Part 7

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.]

PERSONAGES.

Jean. Jeannette. Thomas. Petit Pierre.

[Chorus of peasants.]

The scene is laid in a French country village; time, the last century.

Nothing could be simpler than the story of Massé's little opera, "Les Noces de Jeannette" ("The Marriage of Jeannette"), which was first given in this country in 1861, with Clara Louise Kellogg and M. Dubreul in the two principal parts, and twenty-five years later was a favorite in the repertory of the American Opera Company, under the direction of Theodore Thomas, who produced it as an after piece to Delibes' two-act ballet, "Sylvia." The story concerns only two persons. Jean, a boorish rustic, falls in love with Jeannette and proposes marriage. On the wedding-day, however, he suddenly changes his mind, and just as the notary hands him the pen to sign the contract, takes to his heels and runs home. Jeannette follows him up to demand an explanation, and pretends that she will not force him to marry her. In lieu of that she asks him to sign another contract from which she will withhold her name just to show that he was willing to do so. She furthermore promises publicly to reject him. When he has signed the new contract, she suddenly changes her mind also, and declares they are man and wife. In his fury Jean breaks up nearly everything in the house before he goes to sleep. The next day in his absence Jeannette provides new furniture from her own store, places things to rights again, sets the dinner, and awaits Jean's return. When he comes back again, he is in more tractable mood, and seeing what Jeannette has done acknowledges her as his wife.

This simple story the composer has framed in a dainty musical setting, the principal numbers being the song "Others may hastily marry," sung by Jean after his escapade; Jeannette's pretty, simple melody, "From out a Throng of Lovers"; Jean's vigorous and defiant "Ah! little do you fancy"; the graceful song by Jeannette, "Fly now, my Needle, glancing brightly"; her brilliant and exultant song, "Voice that's sweetest"; and the spirited unison male chorus, "Ring out, Village Bells," that closes this refined and beautiful work.

MILLÖCKER, CARL.

The Beggar Student.

[Opéra comique, in three acts; first produced in Vienna, 1882.]

PERSONAGES.

Symon Symonovicz, the beggar student. Janitsky, his friend. Gen. Ollendorf, military governor of Krakow. Enterich, } Puffki, } jailers. Major Holtzheim. Sitzky, an innkeeper. Countess Palmatica. Laura, } Bronislava, } her daughters. Eva. Ononphrie. Lieut. Poppenburg. Lieut. Schmeinitz. Lieut. Wangerheim. Burgomaster. Bogumil.

[Prisoners, peasants, soldiers, musicians, courtiers, etc.]

The scene is laid in Krakow; time, the year 1704.

The first act of this tuneful opera opens in the city of Krakow. General Ollendorf, the military governor, is in a rage because he has been repulsed by Laura, daughter of the Countess Palmatica, to whom he has showed some unwelcome attentions. To avenge what he considers an insult, he conceives the idea of dressing some poor and low-born young fellow in the finery of a prince, and passing him off as such upon the Countess and her daughter, trusting that their poverty will induce them to accept the impostor. After such a marriage his revenge would be complete. He finds his accomplice in the military prison. Symon Symonovicz, a vagabond Polish student, is ready to play the gentleman, and only insists on taking along with him Janitsky, a fellow prisoner, to act as his secretary. The plot is successful. The Countess and her daughter, who have been living for a long time in genteel poverty, are dazzled by the finery and prospects of the suitor, and the act closes with the betrothal of Symon and Laura.

In the second act the two find that they are really in love with each other. As the money furnished by the General is all spent, Symon decides to tell Laura of the deception practised upon her, though it may cost him the marriage, which was to have taken place that day. Afraid to tell her in person, he writes the disclosure, and intrusts the letter to the Countess with the request to have it given to Laura before the ceremony. The General, however, thwarts this scheme, and the pair are married, whereupon he exposes Symon to the assembled guests as an impostor and has him driven from the palace.

