Louis Gallet, taken from the novel by M. Anatole France which bears
the same title; music by Massenet; produced at the Opéra on March 16,
1894. It had been, I think, more than sixty years since the Opéra had
applied the designation of "lyric comedy" to a work produced on its
stage, which is a little too exclusively solemn. As a matter of fact
there is no question in Thaïs of one of those powerful and passionate
dramas, rich in incidents and majestic dramatic strokes, or one of
those subjects profoundly pathetic like those of "Les Huguenots," "La
Juive," or "Le Prophète." One could extract from the intimate and
mystic novel of "Thaïs" only a unity and simplicity of action without
circumlocutions or complications, developing between two important
persons and leaving all the others in a sort of discreet shadow, the
latter serving only to emphasize the scenic movement and to give to
the work the necessary life, color, and variety.
[Illustration: Copyright photo by Mishkin
Mary Garden as Thaïs]
[Illustration: Photo by White
Farrar and Amato as Thaïs and Athanaël]
The librettist had the idea of writing his libretto in prose, rhymed,
if not entirely in blank verse, in a measured prose to which, in a too
long article reviewing it, he gave the name of "poésie mélique." This
explanation left the public indifferent, the essential for them being
that the libretto be good and interesting and that it prove useful to
the musician. The action of "Thaïs" takes place at the end of the
fourth century. The first act shows us in a corner of the Theban plain
on the banks of the Nile a refuge of cenobites. The good fathers are
finishing a modest repast at their common table. One place near them
remains empty, that of their comrade _Athanaël_ (Paphnuce in the
novel) who has gone to Alexandria. Soon he comes back, still greatly
scandalized at the sensation caused in the great city by the presence
of a shameless courtesan, the famous actress and dancer, _Thaïs_, who
seems to have turned the sceptical and light heads of its inhabitants.
Now in his younger days _Athanaël_ had known this _Thaïs_, and in
Alexandria too, which he left to consecrate himself to the Lord and to
take the robe of a religious.
_Athanaël_ is haunted by the memory of _Thaïs_. He dreams that it
would be a pious and meritorious act to snatch her from her unworthy
profession and from a life of debauchery which dishonours her and of
which she does not even seem to be conscious. He goes to bed and
sleeps under the impress of this thought, which does not cease to
confront him, so much so that he sees her in a dream on the stage of
the theatre of Alexandria, representing the Loves of Venus. He can
refrain no longer and on awaking he goes to find her again, firmly
resolved to do everything to bring about her conversion.
Arrived at Alexandria, _Athanaël_ meets an old friend, the beau
_Nicias_, to whom he makes himself known and who is the lover of
_Thaïs_ for a day longer because he has purchased her love for a week
which is about to end. _Athanaël_ confides his scheme to _Nicias_ who
receives him like a brother and makes him put on clothes which will
permit him to attend a fête and banquet which he is to give that very
night in honour of _Thaïs_. Soon he finds himself in the presence of
the courtesan who laughs at him at his first words and who engages him
to come to see her at her house if he expects to convert her. He does
not fail to accept this invitation and once in _Thaïs's_ house tells
her to be ashamed of her disorderly life and with eloquent words
reveals to her the heavenly joys and the felicities of religion.
_Thaïs_ is very much impressed; she is on the point of yielding to his
advice when afar off in a song are heard the voices of her companions
in pleasure. Then she repels the monk, who, without being discouraged,
goes away, saying to her: "At thy threshold until daylight I will
await thy coming."
In fact here we find him at night seated on the front steps of
_Thaïs's_ house. Time has done its work and a few hours have sufficed
for the young woman to be touched by grace. She goes out of her house,
having exchanged her rich garments for a rough woollen dress, finds
the monk, and begs him to lead her to a convent. The conversion is
accomplished.
But _Athanaël_ has deceived himself. It was not love of God but it was
jealousy that dictated his course without his being aware of it. When
he has returned to the Thebaid after having conducted _Thaïs_ to a
convent and thinks he has found peace again, he perceives with horror
that he loves her madly. His thoughts without ceasing turn to her and
in a new dream, a cruel dream, he seems to see _Thaïs_, sanctified and
purified by remorse and prayer, on the point of dying in the convent
where she took refuge. On awaking, under the impression of this
sinister vision, he hurries to the convent where _Thaïs_ in fact is
near to breathing her last breath. But he does not wish that she die;
and while she, in ecstasy, is only thinking of heaven and of her
purification, he wants to snatch her from death and only talks to her
of his love. The scene is strange and of real power. _Thaïs_ dies at
last and _Athanaël_ falls stricken down beside her.
[Illustration: Copyright photo by Dupont
Farrar as Thaïs]
[Illustration: Photo by White
Farrar and Amato as Thaïs and Athanaël]
This subject, half mystic, half psychological, was it really a
favourable one for theatrical action? Was it even treated in such a
way as to mitigate the defects it might present in this connection? We
may doubt it. Nevertheless M. Massenet has written on this libretto of
"Thaïs" a score which, if it does not present the firm unity of those
of "Manon" and of "Werther," certainly does not lack either
inspiration or colour or originality and in which moreover are found
in all their force and all their expansion the astonishing technical
qualities of a master to whom nothing in his art is foreign. All the
music of the first act, which shows us the retreat of the cenobites,
is of a sober and severe colour, with which will be contrasted the
movement and the gracefulness of the scene at the house of _Nicias_.
There should be noted the peaceful chorus of monks, the entrance of
_Athanaël_, the fine phrase which follows his dream: "Toi qui mis la
pitié dans nos âmes," and the very curious effect of the scene where
he goes away again from his companions to return to Alexandria. In the
second act the kind of invocation placed in the mouth of the same
_Athanaël_: "Voilà donc la terrible cité," written on a powerful
rhythm, is followed by a charming quartette, a passage with an
emphasis full of grace and the end of which especially is delightful.
I would indicate again in this act the rapid and kindly dialogue of
_Nicias_ and of _Thaïs_: "Nous nous sommes aimés une longue semaine,"
which seems to conceal under its apparent indifference a sort of sting
of melancholy. I pass over the air of _Thaïs_: "Dis-moi que je suis
belle," an air of bravado solely destined to display the finish of a
singer, to which I much prefer the whole scene that follows, which
is only a long duet in which _Athanaël_ tries to convert _Thaïs_. The
severe and stern accents of the monk put in opposition to the raillery
and the voluptuous outbreaks (buoyancy) of the courtesan produce a
striking contrast which the composer has known how to place in relief
with a rare felicity and a real power. The symphonic intermezzo which,
under the name of "Méditation," separates this act from the following,
is nothing but an adorable violin solo, supported by the harps and the
development of which, on the taking up again of the first motif by the
violin, brings about the entrance of an invisible chorus, the effect
of which is purely exquisite. The curtain then rises on the scene in
which _Thaïs_, who has put on a rough woollen dress, goes to seek the
monk to flee with him. Here there is a duet in complete contrast with
the preceding. _Athanaël_ wants _Thaïs_ to destroy and burn whatever
may preserve the memory of her past. She obeys, demanding favour only
for a little statue of Eros: "L'amour est un vertu rare." It is a sort
of invocation to the purity of love, written, if one may say so, in a
sentiment of chaste melancholy and entirely impressed with
gracefulness and poetry. But what should be praised above all is the
final scene, that of the death of _Thaïs_. This scene, truly pathetic
and powerful, has been treated by the composer with a talent of the
first order and an incontestable superiority. There again he knew
wonderfully well how to seize the contrast between the pious thoughts
of _Thaïs_, who at the moment of quitting life begins to perceive
eternal happiness, and the powerless rage of _Athanaël_, who, devoured
by an impious love, reveals to her, without her understanding or
comprehending it, all the ardour of a passion that death alone can
extinguish in him. The touching phrases of _Thaïs_, the despairing
accents of _Athanaël_, interrupted by the desolate chants of the nuns,
companions of the dying woman, provoke in the hearer a poignant and
sincere emotion. That is one of the finest pages we owe to the pen of
M. Massenet. We must point out especially the return of the beautiful
violin phrase which constitutes the foundation of the intermezzo of
the second act.
The work has been very well played by Mlle. Sybil Sanderson (_Thaïs_),
M. Delmas (_Athanaël_), M. Alvarez (_Nicias_), Mmes. Héglon and Marcy,
and M. Delpouget.
MANON
Opera in five acts by Massenet; words by Henri Meilhac and
Philippe Gille, after the story by Abbé Prévost. Produced
Opéra Comique, Paris, January 19, 1884; Théâtre de la
Monnaie, Brussels, March 15, 1884. In English, by the Carl
Rosa Company, Liverpool, January 17, 1885; and at Drury
Lane, London, May 7, 1885, with Marie Roze, Barton McGuckin,
and Ludwig. In French, Covent Garden, May 14, 1894. Carcano
Theatre, Milan, October 19, 1893. Academy of Music, New
York, December 23, 1885, with Minnie Hauck (_Manon_),
Giannini (_Des Grieux_), and Del Puente (_Lescaut_);
Metropolitan Opera House, January 16, 1895, with Sibyl
Sanderson and Jean de Reszke.
CHARACTERS
CHEVALIER DES GRIEUX _Tenor_
COUNT DES GRIEUX, his father _Bass_
LESCAUT, of the Royal Guard,
cousin to Manon _Baritone_
GUILLOT DE MORFONTAINE, Minister of
Finance, an old beau _Bass_
DE BRÉTIGNY, a nobleman _Baritone_
MANON _Soprano_
POUSSETTE, JAVOTTE, ROSETTE, actresses _Sopranos_
Students, innkeeper, a sergeant, a soldier, gamblers,
merchants and their wives, croupiers, sharpers, guards,
travellers, ladies, gentlemen, porters, postilions, an
attendant at the Monastery of St. Sulpice, the people.
_Time_--1821.
_Place_--Amiens, Paris, Havre.
Act I. Courtyard of the inn at Amiens. _Guillot_ and _De Brétigny_,
who have just arrived with the actresses _Poussette_, _Javotte_, and
_Rosette_, are shouting for the innkeeper. Townspeople crowd about the
entrance to the inn. They descry a coach approaching. _Lescaut_, who
has alighted from it, enters followed by two guardsmen. Other
travellers appear amid much commotion, amusement, and shouting on the
part of the townspeople. He is awaiting his cousin _Manon_, whom he is
to conduct to a convent school, and who presently appears and gives a
sample of her character, which is a mixture of demureness and
vivacity, of serious affection and meretricious preferment, in her
opening song, "Je suis encore tout étourdie" (A simple maiden fresh
from home), in which she tells how, having left home for the first
time to travel to Amiens, she sometimes wept and sometimes laughed. It
is a chic little song.
_Lescaut_ goes out to find her luggage. From the balcony of the inn
the old roué _Guillot_ sees her. She is not shocked, but laughs at his
hints that he is rich and can give her whatever she wants. _De
Brétigny_, who, accompanied by the actresses, comes out on the balcony
in search of _Guillot_, also is much struck with her beauty.
_Guillot_, before withdrawing with the others from the balcony, softly
calls down to her that his carriage is at her disposal, if she will
but enter it and await him. _Lescaut_ returns but at the same time his
two guardsmen come after him. They want him to join with them in
gambling and drinking. He pretends to _Manon_ that he is obliged to go
to his armoury for a short time. Before leaving her, however, he warns
her to be careful of her actions. "Regardez-moi bien dans les yeux"
(Now give good heed to what I say).
Left alone, _Manon_ expresses admiration for the jewels and finery
worn by the actresses. She wishes such gems and dresses might belong
to her. The _Chevalier des Grieux_, young, handsome, ardent, comes
upon the scene. He loves _Manon_ at first sight. Nor does she long
remain unimpressed by the wooing of the _Chevalier_. Beginning with
his words, "If I knew but your name," and her reply, "I am called
Manon," the music soon becomes an impassioned love duet. To him she is
an "enchantress." As for her--"À vous ma vie et mon âme" (To you my
life and my soul).
_Manon_ sees _Guillot's_ postilion, who has been told by his master to
take his orders from _Manon_. She communicates to _Des Grieux_ that
they will run away to Paris in _Guillot's_ conveyance. "Nous vivrons à
Paris" ('Tis to Paris we go), they shout in glad triumph, and are off.
There is much confusion when the escape is discovered. Ridicule is
heaped upon _Guillot_. For is it not in his carriage, in which the old
roué hoped to find _Manon_ awaiting him, that she has driven off with
her young lover!
Act II. The apartment of _Des Grieux_ and _Manon_, Rue Vivienne,
Paris. _Des Grieux_ is writing at his desk. Discovering _Manon_
looking over his shoulder, he reads her what he has written--a letter
to his father extolling her charms and asking permission to marry her.
[Illustration: Copyright photo by Mishkin
Caruso as Des Grieux in "Manon"]
The scene is interrupted by knocking and voices without. The maid
servant announces that two guardsmen demand admission. She whispers to
_Manon_, "One of them loves you--the nobleman, who lives near here."
The pair are _Lescaut_ and _De Brétigny_, the latter masquerading as a
soldier in _Lescaut's_ regiment. _Lescaut_ scents more profit for
himself and for his cousin _Manon_ in a liaison between her and the
wealthy nobleman than in her relations with _Des Grieux_. Purposely he
is gruff and demands "yes" or "no" to his question as to whether or
not _Des Grieux_ intends to marry the girl. _Des Grieux_ shows the
letter he is about to despatch to his father. Apparently everything is
satisfactory. But _De Brétigny_ manages to convey to _Manon_ the
information that the _Chevalier's_ father is incensed at his son's
mode of life, and has arranged to have him carried off that night. If
she will keep quiet about it, he (_De Brétigny_) will provide for her
handsomely and surround her with the wealth and luxury she craves.
She protests that she loves _Des Grieux_--but is careful not to warn
him of the impending abduction.
_Lescaut_ and the nobleman depart, after _Lescaut_, sly fellow, has
blessed his "children," as he calls _Manon_ and _Des Grieux_. Shortly
afterwards the latter goes out to despatch the letter to his father.
_Manon_, approaching the table, which is laid for supper, sings the
charming air, "Adieu, nôtre petite table" (Farewell, dear little
table). This is followed by the exquisite air with harp accompaniment,
"Le Rève de Manon" (A vision of Manon), which is sung by _Des Grieux_,
who has re-entered and describes her as he saw her in a dream.
There is a disturbance outside. _Manon_ knows that the men who will
bear away her lover have arrived. She loves _Des Grieux_, but luxury
means more to her than love. An effort is made by her to dissuade the
_Chevalier_ from going outside to see who is there--but it is a
half-hearted attempt. He goes. The noise of a struggle is heard.
_Manon_, "overcome with grief," exclaims, "He has gone."
Act III. Scene I. The Cours de la Reine, Paris, on the day of a
popular fête. Stalls of traders are among the trees. There is a
pavilion for dancing. After some lively preliminary episodes between
the three actresses and _Guillot_, _De Brétigny_ enters with _Manon_.
She sings a clever "Gavotte." It begins, "Obéissons, quand leur voix
appelle" (List to the voice of Youth when it calleth).
The _Count des Grieux_, father of the _Chevalier_, comes upon the
scene. From a conversation between him and _De Brétigny_, which
_Manon_ overhears, she learns that the _Chevalier_ is about to enter
the seminary of St. Sulpice and intends to take holy orders. After a
duet between _Manon_ and the _Count_, who retires, the girl enters her
chair, and bids the wondering _Lescaut_ to have her conveyed to the
seminary.
Scene II. Parlour in the Seminary of St. Sulpice. Nuns and visitors,
who have just attended religious service, are praising the sermon
delivered by _Des Grieux_, who enters a little later attired in the
garb of an abbé. The ladies withdraw, leaving _Des Grieux_ with his
father, who has come in unobserved, and now vainly endeavours to
dissuade his son from taking holy orders. Left alone, _Des Grieux_
cannot banish _Manon_ from his thoughts. "Ah! fuyez douce image" (Ah!
depart, image fair), he sings, then slowly goes out.
Almost as if in answer to his soliloquy, the woman whose image he
cannot put away enters the parlour. From the chapel chanting is heard.
Summoned by the porter of the seminary, _Des Grieux_ comes back. He
protests to _Manon_ that she has been faithless and that he shall not
turn from the peace of mind he has sought in religious retreat.
Gradually, however, he yields to the pleading of the woman he loves.
"N'est-ce plus ma main que cette main presse?... Ah! regarde-moi!
N'est-ce plus Manon?" ("Is it no longer my hand, your own now
presses?... Ah! look upon me! Am I no longer Manon?") The religious
chanting continues, but now only as a background to an impassioned
love duet--"Ah! Viens, Manon, je t'aime!" (Ah, Manon, Manon! I love
thee.)
