Countess Violetta.
Col. Umberto.
Duke de Limburg.
Balthasar Groats, dealer in tulip bulbs.
Else, wife of Groats.
Spiuzzi.
Franchetti.
Biffi.
[Soldiers, citizens, etc.]
The scene is laid in Genoa; time, the eighteenth century.
The "merry war" is not a very serious one, as may be inferred from its
title. It is a quarrel between two petty states, Genoa and Massa Carrara,
growing out of the fact that a popular dancer has made simultaneous
engagements at the theatres of each. Both claim her, and the question at
issue is at which theatre the dancer shall appear. One harmless hand
grenade is thrown from either side with monotonous regularity each day,
and the "merry war" is without interesting incident until the pretty
Countess Violetta appears in one of the camps. She is seeking to make her
way in disguise into the city of the other camp, to take command of the
citadel. Umberto, the colonel commanding, is deceived by her, and allows
her to pass through the lines. When informed of the deception he
determines to take his revenge by marrying her. Understanding that she is
to marry the Duke de Limburg by proxy, he impersonates the Duke and is
married to Violetta without arousing her suspicions. He is assisted in
his scheme by Balthasar Groats, a Dutch speculator in tulip bulbs, whom
the soldiers have arrested, thinking him a spy, and who is naturally
willing to do anything for the Colonel to get him out of his predicament.
Complications arise, however, when Groats' wife appears and becomes
jealous, also because of Violetta's antipathy towards her supposed
husband and her affection for Umberto. All these matters are arranged
satisfactorily, however, when there is an opportunity for explanation,
and a treaty of peace is signed between the two states, when it is found
that the cause of the "merry war" will not keep her engagement with
either theatre.
The music of "The Merry War" is light and gay throughout. Like all the
rest of the Strauss operas, it might be said that it is a collection of
marches and waltzes, and a repetition of dance music which has done good
service in ballrooms, strung upon the slight thread of a story. Its most
taking numbers are Umberto's couplets, "Till now no Drop of Blood";
Balthasar's comical song, "General, ho!" and his tulip song, "From
Holland to Florence in Peace we were going"; Violetta's arietta, "In vain
I cannot fly"; the dainty duet for Violetta and Umberto, "Please do";
Else's romantic song, "I wandered on"; the ensemble and Dutch song by
Artemisia, "The much Admired One"; Umberto's love song, "The Night begins
to creep"; Violetta's song, "I am yet Commander for To-day," leading to a
terzetto and spirited final chorus, "Of their Warlike Renown."
The Queen's Lace Handkerchief.
[Opéra comique, in three acts; text by Genée and Bohrmann-Riegen. First
produced at Vienna, October 2, 1880.]