The Standard Operaglass Part 4

Escamillo's knife breaks and he is about to be killed by Don Jose, when Carmen intervenes, holding back his arm. Don Jose, seeing that she has duped him, now becomes her deadly foe, filled with undying hatred and longing for revenge.

Micaela, the tender-hearted maiden, who follows him everywhere like a guardian-angel, reminds him of his lonely mother, everybody advises him to let the fickle Carmen alone,--Carmen who never loved the same man for more than six weeks. But {38} in vain, till Micaela tells him of the dying mother, asking incessantly for her son; then at last he consents to go with her, but not without wild imprecations on his rival and his faithless love.

In the fourth act we find ourselves in Madrid. There is to be a bull-fight; Escamillo, its hero, has invited the whole company to be present in the circus.

Don Jose appears there too, trying for the last time to regain his bride. Carmen, though warned by a fellow gipsy, Frasquita, knows no fear. She meets her old lover outside the arena, where he tries hard to touch her heart. He kneels at her feet, vowing never to forsake her and to be one of her own people, but Carmen, though wayward, is neither a coward nor a liar, and boldly declares that her affections are given to the bull-fighter, whose triumphs are borne to their ears on the shouts of the mult.i.tude. Almost beside himself with love and rage Jose seizes her hand and attempts to drag her away, but she escapes from him, and throwing the ring, Jose's gift, at his feet, rushes to the door of the arena.--He overtakes her however and just as the trumpets announce Escamillo's victory, in a perfect fury of despair he stabs her through the heart, and the victorious bull-fighter finds his beautiful bride a corpse.

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CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA.

(SICILIAN RUSTIC CHIVALRY).

Opera in one act by PIETRO MASCAGNI.

Text after Verga's drama of the same name by TARGIONI-TOZZETTI and MENASCI.

The composer of this very brief opera is a young man, who has had a most adventurous life notwithstanding his youth. Son of a baker in Livorno, he was destined for the bar. But his love for music made him enter clandestinely into the Inst.i.tute Luigi Cherubini, founded by Alfreddo Soffredini. When his father heard of this, he confined him in his chamber, until Pietro's uncle, Steffano, promised to care for him in future. Pietro now was enabled to study diligently. He composed at the age of 13 years a small Opera "In filanda", which was put on the stage by Soffredini. Another composition, on Schiller's poem "An die Freude" (To Joy), brought him money and Count Larderell's favor, who allowed him to study at his expense at the Conservatory at Milan. But Mascagni's ambition suffered no restraint, so he suddenly disappeared from Milan and turned up as musical Director of a wandering troupe. In Naples he grew ill, a young lady nursed him, both fell in love and she became his wife.--Hearing that Sonzogno offered a prize for the best opera, he procured himself a libretto, and composed the Cavalleria Rusticana in little more than a week, and--gained the prize.

Henceforward all of course were anxious to {40} hear the music of the unknown artist, and lo--the opera was an immense success.

It cannot be called a masterpiece, yet it is certainly the offspring of genius, as fresh and as absolutely original, as it is highly dramatic.

The text, though retaining little of the exquisite beauty of the original drama, which ought to be read before hearing its fragments in the opera, a.s.sists the music a good deal. The wave of human pa.s.sion sweeps over it, pa.s.sion as it occurs in daily life, for the composition belongs to the realistic style, as far as it is based on truth and reality alone.

The true local color makes it doubly attractive.

The following are the very simple facts of the story, which takes place in a Sicilian village.

Turridu, a young peasant has loved and wooed Lola before entering military service. At his return he finds the flighty damsel married to the wealthy carrier Alfio, who glories in his pretty wife and treats her very well.--Turridu tries to console himself with another young peasant-girl, Santuzza, who loves him ardently, and to whom he has promised marriage.

The opera only begins at this point.

Lola, the coquette however cannot bear to know, that her former sweet-heart should love another woman. She flirts with him, and before the curtain has been raised after the overture, Turridu's love-song is heard for Lola, who grants him a rendez-vous in her own house.

This excites Santuzza's wildest jealousy. She {41} complains to Turridu's mother, who vainly tries to soothe her. Then she has a last interview with Turridu, who is just entering the church. She reproaches him first with his treachery, then implores him, not to forsake her and leave her dishonored.

But Turridu remains deaf to all entreaty, and flings her from him. At last, half mad through her lover's stubbornness Santuzza betrays him and Lola to Alfio, warning the latter, that his wife has proved false.--After church Alfio and Turridu meet in mother Lucia's tavern.--Alfio refusing to drink of Turridu's wine, the latter divines that the husband knows all. The men and women leave while the two adversaries after Sicilian custom embrace each-other, Alfio biting Turridu in the ear, which indicates mortal challenge.--Turridu, deeply repenting his folly, as well as his falsehood towards poor Santuzza, recommends her to his mother.--He hurries into the garden, where Alfio expects him;--a few minutes later his death is announced by the peasants, and Santuzza falls back in a dead swoon; with which the curtain closes over the tragedy.--

COSI FAN TUTTE.

Comic Opera in two acts by MOZART.

Text by DA PONTE, newly arranged by L. SCHNEIDER and ED. DEVRIENT.

This opera, though lovely in its way, has never had the success, which the preceding Figaro and Don Juan attained, and this is due for the most {42} part to the libretto. In the original text it really shows female fickleness, and justifies its t.i.tle. But the more Mozart's music was admired, the less could one be satisfied with such a libretto. Schneider and Devrient therefore altered it and in their version the two female lovers are put to the test, but midway in the plot it is revealed to them that they are being tried--, with the result that they feign faithlessness, play the part out and at the close declare their knowledge, turning the sting against the authors of the unworthy comedy. The contents may be told shortly.

