures the victory, but is fatally wounded. The demon +claims him; but Viviane, remembering the words of the Fay Morgana, +stabs herself and thus balks him of his expectant prey. + +Like Wagner's operas, "Merlin" has its motives, the principal ones +being that of the demon, or the evil principle, and two love motives. +In its general treatment it is also Wagnerish. The first scene opens +with the spirited message of Lancelot to Glendower, beseeching +Merlin's aid for the hard-pressed Arthur. It is followed by the +strains of Merlin's harp in the castle and his assurance of victory, +and these in turn by very descriptive incantation music summoning the +demon and the supernatural agencies which will compass the defeat of +Arthur's enemies. Then comes the interview between the demon and the +Fay Morgana, in which he learns the secret of Merlin's weakness. In +the next scene Arthur returns from his victory over the Saxons to the +tempo of a stirring march, and accompanied by the joyous choruses of +women. A vigorous episode, in which Bedwyr, one of Arthur's knights, +is charged with treachery, is followed by Merlin's chant of victory +with chorus accompaniment. As its strains die away a distant horn +announces Viviane, who makes her appearance singing a breezy hunting +song with her maidens, leading up to a spirited septet. Then follows +the baffled attempt of Viviane to crown Merlin, the scene closing with +a repetition of the chant of victory and the choruses of jubilation. + +The second act opens in the enchanted gardens of Merlin; and the first +scene reveals a conspiracy to seize the crown during Arthur's absence +and proclaim Modred king, and the farewell of Arthur and his suite to +Merlin. The magic-veil scene follows with its fascinating dance +tempos, and leads with its graceful measures up to the passionate +love-scene between Merlin and Viviane, which is harshly broken in upon +by the clash of arms between Modred and his perfidious companions and +the faithful friends of Arthur. A dramatic scene of great energy +follows, in which Viviane at last throws the magic veil around Merlin +with the transforming results already told. + +The last act opens with Viviane's mournful lament for the wretched +fate which she has brought down upon her lover, and the announcement +of the means by which he may be released made to her in slumber by the +Fay Morgana. Her maidens seek to rouse her with choral appeals, in +which are heard phrases of her hunting song. Meanwhile mocking spirits +appear about Merlin and taunt him in characteristic music. Then +follows the compact with the demon, which releases him. He rushes into +the battle accompanied by an exultant song from Viviane; but soon the +funeral march, as his followers bear him from the field, tells the +mournful story of his fate. A very dramatic ensemble contains the deed +of self-sacrifice, by which Viviane ends her life to redeem Merlin +from the demon, and with this powerful effect the opera closes. + + + + +GOUNOD. + +Charles François Gounod was born, in Paris, June 17, 1818. He studied +music in the Conservatory, under the direction of Halevy, Lesueur, and +Paer, and in 1839 obtained the first prize, and, under the usual +regulations, went to Italy. While at Rome he devoted himself largely +to religious music. On his return to Paris he became organist of the +Missions Étrangères, and for a time seriously thought of taking +orders. In 1851, however, he brought out his first opera, "Sappho," +which met with success. At this point his active career began. In 1852 +he became conductor of the Orphéon, and wrote the choruses for +Ponsard's tragedy of "Ulysse." The year 1854 brought a five-act opera, +"La Nonne Sanglante," founded on a legend in Lewis's "Monk." In 1858 +he made his first essay in opera comique, and produced "Le Médecin +malgré lui," which met with remarkable success. The next year "Faust" +was performed, and placed him in the front rank of living composers. +"Philémon et Baucis" appeared in 1860, and "La Reine de Saba," which +was afterwards performed in English as "Irene," in 1862. In 1863 he +brought out the pretty pastoral opera "Mireille." This was succeeded +in 1866 by "La Colombe," known in English as "The Pet Dove," and in +1867 by "Roméo et Juliette." In 1877 he produced "Cinq Mars," and in +1878 his last opera, "Polyeucte." He has also written much church +music, the more important works being the "Messe Solenelle," a "Stabat +Mater," the oratorio "Tobie," a "De Profundis," an "Ave Verum," and +many single hymns and songs, among which "Nazareth" is universally +popular. His list of compositions for orchestra is also very large, +and includes such popular pieces as the "Saltarello," "Funeral March +of a Marionette," and the Meditation, based on Bach's First Prelude, +which is accompanied by a soprano solo. He was elected a member of the +Institut de France in 1866. + + +FAUST. + +"Faust," a grand opera in five acts, words by Barbier and Carré, +founded upon Goethe's tragedy, was first produced at the Théâtre +Lyrique, Paris, March 19, 1859, with the following cast of the +principal parts:-- + + MARGUERITE Mme. MIOLAN-CARVALHO. + SIEBEL Mlle. FAIVRE. + FAUST M. BARBOT. + VALENTIN M. REGNAL. + MEPHISTOPHELES M. BALANQUÉ. + MARTHA Mme. DUCLOS. + +The opera was first produced in London as "Faust," June 11, 1863; in +English, Jan. 23, 1864; and in Germany as "Margarethe." + +The story of the opera follows Goethe's tragedy very closely, and is +confined to the first part. It may be briefly told. Faust, an aged +German student, satiated with human knowledge and despairing of his +ability to unravel the secrets of nature, summons the evil spirit +Mephistopheles to his assistance, and contracts to give him his soul +in exchange for a restoration to youth. Mephistopheles effects the +transformation, and reveals to him the vision of Marguerite, a +beautiful village maiden, with whom Faust at once falls in love. They +set out upon their travels and encounter her at the Kermesse. She has +been left by her brother Valentin, a soldier, in care of Dame Martha, +who proves herself a careless guardian. Their first meeting is a +casual one; but subsequently he finds her in her garden, and with the +help of the subtle Mephistopheles succeeds in engaging the young +girl's affection. Her simple lover, Siebel, is discarded, and his +nosegay is thrown away at sight of the jewels with which Faust tempts +her. When Valentin returns from the wars he learns of her temptation +and subsequent ruin. He challenges the seducer, and in the encounter +is slain by the intervention of Mephistopheles. Overcome by the horror +of her situation, Marguerite becomes insane, and in her frenzy kills +her child. She is thrown into prison, where Faust and Mephistopheles +find her. Faust urges her to fly with them, but she refuses, and +places her reliance for salvation upon earnest prayer, and sorrow for +the wrong she has done. Pleading for forgiveness, she expires; and as +Mephistopheles exults at the catastrophe he has wrought, angels appear +amid the music of the celestial choirs and bear the sufferer to +heaven. + +The first act is in the nature of a prelude, and opens with a long +soliloquy ("Interrogo invano") by Faust, in which he laments the +unsatisfactoriness of life. It is interwoven with delightful snatches +of chorus heard behind the scenes, a duet with Mephistopheles ("Ma il +ciel"), and the delicate music accompanying the vision of Marguerite. + +The second act is contained in a single setting, the Kermesse, in +which the chorus plays an important part. In the first scene the +choruses of students, soldiers, old men, girls, and matrons are +quaintly contrasted, and are full of animation and characteristic +color. In the second, Valentin sings a tender song ("O santa +medaglia") to a medallion of his sister which he wears as a charm. It +is followed by a grim and weird drinking-song ("Dio dell' or"), sung +by Mephistopheles. The latter then strikes fire from the fountain into +his cup, and proposes the health of Marguerite. Valentin springs +forward to resent the insult, only to find his sword broken in his +hands. The students and soldiers recognize the spirit of evil, and +overcome him by presenting the hilts of their swords in the form of a +cross, the scene being accompanied by one of the most effective +choruses in the work ("Tu puvi la spada"). The tempter gone, the scene +resumes its gayety, and the act closes with one of the most animated +and delightful of waltz tempos ("Come la brezza"). + +The third act is the Garden scene, full of fascinating detail, and +breathes the very spirit of poetry and music combined in a picture of +love which has never been excelled in tenderness and beauty on the +operatic stage. Its principal numbers are a short and simple but very +beautiful ballad for Siebel ("La parlate d'amor"); a passionate aria +for tenor ("Salve dimora casta e pura"), in which Faust greets +Marguerite's dwelling; a double number, which is superb in its +contrasts,--the folk-song, "C'era un re di Thule," a plaintive little +ballad sung at the spinning-wheel by Marguerite, and the bravura +jewel-song, "Ah! e' strano poter," which is the very essence of +delicacy and almost-childish glee; the quartet commencing, +"V'appogiato al bracchio mio," which is of striking interest by the +independent manner in which the two pairs of voices are treated and +combined in the close; and the closing duet ("Sempre amar") between +Faust and Marguerite, which is replete with tenderness and passion, +and closes in strains of almost ecstatic rapture, the fatal end of +which is foreshadowed by the mocking laugh of Mephistopheles breaking +in upon its lingering cadences. + +The fourth act is known as the Cathedral act, and established Gounod's +reputation as a writer of serious music. It opens with a scena for +Marguerite, who has been taunted by the girls at the fountain +("Nascose eran là le crudeli "), in which she laments her sad fate. +The scene abruptly changes to the square in front of the cathedral, +where the soldiers, Valentin among them, are returning, to the +jubilant though somewhat commonplace strains of the march, "Deponiam +il branda." As the soldiers retire and Valentin goes in quest of +Marguerite, Faust and Mephistopheles appear before the house, and the +latter sings a grotesque and literally infernal serenade ("Tu, che fai +l' addormentata"). Valentin appears and a quarrel ensues, leading up +to a spirited trio. Valentin is slain, and with his dying breath +pronounces a malediction ("Margherita! maledetta") upon his sister. +The scene changes to the church, and in wonderful combination we hear +the appeals of Marguerite for mercy, the taunting voice of the +tempter, and the monkish chanting of the "Dies Irae" mingled with the +solemn strains of the organ. + +The last act is usually presented in a single scene, the Prison, but +it contains five changes. After a weird prelude, the Walpurgis revel +begins, in which short, strange phrases are heard from unseen singers. +The night scene changes to a hall of pagan enchantment, and again to +the Brocken, where the apparition of Marguerite is seen. The orgy is +resumed, when suddenly by another transformation we are taken to the +prison where Marguerite is awaiting death. It is unnecessary to give +its details. The scene takes the form of a terzetto, which is worked +up with constantly increasing power to a climax of passionate energy, +and at last dies away as Marguerite expires. It stands almost alone +among effects of this kind in opera. The curtain falls upon a +celestial chorus of apotheosis, the vision of the angels, and +Mephistopheles cowering in terror before the heavenly messengers. + + +ROMEO AND JULIET. + +"Roméo et Juliette," a grand opera in five acts, words by Barbier and +Carré, the subject taken from Shakspeare's tragedy of the same name, +was first produced at the Théâtre Lyrique, Paris, April 27, 1867, with +Mme. Miolan-Carvalho in the rôle of Juliet. The story as told by the +French dramatists in the main follows Shakspeare's tragedy very +closely in its construction as well as in its dialogue. It is only +necessary, therefore, to sketch its outlines. The first act opens with +the festival at the house of Capulet. Juliet and Romeo meet there and +fall in love, notwithstanding her betrothal to Paris. The hot-blooded +Tybalt seeks to provoke a quarrel with Romeo, but is restrained by +Capulet himself, and the act comes to a close with a resumption of the +merry festivities. In the second act we have the balcony scene, quite +literally taken from Shakspeare, with an episode, however, in the form +of a temporary interruption by Gregory and retainers, whose appearance +is rather absurd than otherwise. The third act is constructed in two +scenes. The first is in the friar's cell, where the secret marriage of +the lovers takes place. In the second, we are introduced to a new +character, invented by the librettist,--Stephano, Romeo's page, whose +pranks while in search of his master provoke a general quarrel, in +which Mercutio is slain by Tybalt, who in turn is killed by Romeo. +When Capulet arrives upon the scene he condemns Romeo to banishment, +who vows, however, that he will see Juliet again at all hazards. The +fourth act is also made up of two scenes. The first is in Juliet's +chamber, and is devoted to a duet between the two lovers. Romeo departs +at dawn, and Capulet appears with Friar Laurence and announces his +determination that the marriage with Paris shall be celebrated at once. +Juliet implores the Friar's help, and he gives her the potion. The next +scene is devoted to the wedding festivity, in the midst of which Juliet +falls insensible from the effects of the sleeping-draught. The last act +transpires in the tomb of the Capulets, where Romeo arrives, and +believing his mistress dead takes poison. Juliet, reviving from the +effects of the potion, and finding him dying, stabs herself with a +dagger, and expires in his arms. + +While many numbers are greatly admired, the opera as a whole has never +been successful. Had not "Faust," which it often recalls, preceded it, +its fate might have been different. Still, it contains many strong +passages and much beautiful writing. The favorite numbers are the +waltz arietta, very much in the manner of the well-known "Il Bacio," +at the Capulet festival, the Queen Mab song, by Mercutio ("Mab, regina +di menzogne"), and the duet between Romeo and Juliet ("Di grazia, t' +arresta ancor!"), in the first act; the love music in the balcony +scene of the second act, which inevitably recalls the garden music in +"Faust;" an impressive solo for Friar Laurence ("Al vostro amor +cocente"), followed by a vigorous trio and quartet, the music of which +is massive and ecclesiastical in character, and the page's song ("Ah! +col nibbio micidale"), in the third act; the duet of parting between +Romeo and Juliet, "Tu dei partir ohime!" the quartet, "Non temero mio +ben," between Juliet, the nurse, Friar Laurence, and Capulet, and the +dramatic solo for the Friar, "Bevi allor questo filtro," as he gives +the potion to Juliet, in the fourth act; and the elaborate orchestral +prelude to the tomb scene in the last act. + + +MIREILLE. + +"Mireille," a pastoral opera in three acts, words by M. Carré, the +subject taken from "Mireio," a Provençal poem by Mistral, was first +produced at the Théâtre Lyrique, Paris, March 19, 1864, with the +following cast:-- + + MIREILLE Mme. MIOLAN-CARVALHO + TAVENA | Mme. FAURE-LEFEBVRE. + ANDRELUNO | + VINCENZINA Mlle. LEROUX. + VINCENZO M. ISMIEL. + URIAS M. PETIT. + RAIMONDO M. MORINI. + +In December, 1864, the opera was reduced to three acts, in which form +it is still given. In this abridged shape, and with the addition of +the waltz now placed in the finale, it was brought out in London with +Titiens, Giuglini, Santley, and Trebelli in the cast. In English it is +always given under the title of "Mirella." The first scene opens in a +mulberry grove, where Mireille is rallied by the village girls upon +her attachment to Vincenzo, the basket-maker, and is also warned by +Tavena, the fortune-teller, against yielding to her love, as she +foresees that her father, Raimondo, will never consent to the union. +In the next scene she meets Vincenzo, and the warning of Tavena is +soon forgotten. The lovers renew their pledges, and agree to meet at +the Chapel of the Virgin if their plans are thwarted. The second act +introduces us to a merrymaking at Arles, where Mireille is informed by +Tavena that Vincenzo has a rival in Urias, a wild herdsman, who has +openly declared his love for her, and asked her hand of her father. +Mireille repulses him when he brings the father's consent. Ambrogio, +Vincenzo's father, accompanied by his daughter, Vincenzina, also waits +upon Raimondo and intercedes in his son's behalf, but is sternly +refused. Mireille, who has overheard the interview, declares to her +father her irrevocable attachment for Vincenzo. Her declaration throws +him into such a rage that he is about to strike her, but she disarms +his anger by appealing to the memory of her mother. + +The last act opens on a barren, sunburnt plain. Andreluno appears, +singing a pastoral song to the accompaniment of his bagpipe, followed +by Mireille, who is toiling across the hot sands to meet her lover at +the Chapel of the Virgin. She is met by Tavena, who assures her that +Vincenzo will keep his appointment, and then returns to Arles to plead +with the father in Mireille's behalf. The poor girl toils on through +the heat, and at last arrives nearly prostrated by sunstroke. Vincenzo +soon appears, and is shortly followed by Raimondo, who, seeing the sad +condition of his daughter, is moved to pity and gives his consent to +the union of the lovers. The sudden joyful change of affairs restores +her wandering senses and the happy pair are united. + +The music is in no sense dramatic, but lyric and pastoral throughout, +and is specially marked by the beautiful French chansons with which it +abounds. The first act opens with a delightful pastoral chorus of the +maidens under the mulberry-trees ("Facciam carole, o giovinette"), +which is very fresh and graceful. The second begins with an equally +delightful chorus and farandole ("La Farandola tutti consola"), +followed by the beautiful Provençal folk-song, "Dolce una brezza, +intorno olezza," which is full of local color. Tavena sings a quaint +fortune-teller's roundelay ("La stagione arriva"), and in the next +scene Mireille has a number of rare beauty ("Ah! piu non temo fato "), +in which she declares her unalterable attachment to Vincenzo. The +finale of this act, with its strong aria ("Qui mi prostro innanzi +ate"), is very spirited, and in fact may be considered the only +dramatic episode in the whole work. The third act opens with the +quaint little song of Andreluno, the shepherd boy ("L'alba +tranquilla"), with oboe accompaniment. It also contains a plaintive +song for tenor ("Ah! se de preghi miei"), and closes with a waltz song +("O d'amor messagera"), which is fairly gorgeous in bravura effects, +and Hanslick says was a concession to Miolan-Carvalho, like the jewel +song in "Faust" and the waltz song in "Romeo and Juliet." In the +original libretto the song had its place in the first act, and indeed +numerous changes have been made in the libretto since the opera first +appeared; as in the original, Mireille dies in the arms of her lover, +and Urias, Vincenzo's rival, is drowned in the Rhone. When it first +appeared, however, great objection was made to several of the +situations, and the libretto was declared fantastic and uninteresting; +hence the changes. As a lyric drama, delightfully picturing the +quaintness and simplicity of provincial life, not alone in the +tunefulness of the music, but also in its pastoral naïveté and what +may be termed its folk-characteristics, it will hold a high place upon +the stage as long as young and fresh voices can be found to sing it. + + + + +HALEVY. + +Jacques François Fromenthal Elias Halevy was born at Paris, May 27, +1799, of Israelitish parents, whose name was originally Levy. He +entered the Conservatory in 1809, and in 1819 obtained the Grand Prize +for his cantata of "Hermione." After his arrival in Italy he wrote +several minor pieces, but his music did not attract public attention +until his return to Paris, when his three-act opera, "Clari," brought +out Dec. 9, 1828, with Malibran in the principal rôle, made a success. +"Le Dilettante d'Avignon" (a satire on Italian librettos), "Manon +Lescaut" (a ballet in three acts), "La Langue Musicàle," "La +Tentation," and "Les Souvenirs" rapidly followed "Clari," with +alternating successes and failures. In 1835 his great work, "La +Juive," appeared, and in the same year, "L'Éclair," one of his most +charming operas, written without chorus for two tenors and two +sopranos. It was considered at the time a marvellous feat that he +should have produced two such opposite works in the same year, and +great hopes were entertained that he would surpass them. These hopes +failed, however. He subsequently wrote over twenty operas, among them +"Guido et Ginevra" (1838); "Charles VI." (1842); "La Reine de Chypre" +(1842); "Les Mousquetaires de la Reine" (1846); "Le Val d'Andorre" +(1848); "La Tempête" (1853): "Le Juif Errant" (1855), and others; but +"La Juive" and "L'Éclair" remained his masterpieces, and procured him +admission into the Institute. He was also a professor in the +Conservatory, and among his pupils were Gounod, Massé, Bazin, +Duvernoy, Bizet, and others. He enjoyed many honors, and died March +17, 1862. A De Profundis was sung on the occasion of his funeral, +written by four of his pupils, MM. Gounod, Massé, Bazin, and Cohen. As +a composer he was influenced largely by Meyerbeer, and is remarkable +rather for his large dramatic effects than for his melody. + + +THE JEWESS + +"La Juive," a grand opera in five acts, words by Scribe, originally +written for Rossini and rejected in favor of "William Tell," was +produced for the first time at the Académie, Paris, Feb. 23, 1835, +with the following cast of the principal parts:-- + + RACHEL Mlle. CORNELIA FALCON. + EUDOXIA Mme. DORUS-GRAS. + ELEAZAR M. NOURRIT. + CARDINAL M. LEVASSEUR. + +It was first produced in England in French, July 29, 1846, and in +Italian under the title of "La Ebrea," July 25, 1850. In this country +it is most familiar in the German version. The scene of the opera is +laid in Constance, time, 1414. Leopold, a prince of the empire, +returning from the wars, is enamoured of Rachel, a beautiful Jewess, +daughter of Eleazar the goldsmith. The better to carry out his plans, +he calls himself Samuel, and pretends to be a Jewish painter. +Circumstances, however, dispel the illusion, and Rachel learns that he +is no other than Leopold, husband of the princess Eudoxia. Overcome +with indignation at the discovery of his perfidy, she publicly +denounces his crime, and the Cardinal excommunicates Leopold, and +pronounces his malediction on Rachel and her father. Rachel, Eleazar, +and Leopold are thrown into prison to await the execution of the +sentence of death. During their imprisonment Eudoxia intercedes with +Rachel to save Leopold's life, and at last, moved by the grief of the +rightful wife, she publicly recants her statement. Leopold is +banished, but Rachel and her father are again condemned to death for +conspiring against the life of a Christian. Eleazar determines to be +revenged in the moment of death upon the Cardinal, who has sentenced +them, and who is at the head of a church which he hates; and just +before they are thrown into a caldron of fire, reveals to the +spectators that Rachel is not his own, but an adopted daughter, saved +from the ruins of the Cardinal's burning palace, and that she is his +child. + +The opera of "The Jewess" is pre-eminently spectacular, and its music +is dramatic and declamatory rather than melodious. The prominent +numbers of the first act are the solemn declaration of the Cardinal +("Wenn ew'ger Hass"), in which he replies to Eleazar's hatred of the +Christian; the romance sung by Leopold ("Fern vom Liebchen weilen"), +which is in the nature of a serenade to Rachel; the drinking-song of +the people at the fountain, which is flowing wine ("Eilt herbei"); and +the splendid chorus and march ("Leht, es nahet sich der Zug") which +preludes the imposing pageantry music of the Emperor's arrival, +closing with the triumphant Te Deum to organ accompaniment and the +greeting to the Emperor, "Hosanna, unser Kaiser hoch." + +The second act opens with the celebration of the Passover in Eleazar's +house, and introduces a very solemn and impressive prayer +("Allmächt'ger blicke gnädig"). In the next scene there is a +passionate ensemble and duet for Eudoxia and Leopold ("Ich will ihn +seh'n"), which is followed by a second spirited duet between Rachel +and Leopold ("Als mein Herz"); an intensely dramatic aria ("Ach! +Vater! Halt ein!"), in which she claims her share of Leopold's guilt; +and the final grand trio of anathema pronounced by Eleazar. + +The third act is principally devoted to the festivities of the royal +pageants, and closes with the anathema of the Cardinal ("Ihr, die ihr +Gottes Zorn"), which is a concerted number of magnificent power and +spirited dramatic effect. The fourth act contains a grand duet between +Eleazar and the Cardinal ("Hört ich recht?"), and closes with one of +the most powerful scenas ever written for tenor ("Das Todesurtheil +sprich"), in which Eleazar welcomes death and hurls defiance at the +Christians. The last act is occupied with the tragic dénouement, which +affords splendid opportunities for action, and is accompanied by very +dramatic music to the close, often rising to real sublimity. In the +pageantry of the stage, in the expression of high and passionate +sentiment, in elaborateness of treatment, and in broad and powerful +dramatic effect, "The Jewess" is one of the strongest operas in the +modern repertory. + + + + +HUMPERDINCK. + +Engelbert Humperdinck, the latest star in the German musical +firmament, was born, Sept. 1, 1854, at Siegburg on the Rhine, and +received his earliest musical training at the Cologne Conservatory. He +made such rapid progress in his studies, showing special proficiency +in composition, that he carried off in succession the three prizes of +the Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Meyerbeer stipends. These enabled him to +continue his lessons at Munich, and afterwards in Italy. While in +Naples, in 1880, he attracted the attention of Richard Wagner as a +rising genius, and two years later had the honor of an invitation to +go to Venice as his guest, upon the occasion of the performance of +Wagner's only symphony. In 1885 he went to Barcelona, Spain, where he +taught composition, and was the director of a quartette at the Royal +Conservatory for two years. In 1887 he returned to Cologne, and since +1890 has been identified with a Conservatory at Frankfort-on-the-Main. +In addition to the opera "Hansel and Gretel," which has given him a +world-wide fame, he produced, a few years ago, a chorus ballad, "Das +Glück von Edenhall," and a cantata, "Die Wallfahrt nach Kevelaar," +based upon Heine's poem, and scored for soloists, chorus, and +orchestra. He has also written several songs and piano pieces, and, it +is now reported, is engaged upon a dramatic composition called "The +Royal Children." He is regarded in Germany as the one composer who +gives promise of continuing and developing the scheme of the +music-drama as it was propounded by Wagner. + + +HANSEL AND GRETEL. + +"Hansel and Gretel," a fairy opera in three acts, words by Adelheid +Wette, was first produced in Germany in 1894. In January, 1895, it was +performed in London by the Royal Carl Rosa Opera Company, rendered +into English by Constance Bache; and in the fall of the same year it +had its first representation in New York, at Daly's Theatre, with the +following cast:-- + + PETER, a broom-maker Mr. JACQUES BARS. + GERTRUDE, his wife Miss ALICE GORDON. + THE WITCH Miss LOUISE MEISSLINGER. + HANSEL Miss MARIE ELBA. + GRETEL Miss JEANNE DOUSTE. + SANDMAN, the Sleep Fairy Miss CECILE BRANI. + DEWMAN, the Dawn Fairy Miss EDITH JOHNSTON. + +The story is taken from one of Grimm's well-known fairy tales, and the +text was written by the composer's sister, Adelheid Wette. It was Frau +Wette's intention to arrange the story in dramatic form for the +amusement of her children, her brother lending his co-operation by +writing a few little melodies, of a simple nature, to accompany the +performance. When he had read it, however, the story took his fancy, +and its dramatic possibilities so appealed to him that he determined +to give it an operatic setting with full orchestral score, and thus +placed it in the higher sphere of world performance by an art which +not alone reveals the highest type of genial German sentimentality, +but, curiously enough, applied to this simple little story of angels, +witches, and the two babes in the woods the same musical methods which +Wagner has employed in telling the stories of gods and demigods. +Perhaps its highest praise was sounded by Siegfried Wagner, son of +Richard Wagner, who declared that "Hansel and Gretel" was the most +important German opera since "Parsifal," notwithstanding its +childishness and simplicity. + +After a beautifully instrumented prelude, which has already become a +favorite concert piece, the curtain rises upon the home of Peter, the +broom-maker. The parents are away seeking for food, and Hansel and +Gretel have been left in the cottage with instructions to knit and +make brooms. There is a charming dialogue between the two children, +beginning with a doleful lament over their poverty, and ending with an +outburst of childish hilarity in song and dancing,--a veritable romp +in music,--which is suddenly interrupted by the return of Gertrude, +the mother, empty-handed, who chides them for their behavior, and in +her anger upsets a jug of milk which was the only hope of supper in +the house. With an energetic outburst of recitative she sends them +into the forest, telling them not to return until they have filled +their basket with strawberries. After lamenting her loss, and mourning +over her many troubles, she falls asleep, but is awakened by the +return of Peter, who has been more fortunate, and has brought home +some provisions. A rollicking scene ensues, but suddenly he misses the +children, and breaks out in a fit of rage when he is informed that +they have gone into the forest. To the accompaniment of most gruesome +and characteristic music he tells his wife of the witch who haunts the +woods, and who, living in a honey-cake house, entices little children +to it, bakes them into gingerbread in her oven, and then devours them. + +The second act, "In the Forest," is preluded by a characteristic +instrumental number, "The Witches' Ride." The children are discovered +near the Ilsenstein, among the fir-trees, making garlands, listening +to the cuckoos, and mocking them in a beautiful duet with echo +accompaniment. At last, however, they realize that they are lost; and +in the midst of their fear, which is intensified by strange sights and +sounds, the Sandman, or sleep fairy, approaches them, strews sand in +their eyes, and sings them to sleep with a most delicious lullaby, +after they have recited their prayer, "When at night I go to sleep, +fourteen Angels watch do keep." As they sleep the mist rolls away, the +forest background disappears, and the fourteen angels come down a sort +of Jacob's ladder and surround the children, while other angels +perform a stately dance, grouping themselves in picturesque tableau as +the curtain falls. + +The third act is entitled "The Witch's House." The children are still +sleeping, but the angels have vanished. The Dawn-Fairy steps forward +and shakes dewdrops from a bluebell over them, accompanying the action +with a delightful song, "I'm up with early Dawning." Gretel is the +first to wake, and rouses Hansel by tickling him with a leaf, at the +same time singing a veritable tickling melody, and then telling him +what she has seen in her dream. In place of the fir-trees they +discover the witch's house at the Ilsenstein, with an oven on one side +and on the other a cage, both joined to the house by a curious fence +of gingerbread figures. The house itself is constructed of sweets and +creams. Attracted by its delicious fragrance and toothsomeness, the +hungry children break off a piece and are nibbling at it, when the old +witch within surprises and captures them. After a series of +incantations, and much riding upon her broomstick, which are vividly +portrayed in the music, she prepares to cook Gretel in the oven; but +while looking into it the children deftly tumble her into the fire. +The witch waltz, danced by the children and full of joyous abandon, +follows. To a most vivid accompaniment, Hansel rushes into the house +and throws fruit, nuts, and sweetmeats into Gretel's apron. Meanwhile +the oven falls into bits, and a crowd of children swarms around them, +released from their gingerbread disguises, and sing a swelling chorus +of gratitude as two of the boys drag the witch from the ruins of the +oven in the form of a big gingerbread-cake. The father and mother +appear. Their long quest is ended. The family join in singing a pious +little hymn, "When past bearing is our grief, God the Lord will send +relief;" and the children dance joyously around the reunited group. +The story is only a little child's tale, but it is wedded to music of +the highest order. The union has been made so deftly, the motives are +so charming and take their places so skilfully, and the music is so +scholarly and characteristic throughout, that no one has yet +considered this union as incongruous. In this respect "Hansel and +Gretel" is a distinct creation in the operatic world. + + + + +LEONCAVALLO. + +Ruggiero Leoncavallo, a promising representative of the young Italian +school, was born in Naples, March 8, 1858. He first studied with Siri, +and afterwards learned harmony and the piano from Simonetti. While a +student at the Naples Conservatory he was advised by Rossi, one of his +teachers, to devote himself to opera. In pursuance of this counsel, he +went to Bologna, and there wrote his first opera, "Tommaso +Chatterton," which still remains in manuscript and unperformed. Then +followed a series of "wander years," during which he visited many +European countries, giving lessons in singing and upon the piano, and +meeting with varying fortunes. In all these years, however, he +cherished the plan of producing a trilogy in the Wagnerian manner with +a groundwork from Florentine history. In a letter he says: "I +subdivided the historical periods in the following way: first part, 'I +Medici,' from the accession of Sextus IV. to the Pazzi conspiracy; +second part, 'Savonorola,' from the investiture of Fra Benedetto to +the death of Savonorola; third part, 'Cesare Borgia,' from the death +of the Duke of Candia to that of Alexander VI." The first part was +completed and performed in Milan in November, 1893, and was a failure, +notwithstanding its effective instrumentation. It was not so, however, +with the little two-act opera "I Pagliacci," which was produced May +21, 1892, at Milan, and met with an instantaneous and enthusiastic +success. His next work was a chorus with orchestral accompaniment, the +text based upon Balzac's rhapsodical and highly wrought "Seraphita," +which was performed at Milan in 1894. It has been recently reported +that the Emperor of Germany has given him a commission to produce an +opera upon a national subject, "Roland of Berlin." Of his works, "I +Pagliacci" is the only one known in the United States. It has met with +great favor here, and has become standard in the Italian repertory. + + +I PAGLIACCI. + +"I Pagliacci," an Italian opera in two acts, words by the composer, +Ruggiero Leoncavallo, was first performed at Milan, May 21, 1892, and +was introduced in this country in the spring of 1894, Mme. Arnoldson, +Mme. Calvé, and Signors Ancona, Gromzeski, Guetary, and De Lucia +taking the principal parts. The scene is laid in Calabria during the +Feast of the Assumption. The Pagliacci are a troupe of itinerant +mountebanks, the characters being Nedda, the Columbine, who is wife of +Canio, or Punchinello, master of the troupe; Tonio, the Clown; Beppe, +the Harlequin; and Silvio, a villager. + +The first act opens with the picturesque arrival of the troupe in the +village, and the preparations for a performance in the rustic theatre, +with which the peasants are overjoyed. The tragic element of the +composition is apparent at once, and the action moves swiftly on to +the fearful dénouement. Tonio, the clown, is in love with Nedda, and +before the performance makes advances to her, which she resents by +slashing him across the face with Beppe's riding-whip. He rushes off +vowing revenge, and upon his return overhears Nedda declaring her +passion for Silvio, a young peasant, and arranging to elope with him. +Tonio thereupon seeks Canio, and tells him of his wife's infidelity. +Canio hurries to the spot, encounters Nedda; but Silvio has fled, and +she refuses to give his name. He attempts to stab her, but is +prevented by Beppe, and the act closes with the final preparation for +the show, the grief-stricken husband donning the motley in gloomy and +foreboding silence. + +The second act opens with Tonio beating the big drum, and the people +crowding to the show, among them Silvio, who manages to make an +appointment with Nedda while she is collecting the money. The curtain +of the little theatre rises, disclosing a small room barely furnished. +The play to be performed is almost an identical picture of the real +situation in the unfortunate little troupe. Columbine, who is to +poison her husband, Punchinello, is entertaining her lover, Harlequin, +while Taddeo, the clown, watches for Punchinello's return. When Canio +finally appears the mimic tragedy becomes one in reality. Inflamed +with passion, he rushes upon Nedda, and demands the name of her lover. +She still refuses to tell. He draws his dagger. Nedda, conscious of +her danger, calls upon Silvio in the audience to save her; but it is +too late. Her husband kills her, and Silvio, who rushes upon the +stage, is killed with the same dagger. With a wild cry full of hate, +jealousy, and despair, the unfortunate Canio tells the audience "La +commedia è finita" ("The comedy is finished"). The curtain falls upon +the tragedy, and the excited audience disperses. + +The story is peculiarly Italian in its motive, though the composer has +been charged with taking it from "La Femme de Tabarin," by the French +novelist, Catulle Mendès. Be this as it may, Leoncavallo's version has +the merit of brevity, conciseness, ingenuity, and swift action, +closing in a dénouement of great tragic power and capable, in the +hands of a good actor, of being made very effective. The composer has +not alone been charged with borrowing the story, but also with +plagiarizing the music. So far as the accusation of plagiarism is +concerned, however, it hardly involves anything more serious than +those curious resemblances which are so often found in musical +compositions. As a whole, the opera is melodious, forceful, full of +snap and go, and intensely dramatic, and is without a dull moment from +the prologue ("Si può? Signore") sung before the curtain by Tonio to +that last despairing outcry of Canio ("La commedia è finita"), upon +which the curtain falls. The prominent numbers are the prologue +already referred to; Nedda's beautiful cavatina in the second scene +("O, che volo d'angello"); her duet with Silvio in the third scene ("E +allor perchè"); the passionate declamation of Canio at the close of +the first act ("Recitur! mentre preso dal delirio"); the serenade of +Beppe in the second act ("O Colombino, il tenero"); and the graceful +dance-music which plays so singular a part in this fierce struggle of +the passions, which forms the motive of the closing scenes. + + + + +MASCAGNI. + +Pietro Mascagni, who leaped into fame at a single bound, was born at +Leghorn, Dec. 7, 1863. His father was a baker, and had planned for his +son a career in the legal profession; but, as often happens, fate +ordered otherwise. His tastes were distinctly musical, and his +determination to study music was encouraged by Signor Bianchi, a +singing teacher, who recognized his talent. For a time he took +lessons, unknown to his father, of Soffredini, but when it was +discovered he was ordered to abandon music and devote himself to the +law. At this juncture his uncle Stefano came to his rescue, took him +to his house, provided him with a piano, and also with the means to +pursue his studies. Recognizing the uselessness of further objections, +the father at last withdrew them, and left his son free to follow his +own pleasure. He progressed so rapidly under Soffredini that he was +soon engaged in composition, his first works being a symphony in C +minor and a "Kyrie," which were performed in 1879. In 1881 he composed +a cantata, "In Filanda," and a setting of Schiller's hymn, "An die +Freude," both of which had successful public performances. The former +attracted the attention of a rich nobleman who furnished young +Mascagni with the means to attend the Milan Conservatory. After +studying there a short time, he suddenly left Milan with an operatic +troupe, and visited various Italian cities, a pilgrimage which was of +great value to him, as it made him acquainted with the resources of an +orchestra and the details of conducting. The troupe, however, met with +hard fortunes, and was soon disbanded, throwing Mascagni upon the +world. For a few years he made a precarious living in obscure towns, +by teaching, and had at last reached desperate extremities when one +day he read in a newspaper that Sonzogno, the music publisher, had +offered prizes for the three best one act operas, to be performed in +Rome. He at once entered into the competition, and produced +"Cavalleria Rusticana." It took the first prize. It did more than this +for the impecunious composer. When performed, it made a success of +enthusiasm. He was called twenty times before the curtain. Honors and +decorations were showered upon him. He was everywhere greeted with +serenades and ovations. Every opera-house in Europe clamored for the +new work. In a day he had risen from utter obscurity and become +world-famous. His sudden popularity, however, had a pernicious effect, +as it induced him to rush out more operas without giving sufficient +time to their preparation. "L'Amico Fritz," based upon the well-known +Erckmann-Chatrian story, and "I Rantzau" quickly followed "Cavalleria +Rusticana," but did not meet with its success. Last year however he +produced two operas at Milan, "Guglielmo Ratcliff" and "Silvano," +which proved successful. Whether "Cavalleria Rusticana" is to remain +as his only hold upon popular favor, the future alone can tell; but +that he has talent of the highest order, and that he has produced an +opera whose reception has been almost unparalleled in the world of +music cannot be questioned. + + +CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA. + +"Cavalleria Rusticana," an opera in one act, words by Signori +Targioni-Tozzetti and Menasci, music by Pietro Mascagni, was written +in 1890, and was first performed at the Costanzi Theatre in Rome, May +20, of that year, with Gemma Bellinconi and Roberto Stagno in the two +principal rôles. It had its first American production in Philadelphia, +Sept. 9, 1891, with Mme. Kronold as _Santuzza_, Miss Campbell as +_Lola_, Guille as _Turridu_, Del Puente as _Alfio_, and Jeannie Teal +as _Lucia_. + +The story upon which the text of "Cavalleria Rusticana" is based is +taken from a Sicilian tale by Giovanni Verga. It is peculiarly Italian +in its motive, running a swift, sure gamut of love, flirtation, +jealousy, and death,--a melodrama of a passionate and tragic sort, +amid somewhat squalid environments, that particularly lends itself to +music of Mascagni's forceful sort. The overture graphically presents +the main themes of the opera, and these themes illustrate a very +simple but strong story. Turridu, a young Sicilian peasant, arrived +home from army service, finds that his old love, Lola, during his +absence has married Alfio, a carter. To console himself he makes love +to Santuzza, who returns his passion with ardor. The inconstant +Turridu, however, soon tires of her and makes fresh advances to Lola, +who, inspired by her jealousy of Santuzza, and her natural coquetry, +smiles upon him again. The latter seeks to reclaim him, and, when she +is rudely repulsed, tells the story of Lola's perfidy to Alfio, who +challenges Turridu and kills him. + +During the overture Turridu sings a charming Siciliana ("O Lola c'hai +di latti"), and the curtain rises, disclosing a Sicilian village with +a church decorated for Easter service. As the sacristan opens its +doors, the villagers appear and sing a hymn to the Madonna. A hurried +duet follows, in which Santuzza reveals to mother Lucia her grief at +the perfidy of Turridu. Her discourse is interrupted by the entrance +of Alfio, singing a rollicking whip-song ("Il cavallo scalpita") with +accompaniment of male chorus. The scene then develops into a trio, +closing with a hymn ("Inneggiamo, il Signor"), sung by the people in +the square, and led by Santuzza herself, and blending with the "Regina +Coeli," performed by the choir inside the church with organ +accompaniment, the number finally working up into a tremendous climax +in genuine Italian style. + +In the next scene Santuzza tells her sad story to Lucia, Turridu's +mother, in a romanza of great power ("Voi lo sapete"), closing with an +outburst of the highest significance as she appeals to Lucia to pray +for her. In the next scene Turridu enters. Santuzza upbraids him, and +a passionate duet follows in which Santuzza's suspicions are more than +confirmed by his avowal of his passion for Lola. The duet is +interrupted by a song of the latter, heard in the distance with harp +accompaniment ("Fior di giaggiolo"). As she approaches the pair the +song grows livelier, and at its close she banters poor Santuzza with +biting sarcasms, and assails Turridu with all the arts of coquetry. +She passes into the church, confident that the infatuated Turridu will +follow her. An impassioned duo of great power follows, in which +Santuzza pleads with him to love her, but all in vain. He rushes into +the church. She attempts to follow him, but falls upon the steps just +as Alfio comes up. To him she relates the story of her troubles, and +of Turridu's baseness. Alfio promises to revenge her, and another +powerful duet follows. + +As they leave the stage, there is a sudden and most unexpected change +in the character of the music and the motive of the drama. In the +place of struggle, contesting passions, and manifestations of rage, +hate, and jealousy ensues an intermezzo for orchestra, with an +accompaniment of harps and organ, of the utmost simplicity and +sweetness, breathing something like a sacred calm, and turning the +thoughts away from all this human turmoil into conditions of peace and +rest. It has not only become one of the most favorite numbers in the +concert repertory, but is ground out from every barrel-organ the world +over, and yet it has retained its hold upon popular admiration. + +At its close the turmoil begins again and the action hastens to the +tragic dénouement. The people come out of the church singing a glad +chorus which is followed by a drinking song ("Viva il vino"), sung by +Turridu, and joined in by Lola and chorus. In the midst of the +hilarity Alfio appears. Turridu invites him to join them and drink; +but he refuses, and the quarrel begins. Lola and the frightened women +withdraw. Turridu bites Alfio's right ear,--a Sicilian form of +challenge. The scene closes with the death of the former at Alfio's +hands, and Santuzza is avenged; but the fickle Lola has gone her way +bent upon other conquests. + + + + +MEYERBEER. + +Giacomo Meyerbeer, the eldest son of Herz Beer, was born in Berlin, +Sept. 5, 1794. He was named Jacob Meyer Beer, but afterwards called +himself Giacomo Meyerbeer. His early studies were pursued with the +pianist Lanska, and Bernard Anselm Weber, chief of the Berlin +orchestra. At fifteen he became the pupil of Vogler in Darmstadt, with +whom he displayed such talent in composition that he was named +Composer to the Court by the Grand Duke. At eighteen his first +dramatic work, "The Daughter of Jephtha," was performed at Munich. He +then began the world for himself, and made his début in Vienna as a +pianist with great success. His first opera, "The Two Caliphs," met +with complete failure, as it was not written in the Italian form. He +at once transformed his style and brought out "Romilda e Costanza," a +serio-comic opera, with great success, at Padua. In 1820, "Emma di +Resburgo" appeared at Venice, and from this period his star was in the +ascendant. "The Gate of Brandeburg," "Margharita d' Anjou," "Esule di +Granata," and "Almanzar" followed in quick succession, and were well +received, though with nothing like the furor which "Il Crociato in +Egitto" created in Venice in 1824. His next great work, "Robert le +Diable," was produced in Paris, Nov. 21, 1831, the unparalleled +success of which carried its fame to every part of the civilized +world. In 1836 "The Huguenots," unquestionably his masterpiece, was +brought out, and it still holds its place as one of the grandest +dramatic works the world has ever seen. In 1838 Scribe furnished him +the libretto of "L'Africaine," but before the music was finished he +had changed the text so much that Scribe withdrew it altogether. He +was consoled, however, by Meyerbeer's taking from him the libretto of +"Le Prophete," this opera being finished in 1843. During the following +year he wrote several miscellaneous pieces besides the three-act +German opera, "Ein Feldlager in Schlesien," in which Jenny Lind made +her Berlin début. In 1846 he composed the overture and incidental +music to his brother's drama of "Struensee," and in 1847 he not only +prepared the way for Wagner's "Flying Dutchman" in Paris, but +personally produced "Rienzi,"--services which Wagner poorly requited. +In 1849 "Le Prophete" was given in Paris; in 1854, "L'Etoile du Nord;" +and in 1859, "Dinorah;" but none of them reached the fame of "The +Huguenots." In 1860 he wrote two cantatas and commenced a musical +drama called "Goethe's Jugendzeit," which was never finished. In 1862 +and 1863 he worked upon "L'Africaine," and at last brought it forward +as far as a rehearsal; but he died April 23, 1863, and it was not +performed until two years after his death. + + +THE HUGUENOTS. + +"Les Huguenots," a grand opera in five acts, words by Scribe and +Deschamps, was first produced at the Académie, Paris, Feb. 29, 1836, +with the following cast of the principal parts:-- + + VALENTIN Mlle. FALCON. + MARGUERITE DE VALOIS Mme. DORUS-GRAS. + URBAIN Mlle. FLECHEUX. + COUNT DE ST. BRIS M. LERDA. + COUNT DE NEVERS M. DERIVIS. + RAOUL DE NANGIS M. NOURRIT. + MARCEL M. LEVASSEUR. + +At its first production in London in Italian, as "Gli Ugonotti," July +20, 1848, the cast was even more remarkable than that above. Meyerbeer +specially adapted the opera for the performance, transposed the part +of the page, which was written for a soprano, and expressly composed a +cavatina to be sung by Mme. Alboni, in the scene of the château and +gardens of Chenonceaux, forming the second act of the original work, +but now given as the second scene of the first act in the Italian +version. The cast was as follows:-- + + VALENTIN Mme. PAULINE VIARDOT. + MARGUERITE DE VALOIS Mme. CASTELLAN. + URBAIN Mlle. ALBONI. + COUNT DE ST. BRIS Sig. TAMBURINI. + COUNT DE NEVERS Sig. TAGLIAFICO. + RAOUL DE NANGIS Sig. MARIO. + MARCEL Sig. MARINI. + +The action of the opera passes in 1572, the first and second acts in +Touraine, and the remainder in Paris. The first act opens on a scene +of revelry in the salon of Count de Nevers, where a number of +noblemen, among them Raoul de Nangis, a Protestant, accompanied by his +faithful old Huguenot servant, Marcel, are present, telling stories of +their exploits in love. Marguerite de Valois, the betrothed of Henry +IV., for the sake of reconciling the dispute between the two religious +sects, sends her page to De Nevers's salon and invites Raoul to her +château. When he arrives, Marguerite informs him of her purpose to +give him in marriage to a Catholic lady, daughter of the Count de St. +Bris. Raoul at first consents; but when Valentin is introduced to him +and he discovers her to be a lady whom he had once rescued from insult +and who had visited De Nevers in his salon, he rejects the +proposition, believing that her affections have been bestowed upon +another, and that his enemies are seeking to entrap him. St. Bris +challenges Raoul for the affront, but the Queen disarms the angry +combatants. Valentin is now urged to marry Count de Nevers, and begs +that she may pass the day in prayer in the chapel. Meanwhile Count de +St. Bris, who has been challenged by Raoul, forms a plot for his +assassination, which is overheard by Valentin from within the chapel. +She communicates the plot to Marcel, who lies in wait with a party of +Huguenots in the vicinity of the duel, and comes to Raoul's rescue +when danger threatens him. A general combat is about to ensue, but it +is suppressed by Marguerite, who suddenly appears upon the scene. +Raoul thus discovers that he owes his life to Valentin, and that her +visit to De Nevers was to induce him to sever the relations between +them, as she was in love with Raoul. The announcement comes too late, +for the marriage festivities have already begun. Raoul visits her for +the last time. Their interview is disturbed by the approach of De +Nevers, St. Bris, and other Catholic noblemen, who meet to arrange the +details of the plot conceived by Catherine de Médicis for the +slaughter of the Huguenots on St. Bartholomew's Eve. Valentin +hurriedly conceals Raoul behind the tapestries, where he overhears +their plans and witnesses the conjuration and the blessing of the +swords, as well as the refusal of the chivalrous De Nevers to engage +in murder. After the conspirators have departed, Raoul and Valentin +have a long and affecting interview, in which he hesitates between +love and honor, Valentin striving to detain him lest he may be +included in the general massacre. Honor at last prevails, and he joins +his friends just before the work of slaughter begins. He rushes to the +festivities which are about to be given in honor of the marriage of +Marguerite with the King of Navarre, and warns the Huguenots of their +danger. He then makes his way to a chapel where many of them are +gathered for refuge. He finds Marcel, who has been wounded, and who +brings him the tidings of the death of De Nevers. The faithful +Valentin joins them to share their fate. Amid the horrors of the +massacre Marcel blesses and unites them. They enter the church and all +perish together. + +The first act opens with the brilliant chorus of the revellers +("Piacer della mensa"), which is full of courtly grace. Raoul tells +the story of the unknown fair one he has encountered, in the romanza, +"Piu bianca del velo." When Marcel is called upon, he hurriedly chants +the hymn, "O tu che ognor," set to the Martin Luther air, "Ein feste +Burg," and heightened by a stirring accompaniment, and then bursts out +into a graphic song ("Finita è pe' frati"), emphasized with the +piff-paff of bullets and full of martial fervor. In delightful +contrast with the fierce Huguenot song comes the lively and graceful +romanza of Urbain ("Nobil donna e tanto onesta"), followed by a +delightful septet. The scene now changes, and with it the music. We +are in the Queen's gardens at Chenonceaux. Every number, the Queen's +solo ("A questa voce sola"), the delicate "Bathers' Chorus," as it is +called ("Audiam, regina, in questo amene sponde"), the brilliant and +graceful allegretto sung by Urbain ("No, no, no, no"), the duet +between the Queen and Raoul, based upon one of the most flowing of +melodies, and the spirited and effective finale in which the nobles +take the oath of allegiance ("Per la fè, per l'onore"),--each and +every one of these is colored with consummate skill, while all are +invested with chivalrous refinement and stately grace. + +The second act opens with a beautiful choral embroidery in which +different choruses, most striking in contrast, are interwoven with +masterly skill. It is a picture, in music, of the old Paris. The +citizens rejoice over their day's work done. The Huguenots shout their +lusty Rataplan, while the Papist maidens sing their solemn litany +("Ave Maria") on their way to chapel; and as they disappear, the +quaint tones of the curfew chant are heard, and night and rest settle +down upon the city. It is a striking introduction to what +follows,--the exquisite duet between Marcel and Valentin, the great +septet of the duel scene, beginning, "De dritti miei ho l'alma +accesa," with the tremendous double chorus which follows as the two +bands rush upon the scene. As if for relief from the storm of this +scene, the act closes with brilliant pageant music as De Nevers +approaches to escort Valentin to her bridal. + +The third act is the climax of the work, and stands almost unrivalled +in the field of dramatic music, for the manner in which horror and +passion are illustrated. After a dark and despairing aria by Valentin +("Eccomi sola ormai"), and a brief duet with Raoul, the conspirators +enter. The great trio, closing with the conjuration, "Quel Dio," the +awful and stately chant of the monks in the blessing of the unsheathed +daggers ("Sia gloria eterna e onore"), and the thrilling unisons of +the chorus ("D'un sacro zel l'ardore"), which fairly glow with energy, +fierceness, and religious fury,--these numbers of themselves might +have made an act; but Meyerbeer does not pause here. He closes with a +duet between Raoul and Valentin which does not suffer in comparison +with the tremendous combinations which have preceded it. It is filled +with the alternations of despair and love, of grief and ecstasy. In +its movement it is the very whirlwind of passion. Higher form dramatic +music can hardly reach. In the Italian version the performance usually +closes at this point; but there is still another striking and powerful +scene, that in which Raoul and Valentin are united by the dying +Marcel. Then the three join in a sublime trio, and for the last time +chant together the old Lutheran psalm, and await their fate amid the +triumphant harpings that sound from the orchestra and the hosanna they +sing to its accompaniment. + + +THE STAR OF THE NORTH. + +"L'Étoile du Nord," an opera in three acts, words by Scribe, was first +performed at the Opera Comique, Paris, Feb. 16, 1854, and in Italian +as "La Stella del Nord" at Covent Garden, London, July 19, 1855. In +English it has been produced under the title of "The Star of the +North." The opera contains several numbers from the composer's earlier +work, "Feldlager in Schlesien," which was written for the opening of +the Berlin opera-house, in memory of Frederick the Great, and was +subsequently (Feb. 17, 1847) performed with great success in Vienna, +Jenny Lind taking the rôle of Vielka. The "Feldlager," however, has +never been given out of Germany. + +The action of the opera transpires in Wyborg, on the Gulf of Finland, +in the first act, at a camp of the Russians in the second, and at the +palace of the Czar Peter in the third. In the first, Peter, who is +working at Wyborg, disguised as a carpenter, makes the acquaintance of +Danilowitz, a pastry-cook, and Catharine, a cantiniere, whose brother +George is about to marry Prascovia. Catharine brings about this +marriage; and not only that, but saves the little village from an +invasion by a strolling horde of Tartars, upon whose superstition she +practises successfully, and so conducts herself in general that Peter +falls in love with her, and they are betrothed, though she is not +aware of the real person who is her suitor. Meanwhile the conscription +takes place, and to save her newly wedded brother she volunteers for +fifteen days in his place, disguising herself as a soldier. In the +next act we find Catharine going her rounds as a sentinel in the +Russian camp on the Finnish frontier. Peter and Danilowitz are also +there, and are having a roistering time in their tent, drinking and +making love to a couple of girls. Hearing Peter's voice she recognizes +it, and curiosity leads her to peep into the tent. She is shocked at +what she beholds, neglects her duty, and is found by the corporal in +this insubordinate condition. He remonstrates with her, and she +answers with a slap on his ears, for which she incurs the penalties of +disobedience to orders as well as insulting behavior to her superior +officer. Peter at last is roused from his drunkenness by the news of +an insurrection among his own soldiers and the approach of the enemy. +He rushes out and promises to give Peter into their hands if they will +obey and follow _him_. At last, struck with his bearing and authority, +they demand to know who he is, whereupon he declares himself the Czar. +The mutiny is at once quelled. They submit, and offer their lives as +warrant for their loyalty. The last act opens in the Czar's palace, +where his old companion, Danilowitz, has been installed in high favor. +Catharine, however, has disappeared. George and Prascovia arrive from +Finland, but they know nothing of her. The faithful Danilowitz finds +her, but she has lost her reason. Her friends try to restore it by +surrounding her with recollections of home, and Peter at last succeeds +by playing upon his flute the airs he used to play to her in Finland. +Her senses come back, and thus all ends happily; for Catharine and +Peter are at last united amid the acclamations of the people. + +In the first act the character of Peter is well expressed in the +surly, growling bass of his soliloquy ("Vedra, vedra"). It is followed +by a characteristic drinking-chorus ("Alla Finlanda, beviam"), a wild, +barbaric rhythm in the minor, which passes into a prayer as they +invoke the protection of Heaven upon Charles XII. In the eighth scene +occur the couplets of Gritzensko as he sings the wild song of the +Kalmucks. In charming contrast, in the next scene, Catharine sings the +gypsy rondo, which Jenny Lind made so famous ("Wlastla la santa"), +which is characterized by graceful coquetry; and this in turn is +followed by a striking duet between Catharine and Peter, in which the +individual characteristics of the two are brought out in genuine +Wagnerian style. In the thirteenth scene occurs the bridal song of +Prascovia ("Al suono dell'ora"), with choral accompaniment, of a +delicate and coquettish cast, leading up to the finale, beginning with +the soldiers' chorus ("Onor che a gloria"), with an accompaniment of +drums and fifes, again passing to a pathetic prayer ("Veglia dal ciel +su lor") sung by Catharine amid the ringing of bells as the bridal +wreath is placed upon Prascovia's head, and closing with a florid +barcarole ("Vascel che lasci") as she sails away. + +The second act opens with ballet music, full of Eastern color, and +then ensues one of those choral combinations, like that in the second +act of "the Huguenots," in which Meyerbeer so much delighted,--a +cavalry chorus ("Bel cavalier del cuor d'acciar"), followed by the +Grenadier's song, accompanied by chorus ("Granadier di Russia +esperti"), the chorus taking up the "tr-r-r-um" refrain in imitation +of the drum. In the eighth scene we have the orgy in the tent in the +form of a very spirited dramatic trio, in which Peter sings a blithe +drinking-song ("Vedi al par del rubino"); this in turn resolving into +a quintet ("Vezzose vivandiere"), and again into a sextet, as +Ismailoff enters with a letter for the Czar. The finale is a superb +military picture, made up of the imposing oath of death to the tyrant, +the stirring Dessauer march, the cavalry fanfare, and the Grenadiers' +march, interwoven with the chorus of women as they cheer on the +marching soldiers. + +The third act opens with a romanza ("Dal cor per iscacciare"), very +tender and beautiful, in which the rugged Czar shows us the +sentimental side of his character. In the third scene occurs a long +buffo trio between Peter, Gritzensko, and Danilowitz, which is full of +humor. In the finale we have Catharine in the mad scene, singing the +scena, "L'aurora alfin succede," with bits of the old music running +through the accompaniment; and in the final scene, as her reason +returns, breaking out in the florid bravura, "Non s'ode alcun," +accompanied by the first and second flutes, which is a triumph of +virtuosity for the voice. This number was taken from "The Camp in +Silesia," and was given by Jenny Lind with immense success, not only +in the latter work, but upon the concert stage. The opera as a whole +abounds in humor, its music is fresh and brilliant, and its military +character makes it specially attractive. + + +ROBERT THE DEVIL + +"Robert le Diable," a grand opera in five acts, words by Scribe and +Delavigne, was first produced at the Académie, Paris, Nov. 21, 1831, +with the following cast:-- + + ALICE Mlle. DORUS. + ISABELLE Mme. CINTI-DAMOREAU. + THE ABBESS Sigr. TAGLIONI. + ROBERT M. NOURRIT. + BERTRAM M. LEVASSEUR. + RAIMBAUT M. LAFONT. + +In the following year two versions in English, both of them imperfect, +were brought out by the rival theatres, Covent Garden and Drury Lane. +On the 20th of February it appeared at Drury Lane under the title of +"The Demon; or, the Mystic Branch," and at Covent Garden the next +evening as "The Fiend Father, or Robert Normandy." Drury Lane had +twenty-four hours the start of its rival, but in neither case were the +representations anything but poor imitations of the original. On the +11th of the following June the French version was produced at the +King's Theatre, London, with the same cast as in Paris, except that +the part of Alice was taken by Mme. De Meric, and that of the Abbess +by the danseuse Mlle. Heberlé. On the 4th of May, 1847, the first +Italian version was produced at Her Majesty's Theatre, with Jenny Lind +and Staudigl in the cast. Gruneisen, the author of a brief memoir of +Meyerbeer, who was present, says: "The night was rendered memorable, +not only by the massacre attending the general execution, but also by +the début of Mlle. Lind in this country, who appeared as Alice. With +the exception of the débutante, such a disgraceful exhibition was +never before witnessed on the operatic stage. Mendelssohn was sitting +in the stalls, and at the end of the third act, unable to bear any +longer the executive infliction, he left the theatre." + +The libretto of "Robert the Devil" is absurd in its conceptions and +sensational in its treatment of the story, notwithstanding that it +came from such famous dramatists as Scribe and Delavigne; and it would +have been still worse had it not been for Meyerbeer. Scribe, it is +said, wished to introduce a bevy of sea-nymphs, carrying golden oars, +as the tempters of Robert; but the composer would not have them, and +insisted upon the famous scene of the nuns, as it now stands, though +these were afterwards made the butt of almost endless ridicule. +Mendelssohn himself, who was in Paris at this time, writes: "I cannot +imagine how any music could be composed on such a cold, formal +extravaganza as this." The story runs as follows: The scene is laid in +Sicily, where Robert, Duke of Normandy, who by his daring and +gallantries had earned the sobriquet of "the Devil," banished by his +own subjects, has arrived to attend a tournament given by the Duke of +Messina. In the opening scene, while he is carousing with his knights, +the minstrel Raimbaut sings a song descriptive of the misdeeds of +Robert. The latter is about to revenge himself on the minstrel, when +Alice, his foster-sister and the betrothed of Raimbaut, appears and +pleads with him to give up his wicked courses, and resist the spirit +of evil which is striving to get the mastery of him. Robert then +confides to Alice his hopeless passion for Isabella, daughter of the +Duke. While they are conversing, Bertram, "the unknown," enters, and +Alice shrinks back affrighted, fancying she sees in him the evil +spirit who is luring Robert on to ruin. After she leaves, Bertram +entices him to the gaming-table, from which he rises a beggar,--and +worse than this, he still further prejudices his cause with Isabella +by failing to attend the tournament, thus forfeiting his knightly +honor. + +The second act opens upon an orgy of the evil spirits in the cavern of +St. Irene. Bertram is present, and makes a compact with them to loose +Robert from his influence if he does not yield to his desires at once. +Alice, who has an appointment with the minstrel in the cavern, +overhears the compact, and determines to save him. Robert soon +appears, mourning over his losses and dishonor; but Bertram promises +to restore everything if he will visit the ruined Abbey of St. +Rosalie, and carry away a mystic branch which has the power of +conferring wealth, happiness, and immortality. He consents; and in the +next scene Bertram pronounces the incantation which calls up the +buried nuns. Dazed with their ghostly fascinations, Robert seizes the +branch and flies. His first use of it is to enter the apartments of +Isabella, unseen by her or her attendants, all of whom become +immovable in the presence of the mystic talisman. He declares his +intention of carrying her away; but moved by her entreaties he breaks +the branch, which destroys the charm. In the last act Bertram is at +his side again, trying to induce him to sign the fatal compact. The +strains of sacred music which he hears, and the recollections of his +mother, restrain him. In desperation Bertram announces himself as his +fiend-father. He is about to yield, when Alice appears and reads to +him his mother's warning against the fiend's temptation. As he still +hesitates, the clock strikes, and the spell is over. Bertram +disappears, and the scene changes to the cathedral, where Isabella in +her wedding robes awaits the saved Robert. + +From the musical point of view "Robert le Diable" is interesting, as +it marks the beginning of a new school of grand opera. With this work, +Meyerbeer abandoned the school of Rossini and took an independent +course. He cut loose from the conventional classic forms and gave the +world dramatic music, melodies of extraordinary dramatic force, +brilliant orchestration, stately pageants, and theatrical effects. +"Robert le Diable" was the first of the subsequent great works from +his pen which still further emphasized his new and independent +departure. It is only necessary to call attention to a few prominent +numbers, for this opera has not as many instances of these +characteristics as those which followed and which are elsewhere +described. The first act contains the opening bacchanalian chorus +("Versiamo a tazza plena"), which is very brilliant in character; the +minstrel's song in the same scene ("Regnava un tempo in Normandia"), +with choral accompaniment; and a very tender aria for Alice ("Vanne, +disse, al figlio mio"), in which she delivers his mother's message to +Robert. The second act opens with a spirited duet between Bertram and +Raimbaut, leading up to a powerful and characteristic chorus of the +evil spirits ("Demoni fatali"). An aria for Alice ("Nel lasciar in +Normandia"), a duet between Bertram and Alice ("Trionfo bramato"), and +an intensely dramatic trio between Bertram, Alice, and Robert ("Lo +sguardo immobile"), prepare the way for the great scena of the nuns, +known as "La Temptation," in which Meyerbeer illustrates the fantastic +and oftentimes ludicrous scene with music which is the very essence of +diabolism, and in its way as unique as the incantation music in "Der +Freischutz." The third act contains two great arias. The first +("Invano il fato"), sung at the opening of the act by Isabella, and +the second the world-famous aria "Roberto, o tu che adoro," better +known by the French words ("Robert! toi que j'aime"). The closing act +is specially remarkable for the great terzetto in its finale, which is +one of the most effective numbers Meyerbeer has written. The judgment +of Hanslick, the great Viennese critic, upon this work is interesting +in this connection. He compares it with "William Tell" and +"Masaniello," and finds that in musical richness and blended effects +it is superior to either, but that a single act of either of the works +mentioned contains more artistic truth and ideal form than "Robert le +Diable,"--a judgment which is largely based upon the libretto itself, +which he condemns without stint. + + +DINORAH + +"Dinorah," an opera in three acts, founded upon a Breton idyl, words +by Barbiere and Carré, was first produced at the Opera Comique, Paris, +April 4, 1859, under the title of "Le Pardon de Ploermel." It contains +but three principal characters, and these were cast as follows: +Dinorah, Mme. Cabel; Corentin, M. Sainte-Foy; and Höel, M. Faure. On +the 26th of July, 1859, Meyerbeer conducted the work himself at Covent +Garden, London, with Mme. Miolan-Carvalho as Dinorah, and it was also +produced in the same year in English by the Pyne-Harrison troupe. The +first representative of Dinorah in this country was Mlle. Cordier. + +The scene of the opera is laid in Brittany, and when the first act +opens, the following events are supposed to have transpired. On one of +the days set apart by the villagers of Ploermel for a pilgrimage to +the shrine of the Virgin, Höel, the goatherd, and Dinorah, his +affianced, set out to receive a nuptial benediction. The festivity is +interrupted by a thunder-storm, during which Les Herbiers, the +dwelling-place of Dinorah, is destroyed by lightning. Dinorah is in +despair. Höel determines to make good the loss, and upon the advice of +Tonick, an old wizard, resolves to go in quest of a treasure which is +under the care of the Korigans, a supernatural folk belonging to +Brittany. In order to wrest it from them, however, it is necessary for +Höel to quit the country and spend a year in solitude in a desolate +region. He bravely starts off, and Dinorah, thinking he has abandoned +her, loses her wits, and constantly wanders about the woods with her +goat, seeking him. Meanwhile the year expires and Höel returns, +convinced that he has the secret for securing the treasure. + +The overture to the work is unique among operatic overtures, as it has +a chorus behind the curtain interwoven with it. It is a picture of the +opera itself, and contains a will-o'-the-wisp passage, a rustic song +with accompaniment of goat-bells, a storm, and in the midst of the +storm a chant to the Virgin, sung by the unseen chorus, and then a +Pilgrimage march, the whole being in the nature of a retrospect. The +curtain rises upon a rustic chorus, after which Dinorah appears, +seeking her goat, and sings a slumber-song ("Si, carina, caprettina") +which is very graceful, and concludes with phrases in imitation of +birds. In the next scene, Corentin, the bagpiper, who has been away +three months, and is nearly dead with terror of goblins and fairies, +returns to his cottage, and to reassure himself sings a very quaint +and original song ("Sto in casa alfine"), to the accompaniment of his +pipe. Dinorah suddenly appears and enters the cottage, and much to his +alarm keeps him playing and singing, which leads to a very animated +vocal contest between her and the bagpiper. It is abruptly terminated, +however, by the arrival of Höel. Dinorah makes her escape by a window, +and Höel relates to Corentin the story of the Korigans' treasure. As +the first person who touches it will die, he determines that Corentin +shall be his messenger, and to rouse his courage sends for wine. While +Corentin is absent, Höel sings an aria ("Se per prender") which has +always been a favorite with barytones. After Corentin returns, the +tinkling of the goat's bell is heard. Dinorah appears in the distance, +and a charming trio closes the act, to the accompaniment of the +whistling wind and booming thunder on the contra basses and drums of +the orchestra. + +The second act opens with a drinking-song by wood-cutters, and as they +withdraw, Dinorah enters, seeking Höel. She sings a tender lament, +which, as the moonlight falls about her, develops into the famous +"Shadow Song," a polka mazurka, which she sings and dances to her +shadow. The aria, "Ombra leggier," is fairly lavish in its texture of +vocal embroidery, and has always been a favorite number on the concert +stage. The next scene changes to the Val Maudit (the Cursed Vale), a +rocky, cavernous spot, through which rushes a raging torrent bridged +by a fallen tree. Höel and Corentin appear in quest of the treasure, +and the latter gives expression to his terror in a very characteristic +manner, with the assistance of the orchestra. Dinorah is heard singing +the legend of the treasure ("Chi primo al tesor"), from which Corentin +learns that whoever touches it first will die. He refuses to go on, +and a spirited duet ensues between them, which is interrupted by the +entrance of Dinorah and her goat. Höel, fancying it is a spirit sent +to keep him back, sings a very beautiful aria ("Le crede il padre"). +The act closes with the fall of Dinorah, who attempts to cross the +bridge, into the torrent, and her rescue by Höel, to the accompaniment +of a storm set to music. The scene, though melodramatic, is very +strong in its musical effects. + +The last act opens with a scene in striking contrast, introduced with +a quintet of horns, followed by a hunter's solo, a reaper's solo, a +duet for shepherds; and a quartet in the finale. Höel arrives, bearing +the rescued Dinorah, and sings to her an exquisite romance ("Sei +vendicata assai"). The magic of his singing and her bath in the +torrent restore her wandering senses. Höel persuades her that all +which has transpired has been a dream. The old song of the Pardon of +Ploermel comes to her, and as she tries to recall it the chorus takes +it up ("Santa Maria! nostra donna") as it was heard in the overture. A +procession is seen in the distance, and amid some exquisite pageant +music Höel and Dinorah wend their way to the chapel, where the nuptial +rites are supposed to be performed. + + +THE PROPHET. + +"Le Prophète," an opera in five acts, words by Scribe, was first +produced in Paris, April 16, 1849, with Mme. Viardot-Garcia as Fides, +and M. Roger as John of Leyden. "The Prophet" was long and carefully +elaborated by its composer. Thirteen years intervened between it and +its predecessor, "The Huguenots;" but in spite of its elaboration it +can only be said to excel the latter in pageantry and spectacular +effect, while its musical text is more declamatory than melodious, as +compared with "The Huguenots." In this sense it was disappointing when +first produced. + +The period of the opera is 1534. The first act transpires in Dordrecht +and Leyden, in Holland, and the other three in Munster, Germany. The +text closely follows the historical narrative of the period when +Munster was occupied by John of Leyden and his fanatics, who, after he +had been crowned by them as Emperor of Germany, was driven out by the +bishop of the diocese. The first act opens in the suburbs of +Dordrecht, near the Meuse, with the château of Count Oberthal, lord of +the domain, in the distance. After a very fresh and vigorous chorus of +peasants, Bertha, a vassal of the Count, betrothed to John of Leyden, +enters and sings a cavatina ("Il cor nel sento"), in which she gives +expression to emotions of delight at her approaching union. As she +cannot go to Leyden, where the marriage is to take place, without the +Count's consent, Fides, the mother of John, joins her to make the +request. In the mean time the three Anabaptists, Zacarie, Gione, and +Mathisen, leaders of the revolt in Westphalia, arrive on their mission +of raising an insurrection in Holland, and in a sombre trio of a +religious but stirring character ("O libertade") incite the peasants +to rise against their rulers. They make an assault upon the castle of +Count Oberthal, who speedily repels them, and turns the tide of +popular feeling against the Anabaptists, by recognizing Gione as a +former servant who had been discharged from his service for +dishonesty. Fides and Bertha then join in a romanza ("Della mora un +giorno"), imploring his permission for the marriage of Bertha and +John. The Count, however, struck with her beauty, not only refuses, +but claims her for himself, and seizes both her and Fides, and the act +closes with a repetition of the warning chant of the Anabaptists. + +The second act opens in the hostelry of John of Leyden, and is +introduced with a waltz and drinking-chorus, in the midst of which the +Anabaptists arrive and are struck with his resemblance to a portrait +of David in the Munster Cathedral. From a very descriptive and highly +wrought scena ("Sotto le vasti arcati") sung by him they also learn +that he is given to visions and religious meditations. They assure him +that he shall be a ruler; but in a beautiful romanza ("Un impero piu +soave") he replies that his love for Bertha is his only sovereignty. +Just as they depart, Bertha, who has escaped, rushes in and claims his +protection. He conceals her; but has hardly done so when the Count +enters with his soldiers, bringing Fides as a prisoner, and threatens +to kill her unless Bertha is given up. He hesitates; but at last, to +save his mother's life, delivers Bertha to her pursuers. Mother and +son are left alone, and she seeks to console him. In this scene occurs +one of the most dramatic and intense of Meyerbeer's arias ("O figlio +mio, che diro"), known more popularly by its French words, beginning, +"Ah! mon fils." It has enjoyed a world-wide popularity, and still +holds its place in all its original freshness and vigor. Fides hardly +disappears before the ominous chant of the Anabaptists is heard again. +He does not need much persuasion now. They make their compact in a +quartet of magnificent power, which closes the act; and some of John's +garments are left behind stained with blood, that his mother may +believe he has been killed. + +The third act opens in the Anabaptists' camp in a Westphalian forest, +a frozen lake near them, and Munster, which they are besieging, in the +distance. In the second scene Zacarie sings a stirring pasan of +victory ("In coppia son"), followed by the beautiful ballet music of +the skaters as they come bringing provisions to the troops. Count +Oberthal meanwhile has been taken prisoner and brought into camp. A +buffo trio between himself and his captors follows, in which Gione +penetrates his disguise and recognizes him. They are about to fall +upon him; but John, learning from him that Bertha is still alive and +in Munster, saves his life. He immediately resolves to take the place +by assault, rouses his followers with religious chants of a martial +character, and the act concludes with the march on the city. + +The fourth act opens in the city itself after its capture. A mendicant +appears in the public square begging for bread. It is Fides; and in a +plaintively declamatory aria of striking power ("Pieta! pieta!") she +implores alms. She meets with Bertha disguised as a pilgrim, and bent +upon the destruction of the Prophet, who, she believes, has been the +cause of John's death. The next scene opens in the cathedral, where +the coronation of the Prophet is to take place; and among all +Meyerbeer's pageants none are more imposing than this, with its +accompaniment of pealing bells, religious chants, the strains of the +organ, and the stately rhythms of the great Coronation March. It is a +splendid prelude to the dramatic scene which follows. In the midst of +the gorgeous spectacle, the voice of Fides is heard claiming the +Prophet as her son. John boldly disavows her, and tells his followers +to kill him if she does not confirm the disavowal. The feelings of the +mother predominate, and she declares that she is mistaken. The +multitude proclaim it a miracle, and Fides is removed as a prisoner. +The dramatic situation in this finale is one of great strength, and +its musical treatment has hardly been excelled. + +The last act opens with a trio by the Anabaptist leaders, who, +learning that the enemy is approaching in force, determine to save +themselves by betraying John. In the third scene Fides in prison, +learning that John is coming to see her, invokes the punishment of +Heaven upon him in the passionate aria, "Spirto superno." A duet ("Tu +che del cielo") of great power follows, in which Fides convinces him +of the errors of his course. As they are about to leave, Bertha +enters, bent upon the destruction of the palace, and in the trio which +ensues learns that John and the Prophet are one. She stabs herself, +and dying in the arms of Fides curses him. The last scene opens in a +banqueting-hall of the palace, where John is revelling, with the +Anabaptists around him. He sings a bacchanalian song of a wild +description ("Beviam e intorno"), and, as it closes, the Bishop of +Munster, the Elector, Count Oberthal, and the three Anabaptists who +have betrayed him, enter the apartment. The revenge which John has +planned is now consummated. An explosion is heard. Flames break out on +all sides. Fides rushes in and forgives her son, and the Prophet, his +mother, and his enemies perish together. + +Although "The Prophet" did not meet with the popularity of some of his +other operas, it contains some of the most vigorous and dramatic music +Meyerbeer has written,--notably the arias of Zacarie and Fides, the +skating-ballet, the Coronation March, and the drinking-song. As a +pageant, "The Prophet" has never been surpassed. + + +THE AFRICAN. + +"L'Africaine," a grand opera in five acts, words by Scribe, was first +produced at the Académie, Paris, April 28, 1865, with the following +cast:-- + + SELIKA Mme. MARIE SAXE. + INEZ Mlle. MARIE BATTEO. + VASCO DI GAMA M. NAUDIN. + NELUSKO M. FAURE. + DON PEDRO M. BELVAL. + HIGH PRIEST M. OBIN. + +The libretto of the opera was first given to Meyerbeer by Scribe in +1838; but such were the alterations demanded by the composer, that at +last Scribe withdrew it altogether, although the music was already +set. In 1852 he furnished a revised libretto, and the music was +revised to suit it. The work was not finished until 1860, and owing to +the difficulty of filling the cast satisfactorily, was not brought to +rehearsal until the fall of 1863. While still correcting and improving +it, Meyerbeer died, and it was not produced until two years later. +Shortly after the Paris performance it was brought out in London, with +Mlle. Lucca in the part of Selika. Mme. Zucchi was one of the earliest +representatives of the slave in this country. + +The scene of the opera is laid in Portugal and Africa, and the first +act opens in the council chamber of the king of the former country. +Inez, his daughter, is mourning the long absence of her betrothed, +Vasco di Gama the explorer. Her father, wishing to marry her to Don +Pedro, the President of the Council, tries to persuade her that Vasco +has perished by shipwreck; but the refutation of the story comes in +the sudden appearance of Vasco himself, who is summoned before the +Council and narrates to them his discovery of a strange land, +producing two of the natives, Selika and Nelusko, as confirmations of +his announcement. Don Pedro incites the inquisitors to deny the truth +of the story, at which Vasco breaks out in such a furious rage against +them that he is arrested and thrown into a dungeon. The second act +opens in the prison, where Selika is watching the slumbering Vasco. As +he wakens she declares her love for him, and at the same time saves +him from the dagger of the jealous Nelusko. She also indicates to him +the course he should have taken to discover the island of which he is +in quest. To save her lover, Inez consents to wed Don Pedro; and the +latter, to cheat Vasco of his fame, takes command of the expedition +under the pilotage of Nelusko, and sets sail for the new land. The +Indian, thirsting for vengeance, directs the vessel out of her course +towards a reef; but Vasco, who has followed in another vessel, arrives +in time to warn Don Pedro of his danger. He disregards the warning, +distrusts his motives, and orders him to be shot; but before the +sentence can be carried out, the vessel strikes and is boarded by the +savages, who slaughter the commander and most of his men. The fourth +act opens on the island which Selika pointed out on the map, and of +which she is queen. To save him from her subjects, she declares +herself his spouse; but as the marriage rite is about to be +celebrated, Vasco hears the voice of Inez in the distance, deserts +Selika, and flies to her. In the last act, as the vessel sails away +bearing Vasco and Inez back to Portugal, Selika throws herself down +under the poisonous manchineel-tree and kills herself with its fatal +flowers; expiring in the arms of Nelusko, who shares the same fate. + +The first act opens with a very sweet but sombre ballad sung by Inez +("Del Tago sponde addio"), which recalls the English song, "Isle of +Beauty, fare thee well," and is followed by a bold and flowing +terzetto. The third scene opens with a noble and stately chorus ("Tu +che la terra adora") sung by the basses in unison, opening the Council +before which Vasco appears; and the act closes with an anathema hurled +at him ("Ribelle, insolente"),--a splendid ensemble, pronounced in its +rhythm and majestic in the sweep of its passionate music. + +The second act opens with the quaint slumber-song ("In grembo a me") +which Selika sings to Vasco in prison. It is oriental in color, and is +broken here and there by a barcarole which Vasco murmurs in his sleep. +In striking contrast with its dreamy, quiet flow, it leads up to a +passionate aria ("Tranquillo e già") based upon a strong and fiery +motive. In the next scene follows an aria of equal vigor sung by +Nelusko ("Figlia dei Re"), in which his devotion to Selika changing to +his hatred of Vasco is characterized by a grand crescendo. The act +closes with a vigorous sextet, the motive of which is strangely +similar to the old song, "The Minstrel Boy." + +The third act contains a very impressive number, Nelusko's invocation +of Adamastor ("Adamastor, re dell' onde profondo"), but is mainly +devoted to the ship scene, which, though grotesque from the dramatic +point of view, is accompanied by music of a powerful and realistic +description, written with all the vividness and force Meyerbeer always +displays in his melodramatic ensembles. The fourth act contains the +most beautiful music of the opera,--Vasco's opening aria, "O +Paradiso," an exquisite melody set to an equally exquisite +accompaniment; the ensemble in the fourth scene, in which Selika +protects Vasco and Nelusko swears vengeance ("Al mio penar de fine"); +the grand duet between Vasco and Selika ("Dove son"), which has often +been compared to the duet in the fourth act of "The Huguenots," though +it has not the passionate intensity of the scene between Raoul and +Valentin; and the graceful choruses of the Indian maidens and Inez's +attendants which close the act. + +The last act contains two scenes,--the first in Selika's gardens, +where there is a long and spirited duet between Inez and Selika. The +second, known as "La Scene du Mancenillier," has a symphonic prelude +in the form of a funeral march, based upon a fascinating melody, which +is beyond question the finest of Meyerbeer's orchestral numbers in any +of his works. From this point the story hastens to its tragic +dénouement; and nearly the entire scene is occupied with Selika's +dying song, which opens with a majestic apostrophe to the sea ("Da qui +io vedo il mar"), then turns to sadness as she sings to the fatal tree +("O tempio sontuoso"), and at the close develops into a passionate +outcry of joy ("O douce extase"). Though the plot of "L'Africaine" is +often absurd, many of its incidents preposterous, and some of its +characters unattractive, the opera is full of effective situations, +and repeatedly illustrates Meyerbeer's powers of realization and his +knowledge of effects. + + + + +MOZART. + +Johann Chrysostomus Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born at Salzburg, Jan. +27, 1756. With this wonderful child music was a divine gift, for his +first work, a minuet and trio for piano, was written in his fifth +year. He began to study with his father when but three years of age, +and at once gave signs of extraordinary promise. His sister was also +very talented; and in 1762 the father determined to travel with his +prodigies. They were absent a year, the most of that time being spent +at Munich, Vienna, and Presburg, where they created a furor by their +performances. A longer journey was then resolved upon. The principal +German cities, Brussels, Paris, London, the Hague, Amsterdam, and the +larger towns of Switzerland were visited in succession, and everywhere +the children were greeted with enthusiasm, particularly when they +played before the French and English courts. They returned to Salzburg +in 1766, already famous all over Europe; and during the next two years +Mozart composed many minor works. In 1768 he was again in Vienna, +where he produced his little operetta, "Bastien und Bastienne," and in +the same year the Archbishop of Salzburg made him his concertmeister. +The next year he went to Italy, where he both studied and composed, +and was received with extraordinary honors. In 1771 he brought out his +opera, "Mitridate, Rè di Ponto," at Milan, with great success. The +next year he produced "Lucio Silla," also in Milan, and during the +next four years composed a great number of symphonies and other +instrumental works. The mass of music which he composed up to his +twenty-first year is simply bewildering. In 1781 he brought out +"Idomeneo" at Munich, which left no doubt as to his position as a +dramatic composer. In 1782 his "Entfuhrung aus dem Serail" was +produced at Vienna by the Emperor's command. His next great opera was +"Le Nozze di Figaro," which was performed in 1786, and made all Vienna +go wild. "Don Giovanni" followed it the next year, and was received +with equal enthusiasm. In 1789 he composed the famous "Requiem;" and +the same year the "Zauberflöte," his last great opera, appeared, and +made a success even greater than its two great predecessors. Two years +later, Dec. 5, 1791, Mozart died in poverty, and amid the saddest of +surroundings. One of the world's greatest geniuses was carried to his +last resting-place unaccompanied by friends, and was buried in the +common pauper's grave. God endowed him with a wonderful genius, which +the world of his time could not recognize. + + +THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO. + +"Le Nozze di Figaro," in the German version, "Die Hochzeit des +Figaro," an opera buffa in four acts, the words by Lorenzo da Ponte, +after Beaumarchais's comedy, "Le Mariage de Figaro," was first +produced at the National Theatre, Vienna, May 1, 1786, with the +following cast:-- + + COUNTESS ALMAVIVA Signora STORACE. + SUSANNA Signora LASCHI. + CHERUBINO Signora MANDINI. + MARCELLINA Signora BUSSANI. + BARBARINA Signora GOTTLIEB. + COUNT ALMAVIVA Signor MANDINI. + FIGARO Signor BENUCCI. + BARTOLO Signor OCCHELEY. + BASILIO Signor BUSSANI. + +It was first brought out in Paris in 1793, with Beaumarchais's spoken +dialogue, in five acts, as "Le Mariage de Figaro," and in 1858 at the +Théâtre Lyrique in the same city, in four acts, as "Les Noces de +Figaro," with text by Barbiere and Carré. The late Mme. Parepa-Rosa +introduced it in this country in its English form with great success. + +At the time the libretto was written, Beaumarchais's satirical comedy, +"Le Mariage de Figaro," had been performed all over Europe, and had +attracted great attention. It had been prohibited in Paris, and had +caused great commotion in Vienna. Mozart's notice was thus drawn to +it, and he suggested it to Da Ponte for a libretto, and the Emperor +Joseph subsequently commissioned the composer to set it to music, +though he had already composed a portion of it. The entire opera was +written during the month of April, and the wonderful finale to the +second act occupied him for two nights and a day. When it came to a +performance, its success was remarkable. Kelly, who was present, says, +in his Reminiscences: "Never was there a greater triumph than Mozart +enjoyed with his 'Figaro.' The house was crowded to overflowing, and +almost everything encored, so that the opera lasted nearly double the +usual time; and yet at its close the public were unwearied in clapping +their hands and shouting for Mozart." Popular as it was, it was soon +laid aside in Vienna through the influence of the Italian faction +headed by Salieri, one of Mozart's rivals. + +The story of the opera is laid in Spain. Count Almaviva, who had won +his beautiful Countess with the aid of Figaro, the barber of Seville, +becomes enamoured of her maid Susanna, and at the same time, by the +collusion of the two, in order to punish him, is made jealous by the +attentions paid to the Countess by Cherubino, the page. Meanwhile +Figaro, to whom Susanna is betrothed, becomes jealous of the Count for +his gallantry to her. Out of these cross-relations arise several +humorous surprises. Besides these characters there are two others who +have been disappointed in love,--Bartolo, who has been rejected by +Susanna, and Marcellina, whose affection for Figaro has not been +requited. The Count seeks to get rid of Cherubino by ordering him off +to the wars, but he is saved by Susanna, who disguises him in female +attire. The Countess, Susanna, Figaro, and Cherubino then conspire to +punish the Count for his infidelity. The latter suddenly appears at +his wife's door, and finding it locked demands an entrance. Cherubino, +alarmed, hides himself in a closet and bars the door. The Count is +admitted, and finding the Countess in confusion insists upon searching +the closet. He goes out to find some means of breaking in the door, +and Cherubino improves the opportunity to jump out of the window, +while Susanna takes his place and confronts the puzzled Count. +Antonio, the gardener, comes in and complains that some one has jumped +from the window and broken his flower-pots. Figaro at once asserts +that he did it. + +A ludicrous side plot unfolds at this point. Marcellina appears with a +contract of marriage signed by Figaro, bringing Bartolo as a witness. +The Count decides that Figaro must fulfil his contract, but the latter +escapes by showing that he is the son of Marcellina, and that Bartolo +is his father. Meanwhile the main plot is developed in another +conspiracy to punish the Count. Susanna contrives a rendezvous with +the Count at night in the garden, having previously arranged with the +Countess that she should disguise herself as the maid, the latter also +assuming the part of the Countess, and arrive in time to surprise the +two. The page also puts in an appearance, and gets his ears boxed for +his attentions to the disguised Countess. Figaro, who has been +informed that Susanna and the Count are to meet in the garden, comes +on the scene, and in revenge makes a passionate declaration of love to +the supposed Countess, upon which the Count, who is growing more and +more bewildered, orders lights and makes his supposed wife unveil. The +real wife does the same. Covered with confusion, he implores pardon of +the Countess, which is readily given. The two are reconciled, and +Figaro and Susanna are united. + +The whole opera is such a combination of playfulness and grace that it +is a somewhat ungracious task to refer to particular numbers. In these +regards it is the most Mozartean of all the composer's operas. The +first act opens with a sparkling duet between Figaro and Susanna, in +which she informs him of the Count's gallantries. As she leaves, +Figaro, to the accompaniment of his guitar, sings a rollicking song +("Se vuol ballare, Signor Contino"), in which he intimates that if the +Count wishes to dance he will play for him in a style he little +expects. In the second scene Bartolo enters, full of his plans for +vengeance, which he narrates in a grim and grotesque song ("La +Vendetta"). The fourth scene closes with an exquisite aria by +Cherubino ("Non so piu cosa son"). After an exceedingly humorous trio +("Cosa sento? tosto andate") for the Count, Basilio and Susanna, and a +bright, gleeful chorus ("Giovanni lieti"), Figaro closes the act with +the celebrated aria, "Non piu andrai." Of the singing of this great +song at the first rehearsal of the opera Kelly says in his +Reminiscences: "I remember Mozart well at the first general rehearsal, +in a red furred coat and a gallooned hat, standing on the stage and +giving the tempi. Benucci sang Figaro's aria, 'Non piu andrai,' with +the utmost vivacity and the full strength of his voice. I stood close +beside Mozart, who exclaimed, _sotto voce_, 'Brava! brava! Benucci!' +and when that fine passage came, 'Cherubino, alla vittoria, alla +gloria militar,' which Benucci gave in a stentorian voice, the effect +was quite electrical, both on the singers on the stage and the +musicians in the orchestra. Quite transported with delight, they all +called out, 'Brava! brava, Maestro! viva! viva! viva il grande +Mozart!' In the orchestra the applause seemed to have no end, while +the violin-players rapped their bows on their desks. The little +Maestro expressed his gratitude for the enthusiasm, testified in so +unusual a manner, by repeatedly bowing." + +The second act is the masterpiece of the opera, and contains in itself +music enough to have made any composer immortal. It opens with a +serious aria by the Countess ("Porgi amor") followed by Cherubino's +well-known romanza ("Voi che sapete,") one of the sweetest and most +effective songs ever written for contralto, and this in turn by +Susanna's coquettish song, "Venite, inginocchiatevi," as she disguises +Cherubino. A spirited trio and duet lead up to the great finale, begun +by the Count, ("Esci omai, garzon mal nato"). Upon this finale Mozart +seems to have lavished the riches of his musical genius with the most +elaborate detail and in bewildering profusion. It begins with a duet +between the Count and Countess, then with the entrance of Susanna +changes to a trio, and as Figaro and Antonio enter, develops into a +quintet. In the close, an independent figure is added by the entrance +of Marcellina, Barbarina, and Basilio, and as Antonio exits, this trio +is set against the quartet with independent themes and tempi. + +The third act opens with a duet ("Crudel, perche finora") for the +Count and Countess, followed by a very dramatic scena for the Count, +beginning with the recitative, "Hai già vinta la causa?" which in turn +leads up to a lively and spirited sextet ("Riconosci in questo +amplesso"). The two numbers which follow the sextet are recognized +universally as two of the sweetest and most melodious ever +written,--the exquisite aria, "Dove Sono," for the Countess, and the +"Zephyr Duet," as it is popularly known ("Canzonetta su l'aria. Che +soave zeffiretto"), which stands unsurpassed for elegance, grace, and +melodious beauty. The remaining numbers of prominent interest are a +long and very versatile buffo aria for tenor ("In quegli anni"), sung +by Basilio, Figaro's stirring march number ("Ecco la marcia"), and a +lovely song for Susanna ("Deh, vieni, non tardar"). The opera is full +of life and human interest. Its wonderful cheerfulness and vital +sympathy appeal to every listener, and its bright, free, joyous tone +from beginning to end is no less fascinating than the exquisite +melodies with which Mozart has so richly adorned it. Like "Don +Giovanni" and the "Magic Flute," the best test of the work is, that it +is rounding its first century as fresh and bright and popular as ever. + + +DON GIOVANNI. + +"Don Giovanni," an opera buffa in two acts, words by Da Ponte, was +first produced at Prague, Oct. 29, 1787. The full title of the work is +"Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni," and the subject was +taken from a Spanish tale by Tirso de Molina, called "El combidado de +piedra." The original cast of the opera was as follows:-- + + DONNA ANNA Signora TERESA SAPORITTI. + DONNA ELVIRA Signora MICELLI. + ZERLINA Signora BONDINI. + DON OTTAVIO Signor BAGLIONI. + DON GIOVANNI Signor LUIGI BASSI. + LEPORELLO Signor FELICE PONZIANI. + MASETTO and DON PEDRO Signor LOLLI. + +The success of the "Marriage of Figaro" prepared the way for "Don +Giovanni." Mozart wrote the opera in Prague, and completed it, except +the overture, Oct. 28, 1787, about six weeks after he arrived in the +city. The first performance took place the next evening. The overture +was written during the night, the copyist received the score at seven +o'clock in the morning, and it was played at eight in the evening. He +had only a week for stage rehearsals, and yet the opera created a +furor. As an instance of his extraordinary memory, it is said that the +drum and trumpet parts to the finale of the second act were written +without the score, from memory. When he brought the parts into the +orchestra, he remarked, "Pray, gentlemen, be particularly attentive at +this place," pointing to one, "as I believe that there are four bars +either too few or too many." His remark was proved true. It is also +said that in the original scores the brass instruments frequently have +no place, as he wrote the parts continually on separate bits of paper, +trusting to his memory for the score. The next year (1788) the opera +was brought out in Vienna, and for this production he wrote four new +numbers,--a recitative and aria for Donna Elvira ("In quali excessi, o +numi"); an aria for Masetto ("Ho capito, Signor, si"); a short aria +for Don Ottavio ("Dalla sua pace"); and a duet for Zerlina and +Leporello ("Per queste tue manine"). + +The scene of the opera is laid in Spain. Don Giovanni, a licentious +nobleman, becomes enamoured of Donna Anna, the daughter of the +Commandant of Seville, who is betrothed to Don Ottavio. He gains +admission to her apartments at night, and attempts to carry her away; +but her cries bring her father to her rescue. He attacks Don Giovanni, +and in the encounter is slain. The libertine, however, in company with +his rascally servant, Leporello, makes good his escape. While the +precious pair are consulting about some new amour, Donna Elvira, one +of his victims, appears and taxes him with his cruelty; but he flies +from her, leaving her with Leporello, who horrifies her with an +appalling list of his master's conquests in various countries. Don +Giovanni next attempts the ruin of Zerlina, a peasant girl, upon the +very eve of her marriage with her lover, Masetto. Donna Elvira, +however, appears and thwarts his purposes, and also discovers him to +Donna Anna as the murderer of her father, whereupon she binds her +lover, Don Ottavio, to avenge his death. Don Giovanni does not abandon +his purpose, however. He gives a fête, and once more seeks to +accomplish Zerlina's ruin, but is again thwarted by her three friends. + +The second act opens in a public square of Seville at night. Don +Giovanni and Leporello appear before the house of Donna Elvira, where +Zerlina is concealed. Leporello, disguised in his master's cloak, and +assuming his voice, lures Donna Elvira out, and feigning repentance +for his conduct induces her to leave with him. Don Giovanni then +proceeds to enter the house and seize Zerlina; but before he can +accomplish his purpose, Masetto and his friends appear, and supposing +it is Leporello before them, demand to know where his master is, as +they are bent upon killing him. Don Giovanni easily disposes of +Masetto, and then rejoins his servant near the equestrian statue, +which has been erected to the memory of the murdered Don Pedro. To +their astonishment the statue speaks, and warns the libertine he will +die before the morrow. Don Giovanni laughs at the prophecy, and +invites the statue to a banquet to be given the next day at his house. +While the guests are assembled at the feast, an ominous knock is heard +at the door and the statue unceremoniously enters. All except +Leporello and Don Giovanni fly from the room in terror. The doomed man +orders an extra plate, but the statue extends its hand and invites him +to sup with it. He takes the marble hand, and its cold fingers clutch +him in a firm grasp. Thrice the statue urges him to repent, and as +many times he refuses; whereupon, as it disappears, demons rise, seize +Don Giovanni, and carry him to the infernal regions. + +Musically considered, "Don Giovanni" is regarded as Mozart's greatest +opera, though it lacks the bright joyousness of the "Marriage of +Figaro," and its human interest. Its melodies are more pronounced, and +have entered more freely into general use, however, than those of the +former. Repulsive as the story is, some of the melodies which +illustrate it have been impressed into the service of the church. The +first act is introduced with a humorous aria by Leporello ("Notte e +giorno faticar"), in which he complains of his treatment by his +master. After the murder of Don Pedro, in the second scene, occurs a +trio between Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni, and Leporello, the leading +motive of which is a beautiful aria sung by Donna Elvira ("Ah! chi mi +dici mai"). The scene closes with the great buffo aria of Leporello +("Madamina il catalogo") popularly known as the "Catalogue Song," +which is full of broad humor, though its subject is far from +possessing that quality. In the third scene occur the lovely duet for +Don Giovanni and Zerlina ("La ci darem, la mano"), two arias of great +dramatic intensity for Donna Elvira ("Mi tradi") and Donna Anna ("Or +sai chi l'onore"), and Don Giovanni's dashing song, "Finchè dal vino," +the music of which is in admirable keeping with the reckless nature of +the libertine himself. The last scene is a treasure-house of music, +containing the exquisitely coquettish aria, "Batti, batti," which +Zerlina sings to the jealous Masetto, and the beautiful trio of Donna +Anna, Donna Elvira, and Don Ottavio, known as the Mask Trio, set off +against the quaint minuet music of the fête and the hurly-burly which +accompanies the discovery of Don Giovanni's black designs. + +The second act opens with a humorous duet between master and servant +("Eh, via, buffone"), followed by the trio, "Ah! taci, inquisto care," +as Elvira appears at her window. After she leaves with Leporello, Don +Giovanni sings a serenade ("Deh? vieni all finestra") to Zerlina, +which is interrupted by the appearance of Masetto and his friends. +Zerlina is summoned to the scene by the cries of Masetto after Don +Giovanni has beaten him, and sings to him for his consolation the +beautiful aria, "Vedrai carino," which has more than once been set to +sacred words, and has become familiar as a church tune, +notwithstanding the unsanctity of its original setting. The second +scene opens with a strong sextet ("Sola, sola, in bujo loco"), +followed by the ludicrously solemn appeal of Leporello, "Ah! pieta, +signori miei," and that aria beloved of all tenors, "Il mio tesoro." +The finale is occupied with the scenes at the statue and at the +banquet, a short scene between Donna Anna and Don Ottavio intervening, +in which she sings the aria, "Non mi dir." The statue music throughout +is of a sepulchral character, gradually developing into strains almost +as cold and ominous as the marble of the Commandant himself, and yet +not without an element of the grotesque as it portrays the terror of +Leporello. + +It is said that in revenge at his Italian rivals, Mozart introduced an +aria from Martin's "Cosa Rara," arranged for wind instruments, and +also a favorite aria of Sarti's, to be played at the banquet when the +hungry Leporello beholds his master at the table and watches for some +of the choice morsels, and parodied them in an amusing manner. He +never could retain an enmity very long, however, and so at the end of +the banquet he parodied one of his own arias, the famous "Non piu +andrai," by giving it a comical turn to suit Leporello's situation. +The criticism of one of the best biographers of Mozart upon this opera +is worth repeating in this connection: "Whether we regard the mixture +of passions in its concerted music, the profound expression of +melancholy, the variety of its situations, the beauty of its +accompaniment, or the grandeur of its heightening and protracted scene +of terror--the finale of the second act,--'Don Giovanni' stands alone +in dramatic eminence." + + +THE MAGIC FLUTE. + +"Die Zauberflöte," an opera in two acts, words by Emanuel +Schickaneder, was first produced at Vienna, Sept. 30, 1791, with the +following cast: + + QUEEN OF NIGHT Mme. HOFER. + PAMINA Mlle. GOTTLIEB. + PAPAGENA Mme. GORL. + TAMINO Herr SCHACK. + MONOSTATOS Herr GORL. + SARASTRO Herr SCHICKANEDER, Sr. + PAPAGENO Herr SCHICKANEDER, Jr. + +The "Magic Flute" was the last great work of the composer, and +followed the "Cosi fan tutte," which was given in January, 1791. In +1780 Mozart had made the acquaintance of Schickaneder at Salzburg. He +was a reckless, dissipated theatre manager, and at the time of the +composition of the "Magic Flute" was running a small theatre in +Vienna. The competition of the larger theatres had nearly beggared +him, and in the midst of his perplexities he applied to Mozart to +write him an opera, and intimated that he had discovered an admirable +subject for a fairy composition. Mozart at first objected; but +Schickaneder, like himself, was a Freemason; he had been his companion +in dissipation, and exercised a great influence over him. Mozart at +last consented. A compact was made, and Schickaneder set to work on +the libretto. As he was a popular buffoon, he invented the part of +Papageno, the bird-catcher, for himself, and arranged that it should +be dressed in a costume of feathers. It is a trivial part, but +Schickaneder intended to tickle the fancy of the public, and +succeeded. The first act was finished, when it was found that the same +subject had been chosen by a rival theatre, the Leopold Stadt, which +speedily announced the opera of "Kaspar der Fagottist, oder die +Zauber-Zither," by a popular composer, Wenzel Müller. The piece had a +successful run, and in order to prevent a duplication, Schickaneder +reversed the point of his story, and changed the evil magician, who +stole the daughter of the Queen of Night, into a great philosopher and +friend of man. It is owing to this change that we have the magnificent +character of Sarastro, with its impressive music. + +The scene of the opera is laid in Egypt. Sarastro, the high-priest of +Isis, has induced Pamina to leave her mother, Astrifiamenti, the Queen +of Night, who represents the spirit of evil, and come to his temple, +where she may be trained in the ways of virtue and wisdom. At the +opening of the opera the dark Queen is trying to discover some plan of +recovering her daughter and punishing Sarastro. In the first act +appears Tamino, an Egyptian prince, who has lost his way, and is +attacked by a huge serpent, from which he is rescued by the three +attendants of the Queen. The latter accosts him, tells him her +daughter's story, and demands that, as the cost of his deliverance, he +shall rescue her. He consents. She gives him a magic flute, and with +his companion Papageno, a rollicking bird-catcher, who is also +presented with a magical chime of bells, they set out for Sarastro's +temple. Papageno arrives there first, and in time to rescue Pamina +from the persecutions of Monostatos, a slave, who flies when he +beholds Papageno in his feather costume, fancying him the Devil. They +seek to make their escape, but are intercepted. Tamino also is caught, +and all are brought before Sarastro. The prince consents to become a +novitiate in the sacred rites, and to go through the various stages of +probation and purification, and Pamina again returns to her duties. +They remain faithful to their vows, and the last ordeal, that of +passing through a burning lake up to the altar of the temple, is +triumphantly accomplished. The Queen of Night, however, does not +abandon her scheme of revenge. She appears to Pamina in her sleep, +gives her a dagger, and swears that unless she murders Sarastro she +will cast her off forever. Pamina pays no heed to her oath, but goes +on with her sacred duties, trusting to Sarastro's promise that if she +endures all the ordeals she will be forever happy. In the closing +scene, Monostatos, who has been inflamed against Sarastro by the +Queen, seeks to kill him, but is vanquished by the might of the +priest's presence alone. The night of the ordeals is over. At a sign +from Sarastro, the, full sunlight pours in upon them. The evil spirits +all vanish, and Tamino and Pamina are united amid the triumphant +choruses of the priests and attendants, as the reward of their +fidelity. + +In the opening scene, after the encounter of Tamino with the serpent, +Papageno has a light and catching song ("Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja"), +which, like all of Papageno's music, was specially written for +Schickaneder, and has been classed under the head of the "Viennese +ditties." Melodious as Mozart always is, these songs must be regarded +as concessions to the buffoon who sang them. Papageno's song is +followed by another in a serious strain ("Dies Bildniss ist bezaubernd +schön") sung by Tamino. In the sixth scene occurs the first aria for +the Queen of Night ("O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn"), which, like +its companion to be mentioned later, is a remarkable exercise in vocal +power, range, and gymnastics, written for an exceptional voice. The +next scene, known as the Padlock Quintet, is very simple and flowing +in style, and will always be popular for its humorous and melodious +character. In the eleventh scene occurs the familiar duet between +Pamina and Papageno, "Bei Männern, welche Liebe füllen," which has +done good service for the church, and will be recognized in the +English hymn version, "Serene I laid me down." It leads up to the +finale, beginning, "Zum Ziehle führt dich diese Bahn," and containing +a graceful melody for Tamino ("O dass ich doch im Stande wäre"), and +another of the Viennese tunes, "Könnte jeder brave Mann,"--a duet for +Papageno and Pamina, with chorus. + +The second act opens with a stately march and chorus by the priests, +leading up to Sarastro's first great aria ("O Isis und Osiris"), a +superb invocation in broad, flowing harmony, and the scene closes with +a strong duet by two priests ("Bewahret euch vor Weibertücken.") The +third scene is a quintet for Papageno, Tamino, and the Queen's three +attendants ("Wie ihr an diesem Shreckensort?"), and is followed by a +sentimental aria by Monostatos ("Alles fühlt der Liebe Freuden"). In +the next scene occurs the second and greatest aria of the Queen of +Night ("Der Hölle Rache kocht"), which was specially written to show +off the bravura ability of the creator of the part, and has been the +despair of nearly all sopranos since her time. In striking contrast +with it comes the majestic aria for Sarastro in the next scene ("In +diesen heil'gen Hallen"), familiarly known on the concert-stage by its +English title, "In these sacred Halls," the successful performance of +which may well be the height of any basso's ambition. In the twelfth +scene there is a terzetto by the three boys ("Seid uns zum +zweitenmal"), and in the next scene a long and florid aria for Pamina +("Ach! ich fühl's es ist verschwunden"), full of plaintive chords and +very sombre in color. The sixteenth scene contains another stately +chorus of priests ("O Isis und Osiris"), based upon a broad and +massive harmony, which is followed by a terzetto between Sarastro, +Pamina, and Tamino ("Soll ich dich, Theurer nicht mehr sehen?"). Once +more a concession to the buffoon occurs in a melody "Ein Mädchen oder +Weibchen," which would be commonplace but for Mozart's treatment of +the simple air. The finale begins with another terzetto for the three +boys ("Bald prangt, den Morgen zu verkünden"). It may be termed a +finale of surprises, as it contains two numbers which are as far apart +in character as the poles,--the first, an old choral melody ("Der, +welcher wandelt diese Strasse"), the original being, "Christ, our +Lord, to Jordan came," set to an accompaniment, strengthened by the +trombones and other wind instruments; and the second, a nonsense duet +("Pa-pa-Papageno") for Papageno and Papagena, which would close the +opera in a burst of childish hilarity but for the solemn concluding +chorus of the priests ("Heil sei euch Geweithen"). + +The great charm of the opera is its originality, and the wonderful +freshness and fruitfulness of the composer in giving independent and +characteristic melodies to every character, as well as the marvellous +combination of technicality with absolute melody. Beethoven said of it +that this was Mozart's one German opera in right of the style and +solidity of its music. Jahn, in his criticism, says: "'The +Zauberflöte' has a special and most important position among Mozart's +operas. The whole musical conception is pure German, and here for the +first time German opera makes free and skilful use of all the elements +of finished art." + + + + +ROSSINI. + +Gioachini Antonio Rossini was born at Pesaro, Italy, Feb. 29, 1792. +His early lessons in music were taken with Tesei, and as a lad he also +appeared upon the stage as a singer. In 1807 he was admitted to the +class of Padre Mattei at the Bologna Conservatory, where he took a +prize for a cantata at the end of his first year. At the beginning of +his career in Italy he was commissioned to write an opera for Venice. +It was "La Cambiale di Matrimonio," an opera buffa in one act, and was +produced in 1810. During the next three years he wrote several works +for Venice and Milan, which were successful, but none of them created +such a furor as "Tancredi." This was followed by "L' Italiana in +Algeri," "Aureliano in Palmira," and "Il Turco in Italia." In 1815 +appeared "The Barber of Seville." Strange as it may seem, it was at +first condemned, not on its merits, but because the composer had +trenched, as it was supposed, upon the ground already occupied by the +favorite Paisiello, though he applied to the latter before writing it, +and received his assurances that he had no objection to his use of the +same subject. "Otello" followed the "Barber" at Naples in 1816, and +"Cenerentola" in 1817, and both were extraordinarily successful. The +"Gazza Ladra" was produced at Milan in 1817, and was followed by +"Armida" at Naples in the same year. His next great work was the +oratorio, "Moses in Egypt," which is also given as opera. The "Donna +del Lago," based upon Walter Scott's "Lady of the Lake," was produced +at Naples in 1819. The same year he opened the Carnival in Milan with +"Bianca e Faliero," and before its close he produced "Maometto +secondo" at Naples. During the next two or three years his muse was +very prolific, and in 1823 appeared another of his great works, +"Semiramide," which made a furor at Venice. That year he went to +London and gave concerts, in which he sang, and thence to Paris, which +now became his home. His greatest work for Paris was "William Tell," +which was produced in 1829, and it was also his last, though by an +arrangement with the Government of Charles X. it was to be the first +of a series of five. The revolution of 1830 destroyed his plans. In +1836 he heard Meyerbeer's "Huguenots," and resolved to write no more. +Four years before this he had written the "Stabat Mater," but it was +not produced complete until 1842. From this time on he lived at his +villa at Passy the life of a voluptuary and died there Nov. 13, 1868. +The catalogue of his works is immense, including fifty operas alone, +of which in a necessarily brief sketch it has been possible to mention +only those best known. + + +THE BARBER OF SEVILLE. + +"Il Barbiere di Siviglia," an opera buffa in two acts, words by +Sterbini, founded on Beaumarchais's comedy, was first produced at the +Argentina Theatre, Rome, Feb. 5, 1816, with the following cast:-- + + ROSINA Mme. GIORGI RIGHETTI. + BERTAO Mlle. ROSSI. + FIGARO Sig. LUIGI ZAMBONI. + COUNT ALMAVIVA Sig. GARCIA. + BARTOLO Sig. BOTTICELLI. + BASILIO Sig. VITTARELLI. + +The story of the writing of "The Barber of Seville" is of more than +ordinary interest. Rossini had engaged to write two operas for the +Roman Carnival of 1816. The first was brought out Dec. 26, 1815, and +the same day he bound himself to furnish the second by Jan. 20, 1816, +with no knowledge of what the libretto would be. Sterbini furnished +him with the story of the "Barber" by piecemeal, and as fast as the +verses were given him he wrote the music. The whole work was finished +in less than three weeks. Its original title was "Almaviva, ossia +l'inutile precauzione," to distinguish it from Paisiello's "Barber of +Seville." The original overture was lost in some manner, and that of +"Aureliano" substituted. In the scene beneath Rosina's balcony Garcia +introduced a Spanish air of his own; but it failed, and before the +second performance Rossini wrote the beautiful cavatina, "Ecco ridente +il cielo" in its place, the melody borrowed from the opening chorus of +his "Aureliano," and that in turn from his "Ciro in Babilonia." The +subject of the effective trio, "Zitti, zitti," was taken from Haydn's +"Seasons," and the aria sung by the duenna Berta ("Il vechiotto cerca +moglie"), from a Russian melody he had heard a lady sing in Rome and +introduced for her sake. For the music-lesson scene Rossini wrote a +trio which has been lost; and thus an opportunity has been given +Rosinas to interpolate what they please. + +The scene of the opera is laid at Seville, Spain. Count Almaviva has +fallen in love with Rosina, the ward of Dr. Bartolo, with whom she +resides, and who wishes to marry her himself. After serenading his +mistress, who knows him only by the name of Count Lindoro, he prevails +upon Figaro, the factotum of the place, to bring about an interview +with her. In spite of her guardian's watchfulness, as well as that of +Don Basilio, her music-teacher, who is helping Bartolo in his schemes, +she informs the Count by letter that she returns his passion. With +Figaro's help he succeeds in gaining admission to the house disguised +as a drunken dragoon, but this stratagem is foiled by the entrance of +the guard, who arrest him. A second time he secures admission, +disguised as a music-teacher, and pretending that he has been sent by +Don Basilio, who is ill, to take his place. To get into Bartolo's +confidence he produces Rosina's letter to himself, and promises to +persuade her that the letter has been given him by a mistress of the +Count, and thus break off the connection between the two. By this +means he secures the desired interview, and an elopement and private +marriage are planned. In the midst of the arrangements, however, Don +Basilio puts in an appearance, and the disconcerted lover makes good +his escape. Meanwhile Bartolo, who has Rosina's letter, succeeds in +arousing the jealousy of his ward with it, who thereupon discloses the +proposed elopement and promises to marry her guardian. At the time set +for the elopement the Count and Figaro appear. A reconciliation is +easily effected, a notary is at hand, and they are married just as +Bartolo makes his appearance with officers to arrest the Count. Mutual +explanations occur, however, and all ends happily. + +The first act opens after a short chorus, with the serenade, "Ecco +ridente in cielo," the most beautiful song in the opera. It begins +with a sweet and expressive largo and concludes with a florid allegro, +and is followed by a chorus in which the serenaders are dismissed. In +the second scene Figaro enters, and after some brief recitatives sings +the celebrated buffo aria, "Largo al factotum," in which he gives an +account of his numerous avocations. The aria is full of life and +gayety, and wonderfully adapted to the style of the mercurial Figaro. + +A light and lively duet between Figaro and the Count, closing with the +sprightly melody, "Ah! che d'amore," leads up to the chamber aria of +Rosina, so well known on the concert-stage, "Una voce poco fa," which +is not only very expressive and of great compass, but is remarkably +rich in ornamentation. A short dialogue in recitative then occurs +between Bartolo and Basilio, in which they plot to circumvent Rosina +by calumny, which gives occasion for the Calumny aria, as it is +generally known ("La calunnia"), a very sonorous bass solo, sung by +Basilio. Another dialogue follows between Figaro and Rosina, leading +to the florid duet, "E il maestro io faccio." A third dialogue follows +between Rosina and Bartolo, ending in a bass aria ("Non piu tacete"), +very similar in its general style to the Calumny song, but usually +omitted in performances. In the tenth scene the Count arrives +disguised as the drunken soldier, and the finale begins. It is +composed of three scenes very ingeniously arranged, and full of +glittering dialogue and very melodious passages. + +The second act opens with a soliloquy by Bartolo ("Ma redi il mio +destino"), in which he gives vent to his suspicions. It is interrupted +at last by a duet with the Count, in which the two characters are +strikingly set off by the music. The music-lesson scene follows, in +which the artist personating Rosina is given an opportunity for +interpolation. In the next scene occurs a dialogue quintet, which is +followed by a long aria ("Sempre gridi") by the duenna Bertha, called +by the Italians the "Aria de Sorbetto," because the people used to eat +ices while it was sung; reminding one of the great aria from +"Tancredi," "Di tanti palpiti," which they called the "aria dei +rizzi," because Rossini composed it while cooking his rice. In the +eighth scene, after a long recitative, an instrumental prelude occurs, +representing a stormy night, followed by a recitative in which the +Count reveals himself, leading up to a florid trio, and this in turn +to the elegant terzetto, "Zitti, zitti." A bravura and finale of light +and graceful melody close the opera. + + +SEMIRAMIDE + +"Semiramide" a lyric tragedy in two acts, words by Gaetano Rossi, the +subject taken from Voltaire's "Semiramis," was first produced at the +Fenice, Venice, Feb. 3, 1823, with the following cast:-- + + SEMIRAMIDE Mme. ROSSINI-COLBRAN. + ARSACES Mme. MARIANI. + IDRENO Mr. SINCLAIR. + ASSUR Sig. GALLI. + OROE Sig. MARIANI. + +On the 9th of July it was produced in French at the Académie, Paris, +as "Semiramis," with Carlotta Marchisio as Semiramide, Barbara, her +sister, as Arsaces, and M. Obin as Assur. At Rossini's request M. +Carafa arranged the recitatives and wrote the ballet music. +"Semiramide" was the last opera Rossini wrote for Italy; and so far +did he depart from the conventional Italian style, that he was charged +with imitating the German. It was probably for this reason that the +opera when first performed did not meet with a kindly reception from +the Venetians. Although he was occupied six months in negotiating for +his stipulated price (one thousand dollars), he wrote the opera in +three weeks. Of its first performance, a correspondent of the +"Harmonicon," who was present, writes: "The first act, which lasted +two hours and fifteen minutes, was received very coldly, with the +exception of one passage in the overture, which overture, however, was +unconscionably long. The second act, which lasted two hours and a +half, began to please in an air of Mariani, but the applause was +rather directed to this favorite singer. After this a duet between her +and Colbran, together with an air of Galli, and particularly a +terzetto between him and the two ladies, were well received. Rossini +was also called for at the end of the second act. It is all over with +Madame, his own wife" (Mme. Colbran), who took the title-rôle. + +The scene of the opera is laid in Babylon, and the story briefly told +is as follows: Ninus, the King of Babylon, has been murdered by his +Queen, Semiramis, aided by Assur, a prince enamoured of her and +aspiring to the throne. One of the Queen's warriors, Arsaces, supposed +to be of Scythian origin, but in reality her own son, returns from a +foreign expedition and is loaded with honors for the victory he has +won. Semiramis, ignorant of his parentage, has a secret passion for +him, he in the mean time being devoted to Azema, one of the princesses +royal. As all gather together in the temple to swear allegiance to the +Queen, the gates of Ninus's tomb suddenly open, and his ghost appears +and announces that Arsaces will be the successor to the crown. At +midnight Semiramis, Assur, and Arsaces meet at the tomb, and by +mistake Assur stabs her instead of Arsaces, who in turn kills Assur, +and, all obstacles being removed, is united to Azema and ascends the +throne. + +An introductory chorus of Babylonians and a terzetto by Idreno, Assur, +and Oroe open the opera and lead up to the first appearance of +Semiramis, which is followed by a very dramatic quartet ("Di tanti +regi"). In the fourth scene Arsaces has a very brilliant aria ("O! +come da quel di"), which also did service in one or two of Rossini's +other operas, and is followed by a very animated duet ("Bella imago +degli dei") between himself and Assur. The eighth scene is introduced +by a graceful female chorus which leads to Semiramis's brilliant and +well-known aria, "Bel raggio." In the tenth scene occurs an elegant +duet ("Serbami agnor si fido"), followed in the next scene by a +stately priests' march and chorus ("Ergi omai la fronte altera"), set +to ecclesiastical harmony and accompanied by full military band as +well as orchestra, this being the first instance where a military band +was used in Italian opera. It leads to the finale, where Semiramis on +her throne announces to her people her choice for their future king. +The oath of allegiance follows in an impressive quartet with chorus +("Giuro al numi"), and a defiant aria by the Queen leads to the sudden +appearance of the ghost of Ninus, accompanied by characteristic music +repeated in quintet with chorus. As the ghost speaks, the statue scene +in Don Giovanni is inevitably recalled, especially in some phrases +which are literally copied. + +The second act opens with a vindictively passionate duet ("Assur, +icenni mici") between Assur and Semiramis, closing with a fierce +outburst of hatred ("La forza primiera"). The scene is a very long and +spirited one, and is followed by a second chorus of priests, leading +to a great aria with chorus ("Ah! tu gelar mi fai") for Arsaces. In +the fifth scene occurs a long duet between Arsaces and Semiramis, the +second part of which ("Giorno d'orrore") is the strongest number in +the opera. Though intensely passionate in its tone, the music is +smooth and flowing and very florid for both voices. The seventh scene +is composed of a scena, aria and chorus, followed by still another +chorus in the mausoleum. Semiramis sings a prayer of great pathos and +beauty ("Ah mio pregar"). A terzetto ("L'usato ardir"), which like the +mausoleum chorus is based upon an aria from Mozart's "Cosi fan tutti," +closes the opera. "The Harmonicon," to which reference has already +been made, in an analysis of the work, has the following apt +criticism: "It has been said, and truly, that 'Semiramide' is composed +in the German style, but it is the German style exaggerated. Rossini +is become a convert to this school, and his conversion does his +judgment credit, though like all proselytes he passes into extremes. +Not satisfied with discarding the meagre accompaniments of the Italian +composers, he even goes far beyond the tramontane masters in the +multitude and use of instruments, and frequently smothers his +concerted pieces and choruses by the overwhelming weight of his +orchestra." But what would the "Harmonicon" have said, had it had +Wagner's instrumentation before it? + + +WILLIAM TELL + +"William Tell," an opera in three acts, words by Étienne Jouy and +Hippolyte Bis, the subject taken from Schiller's drama of the same +name, was first produced at the Académie, Paris, Aug. 3, 1829, with +the following cast:-- + + MATHILDE Mme. DAMOREAU-CINTI. + JEMMY Mme. DABODIE. + HEDWIG Mlle. MORI. + ARNOLD M. NOURRIT. + WALTER M. LEVASSEUR. + TELL M. DABODIE. + RUODI M. DUPONT. + RODOLPHE M. MASSOL. + GESSLER M. PRÉVOST. + LEUTOLD M. PRÉVÔT. + +Rossini wrote for Paris only two new operas, "Le Comte Ory" and +"William Tell,"--the latter his masterpiece in the serious style. The +libretto was first prepared by M. Jouy, but it was so bad that M. Bis +was called in, and to him is due the whole of the second act. Even +after the two authors had changed and revised it, Rossini had to alter +it in many places. When it was first performed the weakness of the +drama was at once recognized, though its music was warmly welcomed, +especially by the critical. It was represented fifty-six times in its +original form, and was then cut down to three acts, the original third +act being omitted and the fourth and fifth condensed into one. For +three years after this time the second act was alone performed in +Paris; but when M. Duprez made his début in the part of Arnold, a +fresh enthusiasm was aroused, and there was a genuine Tell revival. + +The scene of the opera is laid in Switzerland, period the thirteenth +century, and the action closely follows the historical narrative. The +disaffection which has arisen among the Swiss, owing to the tyranny of +Gessler, suddenly comes to a climax when one of Gessler's followers +attempts an outrage upon the only daughter of the herdsman Leutold, +and meets his death at the hands of the indignant father. Leutold +seeks protection at the hands of Tell, who, in the face of the +herdsman's pursuers, succeeds in placing him beyond the reach of +danger, and this circumstance arouses the wrath of Gessler. Melchtal, +the village patriarch, is accused by him of inciting the people to +insubordination, and is put to death. Meanwhile Arnold, his son, is +enamoured of Mathilde, Gessler's daughter, and hesitates between love +and duty when he is called upon to avenge his father's death. At last +duty prevails, and he joins his comrades when the men of the three +cantons, who are loyal to Tell, meet and swear death to the tyrant. In +the last act occurs the famous archery scene. To discover the leading +offenders Gessler erects a pole in the square of Altorf, upon which he +places his hat and commands the people to do homage to it. Tell +refuses, and as a punishment is ordered to shoot an apple from his +son's head. He successfully accomplishes the feat, but as he is about +to retire Gessler observes a second arrow concealed in his garments, +and inquires the reason for it, when Tell boldly replies it was +intended for him in case the first had killed his son. Gessler throws +him into prison, whereupon Mathilde abandons her father and determines +to help in the rescue of Tell and his son. Her lover, Arnold, +meanwhile, raises a band of brave followers and accomplishes the +rescue himself. After slaying the tyrant and freeing his country Tell +returns to his family, and Arnold and Mathilde are united. + +The overture to "William Tell," with its Alpine repose, its great +storm-picture, the stirring "Ranz des Vaches," and the trumpet-call to +freedom, is one of the most perfect and beautiful ever written, and is +so familiar that it does not need analysis. The first act opens with a +delightfully fresh Alpine chorus ("E il ciel sereno"), which is +followed by a pastoral quartet between a fisherman, Tell, Hedwig, and +Jemmy. Arnold enters, and a long duet, one of Rossini's finest +inspirations, follows between Arnold and Tell. The duet is interrupted +by the entrance of several of the peasants escorting two brides and +bridegrooms, which is the signal for a most graceful chorus and dance +("Cinto il crine"). Leutold then appears, seeking Tell's protection, +and a very dramatic finale begins, closing with the arrest of +Melchtal, which leads to an ensemble of great power. + +The second act opens with a double chorus of huntsmen and shepherds +("Qual silvestre metro intorne"), which is followed by a scena +preluding a charming romanza ("Selva opaco") sung by Mathilde. Its +mild, quiet beauty is in strange contrast with the remainder of this +great act. It is followed by a passionate duet with Arnold, a second +and still more passionate duet between Tell and Walter, which leads to +the magnificent trio of the oath ("La gloria inflammi"), and this in +turn is followed by the splendid scene of the gathering of the +cantons. For melodic and harmonic beauty combined, the spirited +treatment of masses, and charm and variety of color, this great scene +stands almost alone. + +The last act opens with a duet between Mathilde and Arnold, which is +followed in the next scene by a march and chorus as the multitude +gathers in the square of Altorf, closing with a lovely Tyrolean chorus +sung by the sopranos and accompanied with the dance. The dramatic +scene of the archery follows, and then Arnold has a very passionate +aria ("O muto asil"). Some very vivid storm-music preluding the last +scene, and the final hymn of freedom ("I boschi, i monti") close an +opera which is unquestionably Rossini's masterpiece, and in which his +musical ability reached its highest expression. "Manly, earnest, and +mighty," Hanslick calls it; and the same authority claims that the +first and second acts belong to the most beautiful achievements of the +modern opera. + + + + +RUBINSTEIN. + +Anton Gregor Rubinstein was born Nov. 30, 1829, at Weghwotynez in +Russia. His mother gave him lessons at the age of four, with the +result that by the time he was six she was unable to teach him +anything more. He then studied the piano with Alexander Villoing, a +pupil of John Field. In 1840 he entered the Paris Conservatory, where +he attracted the attention of Liszt, Chopin, and Thalberg. He remained +in that city eighteen months, and then made some professional tours, +in which he met with extraordinary success. In 1844 his parents +removed to Berlin, and he was placed under Dehn, the famous +contrapuntist, to study composition. From 1846 to 1848 he taught music +in Pressburg and Vienna, and then went back to Russia. For eight years +he studied and wrote in St. Petersburg, and at the end of that time +had accumulated a mass of manuscripts destined to make his name famous +all over Europe, while his reputation as a skilful pianist was already +world-wide. He visited England again in 1857, and the next year +returned home and settled in St. Petersburg, about which time he was +made Imperial Concert Director, with a life-pension. At this period in +his career he devoted himself to the cause of music in Russia. His +first great work was the foundation of the Conservatory in the above +city in 1862, of which he remained principal until 1867. He also +founded the Russian Musical Society in 1861, and in 1869 was decorated +by the Czar. In 1870 he directed the Philharmonic and Choral Societies +of Vienna, and shortly afterwards made another tour, during which, in +1872, he came to this country with the eminent violinist, Wieniawsky, +as will be well remembered. His greatest works are the "Ocean +Symphony," "Dramatic Symphony," and a character sketch for grand +orchestra called "Ivan the Terrible;" his operas, "Children of the +Heath," "Feramors," "Nero," "The Maccabees," "Dimitri Donskoi," and +the "Demon;" the oratorios "Paradise Lost," and "Tower of Babel," and +a long and splendid catalogue of chamber, salon, and concert music, +besides some beautiful songs, which are great favorites in the +concert-room. + + +NERO. + +The opera of "Nero," the libretto by Jules Barbier, was first produced +in Hamburg in 1879,--though it was originally intended for the French +stage,--and in this country, March 14, 1887, at New York, by the +American Opera Company, under the direction of Mr. Theodore Thomas, +with the following cast:-- + + NERO Mr. CANDIDUS. + JULIUS VINDEX Mr. LUDWIG. + TIGELLINUS Mr. STODDARD. + BALBILLUS Mr. WHITNEY. + SACCUS Mr. FESSENDEN. + SEVIRUS Mr. HAMILTON. + TERPANDER Mr. LEE. + POPPOEA SABINA Miss BERTHA PIERSON. + EPICHARIS Miss CORNELIA VAN ZANTEN. + CHRYSA Miss EMMA JUCH. + AGRIPPINA Miss AGNES STERLING. + LUPUS Miss PAULINE L'ALLEMAND. + +The first act opens in the house of Epicharis, a courtesan, which is a +rendezvous for the dissolute Roman nobles. The guests assembled sing a +chorus in praise of the establishment, followed by a scene in which +Vindex, the prince of Aquitania, Saccus the poet, Terpander the +citharist, and others conspire against Nero. Suddenly Chrysa, daughter +of Epicharis, who is ignorant of her mother's real character and +dwells apart from her, rushes in and implores the protection of Vindex +from a crowd of revellers who have pursued her. A very spirited duet +follows in which the prince promises her his assistance. Upon hearing +the shouts of her pursuers he conceals her just in time to escape the +masked band, headed by Nero himself, which bursts into the apartment. +The tyrant demands the girl; and as he throws off his mask the guests +stand amazed. Saccus at last breaks the spell by the suggestion that +Nero shall marry the girl. When she is led out, and Vindex discovers +that Epicharis is her mother, he no longer espouses her cause. Then +follows the music of the mock marriage, interspersed with dance +strains and sardonic choruses by the courtesans and their associates, +at last rising to a wild bacchanalian frenzy, in the midst of which +Vindex breaks out in a spirited song, with harp accompaniment, and +finally hurls invectives at Nero, as Chrysa, who has drunk a narcotic +at her mother's order, falls senseless. The latter declares she has +been poisoned, and the act closes with a scene of great power in which +Vindex is hurried away as Nero's prisoner. + +The second act opens in the dwelling of Poppoea, Nero's mistress, +whose attendants are trying to console her. She has heard of Nero's +new infatuation; but her apprehensions are relieved when Balbillus, +the astrologer, enters and not only announces that Chrysa is dead, but +tells the equally grateful news that Octavia, Nero's wife, has been +condemned to die. Nero himself now appears upon the scene, and a duet +follows in which Poppoea reproaches him for his fickleness and he +seeks to console her with flattery. At its close the death of Octavia +is announced, and Poppoea is appeased by the prospect of sharing the +throne. Meanwhile Chrysa has fallen into the custody of Agrippina, +Nero's mother, who keeps close charge of her to further her own +ambitions. During the interview between the tyrant and his mistress, +Epicharis rushes in and implores Nero to give up Chrysa, which leads +to a powerful ensemble. Learning that Chrysa is still alive he leaves +the apartment to find her. The second scene is brilliantly +spectacular. Nero and his mother appear in front of the temple, +followed by a long procession to the music of a brilliant march. They +enter the temple. After a short episode, in which Poppoea informs +Epicharis of the refuge Chrysa has found, the ballet is given in the +open square, with its fascinating dances of warriors, bacchantes, +jugglers and buffoons, and their mimic combats, the music of which is +very familiar from its frequent performance in our concert-rooms. Nero +then appears and announces his divinity in a finale, which is rich +with scenic, spectacular, and choral effects, accompanied by full +military band and orchestra. + +The third act opens in Chrysa's new asylum of refuge. The persecuted +girl sings a beautiful prayer, at the close of which Vindex joins her +in a love-duet, which will always remain as one of the most refined +and noble products of Rubinstein's skill in harmony. The next number +is one of almost equal beauty,--a duet for Chrysa and Epicharis, the +motive of which is a cradle song. Its soothing tones are interrupted +by the appearance of Nero, followed by Poppoea and Saccus, the +last-named announcing to the tyrant that Rome is in flames, which +leads up to a vigorous trio. The concluding scene is full of +characteristic music. It shows us Nero watching the fire from his +tower, while he sings a hymn ("O Ilion") to the accompaniment of his +lyre; the death of Chrysa, who proclaims herself a Christian and is +killed by the infuriated populace; and the fate of Epicharis, who is +crushed beneath a falling house as she mourns for her daughter. + +The fourth act furnishes a dramatic denouement to the mournful story. +The tyrant, wild with rage and frenzy, appears in the tomb of +Augustus, where the shades of his murdered victims terrify him. Saccus +enters and tells him of the revolt of his army and the danger which +threatens him. He rushes out again and kills himself on the highway of +the Campagna, just as Vindex at the head of his legions comes up with +him. As he expires a cross appears in the sky and a chant is heard, +herald of the coming Christianity. + + + + +THOMAS. + +Charles Ambroise Thomas was born at Metz, Aug. 5, 1811, and entered +the Paris Conservatory in 1828, where he carried off the Grand Prize +in 1832, which entitled him to go to Italy. During his Italian +residence he wrote a cantata, "Hermann und Ketty," and several +instrumental works. His first work at the Opera Comique was the +one-act opera, "La double echelle," produced in 1837 with success. He +then brought out several ballets at the Académie, but returned to the +Opera Comique again, where, between 1840 and 1866, he composed +thirteen operas, the most successful of which were "Le Songe d'une +nuit d'été" (1850), "Raymond" (1851), "Psyche" (1857), and "Mignon" +(1866). During this period he also wrote a large number of cantatas, +choruses, part-songs, and instrumental works. His next great work was +"Hamlet," first produced March 9, 1868, the success of which gained +him the position of Director of the Conservatory in 1871. Since that +time he has written only the opera "Françoise de Rimini," performed +April 14, 1882. In 1880 he was made a member of the Legion of Honor. +In common with Gounod he now shares the honor of being one of the few +French writers who hold a high rank among modern composers. + + +MIGNON + +"Mignon," an opera comique in three acts, words by Barbier and Carré, +the subject taken from Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister," was first produced +at the Opera Comique, Paris, Nov. 17, 1866, with the following cast:-- + + MIGNON Mme. GALLI-MARIÉ. + WILHELM MEISTER M. ACHARD. + LAERTES M. CONDERS. + LOTARIO M. BATAILLE. + FILINA Mme. CABEL. + +The scene of the first two acts is laid in Germany, and of the third +in Italy. Mignon, the heroine, in her childhood was stolen by gypsies. +She is of noble birth. The mother died shortly after her bereavement, +and the father, disguised as the harper Lotario, has wandered for +years in quest of his daughter. The opera opens in the yard of a +German inn, where a troupe of actors, among them Filina and Laertes, +are resting, on their way to the castle of a neighboring prince, where +they are to give a performance. + +A strolling gypsy band arrives about the same time, and stops to give +an entertainment to the guests. Mignon, who is with the band, is +ordered to perform the egg dance, but, worn out with fatigue and +abusive treatment, refuses. Giarno, the leader, rushes at her, but the +old harper interposes in her behalf. Giarno then turns upon Lotario, +when the wandering student, Wilhelm Meister, suddenly appears and +rescues both Mignon and the harper. To save her from any further +persecution he engages her as his page, and follows on in the suite of +Filina, for whom he conceives a violent and sudden passion. Touched by +his kind attentions to her, Mignon falls in love with Wilhelm, who, +ignorant of his page's affection, becomes more and more a prey to the +fascinations of Filina. At last the troupe arrives at the castle, +Wilhelm and Mignon with them. Wilhelm enters with the others, leaving +Mignon to await him outside. Maddened with jealousy, she attempts to +throw herself into a lake near by, but is restrained by the notes of +Lotario's harp. She rushes to him for counsel and protection, and in +her despair invokes vengeance upon all in the castle. As the +entertainment closes, Filina and her troupe emerge, joyful over their +great success. She sends Mignon back for some flowers she has left, +when suddenly flames appear in the windows. Maddened by his own grief +and Mignon's troubles Lotario has fired the castle. Wilhelm rushes +into the burning building and brings out the unconscious Mignon in his +arms. + +The last act opens in Lotario's home in Italy, whither Mignon has been +taken, followed by Wilhelm, who has discovered her devoted attachment +to him, and has freed himself from the fascinations of Filina. Through +the medium of a long-concealed casket containing a girdle which Mignon +had worn in her childhood, also by a prayer which she repeats, and the +picture of her mother, Lotario is at last convinced that she is his +daughter, and gives his blessing to her union with Wilhelm. + +The overture recites the leading motives of the work. The first act +opens with a fresh and melodious chorus of the townspeople over their +beer in the inn yard ("Su borghesi e magnati"). During their singing a +characteristic march is heard, and the gypsy band enters. The scene is +a charming one, the little ballet being made still more picturesque by +the fresh chorus and a song of Filina's in waltz time. The scene of +the encounter with Giarno and Mignon's rescue follows, and leads up to +a very spirited quintet, which is followed by a graceful trio between +Wilhelm, Filina, and Laertes, the actor. In the next scene Wilhelm +questions Mignon as to her history, and at the end of their pathetic +duet, when he says, "Were I to break thy chains and set thee free, to +what beloved spot wouldst thou take thy way?" she replies in the +beautiful romanza, "Non conosci il bel suol," more familiarly known in +Goethe's own words, "Kennst du das Land,"--a song full of tender +beauty and rare expression, and one of the most delightful +inspirations of any composer. It is said that much of its charm comes +from the composer's study of Ary Scheffer's picture of Mignon. Be this +as it may, he has caught the inner sense of the poem, and expressed it +in exquisite tones. It is followed almost immediately by a duet +between Mignon and Lotario ("Leggiadre rondinelle") of almost equal +beauty, known as the Swallow duet. After a somewhat uninteresting +scene between Laertes, Filina, and Frederick, who is also in love with +Filina, the finale begins with the departure of the actors to fulfil +their engagement, in which Filina, in a graceful aria ("Grazie al +gentil signor"), invites Wilhelm to be of the number. + +The second act opens in Filina's boudoir, where she is at her toilet, +arraying herself for her part as Titania in the forthcoming +performance of the "Midsummer Night's Dream" at the castle. As Wilhelm +and Mignon enter the apartment, a very dramatic conversation ensues +between them in the form of a terzetto ("Ohimè quell' acre riso"). +Mignon is in despair at the attention Wilhelm pays Filina, and the +latter adds to her pangs by singing with him a gay coquettish aria +("Gai complimenti"). As they leave the room Mignon goes to the mirror +and begins adorning herself as Filina had done, hoping thereby to +attract Wilhelm, singing meanwhile a characteristic song ("Conosco un +zingarello") with a peculiar refrain, which the composer himself calls +the "Styrienne." It is one of the most popular numbers in the opera, +and when first sung in Paris made a furor. At the end of the scene +Mignon goes into a cabinet to procure one of Filina's dresses, and the +lovelorn Frederick enters and sings his only number in the opera, a +bewitching rondo gavotte ("Filina nelle sale"). Wilhelm enters, and a +quarrel between the jealous pair is prevented by the sudden appearance +of Mignon in Filina's finery. She rushes between them, Frederick makes +his exit in a fume, and Wilhelm announces to Mignon his intention to +leave her, in the aria, "Addio, Mignon, fa core," one of the most +pathetic songs in the modern opera. In the next scene she tears off +her finery and rushes out expressing her hatred of Filina. The scene +now changes to the park surrounding the castle where the entertainment +is going on. Mignon hears the laughter and clapping of hands, and +overcome with despair attempts to throw herself into the lake, but is +restrained by Lotario, and a beautiful duet ensues between them +("Sofferto hai tu?"). In the next scene Filina, the actors, and their +train of followers emerge from the castle, and in the midst of their +joy she sings the polacca, "Ah! per stassera," which is a perfect _feu +de joie_ of sparkling music, closing with a brilliant cadenza. The +finale, which is very dramatic, describes the burning of the castle +and the rescue of Mignon. + +The last act is more dramatic than musical, though it contains a few +delightful numbers, among them the chorus barcarole in the first +scene, "Orsu, sciogliam le vela," a song by Wilhelm ("Ah! non +credea"), and the love duet, "Ah! son felice," between Wilhelm and +Mignon, in which is heard again the cadenza of Filina's polacca. +"Mignon" has always been a success, and will unquestionably always +keep its place on the stage,--longer even than the composer's more +ambitious works, "Hamlet" and "Françoise de Rimini," by virtue of its +picturesqueness and poetic grace, as well as by the freshness, warmth, +and richness of its melodies. In this country opera-goers will long +remember "Mignon" by the great successes made by Miss Kellogg as +Filina, and by Mme. Lucca and Mme. Nilsson in the title-rôle. + + + + +VERDI. + +Giuseppi Verdi was born at Roncale, Italy, Oct. 9, 1813. He displayed +his musical talent at a very early age; indeed, in his tenth year he +was appointed organist in his native town. He then studied for a time +at Busseto, and afterwards, by the help of a patron, M. Barezzi, went +to Milan. Curiously enough he was refused a scholarship on the ground +that he displayed no aptitude for music. Nothing daunted, he studied +privately with the composer Lavigne, and five years afterwards +commenced his career as an operatic writer. His first opera, "Oberto," +was given at La Scala, Milan, with indifferent success. He was not +fairly recognized until his opera "I Lombardi" was performed. In 1844 +"Ernani" was received with great enthusiasm. "Attila" (1846) was his +next great triumph; and then followed in rapid succession a large +number of operas, among them: "I Masnadieri" (1847), written for the +English stage, with Jenny Lind, Lablache, and Gardoni in the cast; +"Luisa Miller" (1849); "Stifellio" (1851); "Rigoletto" (1851); "Il +Trovatore," Rome (1853); "La Traviata," Venice (1853); "I Vespri +Siciliani," Paris (1855); "Simon Boccanegra," Venice (1857); "Un Ballo +in Maschera," Rome (1858); "La Forza del Destino," St. Petersburg +(1862); "Don Carlos," Paris (1867), and "Aida," his last opera, Cairo +(1871). Since that time Verdi has produced nothing but a Pater Noster +and an Ave Maria (1880), and the "Requiem," composed in memory of the +patriot Manzoni, and produced at Milan in 1874, on the occasion of the +anniversary of his death. It has been reported that he is at work upon +a new opera, "Othello," the words by Arrigo Boito, the composer of +"Mephistopheles;" but nothing more than the report has been heard from +it during the past three or four years. The great melodist now spends +a very quiet life as a country gentleman upon his estates near +Busseto. + + +ERNANI. + +"Ernani," a tragic opera in four acts, words by F.M. Piave, the +subject taken from Victor Hugo's tragedy of "Hernani," was first +produced at Venice, March 9, 1844. The earlier performances of the +opera gave the composer much trouble. Before the first production the +police interfered, refusing to allow the representation of a +conspiracy on the stage, so that many parts of the libretto, as well +as much of the music, had to be changed. The blowing of Don Silva's +horn in the last act was also objected to by one Count Mocenigo, upon +the singular ground that it was disgraceful. The Count, however, was +silenced more easily than the police. The chorus "Si ridesti il Leon +di Castiglia" also aroused a political manifestation by the Venetians. +The opera was given in Paris, Jan. 6, 1846, and there it encountered +the hostility of Victor Hugo, who demanded that the libretto should be +changed. To accommodate the irate poet, the words were altered, the +characters were changed to Italians, and the new title of "II +Proscritto" was given to the work. + +The action of the opera takes place in Arragon, Spain, and the period +is 1519. Elvira, a noble Spanish lady, betrothed to the grandee Don +Gomez de Silva, is in love with the bandit Ernani, who forms a plan to +carry her off. While receiving the congratulations of her friends upon +her approaching marriage with Silva, Don Carlos, the King of Spain, +enters her apartment, declares his passion for her, and tries to force +her from the castle. She cries for help, and Ernani comes to her +rescue and defies the king. The situation is still further complicated +by the sudden arrival of Silva, who declares he will avenge the +insult. Finding, however, that it is the King whom he has challenged, +he sues for pardon. In the second act, as the nuptials are about to be +solemnized, Ernani enters, disguised as a pilgrim, and believing +Elvira false to him, throws off his disguise and demands to be given +up to the King, which Silva refuses, as he cannot betray a guest. +Discovering, however, that Elvira and Ernani are attached to each +other, he determines on vengeance. The King eventually carries off +Elvira as a hostage of the faith of Silva, whereupon the latter +challenges Ernani. The bandit refuses to fight with him, informs him +that the King is also his rival, and asks to share in his vengeance, +promising in turn to give up his life when Silva calls for it, and +presenting him with a horn which he is to sound whenever he wishes to +have the promise kept. In the third act, the King, aware that the +conspirators are to meet in the catacombs of Aquisgrana, conceals +himself there, and when the assassins meet to decide who shall kill +him, he suddenly appears among them and condemns the nobles to be sent +to the block. Ernani, who is a duke, under the ban of the King of +Castile, demands the right to join them, but the King magnanimously +pardons the conspirators and consents to the union of Ernani and +Elvira. Upon the very eve of their happiness, and in the midst of +their festivities, the fatal horn is heard, and true to his promise +Ernani parts from Elvira and kills himself. + +The first act opens with a spirited chorus of banditti and +mountaineers ("Allegri, beviami") as they are drinking and gambling in +their mountain retreat. Ernani appears upon a neighboring height and +announces himself in a despondent aria ("Come rugiada al cespite"). A +brief snatch of chorus intervenes, when he breaks out in a second and +more passionate strain ("Dell' esilio nel dolore"), in which he sings +of his love for Elvira. The third scene opens in Elvira's apartments, +and is introduced with one of the most beautiful of Verdi's arias, +"Ernani, involami," with which all concert-goers have become +acquainted by its frequent repetition. A graceful chorus of her ladies +bearing gifts leads to a second and more florid number ("Tutto sprezzo +che d' Ernani"). Don Carlos enters, and in the seventh scene has an +aria ("Bella come un primo amore") in which he declares his passion +for Elvira, leading up to a very dramatic duet between them ("Fiero +sangue d' Aragona"). This is followed in turn by a trio between the +two and Ernani. The finale commences with an impressive and sonorous +bass solo ("Infelice! e tuo credevi") by Silva, and closes with a +septet and chorus of great power. + +The second act, like the first, opens with a chorus, this time, +however, of mixed voices, the power of which is amplified by a +military band on the stage. After three scenes of dramatic dialogue, +an impassioned duet ("Ah! morir potessi adesso!") occurs between +Ernani and Elvira, followed by a second, of great dramatic intensity, +in the seventh scene ("La vendetta piu tremenda"). The finale begins +with a spirited appeal by Silva and Ernani for vengeance against the +King ("In arcione, cavalieri") which is met by a stirring response +from their followers ("Pronti vedi li tuoi cavalieri"), sung by full +male chorus and closing the act. + +The third act is devoted to the conspiracy, and in the second scene +Don Carlos has a very impressive and at times thrilling soliloquy +("Gran Dio! costo sui sepolcrali marmi"). The conspiracy then begins +with very characteristic accompaniments, closing with the chorus in +full harmony ("Si ridesti il Leon di Castiglia"), which at the +performance of the work in Venice roused such a fury among the +Venetians. The finale commences with the appearance of Don Carlos +among the conspirators, and closes with the great sextet and chorus, +"O Sommo Carlo." Opening with a barytone solo, it is gradually worked +up in a crescendo of great power and thrilling effect. The number is +very familiar from its English setting under the title, "Crowned with +the Tempest." + +The fourth act rapidly hurries to the tragic close, and is less +interesting from a musical point of view, as the climax was reached in +the finale of the third. The principal numbers are the chorus of masks +in the first scene ("O come felici"), accompanied by military band, +and the great duet between Elvira and Ernani ("Cessaro i suoni"), +which passes from rapturous ecstasy to the despair of fate ("Per noi +d' amore il talamo") as the horn of Silva is heard, reminding Ernani +of his promise. Though one of the earliest of Verdi's works, "Ernani" +is one of his strongest in dramatic intensity, in the brilliancy and +power of its concerted finales, and in the beauty of its great chorus +effects. + + +RIGOLETTO. + +"Rigoletto," an opera in three acts, words by Piave, the subject taken +from Victor Hugo's tragedy, "Le Roi s'amuse," was first produced at +Venice, March 11, 1851. The part of Gilda has always been a favorite +one with great artists, among whom Nantier-Didiée, Bosio, and +Miolan-Carvalho played the rôle with extraordinary success. In the +London season of 1860 Mario and Ronconi in the respective parts of the +Duke and Rigoletto, it is said, gave dramatic portraitures which were +among the most consummate achievements of the lyric stage. The records +of its first production, like those of "Ernani," are of unusual +interest. Verdi himself suggested Victor Hugo's tragedy to Piave for a +libretto, and he soon prepared one, changing the original title, +however, to "La Maledizione." Warned by the political events of 1848, +the police flatly refused to allow the representation of a king on the +stage in such situations as those given to Francis I. in the original +tragedy. The composer and the manager of the theatre begged in vain +that the libretto should be accepted, but the authorities were +obstinate. At last a way was found out of the difficulty by the chief +of police himself, who was a great lover of art. He suggested to the +librettist that the King should be changed to a duke of Mantua, and +the title of the work to "Rigoletto," the name of the buffoon who +figures in the place of the original Triboulet. Verdi accepted the +alterations, and had an opera ready in forty days which by nearly all +critics is considered his musical masterpiece, notwithstanding the +revolting character of the story. + +The scene of the opera is laid in Mantua. Rigoletto, the privileged +buffoon of the Duke, who also plays the part of pander in all his +licentious schemes, among numerous other misdeeds has assisted his +master in the seduction of the wife of Count Ceprano and the daughter +of Count Monterone. The latter appears before the Duke and Rigoletto, +and demands reparation for the dishonor put upon his house, only to +find himself arrested by order of the Duke, and taunted in the most +insolent manner by the buffoon, upon whom he invokes the vengeance of +Heaven. Even the courtiers themselves are enraged at Rigoletto's +taunts, and determine to assist in Monterone's revenge by stealing +Gilda, the jester's daughter, whom they suppose to be his mistress. +Closely as she had been concealed, she had not escaped the observation +of the Duke, who in the guise of a poor student wins her affections +and discovers her dwelling-place. Pretending that it is Count +Ceprano's wife whom they are about to abduct, they even make Rigoletto +assist in the plot and help convey his own daughter to the Duke's +apartments. In his blind fury when he discovers the trick that has +been played upon him, he hires Sparafucile, a professional assassin, +to kill the Duke. The bravo allures the Duke to his house, intending +to carry out his agreement; but his sister, Magdalena, is so +fascinated with the handsome stranger, that she determines to save +him. Sparafucile at first will not listen to her, but finally promises +if any one else comes to the house before the time agreed upon for the +murder he shall be the victim. Rigoletto meanwhile disguises his +daughter in male attire in order that she may escape to Verona; but +before she sets out he takes her to the vicinity of Sparafucile's +house, that she may witness the perfidy of the Duke. While outside, +she overhears the quarrel between Sparafucile and Magdalena, and +learns his intention to murder the Duke, who is even then sleeping in +the house. With a woman's devotion she springs forward to save the +Duke's life, knocks at the door, and demands admittance. Sparafucile +opens it, and as she enters stabs her. He then thrusts her body into a +sack, and delivers it to her father as the body of the man whom he had +agreed to slay. Rigoletto, gloating over his revenge, is about to +throw the sack into the river near by, when he suddenly hears the +voice of the Duke. He tears open the sack to see whose body it +contains, and by the glare of the lightning is horrified to find that +it is his own daughter, and realizes that the malediction of Monterone +has been accomplished. She expires in his arms, blessing her lover and +father, while he sinks to the ground overwhelmed with the fulfilment +of the terrible curse. + +The first act opens in the ball-room of the ducal palace. After a +brief dialogue between the Duke and one of his courtiers, the former +vaunts his own fickleness in one of the most graceful and charming +arias in the whole opera ("Questa o quella"). Some spirited dramatic +scenes follow, which introduce the malediction of Monterone and the +compact between Rigoletto and Sparafucile, and lead up to a scena of +great power ("Io la lingua, egli ha il pugnali"), in which the buffoon +vents his furious rage against the courtiers. A tender duet between +Rigoletto and Gilda follows, and a second duet in the next scene +between Gilda and the Duke ("Addio, speranza ed anima"), which for +natural grace, passionate intensity, and fervid expression is one of +Verdi's finest numbers. As the Duke leaves, Gilda, following him with +her eyes, breaks out in the passionate love-song, "Caro nome," which +is not alone remarkable for its delicacy and richness of melody, but +also for the brilliancy of its bravura, calling for rare range and +flexibility of voice. The act closes with the abduction, and gives an +opportunity for a delightful male chorus ("Zitti, zitti") sung +pianissimo. + +The second act also opens in the palace, with an aria by the Duke +("Parmi veder le lagrime"), in which he laments the loss of Gilda. +Another fine chorus ("Scorrendo uniti remota via") follows, from which +he learns that Gilda is already in the palace. In the fourth scene +Rigoletto has another grand scena ("Cortigiani vil razza dannata"), +which is intensely dramatic, expressing in its musical alternations +the whole gamut of emotions, from the fury of despair to the most +exquisite tenderness of appeal as he pleads with the courtiers to tell +him where his daughter is. In the next scene he discovers her, and the +act closes with a duet between them ("Tutte le feste al tempio"), +which, after a strain of most impassioned tenderness, is interrupted +by the passage of the guards conveying Monterone to prison, and then +closes with a furious outburst of passion from Rigoletto. With the +exception of two numbers, the last act depends for its effect upon the +dramatic situations and the great power of the terrible denouement; +but these two numbers are among the finest Verdi has ever given to the +world. The first is the tenor solo sung in Sparafucile's house in the +second scene by the Duke,--"La donna e mobile," an aria of extreme +elegance and graceful abandon, which is heard again in the last scene, +its lightly tripping measures contrasting strangely with the savage +glee of Rigoletto, so soon to change to wails of despair as he +realizes the full force of the malediction. The second is the great +quartet in the third scene between the Duke, Gilda, Magdalena, and +Rigoletto ("Bella figlia dell' amore"), which stands out as an +inspiration in comparison with the rest of the opera, fine as its +music is. The story itself is almost too repulsive for stage +representation; but in beauty, freshness, originality, and dramatic +expression the music of "Rigoletto" is Verdi's best; and in all this +music the quartet is the masterpiece. + + +LA TRAVIATA. + +"La Traviata," an opera in three acts, words by Piave, is founded upon +Dumas's "Dame aux Camelias," familiar to the English stage as +"Camille." The original play is supposed to represent phases of modern +French life; but the Italian libretto changes the period to the year +1700, in the days of Louis XIV.; and there are also some material +changes of characters,--Marguerite Gauthier of the original appearing +as Violetta Valery, and Olympia as Flora Belvoix, at whose house the +ball scene takes place. The opera was first produced at Venice, March +6, 1853, with the following cast of the principal parts:-- + + VIOLETTA Mme. DONATELLI. + ALFREDO M. GRAZIANI. + GERMONT M. VARESI. + +The opera at its first production was a complete failure, though this +was due more to the singers than to the music. It is said that when +the doctor announced in the third act that Mme. Donatelli, who +impersonated the consumptive heroine, and who was one of the stoutest +ladies ever seen on the stage, had but a few days to live, the whole +audience broke out into roars of laughter. Time has brought its +consolations to the composer, however, for "Traviata" is now one of +the most popular operas in the modern repertory. When it was first +produced in Paris, Oct. 27, 1864, Christine Nilsson made her début in +it. In London, the charming little singer Mme. Piccolomini made her +début in the same opera, May 24, 1856. Adelina Patti, since that time, +has not only made Violetta the strongest character in her repertory, +but is without question the most finished representative of the +fragile heroine the stage has seen. + +The story as told by the librettist simply resolves itself into three +principal scenes,--the supper at Violetta's house, where she makes the +acquaintance of Alfred, and the rupture between them occasioned by the +arrival of Alfred's father; the ball at the house of Flora; and the +death scene and reconciliation, linked together by recitative, so that +the dramatic unity of the original is lost to a certain extent. The +first act opens with a gay party in Violetta's house. Among the crowd +about her is Alfred Germont, a young man from Provence, who is +passionately in love with her. The sincerity of his passion finally +influences her to turn aside from her life of voluptuous pleasure and +to cherish a similar sentiment for him. In the next act we find her +living in seclusion with her lover in a country-house in the environs +of Paris, to support which she has sold her property in the city. When +Alfred discovers this he refuses to be the recipient of her bounty, +and sets out for Paris to recover the property. During his absence his +father, who has discovered his retreat, visits Violetta, and pleads +with her to forsake Alfred, not only on his own account, but to save +his family from disgrace. Touched by the father's grief, she consents, +and secretly returns to Paris, where she once more resumes her old +life. At a ball given by Flora Belvoix, one of Violetta's associates, +Alfred meets her again, overwhelms her with reproaches, and insults +her by flinging her miniature at her feet in presence of the whole +company. Stung by her degradation, Violetta goes home to die, and too +late Alfred learns the real sacrifice she has made. He hastens to +comfort her, but she dies forgiving and blessing him. + +After a short prelude the first act opens with a vivacious chorus of +the guests at Violetta's supper, leading to a drinking-song ("Libiamo, +libiamo") in waltz time, sung first by Alfred and then by Violetta, +the chorus echoing each couplet with very pretty effect. After a long +dialogue between the two, closing with chorus, Violetta has a grand +scena which is always a favorite show-piece with concert artists. It +begins with an andante movement ("Ah! fors e lui"), expressive of the +suddenly awakened love which she feels for Alfred, with a refrain of +half a dozen measures in the finale which might be called the Violetta +motive, and then suddenly develops into a brisk and sparkling allegro +("Sempre libera") full of the most florid and brilliant ornamentation, +in which she again resolves to shut out every feeling of love and +plunge into the whirl of dissipation. This number, unlike most of +Verdi's finales which are concerted, closes the act. + +The second act opens in the country-house with an effective tenor aria +("De' miei bollenti") sung by Alfred. In the next scene Germont +enters, and after a brief dialogue with Violetta sings a short +cantabile ("Pura siccome un angelo"), leading to a duet ("Dite alia +giovine") with Violetta which is full of tenderness. In the interview +which immediately follows between Germont and Alfred, the father +appeals to his son with memories of home in an andante ("Di Provenza +il mar") which in form and simplicity and simple pathos of expression +might almost be called a ballad. It is always a favorite, and is +usually considered the best number in the opera, notwithstanding its +simple melody. The next scene changes to the ball-room of Flora, and +is introduced with a peculiar chorus effect. A masked chorus of +gypsies, accompanying their measures with tambourines, is followed by +a second chorus of matadors, also in mask, who accent the time with +the pikes they carry, the double number ending with a gay bolero. The +act closes with a long duet between Violetta and Alfred, developing in +the finale, by the entrance of Germont, to a very strong and dramatic +trio. + +The third act opens in Violetta's chamber with a reminiscence of the +introduction. As she contemplates her changed appearance in the +mirror, she bids a sad farewell to her dreams of happiness in the +aria, "Addio! del passato," in harsh contrast with which is heard a +bacchanalian chorus behind the scenes ("Largo al quadrupede"). In the +next scene occurs the passionate duet with Alfred, "Parigi, o cara," +which is a close copy of the final duet in "Trovatore" between Manrico +and Azucena. It is followed by the aria, "Ah! gran Dio," for Violetta, +which leads to the concluding quintet and death scene. + + +IL TROVATORE. + +"II Trovatore," an opera in four acts, words by Cammarano, was first +produced in Rome, Jan. 19, 1853. In 1857 it was brought out in Paris +as "Le Trouvere," and in London, 1856, in English, as "The Gypsy's +Vengeance." It was produced in Rome in the same year with "La +Traviata," but unlike the latter, it was greeted at once with an +enthusiastic welcome; and it has held the stage ever since as one of +the most popular operas in the modern repertory. In this regard, +indeed, it shares with "Martha" and "Faust" the highest place in +popular admiration. + +The opera opens with a midnight scene at the palace of Aliaferia, +where the old servitor, Ferrando, relates to his associates the story +of the fate of Garzia, brother of the Count di Luna, in whose service +they are employed. While in their cradles, Garzia was bewitched by an +old gypsy, and day by day pined away. The gypsy was burned at the +stake for sorcery; and in revenge Azucena, her daughter, stole the +sickly child. At the opening of the opera his fate has not been +discovered. + +As the servitor closes his narrative and he and his companions depart, +the Count di Luna enters and lingers by the apartment of the Duchess +Leonora, with whom he is in love. Hearing his voice, Leonora comes +into the garden, supposing it is Manrico the troubadour, whom she had +crowned victor at a recent tournament, and of whom she had become +violently enamoured. As she greets the Count, Manrico appears upon the +scene and charges her with infidelity. Recognizing her error, she +flies to Manrico for protection. The Count challenges him to combat, +and as they prepare to fight she falls to the ground insensible. + +In the second act we are introduced to a gypsy camp, where Azucena +relates to Manrico, who has been wounded in the duel with the Count, +the same story which Ferrando had told his friends, with the addition +that when she saw her mother burning she caught up the Count's child, +intending to throw it into the flames, but by a mistake sacrificed her +own infant. As the story concludes, a messenger arrives, summoning +Manrico to the defence of the castle of Castellar, and at the same +time informing him that Leonora, supposing him dead, has gone to a +convent. He arrives at the convent in time to rescue her before she +takes her vows, and bears her to Castellar, which is at once besieged +by the Count's forces. + +The third act opens in the camp of the Count, where Azucena, arrested +as a spy, is dragged in. She calls upon Manrico for help. The mention +of his rival's name only adds fuel to the Count's wrath, and he orders +the gypsy to be burned in sight of the castle. Ferrando has already +recognized her as the supposed murderer of the Count's brother, and +her filial call to Manrico also reveals to him that she is his mother. +He makes a desperate effort to rescue her, but is defeated, taken +prisoner, and thrown into a dungeon with Azucena. Leonora vainly +appeals to the Count to spare Manrico, and at last offers him her hand +if he will save his life. He consents, and Leonora hastens to the +prison to convey the tidings, having previously taken poison, +preferring to die rather than fulfil her hateful compact. Manrico +refuses his liberty, and as Leonora falls in a dying condition the +Count enters and orders Manrico to be put to death at once. He is +dragged away to execution, but as the Count triumphantly forces +Azucena to a window and shows her the tragic scene, she reveals her +secret, and informing the horror-stricken Count that he has murdered +his own brother, falls lifeless to the ground. + +The first act opens with a ballad in mazurka time ("Abbietta +Zingara"), in which Ferrando relates the story of the gypsy, leading +up to a scena for Leonora, which is treated in Verdi's favorite style. +It begins with an andante ("Tacea la notte placida"), a brief dialogue +with her attendant Inez intervening, and then develops into an allegro +("Di tale amor") which is a brilliant bit of bravura. A brief snatch +of fascinating melody behind the scenes ("Deserto sulla terra") +introduces Manrico, and the act closes with a trio ("Di geloso amor +sprezzato"), which as an expression of combined grief, fear, and hate, +is one of the most dramatic and intense of all Verdi's finales. + +The second act opens with the Anvil chorus in the camp of the gypsies +("La Zingarella"), the measures accented with hammers upon the anvils. +This number is so familiar that it does not need further reference. As +its strains die away in the distance, Azucena breaks out into an aria +of intense energy, with very expressive accompaniment ("Stride le +vampa"), in which she tells the fearful story of the burning of her +mother. A very dramatic dialogue with Manrico ensues, closing with a +spirited aria for tenor ("Mai reggendo") and duet ("Sino all' elsa"). +The scene is interrupted by the notes of a horn announcing the arrival +of a messenger. The second scene is introduced by a flowing, broad, +and beautifully sustained aria for the Count ("Il balen del suo"), +and, like Leonora's numbers in the garden scene, again develops from a +slow movement to a rapid and spirited march tempo ("Per me ora +fatale"), the act closing with a powerful concerted effect of quartet +and chorus. + +The third act is introduced with a very free and animated soldiers' +chorus. Azucena is dragged in and sings a plaintive lament for Manrico +("Giorni poveri"). Two duets follow, between Azucena and the Count, +and Manrico and Leonora,--the second worked up with beautiful effect +by the blending of the organ in the convent chapel. The act closes +with the spirited aria, "Di quella pira," for Manrico,--a number which +has always been the delight of great dramatic tenors, not alone for +its fine melody, but for its opportunity of showing the voice and +using the exceptional high C which is introduced in the finale of the +aria. + +The last act is replete with beautiful melodies following each other +in quick succession. It opens with a very florid aria for Leonora ("D' +amor sull' ali rosee"), leading to the exquisite scene of the +Miserere, "Ah che la morte,"--a number which has never yet failed to +charm and arouse audiences with the beauty and richness of its musical +effect. As the Count enters, Leonora has another powerful aria ("Mira +di acerbe"), which in the next scene is followed by the familiar duet +between Azucena and Manrico, "Si la stanchezza," upon which Verdi +lavished his musical skill with charming effect. The last scene closes +with the tragedy. The whole opera is liberally enriched with melodies, +and is dramatic throughout; but the last act is the crown of the work, +and may successfully challenge comparison, for beauty, variety, and +dramatic effect, with any other opera in the purely Italian school. + + +IL BALLO IN MASCHERA. + +"Il Ballo in Maschera," an opera in three acts, but usually performed +in four, words by M. Somma, was first produced in Rome, Feb. 17, 1859. +In preparing his work for the stage, Verdi encountered numerous +obstacles. The librettist used the same subject which M. Scribe had +adopted for Auber's opera, "Gustavus III.," and the opera was at first +called by the same name,--"Gustavo III." It was intended for +production at the San Carlo, Naples, during the Carnival of 1858; but +while the rehearsals were proceeding, Orsini made his memorable +attempt to kill Napoleon III., and the authorities at once forbade a +performance of the work, as it contained a conspiracy scene. The +composer was ordered to set different words to his music, but he +peremptorily refused; whereupon the manager brought suit against him, +claiming forty thousand dollars damages. The disappointment nearly +incited a revolution in Naples. Crowds gathered in the streets +shouting, "Viva Verdi," implying at the same time, by the use of the +letters in Verdi's name, the sentiment, "Viva Vittorio Emmanuele Re Di +Italia." A way out of his difficulties, however, was finally suggested +by the impresario at Rome, who arranged with the censorship to have +the work brought out at the Teatro Apollo as "Un Ballo in Maschera." +The scene was changed to Boston, Massachusetts, and the time laid in +the colonial period, notwithstanding the anachronism that masked balls +were unknown at that time in New England history. The Swedish king +appeared as Ricardo, Count of Warwick and Governor of Boston, and his +attendants as Royalists and Puritans, among them two negroes, Sam and +Tom, who are very prominent among the conspirators. In this form, the +Romans having no objection to the assassination of an English +governor, the opera was produced with great success. + +The first act opens in the house of the Governor, where a large party, +among them a group of conspirators, is assembled. During the meeting a +petition is presented for the banishment of Ulrico, a negro sorcerer. +Urged by curiosity, the Governor, disguised as a sailor and +accompanied by some of his friends, pays the old witch a visit. +Meanwhile another visit has been planned. Amelia, the wife of the +Governor's secretary, meets the witch at night in quest of a remedy +for her passion for Richard, who of course has also been fascinated by +her. They arrive about the same time, and he overhears the witch +telling her to go to a lonely spot, where she will find an herb potent +enough to cure her of her evil desires. The Governor follows her, and +during their interview the Secretary hurriedly rushes upon the scene +to notify him that conspirators are on his track. He throws a veil +over Amelia's face and orders Reinhart, the Secretary, to conduct her +to a place of safety without seeking to know who she is. He consents, +and the Governor conceals himself in the forest. The conspirators +meanwhile meet the pair, and in the confusion Amelia drops her veil, +thus revealing herself to Reinhart. Furious at the Governor's perfidy, +he joins the conspirators. In the denouement the Secretary stabs his +master at a masquerade, and the latter while dying attests the purity +of Amelia, and magnanimously gives his secretary a commission +appointing him to a high position in England. + +After a brief prelude, the first act opens with a double chorus, in +which the attitude of the friends of the Governor and the conspirators +against him is strongly contrasted. In the next scene Richard and his +page, Oscar, enter; and after a short dialogue Richard sings a very +graceful romanza ("La rivedra nell' estasi"), which in the next scene +is followed by a spirited aria for Reinhart ("Di speranze e glorie +piena"). In the fourth scene Oscar has a very pretty song ("Volta la +terrea"), in which he defends Ulrica against the accusations of the +judge, leading up to a very effective quintet and chorus which has a +flavor of the opera bouffe style. In grim contrast with it comes the +witch music in the next scene ("Re del abisso"), set to a weird +accompaniment. As the various parties arrive, a somewhat talky trio +ensues between Amelia, Ulrica, and Richard, followed in the next scene +by a lovely barcarole ("Di' tu se fedele") sung by Richard, leading to +a beautifully written concerted finale full of sharp dramatic +contrasts. + +The second act opens upon a moonlight scene on the spot where +murderers are punished; and Amelia, searching for the magic herb, +sings a long dramatic aria ("Ma dall arido") consisting of abrupt and +broken measures, the orchestra filling the gaps with characteristic +accompaniment. Richard appears upon the scene, and the passionate +love-duet follows, "M'ami, m'ami." The interview is ended by the +sudden appearance of Reinhart, who warns the Governor of his danger, +the scene taking the form of a spirited trio ("Odi tu come"). A buffo +trio closes the act, Sam and Tom supplying the humorous element with +their laughing refrain. + +The last act opens in Reinhart's house with a passionate scene between +the Secretary and his wife, containing two strong numbers, a minor +andante ("Morro, ma prima in grazia") for Amelia, and an aria for +Reinhart ("O dolcezzo perdute"), which for originality and true +artistic power is worthy of being classed as an inspiration. The +conspiracy music then begins, and leads to the ball scene, which is +most brilliantly worked up with orchestra, military band, and stringed +quartet behind the scenes supplying the dance-music, and the +accompaniment to the tragical conspiracy, in the midst of which, like +a bright sunbeam, comes the page's bewitching song, "Saper vorreste." +The opera closes with the death of Richard, set to a very dramatic +accompaniment. "The Masked Ball" was the last work Verdi wrote for the +Italian stage, and though uneven in its general effect, it contains +some of his most original and striking numbers,--particularly those +allotted to the page and Reinhart. In the intensity of the music and +the strength of the situations it is superior even to "Trovatore," as +the composer makes his effects more legitimately. + + +AIDA. + +"Aida," an opera in four acts, was first produced at Cairo, Egypt, +Dec. 27, 1871, and was written upon a commission from the Khedive of +that country. The subject of the opera was taken from a sketch, +originally written in prose, by the director of the Museum at Boulak, +which was afterwards rendered into French verse by M. Camille de +Locle, and translated thence into Italian for Verdi by Sig. A. +Ghizlandoni. It is the last opera Verdi has composed, and is notable +for his departure from the conventional Italian forms and the partial +surrender he has made to the constantly increasing influence of the +so-called music of the future. The subject is entirely Egyptian, and +the music is full of Oriental color. + +The action of the opera passes in Memphis and Thebes, and the period +is in the time of the Pharaohs. Aida, the heroine, is a slave, +daughter of Amonasro, the King of Ethiopia, and at the opening of the +opera is in captivity among the Egyptians. A secret attachment exists +between herself and Rhadames, a young Egyptian warrior, who is also +loved by Amneris, daughter of the sovereign of Egypt. The latter +suspects that she has a rival, but does not discover her until +Rhadames returns victorious from an expedition against the rebellious +Amonasro, who is brought back a prisoner. The second act opens with a +scene between Amneris and Aida, in which the Princess wrests the +secret from the slave by pretending that Rhadames has been killed; and +the truth is still further revealed when Rhadames pleads with the King +to spare the lives of the captives. The latter agrees to release all +but Aida and Amonasro, bestows the hand of Amneris upon the unwilling +conqueror, and the act closes amid general jubilation. Acting upon +Amonasro's admonitions, Aida influences Rhadames to fly from Egypt and +espouse the cause of her father. The lovers are overheard by Amneris +and Ramfis, the high priest. The Princess, with all the fury of a +woman scorned, denounces Rhadames as a traitor. He is tried for +treason and condemned to be buried alive in the vaults under the +temple of the god Phtah. Pardon is offered him if he will accept the +hand of Amneris, but he refuses and descends to the tomb, where he +finds Aida awaiting him. The stones are sealed above them and the +lovers are united in death, while Amneris, heart-broken over the +tragedy her jealousy has caused, kneels in prayer before their +sepulchre. + +After a short prelude, consisting of a beautiful pianissimo movement, +mainly for the violins, and very Wagnerish in its general style, the +first act opens in a hall of the King's palace at Memphis. A short +dialogue between Rhadames and the priest Ramfis leads to a delicious +romanza ("Celeste Aida") which is entirely fresh and original, +recalling nothing that appears in any of Verdi's previous works. It is +followed by a strong declamatory duet between Rhadames and Amneris, +which upon the appearance of Aida develops to a trio ("Vieni, o +diletta"). In the next scene the King and his retinue of ministers, +priests, and warriors enter, and a majestic ensemble occurs, beginning +with a martial chorus ("Su! del Nilo") in response to the appeal of +the priests. As the war chorus dies away and the retinue disappears, +Aida has a scena of great power. It begins with a lament for her +country ("Ritorna vincitor"), in passionate declamatory phrases, +clearly showing the influence of Wagner; but in its smooth, flowing +cantabile in the finale, "Numi pieta," Verdi returns to the Italian +style again. The final scene is full of oriental color and barbaric +richness of display. The consecrated arms are delivered to Rhadames. +The priestesses behind the scene to the accompaniment of harps, and +the priests in front with sonorous chant, invoke the aid of the god +Phtah, while other priestesses execute the sacred dance. An impressive +duet between Ramfis and Rhadames closes the act. In this finale, Verdi +has utilized two native Egyptian themes,--the melody sung by the +priestesses with the harps, and the dance-melody given out by the +flutes. + +The second act opens with a female chorus by the slave girls, the +rhythm of which is in keeping with the oriental scene, followed by an +impassioned duet between Amneris and Aida ("Alla pompa che si +appresta"), through which are heard the martial strains of the +returning conqueror. The second scene opens the way for another +ensemble, which with its massive choruses, and its stirring march and +ballet, heralding the victory of Rhadames, is one of the most +picturesque stage scenes the opera has ever furnished. A solemn, +plaintive strain runs through the general jubilation in the appeal of +Amonasro ("Questo assisa ch' io vesto") to the King for mercy to the +captives. The finale begins with the remonstrances of the priests and +people against the appeals of Amonasro and Rhadames, and closes with +an intensely dramatic concerted number,--a quintet set off against the +successive choruses of the priests, prisoners, and people ("Gloria +all' Egitto"). + +The third act, like the first, after a brief dialogue, opens with a +lovely romanza ("O cieli azzuri") sung by Aida, and the remainder of +the act is devoted to two duets,--the first between Amonasro and Aida, +and the second between Rhadames and Aida. Each is very dramatic in +style and passionate in declamation, while they are revelations in the +direction of combining the poetic and musical elements, when compared +with any of the duets in Verdi's previous operas. In the last act the +first scene contains another impressive duet between Rhadames and +Amneris ("Chi ti salva, o sciagurato"), ending with the despairing +song of Amneris, "Ohime! morir mi sento." In the last scene the stage +is divided into two parts. The upper represents the temple of Vulcan, +or Phtah, crowded with priests and priestesses, chanting as the stone +is closed over the subterranean entrance, while below, in the tomb, +Aida and Rhadames sing their dying duet ("O terra, addio"), its +strains blending with the jubilation of the priests and the measures +of the priestesses' sacred dance. "Aida" is the last and +unquestionably the greatest, if not the most popular, of Verdi's +works. It marks a long step from the style of his other operas towards +the production of dramatic effect by legitimate musical means, and +shows the strong influence Wagner has had upon him. Since this work +was produced, no other for the stage has come from his pen. Should he +break his long silence, some new work may show that he has gone still +farther in the new path. If the time for rest has come, however, to +the aged composer, "Aida" will remain his masterpiece among musicians +and connoisseurs, though "Trovatore" will be best loved by the people. + + +OTHELLO. + +Othello has formed the subject of the following compositions: +"Otello," opera in 3 acts, text by Berio, music by Rossini (1816); +"Othelleri," parody by Müller, Vienna (1828); Othello, overture by +Krug (1883); "Un Othello," operetta, by Legoux, Paris (1863); and +"Othello," opera in 4 acts, text by Boito, music by Verdi (1886). + +"Othello," the last of the long and brilliant series of Verdi's +operas, was completed in 1886, and first produced at the La Scala +Theatre, Milan, Feb. 5, + +1887, with remarkable success, Signora Pantaleoni, Signors Maurel and +Tamagno taking the three leading rôles. The libretto was prepared by +the accomplished Italian scholar and musician, Arrigo Boito, and +closely follows the story of the Shakspearian tragedy. + +The curtain rises upon a scene in Cyprus. A storm is raging, and a +crowd, among them Iago, Cassio, and Roderigo, watch the angry sea, +speculating upon the fate of Othello's vessel, which finally arrives +safely in port amid much rejoicing. After returning the welcomes of +his friends he enters the castle with Cassio and Montano. The +conspiracy at once begins by the disclosure of Iago to Roderigo of the +means by which Cassio's ruin may be compassed. Then follows the +quarrel, which is interrupted by the appearance of Othello, who +deprives Cassio of his office. A love-scene ensues between Desdemona +and the Moor; but in the next act the malignity of Iago has already +begun to take effect, and the seeds of jealousy are sown in Othello's +breast. His suspicions are freshly aroused when Desdemona intercedes +in Cassio's behalf, and are changed to conviction by the handkerchief +episode and Iago's artful insinuation that Cassio mutters the name of +Desdemona in his sleep; at which the enraged Moor clutches him by the +throat and hurls him to the ground. In the third act Iago continues +his diabolical purpose, at last so inflaming Othello's mind that he +denounces Desdemona for her perfidy. The act concludes with the +audience to the Venetian embassy, during which he becomes enraged, +strikes Desdemona, and falls in convulsions. The last act transpires +in her chamber, and follows Shakspeare in all the details of the +smothering of Desdemona and the death of Othello. + +There is no overture proper to the opera. After a few vigorous bars of +prelude, the scene opens with a tempestuous and very striking +description of a sea-storm by the orchestra, with the choruses of +sailors and Cypriots rising above it and expressing alternate hope and +terror. After a short recitative the storm dies away, and the choral +phrases of rejoicing end in a pianissimo effect. A hurried recitative +passage between Iago and Roderigo introduces a drinking scene in which +Iago sings a very original and expressive brindisi with rollicking +responses by the chorus. The quarrel follows with a vigorous and +agitated accompaniment, and the act comes to a close with a beautiful +love-duet between Othello and Desdemona. + +The second act opens with recitative which reveals all of Iago's +malignity, and is followed by his monologue, in which he sings a mock +Credo which is Satanic in utterance. It is accompanied with tremendous +outbursts of trumpets, and leads up to a furious declamatory duet with +Othello. The next number brings a grateful change. It is a graceful +mandolinata, sung by children's voices and accompanied by mandolins +and guitars, followed by a charming chorus of mariners, who bring +shells and corals to Desdemona. The intercession episode ensues, +leading to a grand dramatic quartet for Desdemona, Emilia, Iago, and +Othello. The latter then sings a pathetic but stirring melody with +trumpet accompaniment, the farewell to war, and the act closes with a +tumultuous duet between himself and Iago. + +The third act opens with a very expressive duet for Othello and +Desdemona, in which the growing wrath of the former and the sweet and +touching unconsciousness of the other are happily contrasted. A sad +monologue by Othello prepares the way for the coming outbreak. The +handkerchief trio follows, in which the malignity of Iago, the +indignation of Othello, and the inability of Cassio to understand the +fell purpose of Iago are brought out with great force. At its close a +fanfare of trumpets announces the Venetian embassy, and the finale +begins with much brilliancy. Then follows the scene in which Othello +smites down Desdemona. She supplicates for mercy in an aria of tender +beauty, which leads up to a strong sextet. All the guests depart but +Iago; and as Othello, overcome with his emotions, swoons away, the +curtain falls upon Iago's contemptuous utterance, "There lies the lion +of Venice." + +The fourth act is full of musical beauty. After an orchestral +introduction in which the horn has a very effective solo, the curtain +rises and the action transpires in Desdemona's chamber. The scene +opens with a touching recitative between Desdemona and Emilia. While +the former prepares herself for slumber she sings the "Willow Song," +an unaffected melody as simple and characteristic as a folk-song. +Emilia retires, and by a natural transition Desdemona sings an "Ave +Maria," which is as simple and beautiful in its way as the "Willow +Song." She retires to her couch, and in the silence Othello steals in, +dagger in hand, the contra-basses giving out a sombre and deep-toned +accompaniment which is startling in its effect. He kisses her, the +motive from the love-duet appearing in the orchestra; then, after a +hurried dialogue, stifles her. He then kills himself, his last words +being a repetition of those in the duet, while the strings tenderly +give out the melody again. + + +FALSTAFF. + +"Falstaff," an opera in three acts, words by Arrigo Boito, was first +performed March 12, 1893, at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, with the +following cast of characters:-- + + Mistress FORD Signora ZILLI + NANNETTA Madame STEHLE + FENTON M. GARBIN + Dr. CAIUS Signor PAROLI + PISTOLA Signor ARIMONDI + Mistress PAGE Signora GUERRINI + Mistress QUICKLY Signora PASQUA + FORD Signor PINI-CORSI + BARDOLFO Signor PELAGALLI-ROSSETTI + FALSTAFF M. MAUREL + +The libretto, which is mainly based upon "The Merry Wives of Windsor," +also makes some contributions upon "Henry IV.," particularly in the +introduction of the monologue upon honor, and illustrates Boito's +skill in adaptation as well as his remarkable powers in condensation. +In the arrangement of the comedy the five acts are reduced to three. +The characters Shallow, Slender, William, Page, Sir Hugh Evans, +Simple, and Rugby are eliminated, leaving Falstaff, Fenton, Ford, Dr. +Caius, Bardolph, Pistol, Mistress Ford, Mistress Page, Anne, Dame +Quickly and three minor characters as the _dramatis personæ_, though +Anne appears as Nannetta and is the daughter of Ford instead of Page. + +The first act opens with a scene at the Garter Inn, disclosing an +interview between Falstaff and Dr. Caius, who is complaining of the +ill treatment he has received from the fat Knight and his followers, +but without obtaining any satisfaction. After his departure, Falstaff +seeks to induce Bardolph and Pistol to carry his love-letters to +Mistresses Ford and Page; but they refuse, upon the ground that their +honor would be assailed, which gives occasion for the introduction of +the monologue from "Henry IV." The letters are finally intrusted to a +page, and the remainder of the act is devoted to the plots of the +women to circumvent him, with an incidental revelation of the loves of +Fenton and Nannetta, or Anne Page. In the second act, we have +Falstaff's visit to Mistress Ford, as planned by the merry wives, the +comical episode of his concealment in the buck-basket, and his dumping +into the Thames. In the last act, undaunted by his buck-basket +experiences, Falstaff accepts a fresh invitation to meet Mistress Ford +in Windsor Park. In this episode occurs the fairy masquerade at +Herne's Oak, in the midst of which he is set upon and beaten, ending +in his complete discomfiture. Then all is explained to him; Nannetta +is betrothed to Fenton; and all ends merry as a marriage bell. + +There is no overture. After four bars of prelude the curtain rises, +and the composer introduces Dr. Caius with the single exclamation, +"Falstaff," and the latter's reply, "Ho! there," which are emblematic +of the declamatory character of the whole opera; for although many +delightful bits of melody are scattered through it, the +instrumentation really tells the story, as in the Wagner music-drama, +though in this latest work of the veteran composer there is less of +the Wagnerian idea than in his "Aida." The first scene is mainly +humorous dialogue, but there are two notable exceptions,--the genuine +lyrical music of Falstaff's song ("'Tis she with eyes like stars"), +and the Honor monologue, a superb piece of recitative with a +characteristic accompaniment in which the clarinets and bassoons +fairly talk, as they give the negative to the Knight's sarcastic +questions. The most attractive numbers of the second scene are +Mistress Ford's reading of Falstaff's letter, which is exquisitely +lyrical, a quartet, a capella, for the four women ("He'll surely come +courting"), followed by a contrasting male quartet ("He's a foul, a +ribald thief"), the act closing with the two quartets offsetting each +other, and enclosing an admirable solo for Fenton. + +The second act opens with the interview between Dame Quickly and +Falstaff, in which the instrumentation runs the whole gamut of +ironical humor. Then follows the scene between Ford and Falstaff, in +which the very clink of the money, and Falstaff's huge chuckles, are +deliberately set forth in the orchestra with a realism which is the +very height of the ridiculous, the scene closing with an expressive +declamation by Ford ("Do I dream? Or, is it reality?"). The second +scene of the act is mainly devoted to the ludicrous incident of the +buck-basket, which is accompanied by most remarkable instrumentation; +but there are one or more captivating episodes; such as Dame Quickly's +description of her visit ("'Twas at the Garter Inn") and Falstaff's +charming song ("Once I was Page to the Duke of Norfolk"). + +The third act opens in the Inn of the Garter, and discloses Falstaff +soliloquizing upon his late disagreeable experiences:-- + + "Ho! landlord! + Ungrateful world, wicked world, + Guilty world! + Landlord! a glass of hot sherry. + Go, go thy way, John Falstaff, + With thee will cease the type + Of honesty, virtue, and might." + +As the fat Knight soliloquizes and drinks his sack the orchestra takes +part in a trill given out by piccolo, and gradually taken by one +instrument after the other, until the whole orchestra is in a hearty +laugh and shaking with string, brass, and wood wind glee. Then enters +Dame Quickly, mischief-maker, and sets the trap at Herne's Oak in +Windsor Forest, into which Falstaff readily falls. The closing scene +is rich with humor. It opens with a delightful love-song by Fenton +("From those sweet lips a song of love arises"). The conspirators +enter one after the other, and at last Falstaff, disguised as the +sable hunter. The elves are summoned, and glide about to the delicious +fairy music accompanying Nannetta's beautiful song ("While we dance in +the moonlight"). From this point the action hastens to the happy +dénouement, and the work concludes with a fugue which is imbued with +the very spirit of humor and yet is strictly constructed. While the +vocal parts are extraordinary in their declamatory significance, the +strength of the opera lies in the instrumentation, and its charm in +the delicious fun and merriment which pervades it all and is aptly +expressed in the closing lines:-- + + "All in this world is jesting. + Man is born to be jolly, + E'en from grief some happiness wresting + Sure proof against melancholy." + + + + +WAGNER. + +Richard Wagner, who has been somewhat ironically called the musician +of the future, and whose music has been relegated to posterity by a +considerable number of his contemporaries, was born at Leipsic, May +22, 1813. After his preliminary studies in Dresden and Leipsic, he +took his first lessons in music from Cantor Weinlig. In 1836 he was +appointed musical director in the theatre at Magdeburg, and later +occupied the same position at Königsberg. Thence he went to Riga, +where he began his opera "Rienzi." He then went to Paris by sea, was +nearly shipwrecked on his way thither, and landed without money or +friends. After two years of hard struggling he returned to Germany. +His shipwreck and forlorn condition inspired the theme of "The Flying +Dutchman," and while on his way to Dresden he passed near the castle +of Wartburg, in the valley of Thuringia, whose legends inspired his +well-known opera of "Tannhäuser." He next removed to Zurich, and about +this time appeared "Lohengrin," one of his most favorite operas. +"Tristan and Isolde" was produced in 1856, and his comic opera, "Die +Meistersinger von Nürnberg," three years later. In 1864 he received +the patronage of King Louis of Bavaria, which enabled him to complete +and perform his great work, "Der Ring der Nibelungen." He laid the +foundation of the new theatre at Baireuth in 1872, and in 1875 the +work was produced, and created a profound sensation all over the +musical world. "Parsifal," his last opera, was first performed in +1882. His works have aroused great opposition, especially among +conservative musicians, for the reason that he has set at defiance the +conventional operatic forms, and in carrying out his theory of making +the musical and dramatic elements of equal importance, and employing +the former as the language of the latter in natural ways, has made +musical declamation take the place of set melody, and swept away the +customary arias, duets, quartets, and concerted numbers of the Italian +school, to suit the dramatic exigencies of the situations. Besides his +musical compositions, he enjoys almost equal fame as a litterateur, +having written not only his own librettos, but four important +works,--"Art and the Revolution," "The Art Work of the Future," "Opera +and Drama," and "Judaism in Music." His music has made steady progress +through the efforts of such advocates as Liszt, Von Bülow, and Richter +in Germany, Pasdeloup in France, Hueffer in England, and Theodore +Thomas in the United States. In 1870 he married Frau Cosima von Bülow, +the daughter of Liszt,--an event which provoked almost as much comment +in social circles as his operas have in musical. He died during a +visit to Venice, Feb. 13, 1883. + + +RIENZI. + +"Rienzi der letzte der Tribunen," a tragic opera in five acts, words +by the composer, the subject taken from Bulwer's novel, "The Last of +the Tribunes," was first produced at Dresden, Oct. 20, 1842, with Herr +Tichatscheck, Mme. Schröder-Devrient, and Mlle. Wiest in the principal +rôles. It was designed and partly completed during Wagner's stay in +Riga as orchestra leader. In his Autobiography the composer says that +he first read the story at Dresden in 1837, and was greatly impressed +with its adaptability for opera. He began it in the fall of the same +year at Riga, and says: "I had composed two numbers of it, when I +found, to my annoyance, that I was again fairly on the way to the +composition of music à la Adam. I put the work aside in disgust." +Later he projected the scheme of a great tragic opera in five acts, +and began upon it with fresh enthusiasm in the fall of 1838. By the +spring of 1839 the first two acts were completed. At that time his +engagement at Riga terminated, and he set out for Paris. He soon found +that it would be hopeless for him to bring out the opera in that city, +notwithstanding Meyerbeer had promised to assist him. He offered it to +the Grand Opera and to the Renaissance, but neither would accept it. +Nothing daunted, he resumed work upon it, intending it for Dresden. In +October, 1842, it was at last produced in that city, and met with such +success that it secured him the position of capellmeister at the +Dresden opera-house. + +The action of the opera passes at Rome, towards the middle of the +fourteenth century. The first act opens at night, in a street near the +Church of St. John Lateran, and discovers Orsini, a Roman patrician, +accompanied by a crowd of nobles, attempting to abduct Irene, the +sister of Rienzi, a papal notary. The plot is interrupted by the +entrance of Colonna, the patrician leader of another faction, who +demands the girl. A quarrel ensues. Adriano, the son of Colonna, who +is in love with Irene, suddenly appears and rushes to her defence. +Gradually other patricians and plebeians are attracted by the tumult, +among the latter, Rienzi. When he becomes aware of the insult offered +his sister, he takes counsel with the Cardinal Raimondo, and they +agree to rouse the people in resistance to the outrages of the nobles. +Adriano is placed in an embarrassing position,--his relationship to +the Colonnas urging him to join the nobles, and his love for Irene +impelling him with still stronger force to make common cause with the +people. He finally decides to follow Rienzi, just as the trumpets are +heard calling the people to arms and Rienzi clad in full armor makes +his appearance to lead them. + +The struggle is a short one. The nobles are overcome, and in the +second act they appear at the Capitol to acknowledge their submission +to Rienzi: but Adriano, who has been among them, warns Rienzi that +they have plotted to kill him. Festal dances, processions, and +gladiatorial combats follow, in the midst of which Orsini rushes at +Rienzi and strikes at him with his dagger. Rienzi is saved by a steel +breastplate under his robes. The nobles are at once seized and +condemned to death. Adriano pleads with Rienzi to spare his father, +and moved by his eloquence he renews the offer of pardon if they will +swear submission. They take the oath only to violate it. The people +rise and demand their extermination. Rienzi once more draws the sword, +and Adriano in vain appeals to him to avert the slaughter. He is again +successful, and on his return announces to Adriano that the Colonnas +and Orsinis are no more. The latter warns him of coming revenge, and +the act closes with the coronation of Rienzi. + +The fourth act opens at night near the church. The popular tide has +now turned against Rienzi, upon the report that he is in league with +the German Emperor to restore the pontiff. A festive cortége +approaches, escorting him to the church. The nobles bar his way, but +disperse at his command; whereupon Adriano rushes at him with drawn +dagger, but the blow is averted as he hears the chant of malediction +in the church, and sees its dignitaries placing the ban of +excommunication against Rienzi upon its doors. He hurries to Irene, +warns her that her brother's life is no longer safe, and urges her to +fly with him. She repulses him, and seeks her brother, to share his +dangers or die with him. She finds him at prayer in the Capitol. He +counsels her to accept the offer of Adriano and save herself, but she +repeats her determination to die with him. The sounds of the +approaching crowd are heard outside. Rienzi makes a last appeal to +them from the balcony, but the infuriated people will not listen. They +set fire to the Capitol with their torches, and stone Rienzi and Irene +through the windows. As the flames spread from room to room and +Adriano beholds them enveloping the devoted pair, he throws away his +sword, rushes into the burning building, and perishes with them. + +The overture of "Rienzi" is in the accepted form, for the opera was +written before Wagner had made his new departure in music, and takes +its principal themes, notably Rienzi's prayer for the people and the +finale to the first act, from the body of the work. The general style +of the whole work is vigorous and tumultuous. The first act opens with +a hurly-burly of tumult between the contending factions and the +people. The first scene contains a vigorous aria for the hero ("Wohl +an so mög es sein"), which leads up to a fiery terzetto ("Adriano du? +Wie ein Colonna!") between Rienzi, Irene, and Adriano, followed by an +intensely passionate scene ("Er geht und lässt dich meinem Schutz") +between the last two. The finale is a tumultuous mass of sound, +through which are heard the tones of trumpets and cries of the people. +It opens with a massive double chorus ("Gegrüsst, gegrüsst"), shouted +by the people on the one side and the monks in the Lateran on the +other, accompanied by an andante movement on the organ. It is +interrupted for a brief space by the ringing appeal of Rienzi +"Erstehe, hohe Roma, neu," and then closes with an energetic andante, +a quartet joining the choruses. This finale is clearly Italian in +form, and much to Wagner's subsequent disgust was described by +Hanslick as a mixture of