The Complete Opera Book Part 66

Opera in five acts, by Gounod; words by Barbier and Carre, after the tragedy by Shakespeare. Produced Paris, Theatre Lyrique, April 27, 1867; January, 1873, taken over by the Opera Comique; Grand Opera, November 28, 1888. London, Covent Garden, in Italian, July 11, 1867. New York, Academy of Music, November 15, 1867, with Minnie Hauck as _Juliet_; Metropolitan Opera House, December 14, 1891, with Eames (_Juliet_), Jean de Reszke (_Romeo_), edouard de Reszke (_Friar Lawrence_). Chicago, December 15, 1916, with Muratore as _Romeo_ and Galli-Curci as _Juliet_.

CHARACTERS

THE DUKE OF VERONA _Ba.s.s_ COUNT PARIS _Baritone_ COUNT CAPULET _Ba.s.s_ JULIET, his daughter _Soprano_ GERTRUDE, her nurse _Mezzo-Soprano_ TYBALT, Capulet's nephew _Tenor_ ROMEO, a Montague _Tenor_ MERCUTIO _Baritone_ BENVOLIO, Romeo's page _Soprano_ GREGORY, a Capulet retainer _Baritone_ FRIAR LAWRENCE _Ba.s.s_

n.o.bles and ladies of Verona, citizens, soldiers, monks, and pages.

_Time_--14th Century.

_Place_--Verona.

Having gone to Goethe for "Faust," Gounod's librettists, Barbier and Carre, went to Shakespeare for "Romeo et Juliette," which, like "Faust," reached the Paris Grand Opera by way of the Theatre Lyrique.

Mme. Miolan-Carvalho, the original _Marguerite_, also created _Juliette_.

"Romeo et Juliette" has been esteemed more highly in France than elsewhere. In America, save for performances in New Orleans, it was only during the Grau regime at the Metropolitan Opera House, when it was given in French with casts familiar with the traditions of the Grand Opera, that it can be said regularly to have held a place in the repertoire. Eames is remembered as a singularly beautiful _Juliette_, vocally and personally; Capoul, Jean de Reszke, and Saleza, as _Romeos_; edouard de Reszke as _Frere Laurent_.

Nicolini, who became Adelina Patti's second husband, sang _Romeo_ at the Grand Opera to her _Juliette_. She was then the Marquise de Caux, her marriage to the Marquis having been brought about by the Empress Eugenie. But that this marriage was not to last long, and that the _Romeo_ and _Juliet_ were as much in love with each other in actual life as on the stage, was revealed one night to a Grand Opera audience, when, during the balcony scene, prima donna and tenor--so the record says--imprinted twenty-nine real kisses on each other's lips.

The libretto is in five acts and follows closely, often even to the text, Shakespeare's tragedy. There is a prologue in which the characters and chorus briefly rehea.r.s.e the story that is to unfold itself.

Act I. The grand hall in the palace of the Capulets. A fete is in progress. The chorus sings gay measures. _Tybalt_ speaks to _Paris_ of _Juliet_, who at that moment appears with her father. _Capulet_ bids the guests welcome and to be of good cheer--"Soyez les bienvenus, amis" (Be ye welcome, friends), and "Allons! jeunes gens! Allons!

belles dames!" (Bestir ye, young n.o.bles! And ye, too, fair ladies!).

_Romeo_, _Mercutio_, _Benvolio_, and half-a-dozen followers come masked. Despite the deadly feud between the two houses, they, Montagues, have ventured to come as maskers to the fete of the Capulets. _Mercutio_ sings of Queen Mab, a number as gossamerlike in the opera as the monologue is in the play; hardly ever sung as it should be, because the role of _Mercutio_ rarely is a.s.signed to a baritone capable of doing justice to the airy measures of "Mab, la reine des mensonges" (Mab, Queen Mab, the fairies' midwife).

The Montagues withdraw to another part of the palace. _Juliet_ returns with _Gertrude_, her nurse. Full of high spirits, she sings the graceful and animated waltz, "Dans ce reve, qui m'enivre"

[Transcriber's Note: correct t.i.tle is 'Je veux vivre dans le reve']

(Fair is the tender dream of youth).

[Music]

The nurse is called away. _Romeo_, wandering in, meets _Juliet_.

Their love, as in the play, is instantaneous. _Romeo_ addresses her in pa.s.sionate accents, "Ange adorable" (Angel! adored one). His addresses, _Juliet's_ replies, make a charming duo.