Act IV. A fashionable gambling house in Paris. Play is going on.
_Guillot_, _Lescaut_, _Poussette_, _Javotte_, and _Rosette_ are of the
company. Later _Manon_ and _Des Grieux_ come in. _Manon_, who has run
through her lover's money, counsels the _Chevalier_ to stake what he
has left on the game. _Des Grieux_ plays in amazing luck against
_Guillot_ and gathers in winning after winning. "Faites vos jeux,
Messieurs," cry the croupiers, while _Manon_ joyously sings, "Ce bruit
de l'or, ce rire, et ces éclats joyeux" (Music of gold, of laughter,
and clash of joyous sounds). The upshot of it all, however, is that
_Guillot_ accuses the _Chevalier_ of cheating, and after an angry
scene goes out. Very soon afterwards, the police, whom _Guillot_ has
summoned, break in. Upon _Guillot's_ accusation they arrest _Manon_
and the _Chevalier_. "Ô douleur, l'avenir nous sépare" (Oh despair!
Our lives are divided for ever), sings _Manon_, her accents of grief
being echoed by those of her lover.
Act V, originally given as a second scene to the fourth act. A lonely
spot on the road to Havre. _Des Grieux_ has been freed through the
intercession of his father. _Manon_, however, with other women of her
class, has been condemned to deportation to the French colony of
Louisiana. _Des Grieux_ and _Lescaut_ are waiting for the prisoners to
pass under an escort of soldiers. _Des Grieux_ hopes to release
_Manon_ by attacking the convoy, but _Lescaut_ restrains him. The
guardsman finds little difficulty in bribing the sergeant to permit
_Manon_, who already is nearly dead from exhaustion, to remain behind
with _Des Grieux_, between whom the rest of the opera is a dolorous
duet, ending in _Manon's_ death. Even while dying her dual nature
asserts itself. Feebly opening her eyes, almost at the last, she
imagines she sees jewels and exclaims, "Oh! what lovely gems!" She
turns to _Des Grieux_: "I love thee! Take thou this kiss. 'Tis my
farewell for ever." It is, of course, this dual nature which makes the
character drawn by Abbé Prévost so interesting.
* * * * *
"Manon" by Massenet is one of the popular operas in the modern
repertoire. Its music has charm, and the leading character, in which
Miss Farrar appears with such distinction, is both a good singing and
a good acting rôle, a valuable asset to a prima donna. I have an
autograph letter of Massenet's written, presumably to Sibyl Sanderson,
half an hour before the curtain rose on the _première_ of "Manon,"
January 19, 1884. In it he writes that within that brief space of time
they will know whether their hopes are to be confirmed, or their
illusions dissipated. In New York, eleven years later, Miss Sanderson
failed to make any impression in the rôle.
The beauty of Massenet's score is responsible for the fact that
audiences are not troubled over the legal absurdity in the sentence of
deportation pronounced upon _Manon_ for being a courtesan and a
gambler's accomplice. In the story she also is a thief.
The last act is original with the librettists. In the story the final
scene is laid in Louisiana (see Puccini's _Manon Lescaut_). The
effective scene in the convent of St. Sulpice was overlooked by
Puccini, as it also was by Scribe, who wrote the libretto for Auber's
"Manon." This latter work survives in the laughing song, "L'Éclat de
Rire," which Patti introduced in the lesson scene in "Il Barbiere di
Siviglia," and which Galli-Curci has revived for the same purpose.
LE CID
"Le Cid"; opera in four acts and ten scenes; the poem by MM. d'Ennery,
Louis Gallet, and Édouard Blau; music by Massenet; produced at the
Opéra on November 30, 1885. The authors of the libretto of "Le Cid"
declared at the start of it that they had been inspired by Guillen de
Castro and by Corneille. The sole masterpiece of Corneille which is
built about a sort of psychological analysis of the character of
_Chimène_ and of the continual conflict of the two feelings which
divide her heart, in fact would not have given them sufficient action;
on the other hand they would not have been able to find in it the
pretext for adornments, for sumptuousness, for the rich stage setting
which the French opera house has been accustomed for two centuries to
offer to its public.
This is the way the opera is arranged: First act, first scene: at the
house of the _Comte de Gormas_; scene between _Chimène_ and the
_Infanta_. Second scene: entering the cathedral of Burgos. _Rodrigo_
is armed as a knight by the _King_. The _King_ tells _Don Diego_ that
he names him governor of the _Infanta_. Quarrel of _Don Diego_ and
_Don Gormas_. Scene of _Don Diego_ and _Don Rodrigo_: "Rodrigue,
as-tu du coeur?" Second act, third scene: A street in Burgos at
night. Stanzas by _Rodrigo_: "Percé jusques au fond du coeur."
_Rodrigo_ knocks at the door of _Don Gormas_: "À moi, comte, deux
mots!" Provocation; duel; death of _Don Gormas_. _Chimène_ discovers
that _Rodrigo_ is the slayer of her father. Fourth scene: The public
square in Burgos. A popular festival. Ballet. _Chimène_ arrives to ask
the _King_ for justice. _Don Diego_ defends his son. A Moorish courier
arrives to declare war on the _King_ on the part of his master. The
_King_ orders _Rodrigo_ to go and fight the infidels. Third act, fifth
scene: The chamber of _Chimène_: "Pleurez, pleurez, mes yeux, et
fondez-vous en eau." Scene of _Chimène_ and _Rodrigo_. Sixth scene:
the camp of _Rodrigo_. Seventh scene: _Rodrigo's_ tent. The vision.
St. James appears to him. Eighth scene: the camp. The battle. Defeat
of the Moors. Fourth act, ninth scene: The palace of the Kings at
Granada. _Rodrigo_ is believed to be dead. _Chimène_ mourns for him:
"Éclate ô mon amour, tu n'as plus rien à craindre." Tenth scene: A
courtyard in the palace. _Rodrigo_ comes back as a conqueror.
_Chimène_ forgives him. The end.
DON QUICHOTTE
Opera in five acts by Jules Massenet; text by Henri Cain,
after the play by Jacques Le Lorrain, based on the romance
of Cervantes. Produced, Monte Carlo, 1910.
CHARACTERS
LA BELLE DULCINÉE _Contralto_
DON QUICHOTTE _Bass_
SANCHO _Baritone_
PEDRO, burlesquer _Soprano_
GARCIAS, burlesquer _Soprano_
RODRIGUEZ _Tenor_
JUAN _Tenor_
TWO VALETS _Baritone_
TENEBRUN, chief, and other bandits, friends of Dulcinée, and
others.
_Time_--The Middle Ages.
_Place_--Spain.
Act I. Square in front of the house of _Dulcinée_, whose beauty people
praise in song. Into the midst of the throng ride _Don Quichotte_ and
his comical companion, _Sancho_. Night and moonlight. _Don Quichotte_
serenades _Dulcinée_, arousing the jealousy of _Juan_, a lover of the
professional beauty, who now appears and prevents a duel. She is
amused by the avowals of _Don Quichotte_, and promises to become his
beloved if he will recover a necklace stolen from her by brigands.
Act II. On the way to the camp of the brigands. Here occurs the fight
with the windmill.
Act III. Camp of the brigands. _Don Quichotte_ attacks them. _Sancho_
retreats. The Knight is captured. He expects to be put to death. But
his courage, his grave courtesy, and his love for his _Dulcinée_,
deeply impress the bandits. They free him and give him the necklace.
Act IV. Fête at _Dulcinée's_. To the astonishment of all _Don
Quichotte_ and _Sancho_ put in their appearance. _Dulcinée_, overjoyed
at the return of the necklace, embraces the Knight. He entreats her to
marry him at once. Touched by his devotion, _Dulcinée_ disillusions
him as to the kind of woman she is.
Act V. A forest. _Don Quichotte_ is dying. He tells _Sancho_ that he
has given him the island he promised him in their travels; the most
beautiful island in the world--the "Island of Dreams." In his delirium
he sees _Dulcinée_. The lance falls from his hand. The gaunt figure in
its rusty suit of armour--no longer grotesque, but tragic--stiffens in
death.
CENDRILLON
CINDERELLA
Opera, in four acts, by Massenet, text by Henri Cain.
Produced, Opéra Comique, Paris, May 24, 1899.
CHARACTERS
CINDERELLA _Soprano_
MME. DE LA HALTIÈRE, her stepmother _Mezzo-Soprano_
NOÉMIE, her stepsister _Soprano_
DOROTHÉE, her stepsister _Soprano_
PANDOLFE, her father _Baritone_
THE PRINCE CHARMING _Soprano_
THE FAIRY _Soprano_
THE KING _Baritone_
DEAN OF THE FACULTY _Baritone_
MASTER OF CEREMONIES _Tenor_
PRIME MINISTER _Bass_
_Time_--Period of Louis XIII.
_Place_--France.
The story follows almost entirely the familiar lines of the fairy
tale. It may differ from some versions in including _Cinderella's_
father, _Pandolfe_, among the characters. In the third act,
sympathizing with her in her unhappiness with her stepmother and
stepsisters, he plans to take her back to the country. But she goes
away alone, falls asleep under the fairy oak, and in a dream sees the
_Prince_, with whom she has danced at the ball. The fairy reveals them
to each other and they pledge their love. In the fourth act the dream
turns into reality.
As for the music, it is bright, graceful, and pretty, especially in
the dances, the fairy scenes, and the love scene between _Cinderella_
and _Prince Charming_.
LA NAVARRAISE
Opera in one act by Massenet; libretto by Jules Claretie and Henri
Cain. It was performed for the first time at Covent Garden, June 20,
1894, by Mme. Calvé and Messrs. Alvarez, Plançon, Gilibert, Bonnard,
and Dufriche.
The opera is one of other days. Now it is seldom given. There were two
famous _Anitas_--Emma Calvé and Jeanne Gerville-Réache. The
extraordinary success of "Cavalleria Rusticana" no doubt impelled
Massenet to try his hand at a tragic one-act opera, just as "Hänsel
and Gretel" was responsible for his "Cendrillon." It is among the best
of his works. The music is intensely dramatic. It has colour,
vitality. The action is swift and stirring, uninterrupted by
sentimental romanzas. The libretto is based on a short story, "La
Cigarette," written by Jules Claretie and published in the _Figaro
Illustré_ about 1890. Later it gave the title to a collection of short
stories.
The time is during the last days of the Carlist war. The place is
Spain. _Araquil_, a Biscayan peasant, loves _Anita_ madly, but her
parents frown upon his poverty. No crime seems too great to win his
bride. _General Garrito_, the Spanish chief, has promised a reward to
any man who will deliver up _Zucarraga_, the Carlist. When this
dangerous foe is injured in battle, _Araquil_ poisons the wound and
claims the promised reward. The general pays the sum, but, disgusted,
orders _Araquil_ to be shot. _Anita's_ father consents to the wedding
before the execution. But _Anita_ refuses disdainfully, and _Araquil_
is killed as he puffs a cigarette. This is Claretie's story. At his
suggestion and for the purposes of opera the parts were changed.
_Araquil_ became _Anita_ and the peasant with the cigarette became _La
Navarraise_.
LE JONGLEUR DE NÔTRE DAME
Opera in three acts by Jules Massenet. Libretto by Maurice Léna.
[Illustration: Copyright photo by Dupont
Mary Garden in "Le Jongleur de Nôtre Dame"]
The opera was first sung at Monte Carlo, February 18, 1902, when the
part of Jean was taken by Mr. Maréchal, for this miracle play with
music was composed originally for male singers. The only two women in
the cast were represented as angels. The part of _Boniface_ the cook
was created by Mr. Renaud.
The story was first published by Gaston Paris as "Le Tombeor de Nostre
Dame" in 1874-75 in the review, _Romania_, and later in his "Étude sur
la Poésie Française au Moyen Âge." The story is better known, however,
by Anatole France's version, included in his "Étui de Nacre" (1912).
A poor juggler after performing in the streets to earn his bread,
begins to think of the future life and enters a monastery. There he
sees the monks paying homage to the Virgin in eloquent prayers. Unable
in his ignorance to imitate their pious learning, _Jean_ decides to
offer homage through the only means in his power. He shuts himself in
the chapel, turns somersaults, and performs his feats in Our Lady's
honour. When the monks searching for _Jean_ rush in and cry
"Sacrilege" at his singing, dancing, and tumbling, the statue of the
Virgin comes to life, smiles, and blesses the poor juggler, who dies
in ecstasy at her feet, while the monks chant the beatitude concerning
the humble.
Massenet was later persuaded to turn the part of _Jean_ into a
soprano. It is known to New York through Miss Mary Garden. It is said
that the libretto of this opera was handed to Massenet by the postman,
one day, as he was leaving for the country. In the railway carriage,
seeking distraction, he opened the registered package. He was
delighted with the libretto and wrote at once to the author, a teacher
in the university.
WERTHER
Opera in four acts by Jules Massenet with a libretto by Édouard Blau,
Paul Milliet, and G. Hartmann. First performance in New York, April
19, 1894, with Mme. Eames and Sigrid Arnoldson and Jean de Reszke.
In the first act the bailiff, _Charlotte's_ father, is seen teaching
his youngest children to sing a Christmas carol, while _Charlotte_
dresses for a ball. Ready before the carriage arrives, she gives the
children their bread and butter as she has done every day since their
mother died. She greets _Werther_, her cousin, who is also invited to
the ball, with a kiss. After they have gone, _Albert_ returns. He has
been away six months. He wonders whether _Charlotte_, his betrothed,
still cares for him and is reassured as to her fidelity by her younger
sister _Sophie_. When _Charlotte_ and _Werther_ return from the ball
_Werther_ declares his love. At that moment the bailiff announces
_Albert's_ return. _Charlotte_ tells _Werther_ that she had promised
to marry him only to please her mother. _Werther_ replies: "If you
keep that promise I shall die."
Act II takes place three months later. _Charlotte_ and _Albert_ are
man and wife. _Albert_ knows that _Werther_ loves his wife but trusts
him. _Charlotte_ begs _Werther_ not to try to see her again until
Christmas day.
In Act III _Charlotte_ is at home alone. Her thoughts are with
_Werther_ and she wonders how she could have sent him away. Suddenly
_Werther_ returns and there is a passionate love scene. When _Werther_
has gone _Albert_ enters, and notices his wife's agitation. A servant
brings a note from _Werther_ saying that he is about to go on a long
journey and asking _Albert_ to lend him his pistols. _Charlotte_ has a
horrible presentiment and hastily follows the servant.
In Act IV _Charlotte_ finds _Werther_ dying in his apartments. He is
made happy by her confession that she has loved him from the moment
when she first saw him.
HÉRODIADE
Massenet's "Hérodiade," with a libretto by Paul Milliet, had its
first performance in New York at the Manhattan Opera House, November,
1908, with Lina Cavalieri, Jeanne Gerville-Réache, Charles Dalmorès,
and Maurice Renaud in the principal rôles. The scene is Jerusalem and
the first act shows _Herod's_ palace. _Salome_ does not know that she
is the daughter of _Herodias_, for she was mysteriously separated from
her mother in childhood. With a caravan of Jewish merchants, who bring
gifts to _Herod_, she comes to Jerusalem in search of her mother. She
tells _Phanuel_, a young philosopher, that she wishes to return to the
_Prophet_ who had been kind to her in the desert.
As she leaves _Herod_ enters, notices her, and is aroused by her
beauty. He calls upon her to return. But instead _Herodias_ enters
demanding _John's_ head for he has publicly called her Jezebel.
_Herod_ refuses. _John_ appears and continues his denunciation. The
royal couple flee. _Salome_ returns and falls at _John's_ feet
confessing her love.
_Herod_ in vain seeks to put the thought of _Salome_ from him.
_Herodias_, mad with jealousy, consults the astrologer _Phanuel_ who
tells her that her daughter is her rival.
In the temple _Herod_ offers his love to _Salome_, who repulses him
crying: "I love another who is mightier than Cæsar, stronger than any
hero." In his fury _Herod_ orders both _Salome_ and _John_, who has
been seized and put in chains, delivered into the hands of the
executioner. _John_ in his dungeon clasps _Salome_ in his arms.
In the last scene _Salome_ implores _Herodias_ to save _John_, but the
executioner's sword is already bloodstained. _Salome_ snatches a
dagger and rushes upon _Herodias_ who cries in terror, "Have mercy. I
am your mother." "Then take back your blood and my life," cries
_Salome_, turning the weapon upon herself.
