Paul.
St. Croix, slave-master.
Domingo, mulatto slave.
M. de la Bourdonnais, governor of the island.
Negro Slave.
Virginia.
Meala, mulatto slave.
MME. de la Tour, mother of Virginia.
Margaret, mother of Paul.
Overseer.
Old Lady, grand-aunt of Virginia.
[Inhabitants of the island, sailors, slaves, etc.]
The scene is laid upon an island on the African coast; time, the
eighteenth century.
The story of "Paul and Virginia," Massé's masterpiece, follows the lines
of Bernardin St. Pierre's beautiful romance of the same name. The first
act opens with the recital of the history of Madame de la Tour, mother of
Virginia, and Margaret, the mother of Paul, and reveals the love of the
two children for each other. While they are discussing the advisability
of sending Paul to India for a time, against which his slave Domingo
piteously protests, islanders come rushing towards the cabin announcing
the arrival of a vessel from France. In hopes that she will have a letter
announcing that she has been forgiven by the relatives who have renounced
her, Madame de la Tour goes to the port. A love scene between the
children follows, which is interrupted by the hurried entrance of the
slave Meala, who is flying from punishment by her master, St. Croix. The
two offer to go back with her and to intercede for her forgiveness, in
which they are successful. St. Croix, who has designs upon Virginia, begs
them to remain until night; but Meala warns them of their danger in a
song, and they leave while St. Croix wreaks his revenge upon Meala.
The second act opens in the home of Madame de la Tour. She has had a
letter from her aunt forgiving her, making Virginia her heiress if she
will come to France, and sending money for the journey. After a long
struggle between duty to her mother and love for Paul, she declines to
go. Meala makes them another hurried call, again flying from St. Croix,
who this time is pursuing her with a twofold purpose, first, of punishing
Meala and, second, of carrying out his base designs against Virginia. He
soon appears at the house and demands his slave, but Paul refuses to give
her up. At last St. Croix offers to sell her to Paul, and Virginia
furnishes the money. The faithful Meala that night informs them of St.
Croix's plot to seize Virginia when she goes to the vessel; but he is
foiled, as she does not leave. The act closes with a call from the
governor of the island, who bears express orders from Virginia's
relatives, signed by the King, that she must go to France.
The last act is brief, and relates the tragedy. It opens at a grotto on
the seashore, where the melancholy Paul has waited and watched week by
week for the vessel which will bring Virginia back to him. At last it is
sighted, but a storm comes up and soon develops into a hurricane, and
when it subsides the vessel is a wreck, and Virginia is found dead upon
the beach.
The opera is replete with beautiful melodies. There are, in the first
act, a characteristic minor song for Domingo, "Ah! do not send my Dear
Young Master," which the composer evidently intended to be in the
Ethiopian manner; a chanson of the genuine French style, "Ah! Hapless
Black," though sung by a negro boy; a lonely and expressive melody sung
by Virginia, as she pleads with St. Croix, "What I would say my Tongue
forgetteth"; the weird Bamboula chorus, sung by the slaves; and a very
dramatic aria for Meala, "'Neath the Vines Entwining," in which she warns
the children of their danger. The principal numbers in the second act are
Virginia's romance, "As Last Night thro' the Woods"; a beautiful chanson
for Domingo, "The Bird flies yonder"; Paul's couplets, "Ah! crush not my
Courage"; the passionate duet for Paul and Virginia, "Ah! since thou wilt
go," closing in unison; and Virginia's florid aria, "Ah, what Entrancing
Calm," the cadenza of which is exceedingly brilliant. The best numbers in
the short last act are Meala's song, "In vain on this Distant Shore";
Paul's letter song, "Dearest Mother"; and the vision and storm music at
the close.
Queen Topaze.
[Opéra comique, in three acts; text by Lockroy and Battu. First
produced at the Théâtre Lyrique, Paris, December 27, 1856.]