Donizetti and Meyerbeer, and a clear presage +of the coming Verdi. + +The second act opens with a stately march, introducing the messengers +of peace, who join in a chorus of greeting, followed by a second +chorus of senators and the tender of submission made by the nobles. A +terzetto between Adriano, Orsini, and Colonna, set off against a +chorus of the nobles, leads up to the finale. It opens with a joyful +chorus ("Erschallet feier Klänge"), followed by rapid dialogue between +Orsini and Colonna on the one hand and Adriano and Rienzi on the +other. A long and elaborate ballet intervenes, divided into several +numbers,--an Introduction, Pyrrhic Dance, Combat of Roman Gladiators +and Cavaliers, and the Dance of the Apotheosis, in which the Goddess +of Peace is transformed to the Goddess, protector of Rome. The scene +abruptly changes, and the act closes with a great ensemble in which +the defiance of the conspirators, the tolling of bells, the chants of +the monks, and the ferocious outcries of the people shouting for +revenge are mingled in strong contrasts. + +The third act is full of tumult. After a brief prelude, amid the +ringing of bells and cries of alarm, the people gather and denounce +the treachery of the nobles, leading up to a spirited call to arms by +Rienzi ("Ihr Römer, auf"). The people respond in furious chorus, and +as the sound of the bells and battle-cries dies away Adriano enters. +His scene opens with a prayer ("Gerechter Gott") for the aversion of +carnage, which changes to an agitated allegro ("Wo war ich?") as he +hears the great bell of the Capitol tolling the signal for slaughter. +The finale begins with a massive march, as the bells and sounds of +alarm are heard approaching again, and bands of citizens, priests and +monks, the high clergy, senators and nobles, pass and repass in quick +succession, at last followed by Rienzi, which is the signal for the +great battle-hymn, "Santo spirito cavaliere," which is to be sung with +great fire and energy, accompanied by great and small bells ringing +behind the scenes, the clash of swords upon shields, and full power of +chorus and orchestra. A dialogue follows between Adriano and Rienzi, +and then the various bands disappear singing the ritornelle of the +hymn. A great duet ("Lebwohl, Irene") ensues between Adriano and +Irene, which in its general outlines reminds one of the duet between +Raoul and Valentin in "The Huguenots." At its conclusion, after a +prayer by the chorus of women, the battle hymn is heard again in the +distance, gradually approaching, and the act closes with a jubilee +chorus ("Auf! im Triumpf zum Capitol"), welcoming the return of the +conquerors. + +The fourth act is short, its principal numbers being the introduction, +terzetto and chorus ("Wer war's der euch hierher beschied?"), and the +finale, beginning with a somewhat sombre march of the cortége +accompanying Rienzi to the church, leading to the details of the +conspiracy scene, and closing with the malediction of the monks, "Vae, +vae tibi maledicto." The last act opens with an impressive prayer by +Rienzi ("Allmacht'ger Vater"), which leads to a tender duet ("Verlässt +die Kirche mich") as Irene enters, closing with a passionate aria by +Rienzi ("Ich liebte glühend"). The duet is then resumed, and leads to +a second and intensely passionate duet ("Du hier Irene!") between +Adriano and Irene. The finale is brief, but full of energy, and is +principally choral. The dénouement hurries, and the tragedy is reached +amid a tumultuous outburst of voices and instruments. Unlike Wagner's +other operas, in "Rienzi" set melody dominates, and the orchestra, as +in the Italian school, furnishes the accompaniments. We have the +regular overture, aria, duet, trio, and concerted finale; but after +"Rienzi" we shall observe a change, at last becoming so radical that +the composer himself threw aside his first opera as unworthy of +performance. + + +THE FLYING DUTCHMAN. + +"Der Fliegende Holländer," a romantic opera in three acts, words by +the composer, the subject taken from Heinrich Heine's version of the +legend, was first produced at Dresden, Jan. 2, 1843, with Mme. +Schröder-Devrient and Herr Wechter in the two principal rôles. It was +also produced in London in 1870 at Drury Lane as "L'Ollandose +dannato," by Signor Arditi, with Mlle. Di Murska, Signors Foli, +Perotti, and Rinaldini, and Mr. Santley in the leading parts; in 1876, +by Carl Rosa as "The Flying Dutchman," an English version; and again +in 1877 as "Il Vascello fantasma." In this country the opera was +introduced in its English form by Miss Clara Louise Kellogg. + +Wagner conceived the idea of writing "The Flying Dutchman" during the +storm which overtook him on his voyage from Riga to Paris. He says in +his Autobiography: "'The Flying Dutchman,' whose intimate acquaintance +I had made at sea, continually enchained my fancy. I had become +acquainted, too, with Heinrich Heine's peculiar treatment of the +legend in one portion of his 'Salon.' Especially the treatment of the +delivery of this Ahasuerus of the ocean (taken by Heine from a Dutch +drama of the same title) gave me everything ready to use the legend as +the libretto of an opera. I came to an understanding about it with +Heine himself, drew up the scheme, and gave it to M. Léon Pillet +[manager of the Grand Opera], with the proposition that he should have +a French libretto made from it for me." Subsequently M. Pillet +purchased the libretto direct from Wagner, who consented to the +transaction, as he saw no opportunity of producing the opera in Paris. +It was then set by Dietsch as "Le Vaisseau fantôme," and brought out +in Paris in 1842. In the mean time, not discouraged by his bad +fortune, Wagner set to work, wrote the German verse, and completed the +opera in seven weeks for Dresden, where it was finally performed, as +already stated. Unlike "Rienzi," it met with failure both in Dresden +and Berlin; but its merits were recognized by Spohr, who encouraged +him to persevere in the course he had marked out. + +The plot of the opera is very simple. A Norwegian vessel, commanded by +Daland, compelled by stress of weather, enters a port not far from her +destination. At the same time a mysterious vessel, with red sails and +black hull, commanded by the wandering Flying Dutchman, who is +destined to sail the seas without rest until he finds a maiden who +will be faithful until death, puts into the same port. The two +captains meet, and Daland invites the stranger to his home. The two at +last progress so rapidly in mutual favor that a marriage is agreed +upon between the stranger and Senta, Daland's daughter. The latter is +a dreamy, imaginative girl, who, though she has an accepted lover, +Eric, is so fascinated with the legend of the stranger that she +becomes convinced she is destined to save him from perdition. When he +arrives with her father she recognizes him at once, and vows eternal +constancy to him. In the last act, however, Eric appears and +reproaches Senta with her faithlessness. The stranger overhears them, +and concludes that as she has been recreant to her former lover, so +too she will be untrue to him. He decides to leave her; for if he +should remain, her penalty would be eternal death. As his mysterious +vessel sails away Senta rushes to a cliff, and crying out that her +life will be the price of his release, hurls herself into the sea, +vowing to be constant to him even in death. The phantom vessel sinks, +the sea grows calm, and in the distance the two figures are seen +rising in the sunlight never to be parted. + +The overture characterizes the persons and situations of the drama, +and introduces the motives which Wagner ever after used so +freely,--among them the curse resting upon the Dutchman, the restless +motion of the sea, the message of the Angel of Mercy personified in +Senta, the personification of the Dutchman, and the song of Daland's +crew. The first act opens with an introduction representing a storm, +and a characteristic sailors' chorus, followed by an exquisite +love-song for tenor ("Mit Gewitter und Sturm"), and a grand scena of +the Dutchman ("Die Frist ist um"), which lead up to a melodious duet +between the Dutchman and Daland. The act closes with the sailors' +chorus as the two vessels sail away. + +After a brief instrumental prelude, the second act opens in Daland's +home, where the melancholy Senta sits surrounded by her companions, +who are spinning. To the whirring accompaniment of the violins they +sing a very realistic spinning song ("Summ' und brumm du gutes +Mädchen"), interrupted at intervals by the laughter of the girls as +they rally Senta upon her melancholy looks. Senta replies with a weird +and exquisitely melodious ballad ("Johohae! träfft ihr das Schiff im +Meere an"), in which she tells the story of the Flying Dutchman, and +anticipates her own destiny. The song is full of intense feelings and +is characterized by a motive which frequently recurs in the opera, and +is the key to the whole work. A duet follows between Eric and Senta, +the melodious character of which shows that Wagner was not yet +entirely freed from Italian influences. A short duet ensues between +Senta and her father, and then the Dutchman appears. As they stand and +gaze at each other for a long time, the orchestra meanwhile supplying +the supposed emotions of each, we have a clew to the method Wagner was +afterwards to employ so successfully. A duet between Senta and the +Dutchman ("Wie aus der Ferne") and a terzetto with Daland close the +act. + +The third act opens with another sailors' chorus ("Steuermann, lass' +die Wacht"), and a brisk dialogue between them and the women who are +bringing them provisions. The latter also hail the crew of the +Dutchman's vessel, but get no reply until the wind suddenly rises, +when they man the vessel and sing the refrain with which the Dutchman +is continually identified. A double chorus of the two crews follows. +Senta then appears accompanied by Eric, who seeks to restrain her from +following the stranger in a very dramatic duet ("Was muss ich +hören?"). The finale is made up of sailors' and female choruses, and a +trio between Senta, Daland, and the Dutchman, which are woven together +with consummate skill, and make a very effective termination to the +weird story. There are no points in common between "The Flying +Dutchman" and "Rienzi," except that in the former Wagner had not yet +clearly freed himself from conventional melody. It is interesting as +marking his first step towards the music of the future in his use of +motives, his wonderful treatment of the orchestra in enforcing the +expression of the text, and his combination of the voices and +instrumentation in what he so aptly calls "The Music-Drama." + + +TANNHÄUSER + +"Tannhäuser und der Singerkrieg auf Wartburg" ("Tannhäuser and the +singers' contest at the Wartburg"), a romantic opera in three acts, +words by the composer, was first produced at the Royal Opera, Dresden, +Oct. 20, 1845, with Mme. Schröder-Devrient and Herr Niemann as +Elizabeth and Tannhäuser. Its first performance in Paris was on March +13, 1861; but it was a failure after three representations, and was +made the butt of Parisian ridicule, even Berlioz joining in the +tirade. In England it was brought out in Italian at Covent Garden, May +6, 1876, though its overture was played by the London Philharmonic +orchestra in 1855, Wagner himself leading. + +In the spring of 1842 Wagner returned from Paris to Germany, and on +his way to Dresden visited the castle of Wartburg, in the Thuringian +Valley, where he first conceived the idea of writing "Tannhäuser." The +plot was taken from an old German tradition, which centres about the +castle where the landgraves of the thirteenth century instituted +peaceful contests between the Minnesingers and knightly poets. Near +this castle towers the Venusberg, a dreary elevation, which, according +to popular tradition, was inhabited by Holda, the goddess of Spring. +Proscribed by Christianity, she took refuge in its caverns, where she +was afterwards confounded with the Grecian Venus. Her court was filled +with nymphs and sirens, who enticed those whose impure desires led +them to its vicinity, and lured them into the caverns, from which they +were supposed never to return. The first act opens in this court, and +reveals Tannhäuser, the knight and minstrel, under the sway of Venus. +In spite of her fascinations he succeeds in tearing himself away, and +we next find him at the castle of Wartburg, the home of Hermann the +Landgrave, whose daughter Elizabeth is in love with him. At the +minstrel contest he enters into the lists with the other Minnesingers, +and, impelled by a reckless audacity and the subtle influence of +Venus, sings of the attractions of sensual pleasures. Walter, of the +Vogelweide, replies with a song to virtue. Tannhäuser breaks out in +renewed sensual strains, and a quarrel ensues. The knights rush upon +him with their swords, but Elizabeth interposes and saves his life. He +expresses his penitence, makes a pilgrimage to Rome and confesses to +the Pope, who replies that, having tasted the pleasures of hell, he is +forever damned, and, raising his crosier, adds: "Even as this wood +cannot blossom again, so there is no pardon for thee." Elizabeth prays +for him in her solitude, but her prayers apparently are of no avail. +At last he returns dejected and hopeless, and in his wanderings meets +Wolfram, another minstrel, also in love with Elizabeth, to whom he +tells the sad story of his pilgrimage. He determines to return to the +Venusberg. He hears the voices of the sirens luring him back. Wolfram +seeks to detain him, but is powerless until he mentions the name of +Elizabeth, when the sirens vanish and their spells lose their +attraction. A funeral procession approaches in the distance, and on +the bier is the form of the saintly Elizabeth. He sinks down upon the +coffin and dies. As his spirit passes away his pilgrim's staff +miraculously bursts out into leaf and blossom, showing that his sins +have been forgiven. + +The overture to the opera is well known by its frequent performances +as a concert number. It begins with the pilgrim's song, which, as it +dies away, is succeeded by the seductive spells of the Venusberg and +the voices of the sirens calling to Tannhäuser. As the whirring sounds +grow fainter and fainter, the pilgrim's song is again heard gradually +approaching, and at last closing the overture in a joyous burst of +harmony. The first act opens with the scene in the Venusberg, +accompanied by the Bacchanale music, which was written in Paris by +Wagner after the opera was finished and had been performed. It is now +known as "the Parisian Bacchanale." It is followed by a voluptuous +scene between Tannhäuser and Venus, a long dialogue, during which the +hero, seizing his harp, trolls out a song ("Doch sterblich, ach!"), +the theme of which has already been given out by the overture, +expressing his weariness of her companionship. The second scene +transports us to a valley, above which towers the castle of Wartburg. +A young shepherd, perched upon a rock, sings a pastoral invocation to +Holda ("Frau Holda kam aus dem Berg hervor"), the strains of his pipe +(an oboe obligato) weaving about the stately chorus of the elder +pilgrims ("Zu dir wall' ich, mein Herr und Gott") as they come along +the mountain paths from the castle. The scene, which is one of great +beauty, closes with the lament of Tannhäuser ("Ach! schwer drückt mich +der Sünden Last"), intermingled with the receding song of the +pilgrims, the ringing of church-bells in the distance, and the merry +notes of hunters' horns as the Landgrave and his followers approach. +The meeting with Tannhäuser leads to an expressive septet, in which +Wolfram has a very impressive solo ("Als du in kühnem Sange"). + +The second act opens in the singers' hall of the Wartburg. Elizabeth, +entering joyfully, greets it in a recitation ("Froh grüss ich dich, +geliebter Raum"), if we may so term it, which is characterized by a +joyous but dignified dramatic appeal, recalling the scenes of her +youth. The interview between Tannhäuser and Elizabeth, which follows, +gives rise to a long dialogue, closing with a union of the two voices +in the charming duet, "Gepriesen sei die Macht." Then follows the +grand march and chorus, "Freudig begrüssen wir die edle Halle," +announcing the beginning of the song contest. The stirring rhythm and +bold, broad outlines of this march are so well known that it is +needless to dwell upon it. The scene of the contest is declamatory +throughout, and full of animation and spirit; its most salient points +being the hymn of Wolfram ("O Himmel lasst dich jetzt erflehen") in +honor of ideal love, and Elizabeth's appeal to the knights to spare +Tannhäuser ("Zurück von ihm"), which leads up to a spirited septet and +choral ensemble closing the act. + +In the third act we are once more in the valley of the Wartburg. After +a plaintive song by Wolfram ("Wohl wusst ich hier sie im Gebet zu +finden"), the chorus of the returning pilgrims is heard in the +distance, working up to a magnificent crescendo as they approach and +cross the stage. Elizabeth, who has been earnestly watching them to +find if Tannhäuser be of their number, disappointed, sinks upon her +knees and sings the touching prayer, "Allmächt'ge Jungfrau, hör mein +Flehen." As she leaves the scene, Wolfram takes his harp and sings the +enchanting fantasy to the evening star, "O, du mein holder +Abendstern,"--a love-song to the saintly Elizabeth. Tannhäuser makes +his appearance. A long declamatory dialogue ensues between himself and +Wolfram, in which he recites the story of his pilgrimage. The scene is +one of extraordinary power, and calls for the highest vocal and +dramatic qualities in order to make it effective. From this point on, +the tragedy hastens. There is the struggle once more with the sirens, +and amid Wolfram's touching appeals and Tannhäuser's exclamations is +heard the enticement of the Venus music. But at the name "Elizabeth" +it dies away. The mists grow denser as the magic crew disappears, and +through them is seen a light upon the Wartburg. The tolling of bells +and the songs of mourners are heard as the cortége approaches. As +Tannhäuser dies, the pilgrims' chorus again rises in ecstasy, closing +with a mighty shout of "Hallelujah!" and the curtain falls. + + +LOHENGRIN. + +"Lohengrin," a romantic opera in three acts, words by the composer, +was first produced at Weimar, Aug. 28, 1850, the anniversary of +Goethe's birthday, under the direction of Franz Liszt, and with the +following cast of the leading parts:-- + + LOHENGRIN Herr BECK. + TELRAMUND Herr MILDE. + KING Herr HOFER. + ELSA Frau AGATHE. + ORTRUD Fraülein FASTLINGER. + +"Lohengrin" was begun in Paris, and finished in Switzerland during the +period in which Wagner was director of the musical society as well as +of the orchestra at the city theatre of Zurich, whither he had fled to +escape the penalties for taking part in the political agitations and +subsequent insurrection of 1849. Though it manifests a still further +advancement in the development of his system, it was far from being +composed according to the abstract rules he had laid down. He says +explicitly on this point, in his "Music of the Future:" "The first +three of these poems--'The Flying Dutchman,' 'Tannhäuser,' and +'Lohengrin'--were written by me, their music composed, and all (with +the exception of 'Lohengrin') performed upon the stage, before the +composition of my theoretical writings." + +The story of Lohengrin, the son of Parsifal, upon which Wagner has +based his drama, is taken from many sources, the old Celtic legend of +King Arthur, his knights, and the Holy Grail being mixed with the +distinctively German legend of a knight who arrives in his boat drawn +by a swan. The version used by Wagner is supposed to be told by +Wolfram von Eschenbach, the Minnesinger, at one of the Wartburg +contests, and is in substance as follows: Henry I., King of Germany, +known as "the Fowler," arrives at Antwerp for the purpose of raising a +force to help him expel the Hungarians, who are threatening his +dominions. He finds Brabant in a condition of anarchy. Gottfried, the +young son of the late Duke, has mysteriously disappeared, and +Telramund, the husband of Ortrud, daughter of the Prince of Friesland, +claims the dukedom. The claimant openly charges Elsa, sister of +Gottfried, with having murdered him to obtain the sovereignty, and she +is summoned before the King to submit her cause to the ordeal of +battle between Telramund and any knight whom she may name. She +describes a champion whom she has seen in a vision, and conjures him +to appear in her behalf. After a triple summons by the heralds, he is +seen approaching on the Scheldt, in a boat drawn by a swan. Before the +combat Lohengrin betroths himself to Elsa, naming only the condition +that she shall never question him as to his name or race. She assents, +and the combat results in Telramund's defeat and public disgrace. + +In the second act occur the bridal ceremonies, prior to which, moved +by Ortrud's entreaties, Elsa promises to obtain a reprieve for +Telramund from the sentence which has been pronounced against him. At +the same time Ortrud takes advantage of her success to instil doubts +into Elsa's mind as to her future happiness and the faithfulness of +Lohengrin. + +In the next scene, as the bridal cortége is about to enter the +minster, Ortrud claims the right of precedence by virtue of her rank, +and Telramund publicly accuses Lohengrin of sorcery. The faith of +Elsa, however, is not shaken. The two conspirators are ordered to +stand aside, the train enters the church, and Elsa and Lohengrin are +united. + +The third act opens in the bridal chamber. The seeds of curiosity and +distrust which Ortrud has sown in Elsa's mind have ripened, and in +spite of her conviction that it will end her happiness, she questions +Lohengrin with increasing vehemence, at last openly demanding to know +his secret. At this juncture Telramund breaks into the apartment with +four followers, intending to take the life of Lohengrin. A single blow +of the knight's sword stretches him lifeless. He then places Elsa in +the charge of her ladies and orders them to take her to the presence +of the King, whither he also repairs. Compelled by his wife's +unfortunate rashness, he discloses himself as the son of Parsifal, +Knight of the Holy Grail, and announces that he must now return to its +guardianship. His swan once more appears, and as he steps into the +boat he bids Elsa an eternal farewell. Before he sails away, however, +Ortrud declares to the wondering crowd that the swan is Elsa's +brother, who has been bewitched by herself into this form, and would +have been released but for Elsa's curiosity. Lohengrin at once +disenchants the swan, and Gottfried appears and rushes into his +sister's arms. A white dove flies through the air and takes the place +of the swan, and Lohengrin sails away as Elsa dies in the embrace of +her newly found brother. + +The Vorspiel, or prelude, to the opera takes for its subject the +descent of the Holy Grail, the mysterious symbol of the Christian +faith, and the Grail motive is the key to the whole work. The +delicious harmonies which accompany its descent increase in warmth and +power until the sacred mystery is revealed to human eyes, and then die +away to a pianissimo, and gradually disappear as the angels bearing +the holy vessel return to their celestial abode. The curtain rises +upon a meadow on the banks of the Scheldt, showing King Henry +surrounded by his vassals and retainers. After their choral +declaration of allegiance, Telramund, in a long declamatory scena of +great power ("Zum Sterben kam der Herzog von Brabant"), tells the +story of the troubles in Brabant, and impeaches Elsa. At the King's +command, Elsa appears, and in a melodious utterance of extreme +simplicity and sweetness, which is called the dream motive ("Einsam in +trüben Tagen"), relates the vision of the knight who is to come to her +assistance. The summons of the heralds preludes the climax of the act. +Amid natural outcries of popular wonderment Lohengrin appears, and, as +he leaves his boat, bids farewell to his swan in a strain of delicate +beauty ("Nun sei gedankt, mein lieber Schwan"). The preparations for +the combat are made, but before it begins, the motive of warning is +sounded by Lohengrin ("Nie sollst du mich befragen"). The finale of +the act takes the form of a powerful ensemble, composed of sextet and +chorus, and beginning with the prayer of the King, "Mein Herr und +Gott, nun ruf ich Dich." + +The second act opens upon a night scene near the palace, which is +merry with the wedding festivities, while the discomfited Telramund +and Ortrud are plotting their conspiracy without in a long duet +("Erhebe dich, Genossin meiner Schmach"), which introduces new motives +of hatred and revenge, as opposed to the Grail motive. In the second +scene Elsa appears upon the balcony and sings a love-song ("Euch +Lüften, die mein Klagen"), whose tenderness and confidence are in +marked contrast with the doubts sown in her mind by Ortrud before the +scene closes. The third scene is preluded with descriptive sunrise +music by the orchestra, followed by the herald's proclamations, +interspersed by choral responses, leading up to the bridal-procession +music as the train moves on from the palace to the cathedral, +accompanied by a stately march and choral strains, and all the +artistic surroundings of a beautiful stage pageant. The progress is +twice interrupted; first by Ortrud, who asserts her precedence, and +second by Telramund, who, in the scena "Den dort im Glanz," accuses +Lohengrin of sorcery. When Elsa still expresses her faith, the train +moves on, and reaches its destination amid the acclamations of the +chorus ("Heil, Elsa von Brabant!"). + +The third act opens in the bridal chamber with the graceful bridal +song by Elsa's ladies, "Treulich gefuhrt, ziehet dahin," whose +melodious strains have accompanied many unions, the world over, +besides those of Elsa and Lohengrin. The second scene is an exquisite +picture of the mutual outpouring of love, at first full of beauty and +tenderness, but gradually darkening as Ortrud's insinuations produce +their effect in Elsa's mind. Tenderly Lohengrin appeals to her, but in +vain; and at last the motive of warning is heard. The fatal questions +are asked, the tragedy of Telramund follows, and all is over. The last +scene introduces us once more to the meadow on the Scheldt, where +Lohengrin appears before the King and his vassals. In their presence +he reveals himself as the son of Parsifal, in a scena of consummate +power ("In fernem Land, unnahbar euren Schritten"), wherein the Grail +motive reaches its fullest development. It is followed by his touching +farewell, "O Elsa! nur ein Jahr an deiner Seite," the melody of which +can hardly be surpassed in dignity and impressiveness. The dénouement +now hastens, and Lohengrin disappears, to the accompaniment of the +Grail motive. + + +TRISTAN UND ISOLDE. + +"Tristan und Isolde," an opera in three acts, words by the composer, +was first produced at Munich, June 10, 1865, under the direction of +Hans von Bülow, with the following cast of characters:-- + + TRISTAN Herr LUDWIG SCHNORR VON CAROLSFELD. + KURWENAL Herr MITTERWURZER. + KING MARK Herr ZOTTMAYER. + ISOLDE Mme. SCHNORR VON CAROLSFELD. + BRANGOENA Mlle. DEINET. + +"Tristan and Isolde" was commenced in 1857 and finished in 1859, +during the period in which Wagner was engaged upon his colossal work, +"The Ring of the Nibelung." As early as the middle of 1852 he had +finished the four dramatic poems which comprise the cyclus of the +latter, and during the next three years he finished the music to "Das +Rheingold" and "Die Walküre." In one of his letters he says: "In the +summer of 1857 I determined to interrupt the execution of my work on +the Nibelungen and begin something shorter, which should renew my +connection with the stage." The legend of Tristan was selected. It is +derived from the old Celtic story of "Tristram and Iseult," the +version adopted by Wagner being that of Gottfried of Strasburg, a bard +of the thirteenth century, though it must be said he uses it in his +own manner, and at times widely departs both from the original and the +mediæval poem. + +In "Tristan and Isolde" Wagner broke completely loose from all the +conventional forms of opera. It has nothing in common with the old +style of lyric entertainment. As Hueffer says, in his recent Life of +Wagner: "Here is heard for the first time the unimpaired language of +dramatic passion intensified by an uninterrupted flow of expressive +melody. Here also the orchestra obtains that wide range of emotional +expression which enables it, like the chorus of the antique tragedy, +to discharge the dialogue of an overplus of lyrical elements without +weakening the intensity of the situation, which it accompanies like an +unceasing passionate undercurrent." In an opera like this, which is +intended to commingle dramatic action, intensity of verse, and the +power and charm of the music in one homogeneous whole, the reader will +at once observe the difficulty of doing much more than the telling of +its story, leaving the musical declamation and effects to be inferred +from the text. Even Wagner himself in the original title is careful to +designate the work "Ein Handlung" (an action). + +The vorspiel to the drama is based upon a single motive, which is +worked up with consummate skill into various melodic forms, and +frequently appears throughout the work. It might well be termed the +motive of restless, irresistible passion. The drama opens on board a +ship in which the Cornish knight, Tristan, is bearing Isolde, the +unwilling Irish bride, to King Mark of Cornwall. As the vessel is +nearing the land, Isolde sends Brangoena to the Knight, who is also in +love with her, but holds himself aloof by reason of a blood-feud, and +orders him to appear at her side. His refusal turns Isolde's affection +to bitterness, and she resolves that he shall die, and that she will +share death with him. She once more calls Tristan, and tells him that +the time has come for him to make atonement for slaying her kinsman, +Morold. + +She directs Brangoena to mix a death-potion and invites him to drink +with her, but without her knowledge Brangoena has prepared a +love-potion, which inflames their passions beyond power of restraint. +Oblivious of the landing, the approach of the royal train, and all +that is going on about them, they remain folded in mutual embrace. + +The second act opens in Cornwall, in a garden which leads to Isolde's +chamber, she being already wedded to King Mark. With Brangoena she is +waiting for Tristan. The King goes out upon a night hunt, and no +sooner has he disappeared than Isolde gives the signal for his +approach, while Brangoena goes to her station to watch. The second +scene is a most elaborate love-duet between the guilty pair, the two +voices at first joining ("Bist du mein? Hab'ich dich wieder?"). A +passionate dialogue ensues, and then the two voices join again ("O +sink' hernieder, Nacht der Liebe"). After a brief dialogue Brangoena's +warning voice is heard. Absorbed in each other, they pay no heed, and +once more they join in the very ecstasy of passion, so far as it can +be given musical form, in the finale of the duet, "O süsse Nacht! +Ew'ge Nacht! Hehr erhabne Liebes-Nacht." The treachery of Sir Melot, +Tristan's pretended friend, betrays the lovers to the King. Tristan +offers no explanations, but touched by the King's bitter reproaches +provokes Sir Melot to combat and allows himself to be mortally +wounded. + +The third act opens in Brittany, whither Kurwenal, Tristan's faithful +henchman, has taken him. A shepherd lad watches from a neighboring +height to announce the appearance of a vessel, for Kurwenal has sent +for Isolde to heal his master's wound. At last the stirring strains of +the shepherd's pipe signal her coming. In his delirious joy Tristan +tears the bandages from his wounds, and has only strength enough left +to call Isolde by name and die in her arms. Now a second vessel is +seen approaching, bearing King Mark and his men. Thinking that his +design is hostile, Kurwenal attempts to defend the castle, but is soon +forced to yield, and dies at the feet of his master. The King exclaims +against his rashness, for since he had heard Brangoena's story of the +love-potion he had come to give his consent to the union of the +lovers. Isolde, transfigured with grief, sings her last farewell to +her lover ("Mild und leise wie er lächelt"), and expires on his body. +The dying song is one of great beauty and pathos, and sadly recalls +the passion of the duet in the second act, as Isolde's mournful +strains are accompanied in the orchestra by the sweetly melodious +motives which had been heard in it, the interweaving of the two also +suggesting that in death the lovers have been reunited. + + +THE MASTERSINGERS. + +"Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg," a comic opera in three acts, words +by the composer, was first produced at Munich, June 21, 1868, under +the direction of Hans von Bülow, with the following cast: + + HANS SACHS Herr BETZ. + WALTER Herr NACHBAUER. + BECKMESSER Herr HÖLZEL. + DAVID Herr SCHLOSSER. + EVA Mlle. MALLINGER. + MAGDALENA Mme. DIETZ. + +The plan of "The Mastersingers" was conceived about the same time as +that of "Lohengrin," during the composer's stay at Marienbad, and +occupied his attention at intervals for twenty years, as it was not +finished until 1867. As is clearly apparent both from its music and +text, it was intended as a satire upon the composer's critics, who had +charged that he was incapable of writing melody. It is easy to see +that these critics are symbolized by the old pedant Beckmesser, and +that in Walter we have Wagner himself. When he is first brought in +contact with the Mastersingers, and one of their number, Kothner, asks +him if he gained his knowledge in any school, he replies, "The wood +before the Vogelweid', 'twas there I learnt my singing;" and again he +answers:-- + + "What winter night. + What wood so bright, + What book and nature brought me, + What poet songs of magic might + Mysteriously have taught me, + On horses' tramp, + On field and camp, + On knights arrayed + For war parade + My mind its powers exerted." + +The story is not only one of love as between Walter and Eva, but of +satirical protest as between Walter and Beckmesser, and the two +subjects are illustrated not only with delicate fancy but with the +liveliest of humor. The work is replete with melody. It has chorales, +marches, folk-songs, duets, quintets, ensembles, and choruses, and yet +the composer does not lose sight of his theories; for here we observe +as characteristic a use of motives and as skilful a combination of +them as can be found in any of his works. To thoroughly comprehend the +story, it is necessary to understand the conditions one had to fulfil +before he could be a mastersinger. First of all he must master the +"Tabulatur," which included the rules and prohibitions. Then he must +have the requisite acquaintance with the various methods of rhyming +verse, and with the manner of fitting appropriate music to it. One who +had partially mastered the Tabulatur was termed a "scholar;" the one +who had thoroughly learned it, a "schoolman;" the one who could +improvise verses, a "poet;" and the one who could set music to his +verses, a "mastersinger." In the test there were thirty-three faults +to be guarded against; and whenever the marker had chalked up seven +against the candidate, he was declared to have oversung himself and +lost the coveted honor. + +The vorspiel is a vivid delineation of mediæval German life, full of +festive pomp, stirring action, glowing passion, and exuberant humor. +The first act opens in the Church of St. Katherine, at Nuremberg, with +the singing of a chorale to organ accompaniment. During the chorale +and its interludes a quiet love-scene is being enacted between Eva, +daughter of the wealthy goldsmith Veit Pogner, and Walter von +Stolzing, a noble young knight. The attraction is mutual. Eva is ready +to become his bride, but it is necessary that her husband should be a +mastersinger. Rather than give up the hand of the fair Eva, Walter, +short as the time is, determines to master the precepts and enter the +lists. As Eva and her attendant, Magdalena, leave the church, the +apprentices enter to arrange for the trial, among them David, the +friskiest of them all, who is in love with Magdalena. He volunteers to +give Walter some instructions, but they do not avail him much in the +end, for the lesson is sadly disturbed by the gibes of the boys, in a +scene full of musical humor. At last Pogner and Beckmesser, the +marker, who is also a competitor for Eva's hand, enter from the +sacristy. After a long dialogue between them the other masters +assemble, Hans Sachs, the cobbler-bard, coming in last. After calling +the roll, the ceremonies open with a pompous address by Pogner ("Das +schöne Fest, Johannis-Tag"), in which he promises the hand of Eva, +"with my gold and goods beside," to the successful singer on the +morrow, which is John the Baptist's Day. After a long parley among the +gossiping masters, Pogner introduces Walter as a candidate for +election. He sings a charming song ("So rief der Lenz in den Wald"), +and as he sings, the marker, concealed behind a screen, is heard +scoring down the faults. When he displays the slate it is found to be +covered with them. The masters declare him outsung and rejected, but +Hans Sachs befriends him, and demands he shall have a chance for the +prize. + +The second act discloses Pogner's house and Sachs's shop. The +apprentices are busy putting up the shutters, and are singing as they +work. Walter meets Eva and plots an elopement with her, but Sachs +prevents them from carrying out their rash plan. Meanwhile Beckmesser +makes his appearance with his lute for the purpose of serenading Eva +and rehearsing the song he is to sing for the prize on the morrow. As +he is about to sing, Sachs breaks out into a rollicking folk-song +("Jerum, jerum, halla, halla, he!"), in which he sings of Mother Eve +and the troubles she had after she left Paradise, for want of shoes. +At last he allows Beckmesser a hearing, provided he will permit him to +mark the faults with his hammer upon the shoe he is making. The marker +consents, and sings his song, "Den Tag seh' ich erscheinen," +accompanied with excruciating roulades of the old-fashioned +conventional sort; but Sachs knocks so often that his shoe is finished +long before Beckmesser's song. This is his first humiliation. Before +the act finishes he is plunged into still further trouble, for David +suspects him of designs upon Magdalena, and a general quarrel ensues. + +The third act opens upon a peaceful Sunday-morning scene in the sleepy +old town, and shows us Sachs sitting in his arm-chair at the window +reading his Bible, and now and then expressing his hopes for Walter's +success, as the great contest is soon to take place. At last he leans +back, and after a brief meditation commences a characteristic song +("Wahn! wahn! Ueberall wahn!"). A long dialogue ensues between him and +Walter, and then as Eva, David, Magdalena, and Beckmesser successively +enter, the scene develops into a magnificent quintet, which is one of +the most charming numbers in the opera. The situation then suddenly +changes. The stage-setting represents an open meadow on the banks of +the Pegnitz. The river is crowded with boats. The plain is covered +with tents full of merrymakers. The different guilds are continually +arriving. A livelier or more stirring scene can hardly be imagined +than Wagner has here pictured, with its accompaniment of choruses by +the various handicraftsmen, their pompous marches, and the rural +strains of town pipers. At last the contest begins. Beckmesser +attempts to get through his song and dismally fails. Walter follows +him with the beautiful prize-song, "Morgenlich leuchtend in rosigem +Schein." He wins the day and the hand of Eva. Exultant Sachs trolls +out a lusty lay ("Verachtet mir der Meister nicht"), and the stirring +scene ends with the acclamations of the people ("Heil Sachs! Hans +Sachs! Heil Nürnberg's theurem Sachs!"). + + +THE RING OF THE NIBELUNG. + +"Der Ring des Nibelungen," a trilogy, the subject taken from the +Nibelungen Lied and adapted by the composer, was first conceived by +Wagner during the composition of "Lohengrin." The four dramatic poems +which constitute its cyclus were written as early as 1852, which will +correct a very general impression that this colossal work was +projected during the closing years of his life. On the contrary, it +was the product of his prime. Hueffer, in his biographical sketch of +Wagner, says that he hesitated between the historical and mythical +principles as the subjects of his work,--Frederick the First +representing the former, and Siegfried, the hero of Teutonic +mythology, the latter. Siegfried was finally selected. "Wagner began +at once sketching the subject, but gradually the immense breadth and +grandeur of the old types began to expand under his hands, and the +result was a trilogy, or rather tetralogy, of enormous dimensions, +perhaps the most colossal attempt upon which the dramatic muse has +ventured since the times of Æschylus." The trilogy is really in four +parts,--"Das Rheingold" (the Rhinegold); "Die Walküre" (the Valkyrie); +"Siegfried"; and "Die Götterdämmerung" (the Twilight of the Gods), +"The Rhinegold" being in the nature of an introduction to the trilogy +proper, though occupying an evening for its performance. Between the +years 1852 and 1856 the composer wrote the music of the "Rhinegold" +and the whole of "The Valkyrie;" and then, as he says himself, wishing +to keep up his active connection with the stage, he interrupted the +progress of the main scheme, and wrote "Tristan and Isolde," which +occupied him from 1856 to 1859. During its composition, however, he +did not entirely forsake the trilogy. In the autumn of 1856 he began +"Siegfried," the composition of which was not finished until 1869, +owing to many other objects which engaged his attention during this +period, one of which was the composition of "The Mastersingers," which +he wrote at intervals between 1861 and 1867. From the latter year +until 1876, when the trilogy was produced at Baireuth, he gave himself +wholly to the work of completing it and preparing it for the stage. + +Prior to the production of the completed work, separate parts of it +were given, though Wagner strongly opposed it. "The Rhinegold," or +introduction, came to a public dress-rehearsal at Munich Aug. 25, +1869, and "The Valkyrie" was performed in a similar manner in the same +city, June 24, 1870, with the following cast:-- + + WOTAN Herr KINDERMANN. + SIEGMUND Herr VOGL. + HUNDING Herr BAUSERWEIN. + BRÜNNHILDE Frl. STEHLE. + SIEGLINDE Frau VOGL. + FRICKA Frl. KAUFFMANN. + +The "Siegfried" and "Götterdämmerung," however, were not given until +the entire work was performed in 1876. Upon the completion of his +colossal task Wagner began to look about him for the locality, +theatre, artists, and materials suitable for a successful +representation. In the circular which he issued, narrating the +circumstances which led up to the building of the Baireuth +opera-house, he says: "As early as the spring of 1871 I had, quietly +and unnoticed, had my eye upon Baireuth, the place I had chosen for my +purpose. The idea of using the Margravian Opera-House was abandoned so +soon as I saw its interior construction. But yet the peculiar +character of that kindly town and its site so answered my +requirements, that during the wintry latter part of the autumn of the +same year I repeated my visit,--this time, however, to treat with the +city authorities.... An unsurpassably beautiful and eligible plot of +ground at no great distance from the town was given me on which to +erect the proposed theatre. Having come to an understanding as to its +erection with a man of approved inventive genius, and of rare +experience in the interior arrangement of theatres, we could then +intrust to an architect of equal acquaintance with theatrical building +the further planning and the erection of the provisional structure. +And despite the great difficulties which attended the arrangements for +putting under way so unusual an undertaking, we made such progress +that the laying of the corner-stone could be announced to our patrons +and friends for May 22, 1872." The ceremony took place as announced, +and was made still further memorable by a magnificent performance of +Beethoven's Ninth or Choral Symphony, the chorus of which, set to +Schiller's "Ode to Joy," was sung by hundreds of lusty German throats. +In addition to the other contents of the stone, Wagner deposited the +following mystic verse of his own: + + "I bury here a secret deep, + For centuries long to lie concealed; + Yet while this stone its trust shall keep, + To all the secret stands revealed." + +He also made an eloquent address, setting forth the details of the +plans and the purposes of the new temple of art. The undertaking was +now fairly inaugurated. The erratic King of Bavaria had from the first +been Wagner's steadfast friend and munificent patron; but not to him +alone belongs the credit of the colossal project and its remarkable +success. When Wagner first made known his views, other friends, among +them Tausig, the eminent pianist, at once devoted themselves to his +cause. In connection with a lady of high rank, Baroness von +Schleinitz, he proposed to raise the sum of three hundred thousand +thalers by the sale of patronage shares at three hundred thalers each, +and had already entered upon the work when his death for the time +dashed Wagner's hopes. Other friends, however, now came forward. An +organization for the promotion of the scheme, called the "Richard +Wagner Society," was started at Mannheim. Notwithstanding the ridicule +which it excited, another society was formed at Vienna. Like societies +began to appear in all the principal cities of Germany, and they found +imitators in Milan, Pesth, Brussels, London, and New York. Shares were +taken so rapidly that the success of the undertaking was no longer +doubtful. Meanwhile the theatre itself was under construction. It +combined several peculiarities, one of the most novel of which was the +concealment of the orchestra by the sinking of the floor, so that the +view of the audience could not be interrupted by the musicians and +their movements. Private boxes were done away with, the arrangement of +the seats being like that of an ancient amphitheatre, all of them +facing the stage. Two prosceniums were constructed which gave an +indefinable sense of distance to the stage-picture. To relieve the +bare side walls, a row of pillars was planned, gradually widening +outward and forming the end of the rows of seats, thus having the +effect of a third proscenium. The stage portion of the theatre was +twice as high as the rest of the building, for all the scenery was +both raised and lowered, the incongruity between the two parts being +concealed by a façade in front. "Whoever has rightly understood me," +says Wagner, "will readily perceive that architecture itself had to +acquire a new significance under the inspiration of the genius of +Music, and thus that the myth of Amphion building the walls of Thebes +by the notes of his lyre has yet a meaning." + +The theatre was completed in 1876, and in the month of August (13-16) +Wagner saw the dream of his life take the form of reality. He had +everything at his command,--a theatre specially constructed for his +purpose; a stage which in size, scenery, mechanical arrangements, and +general equipment, has not its equal in the world; an array of artists +the best that Europe could produce; an orchestra almost literally +composed of virtuosi. The audience which gathered at these +performances--composed of princes, illustrious men in every department +of science and culture, and prominent musicians from all parts of the +world--was one of which any composer might have been proud, while the +representation itself marked an epoch in musical history, and +promulgated a new system of laws destined to affect operatic +composition ever after. + +The casts of the various portions of the trilogy upon this memorable +occasion were as follows: + + DAS RHEINGOLD. (PRELUDE.) + + WOTAN | (Herr BETZ. + DONNER | (Herr GURA. + | Gods + FROH | (Herr UNGER. + LOGE | (Herr VOGL. + + FASOLT | (Herr EILERS. + | Giants + FAFNER | (Herr VON REICHENBERG. + + ALBERICH | (Herr HILL. + | Nibelungs + MIME | (Herr SCHLOSSER. + + FRICKA | (Frau VON GRÜN-SADLER. + FREIA |Goddesses (Frl. HAUPT. + ERDA | (Frau JÄIDA. + + Woglinde ) ( Frl. Lilly Lehmann. + Wellgunde ) Rhine daughters ( Frl. Marie Lehmann. + Flosshilde ) ( Frl. Lammert. + + +DIE WALKÜRE. + + SIEGMUND Herr NIEMANN. + HUNDING Herr NIERING. + WOTAN Herr BETZ. + SIEGLINDE Frl. SCHEFZKY. + BRÜNNHILDE Frau FRIEDRICH-MATERNA. + FRICKA Frau VON GRÜN-SADLER. + + +SIEGFRIED. + + SIEGFRIED Herr UNGER. + MIME Herr SCHLOSSER. + DER WANDERER Herr BETZ. + ALBERICH Herr HILL. + FAFNER Herr VON REICHENBERG. + ERDA Frau JÄIDA. + BRÜNNHILDE Frau FRIEDRICH-MATERNA + + +DER GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG. + + SIEGFRIED Herr UNGER. + GUNTHER Herr GURA. + HAGEN Herr VON REICHENBERG. + ALBERICH Herr HILL. + BRÜNNHILDE Frau FRIEDRICH-MATERNA. + GUTRUNE Frl. WECKERLIN. + WALTRAUTE Frau JÄIDA. + +The motive of the drama turns upon the possession of a ring of magic +qualities, made of gold stolen from the Rhine daughters by Alberich, +one of the Nibelungen, who dwelt in Nebelheim, the place of mists. +This ring, the symbol of all earthly power, was at the same time to +bring a curse upon all who possessed it. Wotan, of the race of the +gods, covetous of power and heedless of the curse which follows it, +obtained the ring from Alberich by force and cunning, and soon found +himself involved in calamity from which there was no apparent escape. +He himself could not expiate the wrong he had done, nor could he avert +the impending doom, the "twilight" of the gods, which was slowly and +surely approaching. Only a free will, independent of the gods, and +able to take upon itself the fault, could make reparation for the +deed. At last he yields to despair. His will is broken, and instead of +fearing the inevitable doom he courts it. In this sore emergency the +hero appears. He belongs to an heroic race of men, the Volsungs. The +unnatural union of the twins, Siegmund and Sieglinde, born of this +race, produces the real hero, Siegfried. The parents pay the penalty +of incest with their lives; but Siegfried remains, and Wotan watches +his growth and magnificent development with eager interest. Siegfried +recovers the ring from the giants, to whom Wotan had given it, by +slaying a dragon which guarded the fatal treasure. Brünnhilde, the +Valkyr, Wotan's daughter, contrary to his instructions, had protected +Siegmund in a quarrel which resulted in his death, and was condemned +by the irate god to fall into a deep sleep upon a rock surrounded by +flames, where she was to remain until a hero should appear bold enough +to break through the wall of fire and awaken her. Siegfried rescues +her. She wakens into the full consciousness of passionate love, and +yields herself to the hero, who presents her with the ring, but not +before it has worked its curse upon him, so that he, faithless even in +his faithfulness, wounds her whom he deeply loves, and drives her from +him. Meanwhile Gunther, Gutrune, and their half-brother Hagen conspire +to obtain the ring from Brünnhilde and to kill Siegfried. Through the +agency of a magic draught he is induced to desert her, after once more +getting the ring. He then marries Gutrune. The curse soon reaches its +consummation. One day, while traversing his favorite forests on a +hunting expedition, he is killed by Hagen, with Gunther's connivance. +The two murderers then quarrel for the possession of the ring, and +Gunther is slain. Hagen attempts to wrest it from the dead hero's +finger, but shrinks back terrified as the hand is raised in warning. +Brünnhilde now appears, takes the ring, and proclaims herself his true +wife. She mounts her steed, and dashes into the funeral pyre of +Siegfried after returning the ring to the Rhine-daughters. This +supreme act of immolation breaks forever the power of the gods, as is +shown by the blazing Walhalla in the sky; but at the same time justice +has been satisfied, reparation has been made for the original wrong, +and the free will of man becomes established as a human principle. + +Such are the outlines of this great story, which will be told more in +detail when we come to examine the component parts of the trilogy. Dr. +Ludwig Nohl, in his admirable sketch of the Nibelungen poem, as Wagner +adapted it, gives us a hint of some of its inner meanings in the +following extract: "Temporal power is not the highest destiny of a +civilizing people. That our ancestors were conscious of this is shown +in the fact that the treasure, or gold and its power, was transformed +into the Holy Grail. Worldly aims give place to spiritual desires. +With this interpretation of the Nibelungen myth, Wagner acknowledged +the grand and eternal truth that this life is tragic throughout, and +that the will which would mould a world to accord with one's desires +can finally lead to no greater satisfaction than to break itself in a +noble death.... It is this conquering of the world through the victory +of self which Wagner conveys as the highest interpretation of our +national myths. As Brünnhilde approaches the funeral pyre to sacrifice +her life, the only tie still uniting her with the earth, to Siegfried, +the beloved dead, she says:-- + + "'To the world I will give now my holiest wisdom; + Not goods, nor gold, nor godlike pomp, + Not house, nor lands, nor lordly state, + Not wicked plottings of crafty men, + Not base deceits of cunning law,-- + But, blest in joy and sorrow, let only love remain.'" + +We now proceed to the analysis of the four divisions of the work, in +which task, for obvious reasons, it will be hardly possible to do more +than sketch the progress of the action, with allusions to its most +striking musical features. There are no set numbers, as in the Italian +opera; and merely to designate the leading motives and trace their +relation to each other, to the action of the _dramatis personæ_, and +to the progress of the four movements, not alone towards their own +climaxes but towards the ultimate dénouement, would necessitate far +more space than can be had in a work of this kind. + + +DAS RHEINGOLD. + +The orchestral prelude to "The Rhinegold" is based upon a single +figure, the Rhine motive, which in its changing developments pictures +the calm at the bottom of the Rhine and the undulating movement of the +water. The curtain rises and discloses the depths of the river, from +which rise rugged ridges of rock. Around one of these, upon the summit +of which glistens the Rhinegold, Woglinde, a Rhine-daughter, is +swimming. Two others, Wellgunde and Flosshilde, join her; and as they +play about the gleaming gold, Alberich, a dwarf, suddenly appears from +a dark recess and passionately watches them. As they are making sport +of him, his eye falls upon the gold and he determines to possess it. +They make light of his threat, informing him that whoever shall forge +a ring of this gold will have secured universal power, but before he +can obtain that power he will have to renounce love. The disclosure of +the secret follows a most exultant song of the Undines ("Rheingold! +leuchtende Lust! wie lachst du so hell und hehr!"). In the +announcement made by them also occurs the motive of the ring. The +Rhine-daughters, who have fancied that Alberich will never steal the +gold because he is in love with them, are soon undeceived, for he +curses love, and snatches the gold and makes off with it, pursued by +the disconsolate maidens, whose song changes into a sad minor leading +up to the next scene. As they follow him into the dark depths the +stream sinks with them and gives place to an open district with a +mountain in the background, upon which is the glistening Walhalla, +which the giants have just built for the gods. Wotan and Fricka are +discovered awakening from sleep and joyfully contemplating it, the +latter, however, filled with apprehension lest the giants shall claim +Freia, the goddess of love, whom Wotan has promised to them as the +reward for their work. Loge, the god of fire, however, has agreed to +obtain a ransom for her. He has searched the world over, but has been +unable to find anything that can excel in value or attraction the +charm of love. As the gods are contemplating their castle Loge +appears, and in a scene of great power, accompanied by music which +vividly describes the element he dominates ("Immer ist Undank Loge's +Lohn"), he narrates the tidings of his failure. The giants, however, +have heard the story of the Rhinegold, and as they carry off the +weeping Freia agree to release her whenever the gods will give to them +the precious and all-powerful metal. As love departs, the heavens +become dark and sadness overcomes the gods. They grow suddenly old and +decrepit. Fricka totters and Wotan yields to despair. Darkness and +decay settle down upon them. The divine wills are broken, and they are +about to surrender to what seems approaching dissolution, when Wotan +suddenly arouses himself and determines to go in quest of the +all-powerful gold. Loge accompanies him, and the two enter the dark +kingdom of the gnomes, who are constantly at work forging the metals. +By virtue of his gold Alberich has already made himself master of all +the gnomes, but Wotan easily overpowers him and carries him off to the +mountain. The Nibelung, however, clings to his precious gold, and a +struggle ensues for it. In spite of his strength and the power the +ring gives to him it is wrenched from him, and the victorious Wotan +leaves him free to return to his gloomy kingdom. Infuriated with +disappointment over his loss and rage at his defeat, Alberich curses +the ring and invokes misfortune upon him who possesses it. "May he who +has it not, covet it with rage," cries the dwarf, "and may he who has +it, retain it with the anguish of fear;" and with curse upon curse he +disappears. Now that he has the ring, Wotan is unwilling to give it +up. The other gods implore him to do so, and the giants demand their +ransom. He remains inflexible; but at last Erda, the ancient divinity, +to whom all things are known, past, present and future, appears to +Wotan and warns him to surrender the ring. She declares that all which +exists will have an end, and that a night of gloom will come upon the +gods. So long as he retains the ring a curse will follow it. Her +sinister foreboding so alarms him that at last he abandons the gold. +Youth, pride, and strength once more return to the gods. + +The grand closing scene of the prelude now begins. Wotan attempts to +enter Walhalla, but all is veiled in oppressive mist and heavy clouds. +The mighty Donner, accompanied by Froh, climbs a high rock in the +valley's slope and brandishes his hammer, summoning the clouds about +him. From out their darkness its blows are heard descending upon the +rock. Lightning leaps from them, and thunder-crashes follow each other +with deafening sounds. The rain falls in heavy drops. Then the clouds +part, and reveal the two in the midst of their storm-spell. In the +distance appears Walhalla bathed in the glow of the setting sun. From +their feet stretches a luminous rainbow across the valley to the +castle, while out from the disappearing storm comes the sweet rainbow +melody. Froh sings, "Though built lightly it looks, fast and fit is +the bridge." The gods are filled with delight, but Wotan gloomily +contemplates the castle as the curse of the ring recurs to him. At +last a new thought comes in his mind. The hero who will make +reparation is to come from the new race of mortals of his own +begetting. The thought appears in the sword motive, and as its stately +melody dies away, Wotan rouses from his contemplation and hails +Walhalla with joy as "a shelter from shame and harm." He takes Fricka +by the hand, and leading the way, followed by Froh, Freia, Donner, and +Loge, the last somewhat reluctantly, the gods pass over the rainbow +bridge and enter Walhalla bathed in the light of the setting sun and +accompanied by the strains of a majestic march. During their passage +the plaintive song of the Rhine-daughters mourning their gold comes up +from the depths. Wotan pauses a moment and inquires the meaning of the +sounds, and bids Loge send a message to them that the treasure shall +"gleam no more for the maids." Then they pass laughingly and mockingly +on through the splendor to Walhalla. The sad song still rises from the +depths of the Rhine, but it is overpowered by the strains of the +march, and pealing music from the castle. The curtain falls upon their +laments, and the triumphant entrance of the gods into their new home. + + +DIE WALKÜRE. + +In "The Valkyrie," properly the first part of the cyclus, the human +drama begins. Strong races of men have come into existence, and +Wotan's Valkyres watch over them, leading those who fall in battle to +Walhalla, where, in the gods' companionship, they are to pass a +glorious life. According to the original legend, Wotan blessed an +unfruitful marriage of this race by giving the pair an apple of Hulda +to eat, and the twins, Siegmund and Sieglinde, were the result of the +union. When the first act opens, Siegmund has already taken a wife and +Sieglinde has married the savage warrior Hunding, but neither marriage +has been fruitful. It is introduced with an orchestral prelude +representing a storm. The pouring of the rain is audible among the +violins and the rumbling of the thunder in the deep basses. The +curtain rises, disclosing the interior of a rude hut, its roof +supported by the branches of an ash-tree whose trunk rises through the +centre of the apartment. As the tempest rages without, Siegmund rushes +in and falls exhausted by the fire. Attracted by the noise, Sieglinde +appears, and observing the fallen stranger bends compassionately over +him and offers him a horn of mead. As their eyes meet they watch each +other with strange interest and growing emotion. While thus mutually +fascinated, Hunding enters and turns an inquiring look upon Sieglinde. +She explains that he is a guest worn out with fatigue and seeking +shelter. Hunding orders a repast and Siegmund tells his story. +Vanquished in combat by a neighboring tribe, some of whose adherents +he had slain, and stripped of his arms, he fled through the storm for +refuge. Hunding promises him hospitality, but challenges him to combat +on the morrow, for the victims of Siegmund's wrath were Hunding's +friends. As Sieglinde retires at Hunding's bidding, she casts a +despairing, passionate look at Siegmund, and tries to direct his +attention to a sword sticking in the ash-tree, but in vain. Hunding +warns her away with a significant look, and then taking his weapons +from the tree leaves Siegmund alone. The latter, sitting by the fire, +falls into dejection, but is soon roused by the thought that his sire +had promised he should find the sword Nothung in his time of direst +need. The dying fire shoots out a sudden flame, and his eye lights +upon its handle, illuminated by the blaze. The magnificent +sword-melody is sounded, and in a scene of great power he hails it and +sings his love for Sieglinde, whom now he can rescue. As the fire and +the song die away together, Sieglinde reappears. She has drugged +Hunding into a deep sleep, and in an exultant song tells Siegmund the +story of the sword. They can be saved if he is strong enough to wrench +it from the trunk of the ash. He recognizes his sister and folds her +passionately in his arms. The storm has passed, and as the moonlight +floods the room he breaks out in one of the loveliest melodies Wagner +has ever written, the spring song ("Winterstürme wichen dem +Wonnemond"), a song of love leading to the delights of spring; and +Sieglinde in passionate response declares, "Thou art the spring for +which I longed in winter's frosty embrace." The recognition is mutual, +not alone of brother and sister but of lover and mistress,--the union +which is destined to beget Siegfried, the hero. Seizing her in his +arms, Siegmund disappears with her into the depths of the forest, and +the curtain falls. + +The second act opens in the mountains of the gods, and discloses Wotan +with spear in hand in earnest converse with Brünnhilde, his daughter, +who is arrayed in the armor of a Valkyr. He tells her of the +approaching combat, and bids her award the victory to Siegmund the +Volsung, beloved of the gods. As she disappears among the rocks, +shouting the weird cry of the Valkyres, the jealous Fricka, protector +of marriage vows, comes upon the scene in a chariot drawn by rams. A +stormy dialogue occurs between them, Fricka demanding the death of +Siegmund as compensation for the wrong done to Hunding. Wotan at last +is overcome, and consents that the Valkyres shall conduct him to +Walhalla. As he yields, Brünnhilde's jubilant song is heard on the +heights, and Wotan summons her and announces his changed decision. +Siegmund must perish. As he stalks gloomily away among the rocks, +Brünnhilde falls into deep dejection, and turns away moaning: "Alas! +my Volsung! Has it come to this,--that faithless the faithful must +fail thee?" As she enters a cave for her horse, the fugitives Siegmund +and Sieglinde hurriedly approach, pursued by the infuriated Hunding. +They stop to rest, and Sieglinde falls exhausted in his arms. The +scene is marked by alternations of passionate love and fear, hope on +the one side, despair on the other, vividly portrayed in the +instrumentation. As the music dies away and Sieglinde rests insensible +in his arms, Brünnhilde, with deep melancholy in her visage, shows +herself to Siegmund. In reply to his question, "Who art thou?" she +answers, "He who beholds me, to death in the battle is doomed. I shall +lead thee to Walhalla." Eagerly he asks, "Shall I find in Walhalla my +own father Wälse?" and she answers, "The Volsung shall find his father +there." With passionate earnestness he asks, "Shall Siegmund there +embrace Sieglinde?" The Valkyre replies, "The air of earth she still +must breathe. Sieglinde shall not see Siegmund there." Then furiously +answers Siegmund, "Then farewell to Walhalla! Where Sieglinde lives, +in bliss or blight, there Siegmund will also tarry," and he raises his +sword over his unconscious sister. Moved by his great love and sorrow, +Brünnhilde for the first time is swayed by human emotions, and +exultantly declares, "I will protect thee." Hunding's horn sounds in +the distance, and soon is heard his defiant challenge to battle. +Siegmund rushes to the top of one of the cloudy summits, and the clash +of their arms resounds in the mists. A sudden gleam of light shows +Brünnhilde hovering over Siegmund, and protecting him with her shield. +As he prepares himself to deal a deadly thrust at Hunding, the angry +Wotan appears in a storm-cloud and interposes his spear. Siegmund's +sword is shivered to pieces. Hunding pierces his disarmed enemy, and +he falls mortally wounded. Brünnhilde lifts the insensible Sieglinde +upon her steed and rides away with her. Wotan, leaning upon his spear, +gazes sorrowfully at the dying Volsung, and then turning to Hunding, +so overcomes him with his contemptuous glance that he falls dead at +his feet. "But Brünnhilde, woe to the traitor. Punishment dire is due +to her treason. To horse, then. Let vengeance speed swiftly." And +mounting his steed he disappears amid thunder and lightning. + +The last act opens in a rocky glen filled with the Valkyres calling to +each other from summit to summit with wild cries as they come riding +through the clouds after the combat, bearing the dead bodies of the +warriors on their saddles. The scene is preluded with an orchestral +number, well known in the concert-room as the "Ride of the Valkyres," +which is based upon two motives, the Valkyre's call and the Valkyre +melody. In picturesque description of the rush and dash of steeds, +amid which are heard the wild cries of the sisters, "The Ride" is one +of the most powerful numbers ever written. Brünnhilde arrives among +the exultant throng in tears, bearing Sieglinde with her. She gives +her the fragments of Siegmund's sword, and appeals to the other +Valkyres to save her. She bids Sieglinde live, for "thou art to give +birth to a Volsung," and to keep the fragments of the sword. "He that +once brandishes the sword, newly welded, let him be named Siegfried, +the winner of victory." Wotan's voice is now heard angrily shouting +through the storm-clouds, and calling upon Brünnhilde, who vainly +seeks to conceal herself among her sisters. He summons her forth from +the group, and she comes forward meekly but firmly and awaits her +punishment. He taxes her with violating his commands; to which she +replies, "I obeyed not thy order, but thy secret wish." The answer +does not avail, and he condemns her to sleep by the wayside, the +victim of the first who passes. She passionately pleads for protection +against dishonor, and the god consents. Placing her upon a rocky couch +and kissing her brow, he takes his farewell of her in a scene which +for majestic pathos has never been excelled. One forgets Wotan and the +Valkyre. It is the last parting of an earthly father and daughter, +illustrated with music which is the very apotheosis of grief. He then +conjures Loge, the god of fire; and as he strikes his spear upon the +rock, flames spring up all about her. Proudly he sings in the midst of +the glare:-- + + "Who fears the spike + Of my spear to face, + He will not pierce the planted fire,"-- + +a melody which is to form the motive of the hero Siegfried in the next +division of the work--and the curtain falls upon a scene which for +power, beauty, and majesty has not its equal on the lyric stage. + + +SIEGFRIED. + +The second division of the tragedy, "Siegfried," might well be called +an idyl, of the forest. Its music is full of joyousness and delight. +In place of the struggles of gods and combats of fierce warriors, the +wild cries of Valkyres and the blendings of human passions with divine +angers, we have the repose and serenity of nature, and in the midst of +it all appears the hero Siegfried, true child of the woods, and as +full of wild joyousness and exultant strength as one of their fauns or +satyrs. It is a wonderful picture of nature, closing with an ecstatic, +vision of love. + +After the death of Siegmund, Sieglinde takes refuge in the depths of +the forest, where she gives birth to Siegfried. In her dying moments +she intrusts him to Mime, who forged the ring for Alberich when he +obtained possession of the Rhinegold. The young hero has developed +into a handsome, manly stripling, who dominates the forests and holds +its wild animals subject to his will. He calls to the birds and they +answer him. He chases the deer with leaps as swift as their own. He +seizes the bear and drags him into Mime's hut, much to the Nibelung's +alarm. But while pursuing the wild, free life in the forest, he has +dreams of greater conquests than those over nature. Heroic deeds shape +themselves in his mind, and sometimes they are illuminated with dim +and mysterious visions of a deeper passion. In his interviews with +Mime he questions him about the world outside of the forest, its +people and their actions. He tires of the woods, and longs to get away +from them. Mime then shows him the fragments of his father's sword, +which had been shattered upon Wotan's spear, the only legacy left her +son by Sieglinde, and tells him that he who can weld them together +again will have power to conquer all before him. Mime had long tried +to forge a sword for Siegfried, but they were all too brittle, nor had +he the skill to weld together the fragments of Siegmund's sword, +Nothung. The only one who can perform that task is the hero without +fear. One day Siegfried returns from a hunting expedition and +undertakes it himself. He files the fragments into dust and throws it +into the crucible, which he places on the fire of the forge. Then +while blowing the bellows he sings a triumphant song ("Nothung! +Nothung! neidliches Schwert"), which anticipates the climax towards +which all the previous scenes have led. As he sings at his work Mime +cogitates how he shall thwart his plans and get possession of the +sword. He plots to have him kill Fafner, the giant, who has changed +himself into a dragon, for the more effectual custody of the +Rhine-treasure and the ring. Then when Siegfried has captured the +treasure he will drug him with a poisoned broth, kill him with the +sword, and seize the gold. Siegfried pours the melted steel into a +mould, thrusts it into the water to cool, and then bursts out into a +new song, accompanied by anvil blows, as he forges and tempers it, the +motive of which has already been heard in the "Rhinegold" prelude, +when Alberich made his threat. While Mime quietly mixes his potion, +Siegfried fastens the hilt to his blade and polishes the sword. Then +breaking out in a new song, in which are heard the motives of the +fire-god and the sword, he swings it through the air, and bringing it +down with force splits the anvil in twain. The music accompanying this +great scene, imitating the various sounds of the forge, the flutter of +the fire, the hissing of the water, the filing of the sword, and the +blows upon the anvil, is realism carried to the very extreme of +possibilities. + +The great exploit has been successful, and Siegfried at last has +Siegmund's sword. Mime takes him to the cave where Fafner, the +giant-dragon, guards the gold. Siegfried slays the monster, and laughs +over the ease of the task. His finger is heated with the dragon's +blood, and as he puts it to his lips to cool it he tastes the blood, +and thus learns the language of the birds. He cares nought for the +treasure, and takes only the ring and a magic helmet, which enables +the wearer to assume any form. After the contest he throws himself at +the foot of a tree in the forest and dreamily listens to the +"Waldweben," the rustle and mysterious stirrings of the woods. Amid +all these subtle, soothing sounds, pierced now and then with the songs +of the birds, and distant cries in far-away sylvan recesses, he +realizes that he is alone, while his old companions of the woods are +together. He thinks of the mother whom he has never known, and of that +mysterious being whom he has never seen, who should make the +companionship he observes among the birds. The passion of love begins +to assert itself vaguely and strangely, but full soon it will glow out +with ardent flame. A bird flying over his head sings to him. He can +understand its song and fancies it his mother's voice coming to him in +the bird-notes. It tells him now he has the treasure, he should save +the most beautiful of women and win her to himself. "She sleeps upon a +rock, encircled with flames; but shouldst thou dare to break through +them, the warrior-virgin is thine." The bird wings its flight through +the forest, and Siegfried, joyously seizing his sword, follows it with +swift foot, for he knows it is guiding him to Brünnhilde. The time for +great deeds has come. The wild, free life of the forest is over. + +The third act once more shows us the god Wotan still plunged in gloom. +Gazing into a deep abyss, he summons Erda, who knows the destiny of +all the world, to question her again as to the twilight of the gods. +The mysterious figure appears at his bidding, but has nothing further +to communicate. Their doom is certain. The fearless race of men is +destined to efface the gods, and Walhalla must disappear. The hero is +at hand, and coming rapidly. The despairing Wotan, who appears in this +scene as "Der Wanderer" (the wanderer), cries out, "So be it. It is to +this end I aspire." He turns gloomily away, and confronts Siegfried +bounding from rock to rock like a deer, still following his airy +guide. The god angrily tries to bar his way, but in vain. His lance is +shattered at a single blow of the sword Nothung, which he himself had +once so easily shivered. It is the first catastrophe of the final fate +which is approaching. The hero without fear has come, the free will of +man has begun to manifest itself. The power of the gods is breaking. +Joyously Siegfried rushes on over the rocks. He is soon bathed in the +glow of the fire, which casts weird shadows through the wild glen. Now +the burning wall of red flames is before him. With a ringing cry of +exultation he dashes through them, and before him lies the sleeping +maiden in her glistening armor. Mad with her beauty and his own +overpowering passion, he springs to her side and wakes her with a +kiss. The Volsung and the Valkyr gaze at each other a long time in +silence. Brünnhilde strives to comprehend her situation, and to recall +the events that led up to her penalty, while love grows within her for +the hero who has rescued her, and Siegfried is transfixed by the +majesty of the maiden. As she comes to herself and fully realizes who +is the hero before her and foresees the approaching doom, she +earnestly appeals to him:-- + + "Leave, ah, leave, + Leave me unlost, + Force on me not + Thy fiery nearness. + Shiver me not + With thy shattering will, + And lay me not waste in thy love." + +What is preordained cannot be changed. Siegfried replies with growing +passion, and Brünnhilde at last yields, and the two join in an +outburst of exultant song:-- + + "Away, Walhalla, + In dust crumble + Thy myriad towers. + Farewell, greatness, + And gift of the gods. + You, Norns, unravel + The rope of runes. + Darken upwards, + Dusk of the gods. + Night of annulment, + Draw near with thy cloud. + I stand in sight + Of Siegfried's star. + For me he was, + And for me he will ever be." + +With this great duet, which is one of the most extraordinary numbers +in the trilogy for dramatic power and musical expression of human +emotion, this division closes. + + +DIE GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG. + +The last division of the tragedy opens under the shade of a huge +ash-tree where the three Fates sit spinning and weaving out human +destinies. As they toss their thread from one to the other,--the +thread they have been spinning since time began,--they foresee the +gloom which is coming. Suddenly it snaps in their fingers, whereupon +the dark sisters crowding closely together descend to the depths of +the earth to consult with the ancient Erda and seek shelter near her. +Meanwhile as day breaks Siegfried and Brünnhilde emerge from the glen +where they have been reposing in mutual happiness. Brünnhilde has told +her lover the story of the gods and the secrets of the mystic runes, +but he is still unsatisfied. His mission is not yet fulfilled. He must +away to perform new deeds. Before he leaves her he gives her the ring +as his pledge of fidelity, and they part, after exchanging mutual vows +of love and constancy. + +In his search for further exploits, Siegfried arrives at the dwelling +of Gunter, a powerful Rhenish chief, head of the Gibichungen, another +race of heroes, where also resides Gutrune, his fascinating sister, +and the evil Hagen, begotten by Alberich of Crimhilda, Gunter's +mother, who was the victim of his gold. Alberich's hatred of the gods +and all connected with them is shared by his son, who has been charged +by the Nibelung to recover the gold. From this point the tragic +denouement rapidly progresses. Siegfried's horn is heard in the +distance, and he soon crosses Gunter's threshold, where his ruin is +being plotted by the sinister Hagen. He is hospitably received, and at +Hagen's bidding Gutrune pours out and offers him a draught so +cunningly mixed that it will efface all past remembrances. He is +completely infatuated with the girl's beauty, and as the potion takes +effect, the love for Brünnhilde disappears. He demands Gutrune in +marriage, and Hagen promises her upon condition that he will bring +Brünnhilde as a bride for Gunter. Siegfried departs upon the fatal +errand, and after taking from her the ring drags her by force to +deliver her to Gunter. The Valkyr rises to a sublime height of anger +over her betrayal, and dooms Siegfried to death in the approaching +hunt, for by death alone she knows that she can regain his love. + +The last act opens in a rocky glen on the banks of the Rhine, the +ripple of whose waters is repeated in the melody of "The Rhinegold." +Siegfried is separated from his companion, and while alone, the song +of the Rhine-daughters is heard. They rise to the surface of the +gleaming water and demand their gold, but Siegfried refuses to restore +it. They warn him again to fly from the curse, but he proudly exclaims +that his sword is invincible and can crush the Norns. Sadly they float +away to the sound of harps shimmering over the water. Gunter's horn is +heard among the hills, and Siegfried exultantly answers it. The +huntsmen assemble and prepare for a feast. Siegfried relates his +adventure with the Rhine-daughters, and when Hagen asks him if it is +true that he can understand the language of the birds, he tells the +whole story of his life in the "Rheinfahrt," a song built up of all +the motives which have been heard in the "Siegfried" division,--the +melody of the sword, the stir of the woods, the song of the mysterious +bird, Mime's enticement, the love of Brünnhilde, and the flaming fire +following each other in rapid and brilliant succession through the +measures of the picturesque description. As the song dies away, two +ravens, messengers of ill-omen, fly across the stage. The curse motive +sounds gloomily through the orchestra. Hagen springs to his feet and +suddenly and treacherously plunges his spear into Siegfried's back, +then sullenly leaves and disappears among the rocks. The hero falls to +the earth and dies, breathing Brünnhilde's name, for in the last +supreme moment the spell of Hagen's draught passes away. With his last +breath he breaks out in a death-song of surpassing beauty and majesty, +in which the motives are those of the Volsung and the Valkyr, as well +as of the destiny which is to reunite them in death. Once more he +murmurs the name of Brünnhilde, and then his companions tenderly place +him upon his shield, and lifting him upon their shoulders carry him to +the misty summits and disappear in the cloud, to the mighty and +impressive strains of a funeral march, built up on the motives of +Siegmund, the love-duet of Siegmund and Sieglinde, the sword and +Volsung motives, and Siegfried's great theme. In the interweaving of +these motives and their sombre coloring, in massive fortissimo and +crescendo effects, in expressive musical delineation, and in majestic +solemnity, the Siegfried funeral march must take precedence of all +other dirges. In truth it is a colossal and heroic funeral poem fit to +celebrate the death of a demigod. In the last scene Siegfried's body +is borne back to the hall of the Gibichungs amid loud lamenting. When +Gutrune learns what has occurred, she bitterly curses Hagen and throws +herself on Siegfried's corpse. Hagen and Gunter quarrel for the +possession of the ring, and Gunter is slain; but when Hagen tries to +take the ring, the hand of the dead hero is raised in warning. Then +Brünnhilde solemnly and proudly advances in the light of the torches +and bids the empty clamor cease, for "this is no lamenting worthy of a +hero." She orders a funeral pyre to be built, and Siegfried is laid +thereon. She contemplates the dead hero with passionate love and +sadness, and then solemnly turning to those about her, exclaims: +"Those who efface the fault of the gods are predestined to suffering +and death. Let one sacrifice end the curse. Let the Ring be purified +by fire, the waters dissolve it forever. The end of the gods is at +hand. But though I leave the world masterless, I give it this precious +treasure. In joy or in suffering, happiness can alone come from love." +She seizes a burning brand, and invoking Loge, god of fire, flings it +into the pyre. Her horse is brought to her, and she proudly mounts +it:-- + + "Grane, my horse, + Hail to thee here! + Knowest thou, friend, + How far I shall need thee? + Heiaho! Grane! + Greeting to him. + Siegfried! See, Brünnhilde + Joyously hails thee, thy bride." + +She swings herself upon her steed and dashes into the furious flames. +At last they die away, and the Rhine rushes forward from its banks and +covers the pyre. The exultant Rhine-daughters are swimming in the +flood, for Brünnhilde has thrown them the ring. Hagen makes a last +desperate effort to clutch it, but Woglinde and Wellgunde wind their +arms about him, and as they drag him into the depths Flosshilde holds +the ring above the waters, and the exultant song of the +Rhine-daughters is heard above the swelling tide, while far in the +distance a red flame spreads among the clouds. Walhalla is blazing in +the sky. The Dusk of the Gods has come. Reparation has been made. The +hero without fear is victorious. Free will, independent of the gods, +will rule the world, and the gods themselves are lost in the human +creation. Love is given to men, and conquers death. + + +PARSIFAL. + +"Parsifal," a "Bühnenweihfestspiel" (festival acting-drama), words by +Wagner, was concluded in 1879, and first produced at Baireuth, July +22, 1882, only about seven months before the distinguished composer's +death, with Mme. Friedrich-Materna as Kundry, Herr Winckelmann as +Parsifal, and Herr Scaria as Gurnemanz. + +The theme of the opera is taken from the cycle of Holy Grail myths to +which "Lohengrin" also belongs. The reader will remember that +Lohengrin in his final address declares himself son of Parsifal, the +King of the Grail; and it is with this Parsifal that Wagner's last +work is concerned. Parsifal, like Siegfried, represents free human +nature in its spontaneous, impulsive action. He is styled in the text, +"Der reine Thor" (the guileless fool), who, in consonance with the old +mythological idea, overcomes the evil principle and gains the crown by +dint of pure natural impulse. The opera differs widely from "The +Nibelung Ring." The composer has used the free instead of the +alliterative form of verse, which he then contended was best adapted +to musical setting. In "The Ring" the chorus is not introduced at all +until the last division is reached, while in "Parsifal" it plays an +important part in every act, in the second scene of the first act +there being three choirs on the stage at a time. Still there is no +trace of the aria, the duet, or the recitative, of the Italian style, +though there is plenty of concerted music, which grows out of the +dramatic necessities of the situations. When these necessities do not +urge themselves, the music flows on in dialogue form, as in "The +Ring." + +The vorspiel is based upon three motives connected with the mystery of +the Grail, which forms the key-note of the opera, though in a +different aspect from that which the Grail assumes in "Lohengrin," +where it can only be visible to the eye of faith, while in "Parsifal" +it distinctly performs its wonders. Let it be remembered that the +Grail is the chalice from which Christ drank with his disciples at the +Last Supper, and in which his blood was received at the cross. The +first of these motives is of the same general character as the Grail +motive in the "Lohengrin" vorspiel; the second is an impressive phrase +for trumpets and trombones, which will be heard again when the Knights +of the Grail are summoned to their duties; and the third is a broad, +dignified melody in the chorale form. + +The action of the drama occurs in the north of Spain, and in the +vicinity of Monsalvat, the Castle of the Holy Grail, where this +chalice was brought by angels when Christianity was in danger. The +curtain rises upon a lovely forest glade on the borders of a lake, at +daybreak, and discovers the Grail Knight, Gurnemanz, and two young +shield-bearers, guardians of the castle, sleeping at the foot of a +tree. Trumpet-calls, repeating the motive first heard in the prelude, +arouse them from their sleep; and as they offer up their morning +prayer the chorale is heard again. As they wend their way to the +castle, they meet two knights preceding the litter upon which the +wounded Amfortas, King of the Grail, is carried. In the subsequent +dialogue Gurnemanz tells the story of the King's mishap. He is +suffering from a wound which refuses to close, and which has been +inflicted by the sacred spear,--the spear, according to the legend, +with which our Saviour's side was pierced. Klingsor, a magician, had +aspired to become a knight of the Grail, but his application was +refused; for only those of holy lives could watch the sacred vessel +and perform its ministrations. In revenge, Klingsor studied the magic +arts and created for himself a fairy palace, which he peopled with +beautiful women, whose sole duty it was to seduce the Knights of the +Grail. One of these women, a mysterious creature of wonderful +fascinations, Kundry by name, had beguiled Amfortas, who thus fell +into the power of Klingsor. He lost his spear, and received from it a +wound which will never heal so long as it remains in the hands of the +magician. In a vision he has been told to wait for the one who has +been appointed to cure him. A voice from the Grail tells him the +following mystery:-- + + "Durch Mitleid wissend, + Der reine Thor, + Harre sein' + Den ich erkor." + + ["Let a guileless fool only, knowing by compassion, await him whom I + have chosen."] + +Meanwhile, as the shield-bearers are carrying Amfortas towards the +lake, the savage, mysterious Kundry is seen flying over the fields. +She overtakes Gurnemanz and gives him a balm, saying that if it will +not help the King, nothing in Arabia can, and then, refusing to accept +thanks or reveal her identity, sinks to the ground in weariness. The +King takes the drug with gratitude; but she scorns thanks, and sneers +at those about her with savage irony. Gurnemanz's companions are about +to seize her, but the old Knight warns them that she is living +incarnate to expiate the sins of a former life, and that in serving +the Order of the Grail she is purchasing back her own redemption. As +Gurnemanz concludes, cries are heard in the wood, and two knights, +approaching, announce that a swan, the bird sacred to the Grail, which +was winging its way over the lake, and which the King had hailed as a +happy omen, has been shot. Parsifal, the murderer, is dragged in, and +when questioned by Gurnemanz, is unaware that he has committed any +offence. To every question he only answers he does not know. When +asked who is his mother, Kundry answers for him: "His mother brought +him an orphan into the world, and kept him like a fool in the forest, +a stranger to arms, so that he should escape a premature death; but he +fled from her and followed the wild life of nature. Her grief is over, +for she is dead." Whereupon Parsifal flies at her and seizes her by +the throat; but Gurnemanz holds him back, and Kundry sinks down +exhausted. Parsifal answers to the "Thor," but it remains to be seen +whether he is the "reine Thor." Gurnemanz conducts him to the temple +where the holy rites of the Grail are to be performed, hoping he is +the redeemer whom the Grail will disclose when the love-feast of the +Saviour is celebrated. + +The scene changes to the great hall of the castle and the celebration +of the feast of the Grail. The scene is introduced with a solemn march +by full orchestra, including trombones on the stage, accompanied by +the clanging of bells as the knights enter in stately procession. They +sing a pious chant in unison, the march theme still sounding. As the +younger squires and pages enter, a new melody is taken in three-part +harmony, and finally an unseen chorus of boys from the extreme height +of the dome sing the chorale from the introduction, without +accompaniment, in imitation of angel voices. The shield-bearers bring +in Amfortas upon his litter, when suddenly from a vaulted niche is +heard the voice of Titurel, Amfortas's aged father, and the founder of +Monsalvat, now too feeble to perform the holy offices, bidding the +Grail to be uncovered. Amfortas, mourning that he, the unholiest of +them, should be called, opens a golden shrine and takes out the +crystal vessel. Darkness falls upon the hall, but the Grail is +illuminated with constantly increasing brilliancy, while from the dome +the children's voices sing, "Take My blood in the name of our love, +and take My body in remembrance of me." Parsifal watches the scene +with bewildered eyes, but upon saying in reply that he does not +understand the holy rite, he is contemptuously ejected from the place. + +The second act reveals Klingsor's enchanted palace. The magician +gazing into a mirror sees Parsifal approaching, and knows he is the +redeemer who has been promised. He summons Kundry before him, and +commands her to tempt him with her spells. She struggles against the +task, for in her soul the powers of good and evil are always +contending for the mastery. She longs for eternal sleep, and rest from +her evil passions, but Klingsor holds her in his power. Parsifal +enters, and the scene changes to a delightful garden filled with girls +of ravishing beauty in garments of flowers. They crowd about him, and +by their fascinating blandishments seek to gain his love, but in vain. +He is still the "guileless fool." Then Kundry appears in all her +loveliness, and calls him by name, the name he had heard his mother +speak. He sorrowfully sinks at Kundry's feet. The enchantress bends +over him, appeals to him through his longing for his mother, and +kisses him. Instantly he comprehends all that he has seen, and he +cries, "The wound burns in my heart, oh, torment of love!" Then +quickly rising he spurns her from him. He has gained the +world-knowledge. She flies to him again, and passionately exclaims, +"The gift of my love would make thee divine. If this hour has made +thee the redeemer, let me suffer forever, but give me thy love." He +spurns her again, and cries, "To all eternity thou wouldst be damned +with me, if for one hour I should forget my mission," but says he will +save her too, and demands to know the way to Amfortas. In rage she +declares he shall never find it, and summons the help of Klingsor, who +hurls the sacred lance at Parsifal. The weapon remains suspended over +his head. He seizes it and makes the sign of the Cross. The gardens +and castle disappear. Parsifal and Kundry are alone in a desert. She +sinks to the ground with a mournful cry, and turning from her, his +last words are, "Thou knowest where only thou canst see me again." + +In the third act we are again in the land of the Grail. Parsifal has +wandered for years trying to find Monsalvat, and at last encounters +Gurnemanz, now a very old man, living as a hermit near a forest +spring, and the saddened Kundry is serving him. It is the Good Friday +morning, and forests and fields are bright with flowers and the +verdure of spring. Gurnemanz recognizes him, and in reply to his +question what makes the world so beautiful, the aged knight makes +answer:-- + + "The sad repentant tears of sinners + Have here with holy rain + Besprinkled field and plain, + And made them glow with beauty. + All earthly creatures in delight + At the Redeemer's trace so bright, + Uplift their prayers of duty. + And now perceive each blade and meadow flower, + That mortal foot to-day it need not dread." + +Kundry washes "the dust of his long wanderings" from his feet, and +looks up at him with earnest and beseeching gaze. Gurnemanz recognizes +the sacred spear, hails him as the King of the Grail and offers to +conduct him to the great hall where the holy rites are once more to be +performed. Before they leave, Parsifal's first act as the redeemer is +to baptize Kundry with water from the spring. The sound of tolling +bells in the distance announces the funeral of Titurel, and the scene +changes to the hall where the knights are carrying the litter upon +which Amfortas lies, awaiting the funeral procession approaching to +the strains of a solemn march. The knights demand he shall again +uncover the Grail, but he refuses, and calls upon them to destroy him +and then the Grail will shine brightly for them again. Unobserved by +them, Parsifal steps forward, touches the king's wound with the spear, +and it is immediately healed. Then he proclaims himself King of the +Grail, and orders it to be uncovered. As Amfortas and Gurnemanz kneel +to do him homage, Kundry dies at his feet in the joy of repentance. +Titurel rises from his coffin and bestows a benediction. Parsifal +ascends to the altar and raises the Grail in all its resplendent +beauty. A white dove flies down from the dome of the hall and hovers +over his head, while the knights chant their praise to God, re-echoed +by the singers in the dome, whose strains sound like celestial +voices:-- + + "Miracle of supreme blessing, + Redemption to the Redeemer." + + + + +WALLACE. + +William Vincent Wallace was born at Waterford, Ireland, in 1815. He +first studied music with his father, a bandleader, who afterwards sent +him to Dublin, where he speedily became an excellent performer on the +clarinet, violin, and piano. At the early age of fifteen he was +appointed organist at the Cathedral of Thurles, and soon afterwards +was engaged as a theatre director and concert conductor. At the age of +eighteen he had a fit of sickness, and upon his recovery went to +Australia for his health, and thence to Van Diemen's Land and New +Zealand. He passed some time in the latter country, and then began a +long series of wanderings, in the course of which he visited the East +and West Indies, Mexico,--where he conducted Italian opera,--and the +United States. He remained in New York a considerable period, and gave +concerts which were very remunerative. In 1846 he returned to Europe, +and shortly afterwards his pretty little opera, "Maritana," appeared, +and made quite a sensation among the admirers of English opera. In +1847 "Matilda of Hungary" was produced, and met with success. Thirteen +years of silence elapsed, and at last, in 1860, he produced his +legendary opera, "Lurline," at Covent Garden. It gave great +satisfaction at the time, but is now rarely performed. Besides his +operas he also wrote many waltzes, nocturnes, studies, and other light +works for the piano. After the production of "Lurline" he went to +Paris for the purpose of bringing out some of his operas, and while in +that city also composed the first act of an opera for London, but his +health was too delicate to admit of its completion. He died at Château +de Bayen, Oct. 12, 1865. + + +MARITANA. + +"Maritana," a romantic opera in three acts, words by Fitzball, founded +upon the well-known play of "Don Caesar de Bazan," was first produced +at Drury Lane, London, Nov. 15, 1845. The text closely follows that of +the drama. The first act opens in a public square of Madrid, where a +band of gypsies are singing to the populace, among them Maritana, a +young girl of more than ordinary beauty and vocal accomplishments. +Among the spectators is the young King Charles, who after listening to +her is smitten with her charms. Don José, his minister, to carry out +certain ambitious plans of his own, resolves to encourage the +fascinations which have so attracted the King. He extols her beauty +and arouses hopes in her breast of future grandeur and prosperity. At +this juncture Don Caesar de Bazan, a reckless, rollicking cavalier, +comes reeling out of a tavern where he has just parted with the last +of his money to gamblers. In spite of his shabby costume and +dissipated appearance he bears the marks of high breeding. In better +days he had been a friend of Don José. While he is relating the story +of his downward career to the minister, Lazarillo, a forlorn young lad +who has just attempted to destroy himself, accosts Don Caesar, and +tells him a piteous tale of his wrongs. Don Caesar befriends him, and +in consequence becomes involved in a duel, which leads to his arrest; +for it is Holy Week, and duelling during that time has been forbidden +on pain of death. While Don Caesar is on his way to prison, Don José +delights Maritana by promising her wealth, a splendid marriage, and an +introduction to the court on the morrow. + +The second act opens in the prison, and discovers Don Caesar asleep, +with his faithful little friend watching by him. It is five o'clock +when he wakes, and at seven he must die. Only two hours of life remain +for him, but the prospect does not disturb him. On the other hand he +is gayer than usual, and rallies Lazarillo with playful mirth. In the +midst of his gayety the crafty Don José enters and professes strong +friendship for him. When Don Caesar declares that he has but one last +wish, and that is to die a soldier's death instead of being +ignominiously hanged, Don José says it shall be gratified upon +condition that he will marry. The prisoner has but an hour and three +quarters to live, but he consents. He is provided with wedding +apparel, and a banquet is spread in honor of the occasion. During the +feast Lazarillo brings in a paper to Don José containing the King's +pardon for Don Caesar, but the minister promptly conceals it. +Maritana, her features disguised by a veil, is introduced, and as the +nuptial rites are performed the soldiers prepare to execute the +penalty. At the expiration of the hour Don Caesar is led out to meet +his fate, but Lazarillo has managed to abstract the balls from the +guns. The soldiers perform their duty, and Don Caesar feigns death; +but as soon as the opportunity occurs, he leaves the prison and +hurries to a grand ball given by the Marquis and Marchioness de +Montefiori at their palace, while the Marquis, who has had his +instructions from Don José to recognize Maritana as his long-lost +niece, is introducing her as such. Don Caesar enters and demands his +bride. The astonished Don José, perceiving that his scheme to +introduce Maritana at court is liable to be frustrated, offers the +Marquis a rich appointment if he will induce his wife to play the part +he shall suggest. The scheme is soon arranged, and the Marchioness, +closely veiled, is presented to Don Caesar as the Countess de Bazan. +Disgusted at "the precious piece of antiquity," as he terms her, and +fancying that he has been duped, he is about to sign a paper +relinquishing his bride, when he suddenly hears Maritana's voice. He +recognizes it as the same he had heard during the marriage rites. He +rushes forward to claim her, but she is quickly carried away, and he +is prevented from following. + +The last act opens in a palace belonging to the King, where Maritana +is surrounded with luxury, though she is as yet unaware that she is in +the royal apartments. Don José, fancying that Don Caesar will not dare +to make his appearance, as he does not know of his pardon, carries out +his plot by introducing the King to her as her husband. She at first +rejects him, and as he presses his suit Don Caesar breaks into the +apartment. The King in a rage demands to know his errand. He replies +that he is in quest of the Countess de Bazan, and with equal rage +inquires who he (the King) is. The King in confusion answers that he +is Don Caesar, whereupon the latter promptly replies, "Then I am the +King of Spain." Before further explanation can be made, a messenger +arrives from the Queen with the announcement that she awaits the King. +After his departure Don Caesar and Maritana mutually recognize each +other, and upon her advice he resolves to appeal to the Queen to save +her. He waits for her Majesty in the palace garden, and while +concealed, overhears Don José informing her that the King will meet +his mistress that night. He springs out, and denouncing him as a +traitor to his King slays him, and then returning to Maritana's +apartment finds the King there again, and tells him what has occurred. +He has saved the King's honor: will the King destroy his? The monarch, +overcome with Don Caesar's gallantry and loyalty, consigns Maritana to +him and appoints him Governor of Granada. The appointment does not +suit Don Caesar, for Granada is too near his creditors. The King, +laughing, changes it to Valencia, a hundred leagues away, and thither +Don Caesar conducts his happy bride. + +The drama is one which is well adapted to bright, cheerful, melodious +music, and the opportunity has been well improved, for "Maritana" is +one of the sprightliest and brightest of all the English operas, and +contains several ballads which for beauty and expressiveness may well +challenge any that Balfe has written. The principal numbers in the +first act are Maritana's opening song in the public square ("It was a +Knight of princely Mien"); the romanza which she subsequently sings +for Don José, "I hear it again, 'tis the Harp in the Air," which is +one of the sweetest and most delicate songs in any of the lighter +operas; the duet between Maritana and Don José, "Of fairy Wand had I +the Power;" Don Caesar's rollicking drinking-song, "All the World +over, to love, to drink, to fight, I delight;" and the tripping +chorus, "Pretty Gitana, tell us what the Fates decree," leading up to +the stirring ensemble in the finale, when Don Caesar is arrested. The +first scene of the second act is the richest in popular numbers, +containing an aria for alto, Lazarillo's song ("Alas! those Chimes so +sweetly pealing"); a charming trio for Don Caesar, Lazarillo, and Don +José ("Turn on, old Time, thine Hourglass"); Don Caesar's stirring +martial song, "Yes, let me like a Soldier fall;" the serious ballad, +"In happy Moments, Day by Day," written by Alfred Bunn, who wrote so +many of the Balfe ballads; and the quartet and chorus closing the +scene, "Health to the Lady, the lovely Bride!" The second scene opens +with a pretty chorus in waltz time ("Ah, what Pleasure! the soft +Guitar"), followed by an aria sung by the King ("The Mariner in his +Bark"), and introduced by an attractive violin prelude. The finale is +a very dramatic ensemble, quintet and chorus ("What Mystery must now +control"). The last act falls off in musical interest, though it is +very strong dramatically. It contains a few numbers, however, which +are very popular; among them one of the most admired of all English +songs ("Scenes that are brightest"), which Maritana sings in the +King's apartments at the beginning of the act; the humorous duet +between the King and Don Caesar when they meet; the love-duet between +Don Caesar and Maritana ("This Heart with Bliss o'erflowing"); and Don +Caesar's song, "There is a Flower that bloometh," which is in the +sentimental ballad style. The freshness, brightness, and gracefulness +of the music of this little opera, combined with the unusual interest +and delicate humor of the story, have always commended it to popular +admiration. + + + + +WEBER. + +Carl Maria von Weber was born Dec. 18, 1786, at Eutin, and may almost +be said to have been born on the stage, as his father was at the head +of a theatrical company, and the young Carl was carried in the train +of the wandering troupe all over Germany. His first lessons were given +to him by Henschkel, conductor of the orchestra of Duke Friedrich of +Meiningen. At the age of fourteen he wrote his first opera, "Das +Waldmädchen," which was performed several times during the year 1800. +In 1801 appeared his two-act comic opera, "Peter Schmoll and his +Neighbors," and during these two years he also frequently played in +concerts with great success. He then studied with the Abbé Vogler, and +in his eighteenth year was engaged for the conductorship of the +Breslau opera. About this time appeared his first important opera, +"Rubezahl." At the conclusion of his studies with Vogler he was made +director of the Opera at Prague. In 1814 he wrote a cantata, "The Lyre +and Sword," for a festive occasion, and it was greeted with the +wildest enthusiasm. In 1816 he went to Berlin, where he was received +with the highest marks of popular esteem, and thence to Dresden as +Hofcapellmeister. This was the most brilliant period in his career. It +was during this time that he married Caroline Brandt, the actress and +singer, who had had a marked influence upon his musical progress, and +to whom he dedicated his exquisite "Invitation to the Dance." The +first great work of his life, "Der Freischütz," was written at this +period. Three other important operas followed,--"Preciosa," +"Euryanthe," the first performance of which took place in Vienna in +1823, and "Oberon," which he finished in London and brought out there. +Weber's last days were spent in the latter city; and it was while +making preparations to return to Germany, which he longed to see +again, that he was stricken down with his final illness. On the 4th of +June, 1826, he was visited by Sir George Smart, Moscheles, and other +musicians who were eager to show him attention. He declined to have +any one watch by his bedside, thanked them for their kindness, bade +them good-by, and then turned to his friend Fürstenau and said, "Now +let me sleep." These were his last words. The next morning he was +found dead in his bed. He has left a rich legacy of works besides his +operas,--a large collection of songs, many cantatas (of which "The +Jubilee," with its brilliant overture, is the finest), some masses, of +which that in E flat is the most beautiful, and several concertos, +besides many brilliant rondos, polaccas, and marches for the piano. + + +DER FREISCHÜTZ. + +"Der Freischütz," a romantic opera in three acts, words by Friedrich +Kind, was first produced at Berlin, June 18, 1821. It is one of the +most popular operas in the modern repertory. It was first performed in +Paris, Dec. 7, 1824, as "Robin des Bois," with a new libretto by +Castile Blaze and Sauvage, and many changes in the score, such as +divertissements made up of the dance-music in "Preciosa" and "Oberon," +and of "The Invitation to the Dance," scored by Berlioz. In 1841 it +was again given in Paris, with an accurate translation of the text by +Pacini, and recitatives added by Berlioz, as "Le Franc Archer." Its +first English performance in London was given July 22, 1824, as "Der +Freischütz, or the Seventh Bullet," with several ballads inserted; and +its first Italian at Covent Garden, March 16, 1850, with recitatives +by Costa, as "Il Franco Arciero." So popular was it in England in 1824 +that no less than nine theatres were presenting various versions of it +at the same time. The original cast was as follows:-- + + AGATHA Frau CAROLINE SEIDLER. + ANNCHEN Frl. JOHANNA EUNIKE. + MAX Herr CARL STÜMER. + CASPAR Herr HEINRICH BLUME. + OTTAKAR Herr RUBINSTEIN. + KUNO Herr WANER. + HERMIT Herr GERN. + KILIAN Herr WIEDEMANN. + +The text of the opera is taken from a story in "Popular Tales of the +Northern Nations," and is founded upon a traditionary belief that a +demon of the forest furnishes a marksman with unerring bullets cast +under magical influences. Kuno, the head ranger to the Prince of +Bohemia, too old to longer continue in his position, recommends Max, a +skilful marksman, who is betrothed to his daughter Agatha, as his +successor. The Prince agrees to accept him if he proves himself victor +at the forthcoming hunting-match. Caspar, the master-villain of the +play, who has sold himself to the demon Zamiel, and who also is in +love with Agatha, forms a plot to ruin Max and deliver him over to +Zamiel as a substitute for himself, for the limit of his contract with +the Evil One is close at hand. With Zamiel's aid he causes Max to miss +the mark several times during the rehearsals for the match. The lover +is thrown into deep dejection by his ill luck, and while in this +melancholy condition is cunningly approached by Caspar, who says to +him that if he will but repeat the formula, "In the name of Zamiel," +he will be successful. He does so, and brings down an eagle soaring +high above him. + +Elated with his success, Caspar easily persuades him that he can win +the match if he will meet him at midnight in the Wolf's Glen, where +with Zamiel's aid he can obtain plenty of magic bullets. + +The second act opens in Kuno's house, and shows us Agatha melancholy +with forebodings of coming evil. A hermit whom she has met in the +woods has warned her of danger, and given her a wreath of magic roses +to ward it off. An ancestral portrait falling from the walls also +disturbs her; and at last the appearance of the melancholy Max +confirms her belief that trouble is in store for her. Max himself is +no less concerned. All sorts of strange sounds have troubled him, and +his slumbers have been invaded with apparitions. Nevertheless, he goes +to the Wolf's Glen; and though spectres, skeletons, and various +grotesque animals terrify him, and his mother's spirit appears and +warns him away, he overcomes his fright and appears with Caspar at the +place of incantation. Zamiel is summoned, and seven bullets are cast, +six of which are to be directed by Max himself in the forthcoming +match, while the seventh will be at the disposal of the demon. Little +dreaming the fate which hangs upon the seventh, Caspar offers no +objections. + +The third act opens, like the last, in Kuno's house, and discovers +Agatha preparing for her nuptials, and telling Annchen a singular +dream she has had. She had fancied herself a dove, and that Max fired +at her. As the bird fell she came to herself and saw that the dove had +changed to a fierce bird of ill omen which lay dying at her feet. The +melancholy produced by the dream is still further heightened when it +is found that a funeral instead of a bridal wreath has been made for +her; but her heart lightens up again as she remembers the magic +rose-wreath which the hermit had enjoined her to wear on her wedding +day. At last the eventful day of trial comes, and the Prince and all +his courtiers assemble to witness the match. Max makes six shots in +succession which go home to the mark. At the Prince's command he fires +the seventh, Zamiel's bullet, at a dove flying past. As he fires, +Agatha appears to him as the dove, and he fancies he has slain her. +The wreath protects her, however, and Zamiel directs the bullet to +Caspar's heart. The demon claims his victim, and Max his bride, amid +general rejoicing. + +The overture, which is one of the most favorite numbers of its class +in the concert-room as well as in the opera-house, is a masterpiece of +brilliant and descriptive instrumentation, and furnishes us with a key +to the whole story in its announcement of the leading themes. It opens +with an adagio horn passage of great beauty, giving us the groundwork +of the entire action; and then follow motives from Max's grand scena +in the first act, the Incantation music, Agatha's moonlight scene, and +other episodes connected with the action of Max and Caspar. Indeed, +the frequent and expressive use of the _Leit motif_ all through the +work seem to entitle Weber to the credit of its invention. + +The first act opens with a spirited chorus of villagers, followed by a +lively march and a comic song by Kilian, in which he rallies Max upon +his bad luck. The next number is a trio and chorus, with solos for the +principals, Max, Kuno, and Caspar ("O diese Sonne, furchtbar steigt +sie mir empor"). Max laments his fate, but Kuno encourages him, while +Caspar insinuates his evil plot. The trio is of a sombre cast at the +beginning, but by a sudden change the horns and an expressive +combination of the chorus give it a cheerful character. It is once +more disturbed, however, by Caspar's ominous phrases, but at last Kuno +and his men cheer up the despondent lover with a brisk hunting-chorus, +and the villagers dance off to a lively waltz tempo. Max is left +alone, and the next number is a grand tenor scene. It opens with a +gloomy recitative, which lights up as he thinks of Agatha, and then +passes into one of the most tender and delicious of melodies ("Durch +die Wälder, durch die Auen"), set to a beautiful accompaniment. +Suddenly the harmony is clouded by the apparition of Zamiel, but as he +disappears, Max begins another charming melody ("Jetzt ist wohl ihr +Fenster offen"), which is even more beautiful than the first. As +Zamiel reappears the harmony is again darkened; but when despairing +Max utters the cry, "Lives there no God!" the wood-demon disappears, +and the great song comes to an end. In this mood Caspar meets him, and +seeks to cheer him with an hilarious drinking-song ("Hier im ird'schen +Jammerthal"), furious in its energy, and intended to express +unhallowed mirth. The act closes with Caspar's bass aria of infernal +triumph ("Triumph! die Rache, die Rache gelingt"), accompanied by +music which is wonderfully weird and shadowy in its suggestions. + +The second act opens with a duet ("Schelm! halt fest") in which +Agatha's fear and anxiety are charmingly contrasted with the lightsome +and cheery nature of Annchen, her attendant, and this in turn is +followed by a naive and coquettish arietta ("Kommt ein schlanker +Bursch gegangen") sung by the latter. Annchen departs, and Agatha, +opening her window and letting the moonlight flood the room, sings the +famous scena and prayer, "Leise, leise, fromme Weise," beginning, +after a few bars of recitative, with a melody full of prayer and hope +and tender longings, shaded with vague presentiment. It is an adagio +of exquisite beauty, closing with an ecstatic outburst of rapture +("Alle meine Pulse schlagen") as she beholds her lover coming. The +melody has already been heard in the overture, but its full joy and +splendid sweep are attained only in this scene. In the next scene we +have a trio ("Wie? was? Entsetzen?") between Max, Annchen, and Agatha, +in which the musical discrimination of character is carried to a fine +point; and the act concludes with the incantation music in the Wolf's +Glen, which has never been surpassed in weirdness, mystery, and +diablerie, and at times in actual sublimity. Its real power lies in +the instrumentation; not alone in its vivid and picturesque +presentation of the melodramatic scene with its hideous surroundings, +but in its expressiveness and appositeness to the action and sentiment +by the skilful use of motives. + +The last act has an instrumental prelude foreshadowing the Hunters' +Chorus. It opens with a graceful but somewhat melancholy aria of a +religious character ("Und ob die Wolke sie verhülle"), sung by Agatha, +in which she is still wavering between doubt and hope, and succeeded +by another of Annchen's arias, beginning with the gloomy romance, +"Einst traumte meiner sel'gen Base," and closing with a lively allegro +("Trübe Augen, Liebchen"), which is intended to encourage her sad +mistress. Then the bridesmaids sing their lively chorus, "Wir winden +dir den Jungfern-Kranz," so well known by its English title, "A rosy +Crown we twine for Thee." The pretty little number is followed by the +Hunters' Chorus, "Was gleicht wohl auf Erden dem Jägervergnügen," +which is a universal favorite. It leads up to a strong dramatic +finale, crowded with striking musical ideas, and containing Agatha's +beautiful melody in the closing chorus. + +Few operas have had such world-wide popularity as "Der Freischütz," +and yet it is an essentially German product. The composer's son has +aptly characterized it, in his Biography of his father: "Weber did not +compose 'Der Freischütz;' he allowed it to grow out of the rich soil +of his brave German heart, and to expand leaf by leaf, blossom by +blossom, fostered by the hand of his talent; and thus no German looks +upon the opera as a work of art which appeals to him from without. He +feels as if every line of the work came from his own heart, as if he +himself had dreamed it so, and it could no more sound otherwise than +the rustling of an honest German beech-wood." + + +OBERON. + +"Oberon, or the Elf King's Oath," a romantic and fairy opera in three +acts, words by J.R. Planché, was first produced at Covent Garden, +London, April 12, 1826, in English. Its first Italian performance was +given in the same city, July 3, 1860, the recitatives being supplied +by Benedict, who also added several numbers from "Euryanthe." The +original cast was as follows:-- + + REIZA Miss PATON. + FATIMA Mme. VESTRIS. + PUCK Miss CAWSE. + HUON Mr. BRAHAM. + OBERON Mr. BLAND. + SHERASMIN Mr. FAWCETT. + MERMAID Miss GOWNELL. + +The librettist, Planché, in a tribute to Weber, gives the origin of +the story of "Oberon." It appeared originally in a famous collection +of French romances, "La Bibliothèque Bleue," under the title of "Huon +of Bordeaux." The German poet Wieland adopted the principal incidents +of the story as the basis of his poem, "Oberon," and Sotheby's +translation of it was used in the preparation of the text. The +original sketch of the action, as furnished by Planché, is as +follows:-- + +Oberon, the Elfin King, having quarrelled with his fairy partner, vows +never to be reconciled to her till he shall find two lovers constant +through peril and temptation. To seek such a pair his 'tricksy +spirit,' Puck, has ranged in vain through the world. Puck, however, +hears the sentence passed on Sir Huon of Bordeaux, a young knight, +who, having been insulted by the son of Charlemagne, kills him in +single combat, and is for this condemned by the monarch to travel to +Bagdad to slay him who sits on the Caliph's left hand, and to claim +his daughter as his bride. Oberon instantly resolves to make this pair +the instruments of his reunion with his queen, and for this purpose he +brings up Huon and Sherasmin asleep before him, enamours the knight by +showing him Reiza, daughter of the Caliph, in a vision, transports him +at his waking to Bagdad, and having given him a magic horn, by the +blasts of which he is always to summon the assistance of Oberon, and a +cup that fills at pleasure, disappears. Here Sir Huon rescues a man +from a lion, who proves afterwards to be Prince Babekan, who is +betrothed to Reiza. One of the properties of the cup is to detect +misconduct. He offers it to Babekan. + +On raising it to his lips the wine turns to flame, and thus proves him +a villain. He attempts to assassinate Huon, but is put to flight. The +knight then learns from an old woman that the princess is to be +married next day, but that Reiza has been influenced, like her lover, +by a vision, and is resolved to be his alone. She believes that fate +will protect her from her nuptials with Babekan, which are to be +solemnized on the next day. Huon enters, fights with and vanquishes +Babekan, and having spell-bound the rest by a blast of the magic horn, +he and Sherasmin carry off Reiza and Fatima. They are soon +shipwrecked. Reiza is captured by pirates on a desert island and +brought to Tunis, where she is sold to the Emir and exposed to every +temptation, but she remains constant. Sir Huon, by the order of +Oberon, is also conveyed thither. He undergoes similar trials from +Roshana, the jealous wife of the Emir, but proving invulnerable she +accuses him to her husband, and he is condemned to be burned on the +same pile with Reiza. They are rescued by Sherasmin, who has the magic +horn. Oberon appears with his queen, whom he has regained by their +constancy, and the opera concludes with Charlemagne's pardon of Huon. + +The overture, like that of "Der Freischütz," reflects the story, and +is universally popular. Its leading themes are the horn solo, which +forms the symphony of Sir Huon's vision, a short movement from the +fairies' chorus, a martial strain from the last scene in the court of +Charlemagne, a passage from Reiza's scene in the second act, and +Puck's invocation of the spirits. + +The first act opens in Oberon's bower with a melodious chorus of +fairies and genii ("Light as fairy Feet can fall"), followed by a solo +for Oberon ("Fatal Oath"), portraying his melancholy mood, and "The +Vision," a quaint, simple melody by Reiza ("Oh! why art thou +sleeping?"), which leads up to a splendid ensemble ("Honor and Joy to +the True and the Brave"), containing a solo for Oberon, during which +the scene suddenly changes from the fairy bower to the city of Bagdad. +Huon has a grand scena ("Oh! 