At the opening of the third act Symon appears in melancholy plight and contemplating suicide. His friend Janitsky, who is in love with Laura's sister, Bronislava, comes to his rescue. He comes forward as a Polish officer engaged in a plot for the capture of the citadel and the reinstatement of King Stanislaus upon the throne of Poland. The plot with Symon's help succeeds, and in return Symon is not only ennobled, but the Countess and his wife forgive him, and the governor-general is foiled at every point.

The principal numbers are Ollendorf's entrance song in waltz time, "And they say that towards Ladies"; the characteristic duet by Symon and Janitsky on leaving jail, "Confounded Cell, at last I leave thee"; the charming entrance trio for Laura, Bronislava, and the Countess, "Some little Shopping really we ought to do"; and Laura's brilliant song, "But when the Song is sweetly sounding," in the finale of the first act; Laura's humorous song, "If Joy in Married Life you'd find"; the sentimental duet of Bronislava and Janitsky, "This Kiss, Sweet Love"; Ollendorf's grotesque songs, "One Day I was perambulating," and "There in the Chamber Polish," which is usually adapted as a topical song; and the long and cleverly concerted finale of the second act: and Bronislava's song, "Prince a Beggar's said to be," and Symon's couplet, "I'm penniless and outlawed too," in the third act.

The Black Hussar.

[Opéra comique, in three acts. First produced at Vienna, 1886.]

PERSONAGES.

Helbert, officer of the Black Hussars. Waldermann, his companion. Hackenback, magistrate of Trautenfeld. Piffkow, his man of all work. Thorillière, major in Napoleon's army. Hetman, captain of the Cossacks. Mifflin, an actor. Minna, } Rosetta, } Hackenback's daughters. Barrara. Ricci. Goddess of Liberty. Germania.

[Soldiers, peasants, villagers, conspirators, etc.]

The scene is laid in the German village of Trautenfeld; time, the years 1812-13.

The story of "The Black Hussar" is simple. Von Helbert, an officer of the Black Hussars, in the disguise of an army chaplain, is seeking to foment an insurrection in the town of Trautenfeld. Hackenback, the town magistrate, has carried himself so diplomatically, as between the Russians and French, and is so opposed to any rupture with either from fear of sudden visitation, that Von Helbert's efforts to induce his townsmen to rise against the Napoleonic régime are not altogether successful. The French in the mean time are hunting for him, but he cunningly succeeds in getting a description of the magistrate posted for that of himself. To be ready for any sudden emergency, Hackenback has a reversible panel on his house, one side having the portrait of the Czar and the other that of Napoleon. When he is suspected by the French, he calls their attention to it; but unfortunately for him the Russian side is exposed, and this with the description which Von Helbert had so kindly posted leads to his arrest. Finally the Black Hussar regiment arrives, and captures the French troops just as they have captured the Russian, which had previously been in occupation, so that there is no need for further disguises. The humorous situations in the opera grow out of the love-making between Von Helbert and his companion Waldermann and the magistrate's daughters Minna and Rosetta.

Although "The Black Hussar" is musically inferior to "The Beggar Student," yet it has many interesting numbers, among them the long descriptive song of Piffkow, the man of all work, "Piffkow, Piffkow, that's the cry," which reminds one in its general character of Figaro's famous song in "The Barber of Seville"; the magistrate's buffo song, "All Night long I've weighed and sifted"; Helbert's martial recitative, "I've traversed Lands that once were green"; the jolly gossipers' chorus, introducing the second act; Piffkow's bombastic song, "'Twas in the Adjacent Town Last Night"; Minna's quaint Russian song, "Ivan loved his Katza well"; the introduced song, "Ohe, mamma"; and the trio following it, "The Ways of Love are very strange," which closes the act.

NESSLER, VICTOR ERNST.

The Trumpeter of Säkkingen.

[Opera comique, in a prelude and three acts; text by Bunge. First produced at the Stadt Theatre, Leipsic, May 4, 1884.]

PERSONAGES.

Baron of Schoenau. Margaretha, his daughter. Count of Wildenstein. Countess Wildenstein, the Baron's cousin. Damian, the Count's son by a second marriage. Werner Kirchoff, the "trumpeter." Conradin, a trooper.

