La Reine Topaze.
Le Capitaine Rafael.
Annibal.
Francappa.
Fritellino.
Filomèle.
[Gypsies, soldiers, etc.]
The scene is laid in France; time, last century.
"Queen Topaze" ("La Reine Topaze") is one of the few of Massé's earlier
works which have held the boards, mainly on account of its charming
melodiousness. The rôle of the Queen was a great favorite with
Miolan-Carvalho and Parepa-Rosa, as it offers opportunities for brilliant
vocal execution. Its story is of the slightest kind. In her infancy
Topaze is stolen by a band of gypsies and eventually becomes their queen.
She falls in love with Rafael, a captain whom she wins from his
affianced, a rich noblewoman. He does not marry her, however, until she
discloses to him the secret of her birth. Some byplay among the gypsies
supplies the humor of the situations. As to the text it is far from
dramatic in character, and the dialogue is tedious and dragging.
The music, however, is excellent, and it was to this feature that Massé
owed his election in the year of its production as Auber's successor in
the French Academy. The gypsy music is particularly charming. There are
also a clever sextette, "We are six noblemen"--indeed, there is an
unusual amount of six and seven part writing in the opera; the "Song of
the Bee," a delightful melody for Queen Topaze with a particularly
characteristic accompaniment, likewise a brilliant bolero; a lovely
romance in the last act for Rafael, and a somewhat dramatic narrative
song for him in the first act; and a skilfully constructed trio for
Annibal and the two gypsies. The remaining number of importance is an
interpolated one,--"The Carnival of Venice," with the Paganini
variations, which was first introduced by Miolan-Carvalho, the creator of
the title rôle.
The Marriage of Jeannette.
[Opéra comique, in one act; text by Carré and Barbière. First produced
at the Opéra Comique, Paris, February 4, 1853; in New York, in 1861.]