The Complete Opera Book Part 32

That "soon as possible" was the evening of November 29th, and is regarded as the date of the first performance in this country of opera in Italian.

SEMIRAMIDE

Opera in two acts by Rossini, words by Gaetana Rossi, founded on Voltaire's tragedy, "Semiramis." Produced, February 3, 1823, Fenice Theatre, Venice; London, King's Theatre, July 15, 1824; Paris, July 9, 1860, as Semiramis; New York, April 25, 1826; 1855 (with Grisi and Vestivalli); 1890 (with Patti and Scalchi).

CHARACTERS

SEMIRAMIDE, Queen of Babylon _Soprano_ ARSACES, Commander of the a.s.syrian Army _Contralto_ GHOST OF NINUS _Ba.s.s_ OROE, Chief of the Magi _Ba.s.s_ a.s.sUR, a Prince _Baritone_ AZEMA, a Princess _Soprano_ IDRENUS } { _Tenor_ MITRa.n.u.s } of the royal house household { _Baritone_

Magi, Guards, Satraps, Slaves.

_Time_--Antiquity.

_Place_--Babylon.

"Semiramide" seems to have had its day. Yet, were a soprano and a contralto, capable of doing justice to the roles of _Semiramide_ and _Arsaces_, to appear in conjunction in the operatic firmament the opera might be successfully revived, as it was for Patti and Scalchi.

The latter, in her prime when she first appeared here, was one of the greatest of contraltos. I think that all, who, like myself, had the good fortune to hear that revival of "Semiramide," still consider the singing by Patti and Scalchi of the duet, "Giorno d'orrore" (Day of horror) the finest example of _bel canto_ it has been their privilege to listen to. For beauty and purity of tone, smoothness of phrasing, elegance, and synchronization of embellishment it has not been equalled here since.

In the first act of the opera is a brilliant aria for _Semiramide_, "Bel raggio lusinghier" (Bright ray of hope),--the one piece that has kept the opera in the phonograph repertoire.

[Music: Bel raggio lusinghier]

A priests' march and chorus, which leads up to the finale of the first act, is accompanied not only by orchestra, but also by full military band on the stage, the first instance of the employment of the latter in Italian opera. The duet, "Giorno d'orrore," is in the second act.

[Music]

For many years the overture to "Semiramide" was a favourite at popular concerts. It was admired for the broad, hymnlike air in the introduction, which in the opera becomes an effective chorus,

[Music]

and for the graceful, lively melody, which is first announced on the clarinet. I call it "graceful" and "lively," and so it would be considered today. But in the opera it accompanies

[Music]

the cautious entrance of priests into a darkened temple where a deep mystery is impending, and, at the time the opera was produced, this music, which now we would describe as above, was supposed to be "s.h.i.+very" and gruesome. In fact the scene was objected to by audiences of that now seemingly remote period, on the ground that the orchestra was too prominent and that, in the treatment of the instrumental score to his operas, Rossini was leaning too heavily toward German models!

But this, remember, was in 1824.

The story of "Semiramide" can be briefly told. _Semiramide_, Queen of Babylon, has murdered her husband, _Ninus_, the King. In this deed she was a.s.sisted by _Prince a.s.sur_, who expects to win her hand and the succession to the throne.

_Semiramide_, however, is enamoured of a comely youth, _Arsaces_, victorious commander of her army, and supposedly a Scythian, but in reality her own son, of which relations.h.i.+p only _Oroe_, the chief priest of the temple, is aware. _Arsaces_ himself is in love with the royal Princess _Azema_.

At a gathering in the temple, the gates of the tomb of _Ninus_ are opened as if by invisible hands. The shade of _Ninus_ announces that _Arsaces_ shall be his successor; and summons him to come to the tomb at midnight there to learn the secret of his a.s.sa.s.sination.

Enraged at the prophecy of the succession of _Arsaces_ and knowing of his coming visit to the tomb of _Ninus_, _a.s.sur_ contrives to enter it; while _Semiramide_, who now knows that the young warrior is her son, comes to the tomb to warn him against _a.s.sur_. The three princ.i.p.al personages in the drama are thus brought together at its climax. _a.s.sur_ makes what would be a fatal thrust at _Arsaces_.