SAPHO
Massenet's "Sapho," with a libretto by Henri Cain and Arthur Bernède,
based on Daudet's famous novel, was a complete failure in New York
when it was sung for three performances in 1909. Its favourable
reception in Paris, where it was produced at the Opéra Comique in
1897, was chiefly due to the vivid impersonation of Emma Calvé. The
story concerns an artist's model who captivates an unsophisticated
young man from the country and wrecks his life in attempting to rise
above her past.
CLÉOPÂTRE
Opera by J. Massenet. Written for Lucy Arbell, the opera was produced
by Raoul Gunsbourg, at Monte Carlo, in his season of 1914-15 with
Marie Kousnezova in the title rôle. The first performance in America
took place in Chicago, at the Auditorium, January 10, 1916, with the
same singer. The first performance in New York was on January 23,
1919, with Miss Mary Garden as the Queen of Egypt and Alfred Maguénat,
who created the rôle at Monte Carlo and in Chicago, as the _Marc
Anthony_. The story is the traditional one.
LOUISE
A musical romance in four acts, libretto and music by
Gustave Charpentier.
CHARACTERS
JULIEN _Tenor_
THE FATHER _Baritone_
LOUISE _Soprano_
THE MOTHER _Contralto_
IRMA _Soprano_
The opera was produced at the Opéra Comique, Paris, February 2, 1900.
The part of _Louise_ was created by Miss Rioton, who then sang for the
first time in an opera house; that of _Julien_ by Maréchal; that of
the father by Fugère, and that of the mother by Mme. Deschamps-Jéhin.
[Illustration: Photo by Mishkin
Mary Garden as Louise]
The story is simple. _Louise_, a working girl, loves _Julien_, an
artist. Her father puts no trust in an artist of irregular life, so
_Louise_ leaves her family. The lovers are happy, but _Louise_ is
remorseful. She grieves for her father and reproaches herself for
ingratitude. Finally she returns home. But free forgiveness does not
make up for the freedom she has lost. Paris the city of pleasure
tempts her again, and again she succumbs. Her family realizes that she
is for ever lost to the home.
Charpentier himself described his work to F. de Menil. When asked why
he called his opera a musical romance, he replied: "Because in a
romance there are two entirely distinct sides, the drama and the
description, and in my 'Louise' I wish to treat these different sides.
I have a descriptive part, composed of decoration, scenic
surroundings, and a musical atmosphere in which my characters move;
then I have the purely dramatic part, devoted wholly to the action.
This is, therefore, a truly musical romance." When asked whether the
work were naturalistic, realistic, or idealistic, he answered: "I have
a horror of words that end in 'istic.' I am not a man of theories.
'Louise,' as everything that I do, was made by me instinctively. I
leave to others, the dear critics, the care of disengaging the
formulas and the tendencies of the work. I have wished simply to give
on the stage that which I have given in concert; the lyric impression
of the sensations that I reap in our beautiful, fairy-like modern
life. Perhaps I see this as in a fever, but that is my right for the
street intoxicates me. The essential point of the drama is the coming
together, the clashing of two sentiments in the heart of
_Louise_--love, which binds her to her family, to her father, the fear
of leaving suffering behind her, and, on the other hand, the
irresistible longing for liberty, pleasure, happiness, love, the cry
of her being, which demands to live as she wishes. Passion will
conquer because it is served by a prodigious and mysterious auxiliary,
which has little by little breathed its dream into her young
soul--Paris, the voluptuous city, the great city of light, pleasure,
and joy, which calls her irresistibly towards an undaunted future."
SALAMMBÔ
Reyer's "Salammbô" received a gorgeous production at the Metropolitan
Opera House on March 20, 1901, with the following cast: _Salammbô_,
Lucienne Bréval; _Taanach_, Miss Carrie Bridewell; _Mathô_, Albert
Saléza; _Shahabarim_, Mr. Salignac; _Narr'Havas_, Mr. Journet;
_Spendius_, Mr. Sizes; _Giscon_, Mr. Gilibert; _Autharite_, Mr.
Dufriche; _Hamilcar_, Mr. Scotti. Mr. Mancinelli conducted. The
exquisitely painted scenes were copies of the Paris models, and the
costumes were gorgeous. Miss Bréval's radiant Semitic beauty shone in
the title rôle. Flaubert's novel was made into a libretto by Camille
du Locle. History supplied the background for romance in the shape of
the suppression of a mutiny among the mercenaries of the Carthaginians
in the first Punic war. Against this is outlined in bold relief the
story of the rape of the sacred veil of Tanit by the leader of the
revolting mercenaries, his love for _Salammbô_, daughter of the
Carthaginian general; her recovery of the veil, bringing in its train
disaster to her lover and death to both.
[Illustration: Photo by Histed
Lucienne Bréval as Salammbô]
PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE
Opera in five acts (12 scenes). Music by Debussy; text by
Maurice Maeterlinck. Produced: Paris, April 30, 1902. New
York, February 19, 1908.
CHARACTERS
ARKEL, King of Allemonde _Bass_
GENOVEVA, mother of Pelléas and Golo _Alto_
PELLÉAS } King Arkel's { _Tenor_
GOLO } grandsons { _Baritone_
MÉLISANDE _Soprano_
LITTLE YNIOLD, Golo's son by
first marriage _A child's voice_
A PHYSICIAN _Bass_
Act I. Scene I. In a forest. _Golo_ while hunting has lost his way
following a wild boar and come to a place unknown to him. There he
sees a woman sitting by a spring. She acts like a figure in a fairy
tale and behaves like a person stranger to and isolated from the
world. Finally _Golo_ succeeds in inducing _Mélisande_--she at last
tells him her name after being urged--to follow him out of the dark
woods.
Scene II. A room in the castle. _Genoveva_ is reading to the aged,
almost blind _King Arkel_ a letter which _Golo_ has written to his
half-brother _Pelléas_. From this letter we learn that _Golo_ has
already been married six months to the mysterious _Mélisande_. He has
great love for his wife, about whom, however, he knows no more today
than he did at first in the woods. So he fears that his grandfather,
the _King_, may not forgive him for this union and asks _Pelléas_ to
give him a sign in case the _King_ is ready "to honour the stranger as
his daughter." Otherwise he will steer the keel of his ship to the
most remote land. _King Arkel_ has arrived at that time of life when
the wisdom of experience tends to make one forgiving toward everything
that happens. So he pardons _Golo_ and commissions his grandson
_Pelléas_ to give his brother the sign agreed upon.
Scene III. Before the castle. The old queen _Genoveva_ seeks to calm
_Mélisande's_ distress at the gloominess of the world into which she
has wandered. _Pelléas_ too is there. He would like to go to see a
distant friend who is ill but fate holds him here. Or rather have not
chains been wound about the twain of which they yet have no
anticipation?
Act II. Scene IV. A fountain in the park. _Pelléas_ and _Mélisande_
have arrived at this thickly shaded spot. Is _Mélisande_ a
Melusine-like creature? Water attracts her wonderfully. She bends over
her reflection. Because she cannot reach it, she is tempted to play
with the ring that _Golo_ sent her. It slips from her hand and sinks.
Scene V. There must have been some peculiar condition attached to the
ring. At the same hour that it fell in the fountain _Golo's_ horse
shied while hunting so that he was hurt and now lies wounded in bed.
_Mélisande_ is taking care of him. She tells _Golo_ that she did not
feel well the day before. She is oppressed by a certain foreboding,
she does not know what it is. _Golo_ seizes her hands to console her
and sees that the ring is missing. Then he drives her out into the
night to look for it. "Sooner would I give away everything I have, my
fortune and goods, rather than have lost the precious ring." _Pelléas_
will help her.
Scene VI. Before a grotto in the rocks. _Mélisande_ has deceived
_Golo_ by telling him that the ring has slipped from her hand into the
sea. So _Pelléas_ must now lead her to this grotto in order that she
may know at least the place in which she can claim that she lost the
ring. A dreadful place in which the shudder of death stalks.
Act III. Scene VII. A tower in the castle. At the window of the tower
_Mélisande_ is standing combing her hair that she has let down. Then
_Pelléas_ comes along the road that winds around under her window.
_Pelléas_ is coming to say farewell. Early the next morning he is
going away. So _Mélisande_ will at least once more reach out her hand
to him that he may press it to his lips. Love weaves a web about the
twain with an ever thicker netting without their noticing it. Their
hands do not touch but as _Mélisande_ leans forward so far her long
hair falls over _Pelléas's_ head and fills the youth with passionate
feelings. Their words become warmer--then _Golo_ comes near and
reproves their "childishness."
[Illustration: Copyright photo by Davis & Sanford Co.
Mary Garden as Mélisande in "Pelléas and Mélisande"]
Scene VIII. In the vault under the castle. Like a gloomy menace _Golo_
leads _Pelléas_ into these underground rooms where the breeze of death
blows. Seized with shuddering they go out. On the terrace at the
entrance to the vault _Golo_ in earnest words warns _Pelléas_ to keep
away from _Mélisande_ and to refrain from confidential conversations
with her.
Scene IX. Before the castle. In vain _Golo_ has sought to quiet
himself by saying that it was all only childishness. Jealousy devours
his heart. So now he seeks with hypocritical calm his little son
_Yniold_, offspring of his first marriage, to inquire about the
intimacy of _Pelléas_ and _Mélisande_. The child cannot tell him of
anything improper yet _Golo_ feels how it is with the couple. And he
feels that he himself is old, much older than _Pelléas_ and
_Mélisande_.
Act IV. Scene X. In a room in the castle _Pelléas_ and _Mélisande_
meet. This evening he must see her. She promises to go in the park to
the old fountain where she formerly lost the ring. It will be their
last meeting. Yet _Mélisande_ does not understand what is driving the
youth away. The old _King Arkel_ enters the room. The aged man has
taken _Mélisande_ to his heart. He feels that the young wife is
unhappy. Now _Golo_ also enters. He can scarcely remain master of his
inner commotion. The sight of his wife, who appears the picture of
innocence, irritates him so much that he finally in a mad rage throws
her on her knees and drags her across the room by her hair.
Scene XI. By the old spring in the park. There is an oppressive
feeling of disaster in the air. Only little _Yniold_ does not suffer
this gripping burden. It is already growing dark when _Mélisande_ goes
to _Pelléas_. And yet in their farewell, perhaps also on account of
_Golo's_ outburst of anger, the couple clearly see what has caused
their condition. And there comes over them something like the
affirmation of death and the joy of dying. How fate shuts the gates
upon them; like a fate they see _Golo_ coming. They rejoice in the
idea of death. _Pelléas_ falls by _Golo's_ sword, _Mélisande_ flees
from her husband's pursuit into the night.
Act V. Scene XII. A room in the castle. _Mélisande_ lies stretched out
in bed. _Arkel_, _Golo_, and the physician are conversing softly in
the room. No; _Mélisande_ is not dying from the insignificant wound
_Golo_ has given her. Perhaps her life will be saved. She awakes as if
from dreaming. Everything that has happened is like a dream to her.
Desperately _Golo_ rushes to her couch, begs her pardon, and asks her
for the truth. He is willing to die too but before his death he wants
to know whether she had betrayed him with _Pelléas_. She denies it.
_Golo_ presses her so forcibly and makes her suffer so that she is
near death. Then earthly things fall away from her as if her soul were
already free. It is not possible to bring her back now. The aged
_Arkel_ offers the last services for the dying woman, to make the way
free for her soul escaping from earthly pain and the burden of the
tears of persons left behind.
APHRODITE
A lyric drama in five acts and seven scenes after the story
by Pierre Louÿs. Adapted by Louis de Gramont. Music by
Camille Erlanger. First given at the Opéra Comique, Paris,
March 23, 1906, with Mary Garden as _Chrysis_, Leon Beyle as
_Démétrios_, Gustave Huberdeau as the _Jailor_, Mmes.
Mathieu-Lutz and Demellin as _Myrto_ and _Rhodis_, and
Claire Friche as _Bacchis_.
CHARACTERS
DÉMÉTRIOS _Tenor_
TIMON _Baritone_
PHILODÈME _Tenor_
LE GRAND PRÊTRE _Bass_
CALLIDÈS _Bass_
LE GEÔLIER _Bass_
CHRYSIS _Soprano_
BACCHIS _Mezzo-Soprano_
MYRTO _Soprano_
RHODIS _Mezzo-Soprano_
CHIMARIS _Mezzo-Soprano_
SÉSO _Soprano_
Act I. The wharf at Alexandria. Act II. The temple of Aphrodite. Act
III. At the house of _Bacchis_. Act IV. The studio of _Démétrios_. Act
V. Scene I. The lighthouse; Scene II. The prison; Scene III. The
garden of Hermanubis.
Act I. The throng moves back and forth on the crowded wharf. There are
young people, courtesans, philosophers, sailors, beggars,
fruit-sellers. _Rhodis_ and _Myrto_ play on their flutes while
_Théano_ dances. _Démétrios_ the sculptor approaches and leans on the
parapet overlooking the sea. The Jewess _Chimaris_, a fortune-teller,
reads his hand. She tells him that she sees past happiness and love in
the future, but that this love will be drowned first in the blood of
one woman, then in that of a second, and finally in his own.
_Chrysis_, a beautiful courtesan, appears on the wharf. _Démétrios_
wishes to follow her, but she declines his advances. To possess her he
must bring her three gifts, the silver mirror of _Bacchis_, the
courtesan, the ivory comb of _Touni_, wife of the High Priest, and the
pearl necklace clasped around the neck of the statue of the goddess
Aphrodite in the temple. _Démétrios_ is appalled but swears to fulfil
her wishes. She embraces him and disappears.
In Act II the temple guards and eunuchs perform their sacred offices.
_Démétrios_ enters the temple. He has committed two of the three
crimes. He has stolen the mirror from _Bacchis_ and stabbed Touni to
take her comb. The celebration of the first day of the Aphrodisiacs
begins. Courtesans bring offerings to the goddess. _Rhodis_ and
_Myrto_ bring a caged dove. _Chrysis_ hands the High Priest her
bronze mirror, her copper comb, and her emerald necklace, as
offerings. When the crowd leaves the temple, _Démétrios_ snatches the
necklace from the statue and disappears.
Act III shows the feast and the bacchanale at the house of _Bacchis_.
The theft of the mirror is discovered. _Corinna_, a slave, is accused
and crucified. _Chrysis_ is inwardly exultant that her wish has been
obeyed.
In Act IV _Chrysis_ goes to _Démétrios_ to receive the gifts and to
bestow the reward. _Démétrios_, mad with passion, clasps her in his
embrace. The clamour without reminds him of his misdeed. In a fit of
disgust he demands that the beautiful woman shall not hoard her
treasures in secret, but appear in public decked with them, as an
atonement. He sends her away.
On the island of the lighthouse of Alexandria the crowds discuss the
theft of the mirror and the crucifixion of _Corinna_. _Timon_
announces the slaying of Touni and the stealing of her comb. _Chrysis_
appears wrapped in a long mantle. The sacred courtesans and the temple
guards announce the theft of the jewels from the temple. Suddenly
_Chrysis_ appears on the highest balcony of the lighthouse, the stolen
comb in her hair, the mirror in her hand, and the necklace about her
throat. Disclosed in a flash of lightning the crowds think it is the
goddess in person. Soon they realize the truth and _Chrysis_ is seized
and taken to prison.
The _Jailor_ brings a poisoned goblet to her cell. She
drinks--_Démétrios_ arrives too late, to find her dead.
Her friends, _Myrto_ and _Rhodis_, bury her body in the Garden of
Hermanubis.
L'ATTAQUE DU MOULIN
THE ATTACK ON THE MILL
This is a four-act music-drama by Alfred Bruneau, the libretto by
Louis Gallet, based on a story from Zola's "Soirées de Medan." It was
produced at the Opéra Comique, Paris, November 23, 1893, and in this
country in 1908.
The tale is an episode of the Franco-Prussian War. In the first act we
see the betrothal of _Françoise_, daughter of the miller, _Merlier_,
to _Dominique_. The _Town Crier_ announces the declaration of war.
In the second act the mill is attacked and captured by the Germans.
_Dominique_ is made a prisoner and locked in the mill. _Françoise_
gets a knife to him. While (in the third act) the girl engages the
attention of the sentinel, _Dominique_ makes his way out of the mill,
kills the sentinel, and escapes. In the fourth act the French, guided
by _Dominique_, return. But just as they enter, with _Dominique_ at
their head, the Germans shoot _Merlier_ before his daughter's eyes.
* * * * *
In writing about his theories of the lyric drama, Bruneau, who was
regarded as a promising follower of Wagner, used these words: "It is
music uniting itself intimately to the poetry ... the orchestra
comments upon the inward thoughts of the different characters."