't is a Glorious Sight"), a composition +in several movements beginning with a dramatic bravura illustrative of +the scenes of the battlefield, and closing with a joyous, brisk +allegretto ("Joy to the high-born Dames of France"). The finale begins +with an aria by Reiza ("Yes, my Lord"), in the Italian style, passing +into a duet for Reiza and Fatima, and closing with the chorus ("Now +the Evening Watch is set.") + +The second act opens with a characteristic chorus ("Glory to the +Caliph"), the music of which has been claimed by some critics as +genuinely Moorish, though it is probable that Weber only imitated that +style in conformity to the demands of the situation. A little march +and three melodramatic passages lead up to an arietta for Fatima ("A +lovely Arab Maid"), beginning with a very pleasing minor and closing +in a lively major. This leads directly to the lovely quartet, "Over +the Dark Blue Waters,"--one of the most attractive numbers in the +opera. It is a concerted piece for two sopranos, tenor, and bass, +opening with two responsive solos in duet, first for the bass and +tenor, and then for the two sopranos, the voices finally uniting in a +joyous and animated movement of great power. The music now passes to +the supernatural, and we have Puck's invocation to the spirits, whom +he summons to raise a storm and sink the vessel in which the lovers +have embarked. Puck's recitative is very powerful, and the chorus of +the spirits in response, a very rapid presto movement, is in its way +as effective as the incantation music in "Der Freischütz." The storm +rises, the orchestra being the medium of the description, which is +very graphic and effective. Huon has a short prayer ("Ruler of this +Awful Hour"), which is impressively solemn, and then follows Reiza's +magnificent apostrophe to the sea ("Ocean, thou mighty Monster that +liest curled like a green Serpent round about the World"). The scene +is heroic in its construction, and its effective performance calls for +the highest artistic power. It represents the gradual calm of the +angry waters, the breaking of the sun through the gloom, and the +arrival of a boat to the succor of the distressed Reiza. The immense +effect of the scene is greatly enhanced by the descriptive +instrumentation, especially in the allegro describing the rolling of +the billows and the recitative and succeeding andante picturing the +outburst of the sun. The mermaid's song ("Oh! 't is pleasant"), with +its wavy, flowing melody, forms a fitting pendant to this great +picture of elementary strife; and a delicate and graceful chorus +closes the act. + +The third act opens with a lovely song for Fatima ("Oh! Araby, dear +Araby"), consisting of two movements,--an andante plaintively +recalling past memories, and an allegro of exquisite taste. The song, +even detached from the opera, has always been greatly admired in +concert-rooms, and, it is said, was a special favorite also with the +composer. It is followed by a duet for Sherasmin and Fatima ("On the +Banks of sweet Garonne"), which is of a vivacious and comic nature in +Sherasmin's part, and then passes into a tender minor as Fatima sings. +The next number is a trio for soprano, alto, and tenor ("And must I +then dissemble?"), written very much in the style of the trio in "Der +Freischütz," and yet purely original in its effect. Reiza follows with +a smooth, flowing, and pathetic cavatina ("Mourn thou, poor Heart"), +which is succeeded in marked contrast by a joyous rondo ("I revel in +Hope") sung by Sir Huon. The next scene is that of Sir Huon's +temptation, a voluptuous passage for ballet and chorus, interrupted at +intervals by the energetic exclamations of the paladin as he +successfully resists the sirens. The gay scene leads up to the finale. +Sir Huon and Reiza are bound to the stake, surrounded by slaves +singing a weird chorus. A blast from the magic horn sets them dancing, +and a quartet for the four principal characters based upon the subject +of the slaves' Chorus ensues. Oberon appears and takes his leave after +transporting the whole company to the royal halls of Charlemagne. A +stirring march opens the scene, a beautiful aria by Huon follows +("Yes! even Love to Fame must yield"), and a chorus by the whole court +closes the opera. + + +EURYANTHE. + +The opera of "Euryanthe" was written for the Kärnthnerthor Theatre, +Vienna, where it was first produced Oct. 25, 1823, though not with the +success which afterwards greeted it in Berlin, owing to the Rossini +craze with which the Austrian capital was afflicted at that time. The +libretto is by Helmine von Chezy, an eccentric old woman who proved a +sad torment to the composer. The plot, which is a curious mixture of +"Cymbeline" and "Lohengrin," was adapted from an old French romance, +entitled "L'Histoire de Gerard de Nevers et de la belle et vertueuse +Euryanthe, sa mie," and is substantially as follows:-- + +In the palace of King Louis of France, where a brilliant assemblage is +gathered, Count Adolar sings a tribute to the beauty and virtue of +Euryanthe, his betrothed. Count Lysiart replies with a sneer, and +boasts that he can gain her favor; but Adolar challenges him to bring +a proof. The scene then changes to the castle of Nevers, and discloses +Euryanthe longing for Adolar. Eglantine, who is also in love with +Adolar, and who is conspiring against Euryanthe, soon joins her, and +in their interview the latter rashly discloses the secret of a +neighboring tomb known only to herself and Adolar. In this tomb rests +the body of Emma, Adolar's sister, who had killed herself, and whose +ghost had appeared to Euryanthe and her lover with the declaration +that she can never be at peace until tears of innocence have been shed +upon the ring which was the agency employed in her death. Lysiart +arrives from court with a commission to take Euryanthe to the King, +while Eglantine is left behind in possession of the secret. + +In the second act Lysiart deplores his failure to obtain the favor of +Euryanthe; but his hopes are renewed when he meets Eglantine emerging +from the tomb with the ring, and learns from her that it can be made +to convict Euryanthe of indiscretion, or at least of breaking her +promise not to reveal the tomb secret. He obtains the ring, confronts +Euryanthe with it at the palace, and forces her to admit the broken +promise. Adolar, believing that she is guilty, drags her away to a +wilderness where it is his intention to kill her; but on the way they +are attacked by a serpent. Adolar slays the monster, and then, seized +with sudden pity, he abandons his intention of killing her, but leaves +her to her fate. She is subsequently found by the King while on a +hunting expedition, and to him she relates the story of Eglantine's +treachery. The King takes her with him to the palace. Meanwhile Adolar +has begun to suspect that Euryanthe has been the victim of her base +wiles, and on his way to Nevers to punish Lysiart he encounters the +wedding-procession of the guilty pair, and challenges him. The King +suddenly arrives upon the scene and announces Euryanthe's death, +whereupon Eglantine declares her love for Adolar. The furious Lysiart +turns upon her and stabs her. Euryanthe is not dead. She has only +fainted, and is soon restored to her lover, while Lysiart is led off +to the scaffold. + +The overture, which is familiar in our concert-rooms, gives a sketch +of the principal situations in the opera. The first act opens in the +great banquet-hall of the King with a flowing and stately chorus ("Dem +Frieden Heil") alternating between female and male voices and finally +taken by the full chorus. Then follows Adolar's lovely and tender +romanza ("Unter blühenden Mandelbäumen"). The next number, a chorus +("Heil! Euryanthe"), with recitatives for Adolar, Lysiart, and the +King leads up to a vigorous trio ("Wohlan! Du kennst"). Euryanthe's +idyllic and touching cavatina ("Glöcklein im Thale") is a match in +beauty and tenderness for Adolar's romanza. The recitative which +follows introduces a sentimental aria for Eglantine ("O mein Leid ist +unermessen"), leading to a duet with Euryanthe ("Unter ist mein Stern +gegangen"). A scena for Eglantine, characterized by all the hatred and +fury of jealousy, introduces the finale, which consists of a vigorous +chorus ("Jubeltöne") accompanying Euryanthe's solo ("Fröhliche +Klänge"). + +The second act opens with a powerful recitative and aria for Lysiart +("Wo berg ich mich"), which is full of passion. A duet of a menacing +and sombre character between Lysiart and Eglantine ("Komm denn unser +Leid zu rächen") stands out in gloomy contrast with Adolar's aria +("Wehen mir Lüfte Ruh'") and the duet with Euryanthe ("Hin nimm die +Seele mein"), so full of grace and tenderness. They lead up to the +finale, a grand quartet ("Lass mich empor zum Lichte"), with powerful +chorus accompaniment. + +The last act opens with the serpent episode, with characteristic +music, and a recitative scene between Euryanthe and Adolar leads up to +a pathetic cavatina for Euryanthe ("Hier am Quell wo Weiden stehn"). +The ringing notes of the horns behind the scenes announce the approach +of the King's party, who sing a fresh and sonorous hunting chorus +("Die Thale dampfen"). The remaining numbers are a duet for Euryanthe +and the King with chorus ("Lasst mich hier in Ruh' erblassen"), a +lovely and melodious aria with chorus for Euryanthe ("Zu ihm"), a +bright wedding-march and scene with chorus, and a duet for Adolar and +Lysiart with chorus, leading to the grand quintet and chorus which +bring the opera to a close. + + + + +APPENDIX. + +A work of this kind, by whomsoever written, must be somewhat arbitrary +in its selection of THE STANDARD OPERAS; and the writer has often +found it difficult to say where the line should be drawn,--what +excluded and what admitted. In addition to the operas treated of, +there are others, without a mention of which such a work as this would +scarcely be considered complete; and a list of these is herewith +submitted, together with the dates of their first performance. Many of +these are familiar to the public by their past reputation, while +others still hold the stage in Europe. Others have never been given +out of the native country of their composers; and still others, like +those of Mr. Sullivan, are in reality operettas, and cannot be classed +as standard, although their popularity is extraordinary. + + +ADAM - Le Postilion de Longjumeau (1835). + +AUBER - Le Cheval de Bronze (The Bronze Horse) (1835); L'Ambassadrice +(1836); Le Domino Noir (The Black Domino) (1837); Zanetta (1840); +Manon Lescaut (1856). + +BALFE - Enchantress (1845); Satanella (1858); Puritan's Daughter +(1861); The Talisman (1863). + +BENEDICT - The Lily of Killarney (1862). + +CORDER - Nordisa (1887). + +DONIZETTI - Polinto (1840); Linda (1842); Maria di Rohan (1843); Don +Sebastian (1843); Gemma di Vergi (1845). + +FLOTOW - L'Ombre (1869). + +GOETZ - Francesca von Rimini (1874); The Taming of the Shrew (1874). + +GOLDMARK - The Queen of Sheba (1875); Merlin (1886); Cricket on the +Hearth (1896). + +GOMEZ - Il Guarany (1870). + +GOUNOD - Polyeucte (1878). + +HALEVY - L'Éclair (1835). + +HEROLD - Zampa(1831); Pré aux Clercs(1832). + +ISOUARD - Joconde (1814). + +KREUTZER - Das Nachtlager in Granada (1834). + +LEONCAVALLO - I Medici (1893). + +MARCHETTI - Ruy Blas (1870). + +MARSCHNER - Der Vampyr (1828); Hans Heiling (1833). + +MASCAGNI - L'Amico Fritz (1892); I Rantzau (1892); Silvano(1895); +Guglielmo Ratcliff (1895). + +MASSË - La Reine Topaze (1856); Paul et Virginie (1876). + +MASSENET - Le Roi de Lahore (1877); Manon Lescaut (1884); Le Cid +(1886); Esclarmonde (1889). + +NICOLAI - Merry Wives of Windsor (1849). + +PACINI - Saffo (1840). + +PLANQUETTE - The Bells of Corneville (1877). + +PONCHIELLI - La Gioconda (1876). + +RICCI - Crispino (1850). + +ROSSINI - La Gazza Ladra (1817); Moses in Egypt (1818). + +RUBINSTEIN - Dimitri Donskoi (1852); The Demon (1875); Feramors +(1863). + +SAINT SAENS - Le Timbre d'Argent (1877); Étienne Marcel (1879); Henry +VIII. (1883); Proserpine (1887). + +STRAUSS - Indigo (1871); Die Fledermaus (The Bat) (1872); Der Lustige +Krieg (The Merry War) (1875). + +SULLIVAN - Trial by Jury (1875); The Sorcerer (1877); Pinafore (1878); +Pirates of Penzance (1880); Patience (1881); Iolanthe (1882); The +Princess (1883); The Mikado (1885); Ruddygore (1887); The Yeomen of +the Guard (1888); King of Barataria (1889); Hesse Halbpfennig (1896). + +SUPPE - Fatinitza (1876); Boccaccio (1882). + +THOMAS - Hamlet (1868); Françoise de Rimini (1882). + +VERDI - The Sicilian Vespers (1855); La Forza del Destino (Force of +Destiny) (1862); Don Carlos (1867). + +WALLACE - Lurline (1860). + +WEBER - Abu Hassan (1811); Preciosa (1823). + + + + +INDEX. + +Adam, 32, 63, 71, 277. + +African, The, 160, 161, 185. + +Aida, 239, 262, 272. + +Albani, 79. + +Alboni, 161, 162. + +Alceste, 106. + +Alvary, 121. + +Anna Bolena, 75. + +Appendix, 375. + +Arditi, 284. + +Armide, 106. + +Attila, 238. + +Auber, 9, 14, 16, 17, 18, 24. 258. + +Bach, 126. + +Balfe, 25, 26. + +Balzac, 149. + +Barber of Seville, 210, 212. + +Beaumarchais, 192. + +Beethoven, 36, 39, 209, 312. + +Bellini, 43. + +Benedict, 365. + +Berlioz, 289, 358. + +Bizet, 54, 57. 59, 138. + +Bohemian Girl, 26, 31. + +Boieldieu, 60. + +Boito, 65, 239, 266, 267, 270, 271. + +Bosio, 11, 244. + +Braham, 15, 365. + +Brandt, 117, 121. + +Bulwer, 277. + +Calvé, 149. + +Carmen, 55. + +Cavalleria Rusticana, 155. + +Cenerentola, 211. + +Cherubini, 60. + +Chopin, 225. + +Costa, 358. + +Damrosch, 121. + +Daughter of the Regiment, 76. + +Delibes, 71. + +Der Freischütz, 357, 358, 367. + +Die Götterdämmerung, 309, 311, 315, 335. + +Die Walküre, 309, 315, 323. + +Di Murska, 284. + +Dinorah, 160, 176. + +Don Carlos, 239. + +Don Giovanni, 191, 198, 219. + +Donizetti, 75, 88, 95. + +Don Pasquale, 76, 83, 91. + +Don Sebastian, 85. + +Dumas, 249. + +Duprez, 80, 86. + +Ernani, 238, 239. + +Euryanthe, 357, 365, 371. + +Falcon, Cornelia, 138, 161. + +Faure, 176, 185. + +Faust, 125, 132, 253. + +Favorita, 76, 80. + +Fidelio, 37. + +Flotow, 96. + +Flying Dutchman, 160, 275, 284, 294. + +Formes, 98. + +Fra Diavolo, 10. + +Francesca di Rimini, 112. + +Galli-Marie, 55, 232, + +Garcia, 212, 213. + +Gazza Ladra, 211. + +Gluck, 105. + +Goethe, 65, 127, 160, 232, 294. + +Goetz, 111. + +Goldmark, 116. + +Gounod, 125, 138. + +Grimm, 144. + +Grisi, 44, 51, 80, 83. + +Halevy, 137. + +Hansel and Gretel, 143. + +Harrison, 19, 27, 32, 176. + +Hastreiter, Helene, 107. + +Haydn, 36, 37. + +Heine, 143, 284. + +Hueffer, 276, 300, 309. + +Hugo, Victor, 92, 239, 240, 244. + +Huguenots, 160, 161, 180, 211. + +Humperdinck, 142. + +Idomeneo, 191. + +I Medici, 148. + +I Pagliacci, 149. + +Iphigénie en Aulide, 106. + +Iphigénie en Tauride, 106. + +Jahn, 209. + +Jewess, 138. + +Juch, Emma, 107, 227. + +Kellogg, Clara Louise, 79, 237, 284. + +Lablanche, 44, 51, 83, 85, 238. + +La Dame Blanche, 61. + +Lagrange, 97. + +Lakme, 72. + +L'Allemand, 72, 112, 227. + +L'Amico, Fritz, 155. + +Last Rose of Summer, 100. + +L'Éclair, 137, 138. + +Lehmann, 117, 121. + +L'Elisir d'Amore, 75, 89. + +Leoncavallo, 148. + +Lind, Jenny, 77, 79, 160, 167, 169, 170, 171, 238. + +Liszt, 225, 276, 277, 294. + +Lohengrin, 275, 294, 304, 309, 340, 371. + +Lombardi, 238. + +Lucca, 186, 237. + +Lucia, 76, 86, 95. + +Lucrezia Borgia, 75, 92. + +Lurline, 350. + +Luther, Martin, 164, 166. + +Magic Flute, 191, 204. + +Malibran, 38, 48. + +Manon Lescaut, 137. + +Mario, 15, 80, 83, 85, 92, 162, 244. + +Maritana, 349, 350. + +Marriage of Figaro, 191, 192, 198, 201. + +Martha, 98, 253. + +Masaniello, 14, 176. + +Mascagni, 153. + +Masked Ball, 239, 257. + +Massé, 138. + +Materna, 340. + +Maurel, 267. + +Meistersinger, 276, 303, 310. + +Mendelssohn, 142. + +Mendès, Catulle, 151. + +Mephistopheles, 66, 239. + +Mérimée, 55. + +Merlin, 116, 121. + +Meyerbeer, 138, 159, 161, 176, 185, 211, 277. + +Mignon, 231, 232. + +Miolan-Carvalho, 126, 131, 134, 176, 244. + +Mireille, 126. + +Mosenthal, 117. + +Moses in Egypt, 211. + +Mozart, 36, 37, 142, 190, 193, 204. + +Nero, 226. + +Niemann, 288. + +Nilsson, 66, 237, 250. + +Nohl, 318. + +Norma, 44. + +Nourrit, 138, 161, 171, 220. + +Oberon, 357, 358, 365. + +Orpheus, 106, 107. + +Otello (Rossini), 211. + +Othello (Verdi), 239, 266. + +Pacini, 358. + +Paisiello, 211. + +Pantaleoni, 267. + +Parepa-Rosa, 192. + +Parsifal, 276, 340. + +Pasdeloup, 276. + +Pasta, 44, 48, 75. + +Patti, 79, 250. + +Persiani, 86. + +Piccini, 106. + +Piccolomini, 27, 250. + +Preciosa, 357,358. + +Prophet, The, 160, 180. + +Puritani, 44, 50. + +Pyne, 19, 32, 176. + +Queen of Sheba, 117. + +Rameau, 105. + +Reeves, 19. + +Rheingold, 309, 310, 314, 319. + +Richings, Caroline, 79. + +Richter, 276. + +Rienzi, 160, 275, 277, 285. + +Rigoletto, 88, 239, 244. + +Ring des Nibelungen, 276, 300, 309, 341. + +Robert the Devil, 160, 171. + +Robin Adair, 63. + +Romeo and Juliet, 131, 136. + +Ronconi, 11, 244. + +Rosa, Carl, 143, 284. + +Rose of Castile, 32. + +Rossini, 25, 44. 76, 82, 138, 174, 210, 266, 371. + +Roze, Marie, 66. + +Rubini, 44, 48, 51, 75. + +Rubinstein, 225. + +Salieri, 193. + +Sammartini, 105. + +Santley, 134, 284. + +Scaria, 340. + +Schickaneder, 204, 205. + +Schiller, 36, 220, 312. + +Schröder-Devrient, 277, 284, 288. + +Scribe, 10, 14, 19, 48, 61, 82, 138, 160, 161, 166, 171, 172, 180, + 185, 258. + +Semiramide, 211, 216. + +Shakspeare, 97, 112, 131, 266. + +Sicilian Vespers, 239. + +Siegfried, 309, 310, 311, 315, 329, 337, 338, 340. + +Sonnambula, 43, 48. + +Sontag, 79. + +Spohr, 285. + +Star of the North, 160, 166. + +Staudigl, 171. + +Stradella, 102. + +Stritt, 117. + +Sullivan, 375. + +Taglioni, 171. + +Tamburini, 44, 51, 83, 162. + +Taming of the Shrew, 111, 112. + +Tancredi, 210, 216. + +Tannhäuser, 275, 288, 294. + +Tausig, 312. + +Thalberg, 225. + +Thillon, 19, 76. + +Thomas, Ambroise, 231. + +Thomas, Theodore, 54, 71, 107, 229, 276. + +Tichatscheck, 277. + +Titiens, 134. + +Traviata, 239, 249, 253. + +Trebelli, 134. + +Tristan and Isolde, 276, 299, 310. + +Trovatore, 239, 253, 262, 266. + +Ulrich, 111. + +Verdi, 238. + +Viardot-Garcia, 107, 162, 180. + +Vogler, 159, 356. + +Von Bülow, 111, 277, 299, 304. + +Wagner, 18, 58, 65, 70, 122, 142, 143, 144, 160, 220, 266, 272, 275, + 288, 312. + +Wallace, 349. + +Weber, 356. + +Wette, Adelheid, 143. + +William Tell, 138, 176, 211, 220. + +Winckelmann, 340. + +Zingarelli, 43. + +Zucchi, 186. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STANDARD OPERAS (12TH EDITION)*** + + +******* This file should be named 14968-8.txt or 14968-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/9/6/14968 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/14968-8.zip b/14968-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ed24588 --- /dev/null +++ b/14968-8.zip diff --git a/14968.txt b/14968.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..39a16e1 --- /dev/null +++ b/14968.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9826 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Standard Operas (12th edition), by George +P. Upton + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Standard Operas (12th edition) + +Author: George P. Upton + +Release Date: February 8, 2005 [eBook #14968] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STANDARD OPERAS (12TH +EDITION)*** + + +E-text prepared by David Newman, Keith M. Eckrich, and the Project +Gutenberg Online Disributed Proofreading Team + + + +THE STANDARD OPERAS + +Their Plots, Their Music, and Their Composers + +A Handbook + +by + +GEORGE P. UPTON + +Twelfth Edition + +Chicago: A. C. McClurg and Company + +1897 + + + + + + + +PREFACE. + + +The object of the compiler of this Handbook is to present to the +reader a brief but comprehensive sketch of each of the operas +contained in the modern repertory which are likely to be given during +regular seasons. To this end he has consulted the best authorities, +adding to the material thus collected his own observations, and in +each case presented a necessarily brief sketch of the composer, the +story of each opera, the general character of the music, its prominent +scenes and numbers,--the latter in the text most familiar to +opera-goers,--the date of first performances, with a statement of the +original cast wherever it has been possible to obtain it, and such +historical information concerning the opera and its composition as +will be of interest to the reader. The work has been prepared for the +general public rather than for musicians; and with this purpose in +view, technicalities have been avoided as far as possible, the aim +being to give musically uneducated lovers of opera a clear +understanding of the works they are likely to hear, and thus heighten +their enjoyment. In a word, the operas are described rather than +criticised, and the work is presented with as much thoroughness as +seemed possible considering the necessarily brief space allotted to +each. In the preparation of the Handbook, the compiler acknowledges +his indebtedness to Grove's excellent "Dictionary of Music" for dates +and other statistical information; and he has also made free use of +standard musical works in his library for historical events connected +with the performance and composition of the operas. It only remains to +submit this work to opera-goers with the hope that it may add to their +enjoyment and prove a valuable addition to their libraries.--G.P.U. + +CHICAGO, August, 1885. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +AUBER + + FRA DIAVOLO + + MASANIELLO + + THE CROWN DIAMONDS + + +BALFE + + THE BOHEMIAN GIRL + + THE ROSE OF CASTILE + + +BEETHOVEN + + FIDELIO + + +BELLINI + + NORMA + + LA SONNAMBULA + + I PURITANI + + +BIZET + + CARMEN + + +BOIELDIEU + + LA DAME BLANCHE + + +BOITO + + MEPHISTOPHELES + + +DELIBES + + LAKME + + +DONIZETTI + + THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT + + LA FAVORITA + + DON PASQUALE + + LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR + + L'ELISIR D'AMORE + + LUCREZIA BORGIA + + +FLOTOW + + MARTHA + + STRADELLA + + +GLUCK + + ORPHEUS + + +GOETZ + + THE TAMING OF THE SHREW + + +GOLDMARK + + THE QUEEN OF SHEBA + + MERLIN + + +GOUNOD + + FAUST + + ROMEO AND JULIET + + MIREILLE + + +HALEVY + + THE JEWESS + + +HUMPERDINCK + + HANSEL AND GRETEL + + +LEONCAVALLO + + I PAGLIACCI + + +MASCAGNI + + CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA + + +MEYERBEER + + THE HUGUENOTS + + THE STAR OF THE NORTH + + ROBERT THE DEVIL + + DINORAH + + THE PROPHET + + THE AFRICAN + + +MOZART + + THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO + + DON GIOVANNI + + THE MAGIC FLUTE + + +ROSSINI + + THE BARBER OF SEVILLE + + SEMIRAMIDE + + WILLIAM TELL + + +RUBINSTEIN + + NERO + + +THOMAS + + MIGNON + + +VERDI + + ERNANI + + RIGOLETTO + + LA TRAVIATA + + IL TROVATORE + + THE MASKED BALL + + AIDA + + OTHELLO + + FALSTAFF + + +WAGNER + + RIENZI + + THE FLYING DUTCHMAN + + TANNHAEUSER + + LOHENGRIN + + TRISTAN UND ISOLDE + + THE MASTERSINGERS + + THE RING OF THE NIBELUNG + + DAS RHEINGOLD + + DIE WALKUERE + + SIEGFRIED + + DIE GOETTERDAEMMERUNG + + PARSIFAL + + +WALLACE + + MARITANA + + +WEBER + + DER FREISCHUETZ + + OBERON + + EURYANTHE + + +APPENDIX + + +INDEX + + + + + +AUBER. + +Daniel Francois Esprit Auber, one of the most prominent +representatives of the opera comique, was born at Caen, in Normandy, +Jan. 29, 1784. He first attracted attention in the musical world by +his songs and ballads, written when a mere boy. Young as he was, they +were great favorites in French and English drawing-rooms, and their +success diverted him from his commercial intentions to that profession +in which he was destined to achieve such popularity. His debut was +made as an instrumental composer in his twentieth year, but before he +had reached his thirtieth he was engrossed with operatic composition. +His first two works were unsuccessful; but the third, "La Bergere +Chatelaine," proved the stepping-stone to a career of remarkable +popularity, during which he produced a large number of dramatic works, +which not only secured for him the enthusiastic admiration of the +Parisians, with whom he was always a favorite, but also carried his +name and fame throughout the world, and obtained for him marks of high +distinction from royalty, such as the office of Director of the +Conservatoire from Louis Philippe, and that of Imperial Maitre de +Chapelle from Louis Napoleon. He died May 13, 1871, amid the fearful +scenes of the Paris Commune. His best-known operas are: "Masaniello" +(1828); "Fra Diavolo" (1830); "The Bronze Horse" (1835); "The Black +Domino" (1837); "The Crown Diamonds" (1841); and "Zerline" +(1851),--the last-named written for the great contralto, Mme. Alboni. +Of these, "Fra Diavolo," "Masaniello," and "The Crown Diamonds" are as +fresh as ever in their French and Italian settings, though their +finest successes in this country have been made in their English +dress. + + +FRA DIAVOLO. + +"Fra Diavolo," opera comique, in three acts, words by Scribe, was +first produced at the Opera Comique, Paris, Jan. 28, 1830; in English, +at Drury Lane, London, Nov. 3, 1831; in Italian, at the Lyceum, +London, July 9, 1857, for which occasion the spoken dialogue was +converted into accompanied recitative. The composer himself also, in +fitting it for the Italian stage, made some changes in the concerted +music and added several morceaux. The original Italian cast was as +follows:-- + + ZERLINA Mme. BOSIO. + LADY ALLCASH Mlle. MARAI. + FRA DIAVOLO Sig. GARDINI. + LORD ALLCASH Sig. RONCONI. + BEPPO Sig. TAGLIAFICO. + GIACOMO Sig. ZELGER. + +The original of the story of Fra Diavolo is to be found in Lesueur's +opera, "La Caverne," afterwards arranged as a spectacular piece and +produced in Paris in 1808 by Cuvellier and Franconi, and again in +Vienna in 1822 as a spectacle-pantomime, under the title of "The +Robber of the Abruzzi." In Scribe's adaptation the bandit, Fra +Diavolo, encounters an English nobleman and his pretty and susceptible +wife, Lord and Lady Allcash, at the inn of Terracina, kept by Matteo, +whose daughter Zerlina is loved by Lorenzo, a young soldier, on the +eve of starting to capture Fra Diavolo when the action of the opera +begins. In the first scene the English couple enter in great alarm, +having narrowly escaped the robbery of all their valuables by Fra +Diavolo's band. The bandit himself, who has followed them on their +journey in the disguise of a marquis, and has been particularly +attentive to the lady, enters the inn just as Lord Allcash has been +reproving his wife for her familiarity with a stranger. A quarrel +ensues in a duet of a very humorous character ("I don't object"). Upon +the entrance of Fra Diavolo, a quintet ("Oh, Rapture unbounded!") +ensues, which is one of the most effective and admirably harmonized +ensembles Auber has ever written. Fra Diavolo learns the trick by +which they saved the most of their valuables, and, enraged at the +failure of his band, lays his own plan to secure them. In an interview +with Zerlina, she, mistaking him for the Marquis, tells him the story +of Fra Diavolo in a romanza ("On Yonder Rock reclining"), which is so +fresh, vigorous, and full of color, that it has become a favorite the +world over. To further his schemes, Fra Diavolo makes love to Lady +Allcash and sings an exquisitely graceful barcarole to her ("The +Gondolier, fond Passion's Slave"), accompanying himself on the +mandolin. Lord Allcash interrupts the song, and the trio, "Bravi, +Bravi," occurs, which leads up to the finale of the act. Fra Diavolo +eludes the carbineers, who have returned, and they resume their search +for him, leaving him unmolested to perfect his plans for the robbery. + +The second act introduces Zerlina in her chamber about to retire. She +first lights Lord and Lady Allcash to their room, a running +conversation occurring between them in a trio ("Let us, I pray, good +Wife, to rest"), which by many good critics has been considered as the +best number in the work. Before Zerlina returns to her chamber, Fra +Diavolo and his companions, Beppo and Giacomo, conceal themselves in a +closet, and, somewhat in violation of dramatic consistency, Fra +Diavolo sings the beautiful serenade, "Young Agnes," which had been +agreed upon as a signal to his comrades that the coast was clear. +Zerlina enters, and after a pretty cavatina ("'Tis to-morrow") and a +prayer, charming for its simplicity ("Oh, Holy Virgin"), retires to +rest. The robbers in attempting to cross her room partially arouse +her. One of them rushes to the bed to stab her, but falls back +awe-stricken as she murmurs her prayer and sinks to rest again. The +trio which marks this scene, sung pianissimo, is quaint and simple and +yet very dramatic. The noise of the carbineers returning outside +interrupts the plan of the robbers. They conceal themselves in the +closet again. Zerlina rises and dresses herself. Lord and Lady Allcash +rush in _en deshabille_ to find out the cause of the uproar. Lorenzo +enters to greet Zerlina, when a sudden noise in the closet disturbs +the company. Fra Diavolo, knowing he will be detected, boldly steps +out into the room and declares that he is there to keep an appointment +with Zerlina. Lorenzo challenges him, and he promises to give him +satisfaction in the morning, and coolly effects his escape. One of his +comrades, however, is captured, and to secure his own liberty agrees +to betray his chief. + +The third act introduces Fra Diavolo once more among his native +mountains, and there is the real breath and vigor of the mountain air +in his opening song ("Proudly and wide my Standard flies"), and +rollicking freedom in the rondeau which follows it ("Then since Life +glides so fast away"). He exults in his liberty, and gleefully looks +forward to a meeting with Lord and Lady Allcash, which he anticipates +will redound to his personal profit. His exultation is interrupted by +the entrance of the villagers arrayed in festival attire in honor of +the approaching wedding ceremonies, singing a bright pastoral chorus +("Oh, Holy Virgin! bright and fair"). The finale of the act is +occupied with the development of the scheme between Lorenzo, Beppo, +and Giacomo, to ensnare Fra Diavolo and compass his death; and with +the final tragedy, in which Fra Diavolo meets his doom at the hands of +the carbineers, but not before he has declared Zerlina's innocence. +This finale is strong and very dramatic, and yet at the same time +simple, natural, and unstudied. The opera itself is a universal +favorite, not alone for its naturalness and quiet grace, but for its +bright and even boisterous humor, which is sustained by the typical +English tourist, who was for the first time introduced in opera by +Scribe. The text is full of spirit and gayety, and these qualities are +admirably reflected in the sparkling music of Auber. Not one of the +books which the versatile Scribe has supplied for the opera is more +replete with incident or brighter in humor. How well it was adapted +for musical treatment is shown by the fact that "Fra Diavolo" made +Auber's reputation at the Opera Comique. + + +MASANIELLO. + +"Masaniello," or "La Muette de Portici," a lyric opera in five acts, +words by Scribe and Delavigne, was first produced in Paris, Feb. 29, +1828; in English, at London, May 4, 1829; and in Italian, at London, +March 15, 1849. The original cast included Mme. Damoreau-Cinti as +Elvira, Mlle. Noblet as Fenella, and M. Massol as Pietro. In the +Italian version, Sig. Mario, Mme. Dorus-Gras, and Mlle. Leroux, a +famous mime and dancer, took the principal parts; while in its English +dress, Braham created one of the greatest successes on record, and +established it as the favorite opera of Auber among Englishmen. + +The scene of the opera is laid near Naples. The first act opens upon +the festivities attending the nuptials of Alphonso, son of the Duke of +Arcos, and the Princess Elvira. After a chorus of rejoicing, the +latter enters and sings a brilliant cavatina ("O, bel Momento") +expressive of her happiness. In the fourth scene the festivities are +interrupted by the appearance of Fenella, the dumb girl, who implores +the princess to save her from Selva, one of the Duke's officers, who +is seeking to return her to prison, from which she has escaped, and +where she has been confined at the orders of some unknown cavalier who +has been persecuting her. The part of Fenella is of course expressed +by pantomime throughout. The remainder of the act is intensely +dramatic. Elvira promises to protect Fenella, and then, after some +spirited choruses by the soldiers, enters the chapel with Alphonso. +During the ceremony Fenella discovers that he is her betrayer. She +attempts to go in, but is prevented by the soldiers. On the return of +the newly wedded pair Fenella meets Elvira and denounces her husband, +and the scene ends with a genuine Italian finale of excitement. + +The second act opens on the sea-shore, and shows the fishermen busy +with their nets and boats. Masaniello, brother of Fenella, enters, +brooding upon the wrongs of the people, and is implored by the +fishermen to cheer them with a song. He replies with the barcarole, +"Piu bello sorse il giorno,"--a lovely melody, which has been the +delight of all tenors. His friend Pietro enters and they join in a +duet ("Sara il morir") of a most vigorous and impassioned character, +expressive of Masaniello's grief for his sister and their mutual +resolution to strike a blow for freedom. At the conclusion of the duet +he beholds Fenella about to throw herself into the sea. He calls to +her and she rushes into his arms and describes to him the story of her +wrongs. He vows revenge, and in a magnificent, martial finale, which +must have been inspired by the revolutionary feeling with which the +whole atmosphere was charged at the time Auber wrote (1828), incites +the fishermen and people to rise in revolt against their tyrannical +oppressors. + +In the third act, after a passionate aria ("Il pianto rasciuga") by +Elvira, we are introduced to the market-place, crowded with +market-girls and fishermen disposing of their fruits and fish. After a +lively chorus, a fascinating and genuine Neapolitan tarantelle is +danced. The merry scene speedily changes to one of turmoil and +distress. Selva attempts to arrest Fenella, but the fishermen rescue +her and Masaniello gives the signal for the general uprising. Before +the combat begins, all kneel and sing the celebrated prayer, "Nume del +ciel," taken from one of Auber's early masses, and one of his most +inspired efforts. + +The fourth act opens in Masaniello's cottage. He deplores the coming +horrors of the day in a grand aria ("Dio! di me disponesti") which is +very dramatic in its quality. Fenella enters, and after describing the +tumult in the city sinks exhausted with fatigue. As she falls asleep +he sings a slumber song ("Scendi, o sonno dal ciel"), a most exquisite +melody, universally known as "L'Air du Sommeil." It is sung by the +best artists mezzo voce throughout, and when treated in this manner +never fails to impress the hearer with its tenderness and beauty. At +its close Pietro enters and once more rouses Masaniello to revenge by +informing him that Alphonso has escaped. After they leave the cottage, +the latter and Elvira enter and implore protection. Fenella is moved +to mercy, and a concerted number follows in which Masaniello promises +safety and is denounced by Pietro for his weakness. In the finale, the +magistrates and citizens enter, bearing the keys of the town and the +royal insignia, and declare Masaniello king in a chorus of a very +inspiriting and brilliant character. + +The last act is very powerful, both dramatically and musically. It +opens in the grounds of the Viceroy's palace, and Vesuvius is seen in +the distance, its smoke portending an eruption. Pietro and companions +enter with wine-cups in their hands, as from a banquet, and the former +sings a barcarole ("Ve' come il vento irato"). At its close other +fishermen enter and excitedly announce that troops are moving against +the people, that Vesuvius is about to burst into flame, and that +Masaniello, their leader, has lost his reason. This is confirmed by +the appearance of the hero in disordered attire, singing music through +which are filtered fragments of the fishermen's songs as they rise in +his disturbed brain. This scene, the third in the act, is one not only +of great power but of exquisite grace and tenderness, and requires an +artist of the highest rank for its proper presentation. Fenella rouses +him from his dejection, and he once more turns and plunges into the +fight, only to be killed by his own comrades. On learning of her +brother's death she unites the hands of Alphonso and Elvira, and then +in despair throws herself into the burning lava of Vesuvius. + +"Masaniello" made Auber's fame at the Grand Opera, as "Fra Diavolo" +made it at the Opera Comique. It has no points in common with that or +any other of his works. It is serious throughout, and full of power, +impetuosity, and broad dramatic treatment. Even Richard Wagner has +conceded its vigor, bold effects, and original harmonies. Its melodies +are spontaneous, its instrumentation full of color, and its stirring +incidents are always vigorously handled. In comparison with his other +works it seems like an inspiration. It is full of the revolutionary +spirit, and its performance in Brussels in 1830 was the cause of the +riots that drove the Dutch out of Belgium. + + +THE CROWN DIAMONDS. + +"The Crown Diamonds" ("Les Diamans de la Couronne"), opera comique, in +three acts, words by Scribe and St. George, one of the most charming +of Auber's light operas, was first produced in Paris in 1841, but its +reputation has been made on the English stage. It was first performed +in London, at the Princess Theatre, May 2, 1844, with Mme. Anna +Thillon, a charming singer and most fascinating woman, as Catarina; +but its success was made at Drury Lane in 1854 by Louisa Pyne and +Harrison, who took the parts of Catarina and Don Henrique. The other +roles, Count de Campo Mayor, Don Sebastian, Rebolledo, and Diana, were +filled by Mr. Horncastle, Mr. Reeves, Mr. Borrani, and Miss Pyne, +sister of the preceding, and with this cast the opera ran a hundred +nights. + +The story of the opera is laid in Portugal, time, 1777. The opening +scene discloses the ruins of a castle in the mountains, near the +monastery of St. Huberto, where Don Henrique, nephew of the Count de +Campo Mayor, Minister of Police at Coimbra, overtaken by a storm, +seeks shelter. At the time of his misfortune he is on his way to take +part in the approaching coronation, and also to sign a marriage +contract with his cousin Diana, daughter of the Minister of Police. He +solaces himself with a song ("Roll on, Roll on"), during which he +hears the blows of hammers in a distant cavern, and on looking round +discovers Rebolledo, the chief of the coiners, and two of his +comrades, with his trunk in their possession, the contents of which +they proceed to examine. Don Henrique conceals himself while Rebolledo +is singing a rollicking muleteer's song ("O'er Mountain steep, through +Valley roaming"). At its conclusion Rebolledo, about to summon the +other coiners to their secret work, discovers Don Henrique, and +thinking him a spy rushes upon him. He is saved by the sudden entrance +of Catarina, the leader of the gang, who tells the story of her life +in a concerted number that reminds one very strikingly of the bandit +song in "Fra Diavolo." After examining Don Henrique, and, to his +surprise, showing an intimate acquaintance with his projects, she +returns him his property, and allows him to depart on condition that +he shall not speak of what he has seen for a year. He consents; and +then follows another of the concerted numbers in which this opera +abounds, and in which occurs a charming rondo ("The Young Pedrillo"), +accompanied by a weird, clanging chorus. Before he can effect his +departure the gang find that they are surrounded by troops led by Don +Sebastian, a friend of Don Henrique. The coiners, in company with the +latter, however, make their escape in the disguise of monks on their +way to the neighboring monastery, singing a lugubrious chorus ("Unto +the Hermit of the Chapel"), while Catarina and Rebolledo elude the +soldiers by taking a subterranean passage, carrying with them a casket +containing some mysterious jewels. + +The second act opens in the Chateau de Coimbra, and discovers the +Count, Don Henrique, Don Sebastian, and Diana. The first scene reveals +to us that Don Henrique is in love with the mysterious Catarina, and +that Diana is in love with Don Sebastian. In a sportive mood Diana +requests Don Henrique to sing with her, and chooses a nocturne called +"The Brigand," which closes in gay bolero time ("In the Deep Ravine of +the Forest"). As they are singing it, Don Sebastian announces that a +carriage has been overturned and its occupants desire shelter. As the +duet proceeds, Catarina and Rebolledo enter, and a very flurried +quintet ("Oh, Surprise unexpected!") occurs, leading up to an ensemble +full of humor, with a repetition of the brigand song, this time by +Catarina and Diana, and closing with a bravura aria sung by Catarina +("Love! at once I break thy Fetters"). Catarina and Rebolledo accept +the proffered hospitality, but the latter quietly makes his exit when +Diana begins to read an account of a robbery which contains a +description of himself and his companion. Catarina remains, however, +in spite of Don Henrique's warning that she is in the house of the +Minister of Police. In a moment of passion he declares his love for +her and begs her to fly with him. She declines his proffer, but gives +him a ring as a souvenir. A pretty little duet ("If I could but +Courage feel") ensues between Diana and Don Henrique, in which she +gently taunts him with his inattention to her and his sudden interest +in the handsome stranger. At this juncture the Count enters in wild +excitement over the announcement that the crown jewels have been +stolen. Don Henrique's ring is recognized as one of them, and in the +excitement which ensues, Catarina finds herself in danger of +discovery, from which she is rescued by Diana, who promises Don +Henrique she will send her away in the Count's carriage if he will +agree to refuse to sign the marriage contract. He consents, and she +departs upon her errand. At this point in the scene Don Henrique sings +the beautiful ballad, "Oh, whisper what thou feelest!" originally +written for Mr. Harrison. This song leads up to a stirring finale, in +which Don Henrique refuses to sign the contract and Catarina makes her +escape. + +The last act opens in the anteroom of the royal palace at Lisbon, +where Diana is waiting for an audience with the Queen. She sings +another interpolated air, originally written for Louisa Pyne ("When +Doubt the tortured Frame is rending"), and at its close the Count, Don +Henrique, and Don Sebastian enter. While they are conversing, +Rebolledo appears, announced as the Count Fuentes, and a quintet +occurs, very slightly constructed, but full of humor. An usher +interrupts it by announcing the Queen will have a private audience +with the Count Fuentes. While awaiting her, the latter, in a +monologue, lets us into the secret that the real crown jewels have +been pledged for the national debt, and that he has been employed to +make duplicates of them to be worn on state occasions until the real +ones can be redeemed. The Queen enters, and expresses her satisfaction +with the work, and promotes him to the position of Minister of Secret +Police. On his departure she sings a charming cavatina ("Love, dwell +with me"), and at its close Count de Campo Mayor enters with the +decision of the Council that she shall wed the Prince of Spain. She +returns answer that she shall make her own choice. The Count seeks to +argue with her, when she threatens to confiscate his estate for +allowing the crown jewels to be stolen, and commands him to arrest his +daughter and nephew for harboring the thieves. Diana suddenly enters, +and an amusing trio ensues, the Queen standing with her back to Diana +lest she may be discovered. The latter fails to recognize her as +Catarina, and implores pardon for assisting in her escape. The +situation is still further complicated by the appearance of Don +Henrique, who has no difficulty in recognizing Catarina. Bewildered at +her presence in the Queen's apartments, he declares to Diana that he +will seize her and fly to some distant land. His rash resolution, +however, is thwarted by his arrest, on the authority of the Queen, for +treason. A martial finale introduces us to the Queen in state. Don +Henrique rushes forward to implore mercy for Catarina. The Queen +reveals herself at last, and announces to her people that she has +chosen Don Henrique, who has loved her for herself, for her husband +and their king. And thus closes one of the most sparkling, melodious, +and humorous of Auber's works. What the concerted numbers lack in +solidity of construction is compensated for by their grace and +sweetness. + + + + +BALFE. + +Michael William Balfe was born at Dublin, Ireland, May 15, 1808. Of +all the English opera-composers, his career was the most versatile, as +his success, for a time at least, was the most remarkable. At seven +years of age he scored a polacca of his own for a band. In his eighth +year he appeared as a violinist, and in his tenth was composing +ballads. At sixteen he was playing in the Drury Lane orchestra, and +about this time began taking lessons in composition. In 1825, aided by +the generosity of a patron, he went to Italy, where for three years he +studied singing and counterpoint. In his twentieth year he met +Rossini, who offered him an engagement as first barytone at the +Italian Opera in Paris. He made his debut with success in 1828, and at +the close of his engagement returned to Italy, where he appeared again +on the stage. About this time (1829-1830) he began writing Italian +operas, and before he left Italy had produced three which met with +considerable success. In 1835 he returned to England; and it was in +this year that his first English opera, the "Siege of Rochelle," was +produced. It was played continuously at Drury Lane for over three +months. In 1836 appeared his "Maid of Artois;" in 1837, "Catharine +Grey" and "Joan of Arc;" and in 1838, "Falstaff." During these years +he was still singing in concerts and opera, and in 1840 appeared as +manager of the Lyceum. His finest works were produced after this +date,--"The Bohemian Girl" in 1843; "The Enchantress" in 1844; "The +Rose of Castile," "La Zingara," and "Satanella" in 1858, and "The +Puritan's Daughter" in 1861. His last opera was "The Knight of the +Leopard," known in Italian as "Il Talismano," which has also been +produced in English as "The Talisman." He married Mlle. Rosen, a +German singer, whom he met in Italy in 1835; and his daughter +Victoire, who subsequently married Sir John Crampton, and afterwards +the Duc de Frias, also appeared as a singer in 1856. Balfe died Oct. +20, 1870, upon his own estate in Hertfordshire. The analysis of his +three operas which are best known--"The Bohemian Girl," "Rose of +Castile," and "Puritan's Daughter"--will contain sufficient reference +to his ability as a composer. + + +THE BOHEMIAN GIRL. + +"The Bohemian Girl," grand opera in three acts, words by Bunn, adapted +from St. George's ballet of "The Gypsy," which appeared at the Paris +Grand Opera in 1839,--itself taken from a romance by Cervantes,--was +first produced in London, Nov. 27, 1843, at Drury Lane, with the +following cast:-- + + ARLINE Miss ROMER. + THADDEUS Mr. HARRISON. + GYPSY QUEEN Miss BETTS. + DEVILSHOOF Mr. STRETTON. + COUNT ARNHEIM Mr. BORRANI. + FLORESTEIN Mr. DURNSET. + +The fame of "The Bohemian Girl" was not confined to England. It was +translated into various European languages, and was one of the few +English operas which secured a favorable hearing even in critical +Germany. In its Italian form it was produced at Drury Lane as "La +Zingara," Feb. 6, 1858, with Mlle. Piccolomini as Arline; and also had +the honor of being selected for the state performance connected with +the marriage of the Princess Royal. The French version, under the name +of "La Bohemienne," for which Balfe added several numbers, besides +enlarging it to five acts, was produced at the Theatre Lyrique, Paris, +in December, 1869, and gained for him the Cross of the Legion of +Honor. + +The scene of the opera is laid in Austria, and the first act +introduces us to the chateau and grounds of Count Arnheim, Governor of +Presburg, whose retainers are preparing for the chase. After a short +chorus the Count enters with his little daughter Arline and his nephew +Florestein. The Count sings a short solo ("A Soldier's Life"), and as +the choral response by his retainers and hunters dies away and they +leave the scene, Thaddeus, a Polish exile and fugitive, rushes in +excitedly, seeking to escape the Austrian soldiers. His opening number +is a very pathetic song ("'Tis sad to leave your Fatherland"). At the +end of the song a troop of gypsies enter, headed by Devilshoof, +singing a blithe chorus ("In the Gypsy's Life you may read"). He hears +Thaddeus's story and induces him to join them. Before the animated +strains fairly cease, Florestein and some of the hunters dash across +the grounds in quest of Arline, who has been attacked by a stag. +Thaddeus, seizing a rifle, joins them, and rescues the child by +killing the animal. The Count overwhelms him with gratitude, and urges +him to join in the coming festivities. He consents, and at the banquet +produces a commotion by refusing to drink the health of the Emperor. +The soldiers are about to rush upon him, when Devilshoof interferes. +The gypsy is arrested for his temerity, and taken into the castle. +Thaddeus departs and the festivities are resumed, but are speedily +interrupted again by the escape of Devilshoof, who takes Arline with +him. The finale of the act is very stirring, and contains one number, +a prayer ("Thou who in Might supreme"), which is extremely effective. + +Twelve years elapse between the first and second acts, and during this +time Count Arnheim has received no tidings of Arline, and has given +her up as lost forever. The act opens in the gypsy camp in the suburbs +of Presburg. Arline is seen asleep in the tent of the Queen, with +Thaddeus watching her. After a quaint little chorus ("Silence, +silence, the Lady Moon") sung by the gypsies, they depart in quest of +plunder, headed by Devilshoof, and soon find their victim in the +person of the foppish and half-drunken Florestein, who is returning +from a revel. He is speedily relieved of his jewelry, among which is a +medallion, which is carried off by Devilshoof. As the gypsies +disappear, Arline wakes and relates her dream to Thaddeus in a joyous +song ("I dreamed I dwelt in Marble Halls"), which has become one of +the world's favorites. At the close of the ballad Thaddeus tells her +the meaning of the scar upon her arm, and reveals himself as her +rescuer, but does not disclose to her the mystery of her birth. The +musical dialogue, with its ensemble, "The Secret of her Birth," will +never lose its charm. Thaddeus declares his love for her just as the +Queen, who is also in love with Thaddeus, enters. Arline also +confesses her love for Thaddeus, and, according to the customs of the +tribe, the Queen unites them, at the same time vowing vengeance +against the pair. + +The scene now changes to a street in the city. A great fair is in +progress, and the gypsies, as usual, resort to it. Arline enters at +their head, joyously singing, to the accompaniment of the rattling +castanets, "Come with the Gypsy Bride;" her companions, blithely +tripping along, responding with the chorus, "In the Gypsy's Life you +may read." They disappear down the street and reappear in the public +plaza. Arline, the Queen, Devilshoof, and Thaddeus sing an +unaccompanied quartet ("From the Valleys and Hills"), a number which +for grace and flowing harmony deserves a place in any opera. As they +mingle among the people an altercation occurs between Arline and +Florestein, who has attempted to insult her. The Queen recognizes +Florestein as the owner of the medallion, and for her courage in +resenting the insult maliciously presents Arline with it. Shortly +afterwards he observes the medallion on Arline's neck, and has her +arrested for theft. The next scene opens in the hall of justice. Count +Arnheim enters with a sad countenance, and as he observes Arline's +portrait, gives vent to his sorrow in that well-known melancholy +reverie, "The Heart bowed down," which has become famous the world +over. Arline is brought before him for trial. As it progresses he +observes the scar upon her arm and asks its cause. She tells the story +which Thaddeus had told her, and this solves the mystery. The Count +recognizes his daughter, and the act closes with a beautiful ensemble +("Praised be the Will of Heaven"). + +The last act opens in the salon of Count Arnheim. Arline is restored +to her old position, but her love for Thaddeus remains. He finds an +opportunity to have a meeting with her, through the cunning of +Devilshoof, who accompanies him. He once more tells his love in that +tender and impassioned song, "When other Lips and other Hearts," and +she promises to be faithful to him. As the sound of approaching steps +is heard, Thaddeus and his companion conceal themselves. A large +company enter, and Arline is presented to them. During the ceremony a +closely veiled woman appears, and when questioned discovers herself as +the Gypsy Queen. She reveals the hiding-place of her companions, and +Thaddeus is dragged forth and ordered to leave the house. Arline +declares her love for him, and her intention to go with him. She +implores her father to relent. Thaddeus avows his noble descent, and +boasts his ancestry and deeds in battle in that stirring martial song, +"When the Fair Land of Poland." The Count finally yields and gives his +daughter to Thaddeus. The Queen, filled with rage and despair, induces +one of the tribe to fire at him as he is embracing Arline; but by a +timely movement of Devilshoof the bullet intended for Thaddeus pierces +the breast of the Queen. As the curtain falls, the old song of the +gypsies is heard again as they disappear in the distance with +Devilshoof at their head. + +Many of the operas of Balfe, like other ballad operas, have become +unfashionable; but it is doubtful whether "The Bohemian Girl" will +ever lose its attraction for those who delight in song-melody, +charming orchestration, and sparkling, animated choruses. It leaped +into popularity at a bound, and its pretty melodies are still as fresh +as when they were first sung. + + +THE ROSE OF CASTILE. + +"The Rose of Castile," comic opera in three acts, words by Harris and +Falconer, adapted from Adolphe Adam's "Muletier de Tolede," was first +produced at the Lyceum Theatre, London, Oct. 29, 1857, with the +following cast:-- + + ELVIRA Miss LOUISA PYNE. + MANUEL W.H. HARRISON. + CARMEN Miss SUSAN PYNE. + DON PEDRO Mr. WEISS. + DON SALLUST Mr. ST. ALBYN. + DON FLORIO Mr. HONEY. + +The scene of the opera is laid in Spain. Elvira, the Rose of Castile, +Queen of Leon, has just ascended the throne, and her hand has been +demanded by the King of Castile for his brother, Don Sebastian the +Infant. Having learned that the latter is about to enter her dominions +disguised as a muleteer, the better to satisfy his curiosity about +her, she adopts the same expedient, and sets out to intercept him, +disguised as a peasant girl, taking with her one of her attendants. + +The first act opens upon a rural scene in front of a posada, where the +peasants are dancing and singing a lively chorus ("List to the gay +Castanet"). Elvira and Carmen, her attendant, enter upon the scene, +and are asked to join in the dance, but instead, Elvira delights them +with a song, a vocal scherzo ("Yes, I'll obey you"). The innkeeper is +rude to them, but they are protected from his coarseness by Manuel, +the muleteer, who suddenly appears and sings a rollicking song ("I am +a simple Muleteer") to the accompaniment of a tambourine and the +snappings of his whip. A dialogue duet follows, in which she accepts +his protection and escort. She has already recognized the Infant, and +he has fulfilled the motive of the story by falling in love with her. +At this point the three conspirators, Don Pedro, Don Sallust, and Don +Florio, enter, the first of whom has designs on the throne. They +indulge in a buffo trio, which develops into a spirited bacchanal +("Wine, Wine, the Magician thou art!"). Observing Elvira's likeness to +the Queen, they persuade her to personate her Majesty. She consents +with feigned reluctance, and after accepting their escort in place of +Manuel's, being sure that he will follow, she sings a quaint rondo +("Oh, were I the Queen of Spain!"), and the act closes with a +concerted number accompanying their departure. + +The second act opens in the throne-room of the palace, and is +introduced by a very expressive conspirators' chorus ("The Queen in +the Palace"); after which Don Pedro enters and gives expression to the +uncertainty of his schemes in a ballad ("Though Fortune darkly o'er me +frowns") which reminds one very forcibly of "The Heart bowed down," in +"The Bohemian Girl." The Queen, who has eluded the surveillance of the +conspirators, makes her appearance, surrounded by her attendants, and +sings that exquisite ballad, "The Convent Cell" ("Of Girlhood's happy +Days I dream"), one of the most beautiful songs ever written by any +composer, and certainly Balfe's most popular inspiration. At the close +of the ballad Manuel appears, and is granted an audience, in which he +informs her of the meeting with the peasant girl and boy, and declares +his belief that they were the Queen and Carmen. She ridicules the +statement, and a very funny trio buffo ensues ("I'm not the Queen, ha, +ha!"). He then informs her of the conspirators' plot to imprison her, +but she thwarts it by inducing a silly and pompous old Duchess to +assume the role of Queen for the day, and ride to the palace closely +veiled in the royal carriage. The plot succeeds, and the Duchess is +seized and conveyed to a convent. In the next scene there is another +spirited buffo number, in which Don Pedro and Don Florio are mourning +over the loss of their peasant girl, when, greatly to their relief, +she enters again, singing a very quaint and characteristic scena ("I'm +but a simple Peasant Maid"), which rouses the suspicions of the +conspirators. They are all the more perplexed when the Queen announces +herself, and declares her intention of marrying the muleteer. + +The last act opens with a song by Carmen ("Though Love's the greatest +Plague in Life"), which falls far below the excellence of the other +songs in the work. It is followed by a buffo duet between Carmen and +Florio, who agree to marry. The Queen and ladies enter, and the former +sings a bravura air ("Oh, joyous, happy Day!"), which was intended by +the composer to show Miss Pyne's vocal ability. At this point a +message is brought her from Don Sebastian, announcing his marriage. +Enraged at the discovery that the muleteer is not Don Sebastian, she +severely upbraids him, and he replies in another exquisite ballad +("'Twas Rank and Fame that tempted thee"). At its close she once more +declares she will be true to the muleteer. Don Pedro is delighted at +the apparent success of his scheme, as he believes he can force her to +abdicate if she marries a muleteer, and gives vent to his joy in a +martial song ("Hark! hark! methinks I hear"). The last scene is in the +throne-room, where Manuel announces he is king of Castile, and mounts +the throne singing a stirring song closely resembling, in its style, +the "Fair Land of Poland," in "The Bohemian Girl." Elvira expresses +her delight in a bravura air ("Oh, no! by Fortune blessed"), and the +curtain falls. The story of the opera is very complicated, and +sometimes tiresome; but the music is well sustained throughout, +especially the buffo numbers, while some of the ballads are among the +best ever written by an English composer. + + + + +BEETHOVEN. + +Ludwig Von Beethoven, the greatest of composers, was born Dec. 17, +1770, at Bonn, Germany, his father being a court singer in the chapel +of the Elector of Cologne. He studied in Vienna with Haydn, with whom +he did not always agree, however, and afterwards with Albrechtsberger. +His first symphony appeared in 1801, his earlier symphonies, in what +is called his first period, being written in the Mozart style. His +only opera, "Fidelio," for which he wrote four overtures, was first +brought out in Vienna in 1805; his oratorio, "Christ on the Mount of +Olives," in 1812; and his colossal Ninth Symphony, with its choral +setting of Schiller's "Ode to Joy," in 1824. In addition to his +symphonies, his opera, oratorios, and masses, and the immortal group +of sonatas for the piano, which were almost revelations in music, he +developed chamber music to an extent far beyond that reached by his +predecessors, Haydn and Mozart. His symphonies exhibit surprising +power, and a marvellous comprehension of the deeper feelings in life +and the influences of nature, both human and physical. He wrote with +the deepest earnestness, alike in the passion and the calm of his +music, and he invested it also with a genial humor as well as with the +highest expression of pathos. His works are epic in character. He was +the great tone-poet of music. His subjects were always lofty and +dignified, and to their treatment he brought not only a profound +knowledge of musical technicality, but intense sympathy with the +innermost feelings of human nature, for he was a humanitarian in the +broadest sense. By the common consent of the musical world he stands +at the head of all composers, and has always been their guide and +inspiration. He died March 26, 1827, in the midst of a raging thunder +storm, one of his latest utterances being a recognition of the "divine +spark" in Schubert's music. + + +FIDELIO. + +"Fidelio, oder die eheliche Liebe" ("Fidelio, or Conjugal Love"), +grand opera in two acts, words by Sonnleithner, translated freely from +Bouilly's "Leonore, ou l'Amour Conjugal," was first produced at the +Theatre An der Wien, Vienna, Nov. 20, 1805, the work at that time +being in three acts. A translation of the original programme of that +performance, with the exception of the usual price of admissions, is +appended:-- + + Imperial and Royal Theatre An der Wien. + New Opera. + To-day, Wednesday, 20 November, 1805, at the Imperial and Royal + Theatre An der Wien, will be given for the first time. + FIDELIO; + Or, Conjugal Love. + Opera in three acts, translated freely from the French text by + JOSEPH SONNLEITHNER. + The music is by LUDWIG VON BEETHOVEN. + + _Dramatis Personae_. + + _Don Fernando_, Minister Herr Weinkoff. + _Don Pizarro_, Governor of a State Prison Herr Meier. + _Florestan_, prisoner Herr Demmer. + _Leonora_, his wife, under the name of _Fidelio_ Fraeulein Milder. + _Rocco_, chief jailer Herr Rothe. + _Marcellina_, his daughter Fraeulein Mueller. + _Jaquino_, turnkey Herr Cache. + _Captain of the Guard_ Herr Meister. + _Prisoners, Guards, People_. + +The action passes in a State prison in Spain, a few leagues from +Seville. The piece can be procured at the box-office for fifteen +kreutzers. + +During this first season the opera was performed three times and then +withdrawn. Breuning reduced it to two acts, and two or three of the +musical numbers were sacrificed, and in this form it was played twice +at the Imperial Private Theatre and again withdrawn. On these +occasions it had been given under Beethoven's favorite title, +"Leonore." In 1814 Treitschke revised it, and it was produced at the +Kaernthnerthor Theatre, Vienna, May 23, of that year, as "Fidelio," +which title it has ever since retained. Its first performance in Paris +was at the Theatre Lyrique, May 5, 1860; in London, at the King's +Theatre, May 18, 1832; and in English at Covent Garden, June 12, 1835, +with Malibran in the title-role. Beethoven wrote four overtures for +this great work. The first was composed in 1805, the second in 1806, +the third in 1807, and the fourth in 1814. It is curious that there +has always been a confusion in their numbering, and the error remains +to this day. What is called No. 1 is in reality No. 3, and was +composed for a performance of the opera at Prague, the previous +overture having been too difficult for the strings. The splendid +"Leonora," No. 3, is in reality No. 2, and the No. 2 is No. 1. The +fourth, or the "Fidelio" overture, contains a new set of themes, but +the "Leonora" is the grandest of them all. + +The entire action of the opera transpires in a Spanish prison, of +which Don Pizarro is governor and Rocco the jailer. The porter of the +prison is Jacquino, who is in love with Marcellina, daughter of Rocco, +and she in turn is in love with Fidelio, Rocco's assistant, who has +assumed male disguise the better to assist her in her plans for the +rescue of her husband, Florestan, a Spanish nobleman. The latter, who +is the victim of Don Pizarro's hatred because he had thwarted some of +his evil designs, has been imprisoned by him unknown to the world, and +is slowly starving to death. Leonora, his wife, who in some way has +discovered that her husband is in the prison, has obtained employment +of Rocco, disguised as the young man Fidelio. + +The opera opens with a charming, playful love-scene between Jacquino +and Marcellina, whom the former is teasing to marry him. She puts him +off, and as he sorrowfully departs, sings the Hope aria, "Die +Hoffnung," a fresh, smoothly flowing melody, in which she pictures the +delight of a life with Fidelio. At its close Rocco enters with the +despondent Jacquino, shortly followed by Fidelio, who is very much +fatigued. The love-episode is brought out in the famous canon quartet, +"Mir ist so wunderbar," one of the most beautiful and restful numbers +in the opera. Rocco promises Marcellina's hand to Fidelio as the +reward of her fidelity, but in the characteristic and sonorous Gold +song, "Hat man nicht auch Geld daneben," reminds them that money as +well as love is necessary to housekeeping. In the next scene, while +Don Pizarro is giving instructions to Rocco, a packet of letters is +delivered to him, one of which informs him that Don Fernando is coming +the next day to inspect the prison, as he has been informed that it +contains several victims of arbitrary power. He at once determines +that Florestan shall die, and gives vent to his wrath in a furious +dramatic aria ("Ha! welch ein Augenblick!"). He attempts to bribe +Rocco to aid him. The jailer at first refuses, but subsequently, after +a stormy duet, consents to dig the grave. Fidelio has overheard the +scheme, and, as they disappear, rushes forward and sings the great +aria, "Abscheulicher!" one of the grandest and most impassioned +illustrations of dramatic intensity in the whole realm of music. The +recitative expresses intense horror at the intended murder, then +subsides into piteous sorrow, and at last breaks out into the glorious +adagio, "Komm Hoffnung," in which she sings of the immortal power of +love. The last scene of the act introduces the strong chorus of the +prisoners as they come out in the yard for air and sunlight, after +which Rocco relates to Fidelio his interview with Don Pizarro. The +latter orders the jailer to return the prisoners to their dungeons and +go on with the digging of the grave, and the act closes. + +The second act opens in Florestan's dungeon. The prisoner sings an +intensely mournful aria ("In des Lebens Fruehlingstagen"), which has a +rapturous finale ("Und spuer' Ich nicht linde"), as he sees his wife in +a vision. Rocco and Fidelio enter and begin digging the grave, to the +accompaniment of sepulchral music. She discovers that Florestan has +sunk back exhausted, and as she restores him recognizes her husband. +Don Pizarro enters, and after ordering Fidelio away, who meanwhile +conceals herself, attempts to stab Florestan. Fidelio, who has been +closely watching him, springs forward with a shriek, and interposes +herself between him and her husband. He once more advances to carry +out his purpose, when Fidelio draws a pistol and defies him. As she +does so, the sound of a trumpet is heard outside announcing the +arrival of Don Fernando. Don Pizarro rushes out in despair, and +Florestan and Leonora, no longer Fidelio, join in a duet ("O Namenlose +Freude") which is the very ecstasy of happiness. In the last scene Don +Fernando sets the prisoners free in the name of the king, and among +them Florestan. Pizarro is revealed in his true character, and is led +away to punishment. The happy pair are reunited, and Marcellina, to +Jacquino's delight, consents to marry him. The act closes with a +general song of jubilee. As a drama and as an opera "Fidelio" stands +almost alone in its perfect purity, in the moral grandeur of its +subject, and in the resplendent ideality of its music. + + + + +BELLINI. + +Vincenzo Bellini was born Nov. 3, 1802, at Catania, Sicily, and came +of musical parentage. By the generosity of a patron he was sent to +Naples, and studied at the Conservatory under Zingarelli. His first +opera was "Adelson e Salvino," and its remarkable merit secured him a +commission from the manager, Barbaja, for an opera for San Carlo. The +result was his first important work, "Bianca e Fernando," written in +1826. Its success was moderate; but he was so encouraged that he at +once went to Milan and wrote "Il Pirata," the tenor part for Rubini. +Its success was extraordinary, and the managers of La Scala +commissioned him for another work. In 1828 "La Straniera" appeared, +quickly followed by "Zaira" (1829), which failed at Parma, and "I +Capuletti ed i Montecchi," a version of "Romeo and Juliet," which made +a great success at Venice in 1830. A year later he composed "La +Sonnambula," unquestionably his best work, for La Scala, and it +speedily made the tour of Europe, and gained for him an extended +reputation. A year after its appearance he astonished the musical +world with "Norma," written, like "Sonnambula," for Mme. Pasta. These +are his greatest works. "Norma" was followed by "Beatrice di Tenda," +and this by "I Puritani," his last opera, written in Paris for the +four great artists, Grisi, Rubini, Tamburini, and Lablache. Bellini +died Sept. 23, 1835, in the twenty-ninth year of his age, preserving +his musical enthusiasm to the very last. He was a close follower of +Rossini, and studied his music diligently, and though without a very +profound knowledge of harmony or orchestration, succeeded in producing +at least three works, "Norma," "Sonnambula," and "I Puritani," which +were the delight of the opera-goers of his day, and still freshly hold +the stage. + + +NORMA. + +"Norma," a serious opera in two acts, words by Romani, was first +produced during the season of Lent, 1832, at Milan, with the principal +parts cast as follows:-- + + NORMA Mme. PASTA. + ADALGISA Mme. GRISI. + POLLIONE Sig. DONZELLI. + +It was first heard in London in 1833, and in Paris in 1855, and +Planche's English version of it was produced at Drury Lane in 1837. +The scene of the opera is laid among the Druids, in Gaul, after its +occupation by the Roman legions. In the first scene the Druids enter +with Oroveso, their priest, to the impressive strains of a religious +march which is almost as familiar as a household word. The priest +announces that Norma, the high priestess, will come and cut the sacred +branch and give the signal for the expulsion of the Romans. The next +scene introduces Pollione, the Roman proconsul, to whom Norma, in +defiance of her faith and traditions, has bound herself in secret +marriage, and by whom she has had two children. In a charmingly +melodious scena ("Meco all' altar di Venere") he reveals his +faithlessness and guilty love for Adalgisa, a young virgin of the +temple, who has consented to abandon her religion and fly with him to +Rome. In the fourth scene Norma enters attended by her priestesses, +and denounces the Druids for their warlike disposition, declaring that +the time has not yet come for shaking off the yoke of Rome, and that +when it does she will give the signal from the altar of the Druids. +After cutting the sacred mistletoe, she comes forward and invokes +peace from the moon in that exquisite prayer, "Casta Diva," which +electrified the world with its beauty and tenderness, and still holds +its place in popular favor, not alone by the grace of its +embellishments, but by the pathos of its melody. It is followed by +another cavatina of almost equal beauty and tenderness ("Ah! bello a +me ritorna"). In the next scene Adalgisa, retiring from the sacred +rites, sings of her love for Pollione, and as she closes is met by the +proconsul, who once more urges her to fly to Rome with him. The duet +between them is one of great power and beauty, and contains a +strikingly passionate number for the tenor ("Va, crudele"). Oppressed +by her conscience, she reveals her fatal promise to Norma, and +implores absolution from her vows. Norma yields to her entreaties, but +when she inquires the name and country of her lover, and Adalgisa +points to Pollione as he enters Norma's sanctuary, all the priestess's +love turns to wrath. In this scene the duet, "Perdoni e ti compiango," +is one of exceeding loveliness and peculiarly melodious tenderness. +The act closes with a terzetto of great power ("O! di qual sei tu"), +in which both the priestess and Adalgisa furiously denounce the +faithless Pollione. In the midst of their imprecations the sound of +the sacred shield is heard calling Norma to the rites. + +The second act opens in Norma's dwelling, and discovers her children +asleep on a couch. Norma enters with the purpose of killing them, but +the maternal instinct overcomes her vengeful thought that they are +Pollione's children. Adalgisa appears, and Norma announces her +intention to place her children in the Virgin's hands, and send her +and them to Pollione while she expiates her offence on the funeral +pyre. Adalgisa pleads with her not to abandon Pollione, who will +return to her repentant; and the most effective number in the opera +ensues,--the grand duet containing two of Bellini's most beautiful +inspirations, the "Deh! con te li prendi," and the familiar "Mira, O +Norma," whose strains have gone round the world and awakened universal +delight. Pollione, maddened by his passion for Adalgisa, impiously +attempts to tear her from the altar in the temple of Irminsul, +whereupon Norma enters the temple and strikes the sacred shield, +summoning the Druids. They meet, and she declares the meaning of the +signal is war, slaughter, and destruction. She chants a magnificent +hymn ("Guerra, guerra"), which is full of the very fury of battle. +Pollione, who has been intercepted in the temple, is brought before +her. Love is still stronger than resentment with her. In a very +dramatic scena ("In mia mano alfin tu sei") she informs him he is in +her power, but she will let him escape if he will renounce Adalgisa +and leave the country. He declares death would be preferable; +whereupon she threatens to denounce Adalgisa. Pity overcomes anger, +however. She snatches the sacred wreath from her brow and declares +herself the guilty one. Too late Pollione discovers the worth of the +woman he has abandoned, and a beautiful duet ("Qual cor tradisti") +forms the closing number. She ascends the funeral pyre with Pollione, +and in its flames they are purged of earthly crime. It is a memorable +fact in the history of this opera, that on its first performance it +was coldly received, and the Italian critics declared it had no +vitality; though no opera was ever written in which such intense +dramatic effect has been produced with simple melodic force, and no +Italian opera score to-day is more living or more likely to last than +that of Norma. + + +LA SONNAMBULA. + +"La Sonnambula," an opera in two acts, words by Romani, was first +produced in Milan, March 6, 1831, with the following cast:-- + + AMINA Mme. PASTA. + ELVINO Sig. RUBINI. + RODOLFO Sig. MARIANO. + LISA Mme. TOCCANI. + +It was brought out in the same year in Paris and London, and two years +after in English, with Malibran as Amina. The subject of the story was +taken from a vaudeville and ballet by Scribe. The scene is laid in +Switzerland. Amina, an orphan, the ward of Teresa, the miller's wife, +is about to marry Elvino, a well-to-do landholder of the village. +Lisa, mistress of the inn, is also in love with Elvino, and jealous of +her rival. Alessio, a peasant lad, is also in love with the landlady. +Such is the state of affairs on the day before the wedding. Rodolfo, +the young lord of the village, next appears upon the scene. He has +arrived incognito for the purpose of looking up his estates, and stops +at Lisa's inn, where he meets Amina. He gives her many pretty +compliments, much to the dissatisfaction of the half-jealous Elvino, +who is inclined to quarrel with the disturber of his peace of mind. +Amina, who is subject to fits of somnambulism, has been mistaken for a +ghost by the peasants, and they warn Rodolfo that the village is +haunted. The information, however, does not disturb him, and he +quietly retires to his chamber. The officious Lisa also enters, and a +playful scene of flirtation ensues, during which Amina enters the +room, walking in her sleep. Lisa seeks shelter in a closet. Rodolfo, +to escape from the embarrassment of the situation, leaves the +apartment, and Amina reclines upon the bed as if it were her own. The +malicious Lisa hurries from the room to inform Elvino of what she has +seen, and thoughtlessly leaves her handkerchief. Elvino rushes to the +spot with other villagers, and finding Amina, as Lisa had described, +declares that she is guilty, and leaves her. Awakened by the noise, +the unfortunate girl, realizing the situation, sorrowfully throws +herself into Teresa's arms. The villagers implore Rodolfo to acquit +Amina of any blame, and he stoutly protests her innocence; but it is +of no avail in satisfying Elvino, who straightway offers his hand to +Lisa. In the last act Amina is seen stepping from the window of the +mill in her sleep. She crosses a frail bridge which yields beneath her +weight and threatens to precipitate her upon the wheel below; but she +passes it in safety, descends to the ground, and walks into her +lover's arms amid the jubilant songs of the villagers. Elvino is +convinced of her innocence, and they are wedded at once, while the +discovery of Lisa's handkerchief in Rodolfo's room pronounces her the +faithless one. + +Such is the simple little pastoral story to which Bellini has set some +of his most beautiful melodies, the most striking of which are the +aria, "Sovra il sen," in the third scene of the first act, where Amina +declares her happiness to Teresa; the beautiful aria for barytone in +the sixth scene, "Vi ravviso," descriptive of Rodolfo's delight in +revisiting the scenes of his youth; the playful duet between Amina and +Elvino, "Mai piu dubbi!" in which she rebukes him for his jealousy; +the humorous and very characteristic chorus of the villagers in the +tenth scene, "Osservate, l'uscio e aperto," as they tiptoe into +Rodolfo's apartment; the duet, "O mio dolor," in the next scene, in +which Amina asserts her innocence; the aria for tenor in the third +scene of the second act, "Tutto e sciolto," in which Elvino bemoans +his sad lot; and that joyous ecstatic outburst of birdlike melody, +"Ah! non giunge," which closes the opera. In fact, "Sonnambula" is so +replete with melodies of the purest and tenderest kind, that it is +difficult to specify particular ones. It is exquisitely idyllic +throughout, and the music is as quiet, peaceful, simple, and tender as +the charming pastoral scenes it illustrates. + + +I PURITANI. + +"I Puritani di Scozia," an opera in two acts, words by Count Pepoli, +was first produced at the Theatre Italien, Paris, Jan. 25, 1835, and +in London in the following May, under the title of "I Puritani ed i +Cavalieri." The original cast was as follows:-- + + ELVIRA Mme. GRISI. + ARTURO Sig. RUBINI. + RICARDO Sig. TAMBURINI. + GIORGIO Sig. LABLACHE. + +This cast was one of unexampled strength, and was long known in Europe +as the Puritani quartet. The story of the opera is laid in England, +during the war between Charles II. and his Parliament, and the first +scene opens in Plymouth, then held by the parliamentary forces. The +fortress is commanded by Lord Walton, whose daughter, Elvira, is in +love with Lord Arthur Talbot, a young cavalier in the King's service. +Her hand had previously been promised to Sir Richard Forth, of the +parliamentary army; but to the great delight of the maiden, Sir George +Walton, brother of the commander, brings her the news that her father +has relented, and that Arthur will be admitted into the fortress that +the nuptials may be celebrated. Henrietta, widow of Charles I., is at +this time a prisoner in the fortress, under sentence of death passed +by Parliament. Arthur discovers her situation, and by concealing her +in Elvira's bridal veil seeks to effect her escape. On their way out +he encounters his rival; but the latter, discovering that the veiled +lady is not Elvira, allows them to pass. The escape is soon +discovered, and Elvira, thinking her lover has abandoned her, loses +her reason. Arthur is proscribed by the Parliament and sentenced to +death; but Sir Richard, moved by the appeals of Sir George Walton, who +hopes to restore his niece to reason, promises to use his influence +with Parliament to save Arthur's life should he be captured unarmed. +Arthur meanwhile manages to have an interview with Elvira; and the +latter, though still suffering from her mental malady, listens +joyfully to his explanation of his sudden flight. Their interview is +disturbed by a party of Puritans who enter and arrest him. He is +condemned to die on the spot; but before the sentence can be carried +out, a messenger appears with news of the king's defeat and the pardon +of Arthur. The joyful tidings restore Elvira to reason, and the lovers +are united. + +The libretto of "I Puritani" is one of the poorest ever furnished to +Bellini, but the music is some of his best. It is replete with +melodies, which are not only fascinating in their original setting, +but have long been favorites on the concert-stage. The opera is +usually performed in three acts, but was written in two. The prominent +numbers of the first act are the pathetic cavatina for Ricardo, "Ah! +per sempre io ti perdei," in which he mourns the loss of Elvira; a +lovely romanza for tenor ("A te o cara"); a brilliant polacca ("Son +vergin vezzosa") for Elvira, which is one of the delights of all +artists; and a concerted finale, brimming over with melody and closing +with the stirring anathema chorus, "Non casa, non spiaggia." The first +grand number in the second act is Elvira's mad song, "Qui la voce," in +which are brought out not only that rare gift for expressing pathos in +melody for which Bellini is so famous, but the sweetest of themes and +most graceful of embellishments. The remaining numbers are Elvira's +appeal to her lover ("Vien, diletto"), the magnificent duet for basses +("Suoni la tromba"), known as the "Liberty Duet," which in +sonorousness, majesty, and dramatic intensity hardly has an equal in +the whole range of Italian opera; a tender and plaintive romanza for +tenor ("A una fonte aflitto e solo"); a passionate duet for Arthur and +Elvira ("Star teco ognor"); and an adagio, sung by Arthur in the +finale ("Ella e tremante"). + + + + +BIZET. + +Georges Bizet was born at Paris, Oct. 25, 1838, and in an artistic +atmosphere, as his father, an excellent teacher, was married to a +sister of Mme. Delsarte, a talented pianist, and his uncle, a +musician, was the founder of the famous Delsarte system. He studied +successively with Marmontel and Benoist, and subsequently took lessons +in composition from Halevy, whose daughter he afterwards married. His +first work was an operetta of not much consequence, "Docteur Miracle," +written in 1857, and in the same year he took the Grand Prix de Rome. +On his return from Italy he composed "Vasco de Gama" and "Les Pecheurs +de Perles," neither of which met with much success. In 1867 "La Jolie +Fille de Perth" appeared, and in 1872, "Djamileh." During the +intervals of these larger works he wrote the Patrie overture and the +interludes to "L'Arlesienne," a very poetical score which Theodore +Thomas introduced to this country, and both works were received with +enthusiasm. At last he was to appreciate and enjoy a real dramatic +success, though it was his last work. "Carmen" appeared in 1875, and +achieved a magnificent success at the Opera Comique. It was brought +out in March, and in the following June he died of acute +heart-disease. He was a very promising composer, and specially +excelled in orchestration. During his last few years he was a close +student of Wagner, whose influence is apparent in this last work of +his life. + + +CARMEN. + +"Carmen," an opera in four acts, words by Meilhac and Halevy, adapted +from Prosper Merimee's romance of "Carmen," was first produced at the +Opera Comique, Paris, March 3, 1875, with Mme. Galli-Marie in the +title-role and Mlle. Chapuy as Michaela. The scene is laid in Seville, +time 1820. The first act opens in the public square, filled with a +troop of soldiers under command of Don Jose, and loungers who are +waiting the approach of the pretty girls who work in the cigar-factory +near by, and prettiest and most heartless of them all, Carmen. Before +they appear, Michaela, a village girl, enters the square, bearing a +message to Don Jose from his mother, but not finding him departs. The +cigar-girls at last pass by on their way to work, and with them +Carmen, who observes Don Jose sitting in an indifferent manner and +throws him the rose she wears in her bosom. As they disappear, +Michaela returns and delivers her message. The sight of the gentle +girl and the thought of home dispel Don Jose's sudden passion for +Carmen. He is about to throw away her rose, when a sudden disturbance +is heard in the factory. It is found that Carmen has quarrelled with +one of the girls and wounded her. She is arrested, and to prevent +further mischief her arms are pinioned. She so bewitches the +lieutenant, however, that he connives at her escape and succeeds in +effecting it, while she is led away to prison by the soldiers. In the +second act Carmen has returned to her wandering gypsy life, and we +find her with her companions in the cabaret of Lillas-Pastia, singing +and dancing. Among the new arrivals is Escamillo, the victorious +bull-fighter of Grenada, with whom Carmen is at once fascinated. When +the inn is closed, Escamillo and the soldiers depart, but Carmen waits +with two of the gypsies, who are smugglers, for the arrival of Don +Jose. They persuade her to induce him to join their band, and when the +lieutenant, wild with passion for her, enters the apartment, she +prevails upon him to remain in spite of the trumpet-call which summons +him to duty. An officer appears and orders him out. He refuses to go, +and when the officer attempts to use force Carmen summons the gypsies. +He is soon overpowered, and Don Jose escapes to the mountains. The +third act opens in the haunt of the smugglers, a wild, rocky, +cavernous place. Don Jose and Carmen, who is growing very indifferent +to him, are there. As the contrabandists finish their work and +gradually leave the scene, Escamillo, who has been following Carmen, +appears. His presence and his declarations as well arouse the jealousy +of Don Jose. They rush at each other for mortal combat, but the +smugglers separate them. Escamillo bides his time, invites them to the +approaching bullfight at Seville, and departs. While Don Jose is +upbraiding Carmen, the faithful Michaela, who has been guided to the +spot, begs him to accompany her, as his mother is dying. Duty +prevails, and he follows her as Escamillo's taunting song is heard +dying away in the distance. In the last act the drama hurries on to +the tragic denouement. It is a gala-day in Seville, for Escamillo is +to fight. Carmen is there in his company, though her gypsy friends +have warned her Don Jose is searching for her. Amid great pomp +Escamillo enters the arena, and Carmen is about to follow, when Don +Jose appears and stops her. He appeals to her and tries to awaken the +old love. She will not listen, and at last in a fit of wild rage hurls +the ring he had given her at his feet. The shouts of the people in the +arena announce another victory for Escamillo. She cries out with joy. +Don Jose springs at her like a tiger, and stabs her just as Escamillo +emerges from the contest. + +Carmen is the largest and best-considered of all Bizet's works, and +one of the best in the modern French repertory. The overture is short +but very brilliant. After some characteristic choruses by the street +lads, soldiers, and cigar-girls, Carmen sings the Havanaise ("Amor, +misterioso angelo"), a quaint song in waltz time, the melody being +that of an old Spanish song by Tradier, called "El Aveglito." A +serious duet between Michaela and Don Jose ("Mia madre io la rivedo") +follows, which is very tender in its character. The next striking +number is the dance tempo, "Presso il bastion de Seviglia," a +seguidilla sung by Carmen while bewitching Don Jose. In the finale, as +she escapes, the Havanaise, which is the Carmen motive, is heard +again. + +The second-act music is peculiarly Spanish in color, particularly that +for the ballet. The opening song of the gypsies in the cabaret, to the +accompaniment of the castanets ("Vezzi e anella scintillar"), is +bewitching in its rhythm, and is followed in the next scene by a +stirring and very picturesque aria ("Toreador attento"), in which +Escamillo describes the bull-fight. A beautifully written quintet +("Abbiamo in vista"), and a strongly dramatic duet, beginning with +another fascinating dance tempo ("Voglio danzar pel tuo piacer"), and +including a beautiful pathetic melody for Don Jose ("Il fior che +avevi"), closes the music of the act. + +The third act contains two very striking numbers, the terzetto of the +card-players in the smugglers' haunt ("Mischiam! alziam!"), and +Michaela's aria ("Io dico no, non son paurosa"), the most effective +and beautiful number in the whole work, and the one which shows most +clearly the effect of Wagner's influence upon the composer. In the +finale of the act the Toreador's song is again heard as he disappears +in the distance after the quarrel with Don Jose. + +The last act is a hurly-burly of the bull-fight, the Toreador's taking +march, the stormy duet between Don Jose and Carmen, and the tragic +denouement in which the Carmen motive is repeated. The color of the +whole work is Spanish, and the dance tempo is freely used and +beautifully worked up with Bizet's ingenious and scholarly +instrumentation. Except in the third act, however, the vocal parts are +inferior to the orchestral treatment. + + + + +BOIELDIEU. + +Francois Adrien Boieldieu was born Dec. 16, 1775, at Rouen, France. +Little is known of his earlier life, except that he studied for a time +with Broche, the cathedral organist. His first opera, "La Fille +Coupable," appeared in 1793, and was performed at Rouen with some +success. In 1795 a second opera, "Rosalie et Myrza," was performed in +the same city; after which he went to Paris, where he became +acquainted with many prominent musicians, among them Cherubini. His +first Paris opera was the "Famille Suisse" (1797), which had a +successful run. Several other operas followed, besides some excellent +pieces of chamber music which secured him the professorship of the +piano in the Conservatory. He also took lessons at this time of +Cherubini in counterpoint, and in 1803 brought out a very successful +work, "Ma Tante Aurore." We next hear of him in St. Petersburg, as +conductor of the Imperial Opera, where he composed many operas and +vaudevilles. He spent eight years in Russia, returning to Paris in +1811. The next year one of his best operas, "Jean de Paris," was +produced with extraordinary success. Though he subsequently wrote many +operas, fourteen years elapsed before his next great work, "La Dame +Blanche," appeared. Its success was unprecedented. All Europe was +delighted with it, and it is as fresh to-day as when it was first +produced. The remainder of Boieldieu's life was sad, owing to operatic +failures, pecuniary troubles, and declining health. He died at Jarcy, +near Paris, Oct. 8, 1834. + + +LA DAME BLANCE. + +"La Dame Blanche," opera comique in three acts, words by Scribe, +adapted from Walter Scott's novels, "The Monastery" and "Guy +Mannering," was first produced at the Opera Comique, Dec. 10, 1825, +and was first performed in English under the title of "The White +Maid," at Covent Garden, London, Jan. 2, 1827. The scene of the opera +is laid in Scotland. The Laird of Avenel, a zealous partisan of the +Stuarts, was proscribed after the battle of Culloden, and upon the eve +of going into exile intrusts Gaveston, his steward, with the care of +the castle, and of a considerable treasure which is concealed in a +statue called the White Lady. The traditions affirmed that this lady +was the protectress of the Avenels. All the clan were believers in the +story, and the villagers declared they had often seen her in the +neighborhood. Gaveston, however, does not share their superstition nor +believe in the legend, and some time after the departure of the Laird +he announces the sale of the castle, hoping to obtain it at a low rate +because the villagers will not dare to bid for it through fear of the +White Lady. The steward is led to do this because he has heard the +Laird is dead, and knows there is no heir to the property. Anna, an +orphan girl, who had been befriended by the Laird, determines to +frustrate Gaveston's designs, and appears in the village disguised as +the White Lady. She also writes to Dickson, a farmer, who is indebted +to her, to meet her at midnight in the castle of Avenel. He is too +superstitious to go, and George Brown, a young lieutenant who is +sharing his hospitality, volunteers in his stead. He encounters the +White Lady, and learns from her he will shortly meet a young lady who +has saved his life by her careful nursing after a battle,--Anna +meanwhile recognizing George as the person she had saved. When the day +of sale comes, Dickson is empowered by the farmers to purchase the +castle, so that it may not fall into Gaveston's hands. George and Anna +are there; and the former, though he has not a shilling, buys it under +instructions from Anna. When the time comes for payment, Anna produces +the treasure which had been concealed in the statue, and, still in the +disguise of the White Lady, discovers to him the secret of his birth +during the exile of his parents. Gaveston approaches the spectre and +tears off her veil, revealing Anna, his ward. Moved by the zeal and +fidelity of his father's protegee, George offers her his hand, which, +after some maidenly scruples, she accepts. + +The opera is full of beautiful songs, many of them Scotch in +character. In the first act the opening song of George ("Ah, what +Pleasure a Soldier to be!") is very poetical in its sentiment. It also +contains the characteristic ballad of the White Lady, with choral +responses ("Where yon Trees your Eye discovers"), and an exquisitely +graceful trio in the finale ("Heavens! what do I hear?"). The second +act opens with a very plaintive romanza ("Poor Margaret, spin away!"), +sung by Margaret, Anna's old nurse, at her spinning-wheel, as she +thinks of the absent Laird, followed in the fifth scene by a beautiful +cavatina for tenor ("Come, O Gentle Lady"). In the seventh scene is a +charming duet ("From these Halls"), and the act closes with an +ensemble for seven voices and chorus, which has hardly been excelled +in ingenuity of treatment. The third act opens with a charmingly +sentimental aria for Anna ("With what delight I behold"), followed in +the third scene by