[Heralds, youths, maidens, peasants, school children, students, troopers, etc.]

The scene is laid in Säkkingen, on the Rhine; time, the year 1650, near the close of the Thirty Years' War.

Few operas have had the advantage of such an excellent book as Nessler's "Trumpeter of Säkkingen," and few light operas have had their stories so legitimately and skilfully illustrated with music. The text is based upon the metrical romance of Victor von Scheffel's "Trumpeter Von Säkkingen," known and admired all over Germany, which tells the story of the young Werner and the fair Margaretha, their romantic wooing and final union. The time is near the close of the Thirty Years' War, and the hero is Werner Kirchoff, a handsome, dashing young student, who, with others of his comrades, is expelled from the University of Heidelberg because of their frequent carousals. They join a body of troopers, Werner in the capacity of a trumpeter, and go with them to Säkkingen. While there he has the good fortune to protect Margaretha, on a saint's fête day, from the rudeness of some Hauenstein peasants who are ready for a revolt against the Baron von Schoenau, her father. Margaretha, who is in company with the Countess Wildenstein, a cousin of the Baron, who has separated from her husband, gratefully gives Werner a forget-me-not. The Countess inquires his name of his trooper comrade, Conradin, and is struck with his resemblance to her son who had been carried off by gypsies in his childhood. In the next scene the Baron has received a letter from Count Wildenstein, in which he states that his second wife has died, that he wishes to settle the misunderstanding with his first wife, the Countess, and proposes Damian, his son by the second marriage, as a husband for Margaretha,--a proposal which the Baron promptly accepts. When Margaretha enters and tells of her adventures with Werner, the Baron regrets that his old trumpeter, Rassmann, is not alive to summon assistance from the city in case of attack by the peasants. Margaretha tells him of Werner, and notwithstanding the Countess' objections, he gives the position to him.

The second act opens with a love scene between Werner and Margaretha, which is discovered by the Countess, who at once informs the Baron. When Werner asks him for the hand of Margaretha, he not only refuses it, but orders him to leave the castle. Werner takes his farewell of Margaretha, and leaves for his old position with the troopers in the city. Meanwhile the Count of Wildenstein arrives with Damian, but he makes no impression upon Margaretha notwithstanding the Baron's favor.

In the last act the dénouement comes quickly. The peasants attack the castle, and the Baron calls upon Damian to head his retainers and go out to meet the mob. He proves himself, however, an arrant coward, and in the midst of his irresolution Werner rides up at the head of his troopers, performs prodigies of valor, and saves the inmates of the castle. A birthmark upon his arm reveals him as the long-lost son of the Countess, and nothing now stands in the way of Margaretha's and Werner's felicity.

In the prelude and first act the most noticeable numbers are the students' and troopers' choruses, written in the best German style--the prelude indeed is almost entirely choral; the peasants' choruses and lively dances on St. Fridolin's Day; the characteristic growl of the Baron over his gout and the unreasonable peasants; and the charming lyric sung by Margaretha, "How Proud and Grand his Bearing." The most conspicuous numbers in the second act are a lyric sung by Werner, "On Shore I played me a Merry Tune"; the love scene between Margaretha and Werner, "Sun, has thy Light not grown in Splendor?" the dramatic quintette, "Must so soon the Sunshine vanish?" and Werner's sentimental and beautiful farewell, "Oh, it is sad that in this Life below." The principal numbers of the third act are Margaretha's song, "My Love rode out to the Wide, Wide World"; the May song, "There comes a Youth of Sweet Renown"; the pantomime and dance composing a May idyll; the duet for Margaretha and Werner, "True Love, I give thee Greeting"; and the ringing mass chorus, "Faithful Love and Trumpet blowing," which closes the opera.

NICOLAI, OTTO.

The Merry Wives of Windsor.

[Opéra comique, in three acts; text by Mosenthal. First produced in Vienna, April 1, 1847; in London, May 3, 1864; in New York, April 27, 1863.]