Wagnerian--but also requiring the genius of a Wagner.
ARIANE ET BARBE-BLEUE
ARIADNE AND BLUE-BEARD
Opera in three acts, by Paul Dukas; text by Maurice
Maeterlinck. Produced in New York, March 3, 1911.
CHARACTERS
BLUE-BEARD _Bass_
ARIANE, wife of _Blue-Beard_ _Soprano_
THE NURSE _Contralto_
SÉLYSETTE, wife of _Blue-Beard_ _Mezzo-Soprano_
YGRAINE, wife of _Blue-Beard_ _Soprano_
MÉLISANDE, wife of _Blue-Beard_ _Soprano_
BELLANGÈRE, wife of _Blue-Beard_ _Soprano_
ALLAINE, wife of _Blue-Beard_ _Acting Rôle_
AN OLD PEASANT _Bass_
Peasants and Mob.
_Time_--Middle Ages.
_Place_--_Blue-Beard's_ Castle.
Act I. Hall in _Blue-Beard's_ castle. _Ariane_, sixth wife of
_Blue-Beard_, is warned by voices of the crowd outside that
_Blue-Beard_ has already murdered five wives. _Ariane_ has seven
keys--six of silver and one of gold. When _Ariane_, intent only on
opening the forbidden chamber, throws down the six silver keys, her
_Nurse_ picks them up. With one she unlocks the first door. Instantly
amethysts set in diadems, bracelets, rings, girdles, fall down in a
shower on _Ariane_. And so, to her joy, as door after door swings
open, she is showered with sapphires, pearls, emeralds, rubies, and
diamonds. Now _Ariane_ opens, with the golden key, the seventh door.
Darkness, out of which come the voices of the five lost wives. Here
_Ariane_ is surprised by _Blue-Beard_, who lays hold of her. The
crowd, admitted by the _Nurse_, rush in to kill _Blue-Beard_, but are
told by _Ariane_ that he has not harmed her.
Act II. A subterranean hall. _Ariane_ descends with the _Nurse_ into
the depths of the blackness on which the seventh door opened. There
she finds the five wives still alive but emaciated and in rags. She
tells them that she has obeyed a higher law than _Blue-Beard's_, and
that outside birds are singing and the sun is shining. A jet of water
extinguishes _Ariane's_ light, but she is not fearful. She leads the
five toward a radiant spot at the end of the vault. She throws herself
against the barred wall. It gives away. The sunlight streams in.
Blinded at first by its brilliance, the five wives finally come out of
the vault and go off singing joyously.
Act III. Same as Act I. The wives are adorning themselves with the
help of _Ariane_. She urges them to make the best use of their gifts.
_Blue-Beard_ is approaching. The people are lying in wait for him. The
wives watch his capture. Bound and wounded, he is brought in. But to
the astonishment of all _Ariane_ bandages his wounds and the others
help her. Then she cuts the cords and frees him, but herself departs,
although _Blue-Beard_ pleads with her to remain. But when she in turn
implores the five wives to go with her, they decline, and she leaves
them in the castle.
The allegory in this tale is that five out of six women prefer
captivity (with a man) to freedom without him. The opera has not been
popular in this country.
MONNA VANNA
Henry Février's "Monna Vanna" was first sung in New York in 1914 by
Mary Garden and Lucien Muratore. The opera is based upon Maeterlinck's
play in which _Monna Vanna_ to save the starving Pisans goes to
_Prinzivalle's_ tent clad only in a cloak and her long hair. The
commander of the besieging army does not profit by the bargain, but
treats her with the utmost respect while he discourses eloquently of
his youthful love. The music is as commonplace as that of this
composer's other opera, "Gismonda."
GISMONDA
Opera in four acts by Henri Février with a libretto based on Sardou's
famous play had its first performance in America in Chicago, January
14, 1919, with Miss Mary Garden, Charles Fontaine, Gustave Huberdeau,
Marcel Journet, and other members of the Chicago Opera Company in the
leading rôles. The opera was given on the opening night of the same
organization's season in New York, January 27, 1919, at the Lexington
Theatre with the same cast.
The story follows that of the play. _Gismonda_, Duchess of Athens,
promises to wed the man who succeeds in rescuing her little son from a
tiger's pit, into which he has been pushed by a conspirator who wishes
to help _Zaccaria Franco_ to seize the Duchy. _Almério_, a young
falconer, kills the beast and saves the child. But the proud though
grateful _Duchess_ will not consider a peasant for her husband.
If _Almério_ will renounce his claim _Gismonda_ promises to spend a
night at his hut. When she discovers that _Zaccaria_ has followed her
she slays him. _Almério_ takes the guilt for the murder upon himself
but _Gismonda_ makes public confession of her visit to his hut, hands
over the wicked _Grégoras_, who had attempted to murder her little
son, to justice, and proclaims the falconer her lord and husband.
MAROUF, THE COBBLER OF CAIRO
"Marouf" was sung for the first time in America at the Metropolitan
Opera House, December 19, 1917, with Frances Alda, Kathleen Howard,
Léon Rothier, Andrés de Segurola, Thomas Chalmers, and Giuseppe de
Luca as the Cobbler, in the cast. Pierre Monteux conducted.
_Marouf_ is unhappy at home. His wife, _Fatimah_, is ugly and has a
bad disposition. When she asked for rice cake, sweetened with honey,
and thanks to his friend the pastry cook, _Marouf_ brought her cake
sweetened with cane sugar instead, she flew into a rage and ran to
tell the _Cadi_ that her husband beat her. The credulous _Cadi_ orders
the _Cobbler_ thrashed by the police, in spite of protesting
neighbours. _Marouf_, disgusted, decides to disappear. He joins a
party of passing sailors. A tempest wrecks the ship. He alone is
saved. _Ali_, his friend, whom he has not seen for twenty years and
who has become rich in the meantime, picks him up on the shore and
takes him to the great city of Khaltan, "somewhere between China and
Morocco." _Marouf_ is presented to the townspeople as the richest
merchant in the world who has a wonderful caravan on the way. He is
accepted everywhere and in spite of the doubting _Vizier_ the Sultan
invites him to his palace. Furthermore, he offers him his beautiful
daughter as a bride. For forty days _Marouf_ lives in luxury with the
princess. He empties the treasury of the _Sultan_ who consoles himself
with thoughts of the promised caravan which must soon arrive. At last
the _Princess_ questions _Marouf_ who tells the truth. They decide
upon flight, and the _Princess_ disguises herself as a boy.
At an oasis in the desert they are sheltered by a poor peasant.
_Marouf_ seeks to repay his hospitality by a turn at his plow. The
implement strikes an iron ring attached to the covering of a
subterranean chamber. The ring also has magic power. When the
_Princess_ rubs it the poor peasant is transformed into a genii, who
offers his services, and discloses a hidden treasure. When the
_Sultan_ and his guards, in pursuit of the fugitives, appear upon the
scene, the sounds of an approaching caravan are also heard in the
distance. The ruler apologizes. _Marouf_ and the _Princess_ triumph.
The doubting _Vizier_ is punished with a hundred lashes.
* * * * *
Henri Rabaud, composer of "Marouf," is a Parisian, the son of a
professor of the Conservatoire of which he is also a graduate.
His second symphony has been played in New York. He has to his credit
a string quartet, other smaller works, and an opera, "La Fille de
Roland," which was given some years ago at the Opéra Comique. "Marouf"
was produced at that theatre in the spring of 1914. M. Rabaud, for
several years conductor at the Grand Opéra and the Opéra Comique, was
called to America in 1918 to be the conductor of the Boston Symphony
Orchestra, succeeding Karl Muck, and Pierre Monteux who filled the
vacancy for a few weeks before M. Rabaud's arrival from France.
LE SAUTERIOT
THE GRASSHOPPER
"Le Sauteriot" (Grasshopper) by Sylvio Lazzari, with a libretto by
Henri Pierre Roche and Martial Perrier, based on E. de Keyserling's
drama "Sacre de Printemps," is the story of a modern Cinderella,
_Orti_, who lives in Lithuania. She is the natural daughter of
_Mikkel_, whose wife _Anna_, lies dying as the curtain rises. The
doctor gives _Orti_, or _Grasshopper_ as she is known, some medicine
to give the patient if she grows worse. Only ten drops though, because
the remedy is a powerful poison. _Anna's_ old mother, _Trine_, tells
_Orti_ the legend of the mother who prayed that she might die in place
of her baby, and whose prayer was granted. Realizing herself despised
and a drudge, _Orti_ prays to die instead of _Anna_.
_Grasshopper_ is secretly in love with _Indrik_. But he has no eyes
for her. All his attention is fixed upon _Madda_, _Mikkel's_ youngest
sister. In the second act at a village festival, _Indrik_, who has
quarrelled with _Madda_, fights with his successor in her affections,
_Josef_. _Orti_ rushes in and seizes _Josef's_ hand as he is about to
slay _Hendrik_. She is the heroine of the festival. _Hendrik_ pays
court to her and leads her to believe that he will marry her. When a
few days later she discovers that he has gone back to _Madda_,
_Grasshopper_ commits suicide.
* * * * *
M. Lazzari of Paris is by birth a Tyrolean, whose father was an
Italian. But the composer has spent most of his life in Paris. He
entered the Conservatoire at twenty-four, where his teachers were
Guiraud and César Franck. His operas "L'Ensorcelée" and "La Lépreuse"
were first sung in Paris. "Le Sauteriot" would also have had its first
performance there. But the war made it possible for Mr. Campanini to
acquire it for Chicago. It was presented there on the closing day of
the season, January 19, 1918. The Chicago Opera Company gave New York
its first opportunity to hear the work on February 11, 1918, when it
was conducted by the composer.
LA REINE FIAMMETTE
QUEEN FIAMMETTE
"La Reine Fiammette," by Xavier Leroux, with a libretto
adapted from his play by Catulle Mendès, had its first
performance in America at the Metropolitan Opera House,
January 24, 1919. The cast was as follows:
CHARACTERS
ORLANDA _Geraldine Farrar_
DANIELO _Hipolito Lazaro_
GIORGIO D'AST _Adamo Didur_
CARDINAL SFORZA _Léon Rothier_
PANTASILLE _Flora Perini_
MOTHER AGRAMENTE _Kathleen Howard_
VIOLINE _Kittie Beale_
VIOLETTE _Lenore Sparkes_
VIOLA _Mary Ellis_
POMONE _Marie Tiffany_
MICHELA _Lenore Sparkes_
ANGIOLETTA _Mary Ellis_
CHIARINA _Marie Mattfeld_
TWO BOYS { _Mary Mellish_
{ _Cecil Arden_
LUC AGNOLO _Mario Laurenti_
CASTIGLIONE _Angelo Bada_
CORTEZ _Albert Reiss_
CESANO _Giordano Paltrinieri_
VASARI _Pietro Audisio_
PROSECUTOR _Paolo Ananian_
TWO NOVICES { _Phillis White_
{ _Veni Warwick_
While this was the first operatic performance of Catulle Mendès's
famous work, Charles Dillingham produced the play for the first time
in America at the Hollis Street Theatre, Boston, October 6, 1902, with
Julia Marlowe. Paul Kester made the English adaptation. The late Frank
Worthing appeared as _Danielo_. Others in the cast were Frank Reicher,
Albert Bruning, and Arthur Lawrence.
The story takes place in Italy of the sixteenth century, in an
imaginary Kingdom of Bologna, whose ruler _Queen Fiammette_, young and
capricious, has chosen as her consort _Giorgio d'Ast_, an adventurer.
It is this very man whom the Papal See has determined to elevate to
the throne in place of the madcap _Orlanda_. But _Cardinal Sforza_ is
not satisfied with the mere dethroning of _Orlanda_. He wishes her to
be assassinated, and goes to Bologna to hatch the plot for her doom.
The _Prince Consort_ agrees to play his part and to involve several
young courtiers in the scheme. It is decided to slay the _Queen_
during a fête at her palace.
_Danielo_, a young monk, is chosen to strike the blow. The _Cardinal_
tells him that after indulging in a passing fancy for his brother, the
_Queen_ has had the youth killed. The monk is only too eager for
revenge. He has been in the habit of meeting a beautiful woman, whose
identity is unknown, at a convent. This is none other than _Fiammette_
herself who uses the convent for her gallantries. _Danielo_ confides
his mission of vengeance to the fair unknown. But when he recognizes
in the queen the woman he adores he is powerless to carry out his
intention of slaying her. He is arrested by order of the _Cardinal_
for failing to keep his pact. The _Queen_ signs her abdication and
hopes to fly with her lover, but the _Cardinal_ condemns both to the
headsman's block.
LE CHEMINEAU
THE WAYFARER
Opera by Xavier Leroux with a libretto by Jean Richepin, performed
for the first time in America at New Orleans in 1911.
A jovial wayfarer dallies with _Toinette_, one of the pretty girls
working on a farm in Normandy. He loves her and goes his way. In
despair _Toinette_ marries _François_. The wayfarer's child, _Toinet_,
is born. Years later when _François_ has become a hopeless invalid,
_Toinet_ woos _Aline_, the daughter of _Pierre_, a surly neighbour,
who doubting the youth's origin refuses his consent to the match.
Suddenly the wayfarer reappears. _François_ expires, after commending
_Toinette_ to the care of her former lover. But the call of the open
road is too strong. The wayfarer refuses to contemplate domesticity.
Once more he takes his well-worn hat and goes out into the storm.
LE VIEIL AIGLE
THE OLD EAGLE
Raoul Gunsbourg wrote both the words and the music for his one act
lyric drama, "Le Vieil Aigle" (The Old Eagle), which was first
produced at the Opera House in Monte Carlo, February 13, 1909. The
first performance of the opera in New York was given by the Chicago
Opera Company at the Lexington Theatre with Georges Baklanoff in the
title rôle, supported by Yvonne Gall, Charles Fontaine, and Désiré
Defrère, February 28, 1919.
The scene of the story is a rocky coast in the Crimea. The time, the
fourteenth century. The _Khan Asvezel Moslain_ informs his son
_Tolak_, who has just returned from a successful campaign against the
Russians, that great preparations have been made to celebrate his
return. But the young man is sad and replies that he only seeks
forgetfulness in death. He asks his father to grant him the dearest
wish of his heart and confesses his love for the _Khan's_ favourite
slave _Zina_. The old man consents to give her to his son, but when
he orders the girl to follow _Tolak_ she refuses to do so. The _Khan_,
wishing to retain his son's love, throws the disobedient slave into
the sea, but as this far from restores harmony between the generations
the old man follows her to her watery grave.
Modern German and Bohemian Opera
Wagner's powerful influence upon German opera produced
countless imitators. For some reason or other it appeared to
be almost impossible for other German composers to
assimilate his ideas and yet impart originality to their
scores. Among those who took his works for a model were
Peter Cornelius, Hermann Goetz, and Carl Goldmark.
Perhaps the most important contribution to German opera
during the decade that followed Wagner's death was
Humperdinck's "Hänsel und Gretel." Then came Richard Strauss
with his "Feuersnot," "Salome," "Elektra," and "Der
Rosenkavalier."
The most famous representative of the Bohemian school of
opera, which is closely allied to the German, is Smetana.
ST. ELIZABETH
Operatic version of Liszt's "Legend," made by Artur
Bodanzky, from the book of the oratorio by Otto Roquette.
Sung in English at the Metropolitan Opera House, January 3,
1918, with the following cast:
CHARACTERS
ELIZABETH _Florence Easton_
LANDGRAVINE SOPHIE _Margarete Matzenauer_
LANDGRAVE LUDWIG _Clarence Whitehill_
LANDGRAVE HERMANN _Carl Schlegel_
A HUNGARIAN MAGNATE _Basil Ruysdael_
SENESCHAL _Robert Leonhardt_
Conductor, _Artur Bodanzky_
The dramatic version of Liszt's sacred work once had sixty
performances at Prague.
Although the score of "Saint Elizabeth" is dedicated to Wagner's
benefactor, Ludwig II. of Bavaria, the Grand Duke Alexander of Weimar
was responsible for the fact that Liszt undertook a setting of a poem
on this subject by Otto Roquette. This poem was inspired by a series
of frescoes by Moritz Schwind at the Wartburg, which tells the story
of _Elizabeth's_ sad life. The daughter of a Hungarian king of the
thirteenth century, she was brought to the Wartburg at the age of four
and betrothed to the boy, _Ludwig_, son of the Landgrave of Thuringia.
The children were reared as brother and sister, and at seventeen
_Elizabeth_ was married to _Ludwig_ who succeeded to the throne.