a stirring chorus of mountaineers, leading up to +"the lay ever sung by the Clan of Avenel,"--the familiar old ballad, +"Robin Adair," which loses a little of its local color under French +treatment, but gains an added grace. It is stated on good authority +that two of Boieldieu's pupils, Adolph Adam and Labarre, assisted him +in the work, and that the lovely overture was written in one +evening,--Boieldieu taking the andante and the two others the +remaining movements. Though a little old-fashioned in some of its +phrasing, the opera still retains its freshness and beautiful +sentiment. Its popularity is best evinced by the fact that up to June, +1875, it had been given 1340 times at the theatre where it was first +produced. + + + + +BOITO. + +Arrigo Boito was born in 1840, and received his musical education in +the Conservatory at Milan, where he studied for nine years. In 1866 he +became a musical critic for several Italian papers, and about the same +time wrote several poems of more than ordinary merit. Both in +literature and music his taste was diversified; and he combined the +two talents in a remarkable degree in his opera of "Mephistopheles," +the only work by which he is known to the musical world at large. He +studied Goethe profoundly; and the notes which he has appended to the +score show a most intimate knowledge of the Faust legend. His text is +in one sense polyglot, as he has made use of portions of Marlowe's +"Doctor Faustus," as well as excerpts from Blaze de Bury, Lenau, +Widmann, and others who have treated the legend. He studied Wagner's +music also very closely, and to such purpose that after the first +performance of this opera at La Scala, in 1868, the critics called him +the Italian Wagner, and, in common with the public, condemned both him +and his work. After Wagner's "Lohengrin" had been produced in Italy +and met with success, Boito saw his opportunity to once more bring out +his work. It was performed at Bologna in 1875, and met with an +enthusiastic success. Its introduction to this country is largely due +to Mme. Christine Nilsson, though Mme. Marie Roze was the first artist +to appear in it here. + + +MEPHISTOPHELES. + +"Mephistopheles," grand opera in a prologue, four acts, and epilogue, +words by the composer, was first performed at La Scala, Milan, in +1868. The "Prologue in the Heavens" contains five numbers, a prelude, +and chorus of the mystic choir; instrumental scherzo, preluding the +appearance of Mephistopheles; dramatic interlude, in which he engages +to entrap Faust; a vocal scherzo by the chorus of cherubim; and the +Final Psalmody by the penitents on earth and chorus of spirits. The +prologue corresponds to Goethe's prologue in the heavens, the heavenly +choirs being heard in the background of clouds, accompanied by weird +trumpet-peals and flourishes in the orchestra, and closes with a +finale of magnificent power. + +The first act opens in the city of Frankfort, amid the noise of the +crowd and the clanging of holiday bells. Groups of students, burghers, +huntsmen, and peasants sing snatches of chorus. A cavalcade escorting +the Elector passes. Faust and Wagner enter, and retire as the peasants +begin to sing and dance a merry waltz rhythm ("Juhe! Juhe!"). As it +dies away they reappear, Faust being continually followed by a gray +friar,--Mephistopheles in disguise,--whose identity is disclosed by a +motive from the prologue. Faust shudders at his presence, but Wagner +laughs away his fears, and the scene then suddenly changes to Faust's +laboratory, whither he has been followed by the gray friar, who +conceals himself in an alcove. Faust sings a beautiful aria ("Dai +campi, dai prati"), and then, placing the Bible on a lectern, begins +to read. The sight of the book brings Mephistopheles out with a +shriek; and, questioned by Faust, he reveals his true self in a +massive and sonorous aria ("Son lo spirito"). He throws off his +disguise, and appears in the garb of a knight, offering to serve Faust +on earth if he will serve the powers of darkness in hell. The compact +is made, as in the first act of Gounod's "Faust;" and the curtain +falls as Faust is about to be whisked away in Mephistopheles's cloak. + +The second act opens in the garden, with Faust (under the name of +Henry), Marguerite, Mephistopheles, and Martha, Marguerite's mother, +strolling in couples. The music, which is of a very sensuous +character, is descriptive of the love-making between Faust and +Marguerite, and the sarcastic passion of Mephistopheles for Martha. It +is mostly in duet form, and closes with a quartet allegretto ("Addio, +fuggo"), which is very characteristic. The scene then suddenly changes +to the celebration of the Witches' Sabbath on the summits of the +Brocken, where, amid wild witch choruses, mighty dissonances, and +weird incantation music, Faust is shown a vision of the sorrow of +Marguerite. It would be impossible to select special numbers from this +closely interwoven music, excepting perhaps the song ("Ecco il mondo") +which Mephistopheles sings when the witches, after their incantation, +present him with a globe of glass which he likens to the earth. + +The third act opens in a prison, where Marguerite is awaiting the +penalty for murdering her babe. The action is very similar to that of +the last act of Gounod's "Faust." Her opening aria ("L' altra notte a +fondo al maro") is full of sad longings for the child and insane +moanings for mercy. Faust appeals to her to fly with him, and they +join in a duet of extraordinary sensuous beauty blended with pathos +("lontano, lontano"). Mephistopheles urges Faust away as the day +dawns, and pronounces her doom as she falls and dies, while the +angelic chorus resounding in the orchestra announces her salvation. + +In the fourth act a most abrupt change is made, both in a dramatic and +musical sense. The scene changes to the "Night of the Classical +Sabbath" on the banks of the Peneus, amid temples, statues, flowers, +and all the loveliness of nature in Greece. The music also changes +into the pure, sensuous Italian style. Faust, still with +Mephistopheles, pays court to Helen of Troy, who is accompanied by +Pantalis. The opening duet for the latter ("La luna immobile") is one +of exceeding grace and loveliness, and will always be the most popular +number in the work. With the exception of a powerfully dramatic scena, +in which Helen describes the horrors of the destruction of Troy, the +music is devoted to the love-making between Helen and Faust, and bears +no relation in form to the rest of the music of the work, being +essentially Italian in its smooth, flowing, melodious character. At +the close of the classical Sabbath another abrupt change is made, to +the death-scene of Faust, contained in an epilogue. It opens in his +laboratory, where he is reflecting upon the events of his +unsatisfactory life, and contemplating a happier existence in heaven. +Mephistopheles is still by his side as the tempter, offers him his +cloak, and urges him to fly again. The heavenly trumpets which rang +through the prologue are again heard, and the celestial choirs are +singing. Enraged, Mephistopheles summons the sirens, who lure Faust +with all their charms. Faust seizes the Sacred Volume, and declares +that he relies upon its word for salvation. He prays for help against +the demon. His prayer is answered; and as he dies a shower of roses +falls upon his body. The tempter disappears, and the finale of the +prologue, repeated, announces Faust has died in salvation. The opera +as a whole is episodical in its dramatic construction, and the music +is a mixture of two styles,--the Wagnerian and the conventional +Italian; but its orchestration is very bold and independent in +character, and the voice-parts are very striking in their adaptation +to the dramatic requirements. + + + + +DELIBES. + +Leo Delibes, the French composer, was born at St. Germain du Val in +1836, and was graduated at the Paris Conservatory, where he reached +high distinction. His first work, written in 1855, was an operetta +entitled "Deux Sous de Carbon;" but he did not make his mark until his +"Maitre Griffard" was produced at the Theatre Lyrique in 1857. In 1865 +he was appointed Chorus-master at the Opera, and there his real career +began. His first great triumph was in ballet-music, which has ever +since been his specialty. His first ballet, "La Source," was produced +at the Opera, Nov. 12, 1865, and delighted all Paris. It was followed +by a divertisement for the revival of Adam's "Corsaire" (1867), the +ballet "Coppelia" (1870), a three-act opera "Le Roi l'a dit" (1873), +and the exquisite ballet in three acts and five tableaux, "Sylvia" +(1876), with which Theodore Thomas has made American audiences +familiar. His opera "Lakme" was written in 1879. + + +LAKME. + +The romantic opera, "Lakme," written in 1879, was first performed in +this country by the American Opera Company in 1886, Mme. L'Allemand +taking the title-role. The principal characters are Lakme, daughter of +Nilakantha, an Indian priest, Gerald and Frederick, officers of the +British Army, Ellen and Rose, daughters of the Viceroy, and Mrs. +Benson, governess. The scene is laid in India. Nilakantha cherishes a +fond hatred of all foreigners. The two English officers, Gerald and +Frederick, accompanied by a bevy of ladies, intrude upon his sacred +grounds. They stroll about and gradually retire, but Gerald remains to +sketch some jewels, which Lakme has left upon a shrine while she goes +flower-gathering with her slave Mallika, evidently also to await +developments when she returns. Lakme soon comes sailing in on her +boat, and there is a desperate case of love at first sight. Their +demonstrations of affection are soon interrupted by the appearance of +the priest, whose anger Gerald escapes by fleeing, under cover of a +convenient thunder-storm. In the next act Lakme and her father appear +in the public market-place, disguised as penitents. He compels his +daughter to sing, hoping that her face and voice will induce her lover +to disclose himself. The ruse proves successful. Nilakantha waits his +opportunity, and stealing upon his enemy stabs him in the back and +makes good his escape. In the third act we find Gerald in a delightful +jungle, where Lakme has in some manner managed to conceal him, and +where she is carefully nursing him with the hope of permanently +retaining his love. She saves his life; but just at this juncture, and +while she is absent to obtain a draught of the water which, according +to the Indian legend, will make earthly love eternal, Gerald hears the +music of his regiment, and Frederick appears and urges him back to +duty. His allegiance to his queen, and possibly the remembrance of his +engagement to a young English girl, prove stronger than his love for +Lakme. The latter returns, discovers his faithlessness, gathers some +poisonous flowers, whose juices she drinks, and dies in Gerald's arms +just as the furious father appears. As one victim is sufficient to +appease the anger of Nilakantha's gods, Gerald is allowed to go +unharmed. + +The first act opens with a chorus of Hindoos, oriental in its +character, followed by a duet between Lakme and her father; the scene +closing with a sacred chant. The Hindoos gone, there is a charming +oriental duet ("'Neath yon Dome where Jasmines with the Roses are +blooming") between Lakme and her slave, which is one of the gems of +the opera. The English then appear and have a long, talky scene, +relieved by a pretty song for Frederick ("I would not give a Judgment +so absurd"), and another for Gerald ("Cheating Fancy coming to mislead +me"). As Lakme enters, Gerald conceals himself. She lays her flowers +at the base of the shrine and sings a restless love-song ("Why love I +thus to stray?"). Gerald discovers himself, and after a colloquy sings +his ardent love-song ("The God of Truth so glowing"), and the act +closes with Nilakantha's threats. + +The second act opens in the market square, lively with the choruses of +Hindoos, Chinamen, fruit-venders, and sailors, and later on with the +adventures of the English party in the crowd. Nilakantha appears and +addresses his daughter in a very pathetic aria ("Lakme, thy soft Looks +are over-clouded"). Soon follows Lakme's bell-song ("Where strays the +Hindoo Maiden?"), a brilliant and highly embellished aria with +tinkling accompaniment, which will always be a favorite. The +recognition follows; and the remaining numbers of importance are an +impassioned song by Gerald ("Ah! then 't is slumbering Love"), with a +mysterious response by Lakme ("In the Forest near at Hand"). A ballet, +followed by the stabbing of Gerald, closes the act. + +In the third act the action hastens to the tragic denouement. It opens +with a beautiful crooning song by Lakme ("'Neath the Dome of Moon and +Star") as she watches her sleeping lover. The remaining numbers of +interest are Gerald's song ("Tho' speechless I, my Heart remembers"), +followed by a pretty three-part chorus in the distance and Lakme's +dying measures, "To me the fairest Dream thou 'st given," and +"Farewell, the Dream is over." Though the opera is monotonous from +sameness of color and lack of dramatic interest, there are many +numbers which leave a charming impression by their grace, refinement, +and genuine poetical effect. + + + + +DONIZETTI. + +Gaetano Donizetti was born at Bergamo, Italy, Sept. 25, 1798. He +studied music both at Bologna and Naples, and then entered the army +rather than subject himself to the caprice of his father, who was +determined that he should devote himself to church music. While his +regiment was at Naples he wrote his first opera, "Enrico di Borgogna" +(1818), which was soon followed by a second, "Il Falegname de +Livonia." The success of the latter was so great that it not only +freed him from military service but gained him the honor of being +crowned. The first opera which spread his reputation through Europe +was "Anna Bolena," produced at Milan in 1830, and written for Pasta +and Rubini. Two years afterwards, "L' Elisir d' Amore" appeared, which +he is said to have written in fifteen days. He wrote with great +facility. "Il Furioso," "Parisina," "Torquato Tasso," "Lucrezia +Borgia," and "Gemma di Vergi" rapidly followed one another. In 1835 he +brought out "Marino Faliero," but its success was small. Ample +compensation was made, however, when in the same year "Lucia" appeared +and was received with acclamations of delight. He was invited to Paris +as the successor of Rossini, and wrote his "Marino Faliero" for the +Theatre des Italiens. In 1840 he revisited Paris and produced "Il +Poliuto," "La Fille du Regiment," and "La Favorita." Leaving Paris he +visited Rome, Milan, and Vienna, bringing out "Linda di Chamouni" in +the latter city. Returning to Paris again, he produced "Don Pasquale" +at the Theatre des Italiens and "Don Sebastien" at the Academie, the +latter proving a failure. His last opera, "Catarina Comaro," was +brought out at Naples in 1844. This work also was a failure. It was +evident that his capacity for work was over. He grew sad and +melancholy, and during the last three years of his life was attacked +by fits of abstraction which gradually intensified and ended in +insanity and physical paralysis. He died at Bergamo, April 8, 1848. + + +THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT. + +"The Daughter of the Regiment" ("La Fille du Regiment") opera comique +in two acts, words by Bayard and St. Georges, was first produced at +the Opera Comique, Paris, Feb. 11, 1840, with Mme. Anna Thillon in the +role of Marie. Its first performance in English was at the Surrey +Theatre, London, Dec. 21, 1847, under the title of "The Daughter of +the Regiment," in which form it is best known in this country. In 1847 +it was performed as an Italian opera in London, with added +recitatives, and with Jenny Lind in the leading part. + +The music of the opera is light and sparkling, the principal interest +centring in the charming nature of the story and its humorous +situations, which afford capital opportunities for comedy acting. The +scene is laid in the Tyrol during its occupation by the French. Marie, +the heroine, and the vivandiere of the Twenty-first regiment of +Napoleon's army, was adopted as the Daughter of the Regiment, because +she was found on the field, after a battle, by Sergeant Sulpice. On +her person was affixed a letter written by her father to the +Marchioness of Berkenfeld, which has been carefully preserved by the +Sergeant. At the beginning of the opera the little waif has grown into +a sprightly young woman, full of mischief and spirit, as is shown by +her opening song ("The Camp was my Birthplace"), in which she tells +the story of her life, and by the duet with Sulpice, known the world +over as "The Rataplan," which is of a very animated, stirring, and +martial character, to the accompaniment of rattling drums and sonorous +brasses. She is the special admiration of Tony, a Tyrolean peasant, +who has saved her from falling over a precipice. The soldiers of the +regiment are profuse in their gratitude to her deliverer, and +celebrate her rescue with ample potations, during which Marie sings +the Song of the Regiment ("All Men confess it"). Poor Tony, however, +who was found strolling in the camp, is placed under arrest as a spy, +though he succeeds in obtaining an interview with Marie and declares +his love for her. The declaration is followed by a charming duet ("No +longer can I doubt it"). Tony manages to clear up his record, and the +soldiers decide that he may have Marie's hand if he will consent to +join them. He blithely accepts the condition and dons the French +cockade. Everything seems auspicious, when suddenly the Marchioness of +Berkenfeld appears and dashes Tony's hopes to the ground. The +Sergeant, as in honor bound, delivers the letter he has been +preserving. After reading it she claims Marie as her niece, and +demands that the regiment shall give up its daughter, while Tony is +incontinently dismissed as an unsuitable person to be connected in any +capacity with her noble family. Marie sings a touching adieu to her +comrades ("Farewell, a long Farewell"), and the act closes with +smothered imprecations on the Marchioness by the soldiers, and +protestations of undying love by Tony. + +The second act opens in the castle of Berkenfeld, where Marie is duly +installed, though she does not take very kindly to her change of +surroundings. The old Sergeant is with her. Grand company is expected, +and the Marchioness desires Marie to rehearse a romance ("The Light of +Early Days was breaking"), which she is to sing to them. + +Before she finishes it she and the Sergeant break out into the +rollicking Rataplan and go through with the military evolutions, to +the horror of the Marchioness. While regret for the absent Tony keeps +her in a sad mood, she is suddenly cheered up by the sound of drums +and fifes, announcing the approach of soldiers. They are the gallant +Twenty-first, with Tony, now a colonel, at their head. He applies once +more for Marie's hand. The soldiers also put in a spirited choral +appeal ("We have come, our Child to free"). The Marchioness again +refuses. Tony proposes an elopement, to which Marie, in resentment at +her aunt's cruelty, consents. To thwart their plans, the Marchioness +reveals to Marie that early in life she had been secretly married to +an officer of lower family position than her own, and that this +officer was Marie's father. Unable to dispute the wishes of her +mother, she renounces Tony in an agony of grief. At last Marie's +sorrow arouses old associations in the mind of the Marchioness, and +she consents to the union of Tony and Marie. + +While the music of the opera is light, it is none the less very +attractive, and the work is nearly always popular when performed by +good artists, owing to the comedy strength of the three leading parts, +Marie, Tony, and the Sergeant. The role of the heroine, small as it +is, has always been a favorite one with such great artists as Jenny +Lind, Patti, Sontag, and Albani, while in this country Miss Kellogg +and Mrs. Richings-Bernard made great successes in the part. The latter +singer, indeed, and her father, whose personation of the Sergeant was +very remarkable, were among the first to perform the work in the +United States. + + +LA FAVORITA. + +"La Favorita," an opera in four acts, words by Royer and Waetz, the +subject taken from the French drama, "Le Comte de Commingues," was +first produced at the Academie, Paris, Dec. 2, 1840, with Mme. Stolz +as Leonora, Duprez as Fernando, and Baroelhst as Balthasar. Its +success in England, where it was first produced Feb. 16, 1847, was +made by Grisi and Mario. The scene of the opera is laid in Spain, and +the first act opens in the convent of St. James, of Compostella, where +the young novice, Fernando, is about to take monastic vows. Before the +rites take place he is seized with a sudden passion for Leonora, a +beautiful maiden who has been worshipping in the cloisters. He +confesses his love to Balthasar, the superior, who orders him to leave +the convent and go out into the world. Leonora, meanwhile, is beloved +by Alphonso, king of Castile, who has provided her a secret retreat on +the island of St. Leon. Though threatened by the pontiff with +excommunication, he has resolved to repudiate his queen, in order that +he may carry out his intention of marrying the beautiful Leonora. To +her asylum a bevy of maidens conducts Fernando. He declares his +passion for her and finds it reciprocated. He urges her to fly with +him, but she declares it impossible, and giving him a commission in +the army signed by the King, urges him to go to the wars and win +honors for her sake. + +In the second act Balthasar, in the name of the pontiff, visits their +retreat and pronounces the papal anathema upon the guilty pair. The +same curse is threatened to all the attendants unless Leonora is +driven from the King, and the act closes with their vengeful menaces. + +In the third act Fernando returns victorious from the war with the +Moors. Already beginning to fear the result of the papal malediction, +and having learned of Leonora's passion for the victor, Alphonso heaps +rewards upon him, even to the extent of giving him Leonora's hand. +Fernando, who is ignorant of her past relations to the King, eagerly +accepts the proffer; but Leonora, in despair, sends her attendant, +Inez, to inform him of the real nature of the situation and implore +his forgiveness. The King intercepts her, and the marriage takes place +at once, Fernando not discovering Leonora's shame until it is revealed +by the courtiers, who avoid him. He flies from the world to the +convent once more for shelter and consolation, followed by Leonora, +who dies in his arms after she has obtained forgiveness. + +The music of the work is very dramatic in its character, some of the +finales being the strongest Donizetti has written. In the first act +there is a beautifully melodious aria ("Una Vergine"), in which +Fernando describes to Balthasar the vision of Leonora which had +appeared to him at his orisons, and a very tender duet ("Deh, vanne! +deh, parti") between Fernando and Leonora, in which they sorrowfully +part from each other. In the second act the King has a very passionate +aria, where he curses his courtiers for leaguing against him at Rome, +followed by a very dramatic duet with Leonora ("Ah! l'alto ardor"). +The third act contains the beautiful aria, "O mio Fernando!" which is +a favorite with all contraltos. It is remarkable for its warmth and +richness, as well as its dramatic spirit, and the act closes with a +concerted finale of splendid power, in which Fernando breaks his +sword, and once more Balthasar anathematizes the King. The fourth act +is the most beautiful of all in its music and the most powerful in +dramatic effect. The chorus of monks in the first scene ("Scaviam +l'asilo") is remarkable for its religious character and solemnity. In +the third scene occurs one of the tenderest and loveliest romanzas +ever written ("Spirto gentil"), which Donizetti transferred to this +work from his opera, "Le Duc d'Albe," which had not been performed, +and the libretto of which was originally written by Scribe for +Rossini. The closing duet between Fernando and Leonora is full of +pathos and beauty, and forms a fitting close to an act which, in one +sense at least, is an inspiration, as the whole act was composed in +four hours,--a proof of the marvellous ease and facility with which +Donizetti wrote. + + +DON PASQUALE. + +"Don Pasquale," an opera buffa in three acts, was first produced at +the Theatre des Italiens in Paris, Jan. 4, 1843, with the following +extraordinary cast: + + NORINA Mme. GRISI. + ERNESTO Sig. MARIO. + DR. MALATESTA Sig. TAMBURINI. + DON PASQUALE Sig. LABLACHE. + +The scene of this brilliant and gay little opera is laid in Rome. Don +Pasquale is in a rage with Ernesto, his nephew, because he will not +marry to suit him. Dr. Malatesta, his friend and physician, who is +also very much attached to the nephew, contrives a plot in the +latter's interest. He visits the Don, and urges him to marry a lady, +pretending that she is his sister, though in reality she is Norina, +with whom Ernesto is in love. He then calls upon Norina, and lets her +into the secret of the plot, and instructs her how to play her part. +She is to consent to the marriage contract, and then so harass the Don +that he will not only be glad to get rid of her, but will give his +consent to her marriage with Ernesto. The second act opens in Don +Pasquale's house, where Ernesto is bewailing his fate. The Don enters, +magnificently dressed, and ready for the marriage. Norina appears with +Malatesta, and feigns reluctance to enter into the contract; but when +the notary arrives she consents to sign. No sooner, however, has she +signed it than she drops her assumed modesty. Ernesto, who is present, +is bewildered at the condition of affairs, but is kept quiet by a sign +from the Doctor. Norina refuses all the Don's amatory demonstrations, +and declares Ernesto shall be her escort. She summons the servants, +and lays out a scheme of housekeeping so extravagant that the Don is +enraged, and declares he will not pay the bills. She insists he shall, +for she is now master of the house. In the third act we find Norina +entertaining milliners and modistes. Don Pasquale enters, and learning +that she is going to the theatre forbids it, which leads to a quarrel, +during which Norina boxes his ears. As she leaves the room she drops a +letter, the reading of which adds the pangs of jealousy to his other +troubles. The Doctor at this juncture happens in and condoles with +him. The Don insists that Norina shall quit his house at once. In the +next scene he taxes her with having a lover concealed in the house, +and orders her to leave. The Doctor counsels him to let his nephew +marry Norina; and in the course of explanations the Don discovers that +the Doctor's sister and Norina are one and the same person, and that +the marriage was a sham. He is only too glad of an escape to quarrel +with the Doctor for his plot, and the young couple are speedily +united, and have the old man's blessing. + +The charm of the opera lies in its comic situations, and the gay, +bright music with which they are illustrated. It is replete with humor +and spirit, and flows along in such a bright stream that it is almost +impossible to cull out special numbers, though it contains two duets +and a quartet which are of more than ordinary beauty, and the +exquisite serenade in the last act, "Com'e gentil," which has been +heard on almost every concert-stage of the world, and still holds its +place in universal popular esteem. For brilliant gayety it stands in +the front rank of all comic operas, though Donizetti was but three +weeks in writing it. It is said that when it was in rehearsal its fate +was uncertain. The orchestra and singers received it very coldly; but +when the rehearsal was over, Donizetti merely shrugged his shoulders +and remarked to his friend, M. Dormoy, the publisher: "Let them alone; +they know nothing about it. I know what is the matter with 'Don +Pasquale.' Come with me." They went to the composer's house. Rummaging +among a pile of manuscripts, Donizetti pulled out a song. "This is +what 'Don Pasquale' wants," he said. "Take it to Mario and tell him to +learn it at once." Mario obeyed, and when the opera was performed sang +it to the accompaniment of a tambourine, which Lablache played behind +the scenes. The opera was a success at once, and no song has ever been +more popular. + +In strange contrast with the gay humor of "Don Pasquale," it may be +stated that in the same year Donizetti wrote the mournful "Don +Sebastian," which has been described as "a funeral in five acts." +Crowest, in his "Anecdotes," declares that the serenade is suggestive +of Highland music, and that many of his other operas are Scottish in +color. He accounts for this upon the theory that the composer was of +Scotch descent, his grandfather having been a native of Perthshire, by +the name of Izett, and that his father, who married an Italian lady, +was Donald Izett. The change from Donald Izett to Donizetti was an +easy one. The story, however, is of doubtful authenticity. + + +LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR. + +"Lucia di Lammermoor," an opera in three acts, words by Cammarano, was +first produced at Naples in 1835, with Mme. Persiani and Sig. Duprez, +for whom the work was written, in the principal roles of Lucia and +Edgardo. Its first presentation at Paris was Aug. 10, 1839; in London, +April 5, 1838; and in English, at the Princess Theatre, London, Jan. +19, 1843. The subject of the opera is taken from Sir Walter Scott's +novel, "The Bride of Lammermoor," and the scene is laid in Scotland, +time, about 1669. + +Sir Henry Ashton, of Lammermoor, brother of Lucy, the heroine, has +arranged a marriage between her and Lord Arthur Bucklaw, in order to +recover the fortune which he has dissipated, and to save himself from +political peril he has incurred by his participation in movements +against the reigning dynasty. Sir Edgar Ravenswood, with whom he is at +enmity, is deeply attached to Lucy, who reciprocates his love, and on +the eve of his departure on an embassy to France pledges herself to +him. During his absence Edgar's letters are intercepted by her +brother, who hints to her of his infidelity, and finally shows her a +forged paper which she accepts as the proof that he is untrue. +Overcome with grief at her lover's supposed unfaithfulness, and +yielding to the pressure of her brother's necessities, she at last +consents to her union with Lord Arthur. The marriage contract is +signed with great ceremony, and just as she has placed her name to the +fatal paper, Edgar suddenly appears. Learning from Lucy what she has +done, he tramples the contract under foot, hurls an imprecation upon +the house of Lammermoor, and bursts out of the room in a terrible +rage. Sir Henry follows him, and a fierce quarrel ensues, which ends +in a challenge. Meanwhile, at night, after the newly wedded couple +have retired, a noise is heard in their apartment. The attendants rush +in and find Lord Arthur dying from wounds inflicted by Lucy, whose +grief has made her insane. When she returns to reason, the thought of +what she has done and the horror of her situation overcome her, and +shortly death puts an end to her wretchedness. Ignorant of her fate, +Edgar goes to the churchyard of Ravenswood, which has been selected as +the rendezvous for the duel with Sir Henry. While impatiently waiting +his appearance, the bell of the castle tolls, and some of the +attendants accosting him bring the news of her death. The despairing +lover kills himself among the graves of his ancestors, and the sombre +story ends. + +The popular verdict has stamped "Lucia" as Donizetti's masterpiece, +and if the consensus of musicians could be obtained, it would +unquestionably confirm the verdict. It contains incomparably the +grandest of his arias for tenor, the Tomb song in the last act, and +one of the finest dramatic concerted numbers, the sextet in the second +act, that can be found in any Italian opera. Like the quartet in +"Rigoletto," it stands out in such bold relief, and is so thoroughly +original and spontaneous, that it may be classed as an inspiration. +The music throughout is of the most sombre character. It does not +contain a joyous phrase. And yet it can never be charged with +monotony. Every aria, though its tone is serious and more often +melancholy, has its own characteristics, and the climaxes are worked +up with great power. In the first act, for instance, the contrasts are +very marked between Henry's aria ("Cruda, funesta smania"), the chorus +of hunters ("Come vinti da stanchezza"), Henry's second aria ("La +pietade in suo favore"), in which he threatens vengeance upon Edgar, +the dramatic and beautifully written arias for Lucy, "Regnava nel +silenzio" and "Quando rapita in estasi," and the passionate farewell +duet between Lucy and Edgar, which is the very ecstasy of commingled +love and sorrow. The second act contains a powerful duet ("Le tradirmi +tu potrai") between Lucy and Henry; but the musical interest of the +act centres in the great sextet, "Chi mi frena," which ensues when +Edgar makes his unexpected appearance upon the scene of the marriage +contract. For beauty, power, richness of melody and dramatic +expression, few concerted numbers by any composer can rival it. The +last act also contains two numbers which are always the delight of +great artists,--the mad song of Lucy, "Oh, gioja che si senti," and +the magnificent tomb scena, "Tomba degl'avi miei," which affords even +the most accomplished tenor ample scope for his highest powers. + + +L'ELISIR D'AMORE. + +"L'Elisir d'Amore," an opera buffa in two acts, words by Romani, was +first produced in Milan, in 1832, and in English, at Drury Lane, in +1839, as "The Love Spell." The heroine of this graceful little opera +is Adina, a capricious country girl, who is loved by Nemorino, a young +farmer, whose uncle lies at the point of death, and by Belcore, a +sergeant, whose troops are billeted upon the neighboring village. +While Adina keeps both these suitors in suspense, Dr. Dulcamara, a +travelling quack, arrives at the village in great state to vend his +nostrums. Nemorino applies to him for a bottle of the Elixir of +Love,--with the magical properties of which he has become acquainted +in a romance Adina has been reading that very morning. The mountebank, +of course, has no such liquid, but he passes off on the simple peasant +a bottle of wine, and assures him that if he drinks of it he can +command the love of any one on the morrow. To thoroughly test its +efficacy, Nemorino drinks the whole of it. When he encounters Adina he +is half tipsy, and accosts her in such disrespectful style that she +becomes enraged, and determines to give her hand to the sergeant, and +promises to marry him in a week. Meanwhile an order comes for the +departure of the sergeant's detachment, and he begs her to marry him +the same day. She gives her consent, and the second act opens with the +assembling of the villagers to witness the signing of the marriage +contract. While the sergeant, Adina, and the notary have retired to +sign and witness the contract, Nemorino enters in despair, and finding +Dulcamara enjoying a repast, he implores him to give him some charm +that will make Adina love him at once. Having no money, the quack +refuses to assist him, and Nemorino is again plunged into despair. At +this juncture the sergeant enters, not in the best of humor, for Adina +has declined to sign the contract until evening. Discovering that +Nemorino wants money, he urges him to enlist. The bonus of twenty +crowns is a temptation. Nemorino enlists, takes the money, hurries to +the quack, and obtains a second bottle of the elixir, which is much +more powerful than the first. In the next scene the girls of the +village have discovered that Nemorino's uncle has died and left him +all the property, though Nemorino himself has not heard of it. They +crowd about him, trying to attract his attention with their charms and +blandishments. He attributes his sudden popularity to the effects of +the elixir, and even the quack is somewhat bewildered at the +remarkable change. Nemorino now determines to pay Adina off in kind, +and at last rouses her jealousy. Meanwhile Dulcamara acquaints her +with the effects of the elixir and advises her to try some of it, and +during the interview inadvertently informs her of Nemorino's +attachment for her. Struck with his devotion, she repays the sergeant +herself, announces her change of mind, and bestows her hand upon the +faithful Nemorino. Like "Don Pasquale," the opera is exceedingly +graceful in its construction, and very bright and gay in its musical +effects, particularly in the duets, of which there are two,--one +between Dulcamara and Nemorino in the first act ("Obbligato, ah! si +obbligato"), and one between Dulcamara and Adina in the second act +("Quanto amore! ed io spietata"), which are charming in their spirit +and humor. There is also an admirable buffo song in the first act, +beginning with the recitative, "Udite, udite, o rustici," in which the +Doctor describes his wares to the rustics, and a beautiful romanza in +the second act for tenor ("Una furtiva lagrima"), which is of +world-wide popularity, and bears the same relation to the general +setting of the work that the Serenade does to "Don Pasquale." + + +LUCREZIA BORGIA. + +"Lucrezia Borgia," an opera in three acts, words by Romani, was first +produced at La Scala, Milan, in 1834. The subject was taken from +Victor Hugo's tragedy of the same name, and its text was freely +adapted by Romani. When it was produced in Paris, in 1840, Victor Hugo +took steps to suppress any further representations. The libretto was +then rewritten, under the title of "La Rinegata," the Italian +characters were changed to Turks, and in this mutilated form the +performances were resumed. It was in this opera that Signor Mario made +his English debut, in 1839, with great success. Its first presentation +in English was at London, Dec. 30, 1843. + +The history of Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Rodrigo Borgia, afterwards +Pope Alexander VI., and sister of Caesar Borgia, is too well known to +need recapitulation. It is necessary to the comprehension of the story +of the opera, however, to state that she had an illegitimate son, +named Genarro, who was left when an infant with a fisherman, but who +subsequently entered the Venetian army and rose to an eminent rank. +The opera opens with a brilliant festival in the gardens of the +Barberigo Palace, which is attended by Genarro, Orsini, and others, +all of them cordial haters of the detestable Borgias. While they are +telling tales of Lucrezia's cruel deeds, Genarro lies down and goes to +sleep, and Orsini in a spirited aria ("Nelle fatal di Rimini") relates +to his companions the story of Genarro's gallantry at the battle of +Rimini. As they leave, Lucrezia approaches, masked, in a gondola, and +is received by Gubetta, with whom she has come to Venice on some +secret errand. She discovers Genarro asleep, and expresses her delight +at his beauty, and at the same time her maternal love, in a brilliant +aria ("Com'e bello"). As she kisses his hand he wakes, and in the duet +which follows tells her the story of his early life in an exquisite +romanza ("Di pescatore ignobile"), which is one of the most familiar +numbers in Italian opera. He begs her to reveal her name, but she +refuses. As he continues to implore her, his friends return and +denounce her to Genarro as the hated Borgia, in a concerted number +("Chi siam noi sol chiarirla") of great dramatic power, which closes +the first act. + +The second act opens in the public square of Ferrara, with the palace +of the Borgias on the right. The Duke Alphonso, Lucrezia's husband, +who has been observant of Lucrezia's attachment to Genarro, vows +vengeance in a passionate aria ("Vieni la mia vendetta"). In the next +scene Genarro, who has been taunted by his friends with being a victim +of Lucrezia's fascinations, recklessly rushes up to the palace door +and strikes off the first letter of her name with his dagger. When +Lucrezia discovers the insult, she demands of the Duke that the guilty +person shall be arrested and condemned to death. The Duke has already +seized Genarro, and agrees to carry out his wife's demands. When the +prisoner is brought before them for judgment, she is horror-stricken +to find he is her son. She implores his life, but the infuriated Duke +retaliates upon her with the declaration that she is his paramour. The +duet between them ("O! a te bada"), in which Lucrezia passes from +humble entreaties to rage and menace, is a fine instance of +Donizetti's dramatic power. The Duke, however, is resolute in his +determination, and will only allow her to choose the mode of Genarro's +death. She selects the Borgia wine, which is poisoned. Genarro is +called in, and after a trio ("Le ti tradisce"), which is one of the +strongest numbers in the opera, he is given the fatal draught under +the pretence of a farewell greeting from the Duke, who then leaves +mother and son together. She gives him an antidote, and he is thus +saved from the fate which the Duke had intended for him. + +The last act opens at a banquet in the palace of the Princess Negroni, +which is attended by Genarro and his friends, Lucrezia, meanwhile, +supposing that he has gone to Venice. During the repast she has +managed to poison their wine. In the midst of the gay revel Orsini +sings the popular drinking-song, "Il segreto per esser felici," which +is now familiar the world over. The festivities are interrupted, +however, by the appearance of Lucrezia, who reveals herself with the +taunting declaration: "Yes, I am Borgia. A mournful dance ye gave me +in Venice, and I return ye a supper in Ferrara." She then announces +that they are poisoned. The music is changed with great skill from the +wild revelry of drinking-songs to the sombre strains of approaching +death. Five coffins are shown them, when Genarro suddenly reveals +himself to Lucrezia and asks for the sixth. The horror-stricken woman +again perceives that her son has been poisoned by her own hand. As his +companions leave the apartment she implores Genarro to take the +antidote once more, and at last reveals herself as his mother. He +steadily refuses to save himself, however, since his companions have +to die, and expires in her arms just as the Duke and his followers +enter. She discloses Genarro's relationship, and then dies with the +despairing cry on her lips that Heaven has pronounced its final +judgment upon her. Among all of Donizetti's operas, not one, unless it +be "Lucia," is more popular than "Lucrezia Borgia," which may be +attributed to the fact that while the story itself is one of +fascinating dramatic interest, the musical numbers are simple, +beautiful, and effective. + + + + +FLOTOW. + +Friedrich von Flotow was born April 27, 1812, in the duchy of +Mecklenberg-Schwerin, and in 1827 went to Paris, where he studied +music under Reicha. His first work was "Stradella," a mere sketch in +its original form, which was brought out at the Palais Royal in 1837; +but his first public success was made in 1839, with his opera, "Le +Naufrage de la Meduse," which had a run, and was afterwards produced +in Germany under the title of "Die Matrosen." "L'Esclave de Camoens" +appeared in Paris in 1843; "Stradella," rewritten as an opera, in +Hamburg (1844); "L'Ame en peine," in Paris (1846); "Martha," in Vienna +(1847). The works of his later period, which never equalled his +earlier ones in popularity, were "Die Grossfuerstin" (1850); "Indra" +(1853); "Rubezahl" (1854); "Hilda" (1855); "Der Mueller von Meran" +(1856); "La Veuve Grapin" (1859); "L'Ombre" (1869); "Naida" (1873); +"Il Flor d'Harlem" (1876); and "Enchanteresse" (1878). Of these later +works, "L'Ombre" was the most successful, and was received with favor +in France, Italy, Spain, and England, in which latter country it was +performed under the title of "The Phantom." In 1856 he received the +appointment of Intendant of the theatre of the Grand Duke of +Mecklenberg, and he entered upon his duties with high hopes of making +the theatre exercise the same influence upon music in Germany as the +Weimar stage; but court intrigues and rivalries of artists so +disgusted him that he resigned in 1863 and went to Paris, and a few +years later to Vienna, where he took up his abode. Outside of a few of +his operas his works are little known, though he composed a +"Fackeltanz," some incidental music to the "Winter's Tale" of +Shakspeare, and several overtures, songs, and chamber-pieces. An +interesting episode in his career occurred in 1838, when he brought +out an opera in three acts, the "Duc de Guise," at the Theatre de la +Renaissance, the libretto based upon Dumas's "Henri III." The +performance was organized by the Princess Czartoryska, for the benefit +of the Poles. Mme. de Lagrange made her debut in a leading part, and +the parts of the choristers were filled by duchesses and princesses of +the Faubourg St. Germain, upon whose persons two million dollars worth +of diamonds were blazing,--sufficient evidence that the performance +was brilliant in at least one sense. He died at Wiesbaden, Jan. 24, +1883. + + +MARTHA. + +"Martha," an opera in three acts, libretto by St. Georges, translated +into German by Friedrich, was first produced at Vienna, Nov. 25, 1847, +with Mlle. Anna Zerr in the title-role, Herr Ander as Lionel, and Carl +Formes as Plunkett. It was first produced in English and Italian at +London in 1858, and in French at Paris in 1865. The history of its +origin is interesting. M. de St. Georges, at the request of the +manager of the Paris Grand Opera, wrote in 1842 the libretto to a +ballet entitled "Lady Henrietta, or the Servant of Greenwich," the +subject being suggested to him by the adventures of two ladies of his +acquaintance who had mingled with servants at a fair. The music was +confided to three composers. The first act was given to Herr von +Flotow, the second to Herr Burgmuller, and the third to M. Deldeves. +The ballet had such a remarkable success, and Flotow was so delighted +with the plot, that he entreated St. Georges to rewrite it for an +opera. The latter consented, and the result of their collaboration was +the appearance of one of the most popular operas which has ever been +placed upon the stage. + +The scene of the opera is laid at Richmond, England, and the time is +during the reign of Queen Anne, though the Italian version places it +in the fifteenth century, and the French in the nineteenth. Lady +Henrietta, an attendant upon the Queen, tired of the amusements of +court life, contrives a plan to visit the servants' fair at Richmond +disguised as a servant-girl, and accompanied by Nancy, her maid, and +Sir Tristan, her somewhat aged cousin, who is also her devoted +admirer. In the first three scenes their plans are laid much to the +disgust of Sir Tristan, who is to pass as John, while his fair cousin +masquerades as Martha. The duet between the ladies ("Of the Knights so +brave and charming"), and the trio with Tristan, are in dance time, +and full of animation. The fourth scene opens in the market-place at +Richmond, where the people are gathering to the fair. Thither also +resort Plunkett, a farmer, and Lionel, his brother by adoption, whose +parentage is unknown, and who has no souvenir of his father except a +ring which has been left for him, with instructions to present it to +the Queen if he ever finds himself in trouble. Lionel tells his story +in an aria ("Lost, proscribed, an humble Stranger") which is +universally popular, and the melody of which has been set to various +words. They have come to the fair to procure help for their farm. +While the sheriff, according to law, is binding the girls for a year's +service, Plunkett and Lionel meet Martha and Nancy, and are so +delighted with their appearance that they tender them the customary +bonus, or "earnest-money," which secures them. Too late for escape, +they find that they are actually engaged, and they are obliged to +drive away with the young farmers, leaving Sir Tristan in despair. + +The second act opens in the farm-house, where the four have arrived. +The farmers inquire their names, and seek to find out what they can +do, testing them first at the spinning-wheel. The spinning quartet +("When the Foot the Wheel turns lightly") is very gay and full of +humor, and is one of the most delightful concerted numbers in the +opera. The brothers soon find that their new servants are useless, but +they are so pleased with them that they decide to keep them. At last +Nancy, in a pet, kicks her wheel over and runs off, followed by +Plunkett. Lionel, left alone with Martha, grows very tender to the new +servant, and at last finds himself violently in love. He snatches a +rose from her bosom, and refuses to return it unless she will consent +to sing. She replies with the familiar ballad, "'Tis the last Rose of +Summer," which Flotow has interpolated in this scene, and in the +performance of which he makes a charming effect by introducing the +tenor in the close. Her singing only makes him the more desperately +enamoured, and he asks her to be his wife on the spot, only to find +himself the victim of Martha's sport, although his devotion and +sincerity have made a deep impression upon her. Plunkett and Nancy at +last return, and another charming quartet follows ("Midnight sounds"), +better known as the "Good Night Quartet." The two brothers retire, but +Martha and Nancy, aided by Tristan, who has followed them and +discovered their whereabouts, make good their escape. The next scene +opens in the woods, where several farmers are drinking and carousing, +among them Plunkett, who sings a rollicking drinking-song ("I want to +ask you"). Their sport is interrupted by a hunting-party, composed of +the Queen and her court ladies. Plunkett and Lionel recognize their +fugitive servants among them, though the ladies disclaim all knowledge +of them. Plunkett attempts to seize Nancy, but the huntresses attack +him and chase him away, leaving Lionel and Lady Henrietta together +again. The scene contains two of the most beautiful numbers in the +opera,--the tenor solo, "Like a Dream bright and fair" ("M' appari" in +the Italian version), and a romance for soprano ("Here in deepest +forest Shadows"); and the act closes with a beautiful concerted +finale, quintet and chorus, which is worked up with great power. In +this finale the despairing Lionel bethinks him of his ring. He gives +it to Plunkett, desiring him to present it to the Queen. By means of +the jewel it is discovered that he is the only son of the late Earl of +Derby, and she orders his estates, of which he has been unjustly +deprived, to be restored to him. + +The last act is not important in a musical sense, for the climax is +attained in the previous finale. The dramatic denouement is soon +reached, and the Lady Henrietta, who has for some time been seriously +in love with Lionel, is at last united to him; and it is almost +needless to add that the fortunes of Plunkett and Nancy are also +joined. The charm of "Martha" is its liveliness in action and +tunefulness in music. Though not a great opera from a musical point of +view, it is one of the most popular in the modern repertory, and +though few others have been performed so many times, it still retains +that popularity. Its melodies, though sung in every country of the +civilized world by amateurs and professional artists, have not yet +lost their charms. + + +STRADELLA. + +"Stradella," a romantic opera in three acts, was first written as a +lyric drama and produced at the Palais Royal Theatre, Paris, in 1837, +and was subsequently rewritten in its present form under the title of +"Alessandro Stradella" and produced at Hamburg, Dec. 30, 1844. The +English version, which was somewhat altered by Bunn, was produced in +London, June 6, 1846. The story follows the historic narrative of +Stradella, the Italian musician, except in the denouement. Stradella +woos and wins Leonora, the fair ward of Bassi, a rich Venetian +nobleman, with whom the latter is himself in love. They fly to Rome +and are married. Bassi hires two bravoes, Barbarino and Malvolio, to +follow them and kill Stradella. They track him to his house, and while +the bridal party are absent enter and conceal themselves, Bassi being +with them. Upon this occasion, however, they do not wait to accomplish +their purpose. Subsequently they gain admission again in the guise of +pilgrims, and are hospitably received by Stradella. In the next scene +Stradella, Leonora, and the two bravoes are together in the same +apartment, singing the praises of their native Italy. During their +laudations the chorus of a band of pilgrims on their way to the shrine +of the Virgin is heard, and Leonora and Stradella go out to greet +them. The bravoes have been so moved by Stradella's singing that they +hesitate in their purpose. Bassi enters and upbraids them, and +finally, by the proffer of a still larger sum, induces them to consent +to carry out his design. They conceal themselves. Stradella returns +and rehearses a hymn to the Virgin which he is to sing at the +festivities on the morrow. Its exquisite beauty touches them so deeply +that they rush out of their hiding-place, and falling at his feet +confess the object of their visit and implore his forgiveness. Leonora +enters, and is astonished to find her guardian present. Explanations +follow, a reconciliation is effected, and the lovers are happy. The +denouement differs from the historical story, which, according to +Bonnet, Bourdelot, and others, ends with the death of the lovers at +Genoa, at the hands of the hired assassins. + +The opera is one of the most charming of Flotow's works for its apt +union of very melodious music with dramatic interest. Its most +beautiful numbers are Stradella's serenade ("Horch, Liebchen, +horch!"), the following nocturne ("Durch die Thaeler, ueber Huegel"), the +brilliant and animated carnival chorus ("Freudesausen, Jubelbrausen") +of the masqueraders who assist in the elopement, in the first act; the +aria of Leonora in her bridal chamber ("Seid meiner Wonne"), the +rollicking drinking-song of the two bravoes ("'Raus mit dem Nass aus +dem Fass") and the bandit ballad ("Tief in den Abruzzen ") sung by +Stradella, in the second act; an exquisite terzetto ("Sag doch an, +Freund Barbarino") sung by Bassi and the two bravoes when they +hesitate to perform their work, and Stradella's lovely hymn to the +Virgin ("Jungfrau Maria! Himmlisch verklaerte"), in the last act. + + + + +GLUCK. + +Christoph Willibald Gluck, one of the most eminent of German operatic +composers, was born at Weidenwang in the Upper Palatinate, July 2, +1714. He began his musical studies in a Bohemian Jesuits' School at +the age of twelve. In his eighteenth year he went to Prague, where he +continued his education with Czernhorsky. Four years later he was +fortunate enough to secure Prince Melzi for a patron, who sent him to +Milan, where he completed his studies with Sammartini. From 1741 to +1745 he produced numerous operas, which were well received, and in the +latter year visited London, where he brought out several works, among +them "La Caduta de' Giganti." His English experience was far from +satisfactory, and he soon returned to Germany, stopping at Paris on +the way, where Rameau's operas had a strong influence upon him. From +1746 to 1762 he wrote a large number of operas, with varying success +so far as performance was concerned, but with great and lasting +benefit to his style and fame, as was shown when his "Orpheus" was +first produced, Oct. 5, 1762. Its success determined him at once to +acquaint the musical world with his purpose to reform the opera by +making it dramatically musical instead of purely lyric, thus paving +the way for the great innovator of Baireuth. "Alceste," produced in +1767, was the first embodiment of these ideas. Strong criticism +greeted it, to which he replied with "Iphigenie en Aulide," written in +1772, and performed for the first time in Paris two years later, under +the auspices of Marie Antoinette, who had once been his pupil. It was +followed by "Orpheus and Eurydice," adapted from his earlier work of +the same name, which met with brilliant success. In 1777 he brought +out "Armide." It aroused an unprecedented excitement. Piccini was at +that time in Paris. He was the representative of the old Italian +school. His partisans gathered about him, and a furious war was waged +between the Gluckists and Piccinists for three or four years; the +combatants displaying a bitterness of criticism and invective even +worse than that which Wagner brought down upon his devoted head. When +Gluck brought out his great work, "Iphigenie en Tauride," in 1779, +however, the Piccinists quitted the field and acknowledged the +reformer's superiority. "Echo et Narcisse" was written in the same +year, but "Iphigenie en Tauride" was his last great work. He retired +shortly afterwards to Vienna, where he died Nov. 15, 1787. + + +ORPHEUS. + +"Orpheus," the libretto by the Italian poet Calzabigi, was first +produced at Vienna, Oct. 5, 1762, and for the first time outlined the +new ideas which Gluck had advanced for the reform of the lyric stage. +Twelve years later the composer revised the work. Several new numbers +were added, its acts were extended to three, and the principal role +was rewritten for a high tenor in place of the alto, to whom it had +been originally assigned. In this form it was brought out at the Paris +Academie, Aug. 2, 1774. In 1859 it was revived in Paris, for which +occasion Berlioz restored the original alto part for Mme. +Viardot-Garcia. With its performances in this country by the American +Opera Troupe during the season of 1885-86, under the direction of Mr. +Theodore Thomas, our readers are already familiar. The three soloists +during that season were Helene Hastreiter, Emma Juch, and Minnie +Dilthey. + +The story, except in its denouement, closely follows the antique +legend. After performing the funeral rites of Eurydice, Orpheus +resolves to seek for her in the world of Shades, having received +permission from Zeus upon condition that he will not look upon her +until they have safely returned. Orpheus descends to Hades; and though +his way is barred by phantoms, his pleading appeals and the tender +tones of his harp induce them to make way for him. He finds Eurydice +in the Elysian fields, and taking her by the hand leads her on to the +upper world. In a fatal moment he yields to her desire to see him, and +she sinks back lifeless. Love, however, comes to the rescue, and full +of compassion restores her. Thus the happy lovers are reunited; and +the opera closes without the tragic denouement of the old myth. In the +American performances the opera was divided into four acts, which is +the order we shall follow. + +The short overture is characterized by a grandeur and solemnity that +well befit the pathetic story. The curtain rises upon a grotto +containing the tomb of Eurydice, against which Orpheus mournfully +leans, while upon its steps youths and maidens are strewing flowers as +they chant the sombre song, "Ah! in our still and mournful Meadow." +The sad wail of Orpheus upon the single word "Eurydice" is heard +through its strains, which continually increase in solemnity. At last, +as if too much to bear, Orpheus interrupts their threnody with the +words, "The Sounds of your Lament increase my bitter Anguish." The +chorus in reply resumes its melancholy tribute to Eurydice and then +retires, leaving Orpheus alone, who in a monologue full of pathos and +sorrow ("My Eurydice! my Eurydice! lost forever"), sings his grief and +implores the gods to restore his loved one. In answer to his prayer, +Amor, god of love, appears and announces that the gods have been moved +to compassion; and if his song and lyre can appease the phantoms, +death shall give back Eurydice upon the conditions already named. The +act closes with the joyful song of Orpheus: "Will pitying Heaven with +wondrous Favor restore mine own?" + +The second act opens in the abysses of the underworld. Flames shoot up +amid great masses of rock and from yawning caverns, throwing their +lurid glare upon the phantoms, who writhing in furious indignation +demand in wild and threatening chorus, as the tones of Orpheus's lyre +are heard, "Who through this awful Place, thinking alive to pass, +rashly dares venture here?" Madly they call upon Cerberus "to kill thy +new Prey here." The barking of the triple-headed monster is heard in +the tones of the orchestra. They surround Orpheus as he approaches, +and with renewed clamor continue this thrilling chorus. In the midst +of its cruel intensity is heard the appealing voice of Orpheus ("In +Pity be moved by my Grief"). With overwhelming wrath comes the +reiterated monosyllable, "No," from the Furies,--one of the most +daring and powerful effects ever made in dramatic music,--followed by +another appalling chorus, as they announce to him, "These are the +Depths of Hell, where the Avengers dwell." At last they are touched by +the charm of his music and the sorrow of his story; and as their fury +dies away, the song of Orpheus grows more exultant as he contemplates +the reunion with Eurydice. + +The gates of the lower world are opened, and in the third act Orpheus +enters Elysium. The scene begins with a tender, lovely song by +Eurydice and her companions ("In this tranquil and lovely Abode of the +Blest"), the melody taken by the flute with string accompaniment. All +is bright and cheerful and in striking contrast with the gloom and +terror of the Stygian scene we have just left. After a short +recitative ("How mild a Day, without a Noon"), Orpheus seeks her. She +is brought to him by a crowd of shadows; and breaking out in joyful +song he takes her by the hand and turns his face to the upper world. + +The fourth act is almost entirely an impassioned duet between Orpheus +and Eurydice. He releases her hand for fear that he may turn and look +upon her. Eurydice chides him ("Am I changed or grown old that thou +wilt not behold me?"). In vain he urges her to follow him. She +upbraids him for his coldness, and demands one glance as a test of his +love. He still refuses, and then she sorrowfully bids him farewell. At +last, overcome with weariness and sorrow, he gazes upon her; and at +that instant she falls lifeless. Then Orpheus breaks out in that +immortal song, the _Che faro senza Eurydice_ ("I have lost my +Eurydice"), the beauty and pathos of which neither time nor change of +musical custom can ever mar. He is about to take his life with his +sword; but Amor suddenly appears upon the scene, stays his hand, and +tells him the gods are moved by his sufferings. He restores Eurydice +to life, and the opera closes with a beautiful terzetto in Love's +temple. The denouement is followed by ballet music. + + + + +GOETZ. + +Hermann Goetz, to whose life attaches a mournful interest, was born at +Koenigsberg, Dec. 17, 1840. He had no regular instruction in music +until his seventeenth year. At that period he began his studies with +Koehler, and then passed successively under the tuition of Stern, +Ulrich, and Von Buelow. At the age of twenty-three he obtained a +position as organist at Winterthur, and also taught at Zurich. It was +during this time that he composed his opera, "The Taming of the +Shrew," meanwhile supporting himself as he best could, sometimes +struggling with actual poverty. For years he attempted to secure a +hearing for his opera; but it was not until 1874 that its great merit +was recognized, for in that year it was produced at Mannheim with +instant success. Its fame travelled all over Germany. It was performed +in Vienna in 1875, and the same year in Leipsic and Berlin, and +reached London in 1878. It was not heard in this country until the +season of 1885-86, when it was produced by the American Opera Company. +The composer did not live long enough, however, to enjoy the fruits of +his work, as he died in 1876. He also left behind him an unfinished +score of a second opera, "Francesca di Rimini," which was completed by +his friend Franke at his request, but proved a failure. His other +works include a symphony in F, a suite for orchestra, and many chamber +compositions. + + +THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. + +"The Taming of the Shrew," as related in the sketch of the composer's +life, was written about the year 1863, and first produced at Mannheim +in 1872. Its first performance in this country was in January, 1886, +when the cast was as follows:-- + + KATHARINE PAULINE L'ALLEMAND. + BIANCA KATE BENSBERG. + PETRUCHIO WILLIAM H. LEE. + BAPTISTA W.H. HAMILTON. + LUCENTIO W.H. FESSENDEN. + HORTENSIO ALONZO STODDARD. + A TAILOR JOHN HOWSON. + +The libretto is freely adapted from Shakspeare's comedy by Joseph +Victor Widmann. The plot is very simple. Baptista, a rich Paduan +gentleman, has two daughters,--Katharine, the shrew, and Bianca, of +sweet and lovable disposition. Both Hortensio and Lucentio are in love +with Bianca; but the obdurate father will not listen to either until +Katharine shall have been married. In this apparently hopeless +situation a gleam of comfort appears, in the suit which the rich +gallant Petruchio, of Verona, pays to Katharine, in disgust with the +sycophants who have been manifesting such deference to his wealth. The +remainder of the story is occupied with the details of the various +processes by which he breaks and tames the shrew, and the ingenious +ruse by which Lucentio gains the hand of the lovely Bianca. + +The curtain rises upon a night scene in Padua, with Lucentio before +Bianca's house singing a melodious serenade. Its strains are +interrupted, however, by a hurly-burly in the house, caused by the +shrew's demonstrations. The tumult is transferred to the street, and +gives occasion for a very vigorous ensemble. When the crowd disperses, +Lucentio resumes his serenade, Bianca appears upon the balcony, and +the two join in a very pleasing duet. This number is also interrupted +by Hortensio, at the head of a band of street musicians, who has also +come to serenade his mistress. The encounter of the two lovers brings +on a quarrel, which is averted, however, by the interposition of +Baptista. A duet follows between them, at the close of which Lucentio +retires. Petruchio now appears upon the scene, and learns from +Hortensio of Katharine's vixenish disposition, which determines him to +woo her. With a stirring song ("She is a Wife for such a Man +created"), the act comes to an end. + +The second act opens in a chamber in Baptista's house, where Katharine +is berating Bianca for accepting serenades from suitors, and abuses +her even to blows. The scene closes with a vigorous song for Katharine +("I'll give myself to no one"), which is greeted with cynical applause +by Petruchio, Baptista, Lucentio, and Hortensio, who enter, the last +two disguised as teachers. In the next scene, Petruchio and Katharine +alone, we have the turbulent wooing, which is accompanied throughout +by characteristic music. As the others return Petruchio announces his +success in the song, "All is well," the theme of which is taken by the +quintet, closing the act. + +The third is the most interesting act of the three. It opens on the +day selected for the wedding of Katharine and Petruchio, in Baptista's +garden; the first number being a charming quintet for Katharine, +Bianca, Lucentio, Hortensio, and Baptista. The guests are present, but +Petruchio is not there. An explanation is made, followed by a chorus +as the guests leave; and then Bianca is free to take her lessons, in +one of which Lucentio makes his avowal of love to her. The arrangement +of the two lessons is both unique and skilful. Lucentio turns the +familiar opening lines of the AEneid, "Arma virumque cano," etc., into +a love-song by declarations interposed between them; while Hortensio +explains the mysteries of the scale to her, each line of his love-song +beginning with one of its letters. It is soon found, however, that +Lucentio is the accepted lover. Baptista now enters and announces +Petruchio's return, which leads to a charming quartet. The finale of +the opera, which is very spirited, includes the preparations for the +marriage-feast, the wedding, and the scene in which Petruchio abruptly +forces his bride to leave with him for his country house. + + + + +GOLDMARK. + +Karl Goldmark was born at Keszthely, Hungary, May 18, 1832. He first +studied with the violinist Jansa at Vienna, and in his fifteenth year +entered the Conservatory in that city. Little is known of the events +of his early life. Indeed, his success in his profession is generally +credited more to his native ability and industry than to the influence +of teachers or schools. He began composition at an early period, and +produced his works in concerts with much success under the +encouragement of Hellmesberger and others, who recognized his ability +before he had made any impression out of Vienna. Four of his +compositions during the past fifteen years, the "Sakuntala" overture, +the operas "The Queen of Sheba" and "Merlin," and "Die Iaendliche +Hochzeit" (The Country Wedding) symphony have made a permanent +reputation for him. The overture and operas have been performed +several times in this country. Besides these he has written several +pieces of chamber music. + + +THE QUEEN OF SHEBA. + +"The Queen of Sheba" was first produced in Vienna, March 10, 1875, and +was first heard in this country at New York, Dec. 2, 1885, when the +cast was as follows:-- + + KING SOLOMON Herr ROBINSON. + HIGH-PRIEST Herr FISCHER. + SULAMITH Frauelein LEHMANN. + ASSAD Herr STRITT. + BAAL HANAN Herr ALEXI. + QUEEN OF SHEBA Frau KRAMER-WEIDL. + ASTAROTH Frauelein BRANDT. + +The libretto by Mosenthal is one of rare excellence in its skilful +treatment of situations and arrangement of scenes with the view to +spectacular and dramatic effect. The Biblical story has but little to +do with the action of the opera beyond the mere fact of the famous +visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon. The stirring episodes during +the journey and the visit spring from the librettist's imagination. +The story in substance is as follows:-- + +King Solomon, learning of the Queen's intention to visit him, sends +his favorite courtier Assad to escort her. While she waits outside the +gates of Jerusalem, Assad announces her arrival to the King and +Sulamith, the daughter of the high-priest, to whom the courtier is +affianced. Observing his disturbed looks, the King, after dismissing +his attendants, inquires the cause. Assad replies that on their +journey through the forest he had encountered a nymph bathing whose +beauty had so impressed him as to banish even the thoughts of his +affianced. The wise Solomon counsels him to marry Sulamith at once. +Meanwhile the Queen comes into the King's presence, and as she lifts +her veil reveals the unknown fair one. She affects ignorance of +Assad's passion; but when she learns that he is to wed Sulamith love +for him springs up in her own breast. Upon the day of the wedding +ceremony Assad, carried away by his longing for the Queen, declares +her to be his divinity, and is condemned to death for profaning the +Temple. Both the Queen and Sulamith appeal to the King for mercy. He +consents at last to save his life, but banishes him to the desert. The +Queen seeks him there, and makes an avowal of her love; but Assad +repulses her. As Sulamith comes upon the scene a simoom sweeps across +the desert. They perish in each other's arms; while in a mirage the +Queen and her attendants are seen journeying to their home. + +The first act opens in the great hall of Solomon's palace with a +brilliant, joyous chorus ("Open the Halls, adorn the Portals") in +praise of the King's glory. After the entrance of the high-priest, +Sulamith sings a fascinating bridal song ("My own Assad returns"), +richly oriental both in music and sentiment, dreamy and luxurious in +its tone, and yet full of joyous expectation, with characteristic +choral refrain and dainty accompaniment. The fourth and fifth scenes +are full of agitation and unrest, and lead up to Assad's explanation +of his perturbed condition ("At Lebanon's Foot I met Arabia's Queen"), +a monologue aria of rich glowing color and reaching a fine dramatic +climax as it progresses from its sensuous opening to the passionate +intensity of its finale. It is followed by the entrance of the Queen, +accompanied by a brilliant march and a jubilant chorus ("To the Sun of +the South our Welcome we bring") and a stirring concerted number, +describing the recognition of the Queen by Assad; after which the +chorus resumes its jubilant strain, bringing the act to a close. + +The second act opens in the gardens of the palace and discloses the +Queen, who gives expression to her love for Assad and her hatred of +Sulamith in an impassioned aria ("Let me from the festal Splendor"). +In the second scene Astaroth, her slave, appears and lures Assad by a +weird strain, which is one of the most effective passages in the opera +("As the Heron calls in the Reeds"). After a short arioso by Assad +("Magical Sounds, intoxicating Fragrance"), a passionate duet with the +Queen follows, interrupted by the call of the Temple-guard to prayer. +The scene changes to the interior of the sanctuary with its religious +service; and with it the music changes also to solemn Hebrew melodies +with the accompaniment of the sacred instruments, leading up to the +stirring finale in which Assad declares his passion for the Queen, +amid choruses of execration by the people. + +The third act opens in the banquet-hall upon a scene of festivity +introduced by the graceful bee dance of the Almas. It is followed by +the powerful appeal of the Queen for Assad's life, rising to an +intensely dramatic pitch as she warns the King of the revenge of her +armed hosts ("When Sheba's iron Lances splinter and Zion's Throne in +Ruins falls"). In sad contrast comes the mournful chant which +accompanies Sulamith as she passes to the vestal's home ("The Hour +that robbed me of him"), and ends in her despairing cry rising above +the chorus of attendants as Solomon also refuses her petition. + +The last act passes in the desert. Assad beneath a solitary palm-tree +laments the destiny which pursues him ("Whither shall I wend my weary +Steps?"). In the next scene the Queen appears, and an agitated duet +follows, ending with her repulse. Assad in despair calls upon death to +relieve him. The sky darkens. Clouds of sand envelop the fugitive. The +palm bends before the blast as the simoom sweeps by. The storm at last +subsides. The sky grows brighter; and the Queen and her attendants, +with their elephants and camels, appear in a mirage journeying +eastward as Sulamith and her lover expire in each other's arms. As +their duet dies away, the chorus of maidens brings the act to a close +with a few strains from the love-song in the first act. + + +MERLIN. + +The opera of "Merlin" was first performed at Vienna, Nov. 17, 1886, +and was heard for the first time in this country at New York, Jan. 3, +1887, under the direction of Mr. Walter Damrosch, with the following +cast:-- + + KING ARTHUR Herr ROBINSON. + MODRED Herr KEMLITZ. + LANCELOT Herr BURSCH. + GAWEIN Herr HEINRICH. + GLENDOWER Herr VON MILDE. + MERLIN Herr ALVARY. + VIVIANE Frauelein LEHMANN. + BEDWYR Herr SIEGLITZ. + THE FAY MORGANA Frauelein BRANDT. + THE DEMON Herr FISCHER. + +The libretto of the opera is by Siegfried Lipiner. The scene is laid +in Wales, and the hero, Merlin, is familiar as one of the knights of +King Arthur's round-table. The story is as follows:-- + +The Devil, ambitious to banish all good from the world, unites himself +to a virgin in order that he may beget a child who shall aid him in +his fell purpose. The child is Merlin, who partakes of the mother's +goodness, and instead of aiding his father, seeks to thwart his +design. The Devil thereupon consults the Fay Morgana, who tells him +that Merlin will lose his power if he falls in love. In the opening +scene King Arthur sends Lancelot to Merlin for aid, who promises him +victory and achieves it by the assistance of his familiar, a demon, +who is in league with the Devil. Tired of his service to Merlin, the +demon contrives to have him meet the beautiful Viviane, with whom he +falls in love. The second act transpires in Merlin's enchanted garden, +and reveals his growing passion, and at the same time his waning power +of magic; for when once more Arthur summons his aid he attempts to +tear himself away from her only to realize his weakness. She seeks to +detain him by throwing a magic veil over him which has been given her +by the demon; in an instant the scene changes, and Merlin appears +confined to a rock by fiery chains, while the demon mocks him from a +neighboring eminence, and Viviane gives way to anguish. In the last +act Viviane is told by the Fay Morgana that Merlin's release can only +be secured by woman's self-sacrifice. Once more an appeal for help +comes to him from Arthur, and he promises his soul to the demon in +exchange for his freedom. His chains fall off. He rushes into the +battle and secures the victory, but is fatally wounded. The demon +claims him; but Viviane, remembering the words of the Fay Morgana, +stabs herself and thus balks him of his expectant prey. + +Like Wagner's operas, "Merlin" has its motives, the principal ones +being that of the demon, or the evil principle, and two love motives. +In its general treatment it is also Wagnerish. The first scene opens +with the spirited message of Lancelot to Glendower, beseeching +Merlin's aid for the hard-pressed Arthur. It is followed by the +strains of Merlin's harp in the castle and his assurance of victory, +and these in turn by very descriptive incantation music summoning the +demon and the supernatural agencies which will compass the defeat of +Arthur's enemies. Then comes the interview between the demon and the +Fay Morgana, in which he learns the secret of Merlin's weakness. In +the next scene Arthur returns from his victory over the Saxons to the +tempo of a stirring march, and accompanied by the joyous choruses of +women. A vigorous episode, in which Bedwyr, one of Arthur's knights, +is charged with treachery, is followed by Merlin's chant of victory +with chorus accompaniment. As its strains die away a distant horn +announces Viviane, who makes her appearance singing a breezy hunting +song with her maidens, leading up to a spirited septet. Then follows +the baffled attempt of Viviane to crown Merlin, the scene closing with +a repetition of the chant of victory and the choruses of jubilation. + +The second act opens in the enchanted gardens of Merlin; and the first +scene reveals a conspiracy to seize the crown during Arthur's absence +and proclaim Modred king, and the farewell of Arthur and his suite to +Merlin. The magic-veil scene follows with its fascinating dance +tempos, and leads with its graceful measures up to the passionate +love-scene between Merlin and Viviane, which is harshly broken in upon +by the clash of arms between Modred and his perfidious companions and +the faithful friends of Arthur. A dramatic scene of great energy +follows, in which Viviane at last throws the magic veil around Merlin +with the transforming results already told. + +The last act opens with Viviane's mournful lament for the wretched +fate which she has brought down upon her lover, and the announcement +of the means by which he may be released made to her in slumber by the +Fay Morgana. Her maidens seek to rouse her with choral appeals, in +which are heard phrases of her hunting song. Meanwhile mocking spirits +appear about Merlin and taunt him in characteristic music. Then +follows the compact with the demon, which releases him. He rushes into +the battle accompanied by an exultant song from Viviane; but soon the +funeral march, as his followers bear him from the field, tells the +mournful story of his fate. A very dramatic ensemble contains the deed +of self-sacrifice, by which Viviane ends her life to redeem Merlin +from the demon, and with this powerful effect the opera closes. + + + + +GOUNOD. + +Charles Francois Gounod was born, in Paris, June 17, 1818. He studied +music in the Conservatory, under the direction of Halevy, Lesueur, and +Paer, and in 1839 obtained the first prize, and, under the usual +regulations, went to Italy. While at Rome he devoted himself largely +to religious music. On his return to Paris he became organist of the +Missions Etrangeres, and for a time seriously thought of taking +orders. In 1851, however, he brought out his first opera, "Sappho," +which met with success. At this point his active career began. In 1852 +he became conductor of the Orpheon, and wrote the choruses for +Ponsard's tragedy of "Ulysse." The year 1854 brought a five-act opera, +"La Nonne Sanglante," founded on a legend in Lewis's "Monk." In 1858 +he made his first essay in opera comique, and produced "Le Medecin +malgre lui," which met with remarkable success. The next year "Faust" +was performed, and placed him in the front rank of living composers. +"Philemon et Baucis" appeared in 1860, and "La Reine de Saba," which +was afterwards performed in English as "Irene," in 1862. In 1863 he +brought out the pretty pastoral opera "Mireille." This was succeeded +in 1866 by "La Colombe," known in English as "The Pet Dove," and in +1867 by "Romeo et Juliette." In 1877 he produced "Cinq Mars," and in +1878 his last opera, "Polyeucte." He has also written much church +music, the more important works being the "Messe Solenelle," a "Stabat +Mater," the oratorio "Tobie," a "De Profundis," an "Ave Verum," and +many single hymns and songs, among which "Nazareth" is universally +popular. His list of compositions for orchestra is also very large, +and includes such popular pieces as the "Saltarello," "Funeral March +of a Marionette," and the Meditation, based on Bach's First Prelude, +which is accompanied by a soprano solo. He was elected a member of the +Institut de France in 1866. + + +FAUST. + +"Faust," a grand opera in five acts, words by Barbier and Carre, +founded upon Goethe's tragedy, was first produced at the Theatre +Lyrique, Paris, March 19, 1859, with the following cast of the +principal parts:-- + + MARGUERITE Mme. MIOLAN-CARVALHO. + SIEBEL Mlle. FAIVRE. + FAUST M. BARBOT. + VALENTIN M. REGNAL. + MEPHISTOPHELES M. BALANQUE. + MARTHA Mme. DUCLOS. + +The opera was first produced in London as "Faust," June 11, 1863; in +English, Jan. 23, 1864; and in Germany as "Margarethe." + +The story of the opera follows Goethe's tragedy very closely, and is +confined to the first part. It may be briefly told. Faust, an aged +German student, satiated with human knowledge and despairing of his +ability to unravel the secrets of nature, summons the evil spirit +Mephistopheles to his assistance, and contracts to give him his soul +in exchange for a restoration to youth. Mephistopheles effects the +transformation, and reveals to him the vision of Marguerite, a +beautiful village maiden, with whom Faust at once falls in love. They +set out upon their travels and encounter her at the Kermesse. She has +been left by her brother Valentin, a soldier, in care of Dame Martha, +who proves herself a careless guardian. Their first meeting is a +casual one; but subsequently he finds her in her garden, and with the +help of the subtle Mephistopheles succeeds in engaging the young +girl's affection. Her simple lover, Siebel, is discarded, and his +nosegay is thrown away at sight of the jewels with which Faust tempts +her. When Valentin returns from the wars he learns of her temptation +and subsequent ruin. He challenges the seducer, and in the encounter +is slain by the intervention of Mephistopheles. Overcome by the horror +of her situation, Marguerite becomes insane, and in her frenzy kills +her child. She is thrown into prison, where Faust and Mephistopheles +find her. Faust urges her to fly with them, but she refuses, and +places her reliance for salvation upon earnest prayer, and sorrow for +the wrong she has done. Pleading for forgiveness, she expires; and as +Mephistopheles exults at the catastrophe he has wrought, angels appear +amid the music of the celestial choirs and bear the sufferer to +heaven. + +The first act is in the nature of a prelude, and opens with a long +soliloquy ("Interrogo invano") by Faust, in which he laments the +unsatisfactoriness of life. It is interwoven with delightful snatches +of chorus heard behind the scenes, a duet with Mephistopheles ("Ma il +ciel"), and the delicate music accompanying the vision of Marguerite. + +The second act is contained in a single setting, the Kermesse, in +which the chorus plays an important part. In the first scene the +choruses of students, soldiers, old men, girls, and matrons are +quaintly contrasted, and are full of animation and characteristic +color. In the second, Valentin sings a tender song ("O santa +medaglia") to a medallion of his sister which he wears as a charm. It +is followed by a grim and weird drinking-song ("Dio dell' or"), sung +by Mephistopheles. The latter then strikes fire from the fountain into +his cup, and proposes the health of Marguerite. Valentin springs +forward to resent the insult, only to find his sword broken in his +hands. The students and soldiers recognize the spirit of evil, and +overcome him by presenting the hilts of their swords in the form of a +cross, the scene being accompanied by one of the most effective +choruses in the work ("Tu puvi la spada"). The tempter gone, the scene +resumes its gayety, and the act closes with one of the most animated +and delightful of waltz tempos ("Come la brezza"). + +The third act is the Garden scene, full of fascinating detail, and +breathes the very spirit of poetry and music combined in a picture of +love which has never been excelled in tenderness and beauty on the +operatic stage. Its principal numbers are a short and simple but very +beautiful ballad for Siebel ("La parlate d'amor"); a passionate aria +for tenor ("Salve dimora casta e pura"), in which Faust greets +Marguerite's dwelling; a double number, which is superb in its +contrasts,--the folk-song, "C'era un re di Thule," a plaintive little +ballad sung at the spinning-wheel by Marguerite, and the bravura +jewel-song, "Ah! e' strano poter," which is the very essence of +delicacy and almost-childish glee; the quartet commencing, +"V'appogiato al bracchio mio," which is of striking interest by the +independent manner in which the two pairs of voices are treated and +combined in the close; and the closing duet ("Sempre amar") between +Faust and Marguerite, which is replete with tenderness and passion, +and closes in strains of almost ecstatic rapture, the fatal end of +which is foreshadowed by the mocking laugh of Mephistopheles breaking +in upon its lingering cadences. + +The fourth act is known as the Cathedral act, and established Gounod's +reputation as a writer of serious music. It opens with a scena for +Marguerite, who has been taunted by the girls at the fountain +("Nascose eran la le crudeli "), in which she laments her sad fate. +The scene abruptly changes to the square in front of the cathedral, +where the soldiers, Valentin among them, are returning, to the +jubilant though somewhat commonplace strains of the march, "Deponiam +il branda." As the soldiers retire and Valentin goes in quest of +Marguerite, Faust and Mephistopheles appear before the house, and the +latter sings a grotesque and literally infernal serenade ("Tu, che fai +l' addormentata"). Valentin appears and a quarrel ensues, leading up +to a spirited trio. Valentin is slain, and with his dying breath +pronounces a malediction ("Margherita! maledetta") upon his sister. +The scene changes to the church, and in wonderful combination we hear +the appeals of Marguerite for mercy, the taunting voice of the +tempter, and the monkish chanting of the "Dies Irae" mingled with the +solemn strains of the organ. + +The last act is usually presented in a single scene, the Prison, but +it contains five changes. After a weird prelude, the Walpurgis revel +begins, in which short, strange phrases are heard from unseen singers. +The night scene changes to a hall of pagan enchantment, and again to +the Brocken, where the apparition of Marguerite is seen. The orgy is +resumed, when suddenly by another transformation we are taken to the +prison where Marguerite is awaiting death. It is unnecessary to give +its details. The scene takes the form of a terzetto, which is worked +up with constantly increasing power to a climax of passionate energy, +and at last dies away as Marguerite expires. It stands almost alone +among effects of this kind in opera. The curtain falls upon a +celestial chorus of apotheosis, the vision of the angels, and +Mephistopheles cowering in terror before the heavenly messengers. + + +ROMEO AND JULIET. + +"Romeo et Juliette," a grand opera in five acts, words by Barbier and +Carre, the subject taken from Shakspeare's tragedy of the same name, +was first produced at the Theatre Lyrique, Paris, April 27, 1867, with +Mme. Miolan-Carvalho in the role of Juliet. The story as told by the +French dramatists in the main follows Shakspeare's tragedy very +closely in its construction as well as in its dialogue. It is only +necessary, therefore, to sketch its outlines. The first act opens with +the festival at the house of Capulet. Juliet and Romeo meet there and +fall in love, notwithstanding her betrothal to Paris. The hot-blooded +Tybalt seeks to provoke a quarrel with Romeo, but is restrained by +Capulet himself, and the act comes to a close with a resumption of the +merry festivities. In the second act we have the balcony scene, quite +literally taken from Shakspeare, with an episode, however, in the form +of a temporary interruption by Gregory and retainers, whose appearance +is rather absurd than otherwise. The third act is constructed in two +scenes. The first is in the friar's cell, where the secret marriage of +the lovers takes place. In the second, we are introduced to a new +character, invented by the librettist,--Stephano, Romeo's page, whose +pranks while in search of his master provoke a general quarrel, in +which Mercutio is slain by Tybalt, who in turn is killed by Romeo. +When Capulet arrives upon the scene he condemns Romeo to banishment, +who vows, however, that he will see Juliet again at all hazards. The +fourth act is also made up of two scenes. The first is in Juliet's +chamber, and is devoted to a duet between the two lovers. Romeo departs +at dawn, and Capulet appears with Friar Laurence and announces his +determination that the marriage with Paris shall be celebrated at once. +Juliet implores the Friar's help, and he gives her the potion. The next +scene is devoted to the wedding festivity, in the midst of which Juliet +falls insensible from the effects of the sleeping-draught. The last act +transpires in the tomb of the Capulets, where Romeo arrives, and +believing his mistress dead takes poison. Juliet, reviving from the +effects of the potion, and finding him dying, stabs herself with a +dagger, and expires in his arms. + +While many numbers are greatly admired, the opera as a whole has never +been successful. Had not "Faust," which it often recalls, preceded it, +its fate might have been different. Still, it contains many strong +passages and much beautiful writing. The favorite numbers are the +waltz arietta, very much in the manner of the well-known "Il Bacio," +at the Capulet festival, the Queen Mab song, by Mercutio ("Mab, regina +di menzogne"), and the duet between Romeo and Juliet ("Di grazia, t' +arresta ancor!"), in the first act; the love music in the balcony +scene of the second act, which inevitably recalls the garden music in +"Faust;" an impressive solo for Friar Laurence ("Al vostro amor +cocente"), followed by a vigorous trio and quartet, the music of which +is massive and ecclesiastical in character, and the page's song ("Ah! +col nibbio micidale"), in the third act; the duet of parting between +Romeo and Juliet, "Tu dei partir ohime!" the quartet, "Non temero mio +ben," between Juliet, the nurse, Friar Laurence, and Capulet, and the +dramatic solo for the Friar, "Bevi allor questo filtro," as he gives +the potion to Juliet, in the fourth act; and the elaborate orchestral +prelude to the tomb scene in the last act. + + +MIREILLE. + +"Mireille," a pastoral opera in three acts, words by M. Carre, the +subject taken from "Mireio," a Provencal poem by Mistral, was first +produced at the Theatre Lyrique, Paris, March 19, 1864, with the +following cast:-- + + MIREILLE Mme. MIOLAN-CARVALHO + TAVENA | Mme. FAURE-LEFEBVRE. + ANDRELUNO | + VINCENZINA Mlle. LEROUX. + VINCENZO M. ISMIEL. + URIAS M. PETIT. + RAIMONDO M. MORINI. + +In December, 1864, the opera was reduced to three acts, in which form +it is still given. In this abridged shape, and with the addition of +the waltz now placed in the finale, it was brought out in London with +Titiens, Giuglini, Santley, and Trebelli in the cast. In English it is +always given under the title of "Mirella." The first scene opens in a +mulberry grove, where Mireille is rallied by the village girls upon +her attachment to Vincenzo, the basket-maker, and is also warned by +Tavena, the fortune-teller, against yielding to her love, as she +foresees that her father, Raimondo, will never consent to the union. +In the next scene she meets Vincenzo, and the warning of Tavena is +soon forgotten. The lovers renew their pledges, and agree to meet at +the Chapel of the Virgin if their plans are thwarted. The second act +introduces us to a merrymaking at Arles, where Mireille is informed by +Tavena that Vincenzo has a rival in Urias, a wild herdsman, who has +openly declared his love for her, and asked her hand of her father. +Mireille repulses him when he brings the father's consent. Ambrogio, +Vincenzo's father, accompanied by his daughter, Vincenzina, also waits +upon Raimondo and intercedes in his son's behalf, but is sternly +refused. Mireille, who has overheard the interview, declares to her +father her irrevocable attachment for Vincenzo. Her declaration throws +him into such a rage that he is about to strike her, but she disarms +his anger by appealing to the memory of her mother. + +The last act opens on a barren, sunburnt plain. Andreluno appears, +singing a pastoral song to the accompaniment of his bagpipe, followed +by Mireille, who is toiling across the hot sands to meet her lover at +the Chapel of the Virgin. She is met by Tavena, who assures her that +Vincenzo will keep his appointment, and then returns to Arles to plead +with the father in Mireille's behalf. The poor girl toils on through +the heat, and at last arrives nearly prostrated by sunstroke. Vincenzo +soon appears, and is shortly followed by Raimondo, who, seeing the sad +condition of his daughter, is moved to pity and gives his consent to +the union of the lovers. The sudden joyful change of affairs restores +her wandering senses and the happy pair are united. + +The music is in no sense dramatic, but lyric and pastoral throughout, +and is specially marked by the beautiful French chansons with which it +abounds. The first act opens with a delightful pastoral chorus of the +maidens under the mulberry-trees ("Facciam carole, o giovinette"), +which is very fresh and graceful. The second begins with an equally +delightful chorus and farandole ("La Farandola tutti consola"), +followed by the beautiful Provencal folk-song, "Dolce una brezza, +intorno olezza," which is full of local color. Tavena sings a quaint +fortune-teller's roundelay ("La stagione arriva"), and in the next +scene Mireille has a number of rare beauty ("Ah! piu non temo fato "), +in which she declares her unalterable attachment to Vincenzo. The +finale of this act, with its strong aria ("Qui mi prostro innanzi +ate"), is very spirited, and in fact may be considered the only +dramatic episode in the whole work. The third act opens with the +quaint little song of Andreluno, the shepherd boy ("L'alba +tranquilla"), with oboe accompaniment. It also contains a plaintive +song for tenor ("Ah! se de preghi miei"), and closes with a waltz song +("O d'amor messagera"), which is fairly gorgeous in bravura effects, +and Hanslick says was a concession to Miolan-Carvalho, like the jewel +song in "Faust" and the waltz song in "Romeo and Juliet." In the +original libretto the song had its place in the first act, and indeed +numerous changes have been made in the libretto since the opera first +appeared; as in the original, Mireille dies in the arms of her lover, +and Urias, Vincenzo's rival, is drowned in the Rhone. When it first +appeared, however, great objection was made to several of the +situations, and the libretto was declared fantastic and uninteresting; +hence the changes. As a lyric drama, delightfully picturing the +quaintness and simplicity of provincial life, not alone in the +tunefulness of the music, but also in its pastoral naivete and what +may be termed its folk-characteristics, it will hold a high place upon +the stage as long as young and fresh voices can be found to sing it. + + + + +HALEVY. + +Jacques Francois Fromenthal Elias Halevy was born at Paris, May 27, +1799, of Israelitish parents, whose name was originally Levy. He +entered the Conservatory in 1809, and in 1819 obtained the Grand Prize +for his cantata of "Hermione." After his arrival in Italy he wrote +several minor pieces, but his music did not attract public attention +until his return to Paris, when his three-act opera, "Clari," brought +out Dec. 9, 1828, with Malibran in the principal role, made a success. +"Le Dilettante d'Avignon" (a satire on Italian librettos), "Manon +Lescaut" (a ballet in three acts), "La Langue Musicale," "La +Tentation," and "Les Souvenirs" rapidly followed "Clari," with +alternating successes and failures. In 1835 his great work, "La +Juive," appeared, and in the same year, "L'Eclair," one of his most +charming operas, written without chorus for two tenors and two +sopranos. It was considered at the time a marvellous feat that he +should have produced two such opposite works in the same year, and +great hopes were entertained that he would surpass them. These hopes +failed, however. He subsequently wrote over twenty operas, among them +"Guido et Ginevra" (1838); "Charles VI." (1842); "La Reine de Chypre" +(1842); "Les Mousquetaires de la Reine" (1846); "Le Val d'Andorre" +(1848); "La Tempete" (1853): "Le Juif Errant" (1855), and others; but +"La Juive" and "L'Eclair" remained his masterpieces, and procured him +admission into the Institute. He was also a professor in the +Conservatory, and among his pupils were Gounod, Masse, Bazin, +Duvernoy, Bizet, and others. He enjoyed many honors, and died March +17, 1862. A De Profundis was sung on the occasion of his funeral, +written by four of his pupils, MM. Gounod, Masse, Bazin, and Cohen. As +a composer he was influenced largely by Meyerbeer, and is remarkable +rather for his large dramatic effects than for his melody. + + +THE JEWESS + +"La Juive," a grand opera in five acts, words by Scribe, originally +written for Rossini and rejected in favor of "William Tell," was +produced for the first time at the Academie, Paris, Feb. 23, 1835, +with the following cast of the principal parts:-- + + RACHEL Mlle. CORNELIA FALCON. + EUDOXIA Mme. DORUS-GRAS. + ELEAZAR M. NOURRIT. + CARDINAL M. LEVASSEUR. + +It was first produced in England in French, July 29, 1846, and in +Italian under the title of "La Ebrea," July 25, 1850. In this country +it is most familiar in the German version. The scene of the opera is +laid in Constance, time, 1414. Leopold, a prince of the empire, +returning from the wars, is enamoured of Rachel, a beautiful Jewess, +daughter of Eleazar the goldsmith. The better to carry out his plans, +he calls himself Samuel, and pretends to be a Jewish painter. +Circumstances, however, dispel the illusion, and Rachel learns that he +is no other than Leopold, husband of the princess Eudoxia. Overcome +with indignation at the discovery of his perfidy, she publicly +denounces his crime, and the Cardinal excommunicates Leopold, and +pronounces his malediction on Rachel and her father. Rachel, Eleazar, +and Leopold are thrown into prison to await the execution of the +sentence of death. During their imprisonment Eudoxia intercedes with +Rachel to save Leopold's life, and at last, moved by the grief of the +rightful wife, she publicly recants her statement. Leopold is +banished, but Rachel and her father are again condemned to death for +conspiring against the life of a Christian. Eleazar determines to be +revenged in the moment of death upon the Cardinal, who has sentenced +them, and who is at the head of a church which he hates; and just +before they are thrown into a caldron of fire, reveals to the +spectators that Rachel is not his own, but an adopted daughter, saved +from the ruins of the Cardinal's burning palace, and that she is his +child. + +The opera of "The Jewess" is pre-eminently spectacular, and its music +is dramatic and declamatory rather than melodious. The prominent +numbers of the first act are the solemn declaration of the Cardinal +("Wenn ew'ger Hass"), in which he replies to Eleazar's hatred of the +Christian; the romance sung by Leopold ("Fern vom Liebchen weilen"), +which is in the nature of a serenade to Rachel; the drinking-song of +the people at the fountain, which is flowing wine ("Eilt herbei"); and +the splendid chorus and march ("Leht, es nahet sich der Zug") which +preludes the imposing pageantry music of the Emperor's arrival, +closing with the triumphant Te Deum to organ accompaniment and the +greeting to the Emperor, "Hosanna, unser Kaiser hoch." + +The second act opens with the celebration of the Passover in Eleazar's +house, and introduces a very solemn and impressive prayer +("Allmaecht'ger blicke gnaedig"). In the next scene there is a +passionate ensemble and duet for Eudoxia and Leopold ("Ich will ihn +seh'n"), which is followed by a second spirited duet between Rachel +and Leopold ("Als mein Herz"); an intensely dramatic aria ("Ach! +Vater! Halt ein!"), in which she claims her share of Leopold's guilt; +and the final grand trio of anathema pronounced by Eleazar. + +The third act is principally devoted to the festivities of the royal +pageants, and closes with the anathema of the Cardinal ("Ihr, die ihr +Gottes Zorn"), which is a concerted number of magnificent power and +spirited dramatic effect. The fourth act contains a grand duet between +Eleazar and the Cardinal ("Hoert ich recht?"), and closes with one of +the most powerful scenas ever written for tenor ("Das Todesurtheil +sprich"), in which Eleazar welcomes death and hurls defiance at the +Christians. The last act is occupied with the tragic denouement, which +affords splendid opportunities for action, and is accompanied by very +dramatic music to the close, often rising to real sublimity. In the +pageantry of the stage, in the expression of high and passionate +sentiment, in elaborateness of treatment, and in broad and powerful +dramatic effect, "The Jewess" is one of the strongest operas in the +modern repertory. + + + + +HUMPERDINCK. + +Engelbert Humperdinck, the latest star in the German musical +firmament, was born, Sept. 1, 1854, at Siegburg on the Rhine, and +received his earliest musical training at the Cologne Conservatory. He +made such rapid progress in his studies, showing special proficiency +in composition, that he carried off in succession the three prizes of +the Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Meyerbeer stipends. These enabled him to +continue his lessons at Munich, and afterwards in Italy. While in +Naples, in 1880, he attracted the attention of Richard Wagner as a +rising genius, and two years later had the honor of an invitation to +go to Venice as his guest, upon the occasion of the performance of +Wagner's only symphony. In 1885 he went to Barcelona, Spain, where he +taught composition, and was the director of a quartette at the Royal +Conservatory for two years. In 1887 he returned to Cologne, and since +1890 has been identified with a Conservatory at Frankfort-on-the-Main. +In addition to the opera "Hansel and Gretel," which has given him a +world-wide fame, he produced, a few years ago, a chorus ballad, "Das +Glueck von Edenhall," and a cantata, "Die Wallfahrt nach Kevelaar," +based upon Heine's poem, and scored for soloists, chorus, and +orchestra. He has also written several songs and piano pieces, and, it +is now reported, is engaged upon a dramatic composition called "The +Royal Children." He is regarded in Germany as the one composer who +gives promise of continuing and developing the scheme of the +music-drama as it was propounded by Wagner. + + +HANSEL AND GRETEL. + +"Hansel and Gretel," a fairy opera in three acts, words by Adelheid +Wette, was first produced in Germany in 1894. In January, 1895, it was +performed in London by the Royal Carl Rosa Opera Company, rendered +into English by Constance Bache; and in the fall of the same year it +had its first representation in New York, at Daly's Theatre, with the +following cast:-- + + PETER, a broom-maker Mr. JACQUES BARS. + GERTRUDE, his wife Miss ALICE GORDON. + THE WITCH Miss LOUISE MEISSLINGER. + HANSEL Miss MARIE ELBA. + GRETEL Miss JEANNE DOUSTE. + SANDMAN, the Sleep Fairy Miss CECILE BRANI. + DEWMAN, the Dawn Fairy Miss EDITH JOHNSTON. + +The story is taken from one of Grimm's well-known fairy tales, and the +text was written by the composer's sister, Adelheid Wette. It was Frau +Wette's intention to arrange the story in dramatic form for the +amusement of her children, her brother lending his co-operation by +writing a few little melodies, of a simple nature, to accompany the +performance. When he had read it, however, the story took his fancy, +and its dramatic possibilities so appealed to him that he determined +to give it an operatic setting with full orchestral score, and thus +placed it in the higher sphere of world performance by an art which +not alone reveals the highest type of genial German sentimentality, +but, curiously enough, applied to this simple little story of angels, +witches, and the two babes in the woods the same musical methods which +Wagner has employed in telling the stories of gods and demigods. +Perhaps its highest praise was sounded by Siegfried Wagner, son of +Richard Wagner, who declared that "Hansel and Gretel" was the most +important German opera since "Parsifal," notwithstanding its +childishness and simplicity. + +After a beautifully instrumented prelude, which has already become a +favorite concert piece, the curtain rises upon the home of Peter, the +broom-maker. The parents are away seeking for food, and Hansel and +Gretel have been left in the cottage with instructions to knit and +make brooms. There is a charming dialogue between the two children, +beginning with a doleful lament over their poverty, and ending with an +outburst of childish hilarity in song and dancing,--a veritable romp +in music,--which is suddenly interrupted by the return of Gertrude, +the mother, empty-handed, who chides them for their behavior, and in +her anger upsets a jug of milk which was the only hope of supper in +the house. With an energetic outburst of recitative she sends them +into the forest, telling them not to return until they have filled +their basket with strawberries. After lamenting her loss, and mourning +over her many troubles, she falls asleep, but is awakened by the +return of Peter, who has been more fortunate, and has brought home +some provisions. A rollicking scene ensues, but suddenly he misses the +children, and breaks out in a fit of rage when he is informed that +they have gone into the forest. To the accompaniment of most gruesome +and characteristic music he tells his wife of the witch who haunts the +woods, and who, living in a honey-cake house, entices little children +to it, bakes them into gingerbread in her oven, and then devours them. + +The second act, "In the Forest," is preluded by a characteristic +instrumental number, "The Witches' Ride." The children are discovered +near the Ilsenstein, among the fir-trees, making garlands, listening +to the cuckoos, and mocking them in a beautiful duet with echo +accompaniment. At last, however, they realize that they are lost; and +in the midst of their fear, which is intensified by strange sights and +sounds, the Sandman, or sleep fairy, approaches them, strews sand in +their eyes, and sings them to sleep with a most delicious lullaby, +after they have recited their prayer, "When at night I go to sleep, +fourteen Angels watch do keep." As they sleep the mist rolls away, the +forest background disappears, and the fourteen angels come down a sort +of Jacob's ladder and surround the children, while other angels +perform a stately dance, grouping themselves in picturesque tableau as +the curtain falls. + +The third act is entitled "The Witch's House." The children are still +sleeping, but the angels have vanished. The Dawn-Fairy steps forward +and shakes dewdrops from a bluebell over them, accompanying the action +with a delightful song, "I'm up with early Dawning." Gretel is the +first to wake, and rouses Hansel by tickling him with a leaf, at the +same time singing a veritable tickling melody, and then telling him +what she has seen in her dream. In place of the fir-trees they +discover the witch's house at the Ilsenstein, with an oven on one side +and on the other a cage, both joined to the house by a curious fence +of gingerbread figures. The house itself is constructed of sweets and +creams. Attracted by its delicious fragrance and toothsomeness, the +hungry children break off a piece and are nibbling at it, when the old +witch within surprises and captures them. After a series of +incantations, and much riding upon her broomstick, which are vividly +portrayed in the music, she prepares to cook Gretel in the oven; but +while looking into it the children deftly tumble her into the fire. +The witch waltz, danced by the children and full of joyous abandon, +follows. To a most vivid accompaniment, Hansel rushes into the house +and