PERSONAGES.

Sir John Falstaff. Mr. Ford, } Mr. Page, } gentlemen dwelling at Windsor. Fenton. Slender. Dr. Caius, the French physician. Mistress Ford. Mistress Page. Anne Page, her daughter, in love with Fenton. Host of the Garter Inn.

[Citizens, wives of Windsor, servants, fairies, elves, etc.]

The scene is laid at Windsor; time, the sixteenth century.

The story of the opera follows closely that of the Shakespearian comedy, though the action is principally concerned with Falstaff's adventures with the merry wives, with the attachment between Fenton and Anne furnishing the romantic incident. Though the work of a German, the music is largely in the Italian style, and the dramatic finish is French. It is unnecessary to indicate the plot in further detail than to say it includes the receipt of Sir John's amatory epistles by Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page, his concealment among the foul linen in the hamper and subsequent sousing in the Thames, his sad experiences with Ford's cudgels, and his painful encounter with the mock fairies, elves, and other sprites in Windsor Park.

The leading numbers in the opera are a duet for the two merry wives, opening the opera, in which they read Falstaff's letters, "No, no, this really is too bad," closing with an exquisitely humorous phrase as they pronounce the name of the writer in unison; a beautiful little aria, "Joking and Laughter," in the Italian style, sung by Mrs. Ford; and the finale to the first act beginning with a mock serious aria in which Mrs. Ford bewails her husband's jealousy, followed by a sextette and chorus, and closing with a highly dramatic aria in which Mrs. Ford changes from grief to rage and violently denounces Ford.

The second act opens with a drinking-song for Falstaff, "Whilst yet a Child on my Mother's Breast," which is full of rollicking, bacchanalian humor, as well as are the accessories of the song. Falstaff sings one verse, and his followers drain their huge mugs to the bottom. One of them falls senselessly drunk, and is immediately borne out upon the shoulders of his comrades with funereal honors, led off by Falstaff, all chanting a sort of mock dirge. A descriptive and spirited buffo duet between Falstaff and Ford follows, in which the former relates his adventures in the hamper. The only remaining number of consequence in this act is the romanza, "Hark, the Lark in yonder Grove," sung by Fenton. The last act is very short, and made up of a beautiful trio for Mrs. Ford, Mrs. Page, and Falstaff, "The Bell has pealed the Midnight Chime"; the romantic ballad, "Of Herne, the Hunter, a Legend old," and the fairy dance and chorus, "About, about, ye Elves, about," which close the opera.

OFFENBACH, JACQUES.

The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein.

[Opera bouffe, in three acts; text by Meilhac and Halévy. First produced at the Variétés, Paris, April 12, 1867.]

PERSONAGES.

Grand Duchess. Wanda, a peasant girl. Iza, maid of honor. Olga, maid of honor. Prince Paul, neglected suitor of the Duchess. Gen. Boum, in command of the army. Baron Puck, Court chamberlain. Baron Grog, emissary. Fritz, a recruit. Nepomuc, aide de camp.

[Lords and court ladies, pages, soldiers, vivandières, country girls, etc.]

The scene is laid in the imaginary Duchy of Gerolstein; time, the year 1720.

"The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein," though in some respects inferior musically to "Orpheus," by the same composer, is altogether the most perfect type of the opera bouffe. For the drollness of its story, the originality of its characters as well as of its music and obstreperous gayety, dash, and geniality mixed with occasional seriousness and grace, this work when it first appeared was unique, though Offenbach rose to his highest achievement when dealing with the gods and goddesses of Olympus in his "Orpheus," which revealed his powers of musical burlesque at their best.