_Semiramide_ interposes herself between the two men and receives the death wound. _Arsaces_ then fights and kills _a.s.sur_, ascends the throne and weds _Azema_.

According to legend, Semiramis, when a babe, was fed by doves; and, after reigning for forty-two years, disappeared or was changed into a dove and flew away. For the first New York performance Garcia announced the work as "La Figlia dell'Aria, or Semiramide" (The Daughter of the Air, etc.).

GUILLAUME TELL

WILLIAM TELL

Opera by Rossini, originally in five acts, cut down to three by omitting the third act and condensing the fourth and fifth into one, then rearranged in four; words by "Jouy"

(V.J. etienne), rearranged by Hippolyte and Armand Marast.

Produced, Grand Opera, Paris, August 3, 1829, Nourrit being the original _Arnold_; revived with Duprez, 1837. Italy, "Guglielmo Tell," at Lucca, September 17, 1831. London, Drury Lane, 1830, in English; Her Majesty's Theatre, 1839, in Italian. In New York the t.i.tle role has been sung by Karl Formes, who made his first American tour in 1857. The interpreters of _Arnold_ have included the Polish tenor Mierzwinski at the Academy of Music, and Tamagno.

CHARACTERS

WILLIAM TELL _Baritone_ HEDWIGA, Tell's wife _Soprano_ JEMMY, Tell's son _Soprano_ ARNOLD, suitor of Matilda _Tenor_ MELCTHAL, Arnold's father _Ba.s.s_ GESSLER, governor of Schwitz and Uri _Ba.s.s_ MATILDA, Gessler's daughter _Soprano_ RUDOLPH, captain in Gessler's guard _Tenor_ WALTER FURST _Ba.s.s_ LEUTHOLD, a shepherd _Ba.s.s_ RUEDI, a fisherman _Tenor_

Peasants, Knights, Pages, Ladies, Hunters, Soldiers, Guards, and three Bridal Couples.

_Time_--Thirteenth Century.

_Place_--Switzerland.

_Arnold_, a Swiss patriot and son of the venerable Swiss leader, _Melcthal_, has saved from drowning _Matilda_, daughter of the Austrian tyrant _Gessler_, whom the Swiss abhor. _Arnold_ and _Matilda_ have fallen in love with each other.

Act I. A beautiful May morning has dawned over the Lake of Lucerne, on which _Tell's_ house is situated. It is the day of the Shepherd Festival. According to ancient custom the grey-haired _Melcthal_ blesses the loving couples among them. But his own son, _Arnold_, does not ask a blessing of the old man. Yet, although he loves _Matilda_, his heart also belongs to his native land. The festival is interrupted by the sound of horns. It is the train of _Gessler_, the hated tyrant.

_Leuthold_ rushes in, breathless. In order to protect his daughter from dishonour, he has been obliged to kill one of _Gessler's_ soldiers. He is pursued. To cross the lake is his only means of escape. But who will take him in the face of the storm that is coming up? _Tell_ wastes no time in thinking. He acts. It is the last possible moment. _Gessler's_ guards already are seen, _Rudolph_ at their head. With _Tell's_ aid the fugitive escapes them, but they turn to the country folk, and seize and carry off old _Melcthal_.

Act II. In a valley by a lake _Arnold_ and _Matilda_ meet and again pledge their love. _Arnold_ learns from _Tell_ and _Walter_ that his father has been slain by _Gessler's_ order. His thoughts turn to vengeance. The three men bind themselves by oath to free Switzerland.

The cantons gather and swear to throw off the Austrian yoke.