throws fruit, nuts, and sweetmeats into Gretel's apron. Meanwhile +the oven falls into bits, and a crowd of children swarms around them, +released from their gingerbread disguises, and sing a swelling chorus +of gratitude as two of the boys drag the witch from the ruins of the +oven in the form of a big gingerbread-cake. The father and mother +appear. Their long quest is ended. The family join in singing a pious +little hymn, "When past bearing is our grief, God the Lord will send +relief;" and the children dance joyously around the reunited group. +The story is only a little child's tale, but it is wedded to music of +the highest order. The union has been made so deftly, the motives are +so charming and take their places so skilfully, and the music is so +scholarly and characteristic throughout, that no one has yet +considered this union as incongruous. In this respect "Hansel and +Gretel" is a distinct creation in the operatic world. + + + + +LEONCAVALLO. + +Ruggiero Leoncavallo, a promising representative of the young Italian +school, was born in Naples, March 8, 1858. He first studied with Siri, +and afterwards learned harmony and the piano from Simonetti. While a +student at the Naples Conservatory he was advised by Rossi, one of his +teachers, to devote himself to opera. In pursuance of this counsel, he +went to Bologna, and there wrote his first opera, "Tommaso +Chatterton," which still remains in manuscript and unperformed. Then +followed a series of "wander years," during which he visited many +European countries, giving lessons in singing and upon the piano, and +meeting with varying fortunes. In all these years, however, he +cherished the plan of producing a trilogy in the Wagnerian manner with +a groundwork from Florentine history. In a letter he says: "I +subdivided the historical periods in the following way: first part, 'I +Medici,' from the accession of Sextus IV. to the Pazzi conspiracy; +second part, 'Savonorola,' from the investiture of Fra Benedetto to +the death of Savonorola; third part, 'Cesare Borgia,' from the death +of the Duke of Candia to that of Alexander VI." The first part was +completed and performed in Milan in November, 1893, and was a failure, +notwithstanding its effective instrumentation. It was not so, however, +with the little two-act opera "I Pagliacci," which was produced May +21, 1892, at Milan, and met with an instantaneous and enthusiastic +success. His next work was a chorus with orchestral accompaniment, the +text based upon Balzac's rhapsodical and highly wrought "Seraphita," +which was performed at Milan in 1894. It has been recently reported +that the Emperor of Germany has given him a commission to produce an +opera upon a national subject, "Roland of Berlin." Of his works, "I +Pagliacci" is the only one known in the United States. It has met with +great favor here, and has become standard in the Italian repertory. + + +I PAGLIACCI. + +"I Pagliacci," an Italian opera in two acts, words by the composer, +Ruggiero Leoncavallo, was first performed at Milan, May 21, 1892, and +was introduced in this country in the spring of 1894, Mme. Arnoldson, +Mme. Calve, and Signors Ancona, Gromzeski, Guetary, and De Lucia +taking the principal parts. The scene is laid in Calabria during the +Feast of the Assumption. The Pagliacci are a troupe of itinerant +mountebanks, the characters being Nedda, the Columbine, who is wife of +Canio, or Punchinello, master of the troupe; Tonio, the Clown; Beppe, +the Harlequin; and Silvio, a villager. + +The first act opens with the picturesque arrival of the troupe in the +village, and the preparations for a performance in the rustic theatre, +with which the peasants are overjoyed. The tragic element of the +composition is apparent at once, and the action moves swiftly on to +the fearful denouement. Tonio, the clown, is in love with Nedda, and +before the performance makes advances to her, which she resents by +slashing him across the face with Beppe's riding-whip. He rushes off +vowing revenge, and upon his return overhears Nedda declaring her +passion for Silvio, a young peasant, and arranging to elope with him. +Tonio thereupon seeks Canio, and tells him of his wife's infidelity. +Canio hurries to the spot, encounters Nedda; but Silvio has fled, and +she refuses to give his name. He attempts to stab her, but is +prevented by Beppe, and the act closes with the final preparation for +the show, the grief-stricken husband donning the motley in gloomy and +foreboding silence. + +The second act opens with Tonio beating the big drum, and the people +crowding to the show, among them Silvio, who manages to make an +appointment with Nedda while she is collecting the money. The curtain +of the little theatre rises, disclosing a small room barely furnished. +The play to be performed is almost an identical picture of the real +situation in the unfortunate little troupe. Columbine, who is to +poison her husband, Punchinello, is entertaining her lover, Harlequin, +while Taddeo, the clown, watches for Punchinello's return. When Canio +finally appears the mimic tragedy becomes one in reality. Inflamed +with passion, he rushes upon Nedda, and demands the name of her lover. +She still refuses to tell. He draws his dagger. Nedda, conscious of +her danger, calls upon Silvio in the audience to save her; but it is +too late. Her husband kills her, and Silvio, who rushes upon the +stage, is killed with the same dagger. With a wild cry full of hate, +jealousy, and despair, the unfortunate Canio tells the audience "La +commedia e finita" ("The comedy is finished"). The curtain falls upon +the tragedy, and the excited audience disperses. + +The story is peculiarly Italian in its motive, though the composer has +been charged with taking it from "La Femme de Tabarin," by the French +novelist, Catulle Mendes. Be this as it may, Leoncavallo's version has +the merit of brevity, conciseness, ingenuity, and swift action, +closing in a denouement of great tragic power and capable, in the +hands of a good actor, of being made very effective. The composer has +not alone been charged with borrowing the story, but also with +plagiarizing the music. So far as the accusation of plagiarism is +concerned, however, it hardly involves anything more serious than +those curious resemblances which are so often found in musical +compositions. As a whole, the opera is melodious, forceful, full of +snap and go, and intensely dramatic, and is without a dull moment from +the prologue ("Si puo? Signore") sung before the curtain by Tonio to +that last despairing outcry of Canio ("La commedia e finita"), upon +which the curtain falls. The prominent numbers are the prologue +already referred to; Nedda's beautiful cavatina in the second scene +("O, che volo d'angello"); her duet with Silvio in the third scene ("E +allor perche"); the passionate declamation of Canio at the close of +the first act ("Recitur! mentre preso dal delirio"); the serenade of +Beppe in the second act ("O Colombino, il tenero"); and the graceful +dance-music which plays so singular a part in this fierce struggle of +the passions, which forms the motive of the closing scenes. + + + + +MASCAGNI. + +Pietro Mascagni, who leaped into fame at a single bound, was born at +Leghorn, Dec. 7, 1863. His father was a baker, and had planned for his +son a career in the legal profession; but, as often happens, fate +ordered otherwise. His tastes were distinctly musical, and his +determination to study music was encouraged by Signor Bianchi, a +singing teacher, who recognized his talent. For a time he took +lessons, unknown to his father, of Soffredini, but when it was +discovered he was ordered to abandon music and devote himself to the +law. At this juncture his uncle Stefano came to his rescue, took him +to his house, provided him with a piano, and also with the means to +pursue his studies. Recognizing the uselessness of further objections, +the father at last withdrew them, and left his son free to follow his +own pleasure. He progressed so rapidly under Soffredini that he was +soon engaged in composition, his first works being a symphony in C +minor and a "Kyrie," which were performed in 1879. In 1881 he composed +a cantata, "In Filanda," and a setting of Schiller's hymn, "An die +Freude," both of which had successful public performances. The former +attracted the attention of a rich nobleman who furnished young +Mascagni with the means to attend the Milan Conservatory. After +studying there a short time, he suddenly left Milan with an operatic +troupe, and visited various Italian cities, a pilgrimage which was of +great value to him, as it made him acquainted with the resources of an +orchestra and the details of conducting. The troupe, however, met with +hard fortunes, and was soon disbanded, throwing Mascagni upon the +world. For a few years he made a precarious living in obscure towns, +by teaching, and had at last reached desperate extremities when one +day he read in a newspaper that Sonzogno, the music publisher, had +offered prizes for the three best one act operas, to be performed in +Rome. He at once entered into the competition, and produced +"Cavalleria Rusticana." It took the first prize. It did more than this +for the impecunious composer. When performed, it made a success of +enthusiasm. He was called twenty times before the curtain. Honors and +decorations were showered upon him. He was everywhere greeted with +serenades and ovations. Every opera-house in Europe clamored for the +new work. In a day he had risen from utter obscurity and become +world-famous. His sudden popularity, however, had a pernicious effect, +as it induced him to rush out more operas without giving sufficient +time to their preparation. "L'Amico Fritz," based upon the well-known +Erckmann-Chatrian story, and "I Rantzau" quickly followed "Cavalleria +Rusticana," but did not meet with its success. Last year however he +produced two operas at Milan, "Guglielmo Ratcliff" and "Silvano," +which proved successful. Whether "Cavalleria Rusticana" is to remain +as his only hold upon popular favor, the future alone can tell; but +that he has talent of the highest order, and that he has produced an +opera whose reception has been almost unparalleled in the world of +music cannot be questioned. + + +CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA. + +"Cavalleria Rusticana," an opera in one act, words by Signori +Targioni-Tozzetti and Menasci, music by Pietro Mascagni, was written +in 1890, and was first performed at the Costanzi Theatre in Rome, May +20, of that year, with Gemma Bellinconi and Roberto Stagno in the two +principal roles. It had its first American production in Philadelphia, +Sept. 9, 1891, with Mme. Kronold as _Santuzza_, Miss Campbell as +_Lola_, Guille as _Turridu_, Del Puente as _Alfio_, and Jeannie Teal +as _Lucia_. + +The story upon which the text of "Cavalleria Rusticana" is based is +taken from a Sicilian tale by Giovanni Verga. It is peculiarly Italian +in its motive, running a swift, sure gamut of love, flirtation, +jealousy, and death,--a melodrama of a passionate and tragic sort, +amid somewhat squalid environments, that particularly lends itself to +music of Mascagni's forceful sort. The overture graphically presents +the main themes of the opera, and these themes illustrate a very +simple but strong story. Turridu, a young Sicilian peasant, arrived +home from army service, finds that his old love, Lola, during his +absence has married Alfio, a carter. To console himself he makes love +to Santuzza, who returns his passion with ardor. The inconstant +Turridu, however, soon tires of her and makes fresh advances to Lola, +who, inspired by her jealousy of Santuzza, and her natural coquetry, +smiles upon him again. The latter seeks to reclaim him, and, when she +is rudely repulsed, tells the story of Lola's perfidy to Alfio, who +challenges Turridu and kills him. + +During the overture Turridu sings a charming Siciliana ("O Lola c'hai +di latti"), and the curtain rises, disclosing a Sicilian village with +a church decorated for Easter service. As the sacristan opens its +doors, the villagers appear and sing a hymn to the Madonna. A hurried +duet follows, in which Santuzza reveals to mother Lucia her grief at +the perfidy of Turridu. Her discourse is interrupted by the entrance +of Alfio, singing a rollicking whip-song ("Il cavallo scalpita") with +accompaniment of male chorus. The scene then develops into a trio, +closing with a hymn ("Inneggiamo, il Signor"), sung by the people in +the square, and led by Santuzza herself, and blending with the "Regina +Coeli," performed by the choir inside the church with organ +accompaniment, the number finally working up into a tremendous climax +in genuine Italian style. + +In the next scene Santuzza tells her sad story to Lucia, Turridu's +mother, in a romanza of great power ("Voi lo sapete"), closing with an +outburst of the highest significance as she appeals to Lucia to pray +for her. In the next scene Turridu enters. Santuzza upbraids him, and +a passionate duet follows in which Santuzza's suspicions are more than +confirmed by his avowal of his passion for Lola. The duet is +interrupted by a song of the latter, heard in the distance with harp +accompaniment ("Fior di giaggiolo"). As she approaches the pair the +song grows livelier, and at its close she banters poor Santuzza with +biting sarcasms, and assails Turridu with all the arts of coquetry. +She passes into the church, confident that the infatuated Turridu will +follow her. An impassioned duo of great power follows, in which +Santuzza pleads with him to love her, but all in vain. He rushes into +the church. She attempts to follow him, but falls upon the steps just +as Alfio comes up. To him she relates the story of her troubles, and +of Turridu's baseness. Alfio promises to revenge her, and another +powerful duet follows. + +As they leave the stage, there is a sudden and most unexpected change +in the character of the music and the motive of the drama. In the +place of struggle, contesting passions, and manifestations of rage, +hate, and jealousy ensues an intermezzo for orchestra, with an +accompaniment of harps and organ, of the utmost simplicity and +sweetness, breathing something like a sacred calm, and turning the +thoughts away from all this human turmoil into conditions of peace and +rest. It has not only become one of the most favorite numbers in the +concert repertory, but is ground out from every barrel-organ the world +over, and yet it has retained its hold upon popular admiration. + +At its close the turmoil begins again and the action hastens to the +tragic denouement. The people come out of the church singing a glad +chorus which is followed by a drinking song ("Viva il vino"), sung by +Turridu, and joined in by Lola and chorus. In the midst of the +hilarity Alfio appears. Turridu invites him to join them and drink; +but he refuses, and the quarrel begins. Lola and the frightened women +withdraw. Turridu bites Alfio's right ear,--a Sicilian form of +challenge. The scene closes with the death of the former at Alfio's +hands, and Santuzza is avenged; but the fickle Lola has gone her way +bent upon other conquests. + + + + +MEYERBEER. + +Giacomo Meyerbeer, the eldest son of Herz Beer, was born in Berlin, +Sept. 5, 1794. He was named Jacob Meyer Beer, but afterwards called +himself Giacomo Meyerbeer. His early studies were pursued with the +pianist Lanska, and Bernard Anselm Weber, chief of the Berlin +orchestra. At fifteen he became the pupil of Vogler in Darmstadt, with +whom he displayed such talent in composition that he was named +Composer to the Court by the Grand Duke. At eighteen his first +dramatic work, "The Daughter of Jephtha," was performed at Munich. He +then began the world for himself, and made his debut in Vienna as a +pianist with great success. His first opera, "The Two Caliphs," met +with complete failure, as it was not written in the Italian form. He +at once transformed his style and brought out "Romilda e Costanza," a +serio-comic opera, with great success, at Padua. In 1820, "Emma di +Resburgo" appeared at Venice, and from this period his star was in the +ascendant. "The Gate of Brandeburg," "Margharita d' Anjou," "Esule di +Granata," and "Almanzar" followed in quick succession, and were well +received, though with nothing like the furor which "Il Crociato in +Egitto" created in Venice in 1824. His next great work, "Robert le +Diable," was produced in Paris, Nov. 21, 1831, the unparalleled +success of which carried its fame to every part of the civilized +world. In 1836 "The Huguenots," unquestionably his masterpiece, was +brought out, and it still holds its place as one of the grandest +dramatic works the world has ever seen. In 1838 Scribe furnished him +the libretto of "L'Africaine," but before the music was finished he +had changed the text so much that Scribe withdrew it altogether. He +was consoled, however, by Meyerbeer's taking from him the libretto of +"Le Prophete," this opera being finished in 1843. During the following +year he wrote several miscellaneous pieces besides the three-act +German opera, "Ein Feldlager in Schlesien," in which Jenny Lind made +her Berlin debut. In 1846 he composed the overture and incidental +music to his brother's drama of "Struensee," and in 1847 he not only +prepared the way for Wagner's "Flying Dutchman" in Paris, but +personally produced "Rienzi,"--services which Wagner poorly requited. +In 1849 "Le Prophete" was given in Paris; in 1854, "L'Etoile du Nord;" +and in 1859, "Dinorah;" but none of them reached the fame of "The +Huguenots." In 1860 he wrote two cantatas and commenced a musical +drama called "Goethe's Jugendzeit," which was never finished. In 1862 +and 1863 he worked upon "L'Africaine," and at last brought it forward +as far as a rehearsal; but he died April 23, 1863, and it was not +performed until two years after his death. + + +THE HUGUENOTS. + +"Les Huguenots," a grand opera in five acts, words by Scribe and +Deschamps, was first produced at the Academie, Paris, Feb. 29, 1836, +with the following cast of the principal parts:-- + + VALENTIN Mlle. FALCON. + MARGUERITE DE VALOIS Mme. DORUS-GRAS. + URBAIN Mlle. FLECHEUX. + COUNT DE ST. BRIS M. LERDA. + COUNT DE NEVERS M. DERIVIS. + RAOUL DE NANGIS M. NOURRIT. + MARCEL M. LEVASSEUR. + +At its first production in London in Italian, as "Gli Ugonotti," July +20, 1848, the cast was even more remarkable than that above. Meyerbeer +specially adapted the opera for the performance, transposed the part +of the page, which was written for a soprano, and expressly composed a +cavatina to be sung by Mme. Alboni, in the scene of the chateau and +gardens of Chenonceaux, forming the second act of the original work, +but now given as the second scene of the first act in the Italian +version. The cast was as follows:-- + + VALENTIN Mme. PAULINE VIARDOT. + MARGUERITE DE VALOIS Mme. CASTELLAN. + URBAIN Mlle. ALBONI. + COUNT DE ST. BRIS Sig. TAMBURINI. + COUNT DE NEVERS Sig. TAGLIAFICO. + RAOUL DE NANGIS Sig. MARIO. + MARCEL Sig. MARINI. + +The action of the opera passes in 1572, the first and second acts in +Touraine, and the remainder in Paris. The first act opens on a scene +of revelry in the salon of Count de Nevers, where a number of +noblemen, among them Raoul de Nangis, a Protestant, accompanied by his +faithful old Huguenot servant, Marcel, are present, telling stories of +their exploits in love. Marguerite de Valois, the betrothed of Henry +IV., for the sake of reconciling the dispute between the two religious +sects, sends her page to De Nevers's salon and invites Raoul to her +chateau. When he arrives, Marguerite informs him of her purpose to +give him in marriage to a Catholic lady, daughter of the Count de St. +Bris. Raoul at first consents; but when Valentin is introduced to him +and he discovers her to be a lady whom he had once rescued from insult +and who had visited De Nevers in his salon, he rejects the +proposition, believing that her affections have been bestowed upon +another, and that his enemies are seeking to entrap him. St. Bris +challenges Raoul for the affront, but the Queen disarms the angry +combatants. Valentin is now urged to marry Count de Nevers, and begs +that she may pass the day in prayer in the chapel. Meanwhile Count de +St. Bris, who has been challenged by Raoul, forms a plot for his +assassination, which is overheard by Valentin from within the chapel. +She communicates the plot to Marcel, who lies in wait with a party of +Huguenots in the vicinity of the duel, and comes to Raoul's rescue +when danger threatens him. A general combat is about to ensue, but it +is suppressed by Marguerite, who suddenly appears upon the scene. +Raoul thus discovers that he owes his life to Valentin, and that her +visit to De Nevers was to induce him to sever the relations between +them, as she was in love with Raoul. The announcement comes too late, +for the marriage festivities have already begun. Raoul visits her for +the last time. Their interview is disturbed by the approach of De +Nevers, St. Bris, and other Catholic noblemen, who meet to arrange the +details of the plot conceived by Catherine de Medicis for the +slaughter of the Huguenots on St. Bartholomew's Eve. Valentin +hurriedly conceals Raoul behind the tapestries, where he overhears +their plans and witnesses the conjuration and the blessing of the +swords, as well as the refusal of the chivalrous De Nevers to engage +in murder. After the conspirators have departed, Raoul and Valentin +have a long and affecting interview, in which he hesitates between +love and honor, Valentin striving to detain him lest he may be +included in the general massacre. Honor at last prevails, and he joins +his friends just before the work of slaughter begins. He rushes to the +festivities which are about to be given in honor of the marriage of +Marguerite with the King of Navarre, and warns the Huguenots of their +danger. He then makes his way to a chapel where many of them are +gathered for refuge. He finds Marcel, who has been wounded, and who +brings him the tidings of the death of De Nevers. The faithful +Valentin joins them to share their fate. Amid the horrors of the +massacre Marcel blesses and unites them. They enter the church and all +perish together. + +The first act opens with the brilliant chorus of the revellers +("Piacer della mensa"), which is full of courtly grace. Raoul tells +the story of the unknown fair one he has encountered, in the romanza, +"Piu bianca del velo." When Marcel is called upon, he hurriedly chants +the hymn, "O tu che ognor," set to the Martin Luther air, "Ein feste +Burg," and heightened by a stirring accompaniment, and then bursts out +into a graphic song ("Finita e pe' frati"), emphasized with the +piff-paff of bullets and full of martial fervor. In delightful +contrast with the fierce Huguenot song comes the lively and graceful +romanza of Urbain ("Nobil donna e tanto onesta"), followed by a +delightful septet. The scene now changes, and with it the music. We +are in the Queen's gardens at Chenonceaux. Every number, the Queen's +solo ("A questa voce sola"), the delicate "Bathers' Chorus," as it is +called ("Audiam, regina, in questo amene sponde"), the brilliant and +graceful allegretto sung by Urbain ("No, no, no, no"), the duet +between the Queen and Raoul, based upon one of the most flowing of +melodies, and the spirited and effective finale in which the nobles +take the oath of allegiance ("Per la fe, per l'onore"),--each and +every one of these is colored with consummate skill, while all are +invested with chivalrous refinement and stately grace. + +The second act opens with a beautiful choral embroidery in which +different choruses, most striking in contrast, are interwoven with +masterly skill. It is a picture, in music, of the old Paris. The +citizens rejoice over their day's work done. The Huguenots shout their +lusty Rataplan, while the Papist maidens sing their solemn litany +("Ave Maria") on their way to chapel; and as they disappear, the +quaint tones of the curfew chant are heard, and night and rest settle +down upon the city. It is a striking introduction to what +follows,--the exquisite duet between Marcel and Valentin, the great +septet of the duel scene, beginning, "De dritti miei ho l'alma +accesa," with the tremendous double chorus which follows as the two +bands rush upon the scene. As if for relief from the storm of this +scene, the act closes with brilliant pageant music as De Nevers +approaches to escort Valentin to her bridal. + +The third act is the climax of the work, and stands almost unrivalled +in the field of dramatic music, for the manner in which horror and +passion are illustrated. After a dark and despairing aria by Valentin +("Eccomi sola ormai"), and a brief duet with Raoul, the conspirators +enter. The great trio, closing with the conjuration, "Quel Dio," the +awful and stately chant of the monks in the blessing of the unsheathed +daggers ("Sia gloria eterna e onore"), and the thrilling unisons of +the chorus ("D'un sacro zel l'ardore"), which fairly glow with energy, +fierceness, and religious fury,--these numbers of themselves might +have made an act; but Meyerbeer does not pause here. He closes with a +duet between Raoul and Valentin which does not suffer in comparison +with the tremendous combinations which have preceded it. It is filled +with the alternations of despair and love, of grief and ecstasy. In +its movement it is the very whirlwind of passion. Higher form dramatic +music can hardly reach. In the Italian version the performance usually +closes at this point; but there is still another striking and powerful +scene, that in which Raoul and Valentin are united by the dying +Marcel. Then the three join in a sublime trio, and for the last time +chant together the old Lutheran psalm, and await their fate amid the +triumphant harpings that sound from the orchestra and the hosanna they +sing to its accompaniment. + + +THE STAR OF THE NORTH. + +"L'Etoile du Nord," an opera in three acts, words by Scribe, was first +performed at the Opera Comique, Paris, Feb. 16, 1854, and in Italian +as "La Stella del Nord" at Covent Garden, London, July 19, 1855. In +English it has been produced under the title of "The Star of the +North." The opera contains several numbers from the composer's earlier +work, "Feldlager in Schlesien," which was written for the opening of +the Berlin opera-house, in memory of Frederick the Great, and was +subsequently (Feb. 17, 1847) performed with great success in Vienna, +Jenny Lind taking the role of Vielka. The "Feldlager," however, has +never been given out of Germany. + +The action of the opera transpires in Wyborg, on the Gulf of Finland, +in the first act, at a camp of the Russians in the second, and at the +palace of the Czar Peter in the third. In the first, Peter, who is +working at Wyborg, disguised as a carpenter, makes the acquaintance of +Danilowitz, a pastry-cook, and Catharine, a cantiniere, whose brother +George is about to marry Prascovia. Catharine brings about this +marriage; and not only that, but saves the little village from an +invasion by a strolling horde of Tartars, upon whose superstition she +practises successfully, and so conducts herself in general that Peter +falls in love with her, and they are betrothed, though she is not +aware of the real person who is her suitor. Meanwhile the conscription +takes place, and to save her newly wedded brother she volunteers for +fifteen days in his place, disguising herself as a soldier. In the +next act we find Catharine going her rounds as a sentinel in the +Russian camp on the Finnish frontier. Peter and Danilowitz are also +there, and are having a roistering time in their tent, drinking and +making love to a couple of girls. Hearing Peter's voice she recognizes +it, and curiosity leads her to peep into the tent. She is shocked at +what she beholds, neglects her duty, and is found by the corporal in +this insubordinate condition. He remonstrates with her, and she +answers with a slap on his ears, for which she incurs the penalties of +disobedience to orders as well as insulting behavior to her superior +officer. Peter at last is roused from his drunkenness by the news of +an insurrection among his own soldiers and the approach of the enemy. +He rushes out and promises to give Peter into their hands if they will +obey and follow _him_. At last, struck with his bearing and authority, +they demand to know who he is, whereupon he declares himself the Czar. +The mutiny is at once quelled. They submit, and offer their lives as +warrant for their loyalty. The last act opens in the Czar's palace, +where his old companion, Danilowitz, has been installed in high favor. +Catharine, however, has disappeared. George and Prascovia arrive from +Finland, but they know nothing of her. The faithful Danilowitz finds +her, but she has lost her reason. Her friends try to restore it by +surrounding her with recollections of home, and Peter at last succeeds +by playing upon his flute the airs he used to play to her in Finland. +Her senses come back, and thus all ends happily; for Catharine and +Peter are at last united amid the acclamations of the people. + +In the first act the character of Peter is well expressed in the +surly, growling bass of his soliloquy ("Vedra, vedra"). It is followed +by a characteristic drinking-chorus ("Alla Finlanda, beviam"), a wild, +barbaric rhythm in the minor, which passes into a prayer as they +invoke the protection of Heaven upon Charles XII. In the eighth scene +occur the couplets of Gritzensko as he sings the wild song of the +Kalmucks. In charming contrast, in the next scene, Catharine sings the +gypsy rondo, which Jenny Lind made so famous ("Wlastla la santa"), +which is characterized by graceful coquetry; and this in turn is +followed by a striking duet between Catharine and Peter, in which the +individual characteristics of the two are brought out in genuine +Wagnerian style. In the thirteenth scene occurs the bridal song of +Prascovia ("Al suono dell'ora"), with choral accompaniment, of a +delicate and coquettish cast, leading up to the finale, beginning with +the soldiers' chorus ("Onor che a gloria"), with an accompaniment of +drums and fifes, again passing to a pathetic prayer ("Veglia dal ciel +su lor") sung by Catharine amid the ringing of bells as the bridal +wreath is placed upon Prascovia's head, and closing with a florid +barcarole ("Vascel che lasci") as she sails away. + +The second act opens with ballet music, full of Eastern color, and +then ensues one of those choral combinations, like that in the second +act of "the Huguenots," in which Meyerbeer so much delighted,--a +cavalry chorus ("Bel cavalier del cuor d'acciar"), followed by the +Grenadier's song, accompanied by chorus ("Granadier di Russia +esperti"), the chorus taking up the "tr-r-r-um" refrain in imitation +of the drum. In the eighth scene we have the orgy in the tent in the +form of a very spirited dramatic trio, in which Peter sings a blithe +drinking-song ("Vedi al par del rubino"); this in turn resolving into +a quintet ("Vezzose vivandiere"), and again into a sextet, as +Ismailoff enters with a letter for the Czar. The finale is a superb +military picture, made up of the imposing oath of death to the tyrant, +the stirring Dessauer march, the cavalry fanfare, and the Grenadiers' +march, interwoven with the chorus of women as they cheer on the +marching soldiers. + +The third act opens with a romanza ("Dal cor per iscacciare"), very +tender and beautiful, in which the rugged Czar shows us the +sentimental side of his character. In the third scene occurs a long +buffo trio between Peter, Gritzensko, and Danilowitz, which is full of +humor. In the finale we have Catharine in the mad scene, singing the +scena, "L'aurora alfin succede," with bits of the old music running +through the accompaniment; and in the final scene, as her reason +returns, breaking out in the florid bravura, "Non s'ode alcun," +accompanied by the first and second flutes, which is a triumph of +virtuosity for the voice. This number was taken from "The Camp in +Silesia," and was given by Jenny Lind with immense success, not only +in the latter work, but upon the concert stage. The opera as a whole +abounds in humor, its music is fresh and brilliant, and its military +character makes it specially attractive. + + +ROBERT THE DEVIL + +"Robert le Diable," a grand opera in five acts, words by Scribe and +Delavigne, was first produced at the Academie, Paris, Nov. 21, 1831, +with the following cast:-- + + ALICE Mlle. DORUS. + ISABELLE Mme. CINTI-DAMOREAU. + THE ABBESS Sigr. TAGLIONI. + ROBERT M. NOURRIT. + BERTRAM M. LEVASSEUR. + RAIMBAUT M. LAFONT. + +In the following year two versions in English, both of them imperfect, +were brought out by the rival theatres, Covent Garden and Drury Lane. +On the 20th of February it appeared at Drury Lane under the title of +"The Demon; or, the Mystic Branch," and at Covent Garden the next +evening as "The Fiend Father, or Robert Normandy." Drury Lane had +twenty-four hours the start of its rival, but in neither case were the +representations anything but poor imitations of the original. On the +11th of the following June the French version was produced at the +King's Theatre, London, with the same cast as in Paris, except that +the part of Alice was taken by Mme. De Meric, and that of the Abbess +by the danseuse Mlle. Heberle. On the 4th of May, 1847, the first +Italian version was produced at Her Majesty's Theatre, with Jenny Lind +and Staudigl in the cast. Gruneisen, the author of a brief memoir of +Meyerbeer, who was present, says: "The night was rendered memorable, +not only by the massacre attending the general execution, but also by +the debut of Mlle. Lind in this country, who appeared as Alice. With +the exception of the debutante, such a disgraceful exhibition was +never before witnessed on the operatic stage. Mendelssohn was sitting +in the stalls, and at the end of the third act, unable to bear any +longer the executive infliction, he left the theatre." + +The libretto of "Robert the Devil" is absurd in its conceptions and +sensational in its treatment of the story, notwithstanding that it +came from such famous dramatists as Scribe and Delavigne; and it would +have been still worse had it not been for Meyerbeer. Scribe, it is +said, wished to introduce a bevy of sea-nymphs, carrying golden oars, +as the tempters of Robert; but the composer would not have them, and +insisted upon the famous scene of the nuns, as it now stands, though +these were afterwards made the butt of almost endless ridicule. +Mendelssohn himself, who was in Paris at this time, writes: "I cannot +imagine how any music could be composed on such a cold, formal +extravaganza as this." The story runs as follows: The scene is laid in +Sicily, where Robert, Duke of Normandy, who by his daring and +gallantries had earned the sobriquet of "the Devil," banished by his +own subjects, has arrived to attend a tournament given by the Duke of +Messina. In the opening scene, while he is carousing with his knights, +the minstrel Raimbaut sings a song descriptive of the misdeeds of +Robert. The latter is about to revenge himself on the minstrel, when +Alice, his foster-sister and the betrothed of Raimbaut, appears and +pleads with him to give up his wicked courses, and resist the spirit +of evil which is striving to get the mastery of him. Robert then +confides to Alice his hopeless passion for Isabella, daughter of the +Duke. While they are conversing, Bertram, "the unknown," enters, and +Alice shrinks back affrighted, fancying she sees in him the evil +spirit who is luring Robert on to ruin. After she leaves, Bertram +entices him to the gaming-table, from which he rises a beggar,--and +worse than this, he still further prejudices his cause with Isabella +by failing to attend the tournament, thus forfeiting his knightly +honor. + +The second act opens upon an orgy of the evil spirits in the cavern of +St. Irene. Bertram is present, and makes a compact with them to loose +Robert from his influence if he does not yield to his desires at once. +Alice, who has an appointment with the minstrel in the cavern, +overhears the compact, and determines to save him. Robert soon +appears, mourning over his losses and dishonor; but Bertram promises +to restore everything if he will visit the ruined Abbey of St. +Rosalie, and carry away a mystic branch which has the power of +conferring wealth, happiness, and immortality. He consents; and in the +next scene Bertram pronounces the incantation which calls up the +buried nuns. Dazed with their ghostly fascinations, Robert seizes the +branch and flies. His first use of it is to enter the apartments of +Isabella, unseen by her or her attendants, all of whom become +immovable in the presence of the mystic talisman. He declares his +intention of carrying her away; but moved by her entreaties he breaks +the branch, which destroys the charm. In the last act Bertram is at +his side again, trying to induce him to sign the fatal compact. The +strains of sacred music which he hears, and the recollections of his +mother, restrain him. In desperation Bertram announces himself as his +fiend-father. He is about to yield, when Alice appears and reads to +him his mother's warning against the fiend's temptation. As he still +hesitates, the clock strikes, and the spell is over. Bertram +disappears, and the scene changes to the cathedral, where Isabella in +her wedding robes awaits the saved Robert. + +From the musical point of view "Robert le Diable" is interesting, as +it marks the beginning of a new school of grand opera. With this work, +Meyerbeer abandoned the school of Rossini and took an independent +course. He cut loose from the conventional classic forms and gave the +world dramatic music, melodies of extraordinary dramatic force, +brilliant orchestration, stately pageants, and theatrical effects. +"Robert le Diable" was the first of the subsequent great works from +his pen which still further emphasized his new and independent +departure. It is only necessary to call attention to a few prominent +numbers, for this opera has not as many instances of these +characteristics as those which followed and which are elsewhere +described. The first act contains the opening bacchanalian chorus +("Versiamo a tazza plena"), which is very brilliant in character; the +minstrel's song in the same scene ("Regnava un tempo in Normandia"), +with choral accompaniment; and a very tender aria for Alice ("Vanne, +disse, al figlio mio"), in which she delivers his mother's message to +Robert. The second act opens with a spirited duet between Bertram and +Raimbaut, leading up to a powerful and characteristic chorus of the +evil spirits ("Demoni fatali"). An aria for Alice ("Nel lasciar in +Normandia"), a duet between Bertram and Alice ("Trionfo bramato"), and +an intensely dramatic trio between Bertram, Alice, and Robert ("Lo +sguardo immobile"), prepare the way for the great scena of the nuns, +known as "La Temptation," in which Meyerbeer illustrates the fantastic +and oftentimes ludicrous scene with music which is the very essence of +diabolism, and in its way as unique as the incantation music in "Der +Freischutz." The third act contains two great arias. The first +("Invano il fato"), sung at the opening of the act by Isabella, and +the second the world-famous aria "Roberto, o tu che adoro," better +known by the French words ("Robert! toi que j'aime"). The closing act +is specially remarkable for the great terzetto in its finale, which is +one of the most effective numbers Meyerbeer has written. The judgment +of Hanslick, the great Viennese critic, upon this work is interesting +in this connection. He compares it with "William Tell" and +"Masaniello," and finds that in musical richness and blended effects +it is superior to either, but that a single act of either of the works +mentioned contains more artistic truth and ideal form than "Robert le +Diable,"--a judgment which is largely based upon the libretto itself, +which he condemns without stint. + + +DINORAH + +"Dinorah," an opera in three acts, founded upon a Breton idyl, words +by Barbiere and Carre, was first produced at the Opera Comique, Paris, +April 4, 1859, under the title of "Le Pardon de Ploermel." It contains +but three principal characters, and these were cast as follows: +Dinorah, Mme. Cabel; Corentin, M. Sainte-Foy; and Hoeel, M. Faure. On +the 26th of July, 1859, Meyerbeer conducted the work himself at Covent +Garden, London, with Mme. Miolan-Carvalho as Dinorah, and it was also +produced in the same year in English by the Pyne-Harrison troupe. The +first representative of Dinorah in this country was Mlle. Cordier. + +The scene of the opera is laid in Brittany, and when the first act +opens, the following events are supposed to have transpired. On one of +the days set apart by the villagers of Ploermel for a pilgrimage to +the shrine of the Virgin, Hoeel, the goatherd, and Dinorah, his +affianced, set out to receive a nuptial benediction. The festivity is +interrupted by a thunder-storm, during which Les Herbiers, the +dwelling-place of Dinorah, is destroyed by lightning. Dinorah is in +despair. Hoeel determines to make good the loss, and upon the advice of +Tonick, an old wizard, resolves to go in quest of a treasure which is +under the care of the Korigans, a supernatural folk belonging to +Brittany. In order to wrest it from them, however, it is necessary for +Hoeel to quit the country and spend a year in solitude in a desolate +region. He bravely starts off, and Dinorah, thinking he has abandoned +her, loses her wits, and constantly wanders about the woods with her +goat, seeking him. Meanwhile the year expires and Hoeel returns, +convinced that he has the secret for securing the treasure. + +The overture to the work is unique among operatic overtures, as it has +a chorus behind the curtain interwoven with it. It is a picture of the +opera itself, and contains a will-o'-the-wisp passage, a rustic song +with accompaniment of goat-bells, a storm, and in the midst of the +storm a chant to the Virgin, sung by the unseen chorus, and then a +Pilgrimage march, the whole being in the nature of a retrospect. The +curtain rises upon a rustic chorus, after which Dinorah appears, +seeking her goat, and sings a slumber-song ("Si, carina, caprettina") +which is very graceful, and concludes with phrases in imitation of +birds. In the next scene, Corentin, the bagpiper, who has been away +three months, and is nearly dead with terror of goblins and fairies, +returns to his cottage, and to reassure himself sings a very quaint +and original song ("Sto in casa alfine"), to the accompaniment of his +pipe. Dinorah suddenly appears and enters the cottage, and much to his +alarm keeps him playing and singing, which leads to a very animated +vocal contest between her and the bagpiper. It is abruptly terminated, +however, by the arrival of Hoeel. Dinorah makes her escape by a window, +and Hoeel relates to Corentin the story of the Korigans' treasure. As +the first person who touches it will die, he determines that Corentin +shall be his messenger, and to rouse his courage sends for wine. While +Corentin is absent, Hoeel sings an aria ("Se per prender") which has +always been a favorite with barytones. After Corentin returns, the +tinkling of the goat's bell is heard. Dinorah appears in the distance, +and a charming trio closes the act, to the accompaniment of the +whistling wind and booming thunder on the contra basses and drums of +the orchestra. + +The second act opens with a drinking-song by wood-cutters, and as they +withdraw, Dinorah enters, seeking Hoeel. She sings a tender lament, +which, as the moonlight falls about her, develops into the famous +"Shadow Song," a polka mazurka, which she sings and dances to her +shadow. The aria, "Ombra leggier," is fairly lavish in its texture of +vocal embroidery, and has always been a favorite number on the concert +stage. The next scene changes to the Val Maudit (the Cursed Vale), a +rocky, cavernous spot, through which rushes a raging torrent bridged +by a fallen tree. Hoeel and Corentin appear in quest of the treasure, +and the latter gives expression to his terror in a very characteristic +manner, with the assistance of the orchestra. Dinorah is heard singing +the legend of the treasure ("Chi primo al tesor"), from which Corentin +learns that whoever touches it first will die. He refuses to go on, +and a spirited duet ensues between them, which is interrupted by the +entrance of Dinorah and her goat. Hoeel, fancying it is a spirit sent +to keep him back, sings a very beautiful aria ("Le crede il padre"). +The act closes with the fall of Dinorah, who attempts to cross the +bridge, into the torrent, and her rescue by Hoeel, to the accompaniment +of a storm set to music. The scene, though melodramatic, is very +strong in its musical effects. + +The last act opens with a scene in striking contrast, introduced with +a quintet of horns, followed by a hunter's solo, a reaper's solo, a +duet for shepherds; and a quartet in the finale. Hoeel arrives, bearing +the rescued Dinorah, and sings to her an exquisite romance ("Sei +vendicata assai"). The magic of his singing and her bath in the +torrent restore her wandering senses. Hoeel persuades her that all +which has transpired has been a dream. The old song of the Pardon of +Ploermel comes to her, and as she tries to recall it the chorus takes +it up ("Santa Maria! nostra donna") as it was heard in the overture. A +procession is seen in the distance, and amid some exquisite pageant +music Hoeel and Dinorah wend their way to the chapel, where the nuptial +rites are supposed to be performed. + + +THE PROPHET. + +"Le Prophete," an opera in five acts, words by Scribe, was first +produced in Paris, April 16, 1849, with Mme. Viardot-Garcia as Fides, +and M. Roger as John of Leyden. "The Prophet" was long and carefully +elaborated by its composer. Thirteen years intervened between it and +its predecessor, "The Huguenots;" but in spite of its elaboration it +can only be said to excel the latter in pageantry and spectacular +effect, while its musical text is more declamatory than melodious, as +compared with "The Huguenots." In this sense it was disappointing when +first produced. + +The period of the opera is 1534. The first act transpires in Dordrecht +and Leyden, in Holland, and the other three in Munster, Germany. The +text closely follows the historical narrative of the period when +Munster was occupied by John of Leyden and his fanatics, who, after he +had been crowned by them as Emperor of Germany, was driven out by the +bishop of the diocese. The first act opens in the suburbs of +Dordrecht, near the Meuse, with the chateau of Count Oberthal, lord of +the domain, in the distance. After a very fresh and vigorous chorus of +peasants, Bertha, a vassal of the Count, betrothed to John of Leyden, +enters and sings a cavatina ("Il cor nel sento"), in which she gives +expression to emotions of delight at her approaching union. As she +cannot go to Leyden, where the marriage is to take place, without the +Count's consent, Fides, the mother of John, joins her to make the +request. In the mean time the three Anabaptists, Zacarie, Gione, and +Mathisen, leaders of the revolt in Westphalia, arrive on their mission +of raising an insurrection in Holland, and in a sombre trio of a +religious but stirring character ("O libertade") incite the peasants +to rise against their rulers. They make an assault upon the castle of +Count Oberthal, who speedily repels them, and turns the tide of +popular feeling against the Anabaptists, by recognizing Gione as a +former servant who had been discharged from his service for +dishonesty. Fides and Bertha then join in a romanza ("Della mora un +giorno"), imploring his permission for the marriage of Bertha and +John. The Count, however, struck with her beauty, not only refuses, +but claims her for himself, and seizes both her and Fides, and the act +closes with a repetition of the warning chant of the Anabaptists. + +The second act opens in the hostelry of John of Leyden, and is +introduced with a waltz and drinking-chorus, in the midst of which the +Anabaptists arrive and are struck with his resemblance to a portrait +of David in the Munster Cathedral. From a very descriptive and highly +wrought scena ("Sotto le vasti arcati") sung by him they also learn +that he is given to visions and religious meditations. They assure him +that he shall be a ruler; but in a beautiful romanza ("Un impero piu +soave") he replies that his love for Bertha is his only sovereignty. +Just as they depart, Bertha, who has escaped, rushes in and claims his +protection. He conceals her; but has hardly done so when the Count +enters with his soldiers, bringing Fides as a prisoner, and threatens +to kill her unless Bertha is given up. He hesitates; but at last, to +save his mother's life, delivers Bertha to her pursuers. Mother and +son are left alone, and she seeks to console him. In this scene occurs +one of the most dramatic and intense of Meyerbeer's arias ("O figlio +mio, che diro"), known more popularly by its French words, beginning, +"Ah! mon fils." It has enjoyed a world-wide popularity, and still +holds its place in all its original freshness and vigor. Fides hardly +disappears before the ominous chant of the Anabaptists is heard again. +He does not need much persuasion now. They make their compact in a +quartet of magnificent power, which closes the act; and some of John's +garments are left behind stained with blood, that his mother may +believe he has been killed. + +The third act opens in the Anabaptists' camp in a Westphalian forest, +a frozen lake near them, and Munster, which they are besieging, in the +distance. In the second scene Zacarie sings a stirring pasan of +victory ("In coppia son"), followed by the beautiful ballet music of +the skaters as they come bringing provisions to the troops. Count +Oberthal meanwhile has been taken prisoner and brought into camp. A +buffo trio between himself and his captors follows, in which Gione +penetrates his disguise and recognizes him. They are about to fall +upon him; but John, learning from him that Bertha is still alive and +in Munster, saves his life. He immediately resolves to take the place +by assault, rouses his followers with religious chants of a martial +character, and the act concludes with the march on the city. + +The fourth act opens in the city itself after its capture. A mendicant +appears in the public square begging for bread. It is Fides; and in a +plaintively declamatory aria of striking power ("Pieta! pieta!") she +implores alms. She meets with Bertha disguised as a pilgrim, and bent +upon the destruction of the Prophet, who, she believes, has been the +cause of John's death. The next scene opens in the cathedral, where +the coronation of the Prophet is to take place; and among all +Meyerbeer's pageants none are more imposing than this, with its +accompaniment of pealing bells, religious chants, the strains of the +organ, and the stately rhythms of the great Coronation March. It is a +splendid prelude to the dramatic scene which follows. In the midst of +the gorgeous spectacle, the voice of Fides is heard claiming the +Prophet as her son. John boldly disavows her, and tells his followers +to kill him if she does not confirm the disavowal. The feelings of the +mother predominate, and she declares that she is mistaken. The +multitude proclaim it a miracle, and Fides is removed as a prisoner. +The dramatic situation in this finale is one of great strength, and +its musical treatment has hardly been excelled. + +The last act opens with a trio by the Anabaptist leaders, who, +learning that the enemy is approaching in force, determine to save +themselves by betraying John. In the third scene Fides in prison, +learning that John is coming to see her, invokes the punishment of +Heaven upon him in the passionate aria, "Spirto superno." A duet ("Tu +che del cielo") of great power follows, in which Fides convinces him +of the errors of his course. As they are about to leave, Bertha +enters, bent upon the destruction of the palace, and in the trio which +ensues learns that John and the Prophet are one. She stabs herself, +and dying in the arms of Fides curses him. The last scene opens in a +banqueting-hall of the palace, where John is revelling, with the +Anabaptists around him. He sings a bacchanalian song of a wild +description ("Beviam e intorno"), and, as it closes, the Bishop of +Munster, the Elector, Count Oberthal, and the three Anabaptists who +have betrayed him, enter the apartment. The revenge which John has +planned is now consummated. An explosion is heard. Flames break out on +all sides. Fides rushes in and forgives her son, and the Prophet, his +mother, and his enemies perish together. + +Although "The Prophet" did not meet with the popularity of some of his +other operas, it contains some of the most vigorous and dramatic music +Meyerbeer has written,--notably the arias of Zacarie and Fides, the +skating-ballet, the Coronation March, and the drinking-song. As a +pageant, "The Prophet" has never been surpassed. + + +THE AFRICAN. + +"L'Africaine," a grand opera in five acts, words by Scribe, was first +produced at the Academie, Paris, April 28, 1865, with the following +cast:-- + + SELIKA Mme. MARIE SAXE. + INEZ Mlle. MARIE BATTEO. + VASCO DI GAMA M. NAUDIN. + NELUSKO M. FAURE. + DON PEDRO M. BELVAL. + HIGH PRIEST M. OBIN. + +The libretto of the opera was first given to Meyerbeer by Scribe in +1838; but such were the alterations demanded by the composer, that at +last Scribe withdrew it altogether, although the music was already +set. In 1852 he furnished a revised libretto, and the music was +revised to suit it. The work was not finished until 1860, and owing to +the difficulty of filling the cast satisfactorily, was not brought to +rehearsal until the fall of 1863. While still correcting and improving +it, Meyerbeer died, and it was not produced until two years later. +Shortly after the Paris performance it was brought out in London, with +Mlle. Lucca in the part of Selika. Mme. Zucchi was one of the earliest +representatives of the slave in this country. + +The scene of the opera is laid in Portugal and Africa, and the first +act opens in the council chamber of the king of the former country. +Inez, his daughter, is mourning the long absence of her betrothed, +Vasco di Gama the explorer. Her father, wishing to marry her to Don +Pedro, the President of the Council, tries to persuade her that Vasco +has perished by shipwreck; but the refutation of the story comes in +the sudden appearance of Vasco himself, who is summoned before the +Council and narrates to them his discovery of a strange land, +producing two of the natives, Selika and Nelusko, as confirmations of +his announcement. Don Pedro incites the inquisitors to deny the truth +of the story, at which Vasco breaks out in such a furious rage against +them that he is arrested and thrown into a dungeon. The second act +opens in the prison, where Selika is watching the slumbering Vasco. As +he wakens she declares her love for him, and at the same time saves +him from the dagger of the jealous Nelusko. She also indicates to him +the course he should have taken to discover the island of which he is +in quest. To save her lover, Inez consents to wed Don Pedro; and the +latter, to cheat Vasco of his fame, takes command of the expedition +under the pilotage of Nelusko, and sets sail for the new land. The +Indian, thirsting for vengeance, directs the vessel out of her course +towards a reef; but Vasco, who has followed in another vessel, arrives +in time to warn Don Pedro of his danger. He disregards the warning, +distrusts his motives, and orders him to be shot; but before the +sentence can be carried out, the vessel strikes and is boarded by the +savages, who slaughter the commander and most of his men. The fourth +act opens on the island which Selika pointed out on the map, and of +which she is queen. To save him from her subjects, she declares +herself his spouse; but as the marriage rite is about to be +celebrated, Vasco hears the voice of Inez in the distance, deserts +Selika, and flies to her. In the last act, as the vessel sails away +bearing Vasco and Inez back to Portugal, Selika throws herself down +under the poisonous manchineel-tree and kills herself with its fatal +flowers; expiring in the arms of Nelusko, who shares the same fate. + +The first act opens with a very sweet but sombre ballad sung by Inez +("Del Tago sponde addio"), which recalls the English song, "Isle of +Beauty, fare thee well," and is followed by a bold and flowing +terzetto. The third scene opens with a noble and stately chorus ("Tu +che la terra adora") sung by the basses in unison, opening the Council +before which Vasco appears; and the act closes with an anathema hurled +at him ("Ribelle, insolente"),--a splendid ensemble, pronounced in its +rhythm and majestic in the sweep of its passionate music. + +The second act opens with the quaint slumber-song ("In grembo a me") +which Selika sings to Vasco in prison. It is oriental in color, and is +broken here and there by a barcarole which Vasco murmurs in his sleep. +In striking contrast with its dreamy, quiet flow, it leads up to a +passionate aria ("Tranquillo e gia") based upon a strong and fiery +motive. In the next scene follows an aria of equal vigor sung by +Nelusko ("Figlia dei Re"), in which his devotion to Selika changing to +his hatred of Vasco is characterized by a grand crescendo. The act +closes with a vigorous sextet, the motive of which is strangely +similar to the old song, "The Minstrel Boy." + +The third act contains a very impressive number, Nelusko's invocation +of Adamastor ("Adamastor, re dell' onde profondo"), but is mainly +devoted to the ship scene, which, though grotesque from the dramatic +point of view, is accompanied by music of a powerful and realistic +description, written with all the vividness and force Meyerbeer always +displays in his melodramatic ensembles. The fourth act contains the +most beautiful music of the opera,--Vasco's opening aria, "O +Paradiso," an exquisite melody set to an equally exquisite +accompaniment; the ensemble in the fourth scene, in which Selika +protects Vasco and Nelusko swears vengeance ("Al mio penar de fine"); +the grand duet between Vasco and Selika ("Dove son"), which has often +been compared to the duet in the fourth act of "The Huguenots," though +it has not the passionate intensity of the scene between Raoul and +Valentin; and the graceful choruses of the Indian maidens and Inez's +attendants which close the act. + +The last act contains two scenes,--the first in Selika's gardens, +where there is a long and spirited duet between Inez and Selika. The +second, known as "La Scene du Mancenillier," has a symphonic prelude +in the form of a funeral march, based upon a fascinating melody, which +is beyond question the finest of Meyerbeer's orchestral numbers in any +of his works. From this point the story hastens to its tragic +denouement; and nearly the entire scene is occupied with Selika's +dying song, which opens with a majestic apostrophe to the sea ("Da qui +io vedo il mar"), then turns to sadness as she sings to the fatal tree +("O tempio sontuoso"), and at the close develops into a passionate +outcry of joy ("O douce extase"). Though the plot of "L'Africaine" is +often absurd, many of its incidents preposterous, and some of its +characters unattractive, the opera is full of effective situations, +and repeatedly illustrates Meyerbeer's powers of realization and his +knowledge of effects. + + + + +MOZART. + +Johann Chrysostomus Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born at Salzburg, Jan. +27, 1756. With this wonderful child music was a divine gift, for his +first work, a minuet and trio for piano, was written in his fifth +year. He began to study with his father when but three years of age, +and at once gave signs of extraordinary promise. His sister was also +very talented; and in 1762 the father determined to travel with his +prodigies. They were absent a year, the most of that time being spent +at Munich, Vienna, and Presburg, where they created a furor by their +performances. A longer journey was then resolved upon. The principal +German cities, Brussels, Paris, London, the Hague, Amsterdam, and the +larger towns of Switzerland were visited in succession, and everywhere +the children were greeted with enthusiasm, particularly when they +played before the French and English courts. They returned to Salzburg +in 1766, already famous all over Europe; and during the next two years +Mozart composed many minor works. In 1768 he was again in Vienna, +where he produced his little operetta, "Bastien und Bastienne," and in +the same year the Archbishop of Salzburg made him his concertmeister. +The next year he went to Italy, where he both studied and composed, +and was received with extraordinary honors. In 1771 he brought out his +opera, "Mitridate, Re di Ponto," at Milan, with great success. The +next year he produced "Lucio Silla," also in Milan, and during the +next four years composed a great number of symphonies and other +instrumental works. The mass of music which he composed up to his +twenty-first year is simply bewildering. In 1781 he brought out +"Idomeneo" at Munich, which left no doubt as to his position as a +dramatic composer. In 1782 his "Entfuhrung aus dem Serail" was +produced at Vienna by the Emperor's command. His next great opera was +"Le Nozze di Figaro," which was performed in 1786, and made all Vienna +go wild. "Don Giovanni" followed it the next year, and was received +with equal enthusiasm. In 1789 he composed the famous "Requiem;" and +the same year the "Zauberfloete," his last great opera, appeared, and +made a success even greater than its two great predecessors. Two years +later, Dec. 5, 1791, Mozart died in poverty, and amid the saddest of +surroundings. One of the world's greatest geniuses was carried to his +last resting-place unaccompanied by friends, and was buried in the +common pauper's grave. God endowed him with a wonderful genius, which +the world of his time could not recognize. + + +THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO. + +"Le Nozze di Figaro," in the German version, "Die Hochzeit des +Figaro," an opera buffa in four acts, the words by Lorenzo da Ponte, +after Beaumarchais's comedy, "Le Mariage de Figaro," was first +produced at the National Theatre, Vienna, May 1, 1786, with the +following cast:-- + + COUNTESS ALMAVIVA Signora STORACE. + SUSANNA Signora LASCHI. + CHERUBINO Signora MANDINI. + MARCELLINA Signora BUSSANI. + BARBARINA Signora GOTTLIEB. + COUNT ALMAVIVA Signor MANDINI. + FIGARO Signor BENUCCI. + BARTOLO Signor OCCHELEY. + BASILIO Signor BUSSANI. + +It was first brought out in Paris in 1793, with Beaumarchais's spoken +dialogue, in five acts, as "Le Mariage de Figaro," and in 1858 at the +Theatre Lyrique in the same city, in four acts, as "Les Noces de +Figaro," with text by Barbiere and Carre. The late Mme. Parepa-Rosa +introduced it in this country in its English form with great success. + +At the time the libretto was written, Beaumarchais's satirical comedy, +"Le Mariage de Figaro," had been performed all over Europe, and had +attracted great attention. It had been prohibited in Paris, and had +caused great commotion in Vienna. Mozart's notice was thus drawn to +it, and he suggested it to Da Ponte for a libretto, and the Emperor +Joseph subsequently commissioned the composer to set it to music, +though he had already composed a portion of it. The entire opera was +written during the month of April, and the wonderful finale to the +second act occupied him for two nights and a day. When it came to a +performance, its success was remarkable. Kelly, who was present, says, +in his Reminiscences: "Never was there a greater triumph than Mozart +enjoyed with his 'Figaro.' The house was crowded to overflowing, and +almost everything encored, so that the opera lasted nearly double the +usual time; and yet at its close the public were unwearied in clapping +their hands and shouting for Mozart." Popular as it was, it was soon +laid aside in Vienna through the influence of the Italian faction +headed by Salieri, one of Mozart's rivals. + +The story of the opera is laid in Spain. Count Almaviva, who had won +his beautiful Countess with the aid of Figaro, the barber of Seville, +becomes enamoured of her maid Susanna, and at the same time, by the +collusion of the two, in order to punish him, is made jealous by the +attentions paid to the Countess by Cherubino, the page. Meanwhile +Figaro, to whom Susanna is betrothed, becomes jealous of the Count for +his gallantry to her. Out of these cross-relations arise several +humorous surprises. Besides these characters there are two others who +have been disappointed in love,--Bartolo, who has been rejected by +Susanna, and Marcellina, whose affection for Figaro has not been +requited. The Count seeks to get rid of Cherubino by ordering him off +to the wars, but he is saved by Susanna, who disguises him in female +attire. The Countess, Susanna, Figaro, and Cherubino then conspire to +punish the Count for his infidelity. The latter suddenly appears at +his wife's door, and finding it locked demands an entrance. Cherubino, +alarmed, hides himself in a closet and bars the door. The Count is +admitted, and finding the Countess in confusion insists upon searching +the closet. He goes out to find some means of breaking in the door, +and Cherubino improves the opportunity to jump out of the window, +while Susanna takes his place and confronts the puzzled Count. +Antonio, the gardener, comes in and complains that some one has jumped +from the window and broken his flower-pots. Figaro at once asserts +that he did it. + +A ludicrous side plot unfolds at this point. Marcellina appears with a +contract of marriage signed by Figaro, bringing Bartolo as a witness. +The Count decides that Figaro must fulfil his contract, but the latter +escapes by showing that he is the son of Marcellina, and that Bartolo +is his father. Meanwhile the main plot is developed in another +conspiracy to punish the Count. Susanna contrives a rendezvous with +the Count at night in the garden, having previously arranged with the +Countess that she should disguise herself as the maid, the latter also +assuming the part of the Countess, and arrive in time to surprise the +two. The page also puts in an appearance, and gets his ears boxed for +his attentions to the disguised Countess. Figaro, who has been +informed that Susanna and the Count are to meet in the garden, comes +on the scene, and in revenge makes a passionate declaration of love to +the supposed Countess, upon which the Count, who is growing more and +more bewildered, orders lights and makes his supposed wife unveil. The +real wife does the same. Covered with confusion, he implores pardon of +the Countess, which is readily given. The two are reconciled, and +Figaro and Susanna are united. + +The whole opera is such a combination of playfulness and grace that it +is a somewhat ungracious task to refer to particular numbers. In these +regards it is the most Mozartean of all the composer's operas. The +first act opens with a sparkling duet between Figaro and Susanna, in +which she informs him of the Count's gallantries. As she leaves, +Figaro, to the accompaniment of his guitar, sings a rollicking song +("Se vuol ballare, Signor Contino"), in which he intimates that if the +Count wishes to dance he will play for him in a style he little +expects. In the second scene Bartolo enters, full of his plans for +vengeance, which he narrates in a grim and grotesque song ("La +Vendetta"). The fourth scene closes with an exquisite aria by +Cherubino ("Non so piu cosa son"). After an exceedingly humorous trio +("Cosa sento? tosto andate") for the Count, Basilio and Susanna, and a +bright, gleeful chorus ("Giovanni lieti"), Figaro closes the act with +the celebrated aria, "Non piu andrai." Of the singing of this great +song at the first rehearsal of the opera Kelly says in his +Reminiscences: "I remember Mozart well at the first general rehearsal, +in a red furred coat and a gallooned hat, standing on the stage and +giving the tempi. Benucci sang Figaro's aria, 'Non piu andrai,' with +the utmost vivacity and the full strength of his voice. I stood close +beside Mozart, who exclaimed, _sotto voce_, 'Brava! brava! Benucci!' +and when that fine passage came, 'Cherubino, alla vittoria, alla +gloria militar,' which Benucci gave in a stentorian voice, the effect +was quite electrical, both on the singers on the stage and the +musicians in the orchestra. Quite transported with delight, they all +called out, 'Brava! brava, Maestro! viva! viva! viva il grande +Mozart!' In the orchestra the applause seemed to have no end, while +the violin-players rapped their bows on their desks. The little +Maestro expressed his gratitude for the enthusiasm, testified in so +unusual a manner, by repeatedly bowing." + +The second act is the masterpiece of the opera, and contains in itself +music enough to have made any composer immortal. It opens with a +serious aria by the Countess ("Porgi amor") followed by Cherubino's +well-known romanza ("Voi che sapete,") one of the sweetest and most +effective songs ever written for contralto, and this in turn by +Susanna's coquettish song, "Venite, inginocchiatevi," as she disguises +Cherubino. A spirited trio and duet lead up to the great finale, begun +by the Count, ("Esci omai, garzon mal nato"). Upon this finale Mozart +seems to have lavished the riches of his musical genius with the most +elaborate detail and in bewildering profusion. It begins with a duet +between the Count and Countess, then with the entrance of Susanna +changes to a trio, and as Figaro and Antonio enter, develops into a +quintet. In the close, an independent figure is added by the entrance +of Marcellina, Barbarina, and Basilio, and as Antonio exits, this trio +is set against the quartet with independent themes and tempi. + +The third act opens with a duet ("Crudel, perche finora") for the +Count and Countess, followed by a very dramatic scena for the Count, +beginning with the recitative, "Hai gia vinta la causa?" which in turn +leads up to a lively and spirited sextet ("Riconosci in questo +amplesso"). The two numbers which follow the sextet are recognized +universally as two of the sweetest and most melodious ever +written,--the exquisite aria, "Dove Sono," for the Countess, and the +"Zephyr Duet," as it is popularly known ("Canzonetta su l'aria. Che +soave zeffiretto"), which stands unsurpassed for elegance, grace, and +melodious beauty. The remaining numbers of prominent interest are a +long and very versatile buffo aria for tenor ("In quegli anni"), sung +by Basilio, Figaro's stirring march number ("Ecco la marcia"), and a +lovely song for Susanna ("Deh, vieni, non tardar"). The opera is full +of life and human interest. Its wonderful cheerfulness and vital +sympathy appeal to every listener, and its bright, free, joyous tone +from beginning to end is no less fascinating than the exquisite +melodies with which Mozart has so richly adorned it. Like "Don +Giovanni" and the "Magic Flute," the best test of the work is, that it +is rounding its first century as fresh and bright and popular as ever. + + +DON GIOVANNI. + +"Don Giovanni," an opera buffa in two acts, words by Da Ponte, was +first produced at Prague, Oct. 29, 1787. The full title of the work is +"Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni," and the subject was +taken from a Spanish tale by Tirso de Molina, called "El combidado de +piedra." The original cast of the opera was as follows:-- + + DONNA ANNA Signora TERESA SAPORITTI. + DONNA ELVIRA Signora MICELLI. + ZERLINA Signora BONDINI. + DON OTTAVIO Signor BAGLIONI. + DON GIOVANNI Signor LUIGI BASSI. + LEPORELLO Signor FELICE PONZIANI. + MASETTO and DON PEDRO Signor LOLLI. + +The success of the "Marriage of Figaro" prepared the way for "Don +Giovanni." Mozart wrote the opera in Prague, and completed it, except +the overture, Oct. 28, 1787, about six weeks after he arrived in the +city. The first performance took place the next evening. The overture +was written during the night, the copyist received the score at seven +o'clock in the morning, and it was played at eight in the evening. He +had only a week for stage rehearsals, and yet the opera created a +furor. As an instance of his extraordinary memory, it is said that the +drum and trumpet parts to the finale of the second act were written +without the score, from memory. When he brought the parts into the +orchestra, he remarked, "Pray, gentlemen, be particularly attentive at +this place," pointing to one, "as I believe that there are four bars +either too few or too many." His remark was proved true. It is also +said that in the original scores the brass instruments frequently have +no place, as he wrote the parts continually on separate bits of paper, +trusting to his memory for the score. The next year (1788) the opera +was brought out in Vienna, and for this production he wrote four new +numbers,--a recitative and aria for Donna Elvira ("In quali excessi, o +numi"); an aria for Masetto ("Ho capito, Signor, si"); a short aria +for Don Ottavio ("Dalla sua pace"); and a duet for Zerlina and +Leporello ("Per queste tue manine"). + +The scene of the opera is laid in Spain. Don Giovanni, a licentious +nobleman, becomes enamoured of Donna Anna, the daughter of the +Commandant of Seville, who is betrothed to Don Ottavio. He gains +admission to her apartments at night, and attempts to carry her away; +but her cries bring her father to her rescue. He attacks Don Giovanni, +and in the encounter is slain. The libertine, however, in company with +his rascally servant, Leporello, makes good his escape. While the +precious pair are consulting about some new amour, Donna Elvira, one +of his victims, appears and taxes him with his cruelty; but he flies +from her, leaving her with Leporello, who horrifies her with an +appalling list of his master's conquests in various countries. Don +Giovanni next attempts the ruin of Zerlina, a peasant girl, upon the +very eve of her marriage with her lover, Masetto. Donna Elvira, +however, appears and thwarts his purposes, and also discovers him to +Donna Anna as the murderer of her father, whereupon she binds her +lover, Don Ottavio, to avenge his death. Don Giovanni does not abandon +his purpose, however. He gives a fete, and once more seeks to +accomplish Zerlina's ruin, but is again thwarted by her three friends. + +The second act opens in a public square of Seville at night. Don +Giovanni and Leporello appear before the house of Donna Elvira, where +Zerlina is concealed. Leporello, disguised in his master's cloak, and +assuming his voice, lures Donna Elvira out, and feigning repentance +for his conduct induces her to leave with him. Don Giovanni then +proceeds to enter the house and seize Zerlina; but before he can +accomplish his purpose, Masetto and his friends appear, and supposing +it is Leporello before them, demand to know where his master is, as +they are bent upon killing him. Don Giovanni easily disposes of +Masetto, and then rejoins his servant near the equestrian statue, +which has been erected to the memory of the murdered Don Pedro. To +their astonishment the statue speaks, and warns the libertine he will +die before the morrow. Don Giovanni laughs at the prophecy, and +invites the statue to a banquet to be given the next day at his house. +While the guests are assembled at the feast, an ominous knock is heard +at the door and the statue unceremoniously enters. All except +Leporello and Don Giovanni fly from the room in terror. The doomed man +orders an extra plate, but the statue extends its hand and invites him +to sup with it. He takes the marble hand, and its cold fingers clutch +him in a firm grasp. Thrice the statue urges him to repent, and as +many times he refuses; whereupon, as it disappears, demons rise, seize +Don Giovanni, and carry him to the infernal regions. + +Musically considered, "Don Giovanni" is regarded as Mozart's greatest +opera, though it lacks the bright joyousness of the "Marriage of +Figaro," and its human interest. Its melodies are more pronounced, and +have entered more freely into general use, however, than those of the +former. Repulsive as the story is, some of the melodies which +illustrate it have been impressed into the service of the church. The +first act is introduced with a humorous aria by Leporello ("Notte e +giorno faticar"), in which he complains of his treatment by his +master. After the murder of Don Pedro, in the second scene, occurs a +trio between Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni, and Leporello, the leading +motive of which is a beautiful aria sung by Donna Elvira ("Ah! chi mi +dici mai"). The scene closes with the great buffo aria of Leporello +("Madamina il catalogo") popularly known as the "Catalogue Song," +which is full of broad humor, though its subject is far from +possessing that quality. In the third scene occur the lovely duet for +Don Giovanni and Zerlina ("La ci darem, la mano"), two arias of great +dramatic intensity for Donna Elvira ("Mi tradi") and Donna Anna ("Or +sai chi l'onore"), and Don Giovanni's dashing song, "Finche dal vino," +the music of which is in admirable keeping with the reckless nature of +the libertine himself. The last scene is a treasure-house of music, +containing the exquisitely coquettish aria, "Batti, batti," which +Zerlina sings to the jealous Masetto, and the beautiful trio of Donna +Anna, Donna Elvira, and Don Ottavio, known as the Mask Trio, set off +against the quaint minuet music of the fete and the hurly-burly which +accompanies the discovery of Don Giovanni's black designs. + +The second act opens with a humorous duet between master and servant +("Eh, via, buffone"), followed by the trio, "Ah! taci, inquisto care," +as Elvira appears at her window. After she leaves with Leporello, Don +Giovanni sings a serenade ("Deh? vieni all finestra") to Zerlina, +which is interrupted by the appearance of Masetto and his friends. +Zerlina is summoned to the scene by the cries of Masetto after Don +Giovanni has beaten him, and sings to him for his consolation the +beautiful aria, "Vedrai carino," which has more than once been set to +sacred words, and has become familiar as a church tune, +notwithstanding the unsanctity of its original setting. The second +scene opens with a strong sextet ("Sola, sola, in bujo loco"), +followed by the ludicrously solemn appeal of Leporello, "Ah! pieta, +signori miei," and that aria beloved of all tenors, "Il mio tesoro." +The finale is occupied with the scenes at the statue and at the +banquet, a short scene between Donna Anna and Don Ottavio intervening, +in which she sings the aria, "Non mi dir." The statue music throughout +is of a sepulchral character, gradually developing into strains almost +as cold and ominous as the marble of the Commandant himself, and yet +not without an element of the grotesque as it portrays the terror of +Leporello. + +It is said that in revenge at his Italian rivals, Mozart introduced an +aria from Martin's "Cosa Rara," arranged for wind instruments, and +also a favorite aria of Sarti's, to be played at the banquet when the +hungry Leporello beholds his master at the table and watches for some +of the choice morsels, and parodied them in an amusing manner. He +never could retain an enmity very long, however, and so at the end of +the banquet he parodied one of his own arias, the famous "Non piu +andrai," by giving it a comical turn to suit Leporello's situation. +The criticism of one of the best biographers of Mozart upon this opera +is worth repeating in this connection: "Whether we regard the mixture +of passions in its concerted music, the profound expression of +melancholy, the variety of its situations, the beauty of its +accompaniment, or the grandeur of its heightening and protracted scene +of terror--the finale of the second act,--'Don Giovanni' stands alone +in dramatic eminence." + + +THE MAGIC FLUTE. + +"Die Zauberfloete," an opera in two acts, words by Emanuel +Schickaneder, was first produced at Vienna, Sept. 30, 1791, with the +following cast: + + QUEEN OF NIGHT Mme. HOFER. + PAMINA Mlle. GOTTLIEB. + PAPAGENA Mme. GORL. + TAMINO Herr SCHACK. + MONOSTATOS Herr GORL. + SARASTRO Herr SCHICKANEDER, Sr. + PAPAGENO Herr SCHICKANEDER, Jr. + +The "Magic Flute" was the last great work of the composer, and +followed the "Cosi fan tutte," which was given in January, 1791. In +1780 Mozart had made the acquaintance of Schickaneder at Salzburg. He +was a reckless, dissipated theatre manager, and at the time of the +composition of the "Magic Flute" was running a small theatre in +Vienna. The competition of the larger theatres had nearly beggared +him, and in the midst of his perplexities he applied to Mozart to +write him an opera, and intimated that he had discovered an admirable +subject for a fairy composition. Mozart at first objected; but +Schickaneder, like himself, was a Freemason; he had been his companion +in dissipation, and exercised a great influence over him. Mozart at +last consented. A compact was made, and Schickaneder set to work on +the libretto. As he was a popular buffoon, he invented the part of +Papageno, the bird-catcher, for himself, and arranged that it should +be dressed in a costume of feathers. It is a trivial part, but +Schickaneder intended to tickle the fancy of the public, and +succeeded. The first act was finished, when it was found that the same +subject had been chosen by a rival theatre, the Leopold Stadt, which +speedily announced the opera of "Kaspar der Fagottist, oder die +Zauber-Zither," by a popular composer, Wenzel Mueller. The piece had a +successful run, and in order to prevent a duplication, Schickaneder +reversed the point of his story, and changed the evil magician, who +stole the daughter of the Queen of Night, into a great philosopher and +friend of man. It is owing to this change that we have the magnificent +character of Sarastro, with its impressive music. + +The scene of the opera is laid in Egypt. Sarastro, the high-priest of +Isis, has induced Pamina to leave her mother, Astrifiamenti, the Queen +of Night, who represents the spirit of evil, and come to his temple, +where she may be trained in the ways of virtue and wisdom. At the +opening of the opera the dark Queen is trying to discover some plan of +recovering her daughter and punishing Sarastro. In the first act +appears Tamino, an Egyptian prince, who has lost his way, and is +attacked by a huge serpent, from which he is rescued by the three +attendants of the Queen. The latter accosts him, tells him her +daughter's story, and demands that, as the cost of his deliverance, he +shall rescue her. He consents. She gives him a magic flute, and with +his companion Papageno, a rollicking bird-catcher, who is also +presented with a magical chime of bells, they set out for Sarastro's +temple. Papageno arrives there first, and in time to rescue Pamina +from the persecutions of Monostatos, a slave, who flies when he +beholds Papageno in his feather costume, fancying him the Devil. They +seek to make their escape, but are intercepted. Tamino also is caught, +and all are brought before Sarastro. The prince consents to become a +novitiate in the sacred rites, and to go through the various stages of +probation and purification, and Pamina again returns to her duties. +They remain faithful to their vows, and the last ordeal, that of +passing through a burning lake up to the altar of the temple, is +triumphantly accomplished. The Queen of Night, however, does not +abandon her scheme of revenge. She appears to Pamina in her sleep, +gives her a dagger, and swears that unless she murders Sarastro she +will cast her off forever. Pamina pays no heed to her oath, but goes +on with her sacred duties, trusting to Sarastro's promise that if she +endures all the ordeals she will be forever happy. In the closing +scene, Monostatos, who has been inflamed against Sarastro by the +Queen, seeks to kill him, but is vanquished by the might of the +priest's presence alone. The night of the ordeals is over. At a sign +from Sarastro, the, full sunlight pours in upon them. The evil spirits +all vanish, and Tamino and Pamina are united amid the triumphant +choruses of the priests and attendants, as the reward of their +fidelity. + +In the opening scene, after the encounter of Tamino with the serpent, +Papageno has a light and catching song ("Der Vogelfaenger bin ich ja"), +which, like all of Papageno's music, was specially written for +Schickaneder, and has been classed under the head of the "Viennese +ditties." Melodious as Mozart always is, these songs must be regarded +as concessions to the buffoon who sang them. Papageno's song is +followed by another in a serious strain ("Dies Bildniss ist bezaubernd +schoen") sung by Tamino. In the sixth scene occurs the first aria for +the Queen of Night ("O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn"), which, like +its companion to be mentioned later, is a remarkable exercise in vocal +power, range, and gymnastics, written for an exceptional voice. The +next scene, known as the Padlock Quintet, is very simple and flowing +in style, and will always be popular for its humorous and melodious +character. In the eleventh scene occurs the familiar duet between +Pamina and Papageno, "Bei Maennern, welche Liebe fuellen," which has +done good service for the church, and will be recognized in the +English hymn version, "Serene I laid me down." It leads up to the +finale, beginning, "Zum Ziehle fuehrt dich diese Bahn," and containing +a graceful melody for Tamino ("O dass ich doch im Stande waere"), and +another of the Viennese tunes, "Koennte jeder brave Mann,"--a duet for +Papageno and Pamina, with chorus. + +The second act opens with a stately march and chorus by the priests, +leading up to Sarastro's first great aria ("O Isis und Osiris"), a +superb invocation in broad, flowing harmony, and the scene closes with +a strong duet by two priests ("Bewahret euch vor Weibertuecken.") The +third scene is a quintet for Papageno, Tamino, and the Queen's three +attendants ("Wie ihr an diesem Shreckensort?"), and is followed by a +sentimental aria by Monostatos ("Alles fuehlt der Liebe Freuden"). In +the next scene occurs the second and greatest aria of the Queen of +Night ("Der Hoelle Rache kocht"), which was specially written to show +off the bravura ability of the creator of the part, and has been the +despair of nearly all sopranos since her time. In striking contrast +with it comes the majestic aria for Sarastro in the next scene ("In +diesen heil'gen Hallen"), familiarly known on the concert-stage by its +English title, "In these sacred Halls," the successful performance of +which may well be the height of any basso's ambition. In the twelfth +scene there is a terzetto by the three boys ("Seid uns zum +zweitenmal"), and in the next scene a long and florid aria for Pamina +("Ach! ich fuehl's es ist verschwunden"), full of plaintive chords and +very sombre in color. The sixteenth scene contains another stately +chorus of priests ("O Isis und Osiris"), based upon a broad and +massive harmony, which is followed by a terzetto between Sarastro, +Pamina, and Tamino ("Soll ich dich, Theurer nicht mehr sehen?"). Once +more a concession to the buffoon occurs in a melody "Ein Maedchen oder +Weibchen," which would be commonplace but for Mozart's treatment of +the simple air. The finale begins with another terzetto for the three +boys ("Bald prangt, den Morgen zu verkuenden"). It may be termed a +finale of surprises, as it contains two numbers which are as far apart +in character as the poles,--the first, an old choral melody ("Der, +welcher wandelt diese Strasse"), the original being, "Christ, our +Lord, to Jordan came," set to an accompaniment, strengthened by the +trombones and other wind instruments; and the second, a nonsense duet +("Pa-pa-Papageno") for Papageno and Papagena, which would close the +opera in a burst of childish hilarity but for the solemn concluding +chorus of the priests ("Heil sei euch Geweithen"). + +The great charm of the opera is its originality, and the wonderful +freshness and fruitfulness of the composer in giving independent and +characteristic melodies to every character, as well as the marvellous +combination of technicality with absolute melody. Beethoven said of it +that this was Mozart's one German opera in right of the style and +solidity of its music. Jahn, in his criticism, says: "'The +Zauberfloete' has a special and most important position among Mozart's +operas. The whole musical conception is pure German, and here for the +first time German opera makes free and skilful use of all the elements +of finished art." + + + + +ROSSINI. + +Gioachini Antonio Rossini was born at Pesaro, Italy, Feb. 29, 1792. +His early lessons in music were taken with Tesei, and as a lad he also +appeared upon the stage as a singer. In 1807 he was admitted to the +class of Padre Mattei at the Bologna Conservatory, where he took a +prize for a cantata at the end of his first year. At the beginning of +his career in Italy he was commissioned to write an opera for Venice. +It was "La Cambiale di Matrimonio," an opera buffa in one act, and was +produced in 1810. During the next three years he wrote several works +for Venice and Milan, which were successful, but none of them created +such a furor as "Tancredi." This was followed by "L' Italiana in +Algeri," "Aureliano in Palmira," and "Il Turco in Italia." In 1815 +appeared "The Barber of Seville." Strange as it may seem, it was at +first condemned, not on its merits, but because the composer had +trenched, as it was supposed, upon the ground already occupied by the +favorite Paisiello, though he applied to the latter before writing it, +and received his assurances that he had no objection to his use of the +same subject. "Otello" followed the "Barber" at Naples in 1816, and +"Cenerentola" in 1817, and both were extraordinarily successful. The +"Gazza Ladra" was produced at Milan in 1817, and was followed by +"Armida" at Naples in the same year. His next great work was the +oratorio, "Moses in Egypt," which is also given as opera. The "Donna +del Lago," based upon Walter Scott's "Lady of the Lake," was produced +at Naples in 1819. The same year he opened the Carnival in Milan with +"Bianca e Faliero," and before its close he produced "Maometto +secondo" at Naples. During the next two or three years his muse was +very prolific, and in 1823 appeared another of his great works, +"Semiramide," which made a furor at Venice. That year he went to +London and gave concerts, in which he sang, and thence to Paris, which +now became his home. His greatest work for Paris was "William Tell," +which was produced in 1829, and it was also his last, though by an +arrangement with the Government of Charles X. it was to be the first +of a series of five. The revolution of 1830 destroyed his plans. In +1836 he heard Meyerbeer's "Huguenots," and resolved to write no more. +Four years before this he had written the "Stabat Mater," but it was +not produced complete until 1842. From this time on he lived at his +villa at Passy the life of a voluptuary and died there Nov. 13, 1868. +The catalogue of his works is immense, including fifty operas alone, +of which in a necessarily brief sketch it has been possible to mention +only those best known. + + +THE BARBER OF SEVILLE. + +"Il Barbiere di Siviglia," an opera buffa in two acts, words by +Sterbini, founded on Beaumarchais's comedy, was first produced at the +Argentina Theatre, Rome, Feb. 5, 1816, with the following cast:-- + + ROSINA Mme. GIORGI RIGHETTI. + BERTAO Mlle. ROSSI. + FIGARO Sig. LUIGI ZAMBONI. + COUNT ALMAVIVA Sig. GARCIA. + BARTOLO Sig. BOTTICELLI. + BASILIO Sig. VITTARELLI. + +The story of the writing of "The Barber of Seville" is of more than +ordinary interest. Rossini had engaged to write two operas for the +Roman Carnival of 1816. The first was brought out Dec. 26, 1815, and +the same day he bound himself to furnish the second by Jan. 20, 1816, +with no knowledge of what the libretto would be. Sterbini furnished +him with the story of the "Barber" by piecemeal, and as fast as the +verses were given him he wrote the music. The whole work was finished +in less than three weeks. Its original title was "Almaviva, ossia +l'inutile precauzione," to distinguish it from Paisiello's "Barber of +Seville." The original overture was lost in some manner, and that of +"Aureliano" substituted. In the scene beneath Rosina's balcony Garcia +introduced a Spanish air of his own; but it failed, and before the +second performance Rossini wrote the beautiful cavatina, "Ecco ridente +il cielo" in its place, the melody borrowed from the opening chorus of +his "Aureliano," and that in turn from his "Ciro in Babilonia." The +subject of the effective trio, "Zitti, zitti," was taken from Haydn's +"Seasons," and the aria sung by the duenna Berta ("Il vechiotto cerca +moglie"), from a Russian melody he had heard a lady sing in Rome and +introduced for her sake. For the music-lesson scene Rossini wrote a +trio which has been lost; and thus an opportunity has been given +Rosinas to interpolate what they please. + +The scene of the opera is laid at Seville, Spain. Count Almaviva has +fallen in love with Rosina, the ward of Dr. Bartolo, with whom she +resides, and who wishes to marry her himself. After serenading his +mistress, who knows him only by the name of Count Lindoro, he prevails +upon Figaro, the factotum of the place, to bring about an interview +with her. In spite of her guardian's watchfulness, as well as that of +Don Basilio, her music-teacher, who is helping Bartolo in his schemes, +she informs the Count by letter that she returns his passion. With +Figaro's help he succeeds in gaining admission to the house disguised +as a drunken dragoon, but this stratagem is foiled by the entrance of +the guard, who arrest him. A second time he secures admission, +disguised as a music-teacher, and pretending that he has been sent by +Don Basilio, who is ill, to take his place. To get into Bartolo's +confidence he produces Rosina's letter to himself, and promises to +persuade her that the letter has been given him by a mistress of the +Count, and thus break off the connection between the two. By this +means he secures the desired interview, and an elopement and private +marriage are planned. In the midst of the arrangements, however, Don +Basilio puts in an appearance, and the disconcerted lover makes good +his escape. Meanwhile Bartolo, who has Rosina's letter, succeeds in +arousing the jealousy of his ward with it, who thereupon discloses the +proposed elopement and promises to marry her guardian. At the time set +for the elopement the Count and Figaro appear. A reconciliation is +easily effected, a notary is at hand, and they are married just as +Bartolo makes his appearance with officers to arrest the Count. Mutual +explanations occur, however, and all ends happily. + +The first act opens after a short chorus, with the serenade, "Ecco +ridente in cielo," the most beautiful song in the opera. It begins +with a sweet and expressive largo and concludes with a florid allegro, +and is followed by a chorus in which the serenaders are dismissed. In +the second scene Figaro enters, and after some brief recitatives sings +the celebrated buffo aria, "Largo al factotum," in which he gives an +account of his numerous avocations. The aria is full of life and +gayety, and wonderfully adapted to the style of the mercurial Figaro. + +A light and lively duet between Figaro and the Count, closing with the +sprightly melody, "Ah! che d'amore," leads up to the chamber aria of +Rosina, so well known on the concert-stage, "Una voce poco fa," which +is not only very expressive and of great compass, but is remarkably +rich in ornamentation. A short dialogue in recitative then occurs +between Bartolo and Basilio, in which they plot to circumvent Rosina +by calumny, which gives occasion for the Calumny aria, as it is +generally known ("La calunnia"), a very sonorous bass solo, sung by +Basilio. Another dialogue follows between Figaro and Rosina, leading +to the florid duet, "E il maestro io faccio." A third dialogue follows +between Rosina and Bartolo, ending in a bass aria ("Non piu tacete"), +very similar in its general style to the Calumny song, but usually +omitted in performances. In the tenth scene the Count arrives +disguised as the drunken soldier, and the finale begins. It is +composed of three scenes very ingeniously arranged, and full of +glittering dialogue and very melodious passages. + +The second act opens with a soliloquy by Bartolo ("Ma redi il mio +destino"), in which he gives vent to his suspicions. It is interrupted +at last by a duet with the Count, in which the two characters are +strikingly set off by the music. The music-lesson scene follows, in +which the artist personating Rosina is given an opportunity for +interpolation. In the next scene occurs a dialogue quintet, which is +followed by a long aria ("Sempre gridi") by the duenna Bertha, called +by the Italians the "Aria de Sorbetto," because the people used to eat +ices while it was sung; reminding one of the great aria from +"Tancredi," "Di tanti palpiti," which they called the "aria dei +rizzi," because Rossini composed it while cooking his rice. In the +eighth scene, after a long recitative, an instrumental prelude occurs, +representing a stormy night, followed by a recitative in which the +Count reveals himself, leading up to a florid trio, and this in turn +to the elegant terzetto, "Zitti, zitti." A bravura and finale of light +and graceful melody close the opera. + + +SEMIRAMIDE + +"Semiramide" a lyric tragedy in two acts, words by Gaetano Rossi, the +subject taken from Voltaire's "Semiramis," was first produced at the +Fenice, Venice, Feb. 3, 1823, with the following cast:-- + + SEMIRAMIDE Mme. ROSSINI-COLBRAN. + ARSACES Mme. MARIANI. + IDRENO Mr. SINCLAIR. + ASSUR Sig. GALLI. + OROE Sig. MARIANI. + +On the 9th of July it was produced in French at the Academie, Paris, +as "Semiramis," with Carlotta Marchisio as Semiramide, Barbara, her +sister, as Arsaces, and M. Obin as Assur. At Rossini's request M. +Carafa arranged the recitatives and wrote the ballet music. +"Semiramide" was the last opera Rossini wrote for Italy; and so far +did he depart from the conventional Italian style, that he was charged +with imitating the German. It was probably for this reason that the +opera when first performed did not meet with a kindly reception from +the Venetians. Although he was occupied six months in negotiating for +his stipulated price (one thousand dollars), he wrote the opera in +three weeks. Of its first performance, a correspondent of the +"Harmonicon," who was present, writes: "The first act, which lasted +two hours and fifteen minutes, was received very coldly, with the +exception of one passage in the overture, which overture, however, was +unconscionably long. The second act, which lasted two hours and a +half, began to please in an air of Mariani, but the applause was +rather directed to this favorite singer. After this a duet between her +and Colbran, together with an air of Galli, and particularly a +terzetto between him and the two ladies, were well received. Rossini +was also called for at the end of the second act. It is all over with +Madame, his own wife" (Mme. Colbran), who took the title-role. + +The scene of the opera is laid in Babylon, and the story briefly told +is as follows: Ninus, the King of Babylon, has been murdered by his +Queen, Semiramis, aided by Assur, a prince enamoured of her and +aspiring to the throne. One of the Queen's warriors, Arsaces, supposed +to be of Scythian origin, but in reality her own son, returns from a +foreign expedition and is loaded with honors for the victory he has +won. Semiramis, ignorant of his parentage, has a secret passion for +him, he in the mean time being devoted to Azema, one of the princesses +royal. As all gather together in the temple to swear allegiance to the +Queen, the gates of Ninus's tomb suddenly open, and his ghost appears +and announces that Arsaces will be the successor to the crown. At +midnight Semiramis, Assur, and Arsaces meet at the tomb, and by +mistake Assur stabs her instead of Arsaces, who in turn kills Assur, +and, all obstacles being removed, is united to Azema and ascends the +throne. + +An introductory chorus of Babylonians and a terzetto by Idreno, Assur, +and Oroe open the opera and lead up to the first appearance of +Semiramis, which is followed by a very dramatic quartet ("Di tanti +regi"). In the fourth scene Arsaces has a very brilliant aria ("O! +come da quel di"), which also did service in one or two of Rossini's +other operas, and is followed by a very animated duet ("Bella imago +degli dei") between himself and Assur. The eighth scene is introduced +by a graceful female chorus which leads to Semiramis's brilliant and +well-known aria, "Bel raggio." In the tenth scene occurs an elegant +duet ("Serbami agnor si fido"), followed in the next scene by a +stately priests' march and chorus ("Ergi omai la fronte altera"), set +to ecclesiastical harmony and accompanied by full military band as +well as orchestra, this being the first instance where a military band +was used in Italian opera. It leads to the finale, where Semiramis on +her throne announces to her people her choice for their future king. +The oath of allegiance follows in an impressive quartet with chorus +("Giuro al numi"), and a defiant aria by the Queen leads to the sudden +appearance of the ghost of Ninus, accompanied by characteristic music +repeated in quintet with chorus. As the ghost speaks, the statue scene +in Don Giovanni is inevitably recalled, especially in some phrases +which are literally copied. + +The second act opens with a vindictively passionate duet ("Assur, +icenni mici") between Assur and Semiramis, closing with a fierce +outburst of hatred ("La forza primiera"). The scene is a very long and +spirited one, and is followed by a second chorus of priests, leading +to a great aria with chorus ("Ah! tu gelar mi fai") for Arsaces. In +the fifth scene occurs a long duet between Arsaces and Semiramis, the +second part of which ("Giorno d'orrore") is the strongest number in +the opera. Though intensely passionate in its tone, the music is +smooth and flowing and very florid for both voices. The seventh scene +is composed of a scena, aria and chorus, followed by still another +chorus in the mausoleum. Semiramis sings a prayer of great pathos and +beauty ("Ah mio pregar"). A terzetto ("L'usato ardir"), which like the +mausoleum chorus is based upon an aria from Mozart's "Cosi fan tutti," +closes the opera. "The Harmonicon," to which reference has already +been made, in an analysis of the work, has the following apt +criticism: "It has been said, and truly, that 'Semiramide' is composed +in the German style, but it is the German style exaggerated. Rossini +is become a convert to this school, and his conversion does his +judgment credit, though like all proselytes he passes into extremes. +Not satisfied with discarding the meagre accompaniments of the Italian +composers, he even goes far beyond the tramontane masters in the +multitude and use of instruments, and frequently smothers his +concerted pieces and choruses by the overwhelming weight of his +orchestra." But what would the "Harmonicon" have said, had it had +Wagner's instrumentation before it? + + +WILLIAM TELL + +"William Tell," an opera in three acts, words by Etienne Jouy and +Hippolyte Bis, the subject taken from Schiller's drama of the same +name, was first produced at the Academie, Paris, Aug. 3, 1829, with +the following cast:-- + + MATHILDE Mme. DAMOREAU-CINTI. + JEMMY Mme. DABODIE. + HEDWIG Mlle. MORI. + ARNOLD M. NOURRIT. + WALTER M. LEVASSEUR. + TELL M. DABODIE. + RUODI M. DUPONT. + RODOLPHE M. MASSOL. + GESSLER M. PREVOST. + LEUTOLD M. PREVOT. + +Rossini wrote for Paris only two new operas, "Le Comte Ory" and +"William Tell,"--the latter his masterpiece in the serious style. The +libretto was first prepared by M. Jouy, but it was so bad that M. Bis +was called in, and to him is due the whole of the second act. Even +after the two authors had changed and revised it, Rossini had to alter +it in many places. When it was first performed the weakness of the +drama was at once recognized, though its music was warmly welcomed, +especially by the critical. It was represented fifty-six times in its +original form, and was then cut down to three acts, the original third +act being omitted and the fourth and fifth condensed into one. For +three years after this time the second act was alone performed in +Paris; but when M. Duprez made his debut in the part of Arnold, a +fresh enthusiasm was aroused, and there was a genuine Tell revival. + +The scene of the opera is laid in Switzerland, period the thirteenth +century, and the action closely follows the historical narrative. The +disaffection which has arisen among the Swiss, owing to the tyranny of +Gessler, suddenly comes to a climax when one of Gessler's followers +attempts an outrage upon the only daughter of the herdsman Leutold, +and meets his death at the hands of the indignant father. Leutold +seeks protection at the hands of Tell, who, in the face of the +herdsman's pursuers, succeeds in placing him beyond the reach of +danger, and this circumstance arouses the wrath of Gessler. Melchtal, +the village patriarch, is accused by him of inciting the people to +insubordination, and is put to death. Meanwhile Arnold, his son, is +enamoured of Mathilde, Gessler's daughter, and hesitates between love +and duty when he is called upon to avenge his father's death. At last +duty prevails, and he joins his comrades when the men of the three +cantons, who are loyal to Tell, meet and swear death to the tyrant. In +the last act occurs the famous archery scene. To discover the leading +offenders Gessler erects a pole in the square of Altorf, upon which he +places his hat and commands the people to do homage to it. Tell +refuses, and as a punishment is ordered to shoot an apple from his +son's head. He successfully accomplishes the feat, but as he is about +to retire Gessler observes a second arrow concealed in his garments, +and inquires the reason for it, when Tell boldly replies it was +intended for him in case the first had killed his son. Gessler throws +him into prison, whereupon Mathilde abandons her father and determines +to help in the rescue of Tell and his son. Her lover, Arnold, +meanwhile, raises a band of brave followers and accomplishes the +rescue himself. After slaying the tyrant and freeing his country Tell +returns to his family, and Arnold and Mathilde are united. + +The overture to "William Tell," with its Alpine repose, its great +storm-picture, the stirring "Ranz des Vaches," and the trumpet-call to +freedom, is one of the most perfect and beautiful ever written, and is +so familiar that it does not need analysis. The first act opens with a +delightfully fresh Alpine chorus ("E il ciel sereno"), which is +followed by a pastoral quartet between a fisherman, Tell, Hedwig, and +Jemmy. Arnold enters, and a long duet, one of Rossini's finest +inspirations, follows between Arnold and Tell. The duet is interrupted +by the entrance of several of the peasants escorting two brides and +bridegrooms, which is the signal for a most graceful chorus and dance +("Cinto il crine"). Leutold then appears, seeking Tell's protection, +and a very dramatic finale begins, closing with the arrest of +Melchtal, which leads to an ensemble of great power. + +The second act opens with a double chorus of huntsmen and shepherds +("Qual silvestre metro intorne"), which is followed by a scena +preluding a charming romanza ("Selva opaco") sung by Mathilde. Its +mild, quiet beauty is in strange contrast with the remainder of this +great act. It is followed by a passionate duet with Arnold, a second +and still more passionate duet between Tell and Walter, which leads to +the magnificent trio of the oath ("La gloria inflammi"), and this in +turn is followed by the splendid scene of the gathering of the +cantons. For melodic and harmonic beauty combined, the spirited +treatment of masses, and charm and variety of color, this great scene +stands almost alone. + +The last act opens with a duet between Mathilde and Arnold, which is +followed in the next scene by a march and chorus as the multitude +gathers in the square of Altorf, closing with a lovely Tyrolean chorus +sung by the sopranos and accompanied with the dance. The dramatic +scene of the archery follows, and then Arnold has a very passionate +aria ("O muto asil"). Some very vivid storm-music preluding the last +scene, and the final hymn of freedom ("I boschi, i monti") close an +opera which is unquestionably Rossini's masterpiece, and in which his +musical ability reached its highest expression. "Manly, earnest, and +mighty," Hanslick calls it; and the same authority claims that the +first and second acts belong to the most beautiful achievements of the +modern opera. + + + + +RUBINSTEIN. + +Anton Gregor Rubinstein was born Nov. 30, 1829, at Weghwotynez in +Russia. His mother gave him lessons at the age of four, with the +result that by the time he was six she was unable to teach him +anything more. He then studied the piano with Alexander Villoing, a +pupil of John Field. In 1840 he entered the Paris Conservatory, where +he attracted the attention of Liszt, Chopin, and Thalberg. He remained +in that city eighteen months, and then made some professional tours, +in which he met with extraordinary success. In 1844 his parents +removed to Berlin, and he was placed under Dehn, the famous +contrapuntist, to study composition. From 1846 to 1848 he taught music +in Pressburg and Vienna, and then went back to Russia. For eight years +he studied and wrote in St. Petersburg, and at the end of that time +had accumulated a mass of manuscripts destined to make his name famous +all over Europe, while his reputation as a skilful pianist was already +world-wide. He visited England again in 1857, and the next year +returned home and settled in St. Petersburg, about which time he was +made Imperial Concert Director, with a life-pension. At this period in +his career he devoted himself to the cause of music in Russia. His +first great work was the foundation of the Conservatory