The first act opens with a grand review of the army of the duchy, commanded by the pompous General Boum, at which the Duchess is present. In its ranks there is a recruit, known by the name of Fritz, who has already aroused the General's jealousy by his attentions to Wanda, a peasant girl. He continues still further to add to this jealousy when the Duchess, attracted by his good looks, singles him out for her regard and promotes him to the post of corporal. When she learns of his relations to Wanda, she raises him to the rank of lieutenant, evidently to separate him from Wanda by the new elevation. The review over, the Duchess studies the plan of a pending campaign against a neighboring enemy. She summons General Boum in the presence of Baron Puck, her court chamberlain, Prince Paul, a feeble and neglected suitor of the Duchess, and Lieutenant Fritz, who is now her special body-guard, and asks him for his plan of campaign, which he states, much to the disgust of Fritz, who declares it to be sheer nonsense. The Duchess then asks the latter for his plan, and is so much pleased with it that she appoints him general and raises him to the rank of baron, much to the discomfort and indignation of the others.

The second act opens with the return of Fritz. He has been victorious, and at the public reception given him he tells the story of his adventures. Subsequently at a tête-à-tête with the Duchess, she makes open love to him; but he is so occupied with thoughts of Wanda that he is insensible to all her advances, which puts her in a rage. Overhearing a conspiracy between Puck, Paul, and the deposed General Boum against his life, she joins with them, and the act closes with a wild, hilarious dance.

In the third act Baron Grog, emissary of Prince Paul's father, appears upon the scene to expedite the marriage of the Prince to the Duchess. He joins the conspiracy against Fritz, and so ingratiates himself with the Duchess that she finally consents to marry the Prince. In the mean time she countermands the order for Fritz's assassination, and gives him permission to marry Wanda. The conspirators, however, play a practical joke upon Fritz by a false message summoning him to the battle-field. He leaves at once on the wedding-night, but through the connivance of General Boum is waylaid and badly beaten. While the betrothal of the Duchess is being celebrated, Fritz returns in sad plight, with the sabre which the Duchess has given him in a battered condition. She adds to his misfortunes by depriving him of his command and bestowing it upon Baron Grog, but learning that he has a family, she reinstates General Boum. In the dénouement Fritz is restored to his Wanda and the Duchess marries Prince Paul.

The music is in keeping with the drollery of the situations, and abounds in vivacity and odd descriptiveness, defying all accepted laws and adapting itself to the grotesquerie and extravagance of the action. The principal numbers in the first act are the pompous "Pif, paf, pouf" song of General Boum; the Grand Duchess' air, "Ah! I love the Military" ("Ah! que j'aime les militaires"); the regiment song for her and Fritz, "Oh! what a Famous Regiment" ("Ah! c'est un fameux régiment"); the couplets of Prince Paul, "To marry a Princess" ("Pour épouser une Princesse"); and the famous sabre song, "Lo, here the Sabre of my Sire" ("Voici, le sabre de mon père"). The best numbers of the second act are Fritz's spirited rondo, "All in Good Order, Colors flying" ("En très bon ordre nous partîmes"), in which he tells the story of his victory; the romanza "Say to him" ("Dites lui"), a delightful little song, and so refined that it hardly seems to belong to the opera; and the conspirators' trio, "Max was a Soldier of Fortune" ("Max était soldat de fortune"), which is irresistible in its broad humor and queer rhythms. The musical interest really reaches its climax in the second act. Outside of the chorus work in the third act, there is little of interest except the Duchess' ballad, "There lived in Times now long gone by" ("Il était un de mes aieux"), and Fritz' song to the Duchess, "Behold here, your Highness" ("Eh bien, Altesse, me voilà!").

La Belle Hélène.

[Opera bouffe, in three acts; text by De Meilhac and Halévy. First produced at the Théâtre des Variétés, Paris, December 17, 1864.]

PERSONAGES.

Helen, Queen of Sparta. Paris, son of Priam. Menelaus, King of Sparta. Agamemnon, King of the Kings. Calchas, augur. Achilles, King of Phthiotis. Ajax I., King of Salamis. Ajax II., King of the Locrians. Orestes, son of Agamemnon. Bacchis, attendant of Helen. Parthoenis. Loena. Philocomes, servant of Calchas. Euthycles, a blacksmith.

[Princes, princesses, courtiers, Helen's attendants, slaves, etc.]

The scene is laid in Sparta; time mythical.