A famine came upon the land. _Elizabeth_ impoverished herself by
helping the poor, and incurred the displeasure of her mother-in-law.
Forbidden to give any further aid to the victims of the famine, she
was one day found by her husband carrying a basket. She declared that
it was filled with flowers. When he tore it from her hands a miracle
had happened, and the bread and wine had changed into roses. Then she
confessed her deception which was atoned for by the miracle. The two
after offering a prayer of thanksgiving renew their vows.
Soon afterwards _Ludwig_ joins a passing procession of crusaders. He
is killed in battle with the Saracens and his wife becomes ruler of
the Wartburg. _Sophie_, her mother-in-law, plots with the _Seneschal_
and drives _Elizabeth_ out with her children into a storm. She finds
refuge in a hospital she once founded. The remainder of her life is
devoted to assisting the helpless and the poor. The closing scene of
the opera shows her apotheosis.
THE BARBER OF BAGDAD
Opera in two acts. Words and music by Peter Cornelius.
Produced: Weimar, December 15, 1858.
CHARACTERS
THE CALIPH _Baritone_
BABA MUSTAPHA, a cadi _Tenor_
MARGIANA, his daughter _Soprano_
BOSTANA, a relative of the cadi _Mezzo-Soprano_
NUREDDIN _Tenor_
THE BARBER _Bass_
Act I. _Nureddin_ is ill, very ill his servants say. They must know
very little of such youthful illnesses. _Margiana_ calls the invalid
in a dream. _Margiana_ is the medicine that can cure him, _Margiana_,
the marvellously glorious daughter of the mighty cadi, _Baba
Mustapha_. And see how health reanimates _Nureddin's_ limbs, when
_Bostana_, a relative of the cadi, approaches and brings the sweet
news that _Margiana_ will wait for her lover about noon when her
father has gone to prayers in the mosque. But the latter, in order to
appear properly, needs above everything else a barber. And _Bostana_
appoints--"O knowest thou, revered one, I find for you a learned
one--the greatest of all barbers, _Abdul Hassan Ali Ebn Bekar_. He is
great as a barber, a giant as a talker, swift his razor, a thousand
times quicker his tongue."
Act II. A magnificent room in the cadi's house. What a stirring,
harmonious picture. _Margiana_, _Bostana_, and the cadi rejoice: "He
comes! he comes! oh, delightful pleasure." Of course the covetous old
cadi is not thinking of young _Nureddin_ but of the rich old _Selim_
who wants to have _Margiana_ for his wife. A mighty chest full of rich
gifts, so he announces. But the cadi goes off full of dignity to
prayers in the mosque. And now _Nureddin_ comes. How happy the couple
are. But is not that the barber approaching with his love-song? "O
Allah, save us from the flood of his talk"--no, rather save us from
the cadi who suddenly comes back. The screams of a servant, whom he is
punishing with a bastonade by his own hand, announce his arrival.
There is only one escape. Quickly the chest is emptied and _Nureddin_
gets in. Then the barber with _Nureddin's_ servant. _Abdul Hassan Ali
Ebn Bekar_ leaves no customers in the lurch. He who screamed can only
be _Nureddin_ whom the furious cadi has murdered. _Bostana_ advises
him to drag forth the chest; the cadi opposes. The wild clamour
brings, in crowds, the people of Bagdad who hear rumours of a murder.
Finally the caliph comes too. What is in the chest? _Nureddin's_
corpse, says the barber; _Margiana's_ dowry, answers the cadi. The
chest is opened. The cadi is right, for _Nureddin_ is not a corpse but
only in a swoon because he was nearly smothered, but he is without
doubt _Margiana's_ dowry and he will become so publicly. A cadi cannot
lightly oppose the wish of a caliph. The barber is seized but is
ordered by the caliph to be taken to his palace to entertain him with
stories.
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
Opera in four acts; libretto adapted by Victor Widmann from
Shakespeare's comedy. Music by Herman Goetz.
CHARACTERS
BAPTISTA _Otto Goritz_
KATHARINA _Margarete Ober_
BIANCA _Marie Rappold_
HORTENSIO _Robert Leonhardt_
LUCENTIO _Johannes Sembach_
PETRUCHIO _Clarence Whitehill_
GRUMIO _Basil Ruysdael_
A TAILOR _Albert Reiss_
MAJOR DOMO _Max Bloch_
HOUSEKEEPER _Marie Mattfeld_
This opera was produced at the Metropolitan Opera House in
commemoration of Shakespeare in 1916. It was first sung in Mannheim
in 1874, when it was known as "Die Widerspenstigen Zachmung." Mr.
Bodanzky came to conduct at the Metropolitan Opera House, from that
city, and the New York performance was perhaps the result of a
suggestion made by him. Widmann in his libretto brings into prominence
the wooing of _Bianca_ by rival suitors. This is done to give relief
to _Petruchio's_ blustering and to the exhibitions of temper by the
_Shrew_. The librettist also provides his own introduction which
includes the rival suitors, a chorus of angry servants, interested
women on the balcony, and _Petruchio's_ entrance. The second act
represents _Petruchio's_ tempestuous wooing. In the third _Bianca_ is
courted by _Lucentio_ as a tutor and _Hortensio_ as a musician. The
wedding party returns and _Petruchio_ makes his hasty exit bearing his
sulky bride. Servants and wedding guests provide an opportunity for
chorus music. The tailor is introduced and _Katharina_ is finally
tamed.
THE QUEEN OF SHEBA
Opera in four acts: music by Karl Goldmark; text by G.H.
Mosenthal. Produced: Vienna, March 10, 1875.
CHARACTERS
KING SOLOMON _Baritone_
BAAL HANAU, the palace overseer _Baritone_
ASSAD _Tenor_
THE HIGH PRIEST _Bass_
SULAMITH, his daughter _Tenor_
THE QUEEN OF SHEBA _Mezzo-Soprano_
ASTAROTH, her slave _Soprano_
_Time_--Tenth Century B.C.
_Place_--Jerusalem.
Act I. In _Solomon's_ magnificent palace everybody is preparing for
the reception of the _Queen of Sheba_. But nobody is more delighted
than _Sulamith_, the daughter of the High Priest. _Assad_, who had
gone to meet the foreign queen, returns. Here he comes already into
the hall. But _Assad_, growing pale, draws back before his betrothed.
He confesses to _King Solomon_ that he has not yet seen the _Queen of
Sheba_ but at a certain well a wonderful woman favoured him with her
love and since then his mind has been confused. The King consoles the
young man by telling him that God will permit him to find her again.
Now the queen's train approaches; she greets _Solomon_ and unveils
herself. _Assad_ rushes toward her. What does the young man want of
her? She does not know him.
Act II. The queen did not want to recognize _Assad_ but the woman in
her is consumed with longing for him. He comes and happy love unites
them. Then the scene changes and shows the interior of the Temple. The
wedding of _Assad_ and _Sulamith_ is about to be solemnized. Then, at
a decisive moment the queen appears, and _Assad_ throws the ring on
the floor and hurries to the queen as if the deceit were making a fool
of him. She has never seen him, she declares a second time. _Assad_,
however, who has offended the Almighty, has incurred the penalty of
death. In the meantime _Solomon_, who is examining the affair, defers
sentence.
Act III. _Solomon_ is alone with the queen. She has one request to
make of him, that he shall release _Assad_. Why? He is nothing to her
but she wants to see whether the king has regard for his guest. And
_Solomon_ refuses the request of the deceitful woman who, breathing
vengeance, strides out of the palace. But when _Sulamith_ complains,
_Solomon_ consoles her. _Assad_ will shake off the unworthy chains.
Far away on the borders of the desert, she will find peace with
_Assad_.
Act IV. Again the scene changes. On the border of the desert stands
the asylum of the young women consecrated to God in which _Sulamith_
has found rest from the deceitful world. _Assad_ staggers hither; a
weary, banished man. And again the _Queen of Sheba_ appears before
him offering him her love. But he flees from the false woman for whom
he had sacrificed _Sulamith_, the noble one. A desert storm arises,
burying _Assad_ in the sand. When the sky becomes clear again
_Sulamith_, taking a walk with her maidens, finds her lover. She
pardons the dying man and points out to him the eternal joys which
they will taste together.
THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH
Opera in three acts, by Carl Goldmark, text by M. Willner,
after the story by Charles Dickens. Produced, Berlin, 1896;
in this country, 1910.
CHARACTERS
JOHN _Baritone_
DOT, his wife _Soprano_
MAY _Soprano_
EDWARD PLUMMER _Tenor_
TACKLETON _Basso_
THE CRICKET _Soprano_
_Time_--Early Part of 19th Century.
_Place_--An English Village.
Act I. Room in _John's_ house. Invisible chorus of elves. To the
_Cricket_, the guiding spirit of the house, _Dot_ confides her secret.
She hopes soon to have a child. _May_, a pretty young girl, a
toymaker, is to be married the next day to _Tackleton_, her employer.
She bemoans her fate. She still loves _Edward Plummer_, who
disappeared several years before. After _May's_ departure _John_
appears with _Edward_, disguised as a sailor, and is not recognized
either by _John_ or the villagers.
Act II. A garden. _May_ and _Tackleton_ are supping together. _John_
makes _Tackleton_ jealous of the stranger, _Edward_, who, seeing that
_May_ is only marrying _Tackleton_ because his wealth will save her
old foster-father from want, reveals his identity to _Dot_.
_Tackleton_ now makes _John_ jealous of _Edward_, but _John_ is lulled
to sleep by the _Cricket_, and dreams of himself as a happy father.
Act III. _May_ resolves to be true to _Edward_. Recognizing him (after
his song, "Hulla, list to the Seas"), they drive off in _Tackleton's_
carriage. _John_ is told of _Dot's_ secret. Reconciliation, with the
_Cricket_ chirping merrily. There is much pretty music (for instance,
the quintet on the hearth in the second act, and _Edward's_ song),
which, however, has not sufficed to keep the piece in the repertoire
in this country.
KÖNIGSKINDER
KING'S CHILDREN
Opera by Engelbert Humperdinck with a libretto by Ernst
Rosmer. The first performance on any stage was at the
Metropolitan Opera House, December 28, 1910, with the
following cast:
DER KÖNIGSSOHN _Herman Jadlowker_
DIE GANSEMAGD _Geraldine Farrar_
DER SPIELMANN _Otto Goritz_
DIE HEXE _Louise Homer_
DER HOLZHACKER _Adamo Didur_
DER BESENBINDER _Albert Reiss_
ZWEI KINDER _Edna Walter and Lotta Engel_
DER RATSALTESTE _Marcel Reiner_
DER WIRT _Antonio Pini-Corsi_
DIE WIRTSTOCHTER _Florence Wickham_
DER SCHNEIDER _Julius Bayer_
DIE STALLMAGD _Marie Mattfeld_
ZWEI TORWACHTER _Ernst Maran and William Hinshaw_
[Illustration: Photo by White
Farrar as the Goose Girl in "Königskinder"]
A king's daughter forced to act as a goose-girl in a forest, by an old
witch who has cast a spell upon her, is discovered and loved by a
king's son. Though she returned his love and would gladly go with him
she finds that she cannot break the spell which holds her a
prisoner in the forest. Leaving the crown at her feet the prince
continues his wanderings. No sooner has he gone than a broom-maker and
a wood-chopper guided by a wandering minstrel come to the witch's hut.
They are ambassadors from the city of Hellabrunn which has been so
long without a sovereign that the people themselves feel sadly in need
of a government. The ambassadors ask the witch who this ruler shall be
and by what signs the people may recognize him. The witch answers that
their ruler will be the first person who enters the gates of the city
after the bells have rung the hour of noon on the following day, which
is the day of the festival of Hella. The minstrel notices the
beautiful goose-girl and recognizes her to be of royal birth. He
breaks the spell of the witch and forces her to give the lovely maiden
into his keeping. He persuades her to break the enchantment and defy
the evil powers by which she has been bound.
The prince, meanwhile, is at Hellabrunn, acting as a swineherd. The
innkeeper's daughter loves the handsome young man but he proudly
repulses her advances. He dreams of the goose-girl. The innkeeper's
daughter revenges herself by proclaiming him a thief. As he is about
to be led away to prison the bells announce the hour of the festival,
and the gates are thrown open in expectation of the new ruler. Through
the gates comes the goose-girl, wearing her wreath of flowers and
followed by her geese and the minstrel. The lovers embrace. But only
the minstrel and a little child recognize their royal rank. The
townspeople, thinking that their sovereign would appear in royal
regalia, drive the kings' children from the city, burn the witch, and
break the minstrel's leg on a wheel.
The two lovers lose their way in a forest as the snow falls. They both
die of a poisoned loaf made by the witch. The children of Hellabrunn,
guided by a bird, find them buried under the same tree under which
they had first met.
HÄNSEL UND GRETEL
A fairy opera in three acts. Music by Engelbert Humperdinck.
Book by Adelheid Wette.
[Illustration: Copyright photo by Dupont
Van Dyck and Mattfeld as Hänsel and Gretel]
The first act represents the hut of a broom-maker. _Hänsel_ is binding
brooms and _Gretel_ is knitting. The children romp, quarrel, and make
up. When their mother, _Gertrude_, enters she is angry to see them
idle, but wishing to strike them, she upsets a pitcher of milk
instead. With all hope of supper banished she sends the children out
into the woods with little baskets to look for strawberries, while she
herself, bemoaning their poverty, sinks exhausted upon a chair and
falls asleep. A riotous song announces the approach of her husband,
drunk as usual. She is about to utter reproaches when she notices that
he has brought sausages, bread and butter, coffee--enough for a feast.
He tells her that he has had good luck at the Kirmes and bids her
prepare supper. When he asks for the children he is horrified to hear
that they have been sent into the woods, for a wicked fairy lives near
the Ilsenstein who entices children to bake them in her oven and
devour them. Both parents rush off in search of _Hänsel_ and _Gretel_.
The second act takes place near the Ilsenstein. _Hänsel_ has filled
his basket with berries and _Gretel_ has made a wreath with which her
brother crowns her. Before they realise what they are doing the
children eat all the berries. Then they see that it is both too dark
to look for any more or to find their way home. _Gretel_ weeps with
fear. _Hänsel_ comforts her. They grow sleepy. The sandman sprinkles
sand into their eyes, but before going to sleep the children are
careful not to forget their evening prayer. Fourteen guardian angels
are seen descending the heavenly ladder to protect them.
Morning comes with the third act. The dew fairy sprinkles dew on the
children. Suddenly they notice a little house made of cake and sugar.
They start to break off little bits when a voice cries out from within
and the witch opens the door. She throws a rope around _Hänsel's_
throat, urging them both to enter. Frightened, they try to escape, but
after binding them with a magic spell she imprisons _Hänsel_ in a
kennel, [Transcriber's Note: missing 'and'] she forces _Gretel_ to go
into the house.
When she believes _Hänsel_ to be asleep she turns her attention to the
oven, then rides around the house on her broom-stick. When she alights
she orders _Hänsel_ to show her his finger. But it is still thin and
the witch orders more food for him. While she turns her back,
_Gretel_, seizing the juniper bough, speaks the magic words and breaks
her brother's enchantment. Then the witch tells _Gretel_ to get into
the oven and see if the honey cakes are done. But _Gretel_ pretends to
be stupid and asks her to show her how to get in. Together the
children push the old witch into the oven and slam the door. The oven
soon falls to pieces. The children then see a row of boys and girls
standing stiffly against the house. _Gretel_ breaks the spell for them
as she had done for _Hänsel_. There is general rejoicing. _Gertrude_
and _Peter_ now appear, the old witch is pulled out of the ruined oven
as gigantic honey cake and everyone on the stage joins in a hymn of
thanksgiving.
THE GOLDEN CROSS
Opera in two acts. Music by Brüll; text by H. Mosenthal,
after the French. Produced: Berlin, December 22, 1875.
CHARACTERS
GONTRAN DE L'ANERY, a young nobleman _Tenor_
COLAS, an innkeeper _Baritone_
CHRISTINE, his sister _Soprano_
THÉRÈSE, his bride _Soprano_
BOMBARDON, a sergeant _Bass_
_Time_--1812.
_Place_--Melun, near Paris.
Act I. The town of Melun is suffering heavily from the great campaign
which Napoleon is undertaking against Russia in 1812, so many of the
young men must take the field. Among the hardest hit are _Thérèse_ and
_Christine_, the first a bride, the other a beloved sister. Their
_Colas_ has been taken away; if he can find no substitute he must go
to the war. _Sergeant Bombardon_, who is to take away the drafted men,
is already in town with his soldiers. At the same time as the
sergeant, a young nobleman, _Gontran de l'Anery_, arrives. He hears
that _Christine_ has promised her hand to the man who goes to war in
place of her brother. She will give him a golden cross and when he
brings it back will be his bride. But no one has the desire to expose
himself to the hazards of war. Then _Gontran_, seized by a violent
love, decides to take _Colas'_ place. Through the sergeant he sends
for the cross. _Christine_ does not know who has offered himself for
her brother.