in the above +city in 1862, of which he remained principal until 1867. He also +founded the Russian Musical Society in 1861, and in 1869 was decorated +by the Czar. In 1870 he directed the Philharmonic and Choral Societies +of Vienna, and shortly afterwards made another tour, during which, in +1872, he came to this country with the eminent violinist, Wieniawsky, +as will be well remembered. His greatest works are the "Ocean +Symphony," "Dramatic Symphony," and a character sketch for grand +orchestra called "Ivan the Terrible;" his operas, "Children of the +Heath," "Feramors," "Nero," "The Maccabees," "Dimitri Donskoi," and +the "Demon;" the oratorios "Paradise Lost," and "Tower of Babel," and +a long and splendid catalogue of chamber, salon, and concert music, +besides some beautiful songs, which are great favorites in the +concert-room. + + +NERO. + +The opera of "Nero," the libretto by Jules Barbier, was first produced +in Hamburg in 1879,--though it was originally intended for the French +stage,--and in this country, March 14, 1887, at New York, by the +American Opera Company, under the direction of Mr. Theodore Thomas, +with the following cast:-- + + NERO Mr. CANDIDUS. + JULIUS VINDEX Mr. LUDWIG. + TIGELLINUS Mr. STODDARD. + BALBILLUS Mr. WHITNEY. + SACCUS Mr. FESSENDEN. + SEVIRUS Mr. HAMILTON. + TERPANDER Mr. LEE. + POPPOEA SABINA Miss BERTHA PIERSON. + EPICHARIS Miss CORNELIA VAN ZANTEN. + CHRYSA Miss EMMA JUCH. + AGRIPPINA Miss AGNES STERLING. + LUPUS Miss PAULINE L'ALLEMAND. + +The first act opens in the house of Epicharis, a courtesan, which is a +rendezvous for the dissolute Roman nobles. The guests assembled sing a +chorus in praise of the establishment, followed by a scene in which +Vindex, the prince of Aquitania, Saccus the poet, Terpander the +citharist, and others conspire against Nero. Suddenly Chrysa, daughter +of Epicharis, who is ignorant of her mother's real character and +dwells apart from her, rushes in and implores the protection of Vindex +from a crowd of revellers who have pursued her. A very spirited duet +follows in which the prince promises her his assistance. Upon hearing +the shouts of her pursuers he conceals her just in time to escape the +masked band, headed by Nero himself, which bursts into the apartment. +The tyrant demands the girl; and as he throws off his mask the guests +stand amazed. Saccus at last breaks the spell by the suggestion that +Nero shall marry the girl. When she is led out, and Vindex discovers +that Epicharis is her mother, he no longer espouses her cause. Then +follows the music of the mock marriage, interspersed with dance +strains and sardonic choruses by the courtesans and their associates, +at last rising to a wild bacchanalian frenzy, in the midst of which +Vindex breaks out in a spirited song, with harp accompaniment, and +finally hurls invectives at Nero, as Chrysa, who has drunk a narcotic +at her mother's order, falls senseless. The latter declares she has +been poisoned, and the act closes with a scene of great power in which +Vindex is hurried away as Nero's prisoner. + +The second act opens in the dwelling of Poppoea, Nero's mistress, +whose attendants are trying to console her. She has heard of Nero's +new infatuation; but her apprehensions are relieved when Balbillus, +the astrologer, enters and not only announces that Chrysa is dead, but +tells the equally grateful news that Octavia, Nero's wife, has been +condemned to die. Nero himself now appears upon the scene, and a duet +follows in which Poppoea reproaches him for his fickleness and he +seeks to console her with flattery. At its close the death of Octavia +is announced, and Poppoea is appeased by the prospect of sharing the +throne. Meanwhile Chrysa has fallen into the custody of Agrippina, +Nero's mother, who keeps close charge of her to further her own +ambitions. During the interview between the tyrant and his mistress, +Epicharis rushes in and implores Nero to give up Chrysa, which leads +to a powerful ensemble. Learning that Chrysa is still alive he leaves +the apartment to find her. The second scene is brilliantly +spectacular. Nero and his mother appear in front of the temple, +followed by a long procession to the music of a brilliant march. They +enter the temple. After a short episode, in which Poppoea informs +Epicharis of the refuge Chrysa has found, the ballet is given in the +open square, with its fascinating dances of warriors, bacchantes, +jugglers and buffoons, and their mimic combats, the music of which is +very familiar from its frequent performance in our concert-rooms. Nero +then appears and announces his divinity in a finale, which is rich +with scenic, spectacular, and choral effects, accompanied by full +military band and orchestra. + +The third act opens in Chrysa's new asylum of refuge. The persecuted +girl sings a beautiful prayer, at the close of which Vindex joins her +in a love-duet, which will always remain as one of the most refined +and noble products of Rubinstein's skill in harmony. The next number +is one of almost equal beauty,--a duet for Chrysa and Epicharis, the +motive of which is a cradle song. Its soothing tones are interrupted +by the appearance of Nero, followed by Poppoea and Saccus, the +last-named announcing to the tyrant that Rome is in flames, which +leads up to a vigorous trio. The concluding scene is full of +characteristic music. It shows us Nero watching the fire from his +tower, while he sings a hymn ("O Ilion") to the accompaniment of his +lyre; the death of Chrysa, who proclaims herself a Christian and is +killed by the infuriated populace; and the fate of Epicharis, who is +crushed beneath a falling house as she mourns for her daughter. + +The fourth act furnishes a dramatic denouement to the mournful story. +The tyrant, wild with rage and frenzy, appears in the tomb of +Augustus, where the shades of his murdered victims terrify him. Saccus +enters and tells him of the revolt of his army and the danger which +threatens him. He rushes out again and kills himself on the highway of +the Campagna, just as Vindex at the head of his legions comes up with +him. As he expires a cross appears in the sky and a chant is heard, +herald of the coming Christianity. + + + + +THOMAS. + +Charles Ambroise Thomas was born at Metz, Aug. 5, 1811, and entered +the Paris Conservatory in 1828, where he carried off the Grand Prize +in 1832, which entitled him to go to Italy. During his Italian +residence he wrote a cantata, "Hermann und Ketty," and several +instrumental works. His first work at the Opera Comique was the +one-act opera, "La double echelle," produced in 1837 with success. He +then brought out several ballets at the Academie, but returned to the +Opera Comique again, where, between 1840 and 1866, he composed +thirteen operas, the most successful of which were "Le Songe d'une +nuit d'ete" (1850), "Raymond" (1851), "Psyche" (1857), and "Mignon" +(1866). During this period he also wrote a large number of cantatas, +choruses, part-songs, and instrumental works. His next great work was +"Hamlet," first produced March 9, 1868, the success of which gained +him the position of Director of the Conservatory in 1871. Since that +time he has written only the opera "Francoise de Rimini," performed +April 14, 1882. In 1880 he was made a member of the Legion of Honor. +In common with Gounod he now shares the honor of being one of the few +French writers who hold a high rank among modern composers. + + +MIGNON + +"Mignon," an opera comique in three acts, words by Barbier and Carre, +the subject taken from Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister," was first produced +at the Opera Comique, Paris, Nov. 17, 1866, with the following cast:-- + + MIGNON Mme. GALLI-MARIE. + WILHELM MEISTER M. ACHARD. + LAERTES M. CONDERS. + LOTARIO M. BATAILLE. + FILINA Mme. CABEL. + +The scene of the first two acts is laid in Germany, and of the third +in Italy. Mignon, the heroine, in her childhood was stolen by gypsies. +She is of noble birth. The mother died shortly after her bereavement, +and the father, disguised as the harper Lotario, has wandered for +years in quest of his daughter. The opera opens in the yard of a +German inn, where a troupe of actors, among them Filina and Laertes, +are resting, on their way to the castle of a neighboring prince, where +they are to give a performance. + +A strolling gypsy band arrives about the same time, and stops to give +an entertainment to the guests. Mignon, who is with the band, is +ordered to perform the egg dance, but, worn out with fatigue and +abusive treatment, refuses. Giarno, the leader, rushes at her, but the +old harper interposes in her behalf. Giarno then turns upon Lotario, +when the wandering student, Wilhelm Meister, suddenly appears and +rescues both Mignon and the harper. To save her from any further +persecution he engages her as his page, and follows on in the suite of +Filina, for whom he conceives a violent and sudden passion. Touched by +his kind attentions to her, Mignon falls in love with Wilhelm, who, +ignorant of his page's affection, becomes more and more a prey to the +fascinations of Filina. At last the troupe arrives at the castle, +Wilhelm and Mignon with them. Wilhelm enters with the others, leaving +Mignon to await him outside. Maddened with jealousy, she attempts to +throw herself into a lake near by, but is restrained by the notes of +Lotario's harp. She rushes to him for counsel and protection, and in +her despair invokes vengeance upon all in the castle. As the +entertainment closes, Filina and her troupe emerge, joyful over their +great success. She sends Mignon back for some flowers she has left, +when suddenly flames appear in the windows. Maddened by his own grief +and Mignon's troubles Lotario has fired the castle. Wilhelm rushes +into the burning building and brings out the unconscious Mignon in his +arms. + +The last act opens in Lotario's home in Italy, whither Mignon has been +taken, followed by Wilhelm, who has discovered her devoted attachment +to him, and has freed himself from the fascinations of Filina. Through +the medium of a long-concealed casket containing a girdle which Mignon +had worn in her childhood, also by a prayer which she repeats, and the +picture of her mother, Lotario is at last convinced that she is his +daughter, and gives his blessing to her union with Wilhelm. + +The overture recites the leading motives of the work. The first act +opens with a fresh and melodious chorus of the townspeople over their +beer in the inn yard ("Su borghesi e magnati"). During their singing a +characteristic march is heard, and the gypsy band enters. The scene is +a charming one, the little ballet being made still more picturesque by +the fresh chorus and a song of Filina's in waltz time. The scene of +the encounter with Giarno and Mignon's rescue follows, and leads up to +a very spirited quintet, which is followed by a graceful trio between +Wilhelm, Filina, and Laertes, the actor. In the next scene Wilhelm +questions Mignon as to her history, and at the end of their pathetic +duet, when he says, "Were I to break thy chains and set thee free, to +what beloved spot wouldst thou take thy way?" she replies in the +beautiful romanza, "Non conosci il bel suol," more familiarly known in +Goethe's own words, "Kennst du das Land,"--a song full of tender +beauty and rare expression, and one of the most delightful +inspirations of any composer. It is said that much of its charm comes +from the composer's study of Ary Scheffer's picture of Mignon. Be this +as it may, he has caught the inner sense of the poem, and expressed it +in exquisite tones. It is followed almost immediately by a duet +between Mignon and Lotario ("Leggiadre rondinelle") of almost equal +beauty, known as the Swallow duet. After a somewhat uninteresting +scene between Laertes, Filina, and Frederick, who is also in love with +Filina, the finale begins with the departure of the actors to fulfil +their engagement, in which Filina, in a graceful aria ("Grazie al +gentil signor"), invites Wilhelm to be of the number. + +The second act opens in Filina's boudoir, where she is at her toilet, +arraying herself for her part as Titania in the forthcoming +performance of the "Midsummer Night's Dream" at the castle. As Wilhelm +and Mignon enter the apartment, a very dramatic conversation ensues +between them in the form of a terzetto ("Ohime quell' acre riso"). +Mignon is in despair at the attention Wilhelm pays Filina, and the +latter adds to her pangs by singing with him a gay coquettish aria +("Gai complimenti"). As they leave the room Mignon goes to the mirror +and begins adorning herself as Filina had done, hoping thereby to +attract Wilhelm, singing meanwhile a characteristic song ("Conosco un +zingarello") with a peculiar refrain, which the composer himself calls +the "Styrienne." It is one of the most popular numbers in the opera, +and when first sung in Paris made a furor. At the end of the scene +Mignon goes into a cabinet to procure one of Filina's dresses, and the +lovelorn Frederick enters and sings his only number in the opera, a +bewitching rondo gavotte ("Filina nelle sale"). Wilhelm enters, and a +quarrel between the jealous pair is prevented by the sudden appearance +of Mignon in Filina's finery. She rushes between them, Frederick makes +his exit in a fume, and Wilhelm announces to Mignon his intention to +leave her, in the aria, "Addio, Mignon, fa core," one of the most +pathetic songs in the modern opera. In the next scene she tears off +her finery and rushes out expressing her hatred of Filina. The scene +now changes to the park surrounding the castle where the entertainment +is going on. Mignon hears the laughter and clapping of hands, and +overcome with despair attempts to throw herself into the lake, but is +restrained by Lotario, and a beautiful duet ensues between them +("Sofferto hai tu?"). In the next scene Filina, the actors, and their +train of followers emerge from the castle, and in the midst of their +joy she sings the polacca, "Ah! per stassera," which is a perfect _feu +de joie_ of sparkling music, closing with a brilliant cadenza. The +finale, which is very dramatic, describes the burning of the castle +and the rescue of Mignon. + +The last act is more dramatic than musical, though it contains a few +delightful numbers, among them the chorus barcarole in the first +scene, "Orsu, sciogliam le vela," a song by Wilhelm ("Ah! non +credea"), and the love duet, "Ah! son felice," between Wilhelm and +Mignon, in which is heard again the cadenza of Filina's polacca. +"Mignon" has always been a success, and will unquestionably always +keep its place on the stage,--longer even than the composer's more +ambitious works, "Hamlet" and "Francoise de Rimini," by virtue of its +picturesqueness and poetic grace, as well as by the freshness, warmth, +and richness of its melodies. In this country opera-goers will long +remember "Mignon" by the great successes made by Miss Kellogg as +Filina, and by Mme. Lucca and Mme. Nilsson in the title-role. + + + + +VERDI. + +Giuseppi Verdi was born at Roncale, Italy, Oct. 9, 1813. He displayed +his musical talent at a very early age; indeed, in his tenth year he +was appointed organist in his native town. He then studied for a time +at Busseto, and afterwards, by the help of a patron, M. Barezzi, went +to Milan. Curiously enough he was refused a scholarship on the ground +that he displayed no aptitude for music. Nothing daunted, he studied +privately with the composer Lavigne, and five years afterwards +commenced his career as an operatic writer. His first opera, "Oberto," +was given at La Scala, Milan, with indifferent success. He was not +fairly recognized until his opera "I Lombardi" was performed. In 1844 +"Ernani" was received with great enthusiasm. "Attila" (1846) was his +next great triumph; and then followed in rapid succession a large +number of operas, among them: "I Masnadieri" (1847), written for the +English stage, with Jenny Lind, Lablache, and Gardoni in the cast; +"Luisa Miller" (1849); "Stifellio" (1851); "Rigoletto" (1851); "Il +Trovatore," Rome (1853); "La Traviata," Venice (1853); "I Vespri +Siciliani," Paris (1855); "Simon Boccanegra," Venice (1857); "Un Ballo +in Maschera," Rome (1858); "La Forza del Destino," St. Petersburg +(1862); "Don Carlos," Paris (1867), and "Aida," his last opera, Cairo +(1871). Since that time Verdi has produced nothing but a Pater Noster +and an Ave Maria (1880), and the "Requiem," composed in memory of the +patriot Manzoni, and produced at Milan in 1874, on the occasion of the +anniversary of his death. It has been reported that he is at work upon +a new opera, "Othello," the words by Arrigo Boito, the composer of +"Mephistopheles;" but nothing more than the report has been heard from +it during the past three or four years. The great melodist now spends +a very quiet life as a country gentleman upon his estates near +Busseto. + + +ERNANI. + +"Ernani," a tragic opera in four acts, words by F.M. Piave, the +subject taken from Victor Hugo's tragedy of "Hernani," was first +produced at Venice, March 9, 1844. The earlier performances of the +opera gave the composer much trouble. Before the first production the +police interfered, refusing to allow the representation of a +conspiracy on the stage, so that many parts of the libretto, as well +as much of the music, had to be changed. The blowing of Don Silva's +horn in the last act was also objected to by one Count Mocenigo, upon +the singular ground that it was disgraceful. The Count, however, was +silenced more easily than the police. The chorus "Si ridesti il Leon +di Castiglia" also aroused a political manifestation by the Venetians. +The opera was given in Paris, Jan. 6, 1846, and there it encountered +the hostility of Victor Hugo, who demanded that the libretto should be +changed. To accommodate the irate poet, the words were altered, the +characters were changed to Italians, and the new title of "II +Proscritto" was given to the work. + +The action of the opera takes place in Arragon, Spain, and the period +is 1519. Elvira, a noble Spanish lady, betrothed to the grandee Don +Gomez de Silva, is in love with the bandit Ernani, who forms a plan to +carry her off. While receiving the congratulations of her friends upon +her approaching marriage with Silva, Don Carlos, the King of Spain, +enters her apartment, declares his passion for her, and tries to force +her from the castle. She cries for help, and Ernani comes to her +rescue and defies the king. The situation is still further complicated +by the sudden arrival of Silva, who declares he will avenge the +insult. Finding, however, that it is the King whom he has challenged, +he sues for pardon. In the second act, as the nuptials are about to be +solemnized, Ernani enters, disguised as a pilgrim, and believing +Elvira false to him, throws off his disguise and demands to be given +up to the King, which Silva refuses, as he cannot betray a guest. +Discovering, however, that Elvira and Ernani are attached to each +other, he determines on vengeance. The King eventually carries off +Elvira as a hostage of the faith of Silva, whereupon the latter +challenges Ernani. The bandit refuses to fight with him, informs him +that the King is also his rival, and asks to share in his vengeance, +promising in turn to give up his life when Silva calls for it, and +presenting him with a horn which he is to sound whenever he wishes to +have the promise kept. In the third act, the King, aware that the +conspirators are to meet in the catacombs of Aquisgrana, conceals +himself there, and when the assassins meet to decide who shall kill +him, he suddenly appears among them and condemns the nobles to be sent +to the block. Ernani, who is a duke, under the ban of the King of +Castile, demands the right to join them, but the King magnanimously +pardons the conspirators and consents to the union of Ernani and +Elvira. Upon the very eve of their happiness, and in the midst of +their festivities, the fatal horn is heard, and true to his promise +Ernani parts from Elvira and kills himself. + +The first act opens with a spirited chorus of banditti and +mountaineers ("Allegri, beviami") as they are drinking and gambling in +their mountain retreat. Ernani appears upon a neighboring height and +announces himself in a despondent aria ("Come rugiada al cespite"). A +brief snatch of chorus intervenes, when he breaks out in a second and +more passionate strain ("Dell' esilio nel dolore"), in which he sings +of his love for Elvira. The third scene opens in Elvira's apartments, +and is introduced with one of the most beautiful of Verdi's arias, +"Ernani, involami," with which all concert-goers have become +acquainted by its frequent repetition. A graceful chorus of her ladies +bearing gifts leads to a second and more florid number ("Tutto sprezzo +che d' Ernani"). Don Carlos enters, and in the seventh scene has an +aria ("Bella come un primo amore") in which he declares his passion +for Elvira, leading up to a very dramatic duet between them ("Fiero +sangue d' Aragona"). This is followed in turn by a trio between the +two and Ernani. The finale commences with an impressive and sonorous +bass solo ("Infelice! e tuo credevi") by Silva, and closes with a +septet and chorus of great power. + +The second act, like the first, opens with a chorus, this time, +however, of mixed voices, the power of which is amplified by a +military band on the stage. After three scenes of dramatic dialogue, +an impassioned duet ("Ah! morir potessi adesso!") occurs between +Ernani and Elvira, followed by a second, of great dramatic intensity, +in the seventh scene ("La vendetta piu tremenda"). The finale begins +with a spirited appeal by Silva and Ernani for vengeance against the +King ("In arcione, cavalieri") which is met by a stirring response +from their followers ("Pronti vedi li tuoi cavalieri"), sung by full +male chorus and closing the act. + +The third act is devoted to the conspiracy, and in the second scene +Don Carlos has a very impressive and at times thrilling soliloquy +("Gran Dio! costo sui sepolcrali marmi"). The conspiracy then begins +with very characteristic accompaniments, closing with the chorus in +full harmony ("Si ridesti il Leon di Castiglia"), which at the +performance of the work in Venice roused such a fury among the +Venetians. The finale commences with the appearance of Don Carlos +among the conspirators, and closes with the great sextet and chorus, +"O Sommo Carlo." Opening with a barytone solo, it is gradually worked +up in a crescendo of great power and thrilling effect. The number is +very familiar from its English setting under the title, "Crowned with +the Tempest." + +The fourth act rapidly hurries to the tragic close, and is less +interesting from a musical point of view, as the climax was reached in +the finale of the third. The principal numbers are the chorus of masks +in the first scene ("O come felici"), accompanied by military band, +and the great duet between Elvira and Ernani ("Cessaro i suoni"), +which passes from rapturous ecstasy to the despair of fate ("Per noi +d' amore il talamo") as the horn of Silva is heard, reminding Ernani +of his promise. Though one of the earliest of Verdi's works, "Ernani" +is one of his strongest in dramatic intensity, in the brilliancy and +power of its concerted finales, and in the beauty of its great chorus +effects. + + +RIGOLETTO. + +"Rigoletto," an opera in three acts, words by Piave, the subject taken +from Victor Hugo's tragedy, "Le Roi s'amuse," was first produced at +Venice, March 11, 1851. The part of Gilda has always been a favorite +one with great artists, among whom Nantier-Didiee, Bosio, and +Miolan-Carvalho played the role with extraordinary success. In the +London season of 1860 Mario and Ronconi in the respective parts of the +Duke and Rigoletto, it is said, gave dramatic portraitures which were +among the most consummate achievements of the lyric stage. The records +of its first production, like those of "Ernani," are of unusual +interest. Verdi himself suggested Victor Hugo's tragedy to Piave for a +libretto, and he soon prepared one, changing the original title, +however, to "La Maledizione." Warned by the political events of 1848, +the police flatly refused to allow the representation of a king on the +stage in such situations as those given to Francis I. in the original +tragedy. The composer and the manager of the theatre begged in vain +that the libretto should be accepted, but the authorities were +obstinate. At last a way was found out of the difficulty by the chief +of police himself, who was a great lover of art. He suggested to the +librettist that the King should be changed to a duke of Mantua, and +the title of the work to "Rigoletto," the name of the buffoon who +figures in the place of the original Triboulet. Verdi accepted the +alterations, and had an opera ready in forty days which by nearly all +critics is considered his musical masterpiece, notwithstanding the +revolting character of the story. + +The scene of the opera is laid in Mantua. Rigoletto, the privileged +buffoon of the Duke, who also plays the part of pander in all his +licentious schemes, among numerous other misdeeds has assisted his +master in the seduction of the wife of Count Ceprano and the daughter +of Count Monterone. The latter appears before the Duke and Rigoletto, +and demands reparation for the dishonor put upon his house, only to +find himself arrested by order of the Duke, and taunted in the most +insolent manner by the buffoon, upon whom he invokes the vengeance of +Heaven. Even the courtiers themselves are enraged at Rigoletto's +taunts, and determine to assist in Monterone's revenge by stealing +Gilda, the jester's daughter, whom they suppose to be his mistress. +Closely as she had been concealed, she had not escaped the observation +of the Duke, who in the guise of a poor student wins her affections +and discovers her dwelling-place. Pretending that it is Count +Ceprano's wife whom they are about to abduct, they even make Rigoletto +assist in the plot and help convey his own daughter to the Duke's +apartments. In his blind fury when he discovers the trick that has +been played upon him, he hires Sparafucile, a professional assassin, +to kill the Duke. The bravo allures the Duke to his house, intending +to carry out his agreement; but his sister, Magdalena, is so +fascinated with the handsome stranger, that she determines to save +him. Sparafucile at first will not listen to her, but finally promises +if any one else comes to the house before the time agreed upon for the +murder he shall be the victim. Rigoletto meanwhile disguises his +daughter in male attire in order that she may escape to Verona; but +before she sets out he takes her to the vicinity of Sparafucile's +house, that she may witness the perfidy of the Duke. While outside, +she overhears the quarrel between Sparafucile and Magdalena, and +learns his intention to murder the Duke, who is even then sleeping in +the house. With a woman's devotion she springs forward to save the +Duke's life, knocks at the door, and demands admittance. Sparafucile +opens it, and as she enters stabs her. He then thrusts her body into a +sack, and delivers it to her father as the body of the man whom he had +agreed to slay. Rigoletto, gloating over his revenge, is about to +throw the sack into the river near by, when he suddenly hears the +voice of the Duke. He tears open the sack to see whose body it +contains, and by the glare of the lightning is horrified to find that +it is his own daughter, and realizes that the malediction of Monterone +has been accomplished. She expires in his arms, blessing her lover and +father, while he sinks to the ground overwhelmed with the fulfilment +of the terrible curse. + +The first act opens in the ball-room of the ducal palace. After a +brief dialogue between the Duke and one of his courtiers, the former +vaunts his own fickleness in one of the most graceful and charming +arias in the whole opera ("Questa o quella"). Some spirited dramatic +scenes follow, which introduce the malediction of Monterone and the +compact between Rigoletto and Sparafucile, and lead up to a scena of +great power ("Io la lingua, egli ha il pugnali"), in which the buffoon +vents his furious rage against the courtiers. A tender duet between +Rigoletto and Gilda follows, and a second duet in the next scene +between Gilda and the Duke ("Addio, speranza ed anima"), which for +natural grace, passionate intensity, and fervid expression is one of +Verdi's finest numbers. As the Duke leaves, Gilda, following him with +her eyes, breaks out in the passionate love-song, "Caro nome," which +is not alone remarkable for its delicacy and richness of melody, but +also for the brilliancy of its bravura, calling for rare range and +flexibility of voice. The act closes with the abduction, and gives an +opportunity for a delightful male chorus ("Zitti, zitti") sung +pianissimo. + +The second act also opens in the palace, with an aria by the Duke +("Parmi veder le lagrime"), in which he laments the loss of Gilda. +Another fine chorus ("Scorrendo uniti remota via") follows, from which +he learns that Gilda is already in the palace. In the fourth scene +Rigoletto has another grand scena ("Cortigiani vil razza dannata"), +which is intensely dramatic, expressing in its musical alternations +the whole gamut of emotions, from the fury of despair to the most +exquisite tenderness of appeal as he pleads with the courtiers to tell +him where his daughter is. In the next scene he discovers her, and the +act closes with a duet between them ("Tutte le feste al tempio"), +which, after a strain of most impassioned tenderness, is interrupted +by the passage of the guards conveying Monterone to prison, and then +closes with a furious outburst of passion from Rigoletto. With the +exception of two numbers, the last act depends for its effect upon the +dramatic situations and the great power of the terrible denouement; +but these two numbers are among the finest Verdi has ever given to the +world. The first is the tenor solo sung in Sparafucile's house in the +second scene by the Duke,--"La donna e mobile," an aria of extreme +elegance and graceful abandon, which is heard again in the last scene, +its lightly tripping measures contrasting strangely with the savage +glee of Rigoletto, so soon to change to wails of despair as he +realizes the full force of the malediction. The second is the great +quartet in the third scene between the Duke, Gilda, Magdalena, and +Rigoletto ("Bella figlia dell' amore"), which stands out as an +inspiration in comparison with the rest of the opera, fine as its +music is. The story itself is almost too repulsive for stage +representation; but in beauty, freshness, originality, and dramatic +expression the music of "Rigoletto" is Verdi's best; and in all this +music the quartet is the masterpiece. + + +LA TRAVIATA. + +"La Traviata," an opera in three acts, words by Piave, is founded upon +Dumas's "Dame aux Camelias," familiar to the English stage as +"Camille." The original play is supposed to represent phases of modern +French life; but the Italian libretto changes the period to the year +1700, in the days of Louis XIV.; and there are also some material +changes of characters,--Marguerite Gauthier of the original appearing +as Violetta Valery, and Olympia as Flora Belvoix, at whose house the +ball scene takes place. The opera was first produced at Venice, March +6, 1853, with the following cast of the principal parts:-- + + VIOLETTA Mme. DONATELLI. + ALFREDO M. GRAZIANI. + GERMONT M. VARESI. + +The opera at its first production was a complete failure, though this +was due more to the singers than to the music. It is said that when +the doctor announced in the third act that Mme. Donatelli, who +impersonated the consumptive heroine, and who was one of the stoutest +ladies ever seen on the stage, had but a few days to live, the whole +audience broke out into roars of laughter. Time has brought its +consolations to the composer, however, for "Traviata" is now one of +the most popular operas in the modern repertory. When it was first +produced in Paris, Oct. 27, 1864, Christine Nilsson made her debut in +it. In London, the charming little singer Mme. Piccolomini made her +debut in the same opera, May 24, 1856. Adelina Patti, since that time, +has not only made Violetta the strongest character in her repertory, +but is without question the most finished representative of the +fragile heroine the stage has seen. + +The story as told by the librettist simply resolves itself into three +principal scenes,--the supper at Violetta's house, where she makes the +acquaintance of Alfred, and the rupture between them occasioned by the +arrival of Alfred's father; the ball at the house of Flora; and the +death scene and reconciliation, linked together by recitative, so that +the dramatic unity of the original is lost to a certain extent. The +first act opens with a gay party in Violetta's house. Among the crowd +about her is Alfred Germont, a young man from Provence, who is +passionately in love with her. The sincerity of his passion finally +influences her to turn aside from her life of voluptuous pleasure and +to cherish a similar sentiment for him. In the next act we find her +living in seclusion with her lover in a country-house in the environs +of Paris, to support which she has sold her property in the city. When +Alfred discovers this he refuses to be the recipient of her bounty, +and sets out for Paris to recover the property. During his absence his +father, who has discovered his retreat, visits Violetta, and pleads +with her to forsake Alfred, not only on his own account, but to save +his family from disgrace. Touched by the father's grief, she consents, +and secretly returns to Paris, where she once more resumes her old +life. At a ball given by Flora Belvoix, one of Violetta's associates, +Alfred meets her again, overwhelms her with reproaches, and insults +her by flinging her miniature at her feet in presence of the whole +company. Stung by her degradation, Violetta goes home to die, and too +late Alfred learns the real sacrifice she has made. He hastens to +comfort her, but she dies forgiving and blessing him. + +After a short prelude the first act opens with a vivacious chorus of +the guests at Violetta's supper, leading to a drinking-song ("Libiamo, +libiamo") in waltz time, sung first by Alfred and then by Violetta, +the chorus echoing each couplet with very pretty effect. After a long +dialogue between the two, closing with chorus, Violetta has a grand +scena which is always a favorite show-piece with concert artists. It +begins with an andante movement ("Ah! fors e lui"), expressive of the +suddenly awakened love which she feels for Alfred, with a refrain of +half a dozen measures in the finale which might be called the Violetta +motive, and then suddenly develops into a brisk and sparkling allegro +("Sempre libera") full of the most florid and brilliant ornamentation, +in which she again resolves to shut out every feeling of love and +plunge into the whirl of dissipation. This number, unlike most of +Verdi's finales which are concerted, closes the act. + +The second act opens in the country-house with an effective tenor aria +("De' miei bollenti") sung by Alfred. In the next scene Germont +enters, and after a brief dialogue with Violetta sings a short +cantabile ("Pura siccome un angelo"), leading to a duet ("Dite alia +giovine") with Violetta which is full of tenderness. In the interview +which immediately follows between Germont and Alfred, the father +appeals to his son with memories of home in an andante ("Di Provenza +il mar") which in form and simplicity and simple pathos of expression +might almost be called a ballad. It is always a favorite, and is +usually considered the best number in the opera, notwithstanding its +simple melody. The next scene changes to the ball-room of Flora, and +is introduced with a peculiar chorus effect. A masked chorus of +gypsies, accompanying their measures with tambourines, is followed by +a second chorus of matadors, also in mask, who accent the time with +the pikes they carry, the double number ending with a gay bolero. The +act closes with a long duet between Violetta and Alfred, developing in +the finale, by the entrance of Germont, to a very strong and dramatic +trio. + +The third act opens in Violetta's chamber with a reminiscence of the +introduction. As she contemplates her changed appearance in the +mirror, she bids a sad farewell to her dreams of happiness in the +aria, "Addio! del passato," in harsh contrast with which is heard a +bacchanalian chorus behind the scenes ("Largo al quadrupede"). In the +next scene occurs the passionate duet with Alfred, "Parigi, o cara," +which is a close copy of the final duet in "Trovatore" between Manrico +and Azucena. It is followed by the aria, "Ah! gran Dio," for Violetta, +which leads to the concluding quintet and death scene. + + +IL TROVATORE. + +"II Trovatore," an opera in four acts, words by Cammarano, was first +produced in Rome, Jan. 19, 1853. In 1857 it was brought out in Paris +as "Le Trouvere," and in London, 1856, in English, as "The Gypsy's +Vengeance." It was produced in Rome in the same year with "La +Traviata," but unlike the latter, it was greeted at once with an +enthusiastic welcome; and it has held the stage ever since as one of +the most popular operas in the modern repertory. In this regard, +indeed, it shares with "Martha" and "Faust" the highest place in +popular admiration. + +The opera opens with a midnight scene at the palace of Aliaferia, +where the old servitor, Ferrando, relates to his associates the story +of the fate of Garzia, brother of the Count di Luna, in whose service +they are employed. While in their cradles, Garzia was bewitched by an +old gypsy, and day by day pined away. The gypsy was burned at the +stake for sorcery; and in revenge Azucena, her daughter, stole the +sickly child. At the opening of the opera his fate has not been +discovered. + +As the servitor closes his narrative and he and his companions depart, +the Count di Luna enters and lingers by the apartment of the Duchess +Leonora, with whom he is in love. Hearing his voice, Leonora comes +into the garden, supposing it is Manrico the troubadour, whom she had +crowned victor at a recent tournament, and of whom she had become +violently enamoured. As she greets the Count, Manrico appears upon the +scene and charges her with infidelity. Recognizing her error, she +flies to Manrico for protection. The Count challenges him to combat, +and as they prepare to fight she falls to the ground insensible. + +In the second act we are introduced to a gypsy camp, where Azucena +relates to Manrico, who has been wounded in the duel with the Count, +the same story which Ferrando had told his friends, with the addition +that when she saw her mother burning she caught up the Count's child, +intending to throw it into the flames, but by a mistake sacrificed her +own infant. As the story concludes, a messenger arrives, summoning +Manrico to the defence of the castle of Castellar, and at the same +time informing him that Leonora, supposing him dead, has gone to a +convent. He arrives at the convent in time to rescue her before she +takes her vows, and bears her to Castellar, which is at once besieged +by the Count's forces. + +The third act opens in the camp of the Count, where Azucena, arrested +as a spy, is dragged in. She calls upon Manrico for help. The mention +of his rival's name only adds fuel to the Count's wrath, and he orders +the gypsy to be burned in sight of the castle. Ferrando has already +recognized her as the supposed murderer of the Count's brother, and +her filial call to Manrico also reveals to him that she is his mother. +He makes a desperate effort to rescue her, but is defeated, taken +prisoner, and thrown into a dungeon with Azucena. Leonora vainly +appeals to the Count to spare Manrico, and at last offers him her hand +if he will save his life. He consents, and Leonora hastens to the +prison to convey the tidings, having previously taken poison, +preferring to die rather than fulfil her hateful compact. Manrico +refuses his liberty, and as Leonora falls in a dying condition the +Count enters and orders Manrico to be put to death at once. He is +dragged away to execution, but as the Count triumphantly forces +Azucena to a window and shows her the tragic scene, she reveals her +secret, and informing the horror-stricken Count that he has murdered +his own brother, falls lifeless to the ground. + +The first act opens with a ballad in mazurka time ("Abbietta +Zingara"), in which Ferrando relates the story of the gypsy, leading +up to a scena for Leonora, which is treated in Verdi's favorite style. +It begins with an andante ("Tacea la notte placida"), a brief dialogue +with her attendant Inez intervening, and then develops into an allegro +("Di tale amor") which is a brilliant bit of bravura. A brief snatch +of fascinating melody behind the scenes ("Deserto sulla terra") +introduces Manrico, and the act closes with a trio ("Di geloso amor +sprezzato"), which as an expression of combined grief, fear, and hate, +is one of the most dramatic and intense of all Verdi's finales. + +The second act opens with the Anvil chorus in the camp of the gypsies +("La Zingarella"), the measures accented with hammers upon the anvils. +This number is so familiar that it does not need further reference. As +its strains die away in the distance, Azucena breaks out into an aria +of intense energy, with very expressive accompaniment ("Stride le +vampa"), in which she tells the fearful story of the burning of her +mother. A very dramatic dialogue with Manrico ensues, closing with a +spirited aria for tenor ("Mai reggendo") and duet ("Sino all' elsa"). +The scene is interrupted by the notes of a horn announcing the arrival +of a messenger. The second scene is introduced by a flowing, broad, +and beautifully sustained aria for the Count ("Il balen del suo"), +and, like Leonora's numbers in the garden scene, again develops from a +slow movement to a rapid and spirited march tempo ("Per me ora +fatale"), the act closing with a powerful concerted effect of quartet +and chorus. + +The third act is introduced with a very free and animated soldiers' +chorus. Azucena is dragged in and sings a plaintive lament for Manrico +("Giorni poveri"). Two duets follow, between Azucena and the Count, +and Manrico and Leonora,--the second worked up with beautiful effect +by the blending of the organ in the convent chapel. The act closes +with the spirited aria, "Di quella pira," for Manrico,--a number which +has always been the delight of great dramatic tenors, not alone for +its fine melody, but for its opportunity of showing the voice and +using the exceptional high C which is introduced in the finale of the +aria. + +The last act is replete with beautiful melodies following each other +in quick succession. It opens with a very florid aria for Leonora ("D' +amor sull' ali rosee"), leading to the exquisite scene of the +Miserere, "Ah che la morte,"--a number which has never yet failed to +charm and arouse audiences with the beauty and richness of its musical +effect. As the Count enters, Leonora has another powerful aria ("Mira +di acerbe"), which in the next scene is followed by the familiar duet +between Azucena and Manrico, "Si la stanchezza," upon which Verdi +lavished his musical skill with charming effect. The last scene closes +with the tragedy. The whole opera is liberally enriched with melodies, +and is dramatic throughout; but the last act is the crown of the work, +and may successfully challenge comparison, for beauty, variety, and +dramatic effect, with any other opera in the purely Italian school. + + +IL BALLO IN MASCHERA. + +"Il Ballo in Maschera," an opera in three acts, but usually performed +in four, words by M. Somma, was first produced in Rome, Feb. 17, 1859. +In preparing his work for the stage, Verdi encountered numerous +obstacles. The librettist used the same subject which M. Scribe had +adopted for Auber's opera, "Gustavus III.," and the opera was at first +called by the same name,--"Gustavo III." It was intended for +production at the San Carlo, Naples, during the Carnival of 1858; but +while the rehearsals were proceeding, Orsini made his memorable +attempt to kill Napoleon III., and the authorities at once forbade a +performance of the work, as it contained a conspiracy scene. The +composer was ordered to set different words to his music, but he +peremptorily refused; whereupon the manager brought suit against him, +claiming forty thousand dollars damages. The disappointment nearly +incited a revolution in Naples. Crowds gathered in the streets +shouting, "Viva Verdi," implying at the same time, by the use of the +letters in Verdi's name, the sentiment, "Viva Vittorio Emmanuele Re Di +Italia." A way out of his difficulties, however, was finally suggested +by the impresario at Rome, who arranged with the censorship to have +the work brought out at the Teatro Apollo as "Un Ballo in Maschera." +The scene was changed to Boston, Massachusetts, and the time laid in +the colonial period, notwithstanding the anachronism that masked balls +were unknown at that time in New England history. The Swedish king +appeared as Ricardo, Count of Warwick and Governor of Boston, and his +attendants as Royalists and Puritans, among them two negroes, Sam and +Tom, who are very prominent among the conspirators. In this form, the +Romans having no objection to the assassination of an English +governor, the opera was produced with great success. + +The first act opens in the house of the Governor, where a large party, +among them a group of conspirators, is assembled. During the meeting a +petition is presented for the banishment of Ulrico, a negro sorcerer. +Urged by curiosity, the Governor, disguised as a sailor and +accompanied by some of his friends, pays the old witch a visit. +Meanwhile another visit has been planned. Amelia, the wife of the +Governor's secretary, meets the witch at night in quest of a remedy +for her passion for Richard, who of course has also been fascinated by +her. They arrive about the same time, and he overhears the witch +telling her to go to a lonely spot, where she will find an herb potent +enough to cure her of her evil desires. The Governor follows her, and +during their interview the Secretary hurriedly rushes upon the scene +to notify him that conspirators are on his track. He throws a veil +over Amelia's face and orders Reinhart, the Secretary, to conduct her +to a place of safety without seeking to know who she is. He consents, +and the Governor conceals himself in the forest. The conspirators +meanwhile meet the pair, and in the confusion Amelia drops her veil, +thus revealing herself to Reinhart. Furious at the Governor's perfidy, +he joins the conspirators. In the denouement the Secretary stabs his +master at a masquerade, and the latter while dying attests the purity +of Amelia, and magnanimously gives his secretary a commission +appointing him to a high position in England. + +After a brief prelude, the first act opens with a double chorus, in +which the attitude of the friends of the Governor and the conspirators +against him is strongly contrasted. In the next scene Richard and his +page, Oscar, enter; and after a short dialogue Richard sings a very +graceful romanza ("La rivedra nell' estasi"), which in the next scene +is followed by a spirited aria for Reinhart ("Di speranze e glorie +piena"). In the fourth scene Oscar has a very pretty song ("Volta la +terrea"), in which he defends Ulrica against the accusations of the +judge, leading up to a very effective quintet and chorus which has a +flavor of the opera bouffe style. In grim contrast with it comes the +witch music in the next scene ("Re del abisso"), set to a weird +accompaniment. As the various parties arrive, a somewhat talky trio +ensues between Amelia, Ulrica, and Richard, followed in the next scene +by a lovely barcarole ("Di' tu se fedele") sung by Richard, leading to +a beautifully written concerted finale full of sharp dramatic +contrasts. + +The second act opens upon a moonlight scene on the spot where +murderers are punished; and Amelia, searching for the magic herb, +sings a long dramatic aria ("Ma dall arido") consisting of abrupt and +broken measures, the orchestra filling the gaps with characteristic +accompaniment. Richard appears upon the scene, and the passionate +love-duet follows, "M'ami, m'ami." The interview is ended by the +sudden appearance of Reinhart, who warns the Governor of his danger, +the scene taking the form of a spirited trio ("Odi tu come"). A buffo +trio closes the act, Sam and Tom supplying the humorous element with +their laughing refrain. + +The last act opens in Reinhart's house with a passionate scene between +the Secretary and his wife, containing two strong numbers, a minor +andante ("Morro, ma prima in grazia") for Amelia, and an aria for +Reinhart ("O dolcezzo perdute"), which for originality and true +artistic power is worthy of being classed as an inspiration. The +conspiracy music then begins, and leads to the ball scene, which is +most brilliantly worked up with orchestra, military band, and stringed +quartet behind the scenes supplying the dance-music, and the +accompaniment to the tragical conspiracy, in the midst of which, like +a bright sunbeam, comes the page's bewitching song, "Saper vorreste." +The opera closes with the death of Richard, set to a very dramatic +accompaniment. "The Masked Ball" was the last work Verdi wrote for the +Italian stage, and though uneven in its general effect, it contains +some of his most original and striking numbers,--particularly those +allotted to the page and Reinhart. In the intensity of the music and +the strength of the situations it is superior even to "Trovatore," as +the composer makes his effects more legitimately. + + +AIDA. + +"Aida," an opera in four acts, was first produced at Cairo, Egypt, +Dec. 27, 1871, and was written upon a commission from the Khedive of +that country. The subject of the opera was taken from a sketch, +originally written in prose, by the director of the Museum at Boulak, +which was afterwards rendered into French verse by M. Camille de +Locle, and translated thence into Italian for Verdi by Sig. A. +Ghizlandoni. It is the last opera Verdi has composed, and is notable +for his departure from the conventional Italian forms and the partial +surrender he has made to the constantly increasing influence of the +so-called music of the future. The subject is entirely Egyptian, and +the music is full of Oriental color. + +The action of the opera passes in Memphis and Thebes, and the period +is in the time of the Pharaohs. Aida, the heroine, is a slave, +daughter of Amonasro, the King of Ethiopia, and at the opening of the +opera is in captivity among the Egyptians. A secret attachment exists +between herself and Rhadames, a young Egyptian warrior, who is also +loved by Amneris, daughter of the sovereign of Egypt. The latter +suspects that she has a rival, but does not discover her until +Rhadames returns victorious from an expedition against the rebellious +Amonasro, who is brought back a prisoner. The second act opens with a +scene between Amneris and Aida, in which the Princess wrests the +secret from the slave by pretending that Rhadames has been killed; and +the truth is still further revealed when Rhadames pleads with the King +to spare the lives of the captives. The latter agrees to release all +but Aida and Amonasro, bestows the hand of Amneris upon the unwilling +conqueror, and the act closes amid general jubilation. Acting upon +Amonasro's admonitions, Aida influences Rhadames to fly from Egypt and +espouse the cause of her father. The lovers are overheard by Amneris +and Ramfis, the high priest. The Princess, with all the fury of a +woman scorned, denounces Rhadames as a traitor. He is tried for +treason and condemned to be buried alive in the vaults under the +temple of the god Phtah. Pardon is offered him if he will accept the +hand of Amneris, but he refuses and descends to the tomb, where he +finds Aida awaiting him. The stones are sealed above them and the +lovers are united in death, while Amneris, heart-broken over the +tragedy her jealousy has caused, kneels in prayer before their +sepulchre. + +After a short prelude, consisting of a beautiful pianissimo movement, +mainly for the violins, and very Wagnerish in its general style, the +first act opens in a hall of the King's palace at Memphis. A short +dialogue between Rhadames and the priest Ramfis leads to a delicious +romanza ("Celeste Aida") which is entirely fresh and original, +recalling nothing that appears in any of Verdi's previous works. It is +followed by a strong declamatory duet between Rhadames and Amneris, +which upon the appearance of Aida develops to a trio ("Vieni, o +diletta"). In the next scene the King and his retinue of ministers, +priests, and warriors enter, and a majestic ensemble occurs, beginning +with a martial chorus ("Su! del Nilo") in response to the appeal of +the priests. As the war chorus dies away and the retinue disappears, +Aida has a scena of great power. It begins with a lament for her +country ("Ritorna vincitor"), in passionate declamatory phrases, +clearly showing the influence of Wagner; but in its smooth, flowing +cantabile in the finale, "Numi pieta," Verdi returns to the Italian +style again. The final scene is full of oriental color and barbaric +richness of display. The consecrated arms are delivered to Rhadames. +The priestesses behind the scene to the accompaniment of harps, and +the priests in front with sonorous chant, invoke the aid of the god +Phtah, while other priestesses execute the sacred dance. An impressive +duet between Ramfis and Rhadames closes the act. In this finale, Verdi +has utilized two native Egyptian themes,--the melody sung by the +priestesses with the harps, and the dance-melody given out by the +flutes. + +The second act opens with a female chorus by the slave girls, the +rhythm of which is in keeping with the oriental scene, followed by an +impassioned duet between Amneris and Aida ("Alla pompa che si +appresta"), through which are heard the martial strains of the +returning conqueror. The second scene opens the way for another +ensemble, which with its massive choruses, and its stirring march and +ballet, heralding the victory of Rhadames, is one of the most +picturesque stage scenes the opera has ever furnished. A solemn, +plaintive strain runs through the general jubilation in the appeal of +Amonasro ("Questo assisa ch' io vesto") to the King for mercy to the +captives. The finale begins with the remonstrances of the priests and +people against the appeals of Amonasro and Rhadames, and closes with +an intensely dramatic concerted number,--a quintet set off against the +successive choruses of the priests, prisoners, and people ("Gloria +all' Egitto"). + +The third act, like the first, after a brief dialogue, opens with a +lovely romanza ("O cieli azzuri") sung by Aida, and the remainder of +the act is devoted to two duets,--the first between Amonasro and Aida, +and the second between Rhadames and Aida. Each is very dramatic in +style and passionate in declamation, while they are revelations in the +direction of combining the poetic and musical elements, when compared +with any of the duets in Verdi's previous operas. In the last act the +first scene contains another impressive duet between Rhadames and +Amneris ("Chi ti salva, o sciagurato"), ending with the despairing +song of Amneris, "Ohime! morir mi sento." In the last scene the stage +is divided into two parts. The upper represents the temple of Vulcan, +or Phtah, crowded with priests and priestesses, chanting as the stone +is closed over the subterranean entrance, while below, in the tomb, +Aida and Rhadames sing their dying duet ("O terra, addio"), its +strains blending with the jubilation of the priests and the measures +of the priestesses' sacred dance. "Aida" is the last and +unquestionably the greatest, if not the most popular, of Verdi's +works. It marks a long step from the style of his other operas towards +the production of dramatic effect by legitimate musical means, and +shows the strong influence Wagner has had upon him. Since this work +was produced, no other for the stage has come from his pen. Should he +break his long silence, some new work may show that he has gone still +farther in the new path. If the time for rest has come, however, to +the aged composer, "Aida" will remain his masterpiece among musicians +and connoisseurs, though "Trovatore" will be best loved by the people. + + +OTHELLO. + +Othello has formed the subject of the following compositions: +"Otello," opera in 3 acts, text by Berio, music by Rossini (1816); +"Othelleri," parody by Mueller, Vienna (1828); Othello, overture by +Krug (1883); "Un Othello," operetta, by Legoux, Paris (1863); and +"Othello," opera in 4 acts, text by Boito, music by Verdi (1886). + +"Othello," the last of the long and brilliant series of Verdi's +operas, was completed in 1886, and first produced at the La Scala +Theatre, Milan, Feb. 5, + +1887, with remarkable success, Signora Pantaleoni, Signors Maurel and +Tamagno taking the three leading roles. The libretto was prepared by +the accomplished Italian scholar and musician, Arrigo Boito, and +closely follows the story of the Shakspearian tragedy. + +The curtain rises upon a scene in Cyprus. A storm is raging, and a +crowd, among them Iago, Cassio, and Roderigo, watch the angry sea, +speculating upon the fate of Othello's vessel, which finally arrives +safely in port amid much rejoicing. After returning the welcomes of +his friends he enters the castle with Cassio and Montano. The +conspiracy at once begins by the disclosure of Iago to Roderigo of the +means by which Cassio's ruin may be compassed. Then follows the +quarrel, which is interrupted by the appearance of Othello, who +deprives Cassio of his office. A love-scene ensues between Desdemona +and the Moor; but in the next act the malignity of Iago has already +begun to take effect, and the seeds of jealousy are sown in Othello's +breast. His suspicions are freshly aroused when Desdemona intercedes +in Cassio's behalf, and are changed to conviction by the handkerchief +episode and Iago's artful insinuation that Cassio mutters the name of +Desdemona in his sleep; at which the enraged Moor clutches him by the +throat and hurls him to the ground. In the third act Iago continues +his diabolical purpose, at last so inflaming Othello's mind that he +denounces Desdemona for her perfidy. The act concludes with the +audience to the Venetian embassy, during which he becomes enraged, +strikes Desdemona, and falls in convulsions. The last act transpires +in her chamber, and follows Shakspeare in all the details of the +smothering of Desdemona and the death of Othello. + +There is no overture proper to the opera. After a few vigorous bars of +prelude, the scene opens with a tempestuous and very striking +description of a sea-storm by the orchestra, with the choruses of +sailors and Cypriots rising above it and expressing alternate hope and +terror. After a short recitative the storm dies away, and the choral +phrases of rejoicing end in a pianissimo effect. A hurried recitative +passage between Iago and Roderigo introduces a drinking scene in which +Iago sings a very original and expressive brindisi with rollicking +responses by the chorus. The quarrel follows with a vigorous and +agitated accompaniment, and the act comes to a close with a beautiful +love-duet between Othello and Desdemona. + +The second act opens with recitative which reveals all of Iago's +malignity, and is followed by his monologue, in which he sings a mock +Credo which is Satanic in utterance. It is accompanied with tremendous +outbursts of trumpets, and leads up to a furious declamatory duet with +Othello. The next number brings a grateful change. It is a graceful +mandolinata, sung by children's voices and accompanied by mandolins +and guitars, followed by a charming chorus of mariners, who bring +shells and corals to Desdemona. The intercession episode ensues, +leading to a grand dramatic quartet for Desdemona, Emilia, Iago, and +Othello. The latter then sings a pathetic but stirring melody with +trumpet accompaniment, the farewell to war, and the act closes with a +tumultuous duet between himself and Iago. + +The third act opens with a very expressive duet for Othello and +Desdemona, in which the growing wrath of the former and the sweet and +touching unconsciousness of the other are happily contrasted. A sad +monologue by Othello prepares the way for the coming outbreak. The +handkerchief trio follows, in which the malignity of Iago, the +indignation of Othello, and the inability of Cassio to understand the +fell purpose of Iago are brought out with great force. At its close a +fanfare of trumpets announces the Venetian embassy, and the finale +begins with much brilliancy. Then follows the scene in which Othello +smites down Desdemona. She supplicates for mercy in an aria of tender +beauty, which leads up to a strong sextet. All the guests depart but +Iago; and as Othello, overcome with his emotions, swoons away, the +curtain falls upon Iago's contemptuous utterance, "There lies the lion +of Venice." + +The fourth act is full of musical beauty. After an orchestral +introduction in which the horn has a very effective solo, the curtain +rises and the action transpires in Desdemona's chamber. The scene +opens with a touching recitative between Desdemona and Emilia. While +the former prepares herself for slumber she sings the "Willow Song," +an unaffected melody as simple and characteristic as a folk-song. +Emilia retires, and by a natural transition Desdemona sings an "Ave +Maria," which is as simple and beautiful in its way as the "Willow +Song." She retires to her couch, and in the silence Othello steals in, +dagger in hand, the contra-basses giving out a sombre and deep-toned +accompaniment which is startling in its effect. He kisses her, the +motive from the love-duet appearing in the orchestra; then, after a +hurried dialogue, stifles her. He then kills himself, his last words +being a repetition of those in the duet, while the strings tenderly +give out the melody again. + + +FALSTAFF. + +"Falstaff," an opera in three acts, words by Arrigo Boito, was first +performed March 12, 1893, at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, with the +following cast of characters:-- + + Mistress FORD Signora ZILLI + NANNETTA Madame STEHLE + FENTON M. GARBIN + Dr. CAIUS Signor PAROLI + PISTOLA Signor ARIMONDI + Mistress PAGE Signora GUERRINI + Mistress QUICKLY Signora PASQUA + FORD Signor PINI-CORSI + BARDOLFO Signor PELAGALLI-ROSSETTI + FALSTAFF M. MAUREL + +The libretto, which is mainly based upon "The Merry Wives of Windsor," +also makes some contributions upon "Henry IV.," particularly in the +introduction of the monologue upon honor, and illustrates Boito's +skill in adaptation as well as his remarkable powers in condensation. +In the arrangement of the comedy the five acts are reduced to three. +The characters Shallow, Slender, William, Page, Sir Hugh Evans, +Simple, and Rugby are eliminated, leaving Falstaff, Fenton, Ford, Dr. +Caius, Bardolph, Pistol, Mistress Ford, Mistress Page, Anne, Dame +Quickly and three minor characters as the _dramatis personae_, though +Anne appears as Nannetta and is the daughter of Ford instead of Page. + +The first act opens with a scene at the Garter Inn, disclosing an +interview between Falstaff and Dr. Caius, who is complaining of the +ill treatment he has received from the fat Knight and his followers, +but without obtaining any satisfaction. After his departure, Falstaff +seeks to induce Bardolph and Pistol to carry his love-letters to +Mistresses Ford and Page; but they refuse, upon the ground that their +honor would be assailed, which gives occasion for the introduction of +the monologue from "Henry IV." The letters are finally intrusted to a +page, and the remainder of the act is devoted to the plots of the +women to circumvent him, with an incidental revelation of the loves of +Fenton and Nannetta, or Anne Page. In the second act, we have +Falstaff's visit to Mistress Ford, as planned by the merry wives, the +comical episode of his concealment in the buck-basket, and his dumping +into the Thames. In the last act, undaunted by his buck-basket +experiences, Falstaff accepts a fresh invitation to meet Mistress Ford +in Windsor Park. In this episode occurs the fairy masquerade at +Herne's Oak, in the midst of which he is set upon and beaten, ending +in his complete discomfiture. Then all is explained to him; Nannetta +is betrothed to Fenton; and all ends merry as a marriage bell. + +There is no overture. After four bars of prelude the curtain rises, +and the composer introduces Dr. Caius with the single exclamation, +"Falstaff," and the latter's reply, "Ho! there," which are emblematic +of the declamatory character of the whole opera; for although many +delightful bits of melody are scattered through it, the +instrumentation really tells the story, as in the Wagner music-drama, +though in this latest work of the veteran composer there is less of +the Wagnerian idea than in his "Aida." The first scene is mainly +humorous dialogue, but there are two notable exceptions,--the genuine +lyrical music of Falstaff's song ("'Tis she with eyes like stars"), +and the Honor monologue, a superb piece of recitative with a +characteristic accompaniment in which the clarinets and bassoons +fairly talk, as they give the negative to the Knight's sarcastic +questions. The most attractive numbers of the second scene are +Mistress Ford's reading of Falstaff's letter, which is exquisitely +lyrical, a quartet, a capella, for the four women ("He'll surely come +courting"), followed by a contrasting male quartet ("He's a foul, a +ribald thief"), the act closing with the two quartets offsetting each +other, and enclosing an admirable solo for Fenton. + +The second act opens with the interview between Dame Quickly and +Falstaff, in which the instrumentation runs the whole gamut of +ironical humor. Then follows the scene between Ford and Falstaff, in +which the very clink of the money, and Falstaff's huge chuckles, are +deliberately set forth in the orchestra with a realism which is the +very height of the ridiculous, the scene closing with an expressive +declamation by Ford ("Do I dream? Or, is it reality?"). The second +scene of the act is mainly devoted to the ludicrous incident of the +buck-basket, which is accompanied by most remarkable instrumentation; +but there are one or more captivating episodes; such as Dame Quickly's +description of her visit ("'Twas at the Garter Inn") and Falstaff's +charming song ("Once I was Page to the Duke of Norfolk"). + +The third act opens in the Inn of the Garter, and discloses Falstaff +soliloquizing upon his late disagreeable experiences:-- + + "Ho! landlord! + Ungrateful world, wicked world, + Guilty world! + Landlord! a glass of hot sherry. + Go, go thy way, John Falstaff, + With thee will cease the type + Of honesty, virtue, and might." + +As the fat Knight soliloquizes and drinks his sack the orchestra takes +part in a trill given out by piccolo, and gradually taken by one +instrument after the other, until the whole orchestra is in a hearty +laugh and shaking with string, brass, and wood wind glee. Then enters +Dame Quickly, mischief-maker, and sets the trap at Herne's Oak in +Windsor Forest, into which Falstaff readily falls. The closing scene +is rich with humor. It opens with a delightful love-song by Fenton +("From those sweet lips a song of love arises"). The conspirators +enter one after the other, and at last Falstaff, disguised as the +sable hunter. The elves are summoned, and glide about to the delicious +fairy music accompanying Nannetta's beautiful song ("While we dance in +the moonlight"). From this point the action hastens to the happy +denouement, and the work concludes with a fugue which is imbued with +the very spirit of humor and yet is strictly constructed. While the +vocal parts are extraordinary in their declamatory significance, the +strength of the opera lies in the instrumentation, and its charm in +the delicious fun and merriment which pervades it all and is aptly +expressed in the closing lines:-- + + "All in this world is jesting. + Man is born to be jolly, + E'en from grief some happiness wresting + Sure proof against melancholy." + + + + +WAGNER. + +Richard Wagner, who has been somewhat ironically called the musician +of the future, and whose music has been relegated to posterity by a +considerable number of his contemporaries, was born at Leipsic, May +22, 1813. After his preliminary studies in Dresden and Leipsic, he +took his first lessons in music from Cantor Weinlig. In 1836 he was +appointed musical director in the theatre at Magdeburg, and later +occupied the same position at Koenigsberg. Thence he went to Riga, +where he began his opera "Rienzi." He then went to Paris by sea, was +nearly shipwrecked on his way thither, and landed without money or +friends. After two years of hard struggling he returned to Germany. +His shipwreck and forlorn condition inspired the theme of "The Flying +Dutchman," and while on his way to Dresden he passed near the castle +of Wartburg, in the valley of Thuringia, whose legends inspired his +well-known opera of "Tannhaeuser." He next removed to Zurich, and about +this time appeared "Lohengrin," one of his most favorite operas. +"Tristan and Isolde" was produced in 1856, and his comic opera, "Die +Meistersinger von Nuernberg," three years later. In 1864 he received +the patronage of King Louis of Bavaria, which enabled him to complete +and perform his great work, "Der Ring der Nibelungen." He laid the +foundation of the new theatre at Baireuth in 1872, and in 1875 the +work was produced, and created a profound sensation all over the +musical world. "Parsifal," his last opera, was first performed in +1882. His works have aroused great opposition, especially among +conservative musicians, for the reason that he has set at defiance the +conventional operatic forms, and in carrying out his theory of making +the musical and dramatic elements of equal importance, and employing +the former as the language of the latter in natural ways, has made +musical declamation take the place of set melody, and swept away the +customary arias, duets, quartets, and concerted numbers of the Italian +school, to suit the dramatic exigencies of the situations. Besides his +musical compositions, he enjoys almost equal fame as a litterateur, +having written not only his own librettos, but four important +works,--"Art and the Revolution," "The Art Work of the Future," "Opera +and Drama," and "Judaism in Music." His music has made steady progress +through the efforts of such advocates as Liszt, Von Buelow, and Richter +in Germany, Pasdeloup in France, Hueffer in England, and Theodore +Thomas in the United States. In 1870 he married Frau Cosima von Buelow, +the daughter of Liszt,--an event which provoked almost as much comment +in social circles as his operas have in musical. He died during a +visit to Venice, Feb. 13, 1883. + + +RIENZI. + +"Rienzi der letzte der Tribunen," a tragic opera in five acts, words +by the composer, the subject taken from Bulwer's novel, "The Last of +the Tribunes," was first produced at Dresden, Oct. 20, 1842, with Herr +Tichatscheck, Mme. Schroeder-Devrient, and Mlle. Wiest in the principal +roles. It was designed and partly completed during Wagner's stay in +Riga as orchestra leader. In his Autobiography the composer says that +he first read the story at Dresden in 1837, and was greatly impressed +with its adaptability for opera. He began it in the fall of the same +year at Riga, and says: "I had composed two numbers of it, when I +found, to my annoyance, that I was again fairly on the way to the +composition of music a la Adam. I put the work aside in disgust." +Later he projected the scheme of a great tragic opera in five acts, +and began upon it with fresh enthusiasm in the fall of 1838. By the +spring of 1839 the first two acts were completed. At that time his +engagement at Riga terminated, and he set out for Paris. He soon found +that it would be hopeless for him to bring out the opera in that city, +notwithstanding Meyerbeer had promised to assist him. He offered it to +the Grand Opera and to the Renaissance, but neither would accept it. +Nothing daunted, he resumed work upon it, intending it for Dresden. In +October, 1842, it was at last produced in that city, and met with such +success that it secured him the position of capellmeister at the +Dresden opera-house. + +The action of the opera passes at Rome, towards the middle of the +fourteenth century. The first act opens at night, in a street near the +Church of St. John Lateran, and discovers Orsini, a Roman patrician, +accompanied by a crowd of nobles, attempting to abduct Irene, the +sister of Rienzi, a papal notary. The plot is interrupted by the +entrance of Colonna, the patrician leader of another faction, who +demands the girl. A quarrel ensues. Adriano, the son of Colonna, who +is in love with Irene, suddenly appears and rushes to her defence. +Gradually other patricians and plebeians are attracted by the tumult, +among the latter, Rienzi. When he becomes aware of the insult offered +his sister, he takes counsel with the Cardinal Raimondo, and they +agree to rouse the people in resistance to the outrages of the nobles. +Adriano is placed in an embarrassing position,--his relationship to +the Colonnas urging him to join the nobles, and his love for Irene +impelling him with still stronger force to make common cause with the +people. He finally decides to follow Rienzi, just as the trumpets are +heard calling the people to arms and Rienzi clad in full armor makes +his appearance to lead them. + +The struggle is a short one. The nobles are overcome, and in the +second act they appear at the Capitol to acknowledge their submission +to Rienzi: but Adriano, who has been among them, warns Rienzi that +they have plotted to kill him. Festal dances, processions, and +gladiatorial combats follow, in the midst of which Orsini rushes at +Rienzi and strikes at him with his dagger. Rienzi is saved by a steel +breastplate under his robes. The nobles are at once seized and +condemned to death. Adriano pleads with Rienzi to spare his father, +and moved by his eloquence he renews the offer of pardon if they will +swear submission. They take the oath only to violate it. The people +rise and demand their extermination. Rienzi once more draws the sword, +and Adriano in vain appeals to him to avert the slaughter. He is again +successful, and on his return announces to Adriano that the Colonnas +and Orsinis are no more. The latter warns him of coming revenge, and +the act closes with the coronation of Rienzi. + +The fourth act opens at night near the church. The popular tide has +now turned against Rienzi, upon the report that he is in league with +the German Emperor to restore the pontiff. A festive cortege +approaches, escorting him to the church. The nobles bar his way, but +disperse at his command; whereupon Adriano rushes at him with drawn +dagger, but the blow is averted as he hears the chant of malediction +in the church, and sees its dignitaries placing the ban of +excommunication against Rienzi upon its doors. He hurries to Irene, +warns her that her brother's life is no longer safe, and urges her to +fly with him. She repulses him, and seeks her brother, to share his +dangers or die with him. She finds him at prayer in the Capitol. He +counsels her to accept the offer of Adriano and save herself, but she +repeats her determination to die with him. The sounds of the +approaching crowd are heard outside. Rienzi makes a last appeal to +them from the balcony, but the infuriated people will not listen. They +set fire to the Capitol with their torches, and stone Rienzi and Irene +through the windows. As the flames spread from room to room and +Adriano beholds them enveloping the devoted pair, he throws away his +sword, rushes into the burning building, and perishes with them. + +The overture of "Rienzi" is in the accepted form, for the opera was +written before Wagner had made his new departure in music, and takes +its principal themes, notably Rienzi's prayer for the people and the +finale to the first act, from the body of the work. The general style +of the whole work is vigorous and tumultuous. The first act opens with +a hurly-burly of tumult between the contending factions and the +people. The first scene contains a vigorous aria for the hero ("Wohl +an so moeg es sein"), which leads up to a fiery terzetto ("Adriano du? +Wie ein Colonna!") between Rienzi, Irene, and Adriano, followed by an +intensely passionate scene ("Er geht und laesst dich meinem Schutz") +between the last two. The finale is a tumultuous mass of sound, +through which are heard the tones of trumpets and cries of the people. +It opens with a massive double chorus ("Gegruesst, gegruesst"), shouted +by the people on the one side and the monks in the Lateran on the +other, accompanied by an andante movement on the organ. It is +interrupted for a brief space by the ringing appeal of Rienzi +"Erstehe, hohe Roma, neu," and then closes with an energetic andante, +a quartet joining the choruses. This finale is clearly Italian in +form, and much to Wagner's subsequent disgust was described by +Hanslick as a mixture of Donizetti and Meyerbeer, and a clear presage +of the coming Verdi. + +The second act opens with a stately march, introducing the messengers +of peace, who join in a chorus of greeting, followed by a second +chorus of senators and the tender of submission made by the nobles. A +terzetto between Adriano, Orsini, and Colonna, set off against a +chorus of the nobles, leads up to the finale. It opens with a joyful +chorus ("Erschallet feier Klaenge"), followed by rapid dialogue between +Orsini and Colonna on the one hand and Adriano and Rienzi on the +other. A long and elaborate ballet intervenes, divided into several +numbers,--an Introduction, Pyrrhic Dance, Combat of Roman Gladiators +and Cavaliers, and the Dance of the Apotheosis, in which the Goddess +of Peace is transformed to the Goddess, protector of Rome. The scene +abruptly changes, and the act closes with a great ensemble in which +the defiance of the conspirators, the tolling of bells, the chants of +the monks, and the ferocious outcries of the people shouting for +revenge are mingled in strong contrasts. + +The third act is full of tumult. After a brief prelude, amid the +ringing of bells and cries of alarm, the people gather and denounce +the treachery of the nobles, leading up to a spirited call to arms by +Rienzi ("Ihr Roemer, auf"). The people respond in furious chorus, and +as the sound of the bells and battle-cries dies away Adriano enters. +His scene opens with a prayer ("Gerechter Gott") for the aversion of +carnage, which changes to an agitated allegro ("Wo war ich?") as he +hears the great bell of the Capitol tolling the signal for slaughter. +The finale begins with a massive march, as the bells and sounds of +alarm are heard approaching again, and bands of citizens, priests and +monks, the high clergy, senators and nobles, pass and repass in quick +succession, at last followed by Rienzi, which is the signal for the +great battle-hymn, "Santo spirito cavaliere," which is to be sung with +great fire and energy, accompanied by great and small bells ringing +behind the scenes, the clash of swords upon shields, and full power of +chorus and orchestra. A dialogue follows between Adriano and Rienzi, +and then the various bands disappear singing the ritornelle of the +hymn. A great duet ("Lebwohl, Irene") ensues between Adriano and +Irene, which in its general outlines reminds one of the duet between +Raoul and Valentin in "The Huguenots." At its conclusion, after a +prayer by the chorus of women, the battle hymn is heard again in the +distance, gradually approaching, and the act closes with a jubilee +chorus ("Auf! im Triumpf zum Capitol"), welcoming the return of the +conquerors. + +The fourth act is short, its principal numbers being the introduction, +terzetto and chorus ("Wer war's der euch hierher beschied?"), and the +finale, beginning with a somewhat sombre march of the cortege +accompanying Rienzi to the church, leading to the details of the +conspiracy scene, and closing with the malediction of the monks, "Vae, +vae tibi maledicto." The last act opens with an impressive prayer by +Rienzi ("Allmacht'ger Vater"), which leads to a tender duet ("Verlaesst +die Kirche mich") as Irene enters, closing with a passionate aria by +Rienzi ("Ich liebte gluehend"). The duet is then resumed, and leads to +a second and intensely passionate duet ("Du hier Irene!") between +Adriano and Irene. The finale is brief, but full of energy, and is +principally choral. The denouement hurries, and the tragedy is reached +amid a tumultuous outburst of voices and instruments. Unlike Wagner's +other operas, in "Rienzi" set melody dominates, and the orchestra, as +in the Italian school, furnishes the accompaniments. We have the +regular overture, aria, duet, trio, and concerted finale; but after +"Rienzi" we shall observe a change, at last becoming so radical that +the composer himself threw aside his first opera as unworthy of +performance. + + +THE FLYING DUTCHMAN. + +"Der Fliegende Hollaender," a romantic opera in three acts, words by +the composer, the subject taken from Heinrich Heine's version of the +legend, was first produced at Dresden, Jan. 2, 1843, with Mme. +Schroeder-Devrient and Herr Wechter in the two principal roles. It was +also produced in London in 1870 at Drury Lane as "L'Ollandose +dannato," by Signor Arditi, with Mlle. Di Murska, Signors Foli, +Perotti, and Rinaldini, and Mr. Santley in the leading parts; in 1876, +by Carl Rosa as "The Flying Dutchman," an English version; and again +in 1877 as "Il Vascello fantasma." In this country the opera was +introduced in its English form by Miss Clara Louise Kellogg. + +Wagner conceived the idea of writing "The Flying Dutchman" during the +storm which overtook him on his voyage from Riga to Paris. He says in +his Autobiography: "'The Flying Dutchman,' whose intimate acquaintance +I had made at sea, continually enchained my fancy. I had become +acquainted, too, with Heinrich Heine's peculiar treatment of the +legend in one portion of his 'Salon.' Especially the treatment of the +delivery of this Ahasuerus of the ocean (taken by Heine from a Dutch +drama of the same title) gave me everything ready to use the legend as +the libretto of an opera. I came to an understanding about it with +Heine himself, drew up the scheme, and gave it to M. Leon Pillet +[manager of the Grand Opera], with the proposition that he should have +a French libretto made from it for me." Subsequently M. Pillet +purchased the libretto direct from Wagner, who consented to the +transaction, as he saw no opportunity of producing the opera in Paris. +It was then set by Dietsch as "Le Vaisseau fantome," and brought out +in Paris in 1842. In the mean time, not discouraged by his bad +fortune, Wagner set to work, wrote the German verse, and completed the +opera in seven weeks for Dresden, where it was finally performed, as +already stated. Unlike "Rienzi," it met with failure both in Dresden +and Berlin; but its merits were recognized by Spohr, who encouraged +him to persevere in the course he had marked out. + +The plot of the opera is very simple. A Norwegian vessel, commanded by +Daland, compelled by stress of weather, enters a port not far from her +destination. At the same time a mysterious vessel, with red sails and +black hull, commanded by the wandering Flying Dutchman, who is +destined to sail the seas without rest until he finds a maiden who +will be faithful until death, puts into the same port. The two +captains meet, and Daland invites the stranger to his home. The two at +last progress so rapidly in mutual favor that a marriage is agreed +upon between the stranger and Senta, Daland's daughter. The latter is +a dreamy, imaginative girl, who, though she has an accepted lover, +Eric, is so fascinated with the legend of the stranger that she +becomes convinced she is destined to save him from perdition. When he +arrives with her father she recognizes him at once, and vows eternal +constancy to him. In the last act, however, Eric appears and +reproaches Senta with her faithlessness. The stranger overhears them, +and concludes that as she has been recreant to her former lover, so +too she will be untrue to him. He decides to leave her; for if he +should remain, her penalty would be eternal death. As his mysterious +vessel sails away Senta rushes to a cliff, and crying out that her +life will be the price of his release, hurls herself into the sea, +vowing to be constant to him even in death. The phantom vessel sinks, +the sea grows calm, and in the distance the two figures are seen +rising in the sunlight never to be parted. + +The overture characterizes the persons and situations of the drama, +and introduces the motives which Wagner ever after used so +freely,--among them the curse resting upon the Dutchman, the restless +motion of the sea, the message of the Angel of Mercy personified in +Senta, the personification of the Dutchman, and the song of Daland's +crew. The first act opens with an introduction representing a storm, +and a characteristic sailors' chorus, followed by an exquisite +love-song for tenor ("Mit Gewitter und Sturm"), and a grand scena of +the Dutchman ("Die Frist ist um"), which lead up to a melodious duet +between the Dutchman and Daland. The act closes with the sailors' +chorus as the two vessels sail away. + +After a brief instrumental prelude, the second act opens in Daland's +home, where the melancholy Senta sits surrounded by her companions, +who are spinning. To the whirring accompaniment of the violins they +sing a very realistic spinning song ("Summ' und brumm du gutes +Maedchen"), interrupted at intervals by the laughter of the girls as +they rally Senta upon her melancholy looks. Senta replies with a weird +and exquisitely melodious ballad ("Johohae! traefft ihr das Schiff im +Meere an"), in which she tells the story of the Flying Dutchman, and +anticipates her own destiny. The song is full of intense feelings and +is characterized by a motive which frequently recurs in the opera, and +is the key to the whole work. A duet follows between Eric and Senta, +the melodious character of which shows that Wagner was not yet +entirely freed from Italian influences. A short duet ensues between +Senta and her father, and then the Dutchman appears. As they stand and +gaze at each other for a long time, the orchestra meanwhile supplying +the supposed emotions of each, we have a clew to the method Wagner was +afterwards to employ so successfully. A duet between Senta and the +Dutchman ("Wie aus der Ferne") and a terzetto with Daland close the +act. + +The third act opens with another sailors' chorus ("Steuermann, lass' +die Wacht"), and a brisk dialogue between them and the women who are +bringing them provisions. The latter also hail the crew of the +Dutchman's vessel, but get no reply until the wind suddenly rises, +when they man the vessel and sing the refrain with which the Dutchman +is continually identified. A double chorus of the two crews follows. +Senta then appears accompanied by Eric, who seeks to restrain her from +following the stranger in a very dramatic duet ("Was muss ich +hoeren?"). The finale is made up of sailors' and female choruses, and a +trio between Senta, Daland, and the Dutchman, which are woven together +with consummate skill, and make a very effective termination to the +weird story. There are no points in common between "The Flying +Dutchman" and "Rienzi," except that in the former Wagner had not yet +clearly freed himself from conventional melody. It is interesting as +marking his first step towards the music of the future in his use of +motives, his wonderful treatment of the orchestra in enforcing the +expression of the text, and his combination of the voices and +instrumentation in what he so aptly calls "The Music-Drama." + + +TANNHAEUSER + +"Tannhaeuser und der Singerkrieg auf Wartburg" ("Tannhaeuser and the +singers' contest at the Wartburg"), a romantic opera in three acts, +words by the composer, was first produced at the Royal Opera, Dresden, +Oct. 20, 1845, with Mme. Schroeder-Devrient and Herr Niemann as +Elizabeth and Tannhaeuser. Its first performance in Paris was on March +13, 1861; but it was a failure after three representations, and was +made the butt of Parisian ridicule, even Berlioz joining in the +tirade. In England it was brought out in Italian at Covent Garden, May +6, 1876, though its overture was played by the London Philharmonic +orchestra in 1855, Wagner himself leading. + +In the spring of 1842 Wagner returned from Paris to Germany, and on +his way to Dresden visited the castle of Wartburg, in the Thuringian +Valley, where he first conceived the idea of writing "Tannhaeuser." The +plot was taken from an old German tradition, which centres about the +castle where the landgraves of the thirteenth century instituted +peaceful contests between the Minnesingers and knightly poets. Near +this castle towers the Venusberg, a dreary elevation, which, according +to popular tradition, was inhabited by Holda, the goddess of Spring. +Proscribed by Christianity, she took refuge in its caverns, where she +was afterwards confounded with the Grecian Venus. Her court was filled +with nymphs and sirens, who enticed those whose impure desires led +them to its vicinity, and lured them into the caverns, from which they +were supposed never to return. The first act opens in this court, and +reveals Tannhaeuser, the knight and minstrel, under the sway of Venus. +In spite of her fascinations he succeeds in tearing himself away, and +we next find him at the castle of Wartburg, the home of Hermann the +Landgrave, whose daughter Elizabeth is in love with him. At the +minstrel contest he enters into the lists with the other Minnesingers, +and, impelled by a reckless audacity and the subtle influence of +Venus, sings of the attractions of sensual pleasures. Walter, of the +Vogelweide, replies with a song to virtue. Tannhaeuser breaks out in +renewed sensual strains, and a quarrel ensues. The knights rush upon +him with their swords, but Elizabeth interposes and saves his life. He +expresses his penitence, makes a pilgrimage to Rome and confesses to +the Pope, who replies that, having tasted the pleasures of hell, he is +forever damned, and, raising his crosier, adds: "Even as this wood +cannot blossom again, so there is no pardon for thee." Elizabeth prays +for him in her solitude, but her prayers apparently are of no avail. +At last he returns dejected and hopeless, and in his wanderings meets +Wolfram, another minstrel, also in love with Elizabeth, to whom he +tells the sad story of his pilgrimage. He determines to return to the +Venusberg. He hears the voices of the sirens luring him back. Wolfram +seeks to detain him, but is powerless until he mentions the name of +Elizabeth, when the sirens vanish and their spells lose their +attraction. A funeral procession approaches in the distance, and on +the bier is the form of the saintly Elizabeth. He sinks down upon the +coffin and dies. As his spirit passes away his pilgrim's staff +miraculously bursts out into leaf and blossom, showing that his sins +have been forgiven. + +The overture to the opera is well known by its frequent performances +as a concert number. It begins with the pilgrim's song, which, as it +dies away, is succeeded by the seductive spells of the Venusberg and +the voices of the sirens calling to Tannhaeuser. As the whirring sounds +grow fainter and fainter, the pilgrim's song is again heard gradually +approaching, and at last closing the overture in a joyous burst of +harmony. The first act opens with the scene in the Venusberg, +accompanied by the Bacchanale music, which was written in Paris by +Wagner after the opera was finished and had been performed. It is now +known as "the Parisian Bacchanale." It is followed by a voluptuous +scene between Tannhaeuser and Venus, a long dialogue, during which the +hero, seizing his harp, trolls out a song ("Doch sterblich, ach!"), +the theme of which has already been given out by the overture, +expressing his weariness of her companionship. The second scene +transports us to a valley, above which towers the castle of Wartburg. +A young shepherd, perched upon a rock, sings a pastoral invocation to +Holda ("Frau Holda kam aus dem Berg hervor"), the strains of his pipe +(an oboe obligato) weaving about the stately chorus of the elder +pilgrims ("Zu dir wall' ich, mein Herr und Gott") as they come along +the mountain paths from the castle. The scene, which is one of great +beauty, closes with the lament of Tannhaeuser ("Ach! schwer drueckt mich +der Suenden Last"), intermingled with the receding song of the +pilgrims, the ringing of church-bells in the distance, and the merry +notes of hunters' horns as the Landgrave and his followers approach. +The meeting with Tannhaeuser leads to an expressive septet, in which +Wolfram has a very impressive solo ("Als du in kuehnem Sange"). + +The second act opens in the singers' hall of the Wartburg. Elizabeth, +entering joyfully, greets it in a recitation ("Froh gruess ich dich, +geliebter Raum"), if we may so term it, which is characterized by a +joyous but dignified dramatic appeal, recalling the scenes of her +youth. The interview between Tannhaeuser and Elizabeth, which follows, +gives rise to a long dialogue, closing with a union of the two voices +in the charming duet, "Gepriesen sei die Macht." Then follows the +grand march and chorus, "Freudig begruessen wir die edle Halle," +announcing the beginning of the song contest. The stirring rhythm and +bold, broad outlines of this march are so well known that it is +needless to dwell upon it. The scene of the contest is declamatory +throughout, and full of animation and spirit; its most salient points +being the hymn of Wolfram ("O Himmel lasst dich jetzt erflehen") in +honor of ideal love, and Elizabeth's appeal to the knights to spare +Tannhaeuser ("Zurueck von ihm"), which leads up to a spirited septet and +choral ensemble closing the act. + +In the third act we are once more in the valley of the Wartburg. After +a plaintive song by Wolfram ("Wohl wusst ich hier sie im Gebet zu +finden"), the chorus of the returning pilgrims is heard in the +distance, working up to a magnificent crescendo as they approach and +cross the stage. Elizabeth, who has been earnestly watching them to +find if Tannhaeuser be of their number, disappointed, sinks upon her +knees and sings the touching prayer, "Allmaecht'ge Jungfrau, hoer mein +Flehen." As she leaves the scene, Wolfram takes his harp and sings the +enchanting fantasy to the evening star, "O, du mein holder +Abendstern,"--a love-song to the saintly Elizabeth. Tannhaeuser makes +his appearance. A long declamatory dialogue ensues between himself and +Wolfram, in which he recites the story of his pilgrimage. The scene is +one of extraordinary power, and calls for the highest vocal and +dramatic qualities in order to make it effective. From this point on, +the tragedy hastens. There is the struggle once more with the sirens, +and amid Wolfram's touching appeals and Tannhaeuser's exclamations is +heard the enticement of the Venus music. But at the name "Elizabeth" +it dies away. The mists grow denser as the magic crew disappears, and +through them is seen a light upon the Wartburg. The tolling of bells +and the songs of mourners are heard as the cortege approaches. As +Tannhaeuser dies, the pilgrims' chorus again rises in ecstasy, closing +with a mighty shout of "Hallelujah!" and the curtain falls. + + +LOHENGRIN. + +"Lohengrin," a romantic opera in three acts, words by the composer, +was first produced at Weimar, Aug. 28, 1850, the anniversary of +Goethe's birthday, under the direction of Franz Liszt, and with the +following cast of the leading parts:-- + + LOHENGRIN Herr BECK. + TELRAMUND Herr MILDE. + KING Herr HOFER. + ELSA Frau AGATHE. + ORTRUD Frauelein FASTLINGER. + +"Lohengrin" was begun in Paris, and finished in Switzerland during the +period in which Wagner was director of the musical society as well as +of the orchestra at the city theatre of Zurich, whither he had fled to +escape the penalties for taking part in the political agitations and +subsequent insurrection of 1849. Though it manifests a still further +advancement in the development of his system, it was far from being +composed according to the abstract rules he had laid down. He says +explicitly on this point, in his "Music of the Future:" "The first +three of these poems--'The Flying Dutchman,' 'Tannhaeuser,' and +'Lohengrin'--were written by me, their music composed, and all (with +the exception of 'Lohengrin') performed upon the stage, before the +composition of my theoretical writings." + +The story of Lohengrin, the son of Parsifal, upon which Wagner has +based his drama, is taken from many sources, the old Celtic legend of +King Arthur, his knights, and the Holy Grail being mixed with the +distinctively German legend of a knight who arrives in his boat drawn +by a swan. The version used by Wagner is supposed to be told by +Wolfram von Eschenbach, the Minnesinger, at one of the Wartburg +contests, and is in substance as follows: Henry I., King of Germany, +known as "the Fowler," arrives at Antwerp for the purpose of raising a +force to help him expel the Hungarians, who are threatening his +dominions. He finds Brabant in a condition of anarchy. Gottfried, the +young son of the late Duke, has mysteriously disappeared, and +Telramund, the husband of Ortrud, daughter of the Prince of Friesland, +claims the dukedom. The claimant openly charges Elsa, sister of +Gottfried, with having murdered him to obtain the sovereignty, and she +is summoned before the King to submit her cause to the ordeal of +battle between Telramund and any knight whom she may name. She +describes a champion whom she has seen in a vision, and conjures him +to appear in her behalf. After a triple summons by the heralds, he is +seen approaching on the Scheldt, in a boat drawn by a swan. Before the +combat Lohengrin betroths himself to Elsa, naming only the condition +that she shall never question him as to his name or race. She assents, +and the combat results in Telramund's defeat and public disgrace. + +In the second act occur the bridal ceremonies, prior to which, moved +by Ortrud's entreaties, Elsa promises to obtain a reprieve for +Telramund from the sentence which has been pronounced against him. At +the same time Ortrud takes advantage of her success to instil doubts +into Elsa's mind as to her future happiness and the faithfulness of +Lohengrin. + +In the next scene, as the bridal cortege is about to enter the +minster, Ortrud claims the right of precedence by virtue of her rank, +and Telramund publicly accuses Lohengrin of sorcery. The faith of +Elsa, however, is not shaken. The two conspirators are ordered to +stand aside, the train enters the church, and Elsa and Lohengrin are +united. + +The third act opens in the bridal chamber. The seeds of curiosity and +distrust which Ortrud has sown in Elsa's mind have ripened, and in +spite of her conviction that it will end her happiness, she questions +Lohengrin with increasing vehemence, at last openly demanding to know +his secret. At this juncture Telramund breaks into the apartment with +four followers, intending to take the life of Lohengrin. A single blow +of the knight's sword stretches him lifeless. He then places Elsa in +the charge of her ladies and orders them to take her to the presence +of the King, whither he also repairs. Compelled by his wife's +unfortunate rashness, he discloses himself as the son of Parsifal, +Knight of the Holy Grail, and announces that he must now return to its +guardianship. His swan once more appears, and as he steps into the +boat he bids Elsa an eternal farewell. Before he sails away, however, +Ortrud declares to the wondering crowd that the swan is Elsa's +brother, who has been bewitched by herself into this form, and would +have been released but for Elsa's curiosity. Lohengrin at once +disenchants the swan, and Gottfried appears and rushes into his +sister's arms. A white dove flies through the air and takes the place +of the swan, and Lohengrin sails away as Elsa dies in the embrace of +her newly found brother. + +The Vorspiel, or prelude, to the opera takes for its subject the +descent of the Holy Grail, the mysterious symbol of the Christian +faith, and the Grail motive is the key to the whole work. The +delicious harmonies which accompany its descent increase in warmth and +power until the sacred mystery is revealed to human eyes, and then die +away to a pianissimo, and gradually disappear as the angels bearing +the holy vessel return to their celestial abode. The curtain rises +upon a meadow on the banks of the Scheldt, showing King Henry +surrounded by his vassals and retainers. After their choral +declaration of allegiance, Telramund, in a long declamatory scena of +great power ("Zum Sterben kam der Herzog von Brabant"), tells the +story of the troubles in Brabant, and impeaches Elsa. At the King's +command, Elsa appears, and in a melodious utterance of extreme +simplicity and sweetness, which is called the dream motive ("Einsam in +trueben Tagen"), relates the vision of the knight who is to come to her +assistance. The summons of the heralds preludes the climax of the act. +Amid natural outcries of popular wonderment Lohengrin appears, and, as +he leaves his boat, bids farewell to his swan in a strain of delicate +beauty ("Nun sei gedankt, mein lieber Schwan"). The preparations for +the combat are made, but before it begins, the motive of warning is +sounded by Lohengrin ("Nie sollst du mich befragen"). The finale of +the act takes the form of a powerful ensemble, composed of sextet and +chorus, and beginning with the prayer of the King, "Mein Herr und +Gott, nun ruf ich Dich." + +The second act opens upon a night scene near the palace, which is +merry with the wedding festivities, while the discomfited Telramund +and Ortrud are plotting their conspiracy without in a long duet +("Erhebe dich, Genossin meiner Schmach"), which introduces new motives +of hatred and revenge, as opposed to the Grail motive. In the second +scene Elsa appears upon the balcony and sings a love-song ("Euch +Lueften, die mein Klagen"), whose tenderness and confidence are in +marked contrast with the doubts sown in her mind by Ortrud before the +scene closes. The third scene is preluded with descriptive sunrise +music by the orchestra, followed by the herald's proclamations, +interspersed by choral responses, leading up to the bridal-procession +music as the train moves on from the palace to the cathedral, +accompanied by a stately march and choral strains, and all the +artistic surroundings of a beautiful stage pageant. The progress is +twice interrupted; first by Ortrud, who asserts her precedence, and +second by Telramund, who, in the scena "Den dort im Glanz," accuses +Lohengrin of sorcery. When Elsa still expresses her faith, the train +moves on, and reaches its destination amid the acclamations of the +chorus ("Heil, Elsa von Brabant!"). + +The third act opens in the bridal chamber with the graceful bridal +song by Elsa's ladies, "Treulich gefuhrt, ziehet dahin," whose +melodious strains have accompanied many unions, the world over, +besides those of Elsa and Lohengrin. The second scene is an exquisite +picture of the mutual outpouring of love, at first full of beauty and +tenderness, but gradually darkening as Ortrud's insinuations produce +their effect in Elsa's mind. Tenderly Lohengrin appeals to her, but in +vain; and at last the motive of warning is heard. The fatal questions +are asked, the tragedy of Telramund follows, and all is over. The last +scene introduces us once more to the meadow on the Scheldt, where +Lohengrin appears before the King and his vassals. In their presence +he reveals himself as the son of Parsifal, in a scena of consummate +power ("In fernem Land, unnahbar euren Schritten"), wherein the Grail +motive reaches its fullest development. It is followed by his touching +farewell, "O Elsa! nur ein Jahr an deiner Seite," the melody of which +can hardly be surpassed in dignity and impressiveness. The denouement +now hastens, and Lohengrin disappears, to the accompaniment of the +Grail motive. + + +TRISTAN UND ISOLDE. + +"Tristan und Isolde," an opera in three acts, words by the composer, +was first produced at Munich, June 10, 1865, under the direction of +Hans von Buelow, with the following cast of characters:-- + + TRISTAN Herr LUDWIG SCHNORR VON CAROLSFELD. + KURWENAL Herr MITTERWURZER. + KING MARK Herr ZOTTMAYER. + ISOLDE Mme. SCHNORR VON CAROLSFELD. + BRANGOENA Mlle. DEINET. + +"Tristan and Isolde" was commenced in 1857 and finished in 1859, +during the period in which Wagner was engaged upon his colossal work, +"The Ring of the Nibelung." As early as the middle of 1852 he had +finished the four dramatic poems which comprise the cyclus of the +latter, and during the next three years he finished the music to "Das +Rheingold" and "Die Walkuere." In one of his letters he says: "In the +summer of 1857 I determined to interrupt the execution of my work on +the Nibelungen and begin something shorter, which should renew my +connection with the stage." The legend of Tristan was selected. It is +derived from the old Celtic story of "Tristram and Iseult," the +version adopted by Wagner being that of Gottfried of Strasburg, a bard +of the thirteenth century, though it must be said he uses it in his +own manner, and at times widely departs both from the original and the +mediaeval poem. + +In "Tristan and Isolde" Wagner broke completely loose from all the +conventional forms of opera. It has nothing in common with the old +style of lyric entertainment. As Hueffer says, in his recent Life of +Wagner: "Here is heard for the first time the unimpaired language of +dramatic passion intensified by an uninterrupted flow of expressive +melody. Here also the orchestra obtains that wide range of emotional +expression which enables it, like the chorus of the antique tragedy, +to discharge the dialogue of an overplus of lyrical elements without +weakening the intensity of the situation, which it accompanies like an +unceasing passionate undercurrent." In an opera like this, which is +intended to commingle dramatic action, intensity of verse, and the +power and charm of the music in one homogeneous whole, the reader will +at once observe the difficulty of doing much more than the telling of +its story, leaving the musical declamation and effects to be inferred +from the text. Even Wagner himself in the original title is careful to +designate the work "Ein Handlung" (an action). + +The vorspiel to the drama is based upon a single motive, which is +worked up with consummate skill into various melodic forms, and +frequently appears throughout the work. It might well be termed the +motive of restless, irresistible passion. The drama opens on board a +ship in which the Cornish knight, Tristan, is bearing Isolde, the +unwilling Irish bride, to King Mark of Cornwall. As the vessel is +nearing the land, Isolde sends Brangoena to the Knight, who is also in +love with her, but holds himself aloof by reason of a blood-feud, and +orders him to appear at her side. His refusal turns Isolde's affection +to bitterness, and she resolves that he shall die, and that she will +share death with him. She once more calls Tristan, and tells him that +the time has come for him to make atonement for slaying her kinsman, +Morold. + +She directs Brangoena to mix a death-potion and invites him to drink +with her, but without her knowledge Brangoena has prepared a +love-potion, which inflames their passions beyond power of restraint. +Oblivious of the landing, the approach of the royal train, and all +that is going on about them, they remain folded in mutual embrace. + +The second act opens in Cornwall, in a garden which leads to Isolde's +chamber, she being already wedded to King Mark. With Brangoena she is +waiting for Tristan. The King goes out upon a night hunt, and no +sooner has he disappeared than Isolde gives the signal for his +approach, while Brangoena goes to her station to watch. The second +scene is a most elaborate love-duet between the guilty pair, the two +voices at first joining ("Bist du mein? Hab'ich dich wieder?"). A +passionate dialogue ensues, and then the two voices join again ("O +sink' hernieder, Nacht der Liebe"). After a brief dialogue Brangoena's +warning voice is heard. Absorbed in each other, they pay no heed, and +once more they join in the very ecstasy of passion, so far as it can +be given musical form, in the finale of the duet, "O suesse Nacht! +Ew'ge Nacht! Hehr erhabne Liebes-Nacht." The treachery of Sir Melot, +Tristan's pretended friend, betrays the lovers to the King. Tristan +offers no explanations, but touched by the King's bitter reproaches +provokes Sir Melot to combat and allows himself to be mortally +wounded. + +The third act opens in Brittany, whither Kurwenal, Tristan's faithful +henchman, has taken him. A shepherd lad watches from a neighboring +height to announce the appearance of a vessel, for Kurwenal has sent +for Isolde to heal his master's wound. At last the stirring strains of +the shepherd's pipe signal her coming. In his delirious joy Tristan +tears the bandages from his wounds, and has only strength enough left +to call Isolde by name and die in her arms. Now a second vessel is +seen approaching, bearing King Mark and his men. Thinking that his +design is hostile, Kurwenal attempts to defend the castle, but is soon +forced to yield, and dies at the feet of his master. The King exclaims +against his rashness, for since he had heard Brangoena's story of the +love-potion he had come to give his consent to the union of the +lovers. Isolde, transfigured with grief, sings her last farewell to +her lover ("Mild und leise wie er laechelt"), and expires on his body. +The dying song is one of great beauty and pathos, and sadly recalls +the passion of the duet in the second act, as Isolde's mournful +strains are accompanied in the orchestra