Act V. The tomb of the Capulets. _Romeo_, having heard in his exile
that his beloved is no more, breaks into the tomb. She, recovering from the effects of the philtre, finds him dying, plunges a dagger into her breast, and expires with him.
In the music there is an effective prelude. _Romeo_, on entering the tomb, sings, "Ô ma femme! ô ma bien aimée" (O wife, dearly beloved). _Juliet_, not yet aware that _Romeo_ has taken poison, and _Romeo_ forgetting for the moment that death's cold hand already is reaching out for him, they sing, "Viens fuyons au bout du monde" (Come, let us fly to the ends of the earth). Then _Romeo_ begins to feel the effect of the poison, and tells _Juliet_ what he has done. "Console-toi, pauvre âme" (Console thyself, sad heart). But _Juliet_ will not live without him, and while he, in his wandering mind, hears the lark, as at their last parting, she stabs herself.
* * * * *
As "Roméo et Juliette" contains much beautiful music, people may wonder why it lags so far behind "Faust" in popularity. One reason is that, in the layout of the libretto the authors deliberately sought to furnish Gounod with another "Faust," and so challenged comparison. Even _Stephano_, a character of their creation, was intended to give the same balance to the cast that _Siebel_ does to that of "Faust." In a performance of Shakespeare's play it is possible to act the scene of parting without making it too much the duplication of the balcony scene, which it appears to be in the opera. The "balcony scene" is an obvious attempt to create another "garden scene." But in "Faust," what would be the too long-drawn-out sweetness of too much love music is overcome, in the most natural manner, by the brilliant "Jewel Song," and by _Méphistophélès's_ sinister invocation of the flowers. In "Roméo et Juliette," on the other hand, the interruption afforded by _Gregory_ and the chorus is too artificial not to be merely disturbing.
It should be said again, however, that French audiences regard the work with far more favour than we do. "In France," says Storck, in his _Opernbuch_, "the work, perhaps not unjustly, is regarded as Gounod's best achievement, and has correspondingly numerous performances."
Ambroise Thomas
MIGNON
Opera in three acts by Ambroise Thomas, words, based on Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister," by Barbier and Carré. Produced, Opéra Comique, Paris, November 17, 1866. London, Drury Lane, July 5, 1870. New York, Academy of Music, November 22, 1871, with Nilsson, Duval (_Filina_), Mlle. Ronconi (_Frederick_) and Capoul; Metropolitan Opera House, October 21, 1883, with Nilsson, Capoul, and Scalchi (_Frederick_).
CHARACTERS
MIGNON, stolen in childhood from an Italian castle _Mezzo-Soprano_ PHILINE, an actress _Soprano_ FRÉDÉRIC, a young nobleman _Buffo Tenor or Contralto_ WILHELM, a student on his travels _Tenor_ LAERTES, an actor _Tenor_ LOTHARIO _Bass_ GIARNO, a gypsy _Bass_ ANTONIO, a servant _Bass_
Townspeople, gypsies, actors and actresses, servants, etc.
_Time_--Late 18th Century.
_Place_--Acts I and II, Germany. Act III, Italy.
Notwithstanding the popularity of two airs in "Mignon"--"Connais-tu le pays?" and the "Polonaise"--the opera is given here but infrequently. It is a work of delicate texture; of charm rather than passion; with a story that is, perhaps, too ingenuous to appeal to the sophisticated audience of the modern opera house. Moreover the "Connais-tu le pays" was at one time done to death here, both by concert singers and amateurs. Italian composers are fortunate in having written music so difficult technically that none but the most accomplished singers can risk it.
The early performances of "Mignon" in this country were in Italian, and were more successful than the later revivals in French, by which time the opera had become somewhat passé. From these early impressions we are accustomed to call _Philine_ by her Italian equivalent of _Filina_. _Frédéric_, since Trebelli appeared in the rôle in London, has become a contralto instead of a buffo tenor part. The "Rondo Gavotte" in Act II, composed for her by Thomas, has since then been a fixture in the score. She appeared in the rôle at the Metropolitan Opera House, December 5, 1883, with Nilsson and Capoul.