Act II. Three years have passed. In the house of the innkeeper
_Colas_, now as brave as before, having been wounded in battle with
the invading enemy, _Captain Gontran_ finds himself received as a
severely wounded person. He loves his nurse _Christine_ with all his
heart and she also is attached to him. He even has a claim upon her as
having been once a substitute for her brother, but he will not force
her affections, and besides, he no longer has "the golden cross."
_Christine_ too dares not follow her inclinations for, as _Gontran_
tells her that it was he who went to the war, she would offend him
very much if she, true to her oath, should ask for the cross. This
also reappears. A cripple, in whom one would scarcely recognize the
former stalwart _Sergeant Bombardon_, is the bearer. _Christine's_
heart nearly breaks, but she does not hesitate to keep her word. But
no! _Bombardon_ is not an impostor. He got the cross from a dying man.
Yet, who is this? Dare he trust his eyes? The man whom he believed
dead comes out of the house. It is _Gontran_. What happiness for the
two lovers!
VERSIEGELT
SEALED IN
Opera in one act after Raupach. Music by Blech. Words by
Richard Batka and Pordes-Milo. Produced: Hamburg, November
4, 1908.
CHARACTERS
BRAUN, a burgomaster _Baritone_
ELSE, his daughter _Soprano_
FRAU GERTRUD, a young widow _Mezzo-Soprano_
FRAU WILLMERS _Alto_
BERTEL, her son, a court clerk _Tenor_
LAMPE, a bailiff _Bass_
_Time_--1830.
_Place_--A small German town.
In the centre of the whole scene stands a sideboard. This same
sideboard belongs to _Frau Willmers_ who now comes running to the
apartment of the pretty young widow, _Gertrud_, with every sign of
agitation, to tell her that the bailiff, _Lampe_, intends to seize her
sideboard, an old and valuable heirloom. The burgomaster bears her ill
will because her son _Bertel_ has been casting eyes at his daughter
_Else_, and now takes occasion to inflict on her this disgrace. To
escape this she begs her lodger the favour of taking in the sideboard
for her. _Frau Gertrud_ is very willing. She has a grudge against the
burgomaster. He used to call on her almost every day, and _Frau
Gertrud_ allowed herself to hope that sometime she would become the
_Frau_ burgomistress. Nevertheless, she would very willingly
accelerate his decision. Scarcely is the sideboard, with the help of a
neighbour, happily installed at _Frau Gertrud's_ than _Bertel_, _Frau
Willmers'_ son and the burgomaster's daughter _Else_ enter. They have
made every effort to make the burgomaster kindly disposed but it was
in vain. But as the couple have decided not to give up each other,
they have come to _Frau Gertrud_ to beg her influence with the
burgomaster. When she thus receives confirmation of her suspicion of
the burgomaster's liking for her, she naturally is not averse to the
rôle of matchmaker. Out of her beautiful dreams of the future the
young woman, left alone by her neighbours, is aroused by a knock. But
it is not the burgomaster, whom she secretly expected, but the
bailiff, _Lampe_. Loquacious, conceited, and intrusive, he begins by
telling her all his merits and his skill, brings greetings to the
widow, as the burgomaster has commissioned him. The sideboard seems to
him very suspicious. So now he will go only to _Frau Willmers'_ to
convince himself whether his suspicion is well founded. As soon as he
has gone the burgomaster comes. He also makes use of evasions and then
confides to his gentle friend the anxieties of a father. It grieves
him very much that his _Else_ loves this _Bertel_, son of his
bitterest enemy, who is now dead. _Frau Gertrud_, however, interests
her self bravely in favour of her protégés. Her remark that the
burgomaster surely has not a heart of stone, brings him nearer to
realizing his own condition. Instead of the children he now talks of
himself. First he is seeking for a sign that she means well by him
with her advice. Soon she has led him so far that he confesses his
love for her and begs a kiss. The twilight that has begun favours the
idyll. Then again comes the trouble-maker _Lampe_. Nothing worse can
happen to the couple than to be discovered by this gossiper. So the
burgomaster must hide in order to save his own and _Frau Gertrud's_
reputation. But where? There is nothing better than the empty
sideboard. Scarcely has the somewhat corpulent burgomaster fortunately
concealed himself in it than _Lampe_ enters the apartment and, "In the
name of the authorities" seals up the sideboard. Unfortunately the
burgomaster in his hiding place finds himself not so quiet as caution
demanded. The sound does not escape _Lampe_ and his evil thoughts
scent here something very improper. Surely there is a lover concealed
in the sideboard, and he goes away with the malicious idea of finding
the burgomaster to tell him that _Frau Gertrud_ is not the right sort
of woman for him. But _Frau Gertrud_ is sure of her point and, as
_Bertel_ and _Else_ also come in with _Frau Willmers_, a plot is soon
concocted by the four so that the happiness of everybody will result
from this favourable accident. The two women leave the young couple
alone so that through a put-up game on the father everything will be
obtained. _Else_ plays the lovesick girl, _Bertel_ on the other hand
the virtuous one whose respect for the burgomaster knows no bounds. So
he refuses to accept _Else's_ love against the will of her father and
she, desperate, wants to run away when a voice proceeds from the
sideboard. Now the father and burgomaster must humbly beg of his clerk
that he take upon himself the offence of breaking the seal and letting
him out of the sideboard. Naturally, the first takes place after
_Else_ has dictated the marriage contract. The burgomaster, who at all
hazards must get out before _Lampe_ comes back, consents to
everything. _Bertel_ employs his profession in writing out the whole
contract and through a peephole in the sideboard the burgomaster has
to sign it before the door is finally opened to him. But he makes his
terms. In place of himself, _Bertel_ and _Else_ must enter the
sideboard. Naturally they do not hesitate long and they are for the
first time together undisturbed within it. The burgomaster has
concealed himself in the next room when the two women come back with a
gay company. (The following very indelicate passage, which endangers
all the sympathy of the audience for _Frau Gertrud_, might easily be
cut out.) _Frau Gertrud_ has brought people from a nearby shooters'
festival to show them the trapped burgomaster, evidently because she
believes her scheme more assured thus. All the greater is the
astonishment when the young couple step out of the opened sideboard.
But the burgomaster all of a sudden appears in the background. Then
_Frau Gertrud_ cleverly takes everything on herself. She had shut up
the young couple in it and had spread the report that the burgomaster
was concealed in it in order that he might be affected by it and could
no longer oppose the union of the two young people. Surely everything
is solved satisfactorily when _Lampe_ arrives with every sign of
agitation. He has not found the burgomaster, and _Else_ and the clerk
of the court have disappeared. The burgomaster must certainly have
been murdered by the clerk. _Lampe_ rages so long in the excessive
indignation of his official power that he himself is shut up in the
sideboard and the others, now undisturbed, seal their compact and
reseal it.
DER TROMPETER VON SÄKKINGEN
THE TRUMPETER OF SÄKKINGEN
Opera in three acts and a Prologue; music by Viktor E.
Nessler; text by Rudolf Bunge after Viktor von Scheffel's
poem with the same title. Produced: Leipzig, May 4, 1884.
CHARACTERS
WERNER KIRCHHOFER _Baritone_
KONRADIN, a peasant _Bass_
THE STEWART _Tenor_
THE RECTOR _Bass_
BARON VON SCHÖNAU _Bass_
MARIA, his daughter _Soprano_
COUNT VON WILDENSTEIN _Bass_
HIS DIVORCED WIFE _Alto_
DAMIAN, Count von Wildenstein's son _Tenor_
Prologue. In the Heidelberg palace courtyard there is a merry company
of students and peasants gathered in a drinking bout. The enthusiasm
for "Old Heidelberg the fine" and for the gay life of a cavalier takes
on such a noisy expression that the steward of the _Rector's_ wife
orders them to be quiet. _Werner Kirchhofer_, a law student, leaps on
a table, the peasant _Konradin_ lends him his trumpet and now there
echoes forth the sweet song "which once the Palsgrave Friedrich sang"
in honour of the "Palsgravin, the most beautiful of women." But the
_Rector_ and the Senate entertain other views of the nightly noise of
trumpets and the entire body of students is expelled. So they all seek
to become cavaliers.
Act I. In Säkkingen a great festival is being held, Fridolin's day.
Peasants from the suburbs have come to town for it. There is a
suspicious agitation among them. _Konradin_ who is now in the service
of the state has his hands full keeping order. What happiness when he
sees his old comrade _Werner_. But now as _Maria_, daughter of the
_Baron von Schönau_; together with her haughty aunt, the divorced wife
of _Count von Wildenstein_, arrive at the church, insurrection breaks
out. Who knows what the peasants would not have done to the ladies had
not _Werner_ as knightly protector sprung between them. Love at first
sight seized the two young people. (Change of scene.) Above in Schönau
castle the old baron is again tormented by chills. Serving as a means
of lessening his pain comes a letter from his brother-in-law, _Count
von Wildenstein_, who announces that he is coming to visit him. He has
a son, _Damian_, who would be just the right husband for _Schönau's_
daughter _Maria_. Moreover that would be an opportunity to bring about
a reconciliation between the count and his divorced wife, none other
than _Maria's_ aunt. The marriage was dissolved and their son was once
stolen by gypsies. _Damian_ is a son of the second wife of _Count von
Wildenstein_, who is dead. Out of his pleasant thoughts about his
future son-in-law and protector of the castle in these evil days the
_Baron_ is frightened by the reports of his women about the uprising
of the peasants. In the praise that _Maria_ gives to the brave
trumpeter is echoed his playing from the Rhine to here. That stirs the
old baron like an elixir of youth in his bones. The trumpeter is
summoned and a look in _Maria's_ love-warmed eyes is enough for him to
accept the Baron's offer to become trumpeter of the castle. Of course
the proximity of the young people will not please the aunt.
Act II. That they love each other both already long know but the
acknowledgment nevertheless would be very beautiful. But the old aunt
is always at hand especially at the music lessons which _Werner_ gives
to the young woman. A real piece of luck that _Konradin_ is coming
today to the castle to bring wine for the May festival. He knows how
to arrange it so that the old woman must go to the wine cellar. Now it
is all over with pride. _Maria_ lies in the arms of the humble
trumpeter. Unfortunately, the old aunt comes back. She is not moved by
their prayers, but tells all about it to the excited Baron. Nothing
helps, the trumpeter must leave the house. _Maria's_ bridegroom is
already chosen. At today's May festival he will take part. _Damian_ is
certainly stupid enough but that does not help the lovers. "Would to
God that it had not been so beautiful, would to God it had not been!"
Act III. But _Damian_ is not only stupid, he is also a miserable
coward. That is shown as it now behooves him to defend _Baron von
Schönau's_ castle against the revolted peasants. The knights there
would have been lost had not relief suddenly come. It is _Werner_ who
arrives with a troop of country people. _Maria_ flees to her lover's
arms. But alas, he is wounded in the arm. And what is that? That mole?
The old _Countess Wildenstein_ recognizes in the trumpeter her son,
whom the gypsies once stole. Now naturally there is nothing in the way
of the union. Now "young _Werner_ is the happiest man" and who can
deny that "Love and trumpet sounds are very useful, good things."
DER EVANGELIMANN
THE EVANGELIST
Music-drama in two acts by Wilhelm Kienzl; text by the
composer after a tale by L.F. Meissner. Produced: Berlin,
May 4, 1895.
CHARACTERS
FRIEDRICH ENGEL _Bass_
MARTHA, his niece _Soprano_
MAGDALENA, her friend _Alto_
JOHANNES FREUDHOFER, teacher at
St. Othmar's _Baritone_
MATTHIAS FREUDHOFER, his brother,
actuary in a monastery _Tenor_
ZITTERBART, a tailor and other artisans _Tenor_
Act I. The feelings in the breast of _Johannes Freudhofer_, the
teacher, do not correspond to the peaceful spectacle of the monastery
of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Othmar. He is filled with a savage
jealousy of his own brother, _Matthias_, who is actuary in the
monastery, because he sees that the affections of _Martha_, the
beautiful niece of _Engel_, the steward of the monastery, are denied
him. He thinks to injure his brother when he betrays the latter's love
to the haughty steward. And the latter actually dismisses _Matthias_
from his office. But with this _Johannes_ has not attained his object.
For he himself can spy on them and see the two plighting eternal
faithfulness on his secret departure. So the treacherous man resolved
upon the complete ruin of the lovers. He sets fire to the monastery.
_Matthias_, who is tarrying in the arbour beside his sweetheart
hurries out to get help, but is seized by the other as the incendiary
out of revenge.
Act II. Thirty years have elapsed. In the courtyard of a house in
Vienna, _Magdalena_ meets an evangelist in whom she recognizes
_Matthias_, the friend of her youth. She herself is here caring for
_Johannes_ who is ill. How has _Matthias_ become an evangelist? He
tells her his sad history. He had been sentenced to prison for twenty
years. When he had finished his punishment he learned that his
sweetheart _Martha_ out of grief had sought death in the water. Then
he had become a wandering, singing preacher.
Second Part. In the sitting-room, _Johannes_ lies ill. But more than
pain disturbs his mind. Then he hears outside the voice of the
evangelist. _Magdalena_ must call him in. Without recognizing him
_Johannes_ tells his brother of the infamous action through which he
had ruined the other's life. And _Matthias_ not only preaches love but
practices it too. He forgives his brother who now can die in peace.
DER KUHREIGEN
RANZ DES VACHES
Music-drama in three acts; music by Wilhelm Kienzl; poem by
Richard Batka.
CHARACTERS
THE KING _Bass_
MARQUIS MASSIMELLE, commandant _Bass_
BLANCHEFLEUR, his wife _Soprano_
CLEO, their lady at court _Mezzo-Soprano_
CAPTAIN BRAYOLE _Tenor_
PRIMUS THALLUS _Tenor_
DURSEL (_Bass_) and under officers
in a Swiss regiment
FAVART, under-officer of Chasseurs _Baritone_
DORIS, daughter of the keeper of a
canteen in the St. Honoré barracks _Soprano_
_Time_--1792-3.
_Place_--Paris and Versailles.
Act I. Barracks of St. Honoré. Under penalty of death the Swiss
soldiers have been forbidden to sing their native songs especially
the Kuhreigen or "Ranz des Vaches," because songs of their native land
always awakened homesickness and had led to desertions. But a quarrel
between _Primus Thallus_, of the Swiss, and _Favart_, of the
Chasseurs, excites the Swiss and they sing "In the fort at Strassburg"
(Zu Strassburg auf der Schanz) the song of the Swiss who became a
deserter through homesickness, the song which was forbidden by such a
severe decree, especially because it introduced the Kuhreigen or "Ranz
des Vaches." Then _Favart_ believed the moment had come to be able to
avenge himself. He quickly called an officer to hear the forbidden
song. The officer first wants to arrest all the Swiss, but _Primus
Thallus_ takes all the blame on himself; he is glad to prevent the
others being imprisoned.
Act II. In the King's bedroom at Versailles the ceremony of the royal
levee is taking place. This medley of laughable ceremonial and the
practice of the highest refinement makes a sharp contrast with the
wild ferment and discontent among the people, of which, however, no
one hears anything in these rooms and will know nothing. So the
commandant _Massimelle_ is among those waiting because he has to lay
before the _King_ the death sentence on the unsubdued Swiss. Naturally
the _King_ thinks nothing about bringing an obsolete law into force
again, and leaves the decision to _Massimelle's_ wife, _Blanchefleur_.
She begs _Thallus's_ life for herself and wants to learn the fellow
manners in her service. Silly as are the thoughts of this whole
company, so also are those of _Blanchefleur_. Through a whim she has
obtained the release of the young Swiss, now she wants as a reward to
have diversion with him. The high authorities already are glad to play
shepherds and shepherdesses; what would happen if they could have a
real Swiss as a shepherd! _Cleo_, the court lady, is perfectly
delighted with the idea and awaits with enjoyment the play in which
_Primus Thallus_ shall appear with _Blanchefleur_. But the play takes
a serious turn, _Primus Thallus_ sees no joke in the thing. To him,
_Blanchefleur_ appears as the image of his dreams, and yet he knows
that this dream never can be a reality, at least not for a man to
whom, as to this Swiss, love is not merely a form of amusement in
life. So _Blanchefleur_ has to give up her shepherd's dream and let
_Primus Thallus_ withdraw.