Don Fernando and Don Alvar are betrothed to two Andalusian ladies, Rosaura and Isabella.

They loudly praise their ladies' fidelity, when an old bachelor, named Onofrio, pretends that their sweet-hearts are not better than other women and accessible to temptation. The lovers agree to make the trial and promise to do everything which Onofrio dictates. Thereupon they announce to the ladies, that they are ordered to Havannah with their regiment, and after a tender leavetaking, they depart to appear again in another guise, as officers of a strange regiment. Onofrio has won the ladies-maid, Dolores, to aid in the furtherance of his schemes and the officers enter, beginning at once to make love to Isabella and Rosaura, but each, as was before agreed, to the other's affianced.

Of course the ladies reject them, and the lovers begin to triumph, when Onofrio prompts them to try another temptation. The strangers, mad with {43} love, pretend to drink poison in the young ladies' presence.

Of course these tenderhearted maidens are much aggrieved; they call Dolores, who bids her mistresses hold the patients in their arms; then coming disguised as a physician, she gives them an antidote. By this clumsy subterfuge they excite the ladies' pity and are nearly successful in their foolish endeavours, when Dolores, pitying the cruelly tested women, reveals the whole plot to them.

Isabella and Rosaura now resolve to enter into the play. They accept the disguised suitors, and even consent to a marriage. Dolores appears in the shape of a notary, without being recognized by the men. The marriage-contract is signed, and the lovers disappear to return in their true characters, full of righteous contempt. Isabella and Rosaura make believe to be conscience-stricken, and for a long while torment and deceive their angry bridegrooms. But at last they grow tired of teasing, they present the disguised Dolores, and they put their lovers to shame by showing that all was a farce. Of course the gentlemen humbly ask their pardon, and old Onofrio is obliged to own himself beaten.

CZAR AND ZIMMERMANN

THE TWO PETERS.

Comic Opera in three acts by LORTZING.

This charming little opera had even more success than Lortzing's other compositions; it is {44} a popular opera in the best sense of the word.

Lortzing ought to have made his fortune by it, for it was soon claimed by every stage. He had composed it for Christmas 1837 and in the year 1838 every street-organ played its princ.i.p.al melodies. But the directors paid miserable sums to the lucky composer. (F. e. a copy of the work cost him 25 thalers, while he did not get more than 30 to 50 thalers from the directors.)

The libretto was composed by Lortzing himself; he took it out of an old comedy.

Peter, Emperor of Russia, has taken service on the wharfs of Saardam as simple s.h.i.+p-carpenter under the a.s.sumed name of Peter Michaelow. Among his companions is another Peter, named Ivanow, a Russian renegade, who has fallen in love with Mary, the niece of the burgomaster Van Bett.

The two Peters being countrymen and fearing discovery, have become friendly, but Ivanow instinctively feeling his friend's superiority, is jealous of him, and Mary, a little coquette, nourishes his pa.s.sion.

Meanwhile the amba.s.sadors of France and England, each of whom wishes for a special connection with the Czar of Russia, have discovered where he must be, and both bribe the conceited simpleton Van Bett, who tries to find out the real Peter.

He a.s.sembles the people, but there are many Peters amongst them, though only two strangers. He asks them whence they come, then takes aside Peter Ivanow, cross-questioning him in vain as to what he wishes to know.

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At last, being aware of Peter's love for Mary, he gives him some hope of gaining her hand, and obtains in exchange a promise from the young man, to confess his secret in presence of the foreign n.o.bleman.--The cunning French amba.s.sador, the Marquis de Chateauneuf, has easily found out the Czar and gained his purpose, while the phlegmatic English Lord, falsely directed by the burgomaster, is still in transaction with Ivanow. All this takes place during a rural festivity, where the Marquis notwithstanding the claims upon his attention finds time to court yet pretty Mary, exciting Ivanow's hate and jealousy. Ivanow with difficulty plays the role of Czar, which personage he is supposed to be as well by Lord Syndham as by Van Bett. He well knows that he deserves punishment, if he is found out on either side. The burgomaster, getting more and more confused, and fearing himself surrounded by spies and cheats, examines one of the strangers after the other, and is of course confounded to hear their high-flown names; at last he seizes the two Peters, but is deterred from his purpose by the two amba.s.sadors. They are now joined by a third, the Russian General Lefort, who comes to call back his Sovereign to his own country. In the third act Van Bett has prepared a solemn demonstration of fealty for the supposed Czar, whom he still mistakes for the real one, while the real Czar has found means to go on board of his s.h.i.+p with the Marquis and Lefort.--Before taking farewell, he promises a pa.s.s-port to Ivanow, who is very dubious as to what will become of {46} him.

Meanwhile Van Bett approaches him with his procession to do homage, but during his long and confused speech cannon-shots are heard and an usher announces, that Peter Michaelow is about to sail away with a large crew. The back-ground opens and shows the port with the Czar's s.h.i.+p.

Everybody bursts into shouts "Long live the Czar!" and Ivanow, opening the paper, which his high-born friend left to him, reads that the Czar grants him pardon for his desertion and bestows upon him a considerable sum of money.

LA DAME BLANCHE.

Comic Opera in three acts by BOIELDIEU.