by the sweetly melodious +motives which had been heard in it, the interweaving of the two also +suggesting that in death the lovers have been reunited. + + +THE MASTERSINGERS. + +"Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg," a comic opera in three acts, words +by the composer, was first produced at Munich, June 21, 1868, under +the direction of Hans von Buelow, with the following cast: + + HANS SACHS Herr BETZ. + WALTER Herr NACHBAUER. + BECKMESSER Herr HOELZEL. + DAVID Herr SCHLOSSER. + EVA Mlle. MALLINGER. + MAGDALENA Mme. DIETZ. + +The plan of "The Mastersingers" was conceived about the same time as +that of "Lohengrin," during the composer's stay at Marienbad, and +occupied his attention at intervals for twenty years, as it was not +finished until 1867. As is clearly apparent both from its music and +text, it was intended as a satire upon the composer's critics, who had +charged that he was incapable of writing melody. It is easy to see +that these critics are symbolized by the old pedant Beckmesser, and +that in Walter we have Wagner himself. When he is first brought in +contact with the Mastersingers, and one of their number, Kothner, asks +him if he gained his knowledge in any school, he replies, "The wood +before the Vogelweid', 'twas there I learnt my singing;" and again he +answers:-- + + "What winter night. + What wood so bright, + What book and nature brought me, + What poet songs of magic might + Mysteriously have taught me, + On horses' tramp, + On field and camp, + On knights arrayed + For war parade + My mind its powers exerted." + +The story is not only one of love as between Walter and Eva, but of +satirical protest as between Walter and Beckmesser, and the two +subjects are illustrated not only with delicate fancy but with the +liveliest of humor. The work is replete with melody. It has chorales, +marches, folk-songs, duets, quintets, ensembles, and choruses, and yet +the composer does not lose sight of his theories; for here we observe +as characteristic a use of motives and as skilful a combination of +them as can be found in any of his works. To thoroughly comprehend the +story, it is necessary to understand the conditions one had to fulfil +before he could be a mastersinger. First of all he must master the +"Tabulatur," which included the rules and prohibitions. Then he must +have the requisite acquaintance with the various methods of rhyming +verse, and with the manner of fitting appropriate music to it. One who +had partially mastered the Tabulatur was termed a "scholar;" the one +who had thoroughly learned it, a "schoolman;" the one who could +improvise verses, a "poet;" and the one who could set music to his +verses, a "mastersinger." In the test there were thirty-three faults +to be guarded against; and whenever the marker had chalked up seven +against the candidate, he was declared to have oversung himself and +lost the coveted honor. + +The vorspiel is a vivid delineation of mediaeval German life, full of +festive pomp, stirring action, glowing passion, and exuberant humor. +The first act opens in the Church of St. Katherine, at Nuremberg, with +the singing of a chorale to organ accompaniment. During the chorale +and its interludes a quiet love-scene is being enacted between Eva, +daughter of the wealthy goldsmith Veit Pogner, and Walter von +Stolzing, a noble young knight. The attraction is mutual. Eva is ready +to become his bride, but it is necessary that her husband should be a +mastersinger. Rather than give up the hand of the fair Eva, Walter, +short as the time is, determines to master the precepts and enter the +lists. As Eva and her attendant, Magdalena, leave the church, the +apprentices enter to arrange for the trial, among them David, the +friskiest of them all, who is in love with Magdalena. He volunteers to +give Walter some instructions, but they do not avail him much in the +end, for the lesson is sadly disturbed by the gibes of the boys, in a +scene full of musical humor. At last Pogner and Beckmesser, the +marker, who is also a competitor for Eva's hand, enter from the +sacristy. After a long dialogue between them the other masters +assemble, Hans Sachs, the cobbler-bard, coming in last. After calling +the roll, the ceremonies open with a pompous address by Pogner ("Das +schoene Fest, Johannis-Tag"), in which he promises the hand of Eva, +"with my gold and goods beside," to the successful singer on the +morrow, which is John the Baptist's Day. After a long parley among the +gossiping masters, Pogner introduces Walter as a candidate for +election. He sings a charming song ("So rief der Lenz in den Wald"), +and as he sings, the marker, concealed behind a screen, is heard +scoring down the faults. When he displays the slate it is found to be +covered with them. The masters declare him outsung and rejected, but +Hans Sachs befriends him, and demands he shall have a chance for the +prize. + +The second act discloses Pogner's house and Sachs's shop. The +apprentices are busy putting up the shutters, and are singing as they +work. Walter meets Eva and plots an elopement with her, but Sachs +prevents them from carrying out their rash plan. Meanwhile Beckmesser +makes his appearance with his lute for the purpose of serenading Eva +and rehearsing the song he is to sing for the prize on the morrow. As +he is about to sing, Sachs breaks out into a rollicking folk-song +("Jerum, jerum, halla, halla, he!"), in which he sings of Mother Eve +and the troubles she had after she left Paradise, for want of shoes. +At last he allows Beckmesser a hearing, provided he will permit him to +mark the faults with his hammer upon the shoe he is making. The marker +consents, and sings his song, "Den Tag seh' ich erscheinen," +accompanied with excruciating roulades of the old-fashioned +conventional sort; but Sachs knocks so often that his shoe is finished +long before Beckmesser's song. This is his first humiliation. Before +the act finishes he is plunged into still further trouble, for David +suspects him of designs upon Magdalena, and a general quarrel ensues. + +The third act opens upon a peaceful Sunday-morning scene in the sleepy +old town, and shows us Sachs sitting in his arm-chair at the window +reading his Bible, and now and then expressing his hopes for Walter's +success, as the great contest is soon to take place. At last he leans +back, and after a brief meditation commences a characteristic song +("Wahn! wahn! Ueberall wahn!"). A long dialogue ensues between him and +Walter, and then as Eva, David, Magdalena, and Beckmesser successively +enter, the scene develops into a magnificent quintet, which is one of +the most charming numbers in the opera. The situation then suddenly +changes. The stage-setting represents an open meadow on the banks of +the Pegnitz. The river is crowded with boats. The plain is covered +with tents full of merrymakers. The different guilds are continually +arriving. A livelier or more stirring scene can hardly be imagined +than Wagner has here pictured, with its accompaniment of choruses by +the various handicraftsmen, their pompous marches, and the rural +strains of town pipers. At last the contest begins. Beckmesser +attempts to get through his song and dismally fails. Walter follows +him with the beautiful prize-song, "Morgenlich leuchtend in rosigem +Schein." He wins the day and the hand of Eva. Exultant Sachs trolls +out a lusty lay ("Verachtet mir der Meister nicht"), and the stirring +scene ends with the acclamations of the people ("Heil Sachs! Hans +Sachs! Heil Nuernberg's theurem Sachs!"). + + +THE RING OF THE NIBELUNG. + +"Der Ring des Nibelungen," a trilogy, the subject taken from the +Nibelungen Lied and adapted by the composer, was first conceived by +Wagner during the composition of "Lohengrin." The four dramatic poems +which constitute its cyclus were written as early as 1852, which will +correct a very general impression that this colossal work was +projected during the closing years of his life. On the contrary, it +was the product of his prime. Hueffer, in his biographical sketch of +Wagner, says that he hesitated between the historical and mythical +principles as the subjects of his work,--Frederick the First +representing the former, and Siegfried, the hero of Teutonic +mythology, the latter. Siegfried was finally selected. "Wagner began +at once sketching the subject, but gradually the immense breadth and +grandeur of the old types began to expand under his hands, and the +result was a trilogy, or rather tetralogy, of enormous dimensions, +perhaps the most colossal attempt upon which the dramatic muse has +ventured since the times of AEschylus." The trilogy is really in four +parts,--"Das Rheingold" (the Rhinegold); "Die Walkuere" (the Valkyrie); +"Siegfried"; and "Die Goetterdaemmerung" (the Twilight of the Gods), +"The Rhinegold" being in the nature of an introduction to the trilogy +proper, though occupying an evening for its performance. Between the +years 1852 and 1856 the composer wrote the music of the "Rhinegold" +and the whole of "The Valkyrie;" and then, as he says himself, wishing +to keep up his active connection with the stage, he interrupted the +progress of the main scheme, and wrote "Tristan and Isolde," which +occupied him from 1856 to 1859. During its composition, however, he +did not entirely forsake the trilogy. In the autumn of 1856 he began +"Siegfried," the composition of which was not finished until 1869, +owing to many other objects which engaged his attention during this +period, one of which was the composition of "The Mastersingers," which +he wrote at intervals between 1861 and 1867. From the latter year +until 1876, when the trilogy was produced at Baireuth, he gave himself +wholly to the work of completing it and preparing it for the stage. + +Prior to the production of the completed work, separate parts of it +were given, though Wagner strongly opposed it. "The Rhinegold," or +introduction, came to a public dress-rehearsal at Munich Aug. 25, +1869, and "The Valkyrie" was performed in a similar manner in the same +city, June 24, 1870, with the following cast:-- + + WOTAN Herr KINDERMANN. + SIEGMUND Herr VOGL. + HUNDING Herr BAUSERWEIN. + BRUENNHILDE Frl. STEHLE. + SIEGLINDE Frau VOGL. + FRICKA Frl. KAUFFMANN. + +The "Siegfried" and "Goetterdaemmerung," however, were not given until +the entire work was performed in 1876. Upon the completion of his +colossal task Wagner began to look about him for the locality, +theatre, artists, and materials suitable for a successful +representation. In the circular which he issued, narrating the +circumstances which led up to the building of the Baireuth +opera-house, he says: "As early as the spring of 1871 I had, quietly +and unnoticed, had my eye upon Baireuth, the place I had chosen for my +purpose. The idea of using the Margravian Opera-House was abandoned so +soon as I saw its interior construction. But yet the peculiar +character of that kindly town and its site so answered my +requirements, that during the wintry latter part of the autumn of the +same year I repeated my visit,--this time, however, to treat with the +city authorities.... An unsurpassably beautiful and eligible plot of +ground at no great distance from the town was given me on which to +erect the proposed theatre. Having come to an understanding as to its +erection with a man of approved inventive genius, and of rare +experience in the interior arrangement of theatres, we could then +intrust to an architect of equal acquaintance with theatrical building +the further planning and the erection of the provisional structure. +And despite the great difficulties which attended the arrangements for +putting under way so unusual an undertaking, we made such progress +that the laying of the corner-stone could be announced to our patrons +and friends for May 22, 1872." The ceremony took place as announced, +and was made still further memorable by a magnificent performance of +Beethoven's Ninth or Choral Symphony, the chorus of which, set to +Schiller's "Ode to Joy," was sung by hundreds of lusty German throats. +In addition to the other contents of the stone, Wagner deposited the +following mystic verse of his own: + + "I bury here a secret deep, + For centuries long to lie concealed; + Yet while this stone its trust shall keep, + To all the secret stands revealed." + +He also made an eloquent address, setting forth the details of the +plans and the purposes of the new temple of art. The undertaking was +now fairly inaugurated. The erratic King of Bavaria had from the first +been Wagner's steadfast friend and munificent patron; but not to him +alone belongs the credit of the colossal project and its remarkable +success. When Wagner first made known his views, other friends, among +them Tausig, the eminent pianist, at once devoted themselves to his +cause. In connection with a lady of high rank, Baroness von +Schleinitz, he proposed to raise the sum of three hundred thousand +thalers by the sale of patronage shares at three hundred thalers each, +and had already entered upon the work when his death for the time +dashed Wagner's hopes. Other friends, however, now came forward. An +organization for the promotion of the scheme, called the "Richard +Wagner Society," was started at Mannheim. Notwithstanding the ridicule +which it excited, another society was formed at Vienna. Like societies +began to appear in all the principal cities of Germany, and they found +imitators in Milan, Pesth, Brussels, London, and New York. Shares were +taken so rapidly that the success of the undertaking was no longer +doubtful. Meanwhile the theatre itself was under construction. It +combined several peculiarities, one of the most novel of which was the +concealment of the orchestra by the sinking of the floor, so that the +view of the audience could not be interrupted by the musicians and +their movements. Private boxes were done away with, the arrangement of +the seats being like that of an ancient amphitheatre, all of them +facing the stage. Two prosceniums were constructed which gave an +indefinable sense of distance to the stage-picture. To relieve the +bare side walls, a row of pillars was planned, gradually widening +outward and forming the end of the rows of seats, thus having the +effect of a third proscenium. The stage portion of the theatre was +twice as high as the rest of the building, for all the scenery was +both raised and lowered, the incongruity between the two parts being +concealed by a facade in front. "Whoever has rightly understood me," +says Wagner, "will readily perceive that architecture itself had to +acquire a new significance under the inspiration of the genius of +Music, and thus that the myth of Amphion building the walls of Thebes +by the notes of his lyre has yet a meaning." + +The theatre was completed in 1876, and in the month of August (13-16) +Wagner saw the dream of his life take the form of reality. He had +everything at his command,--a theatre specially constructed for his +purpose; a stage which in size, scenery, mechanical arrangements, and +general equipment, has not its equal in the world; an array of artists +the best that Europe could produce; an orchestra almost literally +composed of virtuosi. The audience which gathered at these +performances--composed of princes, illustrious men in every department +of science and culture, and prominent musicians from all parts of the +world--was one of which any composer might have been proud, while the +representation itself marked an epoch in musical history, and +promulgated a new system of laws destined to affect operatic +composition ever after. + +The casts of the various portions of the trilogy upon this memorable +occasion were as follows: + + DAS RHEINGOLD. (PRELUDE.) + + WOTAN | (Herr BETZ. + DONNER | (Herr GURA. + | Gods + FROH | (Herr UNGER. + LOGE | (Herr VOGL. + + FASOLT | (Herr EILERS. + | Giants + FAFNER | (Herr VON REICHENBERG. + + ALBERICH | (Herr HILL. + | Nibelungs + MIME | (Herr SCHLOSSER. + + FRICKA | (Frau VON GRUEN-SADLER. + FREIA |Goddesses (Frl. HAUPT. + ERDA | (Frau JAEIDA. + + Woglinde ) ( Frl. Lilly Lehmann. + Wellgunde ) Rhine daughters ( Frl. Marie Lehmann. + Flosshilde ) ( Frl. Lammert. + + +DIE WALKUERE. + + SIEGMUND Herr NIEMANN. + HUNDING Herr NIERING. + WOTAN Herr BETZ. + SIEGLINDE Frl. SCHEFZKY. + BRUENNHILDE Frau FRIEDRICH-MATERNA. + FRICKA Frau VON GRUEN-SADLER. + + +SIEGFRIED. + + SIEGFRIED Herr UNGER. + MIME Herr SCHLOSSER. + DER WANDERER Herr BETZ. + ALBERICH Herr HILL. + FAFNER Herr VON REICHENBERG. + ERDA Frau JAEIDA. + BRUENNHILDE Frau FRIEDRICH-MATERNA + + +DER GOETTERDAEMMERUNG. + + SIEGFRIED Herr UNGER. + GUNTHER Herr GURA. + HAGEN Herr VON REICHENBERG. + ALBERICH Herr HILL. + BRUENNHILDE Frau FRIEDRICH-MATERNA. + GUTRUNE Frl. WECKERLIN. + WALTRAUTE Frau JAEIDA. + +The motive of the drama turns upon the possession of a ring of magic +qualities, made of gold stolen from the Rhine daughters by Alberich, +one of the Nibelungen, who dwelt in Nebelheim, the place of mists. +This ring, the symbol of all earthly power, was at the same time to +bring a curse upon all who possessed it. Wotan, of the race of the +gods, covetous of power and heedless of the curse which follows it, +obtained the ring from Alberich by force and cunning, and soon found +himself involved in calamity from which there was no apparent escape. +He himself could not expiate the wrong he had done, nor could he avert +the impending doom, the "twilight" of the gods, which was slowly and +surely approaching. Only a free will, independent of the gods, and +able to take upon itself the fault, could make reparation for the +deed. At last he yields to despair. His will is broken, and instead of +fearing the inevitable doom he courts it. In this sore emergency the +hero appears. He belongs to an heroic race of men, the Volsungs. The +unnatural union of the twins, Siegmund and Sieglinde, born of this +race, produces the real hero, Siegfried. The parents pay the penalty +of incest with their lives; but Siegfried remains, and Wotan watches +his growth and magnificent development with eager interest. Siegfried +recovers the ring from the giants, to whom Wotan had given it, by +slaying a dragon which guarded the fatal treasure. Bruennhilde, the +Valkyr, Wotan's daughter, contrary to his instructions, had protected +Siegmund in a quarrel which resulted in his death, and was condemned +by the irate god to fall into a deep sleep upon a rock surrounded by +flames, where she was to remain until a hero should appear bold enough +to break through the wall of fire and awaken her. Siegfried rescues +her. She wakens into the full consciousness of passionate love, and +yields herself to the hero, who presents her with the ring, but not +before it has worked its curse upon him, so that he, faithless even in +his faithfulness, wounds her whom he deeply loves, and drives her from +him. Meanwhile Gunther, Gutrune, and their half-brother Hagen conspire +to obtain the ring from Bruennhilde and to kill Siegfried. Through the +agency of a magic draught he is induced to desert her, after once more +getting the ring. He then marries Gutrune. The curse soon reaches its +consummation. One day, while traversing his favorite forests on a +hunting expedition, he is killed by Hagen, with Gunther's connivance. +The two murderers then quarrel for the possession of the ring, and +Gunther is slain. Hagen attempts to wrest it from the dead hero's +finger, but shrinks back terrified as the hand is raised in warning. +Bruennhilde now appears, takes the ring, and proclaims herself his true +wife. She mounts her steed, and dashes into the funeral pyre of +Siegfried after returning the ring to the Rhine-daughters. This +supreme act of immolation breaks forever the power of the gods, as is +shown by the blazing Walhalla in the sky; but at the same time justice +has been satisfied, reparation has been made for the original wrong, +and the free will of man becomes established as a human principle. + +Such are the outlines of this great story, which will be told more in +detail when we come to examine the component parts of the trilogy. Dr. +Ludwig Nohl, in his admirable sketch of the Nibelungen poem, as Wagner +adapted it, gives us a hint of some of its inner meanings in the +following extract: "Temporal power is not the highest destiny of a +civilizing people. That our ancestors were conscious of this is shown +in the fact that the treasure, or gold and its power, was transformed +into the Holy Grail. Worldly aims give place to spiritual desires. +With this interpretation of the Nibelungen myth, Wagner acknowledged +the grand and eternal truth that this life is tragic throughout, and +that the will which would mould a world to accord with one's desires +can finally lead to no greater satisfaction than to break itself in a +noble death.... It is this conquering of the world through the victory +of self which Wagner conveys as the highest interpretation of our +national myths. As Bruennhilde approaches the funeral pyre to sacrifice +her life, the only tie still uniting her with the earth, to Siegfried, +the beloved dead, she says:-- + + "'To the world I will give now my holiest wisdom; + Not goods, nor gold, nor godlike pomp, + Not house, nor lands, nor lordly state, + Not wicked plottings of crafty men, + Not base deceits of cunning law,-- + But, blest in joy and sorrow, let only love remain.'" + +We now proceed to the analysis of the four divisions of the work, in +which task, for obvious reasons, it will be hardly possible to do more +than sketch the progress of the action, with allusions to its most +striking musical features. There are no set numbers, as in the Italian +opera; and merely to designate the leading motives and trace their +relation to each other, to the action of the _dramatis personae_, and +to the progress of the four movements, not alone towards their own +climaxes but towards the ultimate denouement, would necessitate far +more space than can be had in a work of this kind. + + +DAS RHEINGOLD. + +The orchestral prelude to "The Rhinegold" is based upon a single +figure, the Rhine motive, which in its changing developments pictures +the calm at the bottom of the Rhine and the undulating movement of the +water. The curtain rises and discloses the depths of the river, from +which rise rugged ridges of rock. Around one of these, upon the summit +of which glistens the Rhinegold, Woglinde, a Rhine-daughter, is +swimming. Two others, Wellgunde and Flosshilde, join her; and as they +play about the gleaming gold, Alberich, a dwarf, suddenly appears from +a dark recess and passionately watches them. As they are making sport +of him, his eye falls upon the gold and he determines to possess it. +They make light of his threat, informing him that whoever shall forge +a ring of this gold will have secured universal power, but before he +can obtain that power he will have to renounce love. The disclosure of +the secret follows a most exultant song of the Undines ("Rheingold! +leuchtende Lust! wie lachst du so hell und hehr!"). In the +announcement made by them also occurs the motive of the ring. The +Rhine-daughters, who have fancied that Alberich will never steal the +gold because he is in love with them, are soon undeceived, for he +curses love, and snatches the gold and makes off with it, pursued by +the disconsolate maidens, whose song changes into a sad minor leading +up to the next scene. As they follow him into the dark depths the +stream sinks with them and gives place to an open district with a +mountain in the background, upon which is the glistening Walhalla, +which the giants have just built for the gods. Wotan and Fricka are +discovered awakening from sleep and joyfully contemplating it, the +latter, however, filled with apprehension lest the giants shall claim +Freia, the goddess of love, whom Wotan has promised to them as the +reward for their work. Loge, the god of fire, however, has agreed to +obtain a ransom for her. He has searched the world over, but has been +unable to find anything that can excel in value or attraction the +charm of love. As the gods are contemplating their castle Loge +appears, and in a scene of great power, accompanied by music which +vividly describes the element he dominates ("Immer ist Undank Loge's +Lohn"), he narrates the tidings of his failure. The giants, however, +have heard the story of the Rhinegold, and as they carry off the +weeping Freia agree to release her whenever the gods will give to them +the precious and all-powerful metal. As love departs, the heavens +become dark and sadness overcomes the gods. They grow suddenly old and +decrepit. Fricka totters and Wotan yields to despair. Darkness and +decay settle down upon them. The divine wills are broken, and they are +about to surrender to what seems approaching dissolution, when Wotan +suddenly arouses himself and determines to go in quest of the +all-powerful gold. Loge accompanies him, and the two enter the dark +kingdom of the gnomes, who are constantly at work forging the metals. +By virtue of his gold Alberich has already made himself master of all +the gnomes, but Wotan easily overpowers him and carries him off to the +mountain. The Nibelung, however, clings to his precious gold, and a +struggle ensues for it. In spite of his strength and the power the +ring gives to him it is wrenched from him, and the victorious Wotan +leaves him free to return to his gloomy kingdom. Infuriated with +disappointment over his loss and rage at his defeat, Alberich curses +the ring and invokes misfortune upon him who possesses it. "May he who +has it not, covet it with rage," cries the dwarf, "and may he who has +it, retain it with the anguish of fear;" and with curse upon curse he +disappears. Now that he has the ring, Wotan is unwilling to give it +up. The other gods implore him to do so, and the giants demand their +ransom. He remains inflexible; but at last Erda, the ancient divinity, +to whom all things are known, past, present and future, appears to +Wotan and warns him to surrender the ring. She declares that all which +exists will have an end, and that a night of gloom will come upon the +gods. So long as he retains the ring a curse will follow it. Her +sinister foreboding so alarms him that at last he abandons the gold. +Youth, pride, and strength once more return to the gods. + +The grand closing scene of the prelude now begins. Wotan attempts to +enter Walhalla, but all is veiled in oppressive mist and heavy clouds. +The mighty Donner, accompanied by Froh, climbs a high rock in the +valley's slope and brandishes his hammer, summoning the clouds about +him. From out their darkness its blows are heard descending upon the +rock. Lightning leaps from them, and thunder-crashes follow each other +with deafening sounds. The rain falls in heavy drops. Then the clouds +part, and reveal the two in the midst of their storm-spell. In the +distance appears Walhalla bathed in the glow of the setting sun. From +their feet stretches a luminous rainbow across the valley to the +castle, while out from the disappearing storm comes the sweet rainbow +melody. Froh sings, "Though built lightly it looks, fast and fit is +the bridge." The gods are filled with delight, but Wotan gloomily +contemplates the castle as the curse of the ring recurs to him. At +last a new thought comes in his mind. The hero who will make +reparation is to come from the new race of mortals of his own +begetting. The thought appears in the sword motive, and as its stately +melody dies away, Wotan rouses from his contemplation and hails +Walhalla with joy as "a shelter from shame and harm." He takes Fricka +by the hand, and leading the way, followed by Froh, Freia, Donner, and +Loge, the last somewhat reluctantly, the gods pass over the rainbow +bridge and enter Walhalla bathed in the light of the setting sun and +accompanied by the strains of a majestic march. During their passage +the plaintive song of the Rhine-daughters mourning their gold comes up +from the depths. Wotan pauses a moment and inquires the meaning of the +sounds, and bids Loge send a message to them that the treasure shall +"gleam no more for the maids." Then they pass laughingly and mockingly +on through the splendor to Walhalla. The sad song still rises from the +depths of the Rhine, but it is overpowered by the strains of the +march, and pealing music from the castle. The curtain falls upon their +laments, and the triumphant entrance of the gods into their new home. + + +DIE WALKUERE. + +In "The Valkyrie," properly the first part of the cyclus, the human +drama begins. Strong races of men have come into existence, and +Wotan's Valkyres watch over them, leading those who fall in battle to +Walhalla, where, in the gods' companionship, they are to pass a +glorious life. According to the original legend, Wotan blessed an +unfruitful marriage of this race by giving the pair an apple of Hulda +to eat, and the twins, Siegmund and Sieglinde, were the result of the +union. When the first act opens, Siegmund has already taken a wife and +Sieglinde has married the savage warrior Hunding, but neither marriage +has been fruitful. It is introduced with an orchestral prelude +representing a storm. The pouring of the rain is audible among the +violins and the rumbling of the thunder in the deep basses. The +curtain rises, disclosing the interior of a rude hut, its roof +supported by the branches of an ash-tree whose trunk rises through the +centre of the apartment. As the tempest rages without, Siegmund rushes +in and falls exhausted by the fire. Attracted by the noise, Sieglinde +appears, and observing the fallen stranger bends compassionately over +him and offers him a horn of mead. As their eyes meet they watch each +other with strange interest and growing emotion. While thus mutually +fascinated, Hunding enters and turns an inquiring look upon Sieglinde. +She explains that he is a guest worn out with fatigue and seeking +shelter. Hunding orders a repast and Siegmund tells his story. +Vanquished in combat by a neighboring tribe, some of whose adherents +he had slain, and stripped of his arms, he fled through the storm for +refuge. Hunding promises him hospitality, but challenges him to combat +on the morrow, for the victims of Siegmund's wrath were Hunding's +friends. As Sieglinde retires at Hunding's bidding, she casts a +despairing, passionate look at Siegmund, and tries to direct his +attention to a sword sticking in the ash-tree, but in vain. Hunding +warns her away with a significant look, and then taking his weapons +from the tree leaves Siegmund alone. The latter, sitting by the fire, +falls into dejection, but is soon roused by the thought that his sire +had promised he should find the sword Nothung in his time of direst +need. The dying fire shoots out a sudden flame, and his eye lights +upon its handle, illuminated by the blaze. The magnificent +sword-melody is sounded, and in a scene of great power he hails it and +sings his love for Sieglinde, whom now he can rescue. As the fire and +the song die away together, Sieglinde reappears. She has drugged +Hunding into a deep sleep, and in an exultant song tells Siegmund the +story of the sword. They can be saved if he is strong enough to wrench +it from the trunk of the ash. He recognizes his sister and folds her +passionately in his arms. The storm has passed, and as the moonlight +floods the room he breaks out in one of the loveliest melodies Wagner +has ever written, the spring song ("Winterstuerme wichen dem +Wonnemond"), a song of love leading to the delights of spring; and +Sieglinde in passionate response declares, "Thou art the spring for +which I longed in winter's frosty embrace." The recognition is mutual, +not alone of brother and sister but of lover and mistress,--the union +which is destined to beget Siegfried, the hero. Seizing her in his +arms, Siegmund disappears with her into the depths of the forest, and +the curtain falls. + +The second act opens in the mountains of the gods, and discloses Wotan +with spear in hand in earnest converse with Bruennhilde, his daughter, +who is arrayed in the armor of a Valkyr. He tells her of the +approaching combat, and bids her award the victory to Siegmund the +Volsung, beloved of the gods. As she disappears among the rocks, +shouting the weird cry of the Valkyres, the jealous Fricka, protector +of marriage vows, comes upon the scene in a chariot drawn by rams. A +stormy dialogue occurs between them, Fricka demanding the death of +Siegmund as compensation for the wrong done to Hunding. Wotan at last +is overcome, and consents that the Valkyres shall conduct him to +Walhalla. As he yields, Bruennhilde's jubilant song is heard on the +heights, and Wotan summons her and announces his changed decision. +Siegmund must perish. As he stalks gloomily away among the rocks, +Bruennhilde falls into deep dejection, and turns away moaning: "Alas! +my Volsung! Has it come to this,--that faithless the faithful must +fail thee?" As she enters a cave for her horse, the fugitives Siegmund +and Sieglinde hurriedly approach, pursued by the infuriated Hunding. +They stop to rest, and Sieglinde falls exhausted in his arms. The +scene is marked by alternations of passionate love and fear, hope on +the one side, despair on the other, vividly portrayed in the +instrumentation. As the music dies away and Sieglinde rests insensible +in his arms, Bruennhilde, with deep melancholy in her visage, shows +herself to Siegmund. In reply to his question, "Who art thou?" she +answers, "He who beholds me, to death in the battle is doomed. I shall +lead thee to Walhalla." Eagerly he asks, "Shall I find in Walhalla my +own father Waelse?" and she answers, "The Volsung shall find his father +there." With passionate earnestness he asks, "Shall Siegmund there +embrace Sieglinde?" The Valkyre replies, "The air of earth she still +must breathe. Sieglinde shall not see Siegmund there." Then furiously +answers Siegmund, "Then farewell to Walhalla! Where Sieglinde lives, +in bliss or blight, there Siegmund will also tarry," and he raises his +sword over his unconscious sister. Moved by his great love and sorrow, +Bruennhilde for the first time is swayed by human emotions, and +exultantly declares, "I will protect thee." Hunding's horn sounds in +the distance, and soon is heard his defiant challenge to battle. +Siegmund rushes to the top of one of the cloudy summits, and the clash +of their arms resounds in the mists. A sudden gleam of light shows +Bruennhilde hovering over Siegmund, and protecting him with her shield. +As he prepares himself to deal a deadly thrust at Hunding, the angry +Wotan appears in a storm-cloud and interposes his spear. Siegmund's +sword is shivered to pieces. Hunding pierces his disarmed enemy, and +he falls mortally wounded. Bruennhilde lifts the insensible Sieglinde +upon her steed and rides away with her. Wotan, leaning upon his spear, +gazes sorrowfully at the dying Volsung, and then turning to Hunding, +so overcomes him with his contemptuous glance that he falls dead at +his feet. "But Bruennhilde, woe to the traitor. Punishment dire is due +to her treason. To horse, then. Let vengeance speed swiftly." And +mounting his steed he disappears amid thunder and lightning. + +The last act opens in a rocky glen filled with the Valkyres calling to +each other from summit to summit with wild cries as they come riding +through the clouds after the combat, bearing the dead bodies of the +warriors on their saddles. The scene is preluded with an orchestral +number, well known in the concert-room as the "Ride of the Valkyres," +which is based upon two motives, the Valkyre's call and the Valkyre +melody. In picturesque description of the rush and dash of steeds, +amid which are heard the wild cries of the sisters, "The Ride" is one +of the most powerful numbers ever written. Bruennhilde arrives among +the exultant throng in tears, bearing Sieglinde with her. She gives +her the fragments of Siegmund's sword, and appeals to the other +Valkyres to save her. She bids Sieglinde live, for "thou art to give +birth to a Volsung," and to keep the fragments of the sword. "He that +once brandishes the sword, newly welded, let him be named Siegfried, +the winner of victory." Wotan's voice is now heard angrily shouting +through the storm-clouds, and calling upon Bruennhilde, who vainly +seeks to conceal herself among her sisters. He summons her forth from +the group, and she comes forward meekly but firmly and awaits her +punishment. He taxes her with violating his commands; to which she +replies, "I obeyed not thy order, but thy secret wish." The answer +does not avail, and he condemns her to sleep by the wayside, the +victim of the first who passes. She passionately pleads for protection +against dishonor, and the god consents. Placing her upon a rocky couch +and kissing her brow, he takes his farewell of her in a scene which +for majestic pathos has never been excelled. One forgets Wotan and the +Valkyre. It is the last parting of an earthly father and daughter, +illustrated with music which is the very apotheosis of grief. He then +conjures Loge, the god of fire; and as he strikes his spear upon the +rock, flames spring up all about her. Proudly he sings in the midst of +the glare:-- + + "Who fears the spike + Of my spear to face, + He will not pierce the planted fire,"-- + +a melody which is to form the motive of the hero Siegfried in the next +division of the work--and the curtain falls upon a scene which for +power, beauty, and majesty has not its equal on the lyric stage. + + +SIEGFRIED. + +The second division of the tragedy, "Siegfried," might well be called +an idyl, of the forest. Its music is full of joyousness and delight. +In place of the struggles of gods and combats of fierce warriors, the +wild cries of Valkyres and the blendings of human passions with divine +angers, we have the repose and serenity of nature, and in the midst of +it all appears the hero Siegfried, true child of the woods, and as +full of wild joyousness and exultant strength as one of their fauns or +satyrs. It is a wonderful picture of nature, closing with an ecstatic, +vision of love. + +After the death of Siegmund, Sieglinde takes refuge in the depths of +the forest, where she gives birth to Siegfried. In her dying moments +she intrusts him to Mime, who forged the ring for Alberich when he +obtained possession of the Rhinegold. The young hero has developed +into a handsome, manly stripling, who dominates the forests and holds +its wild animals subject to his will. He calls to the birds and they +answer him. He chases the deer with leaps as swift as their own. He +seizes the bear and drags him into Mime's hut, much to the Nibelung's +alarm. But while pursuing the wild, free life in the forest, he has +dreams of greater conquests than those over nature. Heroic deeds shape +themselves in his mind, and sometimes they are illuminated with dim +and mysterious visions of a deeper passion. In his interviews with +Mime he questions him about the world outside of the forest, its +people and their actions. He tires of the woods, and longs to get away +from them. Mime then shows him the fragments of his father's sword, +which had been shattered upon Wotan's spear, the only legacy left her +son by Sieglinde, and tells him that he who can weld them together +again will have power to conquer all before him. Mime had long tried +to forge a sword for Siegfried, but they were all too brittle, nor had +he the skill to weld together the fragments of Siegmund's sword, +Nothung. The only one who can perform that task is the hero without +fear. One day Siegfried returns from a hunting expedition and +undertakes it himself. He files the fragments into dust and throws it +into the crucible, which he places on the fire of the forge. Then +while blowing the bellows he sings a triumphant song ("Nothung! +Nothung! neidliches Schwert"), which anticipates the climax towards +which all the previous scenes have led. As he sings at his work Mime +cogitates how he shall thwart his plans and get possession of the +sword. He plots to have him kill Fafner, the giant, who has changed +himself into a dragon, for the more effectual custody of the +Rhine-treasure and the ring. Then when Siegfried has captured the +treasure he will drug him with a poisoned broth, kill him with the +sword, and seize the gold. Siegfried pours the melted steel into a +mould, thrusts it into the water to cool, and then bursts out into a +new song, accompanied by anvil blows, as he forges and tempers it, the +motive of which has already been heard in the "Rhinegold" prelude, +when Alberich made his threat. While Mime quietly mixes his potion, +Siegfried fastens the hilt to his blade and polishes the sword. Then +breaking out in a new song, in which are heard the motives of the +fire-god and the sword, he swings it through the air, and bringing it +down with force splits the anvil in twain. The music accompanying this +great scene, imitating the various sounds of the forge, the flutter of +the fire, the hissing of the water, the filing of the sword, and the +blows upon the anvil, is realism carried to the very extreme of +possibilities. + +The great exploit has been successful, and Siegfried at last has +Siegmund's sword. Mime takes him to the cave where Fafner, the +giant-dragon, guards the gold. Siegfried slays the monster, and laughs +over the ease of the task. His finger is heated with the dragon's +blood, and as he puts it to his lips to cool it he tastes the blood, +and thus learns the language of the birds. He cares nought for the +treasure, and takes only the ring and a magic helmet, which enables +the wearer to assume any form. After the contest he throws himself at +the foot of a tree in the forest and dreamily listens to the +"Waldweben," the rustle and mysterious stirrings of the woods. Amid +all these subtle, soothing sounds, pierced now and then with the songs +of the birds, and distant cries in far-away sylvan recesses, he +realizes that he is alone, while his old companions of the woods are +together. He thinks of the mother whom he has never known, and of that +mysterious being whom he has never seen, who should make the +companionship he observes among the birds. The passion of love begins +to assert itself vaguely and strangely, but full soon it will glow out +with ardent flame. A bird flying over his head sings to him. He can +understand its song and fancies it his mother's voice coming to him in +the bird-notes. It tells him now he has the treasure, he should save +the most beautiful of women and win her to himself. "She sleeps upon a +rock, encircled with flames; but shouldst thou dare to break through +them, the warrior-virgin is thine." The bird wings its flight through +the forest, and Siegfried, joyously seizing his sword, follows it with +swift foot, for he knows it is guiding him to Bruennhilde. The time for +great deeds has come. The wild, free life of the forest is over. + +The third act once more shows us the god Wotan still plunged in gloom. +Gazing into a deep abyss, he summons Erda, who knows the destiny of +all the world, to question her again as to the twilight of the gods. +The mysterious figure appears at his bidding, but has nothing further +to communicate. Their doom is certain. The fearless race of men is +destined to efface the gods, and Walhalla must disappear. The hero is +at hand, and coming rapidly. The despairing Wotan, who appears in this +scene as "Der Wanderer" (the wanderer), cries out, "So be it. It is to +this end I aspire." He turns gloomily away, and confronts Siegfried +bounding from rock to rock like a deer, still following his airy +guide. The god angrily tries to bar his way, but in vain. His lance is +shattered at a single blow of the sword Nothung, which he himself had +once so easily shivered. It is the first catastrophe of the final fate +which is approaching. The hero without fear has come, the free will of +man has begun to manifest itself. The power of the gods is breaking. +Joyously Siegfried rushes on over the rocks. He is soon bathed in the +glow of the fire, which casts weird shadows through the wild glen. Now +the burning wall of red flames is before him. With a ringing cry of +exultation he dashes through them, and before him lies the sleeping +maiden in her glistening armor. Mad with her beauty and his own +overpowering passion, he springs to her side and wakes her with a +kiss. The Volsung and the Valkyr gaze at each other a long time in +silence. Bruennhilde strives to comprehend her situation, and to recall +the events that led up to her penalty, while love grows within her for +the hero who has rescued her, and Siegfried is transfixed by the +majesty of the maiden. As she comes to herself and fully realizes who +is the hero before her and foresees the approaching doom, she +earnestly appeals to him:-- + + "Leave, ah, leave, + Leave me unlost, + Force on me not + Thy fiery nearness. + Shiver me not + With thy shattering will, + And lay me not waste in thy love." + +What is preordained cannot be changed. Siegfried replies with growing +passion, and Bruennhilde at last yields, and the two join in an +outburst of exultant song:-- + + "Away, Walhalla, + In dust crumble + Thy myriad towers. + Farewell, greatness, + And gift of the gods. + You, Norns, unravel + The rope of runes. + Darken upwards, + Dusk of the gods. + Night of annulment, + Draw near with thy cloud. + I stand in sight + Of Siegfried's star. + For me he was, + And for me he will ever be." + +With this great duet, which is one of the most extraordinary numbers +in the trilogy for dramatic power and musical expression of human +emotion, this division closes. + + +DIE GOETTERDAEMMERUNG. + +The last division of the tragedy opens under the shade of a huge +ash-tree where the three Fates sit spinning and weaving out human +destinies. As they toss their thread from one to the other,--the +thread they have been spinning since time began,--they foresee the +gloom which is coming. Suddenly it snaps in their fingers, whereupon +the dark sisters crowding closely together descend to the depths of +the earth to consult with the ancient Erda and seek shelter near her. +Meanwhile as day breaks Siegfried and Bruennhilde emerge from the glen +where they have been reposing in mutual happiness. Bruennhilde has told +her lover the story of the gods and the secrets of the mystic runes, +but he is still unsatisfied. His mission is not yet fulfilled. He must +away to perform new deeds. Before he leaves her he gives her the ring +as his pledge of fidelity, and they part, after exchanging mutual vows +of love and constancy. + +In his search for further exploits, Siegfried arrives at the dwelling +of Gunter, a powerful Rhenish chief, head of the Gibichungen, another +race of heroes, where also resides Gutrune, his fascinating sister, +and the evil Hagen, begotten by Alberich of Crimhilda, Gunter's +mother, who was the victim of his gold. Alberich's hatred of the gods +and all connected with them is shared by his son, who has been charged +by the Nibelung to recover the gold. From this point the tragic +denouement rapidly progresses. Siegfried's horn is heard in the +distance, and he soon crosses Gunter's threshold, where his ruin is +being plotted by the sinister Hagen. He is hospitably received, and at +Hagen's bidding Gutrune pours out and offers him a draught so +cunningly mixed that it will efface all past remembrances. He is +completely infatuated with the girl's beauty, and as the potion takes +effect, the love for Bruennhilde disappears. He demands Gutrune in +marriage, and Hagen promises her upon condition that he will bring +Bruennhilde as a bride for Gunter. Siegfried departs upon the fatal +errand, and after taking from her the ring drags her by force to +deliver her to Gunter. The Valkyr rises to a sublime height of anger +over her betrayal, and dooms Siegfried to death in the approaching +hunt, for by death alone she knows that she can regain his love. + +The last act opens in a rocky glen on the banks of the Rhine, the +ripple of whose waters is repeated in the melody of "The Rhinegold." +Siegfried is separated from his companion, and while alone, the song +of the Rhine-daughters is heard. They rise to the surface of the +gleaming water and demand their gold, but Siegfried refuses to restore +it. They warn him again to fly from the curse, but he proudly exclaims +that his sword is invincible and can crush the Norns. Sadly they float +away to the sound of harps shimmering over the water. Gunter's horn is +heard among the hills, and Siegfried exultantly answers it. The +huntsmen assemble and prepare for a feast. Siegfried relates his +adventure with the Rhine-daughters, and when Hagen asks him if it is +true that he can understand the language of the birds, he tells the +whole story of his life in the "Rheinfahrt," a song built up of all +the motives which have been heard in the "Siegfried" division,--the +melody of the sword, the stir of the woods, the song of the mysterious +bird, Mime's enticement, the love of Bruennhilde, and the flaming fire +following each other in rapid and brilliant succession through the +measures of the picturesque description. As the song dies away, two +ravens, messengers of ill-omen, fly across the stage. The curse motive +sounds gloomily through the orchestra. Hagen springs to his feet and +suddenly and treacherously plunges his spear into Siegfried's back, +then sullenly leaves and disappears among the rocks. The hero falls to +the earth and dies, breathing Bruennhilde's name, for in the last +supreme moment the spell of Hagen's draught passes away. With his last +breath he breaks out in a death-song of surpassing beauty and majesty, +in which the motives are those of the Volsung and the Valkyr, as well +as of the destiny which is to reunite them in death. Once more he +murmurs the name of Bruennhilde, and then his companions tenderly place +him upon his shield, and lifting him upon their shoulders carry him to +the misty summits and disappear in the cloud, to the mighty and +impressive strains of a funeral march, built up on the motives of +Siegmund, the love-duet of Siegmund and Sieglinde, the sword and +Volsung motives, and Siegfried's great theme. In the interweaving of +these motives and their sombre coloring, in massive fortissimo and +crescendo effects, in expressive musical delineation, and in majestic +solemnity, the Siegfried funeral march must take precedence of all +other dirges. In truth it is a colossal and heroic funeral poem fit to +celebrate the death of a demigod. In the last scene Siegfried's body +is borne back to the hall of the Gibichungs amid loud lamenting. When +Gutrune learns what has occurred, she bitterly curses Hagen and throws +herself on Siegfried's corpse. Hagen and Gunter quarrel for the +possession of the ring, and Gunter is slain; but when Hagen tries to +take the ring, the hand of the dead hero is raised in warning. Then +Bruennhilde solemnly and proudly advances in the light of the torches +and bids the empty clamor cease, for "this is no lamenting worthy of a +hero." She orders a funeral pyre to be built, and Siegfried is laid +thereon. She contemplates the dead hero with passionate love and +sadness, and then solemnly turning to those about her, exclaims: +"Those who efface the fault of the gods are predestined to suffering +and death. Let one sacrifice end the curse. Let the Ring be purified +by fire, the waters dissolve it forever. The end of the gods is at +hand. But though I leave the world masterless, I give it this precious +treasure. In joy or in suffering, happiness can alone come from love." +She seizes a burning brand, and invoking Loge, god of fire, flings it +into the pyre. Her horse is brought to her, and she proudly mounts +it:-- + + "Grane, my horse, + Hail to thee here! + Knowest thou, friend, + How far I shall need thee? + Heiaho! Grane! + Greeting to him. + Siegfried! See, Bruennhilde + Joyously hails thee, thy bride." + +She swings herself upon her steed and dashes into the furious flames. +At last they die away, and the Rhine rushes forward from its banks and +covers the pyre. The exultant Rhine-daughters are swimming in the +flood, for Bruennhilde has thrown them the ring. Hagen makes a last +desperate effort to clutch it, but Woglinde and Wellgunde wind their +arms about him, and as they drag him into the depths Flosshilde holds +the ring above the waters, and the exultant song of the +Rhine-daughters is heard above the swelling tide, while far in the +distance a red flame spreads among the clouds. Walhalla is blazing in +the sky. The Dusk of the Gods has come. Reparation has been made. The +hero without fear is victorious. Free will, independent of the gods, +will rule the world, and the gods themselves are lost in the human +creation. Love is given to men, and conquers death. + + +PARSIFAL. + +"Parsifal," a "Buehnenweihfestspiel" (festival acting-drama), words by +Wagner, was concluded in 1879, and first produced at Baireuth, July +22, 1882, only about seven months before the distinguished composer's +death, with Mme. Friedrich-Materna as Kundry, Herr Winckelmann as +Parsifal, and Herr Scaria as Gurnemanz. + +The theme of the opera is taken from the cycle of Holy Grail myths to +which "Lohengrin" also belongs. The reader will remember that +Lohengrin in his final address declares himself son of Parsifal, the +King of the Grail; and it is with this Parsifal that Wagner's last +work is concerned. Parsifal, like Siegfried, represents free human +nature in its spontaneous, impulsive action. He is styled in the text, +"Der reine Thor" (the guileless fool), who, in consonance with the old +mythological idea, overcomes the evil principle and gains the crown by +dint of pure natural impulse. The opera differs widely from "The +Nibelung Ring." The composer has used the free instead of the +alliterative form of verse, which he then contended was best adapted +to musical setting. In "The Ring" the chorus is not introduced at all +until the last division is reached, while in "Parsifal" it plays an +important part in every act, in the second scene of the first act +there being three choirs on the stage at a time. Still there is no +trace of the aria, the duet, or the recitative, of the Italian style, +though there is plenty of concerted music, which grows out of the +dramatic necessities of the situations. When these necessities do not +urge themselves, the music flows on in dialogue form, as in "The +Ring." + +The vorspiel is based upon three motives connected with the mystery of +the Grail, which forms the key-note of the opera, though in a +different aspect from that which the Grail assumes in "Lohengrin," +where it can only be visible to the eye of faith, while in "Parsifal" +it distinctly performs its wonders. Let it be remembered that the +Grail is the chalice from which Christ drank with his disciples at the +Last Supper, and in which his blood was received at the cross. The +first of these motives is of the same general character as the Grail +motive in the "Lohengrin" vorspiel; the second is an impressive phrase +for trumpets and trombones, which will be heard again when the Knights +of the Grail are summoned to their duties; and the third is a broad, +dignified melody in the chorale form. + +The action of the drama occurs in the north of Spain, and in the +vicinity of Monsalvat, the Castle of the Holy Grail, where this +chalice was brought by angels when Christianity was in danger. The +curtain rises upon a lovely forest glade on the borders of a lake, at +daybreak, and discovers the Grail Knight, Gurnemanz, and two young +shield-bearers, guardians of the castle, sleeping at the foot of a +tree. Trumpet-calls, repeating the motive first heard in the prelude, +arouse them from their sleep; and as they offer up their morning +prayer the chorale is heard again. As they wend their way to the +castle, they meet two knights preceding the litter upon which the +wounded Amfortas, King of the Grail, is carried. In the subsequent +dialogue Gurnemanz tells the story of the King's mishap. He is +suffering from a wound which refuses to close, and which has been +inflicted by the sacred spear,--the spear, according to the legend, +with which our Saviour's side was pierced. Klingsor, a magician, had +aspired to become a knight of the Grail, but his application was +refused; for only those of holy lives could watch the sacred vessel +and perform its ministrations. In revenge, Klingsor studied the magic +arts and created for himself a fairy palace, which he peopled with +beautiful women, whose sole duty it was to seduce the Knights of the +Grail. One of these women, a mysterious creature of wonderful +fascinations, Kundry by name, had beguiled Amfortas, who thus fell +into the power of Klingsor. He lost his spear, and received from it a +wound which will never heal so long as it remains in the hands of the +magician. In a vision he has been told to wait for the one who has +been appointed to cure him. A voice from the Grail tells him the +following mystery:-- + + "Durch Mitleid wissend, + Der reine Thor, + Harre sein' + Den ich erkor." + + ["Let a guileless fool only, knowing by compassion, await him whom I + have chosen."] + +Meanwhile, as the shield-bearers are carrying Amfortas towards the +lake, the savage, mysterious Kundry is seen flying over the fields. +She overtakes Gurnemanz and gives him a balm, saying that if it will +not help the King, nothing in Arabia can, and then, refusing to accept +thanks or reveal her identity, sinks to the ground in weariness. The +King takes the drug with gratitude; but she scorns thanks, and sneers +at those about her with savage irony. Gurnemanz's companions are about +to seize her, but the old Knight warns them that she is living +incarnate to expiate the sins of a former life, and that in serving +the Order of the Grail she is purchasing back her own redemption. As +Gurnemanz concludes, cries are heard in the wood, and two knights, +approaching, announce that a swan, the bird sacred to the Grail, which +was winging its way over the lake, and which the King had hailed as a +happy omen, has been shot. Parsifal, the murderer, is dragged in, and +when questioned by Gurnemanz, is unaware that he has committed any +offence. To every question he only answers he does not know. When +asked who is his mother, Kundry answers for him: "His mother brought +him an orphan into the world, and kept him like a fool in the forest, +a stranger to arms, so that he should escape a premature death; but he +fled from her and followed the wild life of nature. Her grief is over, +for she is dead." Whereupon Parsifal flies at her and seizes her by +the throat; but Gurnemanz holds him back, and Kundry sinks down +exhausted. Parsifal answers to the "Thor," but it remains to be seen +whether he is the "reine Thor." Gurnemanz conducts him to the temple +where the holy rites of the Grail are to be performed, hoping he is +the redeemer whom the Grail will disclose when the love-feast of the +Saviour is celebrated. + +The scene changes to the great hall of the castle and the celebration +of the feast of the Grail. The scene is introduced with a solemn march +by full orchestra, including trombones on the stage, accompanied by +the clanging of bells as the knights enter in stately procession. They +sing a pious chant in unison, the march theme still sounding. As the +younger squires and pages enter, a new melody is taken in three-part +harmony, and finally an unseen chorus of boys from the extreme height +of the dome sing the chorale from the introduction, without +accompaniment, in imitation of angel voices. The shield-bearers bring +in Amfortas upon his litter, when suddenly from a vaulted niche is +heard the voice of Titurel, Amfortas's aged father, and the founder of +Monsalvat, now too feeble to perform the holy offices, bidding the +Grail to be uncovered. Amfortas, mourning that he, the unholiest of +them, should be called, opens a golden shrine and takes out the +crystal vessel. Darkness falls upon the hall, but the Grail is +illuminated with constantly increasing brilliancy, while from the dome +the children's voices sing, "Take My blood in the name of our love, +and take My body in remembrance of me." Parsifal watches the scene +with bewildered eyes, but upon saying in reply that he does not +understand the holy rite, he is contemptuously ejected from the place. + +The second act reveals Klingsor's enchanted palace. The magician +gazing into a mirror sees Parsifal approaching, and knows he is the +redeemer who has been promised. He summons Kundry before him, and +commands her to tempt him with her spells. She struggles against the +task, for in her soul the powers of good and evil are always +contending for the mastery. She longs for eternal sleep, and rest from +her evil passions, but Klingsor holds her in his power. Parsifal +enters, and the scene changes to a delightful garden filled with girls +of ravishing beauty in garments of flowers. They crowd about him, and +by their fascinating blandishments seek to gain his love, but in vain. +He is still the "guileless fool." Then Kundry appears in all her +loveliness, and calls him by name, the name he had heard his mother +speak. He sorrowfully sinks at Kundry's feet. The enchantress bends +over him, appeals to him through his longing for his mother, and +kisses him. Instantly he comprehends all that he has seen, and he +cries, "The wound burns in my heart, oh, torment of love!" Then +quickly rising he spurns her from him. He has gained the +world-knowledge. She flies to him again, and passionately exclaims, +"The gift of my love would make thee divine. If this hour has made +thee the redeemer, let me suffer forever, but give me thy love." He +spurns her again, and cries, "To all eternity thou wouldst be damned +with me, if for one hour I should forget my mission," but says he will +save her too, and demands to know the way to Amfortas. In rage she +declares he shall never find it, and summons the help of Klingsor, who +hurls the sacred lance at Parsifal. The weapon remains suspended over +his head. He seizes it and makes the sign of the Cross. The gardens +and castle disappear. Parsifal and Kundry are alone in a desert. She +sinks to the ground with a mournful cry, and turning from her, his +last words are, "Thou knowest where only thou canst see me again." + +In the third act we are again in the land of the Grail. Parsifal has +wandered for years trying to find Monsalvat, and at last encounters +Gurnemanz, now a very old man, living as a hermit near a forest +spring, and the saddened Kundry is serving him. It is the Good Friday +morning, and forests and fields are bright with flowers and the +verdure of spring. Gurnemanz recognizes him, and in reply to his +question what makes the world so beautiful, the aged knight makes +answer:-- + + "The sad repentant tears of sinners + Have here with holy rain + Besprinkled field and plain, + And made them glow with beauty. + All earthly creatures in delight + At the Redeemer's trace so bright, + Uplift their prayers of duty. + And now perceive each blade and meadow flower, + That mortal foot to-day it need not dread." + +Kundry washes "the dust of his long wanderings" from his feet, and +looks up at him with earnest and beseeching gaze. Gurnemanz recognizes +the sacred spear, hails him as the King of the Grail and offers to +conduct him to the great hall where the holy rites are once more to be +performed. Before they leave, Parsifal's first act as the redeemer is +to baptize Kundry with water from the spring. The sound of tolling +bells in the distance announces the funeral of Titurel, and the scene +changes to the hall where the knights are carrying the litter upon +which Amfortas lies, awaiting the funeral procession approaching to +the strains of a solemn march. The knights demand he shall again +uncover the Grail, but he refuses, and calls upon them to destroy him +and then the Grail will shine brightly for them again. Unobserved by +them, Parsifal steps forward, touches the king's wound with the spear, +and it is immediately healed. Then he proclaims himself King of the +Grail, and orders it to be uncovered. As Amfortas and Gurnemanz kneel +to do him homage, Kundry dies at his feet in the joy of repentance. +Titurel rises from his coffin and bestows a benediction. Parsifal +ascends to the altar and raises the Grail in all its resplendent +beauty. A white dove flies down from the dome of the hall and hovers +over his head, while the knights chant their praise to God, re-echoed +by the singers in the dome, whose strains sound like celestial +voices:-- + + "Miracle of supreme blessing, + Redemption to the Redeemer." + + + + +WALLACE. + +William Vincent Wallace was born at Waterford, Ireland, in 1815. He +first studied music with his father, a bandleader, who afterwards sent +him to Dublin, where he speedily became an excellent performer on the +clarinet, violin, and piano. At the early age of fifteen he was +appointed organist at the Cathedral of Thurles, and soon afterwards +was engaged as a theatre director and concert conductor. At the age of +eighteen he had a fit of sickness, and upon his recovery went to +Australia for his health, and thence to Van Diemen's Land and New +Zealand. He passed some time in the latter country, and then began a +long series of wanderings, in the course of which he visited the East +and West Indies, Mexico,--where he conducted Italian opera,--and the +United States. He remained in New York a considerable period, and gave +concerts which were very remunerative. In 1846 he returned to Europe, +and shortly afterwards his pretty little opera, "Maritana," appeared, +and made quite a sensation among the admirers of English opera. In +1847 "Matilda of Hungary" was produced, and met with success. Thirteen +years of silence elapsed, and at last, in 1860, he produced his +legendary opera, "Lurline," at Covent Garden. It gave great +satisfaction at the time, but is now rarely performed. Besides his +operas he also wrote many waltzes, nocturnes, studies, and other light +works for the piano. After the production of "Lurline" he went to +Paris for the purpose of bringing out some of his operas, and while in +that city also composed the first act of an opera for London, but his +health was too delicate to admit of its completion. He died at Chateau +de Bayen, Oct. 12, 1865. + + +MARITANA. + +"Maritana," a romantic opera in three acts, words by Fitzball, founded +upon the well-known play of "Don Caesar de Bazan," was first produced +at Drury Lane, London, Nov. 15, 1845. The text closely follows that of +the drama. The first act opens in a public square of Madrid, where a +band of gypsies are singing to the populace, among them Maritana, a +young girl of more than ordinary beauty and vocal accomplishments. +Among the spectators is the young King Charles, who after listening to +her is smitten with her charms. Don Jose, his minister, to carry out +certain ambitious plans of his own, resolves to encourage the +fascinations which have so attracted the King. He extols her beauty +and arouses hopes in her breast of future grandeur and prosperity. At +this juncture Don Caesar de Bazan, a reckless, rollicking cavalier, +comes reeling out of a tavern where he has just parted with the last +of his money to gamblers. In spite of his shabby costume and +dissipated appearance he bears the marks of high breeding. In better +days he had been a friend of Don Jose. While he is relating the story +of his downward career to the minister, Lazarillo, a forlorn young lad +who has just attempted to destroy himself, accosts Don Caesar, and +tells him a piteous tale of his wrongs. Don Caesar befriends him, and +in consequence becomes involved in a duel, which leads to his arrest; +for it is Holy Week, and duelling during that time has been forbidden +on pain of death. While Don Caesar is on his way to prison, Don Jose +delights Maritana by promising her wealth, a splendid marriage, and an +introduction to the court on the morrow. + +The second act opens in the prison, and discovers Don Caesar asleep, +with his faithful little friend watching by him. It is five o'clock +when he wakes, and at seven he must die. Only two hours of life remain +for him, but the prospect does not disturb him. On the other hand he +is gayer than usual, and rallies Lazarillo with playful mirth. In the +midst of his gayety the crafty Don Jose enters and professes strong +friendship for him. When Don Caesar declares that he has but one last +wish, and that is to die a soldier's death instead of being +ignominiously hanged, Don Jose says it shall be gratified upon +condition that he will marry. The prisoner has but an hour and three +quarters to live, but he consents. He is provided with wedding +apparel, and a banquet is spread in honor of the occasion. During the +feast Lazarillo brings in a paper to Don Jose containing the King's +pardon for Don Caesar, but the minister promptly conceals it. +Maritana, her features disguised by a veil, is introduced, and as the +nuptial rites are performed the soldiers prepare to execute the +penalty. At the expiration of the hour Don Caesar is led out to meet +his fate, but Lazarillo has managed to abstract the balls from the +guns. The soldiers perform their duty, and Don Caesar feigns death; +but as soon as the opportunity occurs, he leaves the prison and +hurries to a grand ball given by the Marquis and Marchioness de +Montefiori at their palace, while the Marquis, who has had his +instructions from Don Jose to recognize Maritana as his long-lost +niece, is introducing her as such. Don Caesar enters and demands his +bride. The astonished Don Jose, perceiving that his scheme to +introduce Maritana at court is liable to be frustrated, offers the +Marquis a rich appointment if he will induce his wife to play the part +he shall suggest. The scheme is soon arranged, and the Marchioness, +closely veiled, is presented to Don Caesar as the Countess de Bazan. +Disgusted at "the precious piece of antiquity," as he terms her, and +fancying that he has been duped, he is about to sign a paper +relinquishing his bride, when he suddenly hears Maritana's voice. He +recognizes it as the same he had heard during the marriage rites. He +rushes forward to claim her, but she is quickly carried away, and he +is prevented from following. + +The last act opens in a palace belonging to the King, where Maritana +is surrounded with luxury, though she is as yet unaware that she is in +the royal apartments. Don Jose, fancying that Don Caesar will not dare +to make his appearance, as he does not know of his pardon, carries out +his plot by introducing the King to her as her husband. She at first +rejects him, and as he presses his suit Don Caesar breaks into the +apartment. The King in a rage demands to know his errand. He replies +that he is in quest of the Countess de Bazan, and with equal rage +inquires who he (the King) is. The King in confusion answers that he +is Don Caesar, whereupon the latter promptly replies, "Then I am the +King of Spain." Before further explanation can be made, a messenger +arrives from the Queen with the announcement that she awaits the King. +After his departure Don Caesar and Maritana mutually recognize each +other, and upon her advice he resolves to appeal to the Queen to save +her. He waits for her Majesty in the palace garden, and while +concealed, overhears Don Jose informing her that the King will meet +his mistress that night. He springs out, and denouncing him as a +traitor to his King slays him, and then returning to Maritana's +apartment finds the King there again, and tells him what has occurred. +He has saved the King's honor: will the King destroy his? The monarch, +overcome with Don Caesar's gallantry and loyalty, consigns Maritana to +him and appoints him Governor of Granada. The appointment does not +suit Don Caesar, for Granada is too near his creditors. The King, +laughing, changes it to Valencia, a hundred leagues away, and thither +Don Caesar conducts his happy bride. + +The drama is one which is well adapted to bright, cheerful, melodious +music, and the opportunity has been well improved, for "Maritana" is +one of the sprightliest and brightest of all the English operas, and +contains several ballads which for beauty and expressiveness may well +challenge any that Balfe has written. The principal numbers in the +first act are Maritana's opening song in the public square ("It was a +Knight of princely Mien"); the romanza which she subsequently sings +for Don Jose, "I hear it again, 'tis the Harp in the Air," which is +one of the sweetest and most delicate songs in any of the lighter +operas; the duet between Maritana and Don Jose, "Of fairy Wand had I +the Power;" Don Caesar's rollicking drinking-song, "All the World +over, to love, to drink, to fight, I delight;" and the tripping +chorus, "Pretty Gitana, tell us what the Fates decree," leading up to +the stirring ensemble in the finale, when Don Caesar is arrested. The +first scene of the second act is the richest in popular numbers, +containing an aria for alto, Lazarillo's song ("Alas! those Chimes so +sweetly pealing"); a charming trio for Don Caesar, Lazarillo, and Don +Jose ("Turn on, old Time, thine Hourglass"); Don Caesar's stirring +martial song, "Yes, let me like a Soldier fall;" the serious ballad, +"In happy Moments, Day by Day," written by Alfred Bunn, who wrote so +many of the Balfe ballads; and the quartet and chorus closing the +scene, "Health to the Lady, the lovely Bride!" The second scene opens +with a pretty chorus in waltz time ("Ah, what Pleasure! the soft +Guitar"), followed by an aria sung by the King ("The Mariner in his +Bark"), and introduced by an attractive violin prelude. The finale is +a very dramatic ensemble, quintet and chorus ("What Mystery must now +control"). The last act falls off in musical interest, though it is +very strong dramatically. It contains a few numbers, however, which +are very popular; among them one of the most admired of all English +songs ("Scenes that are brightest"), which Maritana sings in the +King's apartments at the beginning of the act; the humorous duet +between the King and Don Caesar when they meet; the love-duet between +Don Caesar and Maritana ("This Heart with Bliss o'erflowing"); and Don +Caesar's song, "There is a Flower that bloometh," which is in the +sentimental ballad style. The freshness, brightness, and gracefulness +of the music of this little opera, combined with the unusual interest +and delicate humor of the story, have always commended it to popular +admiration. + + + + +WEBER. + +Carl Maria von Weber was born Dec. 18, 1786, at Eutin, and may almost +be said to have been born on the stage, as his father was at the head +of a theatrical company, and the young Carl was carried in the train +of the wandering troupe all over Germany. His first lessons were given +to him by Henschkel, conductor of the orchestra of Duke Friedrich of +Meiningen. At the age of fourteen he wrote his first opera, "Das +Waldmaedchen," which was performed several times during the year 1800. +In 1801 appeared his two-act comic opera, "Peter Schmoll and his +Neighbors," and during these two years he also frequently played in +concerts with great success. He then studied with the Abbe Vogler, and +in his eighteenth year was engaged for the conductorship of the +Breslau opera. About this time appeared his first important opera, +"Rubezahl." At the conclusion of his studies with Vogler he was made +director of the Opera at Prague. In 1814 he wrote a cantata, "The Lyre +and Sword," for a festive occasion, and it was greeted with the +wildest enthusiasm. In 1816 he went to Berlin, where he was received +with the highest marks of popular esteem, and thence to Dresden as +Hofcapellmeister. This was the most brilliant period in his career. It +was during this time that he married Caroline Brandt, the actress and +singer, who had had a marked influence upon his musical progress, and +to whom he dedicated his exquisite "Invitation to the Dance." The +first great work of his life, "Der Freischuetz," was written at this +period. Three other important operas followed,--"Preciosa," +"Euryanthe," the first performance of which took place in Vienna in +1823, and "Oberon," which he finished in London and brought out there. +Weber's last days were spent in the latter city; and it was while +making preparations to return to Germany, which he longed to see +again, that he was stricken down with his final illness. On the 4th of +June, 1826, he was visited by Sir George Smart, Moscheles, and other +musicians who were eager to show him attention. He declined to have +any one watch by his bedside, thanked them for their kindness, bade +them good-by, and then turned to his friend Fuerstenau and said, "Now +let me sleep." These were his last words. The next morning he was +found dead in his bed. He has left a rich legacy of works besides his +operas,--a large collection of songs, many cantatas (of which "The +Jubilee," with its brilliant overture, is the finest), some masses, of +which that in E flat is the most beautiful, and several concertos, +besides many brilliant rondos, polaccas, and marches for the piano. + + +DER FREISCHUETZ. + +"Der Freischuetz," a romantic opera in three acts, words by Friedrich +Kind, was first produced at Berlin, June 18, 1821. It is one of the +most popular operas in the modern repertory. It was first performed in +Paris, Dec. 7, 1824, as "Robin des Bois," with a new libretto by +Castile Blaze and Sauvage, and many changes in the score, such as +divertissements made up of the dance-music in "Preciosa" and "Oberon," +and of "The Invitation to the Dance," scored by Berlioz. In 1841 it +was again given in Paris, with an accurate translation of the text by +Pacini, and recitatives added by Berlioz, as "Le Franc Archer." Its +first English performance in London was given July 22, 1824, as "Der +Freischuetz, or the Seventh Bullet," with several ballads inserted; and +its first Italian at Covent Garden, March 16, 1850, with recitatives +by Costa, as "Il Franco Arciero." So popular was it in England in 1824 +that no less than nine theatres were presenting various versions of it +at the same time. The original cast was as follows:-- + + AGATHA Frau CAROLINE SEIDLER. + ANNCHEN Frl. JOHANNA EUNIKE. + MAX Herr CARL STUEMER. + CASPAR Herr HEINRICH BLUME. + OTTAKAR Herr RUBINSTEIN. + KUNO Herr WANER. + HERMIT Herr GERN. + KILIAN Herr WIEDEMANN. + +The text of the opera is taken from a story in "Popular Tales of the +Northern Nations," and is founded upon a traditionary belief that a +demon of the forest furnishes a marksman with unerring bullets cast +under magical influences. Kuno, the head ranger to the Prince of +Bohemia, too old to longer continue in his position, recommends Max, a +skilful marksman, who is betrothed to his daughter Agatha, as his +successor. The Prince agrees to accept him if he proves himself victor +at the forthcoming hunting-match. Caspar, the master-villain of the +play, who has sold himself to the demon Zamiel, and who also is in +love with Agatha, forms a plot to ruin Max and deliver him over to +Zamiel as a substitute for himself, for the limit of his contract with +the Evil One is close at hand. With Zamiel's aid he causes Max to miss +the mark several times during the rehearsals for the match. The lover +is thrown into deep dejection by his ill luck, and while in this +melancholy condition is cunningly approached by Caspar, who says to +him that if he will but repeat the formula, "In the name of Zamiel," +he will be successful. He does so, and brings down an eagle soaring +high above him. + +Elated with his success, Caspar easily persuades him that he can win +the match if he will meet him at midnight in the Wolf's Glen, where +with Zamiel's aid he can obtain plenty of magic bullets. + +The second act opens in Kuno's house, and shows us Agatha melancholy +with forebodings of coming evil. A hermit whom she has met in the +woods has warned her of danger, and given her a wreath of magic roses +to ward it off. An ancestral portrait falling from the walls also +disturbs her; and at last the appearance of the melancholy Max +confirms her belief that trouble is in store for her. Max himself is +no less concerned. All sorts of strange sounds have troubled him, and +his slumbers have been invaded with apparitions. Nevertheless, he goes +to the Wolf's Glen; and though spectres, skeletons, and various +grotesque animals terrify him, and his mother's spirit appears and +warns him away, he overcomes his fright and appears with Caspar at the +place of incantation. Zamiel is summoned, and seven bullets are cast, +six of which are to be directed by Max himself in the forthcoming +match, while the seventh will be at the disposal of the demon. Little +dreaming the fate which hangs upon the seventh, Caspar offers no +objections. + +The third act opens, like the last, in Kuno's house, and discovers +Agatha preparing for her nuptials, and telling Annchen a singular +dream she has had. She had fancied herself a dove, and that Max fired +at her. As the bird fell she came to herself and saw that the dove had +changed to a fierce bird of ill omen which lay dying at her feet. The +melancholy produced by the dream is still further heightened when it +is found that a funeral instead of a bridal wreath has been made for +her; but her heart lightens up again as she remembers the magic +rose-wreath which the hermit had enjoined her to wear on her wedding +day. At last the eventful day of trial comes, and the Prince and all +his courtiers assemble to witness the match. Max makes six shots in +succession which go home to the mark. At the Prince's command he fires +the seventh, Zamiel's bullet, at a dove flying past. As he fires, +Agatha appears to him as the dove, and he fancies he has slain her. +The wreath protects her, however, and Zamiel directs the bullet to +Caspar's heart. The demon claims his victim, and Max his bride, amid +general rejoicing. + +The overture, which is one of the most favorite numbers of its class +in the concert-room as well as in the opera-house, is a masterpiece of +brilliant and descriptive instrumentation, and furnishes us with a key +to the whole story in its announcement of the leading themes. It opens +with an adagio horn passage of great beauty, giving us the groundwork +of the entire action; and then follow motives from Max's grand scena +in the first act, the Incantation music, Agatha's moonlight scene, and +other episodes connected with the action of Max and Caspar. Indeed, +the frequent and expressive use of the _Leit motif_ all through the +work seem to entitle Weber to the credit of its invention. + +The first act opens with a spirited chorus of villagers, followed by a +lively march and a comic song by Kilian, in which he rallies Max upon +his bad luck. The next number is a trio and chorus, with solos for the +principals, Max, Kuno, and Caspar ("O diese Sonne, furchtbar steigt +sie mir empor"). Max laments his fate, but Kuno encourages him, while +Caspar insinuates his evil plot. The trio is of a sombre cast at the +beginning, but by a sudden change the horns and an expressive +combination of the chorus give it a cheerful character. It is once +more disturbed, however, by Caspar's ominous phrases, but at last Kuno +and his men cheer up the despondent lover with a brisk hunting-chorus, +and the villagers dance off to a lively waltz tempo. Max is left +alone, and the next number is a grand tenor scene. It opens with a +gloomy recitative, which lights up as he thinks of Agatha, and then +passes into one of the most tender and delicious of melodies ("Durch +die Waelder, durch die Auen"), set to a beautiful accompaniment. +Suddenly the harmony is clouded by the apparition of Zamiel, but as he +disappears, Max begins another charming melody ("Jetzt ist wohl ihr +Fenster offen"), which is even more beautiful than the first. As +Zamiel reappears the harmony is again darkened; but when despairing +Max utters the cry, "Lives there no God!" the wood-demon disappears, +and the great song comes to an end. In this mood Caspar meets him, and +seeks to cheer him with an hilarious drinking-song ("Hier im ird'schen +Jammerthal"), furious in its energy, and intended to express +unhallowed mirth. The act closes with Caspar's bass aria of infernal +triumph ("Triumph! die Rache, die Rache gelingt"), accompanied by +music which is wonderfully weird and shadowy in its suggestions. + +The second act opens with a duet ("Schelm! halt fest") in which +Agatha's fear and anxiety are charmingly contrasted with the lightsome +and cheery nature of Annchen, her attendant, and this in turn is +followed by a naive and coquettish arietta ("Kommt ein schlanker +Bursch gegangen") sung by the latter. Annchen departs, and Agatha, +opening her window and letting the moonlight flood the room, sings the +famous scena and prayer, "Leise, leise, fromme Weise," beginning, +after a few bars of recitative, with a melody full of prayer and hope +and tender longings, shaded with vague presentiment. It is an adagio +of exquisite beauty, closing with an ecstatic outburst of rapture +("Alle meine Pulse schlagen") as she beholds her lover coming. The +melody has already been heard in the overture, but its full joy and +splendid sweep are attained only in this scene. In the next scene we +have a trio ("Wie? was? Entsetzen?") between Max, Annchen, and Agatha, +in which the musical discrimination of character is carried to a fine +point; and the act concludes with the incantation music in the Wolf's +Glen, which has never been surpassed in weirdness, mystery, and +diablerie, and at times in actual sublimity. Its real power lies in +the instrumentation; not alone in its vivid and picturesque +presentation of the melodramatic scene with its hideous surroundings, +but in its expressiveness and appositeness to the action and sentiment +by the skilful use of motives. + +The last act has an instrumental prelude foreshadowing the Hunters' +Chorus. It opens with a graceful but somewhat melancholy aria of a +religious character ("Und ob die Wolke sie verhuelle"), sung by Agatha, +in which she is still wavering between doubt and hope, and succeeded +by another of Annchen's arias, beginning with the gloomy romance, +"Einst traumte meiner sel'gen Base," and closing with a lively allegro +("Truebe Augen, Liebchen"), which is intended to encourage her sad +mistress. Then the bridesmaids sing their lively chorus, "Wir winden +dir den Jungfern-Kranz," so well known by its English title, "A rosy +Crown we twine for Thee." The pretty little number is followed by the +Hunters' Chorus, "Was gleicht wohl auf Erden dem Jaegervergnuegen," +which is a universal favorite. It leads up to a strong dramatic +finale, crowded with striking musical ideas, and containing Agatha's +beautiful melody in the closing chorus. + +Few operas have had such world-wide popularity as "Der Freischuetz," +and yet it is an essentially German product. The composer's son has +aptly characterized it, in his Biography of his father: "Weber did not +compose 'Der Freischuetz;' he allowed it to grow out of the rich soil +of his brave German heart, and to expand leaf by leaf, blossom by +blossom, fostered by the hand of his talent; and thus no German looks +upon the opera as a work of art which appeals to him from without. He +feels as if every line of the work came from his own heart, as if he +himself had dreamed it so, and it could no more sound otherwise than +the rustling of an honest German beech-wood." + + +OBERON. + +"Oberon, or the Elf King's Oath," a romantic and fairy opera in three +acts, words by J.R. Planche, was first produced at Covent Garden, +London, April 12, 1826, in English. Its first Italian performance was +given in the same city, July 3, 1860, the recitatives being supplied +by Benedict, who also added several numbers from "Euryanthe." The +original cast was as follows:-- + + REIZA Miss PATON. + FATIMA Mme. VESTRIS. + PUCK Miss CAWSE. + HUON Mr. BRAHAM. + OBERON Mr. BLAND. + SHERASMIN Mr. FAWCETT. + MERMAID Miss GOWNELL. + +The librettist, Planche, in a tribute to Weber, gives the origin of +the story of "Oberon." It appeared originally in a famous collection +of French romances, "La Bibliotheque Bleue," under the title of "Huon +of Bordeaux." The German poet Wieland adopted the principal incidents +of the story as the basis of his poem, "Oberon," and Sotheby's +translation of it was used in the preparation of the text. The +original sketch of the action, as furnished by Planche, is as +follows:-- + +Oberon, the Elfin King, having quarrelled with his fairy partner, vows +never to be reconciled to her till he shall find two lovers constant +through peril and temptation. To seek such a pair his 'tricksy +spirit,' Puck, has ranged in vain through the world. Puck, however, +hears the sentence passed on Sir Huon of Bordeaux, a young knight, +who, having been insulted by the son of Charlemagne, kills him in +single combat, and is for this condemned by the monarch to travel to +Bagdad to slay him who sits on the Caliph's left hand, and to claim +his daughter as his bride. Oberon instantly resolves to make this pair +the instruments of his reunion with his queen, and for this purpose he +brings up Huon and Sherasmin asleep before him, enamours the knight by +showing him Reiza, daughter of the Caliph, in a vision, transports him +at his waking to Bagdad, and having given him a magic horn, by the +blasts of which he is always to summon the assistance of Oberon, and a +cup that fills at pleasure, disappears. Here Sir Huon rescues a man +from a lion, who proves afterwards to be Prince Babekan, who is +betrothed to Reiza. One of the properties of the cup is to detect +misconduct. He offers it to Babekan. + +On raising it to his lips the wine turns to flame, and thus proves him +a villain. He attempts to assassinate Huon, but is put to flight. The +knight then learns from an old woman that the princess is to be +married next day, but that Reiza has been influenced, like her lover, +by a vision, and is resolved to be his alone. She believes that fate +will protect her from her nuptials with Babekan, which are to be +solemnized on the next day. Huon enters, fights with and vanquishes +Babekan, and having spell-bound the rest by a blast of the magic horn, +he and Sherasmin carry off Reiza and Fatima. They are soon +shipwrecked. Reiza is captured by pirates on a desert island and +brought to Tunis, where she is sold to the Emir and exposed to every +temptation, but she remains constant. Sir Huon, by the order of +Oberon, is also conveyed thither. He undergoes similar trials from +Roshana, the jealous wife of the Emir, but proving invulnerable she +accuses him to her husband, and he is condemned to be burned on the +same pile with Reiza. They are rescued by Sherasmin, who has the magic +horn. Oberon appears with his queen, whom he has regained by their +constancy, and the opera concludes with Charlemagne's pardon of Huon. + +The overture, like that of "Der Freischuetz," reflects the story, and +is universally popular. Its leading themes are the horn solo, which +forms the symphony of Sir Huon's vision, a short movement from the +fairies' chorus, a martial strain from the last scene in the court of +Charlemagne, a passage from Reiza's scene in the second act, and +Puck's invocation of the spirits. + +The first act opens in Oberon's bower with a melodious chorus of +fairies and genii ("Light as fairy Feet can fall"), followed by a solo +for Oberon ("Fatal Oath"), portraying his melancholy mood, and "The +Vision," a quaint, simple melody by Reiza ("Oh! why art thou +sleeping?"), which leads up to a splendid ensemble ("Honor and Joy to +the True and the Brave"), containing a solo for Oberon, during which +the scene suddenly changes from the fairy bower to the city of Bagdad. +Huon has a grand scena ("Oh! 't is a Glorious Sight"), a composition +in several movements beginning with a dramatic bravura illustrative of +the scenes of the battlefield, and closing with a joyous, brisk +allegretto ("Joy to the high-born Dames of France"). The finale begins +with an aria by Reiza ("Yes, my Lord"), in the Italian style, passing +into a duet for Reiza and Fatima, and closing with the chorus ("Now +the Evening Watch is set.") + +The second act opens with a characteristic chorus ("Glory to the +Caliph"), the music of which has been claimed by some critics as +genuinely Moorish, though it is probable that Weber only imitated that +style in conformity to the demands of the situation. A little march +and three melodramatic passages lead up to an arietta for Fatima ("A +lovely Arab Maid"), beginning with a very pleasing minor and closing +in a lively major. This leads directly to the lovely quartet, "Over +the Dark Blue Waters,"--one of the most attractive numbers in the +opera. It is a concerted piece for two sopranos, tenor, and bass, +opening with two responsive solos in duet, first for the bass and +tenor, and then for the two sopranos, the voices finally uniting in a +joyous and animated movement of great power. The music now passes to +the supernatural, and we have Puck's invocation to the spirits, whom +he summons to raise a storm and sink the vessel in which the lovers +have embarked. Puck's recitative is very powerful, and the chorus of +the spirits in response, a very rapid presto movement, is in its way +as effective as the incantation music in "Der Freischuetz." The storm +rises, the orchestra being the medium of the description, which is +very graphic and effective. Huon has a short prayer ("Ruler of this +Awful Hour"), which is impressively solemn, and then follows Reiza's +magnificent apostrophe to the sea ("Ocean, thou mighty Monster that +liest curled like a green Serpent round about the World"). The scene +is heroic in its construction, and its effective performance calls for +the highest artistic power. It represents the gradual calm of the +angry waters, the breaking of the sun through the gloom, and the +arrival of a boat to the succor of the distressed Reiza. The immense +effect of the scene is greatly enhanced by the descriptive +instrumentation, especially in the allegro describing the rolling of +the billows and the recitative and succeeding andante picturing the +outburst of the sun. The mermaid's song ("Oh! 't is pleasant"), with +its wavy, flowing melody, forms a fitting pendant to this great +picture of elementary strife; and a delicate and graceful chorus +closes the act. + +The third act opens with a lovely song for Fatima ("Oh! Araby, dear +Araby"), consisting of two movements,--an andante plaintively +recalling past memories, and an allegro of exquisite taste. The song, +even detached from the opera, has always been greatly admired in +concert-rooms, and, it is said, was a special favorite also with the +composer. It is followed by a duet for Sherasmin and Fatima ("On the +Banks of sweet Garonne"), which is of a vivacious and comic nature in +Sherasmin's part, and then passes into a tender minor as Fatima sings. +The next number is a trio for soprano, alto, and tenor ("And must I +then dissemble?"), written very much in the style of the trio in "Der +Freischuetz," and yet purely original in its effect. Reiza follows with +a smooth, flowing, and pathetic cavatina ("Mourn thou, poor Heart"), +which is succeeded in marked contrast by a joyous rondo ("I revel in +Hope") sung by Sir Huon. The next scene is that of Sir Huon's +temptation, a voluptuous passage for ballet and chorus, interrupted at +intervals by the energetic exclamations of the paladin as he +successfully resists the sirens. The gay scene leads up to the finale. +Sir Huon and Reiza are bound to the stake, surrounded by slaves +singing a weird chorus. A blast from the magic horn sets them dancing, +and a quartet for the four principal characters based upon the subject +of the slaves' Chorus ensues. Oberon appears and takes his leave after +transporting the whole company to the royal halls of Charlemagne. A +stirring march opens the scene, a beautiful aria by Huon follows +("Yes! even Love to Fame must yield"), and a chorus by the whole court +closes the opera. + + +EURYANTHE. + +The opera of "Euryanthe" was written for the Kaernthnerthor Theatre, +Vienna, where it was first produced Oct. 25, 1823, though not with the +success which afterwards greeted it in Berlin, owing to the Rossini +craze with which the Austrian capital was afflicted at that time. The +libretto is by Helmine von Chezy, an eccentric old woman who proved a +sad torment to the composer. The plot, which is a curious mixture of +"Cymbeline" and "Lohengrin," was adapted from an old French romance, +entitled "L'Histoire de Gerard de Nevers et de la belle et vertueuse +Euryanthe, sa mie," and is substantially as follows:-- + +In the palace of King Louis of France, where a brilliant assemblage is +gathered, Count Adolar sings a tribute to the beauty and virtue of +Euryanthe, his betrothed. Count Lysiart replies with a sneer, and +boasts that he can gain her favor; but Adolar challenges him to bring +a proof. The scene then changes to the castle of Nevers, and discloses +Euryanthe longing for Adolar. Eglantine, who is also in love with +Adolar, and who is conspiring against Euryanthe, soon joins her, and +in their interview the latter rashly discloses the secret of a +neighboring tomb known only to herself and Adolar. In this tomb rests +the body of Emma, Adolar's sister, who had killed herself, and whose +ghost had appeared to Euryanthe and her lover with the declaration +that she can never be at peace until tears of innocence have been shed +upon the ring which was the agency employed in her death. Lysiart +arrives from court with a commission to take Euryanthe to the King, +while Eglantine is left behind in possession of the secret. + +In the second act Lysiart deplores his failure to obtain the favor of +Euryanthe; but his hopes are renewed when he meets Eglantine emerging +from the tomb with the ring, and learns from her that it can be made +to convict Euryanthe of indiscretion, or at least of breaking her +promise not to reveal the tomb secret. He obtains the ring, confronts +Euryanthe with it at the palace, and forces her to admit the broken +promise. Adolar, believing that she is guilty, drags her away to a +wilderness where it is his intention to kill her; but on the way they +are attacked by a serpent. Adolar slays the monster, and then, seized +with sudden pity, he abandons his intention of killing her, but leaves +her to her fate. She is subsequently found by the King while on a +hunting expedition, and to him she relates the story of Eglantine's +treachery. The King takes her with him to the palace. Meanwhile Adolar +has begun to suspect that Euryanthe has been the victim of her base +wiles, and on his way to Nevers to punish Lysiart he encounters the +wedding-procession of the guilty pair, and challenges him. The King +suddenly arrives upon the scene and announces Euryanthe's death, +whereupon Eglantine declares her love for Adolar. The furious Lysiart +turns upon her and stabs her. Euryanthe is not dead. She has only +fainted, and is soon restored to her lover, while Lysiart is led off +to the scaffold. + +The overture, which is familiar in our concert-rooms, gives a sketch +of the principal situations in the opera. The first act opens in the +great banquet-hall of the King with a flowing and stately chorus ("Dem +Frieden Heil") alternating between female and male voices and finally +taken by the full chorus. Then follows Adolar's lovely and tender +romanza ("Unter bluehenden Mandelbaeumen"). The next number, a chorus +("Heil! Euryanthe"), with recitatives for Adolar, Lysiart, and the +King leads up to a vigorous trio ("Wohlan! Du kennst"). Euryanthe's +idyllic and touching cavatina ("Gloecklein im Thale") is a match in +beauty and tenderness for Adolar's romanza. The recitative which +follows introduces a sentimental aria for Eglantine ("O mein Leid ist +unermessen"), leading to a duet with Euryanthe ("Unter ist mein Stern +gegangen"). A scena for Eglantine, characterized by all the hatred and +fury of jealousy, introduces the finale, which consists of a vigorous +chorus ("Jubeltoene") accompanying Euryanthe's solo ("Froehliche +Klaenge"). + +The second act opens with a powerful recitative and aria for Lysiart +("Wo berg ich mich"), which is full of passion. A duet of a menacing +and sombre character between Lysiart and Eglantine ("Komm denn unser +Leid zu raechen") stands out in gloomy contrast with Adolar's aria +("Wehen mir Luefte Ruh'") and the duet with Euryanthe ("Hin nimm die +Seele mein"), so full of grace and tenderness. They lead up to the +finale, a grand quartet ("Lass mich empor zum Lichte"), with powerful +chorus accompaniment. + +The last act opens with the serpent episode, with characteristic +music, and a recitative scene between Euryanthe and Adolar leads up to +a pathetic cavatina for Euryanthe ("Hier am Quell wo Weiden stehn"). +The ringing notes of the horns behind the scenes announce the approach +of the King's party, who sing a fresh and sonorous hunting chorus +("Die Thale dampfen"). The remaining numbers are a duet for Euryanthe +and the King with chorus ("Lasst mich hier in Ruh' erblassen"), a +lovely and melodious aria with chorus for Euryanthe ("Zu ihm"), a +bright wedding-march and scene with chorus, and a duet for Adolar and +Lysiart with chorus, leading to the grand quintet and chorus which +bring the opera to a close. + + + + +APPENDIX. + +A work of this kind, by whomsoever written, must be somewhat arbitrary +in its selection of THE STANDARD OPERAS; and the writer has often +found it difficult to say where the line should be drawn,--what +excluded and what admitted. In addition to the operas treated of, +there are others, without a mention of which such a work as this would +scarcely be considered complete; and a list of these is herewith +submitted, together with the dates of their first performance. Many of +these are familiar to the public by their past reputation, while +others still hold the stage in Europe. Others have never been given +out of the native country of their composers; and still others, like +those of Mr. Sullivan, are in reality operettas, and cannot be classed +as standard, although their popularity is extraordinary. + + +ADAM - Le Postilion de Longjumeau (1835). + +AUBER - Le Cheval de Bronze (The Bronze Horse) (1835); L'Ambassadrice +(1836); Le Domino Noir (The Black Domino) (1837); Zanetta (1840); +Manon Lescaut (1856). + +BALFE - Enchantress (1845); Satanella (1858); Puritan's Daughter +(1861); The Talisman (1863). + +BENEDICT - The Lily of Killarney (1862). + +CORDER - Nordisa (1887). + +DONIZETTI - Polinto (1840); Linda (1842); Maria di Rohan (1843); Don +Sebastian (1843); Gemma di Vergi (1845). + +FLOTOW - L'Ombre (1869). + +GOETZ - Francesca von Rimini (1874); The Taming of the Shrew (1874). + +GOLDMARK - The Queen of Sheba (1875); Merlin (1886); Cricket on the +Hearth (1896). + +GOMEZ - Il Guarany (1870). + +GOUNOD - Polyeucte (1878). + +HALEVY - L'Eclair (1835). + +HEROLD - Zampa(1831); Pre aux Clercs(1832). + +ISOUARD - Joconde (1814). + +KREUTZER - Das Nachtlager in Granada (1834). + +LEONCAVALLO - I Medici (1893). + +MARCHETTI - Ruy Blas (1870). + +MARSCHNER - Der Vampyr (1828); Hans Heiling (1833). + +MASCAGNI - L'Amico Fritz (1892); I Rantzau (1892); Silvano(1895); +Guglielmo Ratcliff (1895). + +MASSE - La Reine Topaze (1856); Paul et Virginie (1876). + +MASSENET - Le Roi de Lahore (1877); Manon Lescaut (1884); Le Cid +(1886); Esclarmonde (1889). + +NICOLAI - Merry Wives of Windsor (1849). + +PACINI - Saffo (1840). + +PLANQUETTE - The Bells of Corneville (1877). + +PONCHIELLI - La Gioconda (1876). + +RICCI - Crispino (1850). + +ROSSINI - La Gazza Ladra (1817); Moses in Egypt (1818). + +RUBINSTEIN - Dimitri Donskoi (1852); The Demon (1875); Feramors +(1863). + +SAINT SAENS - Le Timbre d'Argent (1877); Etienne Marcel (1879); Henry +VIII. (1883); Proserpine (1887). + +STRAUSS - Indigo (1871); Die Fledermaus (The Bat) (1872); Der Lustige +Krieg (The Merry War) (1875). + +SULLIVAN - Trial by Jury (1875); The Sorcerer (1877); Pinafore (1878); +Pirates of Penzance (1880); Patience (1881); Iolanthe (1882); The +Princess (1883); The Mikado (1885); Ruddygore (1887); The Yeomen of +the Guard (1888); King of Barataria (1889); Hesse Halbpfennig (1896). + +SUPPE - Fatinitza (1876); Boccaccio (1882). + +THOMAS - Hamlet (1868); Francoise de Rimini (1882). + +VERDI - The Sicilian Vespers (1855); La Forza del Destino (Force of +Destiny) (1862); Don Carlos (1867). + +WALLACE - Lurline (1860). + +WEBER - Abu Hassan (1811); Preciosa (1823). + + + + +INDEX. + +Adam, 32, 63, 71, 277. + +African, The, 160, 161, 185. + +Aida, 239, 262, 272. + +Albani, 79. + +Alboni, 161, 162. + +Alceste, 106. + +Alvary, 121. + +Anna Bolena, 75. + +Appendix, 375. + +Arditi, 284. + +Armide, 106. + +Attila, 238. + +Auber, 9, 14, 16, 17, 18, 24. 258. + +Bach, 126. + +Balfe, 25, 26. + +Balzac, 149. + +Barber of Seville, 210, 212. + +Beaumarchais, 192. + +Beethoven, 36, 39, 209, 312. + +Bellini, 43. + +Benedict, 365. + +Berlioz, 289, 358. + +Bizet, 54, 57. 59, 138. + +Bohemian Girl, 26, 31. + +Boieldieu, 60. + +Boito, 65, 239, 266, 267, 270, 271. + +Bosio, 11, 244. + +Braham, 15, 365. + +Brandt, 117, 121. + +Bulwer, 277. + +Calve, 149. + +Carmen, 55. + +Cavalleria Rusticana, 155. + +Cenerentola, 211. + +Cherubini, 60. + +Chopin, 225. + +Costa, 358. + +Damrosch, 121. + +Daughter of the Regiment, 76. + +Delibes, 71. + +Der Freischuetz, 357, 358, 367. + +Die Goetterdaemmerung, 309, 311, 315, 335. + +Die Walkuere, 309, 315, 323. + +Di Murska, 284. + +Dinorah, 160, 176. + +Don Carlos, 239. + +Don Giovanni, 191, 198, 219. + +Donizetti, 75, 88, 95. + +Don Pasquale, 76, 83, 91. + +Don Sebastian, 85. + +Dumas, 249. + +Duprez, 80, 86. + +Ernani, 238, 239. + +Euryanthe, 357, 365, 371. + +Falcon, Cornelia, 138, 161. + +Faure, 176, 185. + +Faust, 125, 132, 253. + +Favorita, 76, 80. + +Fidelio, 37. + +Flotow, 96. + +Flying Dutchman, 160, 275, 284, 294. + +Formes, 98. + +Fra Diavolo, 10. + +Francesca di Rimini, 112. + +Galli-Marie, 55, 232, + +Garcia, 212, 213. + +Gazza Ladra, 211. + +Gluck, 105. + +Goethe, 65, 127, 160, 232, 294. + +Goetz, 111. + +Goldmark, 116. + +Gounod, 125, 138. + +Grimm, 144. + +Grisi, 44, 51, 80, 83. + +Halevy, 137. + +Hansel and Gretel, 143. + +Harrison, 19, 27, 32, 176. + +Hastreiter, Helene, 107. + +Haydn, 36, 37. + +Heine, 143, 284. + +Hueffer, 276, 300, 309. + +Hugo, Victor, 92, 239, 240, 244. + +Huguenots, 160, 161, 180, 211. + +Humperdinck, 142. + +Idomeneo, 191. + +I Medici, 148. + +I Pagliacci, 149. + +Iphigenie en Aulide, 106. + +Iphigenie en Tauride, 106. + +Jahn, 209. + +Jewess, 138. + +Juch, Emma, 107, 227. + +Kellogg, Clara Louise, 79, 237, 284. + +Lablanche, 44, 51, 83, 85, 238. + +La Dame Blanche, 61. + +Lagrange, 97. + +Lakme, 72. + +L'Allemand, 72, 112, 227. + +L'Amico, Fritz, 155. + +Last Rose of Summer, 100. + +L'Eclair, 137, 138. + +Lehmann, 117, 121. + +L'Elisir d'Amore, 75, 89. + +Leoncavallo, 148. + +Lind, Jenny, 77, 79, 160, 167, 169, 170, 171, 238. + +Liszt, 225, 276, 277, 294. + +Lohengrin, 275, 294, 304, 309, 340, 371. + +Lombardi, 238. + +Lucca, 186, 237. + +Lucia, 76, 86, 95. + +Lucrezia Borgia, 75, 92. + +Lurline, 350. + +Luther, Martin, 164, 166. + +Magic Flute, 191, 204. + +Malibran, 38, 48. + +Manon Lescaut, 137. + +Mario, 15, 80, 83, 85, 92, 162, 244. + +Maritana, 349, 350. + +Marriage of Figaro, 191, 192, 198, 201. + +Martha, 98, 253. + +Masaniello, 14, 176. + +Mascagni, 153. + +Masked Ball, 239, 257. + +Masse, 138. + +Materna, 340. + +Maurel, 267. + +Meistersinger, 276, 303, 310. + +Mendelssohn, 142. + +Mendes, Catulle, 151. + +Mephistopheles, 66, 239. + +Merimee, 55. + +Merlin, 116, 121. + +Meyerbeer, 138, 159, 161, 176, 185, 211, 277. + +Mignon, 231, 232. + +Miolan-Carvalho, 126, 131, 134, 176, 244. + +Mireille, 126. + +Mosenthal, 117. + +Moses in Egypt, 211. + +Mozart, 36, 37, 142, 190, 193, 204. + +Nero, 226. + +Niemann, 288. + +Nilsson, 66, 237, 250. + +Nohl, 318. + +Norma, 44. + +Nourrit, 138, 161, 171, 220. + +Oberon, 357, 358, 365. + +Orpheus, 106, 107. + +Otello (Rossini), 211. + +Othello (Verdi), 239, 266. + +Pacini, 358. + +Paisiello, 211. + +Pantaleoni, 267. + +Parepa-Rosa, 192. + +Parsifal, 276, 340. + +Pasdeloup, 276. + +Pasta, 44, 48, 75. + +Patti, 79, 250. + +Persiani, 86. + +Piccini, 106. + +Piccolomini, 27, 250. + +Preciosa, 357,358. + +Prophet, The, 160, 180. + +Puritani, 44, 50. + +Pyne, 19, 32, 176. + +Queen of Sheba, 117. + +Rameau, 105. + +Reeves, 19. + +Rheingold, 309, 310, 314, 319. + +Richings, Caroline, 79. + +Richter, 276. + +Rienzi, 160, 275, 277, 285. + +Rigoletto, 88, 239, 244. + +Ring des Nibelungen, 276, 300, 309, 341. + +Robert the Devil, 160, 171. + +Robin Adair, 63. + +Romeo and Juliet, 131, 136. + +Ronconi, 11, 244. + +Rosa, Carl, 143, 284. + +Rose of Castile, 32. + +Rossini, 25, 44. 76, 82, 138, 174, 210, 266, 371. + +Roze, Marie, 66. + +Rubini, 44, 48, 51, 75. + +Rubinstein, 225. + +Salieri, 193. + +Sammartini, 105. + +Santley, 134, 284. + +Scaria, 340. + +Schickaneder, 204, 205. + +Schiller, 36, 220, 312. + +Schroeder-Devrient, 277, 284, 288. + +Scribe, 10, 14, 19, 48, 61, 82, 138, 160, 161, 166, 171, 172, 180, + 185, 258. + +Semiramide, 211, 216. + +Shakspeare, 97, 112, 131, 266. + +Sicilian Vespers, 239. + +Siegfried, 309, 310, 311, 315, 329, 337, 338, 340. + +Sonnambula, 43, 48. + +Sontag, 79. + +Spohr, 285. + +Star of the North, 160, 166. + +Staudigl, 171. + +Stradella, 102. + +Stritt, 117. + +Sullivan, 375. + +Taglioni, 171. + +Tamburini, 44, 51, 83, 162. + +Taming of the Shrew, 111, 112. + +Tancredi, 210, 216. + +Tannhaeuser, 275, 288, 294. + +Tausig, 312. + +Thalberg, 225. + +Thillon, 19, 76. + +Thomas, Ambroise, 231. + +Thomas, Theodore, 54, 71, 107, 229, 276. + +Tichatscheck, 277. + +Titiens, 134. + +Traviata, 239, 249, 253. + +Trebelli, 134. + +Tristan and Isolde, 276, 299, 310. + +Trovatore, 239, 253, 262, 266. + +Ulrich, 111. + +Verdi, 238. + +Viardot-Garcia, 107, 162, 180. + +Vogler, 159, 356. + +Von Buelow, 111, 277, 299, 304. + +Wagner, 18, 58, 65, 70, 122, 142, 143, 144, 160, 220, 266, 272, 275, + 288, 312. + +Wallace, 349. + +Weber, 356. + +Wette, Adelheid, 143. + +William Tell, 138, 176, 211, 220. + +Winckelmann, 340. + +Zingarelli, 43. + +Zucchi, 186. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STANDARD OPERAS (12TH EDITION)*** + + +******* This file should be named 14968.txt or 14968.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/9/6/14968 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and 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