Act III. The earnest man is very quickly drawn in. In the ruined
dining-hall of the palace of _Massimelle_, the sans-culottes are
lodged. _Favart_, under whose direction the castle has been stormed,
is vexed at his report for which _Doris_, his sweetheart, and the
others with their wild drinking and quarrelling scarcely leave him the
possibility. By chance the half-drunken men discover a secret door.
They go down into the passage and drag out _Blanchefleur_ who had
concealed herself there. _Favart_ wants her to play for the men, but
he cannot prevail upon her to do it. With her graceful, distinguished
air she refuses to have anything to do with the dirty, uncivilized men
and smilingly allows herself to be condemned to death and led away to
the frightful prison of the Temple. Hardly has she gone than _Primus
Thallus_ enters. He has been promoted by the Directory to be a captain
as a reward because he has often been threatened with death by the
royalists. His great courage certainly makes an impression on these
savage troops, but as _Massimelle_ outside is being led to the
scaffold and he learns of the arrest of _Blanchefleur_ only one
thought rules him--to save the beautiful woman.
The scene changes to the underground prison of the Temple. One can
hardly recognize the figure of _Primus Thallus_ who presents himself
here, but one must admit of these aristocrats that while they know how
to live laughingly they also know how to die with a smile. While
without the guillotine is fulfilling its awful task uninterruptedly,
they are dancing and playing here underneath as though these were
still the gayest days of the _King's_ delights at Versailles. In vain
_Primus Thallus_ uses all his eloquence to persuade _Blanchefleur_ to
flee or to give him her hand because then he could obtain a pardon.
She has only one reward for his faithfulness: a dance. Then when her
name is called she dances with a light minuet step to the scaffold.
LOBETANZ
Opera in three acts; music by Ludwig Thuille; text by Otto
Julius Bierbaum. Produced: Carlsruhe, February 6, 1898.
CHARACTERS
LOBETANZ _Tenor_
THE PRINCESS _Mezzo-Soprano_
THE KING _Bass_
THE FORESTER, the executioner,
the judge _Speaking parts_
A TRAVELLING STUDENT _Tenor_
Act I. This play takes place somewhere and somewhen but begins in a
blooming garden in spring. And the most fragrant flowers in the garden
are the lovely girls that play in it. Take care, _Lobetanz_; take
care! Now that you have leaped over the wall into the garden, still
take care! You are a travelling singer, your clothes are tattered; but
you are a magnificent fellow and sing as only a bird can sing or a
fellow who knows nothing about the illness of the _Princess_. What is
the matter with her then? She no longer laughs as she once did, her
cheeks are pale, she no longer sings but sighs. "Alas!" Oh, the
maidens know what is the matter with her but no one asks the maidens.
The poet-laureate today at the festival of the Early Rose Day will
announce what is the matter with the child of the _King_. And the
_King_ is coming, the _Princess_ and the people. And the poets proudly
strut in and make known their wisdom. But that does not help. Now the
sound of a violin is heard. How the _Princess_ listens and now the
player comes before her and fiddles and sings and the maid revives.
Roses bloom on her cheeks; her eyes shine in looking at the violinist
who is singing of the morning in May when they kissed each other,
innocently dear, and played "bridegroom and bride." You must flee,
_Lobetanz_, flee; that is magic with which you are subduing the child
of the _King_.
Act II. Spring has awakened your heart, you happy singer, and has
brought to life what was asleep deep within you. Now you may dream of
what will be. And see, she comes to you, the sick _Princess_, to be
restored to health by you. And she sits there by you in the branch of
a linden tree. But alas, alas! The _King_ and his hunting train are
suddenly there and all things have an end.
Act III. In a dungeon sits the bird once so gay. For "dead, dead, dead
must he be and so slip with hurrahs into the infernal abode." And they
lead you to the gallows and tell you your sentence. And the _King_ and
the people, the envious singers and the _Princess_ sick unto death on
her bier are all there. Now choose your last present, you poor gallows
bird. So let me once more sing. And, "see, Oh see, how the delicate
face is covered with a rosy glow." He is singing her back to life, the
lovely _Princess_, until finally she flees to his arms: "Thou art
mine!" Now leave the gallows, there is a wedding today. "A great
magician is _Lobetanz_, let the couple only look, the gallows shine
with luck and lustre; spring has done wonders."
DER CORREGIDOR
THE MAGISTRATE
Opera in four acts; music by Hugo Wolf; text by Rosa
Mayreder-Obermayer. Produced: Mannheim, June 7, 1896.
CHARACTERS
THE CORREGIDOR (magistrate) _Tenor_
DOÑA MERCEDES, his wife _Soprano_
REPELA, his valet _Bass_
TIO LUCAS, a miller _Baritone_
FRASQUITA, his wife _Mezzo-Soprano_
JUAN LOPEZ, the alcalde _Bass_
PEDRO, his secretary _Tenor_
MANUELA, a maid _Mezzo-Soprano_
TONUELO, a court messenger _Bass_
Act I. The miller, _Tio Lucas_, is living a happy life with his
beautiful wife, _Frasquita_. Her love is so true that jealousy, to
which he is inclined, cannot thrive. Jealous? Yes, he has a bump of
jealousy. True, the _Corregidor_, who eagerly concerns him about the
miller's pretty wife, has one too. But no matter, he is a high, very
influential functionary. Meanwhile _Frasquita_ loves her _Tio Lucas_
so truly that she can even allow herself a dance with the
_Corregidor_. Perhaps she will cure him so, perhaps she will obtain in
addition the wished-for official place for her nephew. The
_Corregidor_ too does not keep her waiting long and _Frasquita_ makes
him so much in love with her that he becomes very impetuous. Thereupon
he loses his balance and the worthy official falls in the dust, out of
which the miller, without suspecting anything, raises him up. But the
_Corregidor_ swears revenge.
Act II. The opportunity for this comes very quickly. As the miller one
evening is sitting with his wife in their cozy room, there comes a
knock at the door. It is the drunken court messenger, _Tonuelo_, who
produces a warrant of arrest. _Tio Lucas_ must follow him without
delay to the alcalde who has lent himself as a willing instrument to
the _Corregidor_. _Frasquita_ is trying to calm her anxiety with a
song when outside there is a cry for help. She opens the door and
before it stands the _Corregidor_ dripping with water. He had fallen
in the brook. Now he begs admission from _Frasquita_ who is raging
with anger. He has also brought with him the appointment of the
nephew. But the angry woman will pay no attention and sends the
_Corregidor_ away from her threshold. Then he falls in a swoon. His
own servant now comes along. _Frasquita_ admits both of them to the
house and herself goes into town to look for her _Tio Lucas_. When the
_Corregidor_, awakened out of his swoon, hears this, full of anxiety,
he sends his valet after her; he himself, however, hangs his wet
clothes before the fire and goes to bed in the miller's bedroom.
(Change of scene.) In the meantime _Tio Lucas_ has drunk under the
table the alcalde and his fine comrades and seizes the occasion to
flee.
Act III. In the darkness of the night, _Tio Lucas_ and _Frasquita_
pass by without seeing each other. The miller comes to his mill.
(Change of scene.) Everything is open. In the dust lies the
appointment of the nephew; before the fire hang the _Corregidor's_
clothes. A frightful suspicion arises in _Tio Lucas's_ mind which
becomes certainty when through the keyhole he sees the _Corregidor_ in
his own bed. He is already groping for his rifle to shoot the seducer
and the faithless woman when another thought strikes him. The
_Corregidor_ also has a wife, a beautiful wife. Here the
_Corregidor's_ clothes are hanging. He quickly slips into them and
goes back to town. In the meantime the _Corregidor_ has awakened. He
wants to go back home now. But he does not find his clothes and so he
crawls into those of the miller. Thus he is almost arrested by the
alcalde who now enters with his companions and _Frasquita_. When the
misunderstanding is cleared up, they all go with different feelings
into the town after the miller.
Act IV. Now comes the explanation and the punishment of the
_Corregidor_, at least in so far as he receives a sound thrashing and
becomes really humbled. In reality the miller also has not yet had his
"revenge," but he is recognized and likewise is beaten blue. That he
must suffer in reparation for his doubt of the faithful _Frasquita_,
and he hears it willingly for they have now come to a good
understanding about everything.
Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss was born at Munich, June 11, 1864. His father, Franz
Strauss, was a distinguished horn player in the Royal Opera orchestra.
From him Richard received rigid instruction in music. His teacher in
composition was the orchestral conductor, W. Meyer. At school he wrote
music on the margins of his books. He was so young at the first public
performance of a work by him, that when he appeared and bowed in
response to the applause, someone asked, "What has that boy to do with
it?" "Nothing, except that he composed it," was the reply.
Strauss is best known as the composer of many beautiful songs and of
the orchestral works _Tod und Verklaerung_ (Death and Transfiguration),
and _Till Eulenspiegel's Lustige Streiche_ (Till Eulenspiegel's Merry
Pranks). The latter is a veritable _tour de force_ of orchestral
scoring and a test of the virtuosity of a modern orchestra. _Thus
Spake Zarathustra_, _Don Quixote_, and _Ein Heldenleben_ (A Hero's
Life) are other well-known orchestral works by him. They are of large
proportions. To the symphony, and the symphonic poem, Strauss has
added the tone poem as a form of instrumental music even freer in its
development than the symphonic poem, which was Liszt's legacy to
music.
FEUERSNOT
FIRE FAMINE
Opera in one act. Music by Richard Strauss; text by Ernst
von Wolzogen. Produced: Dresden, November 21, 1901.
CHARACTERS
SCHWEIKER VON GUNDELFINGEN, keeper of
the castle _Tenor_
ORTOLF SENTLINGER, burgomaster _Bass_
DIEMUT, his daughter _Soprano_
KUNRAD, the leveller _Baritone_
_Time_--13th Century.
_Place_--Munich.
The action takes place in Munich on the day of the winter solstice in
olden times. At the time of the representation the twelfth century has
just passed. A big crowd of children, followed by grown-ups, is going
in whimsical wantonness from house to house to collect wood for the
solstitial fire ("Subendfeuer"). After they have collected rich booty
at the burgomaster's they go over to the house opposite. It appears
strangely gloomy. Shutters and doors are closed as though it were
empty. Yet a short time ago young _Herr Kunrad_ lived there. It is his
legal inheritance and property, a legacy from his ancestor who was an
"excellent sorcerer" and now taken possession of after a long absence.
Nevertheless, the superstition of the masses had been much concerned
with the house. The most reasonable was that its occupant was a
strange fellow, the majority thought him a gloomy magician. In reality
the young man sat in the house poring over books. The noise of the
children calls him forth. When he hears that it is the solstice, the
great festival of his profession, an agitation seizes him in which he
tells the children to take away all the wood from his house. This
destruction stirs the townsmen but _Kunrad_ is so struck at sight of
_Diemut_, who seems to him like a revelation of life, that he dashes
through the townsmen and kisses the girl on the mouth. The agitation
of the townsmen is silenced sooner than _Diemut's_ who plans revenge
for this outrage.
Now the townsmen are all out of doors on account of the solstitial
holiday. But in _Kunrad's_ heart the promptings of love are blazing
like a fire. A mad longing for _Diemut_ seizes him, and as she now
appears on her balcony he begs for her love with warm words. The spark
has also been well kindled in her heart, but still she only thinks of
revenge. So she lures him toward the side street where the order
basket still stands on the ground. _Kunrad_ steps into it and _Diemut_
hauls him upward. But halfway up she lets him hang suspended. So
_Kunrad_ becomes a laughing-stock for the townsmen returning home.
Then a fearful rage seizes upon him; he makes use of his magic art:
"May an ice-cold everlasting night surround you because you have
laughed at the might of love." Every light is extinguished and a deep
darkness covers the town and its inhabitants. Now _Kunrad_ from the
balcony, addresses the townsmen, furious with rage in a speech filled
with personal references whose basic idea is that the people always
recognize and follow their great masters. So they have sadly mistaken
his purpose and the maid whom he had chosen had mocked him. For
punishment their light is now extinguished. Let all the warmth leave
the women, all the light of love depart from ardent young maidens,
until the fire burns anew. Now the tables are turned. All recognize in
_Kunrad_ a great man. In their self-reproaches are mingled complaints
about the darkness and an imploring cry to _Diemut_ by her love to
make an end of the lack of fire. But _Diemut_ in the meantime has
changed her mind; love in her too gets the upper hand as the sudden
rekindling of every light makes known.
GUNTRAM
Music-drama in three acts: music and words by Richard
Strauss. Produced: Weimar, May 10, 1894.
CHARACTERS
THE OLD DUKE _Bass_
FREIHILD, his daughter _Soprano_
DUKE ROBERT, her betrothed _Baritone_
GUNTRAM, a singer _Tenor_
FRIEDHOLD, a singer _Bass_
THE DUKE'S CLOWN _Tenor_
_Time_--Thirteenth Century.
_Place_--A German duchy.
Act I. _Guntram_ has been brought up to manhood as pupil of the
religious knightly Band of the Good. This band has set for itself the
realization of the Christian idea of love for the soul. The brotherly
union of all men, who shall be brought through love to world peace is
the aim of the band, the noble art of song its means of obtaining
recruits. _Guntram_ seems to his teacher _Friedhold_ ready for the
great work and so he is assigned to a difficult task. The _Old Duke_
has given the hand of his daughter _Freihild_, and also his estate, to
_Duke Robert_. The latter, the only one of the powerful tyrants left,
through his oppression had so stirred up the peaceful people that they
rose against his rule. Then he had put down the rising cruelly and had
burdened the unfortunate people so heavily that they were thinking of
leaving their homes. _Freihild_ most deeply sympathizes with the
people and had given her hand to the _Duke_ only unwillingly, and she
seeks in the happiness of the people consolation for her loveless
life. But the _Duke_ has forbidden her this work of love and she seeks
release from life in a voluntary death in the waters of the lake.
_Guntram_ rescues her. The _Old Duke_, out of gratitude for saving his
daughter, promises pardon to the rebels and invites the singer to the
feast that is to be given in the ducal palace in celebration of the
putting down of the rebellion.
Act II. At the festive banquet _Guntram_, relying upon the power of
the thought of love as presented by him, will make use of the occasion
to win the _Duke's_ heart for peace. The _Duke_, whose _clown_ has
just irritated him, in a rage interrupts _Guntram_. But the latter is
protected by the vassals all of whom at heart are angry at the cruel
ruler. When a messenger brings news of a new revolt, a vote is taken
and they all decide for war. Then _Guntram_ reminds them anew of peace
in inspired songs. In a rage the _Duke_ scorns him as a rebel,
assaults him and, after a brief wrestle, _Guntram_ strikes down the
tyrant. Then the _Old Duke_ has him thrown into a dungeon and goes off
with the vassals to put down the rebellion again. But _Freihild_,
whose heart is inflamed with love for the bold, noble singer,
conspires with the _clown_ to save him and flee with him.
Act III. In the gloomy dungeon in which _Guntram_ is awaiting his
punishment, the young hero has plenty of leisure to meditate on his
deeds and their motives. The Band of the Good has sent _Friedhold_ to
him in order that he may ask of him an account of his sinful deed. For
such an act is considered as murder in every case. _Guntram_ feels
that he is not guilty in the opinion of the Band but is self-convicted
in the opinion of the highest humanity. For he cannot conceal from
himself that the passionate love for _Freihild_, wife of the _Duke_,
which burns in his heart, led him to his deed. Therefore, he can
certainly reject the reproach of the Band, but he charges himself with
renunciation as expiation for his deed. He has taught himself that
true freedom cannot be attained unless it is acquired by one's own
power and victory over one's self. So the Band of the Good is caught
in an error and _Guntram_ renounces his connection with them. But
_Freihild_, who has succeeded to the duchy since the _Old Duke_ has
fallen on the field, he refers to the godly message which calls her to
promote the happiness of the people. In this noble task she will find
indemnification for the personal sacrifice of her lost love. The
singer withdraws thence into solitude.
SALOME
Opera in one act by Richard Strauss; words after Oscar
Wilde's poem of the same title, translated into German by
Hedwig Lachmann. Produced at the Court Opera, Dresden,
December 9, 1905. Metropolitan Opera House, New York, 1907,
with Olive Fremstad; Manhattan Opera House, New York, with
Mary Garden.