Act III. The market-place in Altdorf. It is the hundredth anniversary of Austrian rule in Switzerland. Fittingly to celebrate the day _Gessler_ has ordered his hat to be placed on top of a pole. The Swiss are commanded to make obeisance to the hat. _Tell_ comes along holding his son _Jemmy_ by the hand. He refuses to pay homage to the hat. As in him is also recognized the man who saved _Leuthold_, he must be punished. _Gessler_ cynically orders him to shoot an apple from _Jemmy's_ head. The shot succeeds. Fearless, as before, _Tell_ informs _Gessler_ that the second arrow was intended for him, had the first missed its mark. _Tell's_ arrest is ordered, but the armed Swiss, who have risen against Austria, approach. _Gessler_ falls by _Tell's_ shot; the fight ends with the complete victory for the Swiss.

_Matilda_ who still loves _Arnold_ finds refuge in his arms.

"Guillaume Tell" is the only opera by an Italian of which it can be said that the overture has gained world-wide fame, and justly so, while the opera itself is so rarely heard that it may almost be said to have pa.s.sed out of the repertoire. Occasionally it is revived for the benefit of a high tenor like Tamagno. In point of fact, however, it is too good a work to be made the vehicle of a single operatic star. It is a question if, with a fine ensemble, "Guillaume Tell"

could not be restored to the list of operas regularly given. Or, is it one of those works more famous than effective; and is that why, at this point I am reminded of a pa.s.sage in Whistler's "Ten O'clock"? The painter is writing of art and of how little its spirit is affected by the personality of the artist, or even by the character of a whole people.

"A whimsical G.o.ddess," he writes, "and a capricious, her strong sense of joy tolerates no dullness, and, live we never so spotlessly, still may she turn her back upon us.

"As, from time immemorial, has she done upon the Swiss in their mountains.

"What more worthy people! Whose every Alpine gap yawns with tradition, and is stocked with n.o.ble story; yet, the perverse and scornful one will none of it, and the sons of patriots are left with the clock that turns the mill, and the sudden cuckoo, with difficulty restrained in its box!"

Because we a.s.sociate Switzerland with tourists, personally conducted and otherwise, with hotels, guides, and a personnel trained to welcome, entertain, and speed the departing guest, is it difficult for us to grasp the heroic strain in "Guillaume Tell"? Surely it is a picturesque opera; and Switzerland has a heroic past. Probably the real reasons for the lack of public interest in the opera are the clumsy libretto and the fact that Rossini, an Italian, was not wholly in his element in composing a grand opera in the French style, which "Guillaume Tell" is. It would be difficult to point out just how and where the style hampered the composer, but there constantly is an undefined feeling that it did--that the score is not as spontaneous as, for example, "The Barber of Seville"; and that, although "Guillaume Tell" is heroic, the "sudden cuckoo, with difficulty restrained in its box," may at any time pop out and join in the proceedings.

The care which Rossini bestowed on this work is seen in the layout and composition of the overture, which as an instrumental number is as fine a _tour de force_ as his "Una voce poco fa," "Bel raggio," or "Giorno d'orrore" are for voice. The slow introduction denotes Alpine calm. There is a beautiful pa.s.sage for violoncellos, which has been quoted in books on instrumentation. In it Rossini may well have harked back to his student years, when he was a pupil in violoncello playing at the conservatory in Bologna. The calm is followed by a storm and this, in turn, by a "Ranz des Vaches." The final section consists of a trumpet call, followed by a fast movement, which can be played so as to leave the hearer quite breathless. It is supposed to represent the call to arms and the uprising of the Swiss against their Austrian oppressors, whose yoke they threw off.

The most striking musical number in the first act of the opera, is _Arnold's_ "Ah, Matilda."

[Music: Ah! Matilda, io t'amo, t'adoro [Transcriber's Note: original ends with incorrect 'e amoe']]

A tenor with powerful high tones in his voice always can render this with great effect. In fact it is so effective that its coming so early in the work is a fault of construction which in my opinion has been a factor in the non-success of the opera as a whole. Even a tenor like Mierzwinski, "a natural singer of short-lived celebrity," with remarkable high notes, in this number could rouse to a high pitch of enthusiasm an audience that remained comparatively calm the rest of the evening.

The climax of the second act is the trio between _Arnold_, _Tell_, and _Walter_, followed by the a.s.sembly of the cantons and the taking of the oath to conquer or die ("La gloria infiammi--i nostri petti"--May glory our hearts with courage exalt).