CHARACTERS
HEROD ANTIPAS, Tetrarch of Judea _Tenor_
HERODIAS, wife of Herod _Mezzo-Soprano_
SALOME, daughter of Herodias _Soprano_
JOKANAAN (John the Baptist) _Baritone_
NARRABOTH, a young Syrian, Captain of
the Guard _Tenor_
A PAGE _Alto_
A young Roman, the executioner, five Jews, two Nazarenes,
two soldiers, a Cappadocian and a slave.
_Time_--About 30 A.D.
_Place_--The great terrace in the palace of Herod at
Tiberias, Galilee, the capital of his kingdom.
On the great terrace of _Herod's_ palace, off the banquet hall, is his
body-guard. The ardent looks of the young captain, _Narraboth_, a
Syrian, are directed toward the banquet hall where _Salome_ is seated.
In vain the _Page_, who is aware of the neurotic taint in the woman,
warns him. The young captain is consumed with ardent desires.
The night is sultry. The soldiers' talk is interrupted by the sounds
from the hall. Suddenly there is heard a loud and deep voice, as from
a tomb. Dread seizes even upon the rough soldiers. He who calls is a
madman according to some, a prophet according to others, in either
case, a man of indomitable courage who with terrifying directness of
speech brings the ruling powers face to face with their sins and bids
them repent. This is _Jokanaan_. His voice sounds so reverberant
because it issues from the gloomy cistern in which he is held a
captive.
Suddenly _Salome_, in great commotion, steps out on the terrace. The
greedy looks with which the _Herod_, her stepfather, has regarded her,
as well as the talk and noisy disputes of the gluttons and degenerates
within have driven her out. In her stirs the sinful blood of her
mother, who, in order that she might marry _Herod_, slew her husband.
Depraved surroundings, a court at which the satiating of all desires
is the main theme of the day, have poisoned her thoughts. She seeks
new pleasures, as yet untasted enjoyments. Now, as she hears the voice
of the _Prophet_, there arises in her the lust to see this man, whom
she has heard her mother curse, because he has stigmatized her shame,
and whom she knows the Tetrarch fears, although a captive. What she
desires is strictly forbidden, but _Narraboth_ cannot resist her
blandishments. The strange, gloomy figure of the _Jokanaan_,
fantastically noble in the rags of his captivity, stirs _Salome's_
morbid desires. Her abandoned arts are brought into full play in her
efforts to tempt him, but with the sole result that he bids her do
penance. This but adds fuel to the flame. When _Narraboth_, in despair
over her actions, kills himself on his own sword, she does not so much
as notice it. Appalled by the wickedness of the young woman, the
_Prophet_ warns her to seek for the only one in whom she can find
redemption, the Man of Galilee. But realizing that his words fall on
deaf ears, he curses her, and retreats into his cistern.
[Illustration: Copyright photo by Mishkin
Mary Garden as Salome]
_Herod_, _Herodias_, and their suite come out on the terrace. _Herod_
is suffering under the weight of his crimes, but the infamous
_Herodias_ is as cold as a serpent. _Herod's_ sinful desire for his
stepdaughter is the only thing that can stir his blood. But _Salome_
is weary and indifferent; _Herodias_ full of bitter scorn for him and
for her daughter. Against the _Prophet_, whose voice terrifies the
abandoned gatherings at table, her hatred is fierce. But _Herod_
stands in mysterious awe of the _Prophet_. It is almost because of his
dread of the future, which _Jokanaan_ proclaims so terribly, that
_Herod_ asks as a diversion for _Salome's_ dance in order that life
may flow warm again in his chilled veins. _Salome_ demurs, until he
swears that he will grant any request she may make of him. She then
executes the "Dance of the Seven Veils," casting one veil after
another from her. _Herod_ asks what her reward shall be. In part
prompted by _Herodias_, but also by her own mad desire to have
vengeance for her rejected passion, she demands the head of the
_Prophet_. _Herod_ offers her everything else he can name that is most
precious, but _Salome_ refuses to release him from his promise. The
executioner descends into the cistern. _Jokanaan_ is slain and his
severed head presented to _Salome_ upon a silver charger. Alive he
refused her his lips. Now, in a frenzy of lust, she presses hers upon
them. Even _Herod_ shudders, and turns from her revolted. "Kill that
woman!" he commands his guards, who crush her under their shields.
Regarding the score of "Salome," Strauss himself remarked that he had
paid no consideration whatever to the singers. There is a passage for
quarrelling Jews that is amusing; and, for a brief spell, in the
passage in which _Salome_ gives vent to her lust for _Jokanaan_, the
music is molten fire. But considered as a whole, the singers are like
actors, who intone instead of speaking. Whatever the drama suggests,
whatever is said or done upon the stage--a word, a look, a gesture--is
minutely and realistically set forth in the orchestra, which should
consist of a hundred and twelve pieces. The real musical climax is
"The Dance of the Seven Veils," a superb orchestral composition.
Strauss calls the work a drama. As many as forty motifs have been
enumerated in it. But they lack the compact, pregnant qualities of the
motifs in the Wagner music-dramas which are so individual, so
melodically eloquent that their significance is readily recognized not
only when they are first heard, but also when they recur.
Nevertheless, the "Salome" of Richard Strauss is an effective work--so
effective in the setting forth of its offensive theme that it was
banished from the Metropolitan Opera House, although Olive Fremstad
lavished her art upon the title rôle; nor have the personal
fascination and histrionic gifts of Mary Garden been able to keep it
alive.
At the Metropolitan Opera House, then under the direction of Heinrich
Conried, it was heard at a full-dress rehearsal, which I attended, and
at one performance. It was then withdrawn, practically on command of
the board of directors of the opera company, although the initial
impulse is said to have come from a woman who sensed the brutality of
the work under its mask of "culture."
ELEKTRA
Opera in one act by Richard Strauss; words by Hugo von
Hofmannsthal. Produced: Dresden, January 25, 1909. Manhattan
Opera House, New York, in a French version by Henry
Gauthier-Villars, and with Mazarin as _Elektra_.
CHARACTERS
CLYTEMNESTRA, wife of _Aegisthus_ _Mezzo-Soprano_
ELEKTRA } her daughters by the { _Soprano_
CHRYSOTHEMIS } murdered king Agamemnon { _Soprano_
AEGISTHUS _Tenor_
ORESTES _Baritone_
Preceptor of _Orestes_, a confidant, a train bearer, an
overseer of servants, five serving women, other servants,
both men and women, old and young.
_Time_--Antiquity.
_Place_--Mycenae.
Storck, in his _Opera Book_, has this to say of Von Hofmannsthal's
libretto: "The powerful subject of the ancient myth is here dragged
down from the lofty realm of tragedy, to which Sophocles raised it, to
that of the pathologically perverse. With a gloomy logic the strain of
blood-madness and unbridled lust is exploited by the poet so that the
overwhelming effect of its consequences becomes comprehensible. None
the less, there is the fact, of no little importance, that through its
treatment from this point of view, a classical work has been dragged
from its pedestal."
The inner court of the palace in Mycenae is the scene of the drama.
Since _Clytemnestra_, in league with her paramour, _Aegisthus_, has
compassed the murder of her husband, _Agamemnon_, her daughter
_Elektra_ lives only with the thought of vengeance. She exists like a
wild beast, banished from the society of human beings, a butt of
ridicule to the servants, a horror to all, only desirous of the blood
of her mother and _Aegisthus_ in atonement for that of her father. The
murderers too have no rest. Fear haunts them.
_Elektra's_ sister, _Chrysothemis_, is entirely unlike her. She craves
marriage. But it is in a disordered way that her desire for husband
and child is expressed. _Clytemnestra_ also is morbidly ill. Deeply
she deplores her misdeed, but for this very reason has completely
surrendered herself to the unworthy _Aegisthus_. So frightfully do her
dreams torment her that she even comes to seek help from the hated
Elektra in her hovel in the inner court. It is the latter's first
triumph in all her years of suffering. But it is short-lived, for
_Clytemnestra_ mocks her with the news that _Orestes_ has died in a
distant land. A terrible blow this for _Elektra_, who had hoped that
_Orestes_ would return and wreak vengeance on the queen and
_Aegisthus_. Now the daughters must be the instruments of vengeance.
And as _Chrysothemis_, shocked, recoils from the task, _Elektra_
determines to complete it alone. She digs up in the courtyard the very
axe with which her father was slain and which she had buried in order
to give it to her brother on his return.
But the message regarding the death of _Orestes_ was false. It was
disseminated by her brother in order to allay the fears of the
murderers of his father and put them off their guard. The stranger,
who now enters the court, and at first cannot believe that the
half-demented woman in rags is his sister, finally is recognized by
her as _Orestes_, and receives from her the axe. He enters the palace,
slays _Clytemnestra_ and, upon the return of _Aegisthus_, pursues him
from room to room and kills him. _Elektra_, her thirst for vengeance
satisfied, under the spell of a blood-madness, dances, beginning
weirdly, increasing to frenzy, and ending in her collapse, dead, upon
the ground, where, since her father's death, she had grovelled waiting
for the avenger.
As in "Salome," so in "Elektra" there is a weft and woof of leading
motifs which, lacking the compactness, firmness, and unmistakable
_raisons d'être_ of the leading motives in the Wagner music-dramas,
crawl, twist, and wind themselves in spineless convolutions about the
characters and the action of the piece. In "Salome" the score worked
up to one set climax, the "Dance of the Seven Veils." In "Elektra"
there also is a set composition. It is a summing up of emotions, in
one eloquent burst of song, which occurs when _Elektra_ recognizes
_Orestes_. It may be because it came in the midst of so much cacophony
that its effect was enhanced. But at the production of the work in the
Manhattan Opera House, it seemed to me not only one of Strauss's most
spontaneous lyrical outgivings, but also one of the most beautiful I
had ever heard. Several times every year since then, I have been
impelled to go to the pianoforte and play it over, although forced to
the unsatisfactory makeshift of playing-in the voice part with what
already was a pianoforte transcription of the orchestral
accompaniment.
Mme. Schumann-Heink, the _Clytemnestra_ of the original production in
Dresden, said: "I will never sing the rôle again. It was frightful. We
were a set of mad women.... There is nothing beyond 'Elektra.' We have
lived and reached the furthest boundary in dramatic writing for the
voice with Wagner. But Richard Strauss goes beyond him. His singing
voices are lost. We have come to a full stop. I believe Strauss
himself sees it."--And, indeed, in his next opera, "Der
Rosenkavalier," the composer shows far more consideration for the
voice, and has produced a score in which the melodious elements are
many.
DER ROSENKAVALIER
THE KNIGHT OF THE ROSE
Opera in three acts by Richard Strauss; words by Hugo von
Hofmannsthal. Produced: Royal Opera House, Dresden, January
26, 1911; Covent Garden, London, January 1, 1913;
Metropolitan Opera House, New York, by Gatti-Casazza,
December 9, 1913, with Hempel (_Princess Werdenberg_), Ober
(_Octavian_), Anna Case (_Sophie_), Fornia (_Marianne_),
Mattfeld (_Annina_), Goritz (_Lerchenan_), Weil (_Faninal_),
and Reiss (_Valzacchi_).
CHARACTERS
BARON OCHS of Lerchenan _Bass_
VON FANINAL, a wealthy parvenu,
recently ennobled _Baritone_
VALZACCHI, an intriguer _Tenor_
OCTAVIAN, Count Rofrano, known as
"Quin-Quin" _Mezzo-Soprano_
PRINCESS VON WERDENBERG _Soprano_
SOPHIE, daughter of _Faninal_ _Soprano_
MARIANNE, duenna of _Sophie_ _Soprano_
ANNINA, companion of _Valzacchi_ _Alto_
A singer (_tenor_), a flutist, a notary, commissary of
police, four lackeys of _Faninal_, a master of ceremonies,
an innkeeper, a milliner, a noble widow and three noble
orphans, a hairdresser and his assistants, four waiters,
musicians, guests, two watchmen, kitchen maids and several
apparitions.
_Time_--Eighteenth century during the reign of Maria
Theresa.
_Place_--Vienna.
[Illustration: Photo by White
Hempel as the Princess and Ober as Octavian in "Der Rosenkavalier"]
With the exception of Humperdinck's "Hänsel und Gretel," "Der
Rosenkavalier," by Richard Strauss, is the only opera that has come
out of Germany since the death of Wagner, which has appeared to secure
a definite hold upon the repertoire. Up to the season of 1917-18, when
it was taken out of the repertoire on account of the war in Europe,
it had been given twenty-two times at the Metropolitan Opera House,
since its production there late in 1913.
The work is called a "comedy for music," which is mentioned here
simply as a fact, since it makes not the slightest difference to the
public what the composer of an opera chooses to call it, the proof of
an opera being in the hearing just as the proof of a pudding always is
in the eating. So far it is the one opera by Richard Strauss which,
after being heralded as a sensation, has not disappeared through
indifference.
To those who know both works, the libretto of "Der Rosenkavalier"
which has been violently attacked, goes no further in suggestiveness
than that of "Le Nozze di Figaro." But it is very long, and
unquestionably the opera would gain by condensation, although the
score is a treasure house of orchestration, a virtuosity in the choice
of instruments and manner of using them which amounts to inspiration.
An examination of the full orchestral score shows that 114 instruments
are required, seventeen of them for an orchestra on the stage. The
composer demands for his main orchestra 32 violins, 12 violas, 10
violoncellos, 8 double basses, 3 flutes, 3 oboes, 2 clarinets, 1 bass
clarinet, 3 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba, 2
harps, glockenspiel, triangle, bell, castanets, tympani, side and bass
drums, cymbals, celeste, and rattle. A small orchestra for the stage
also requires 1 oboe, 1 flute, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, 2 bassoons, 1
trumpet, 1 drum, harmonium, piano, and string quintet.
"Der Rosenkavalier" also contains melodious phrases in number and
variety, which rarely permit the bearer's interest to flag. Waltz
themes abound. They are in the manner of Johann Strauss and Lanner. It
is true that these composers flourished much later than the rococo
period in which the opera is laid, but just as it makes no difference
what a composer calls an opera, so it makes no difference whether he
indulges in anachronisms or not. Gavottes, etc., would have been more
in keeping with the period, but the waltz themes served Strauss's
purpose far better and are introduced with infinite charm. They give
the work that subtle thing called atmosphere, and play their part in
making passages, like the finale to the second act, the most
significant music for the stage of opera that has been penned in the
composer's country since Wagner. They also abound in the scene between
_Octavian_ and _Lerchenan_ in the third act.
Act I. Room in the _Princess von Werdenberg's_ palace. Morning. The
curtain rises after an impassioned orchestral introduction which is
supposed to depict _risqué_ incidents of the previous night suggested
by the stage directions. These directions were not followed in the
production made at the Metropolitan Opera House. Not only did their
disregard show respect for the audience's sense of decency, it in no
way interfered with the success of the work as a comedy set to music.
_Octavian_, a handsome youth, is taking a passionate leave of the
_Princess_, whose husband, a Field Marshal, is away on military duty.
_Octavian_ is loath to go, the _Princess_, equally loather to have him
depart. For the _Princess_ cannot conceal from herself that in spite
of _Octavian's_ present love for her, the disparity in their ages soon
will cause him to look to women younger than herself for love.
There is a commotion beyond the door of the _Princess's_ suite of
rooms. One of her relatives, the vulgar _Baron Ochs von Lerchenan_,
wishes to see her. The servants remonstrate with him that the hour is
much too early, but he forces his way in. Taking alarm, and in order
to spare the _Princess_ the scandal of having him discovered with her,
_Octavian_ escapes into an inner room where he disguises himself in
the attire of a chambermaid, a rôle which his youthful, beardless
beauty enables him to carry out to perfection.
_Von Lerchenan_ has come to inquire of the _Princess_ if, as she
promised, she has sent a Knight of the Rose with an offer of his hand
to _Sophie_, daughter of the wealthy, recently ennobled _Herr von
Faninal_. A Knight of the Rose was chosen at that period as a suitor
by proxy to bear a silver rose, as a symbol of love and fidelity, to
the lady of his principal's choice. Unfortunately the _Princess's_
passion for _Octavian_ has entirely diverted her thoughts from
_Lerchenan's_ commission. He, however, consoles himself by flirting
with the pretty chambermaid, _Octavian_, whose assumed coyness,
coupled with slyly demure advances, charms him. Before this, however,
he has lost his temper, because he has been unable to engage the
_Princess's_ attention amid the distractions provided by her morning
levee, at which she receives various petitioners--a singer,
_Valzacchi_, and _Annina_, who are Italian intriguers, three noble
orphans, and others. This levee, together with the love intrigues and
the looseness of manners and morals indicated by the plot, is supposed
in a general way to give to the piece the tone of the rococo period in
which the story is laid. The scene is a lively one.