Upon the re-entry of _Tybalt_, _Romeo_, who had removed his mask, again adjusts it. But _Tybalt_ suspects who he is, and from the utterance of his suspicions, _Juliet_ learns that the handsome youth, to whom her heart has gone out, is none other than _Romeo_, scion of the Montagues, the sworn enemies of her house. The fiery _Tybalt_ is for attacking _Romeo_ and his followers then and there. But old _Capulet_, respecting the laws of hospitality, orders that the fete proceed.

Act II. The garden of the Capulets. The window of _Juliet's_ apartment, and the balcony, upon which it gives. _Romeo's_ page, _Stephano_, a character introduced by the librettists, holds a ladder by which _Romeo_ ascends to the balcony. _Stephano_ leaves, bearing the ladder with him.

_Romeo_ sings, "Ah! leve-toi, soleil" (Ah! fairest dawn arise). The window opens, _Juliet_ comes out upon the balcony. _Romeo_ conceals himself. From her soliloquy he learns that, although he is a Montague, she loves him. He discloses his presence. The interchange of pledges is exquisite. Lest the sweetness of so much love music become too cloying, the librettists interrupt it with an episode. The Capulet retainer, _Gregory_, and servants of the house, suspecting that an intruder is in the garden, for they have seen _Stephano_ speeding away, search unsuccessfully and depart.

The nurse calls. _Juliet_ re-enters her apartment. _Romeo_ sings, "o nuit divine" (Oh, night divine). _Juliet_ again steals out upon the balcony. "Ah! je te l'ai dit, je t'adore!" (Ah, I have told you that I adore you), sings _Romeo_. There is a beautiful duet, "Ah! ne fuis pas encore!" (Ah, do not flee again). A brief farewell. The curtain falls upon the "balcony scene."

Act III, Part I. _Friar Lawrence's_ cell. Here takes place the wedding of _Romeo_ and _Juliet_, the good friar hoping that their union may lead to peace between the two great Veronese houses of Montague and Capulet. There are in this part of the act _Friar Lawrence's_ prayer, "Dieu, qui fis l'homme a ton image" (G.o.d, who made man in Thine image); a trio, in which the friar chants the rubric, and the pair respond; and an effective final quartet for _Juliet_, _Gertrude_, _Romeo_, and _Friar Lawrence_.

Part II. A street near _Capulet's_ house. _Stephano_, having vainly sought _Romeo_, and thinking he still may be in concealment in _Capulet's_ garden, sings a ditty likely to rouse the temper of the Capulet household, and bring its retainers into the street, thus affording _Romeo_ a chance to get away. The ditty is "Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle" (Gentle dove, why art thou clinging?). _Gregory_ and _Stephano_ draw and fight. The scene develops, as in the play.

Friends of the two rival houses appear. _Mercutio_ fights _Tybalt_ and is slain, and is avenged by _Romeo_, who kills _Tybalt_, _Juliet's_ kinsman, and, in consequence, is banished from Verona by the _Duke_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Photo copyright, 1916, by Victor Georg

Galli-Curci as Juliette in "Romeo et Juliette"]

Act IV. It is the room of _Juliet_, to which _Romeo_ has found access, in order to bid her farewell, before he goes into exile. The lingering _adieux_, the impa.s.sioned accents in which the despair of parting is expressed--these find eloquent utterance in the music. There is the duet, "Nuit d'hymenee, o douce nuit d'amour" (Night hymeneal, sweetest night of love). _Romeo_ hears the lark, sure sign of approaching day, but _Juliet_ protests. "Non, non, ce n'est pas le jour" (No, no! 'Tis not yet the day). Yet the parting time cannot be put off longer.

_Romeo:_ "Ah! reste! reste encore dans mes bras enlaces" (Ah! rest!

rest once more within mine entwining arms); then both, "Il faut partir, helas" (Now we must part, alas).

Hardly has _Romeo_ gone when _Gertrude_ runs in to warn _Juliet_ that her father is approaching with _Friar Lawrence_. _Tybalt's_ dying wish, whispered into old _Capulet's_ ear, was that the marriage between _Juliet_ and the n.o.ble whom _Capulet_ has chosen for her husband, _Count Paris_, be speeded. _Juliet's_ father comes to bid her prepare for the marriage. Neither she, the friar, nor the nurse dare tell _Capulet_ of her secret nuptials with _Romeo_. This gives significance to the quartet, "Ne crains rien" (I fear no more).

_Capulet_ withdraws, leaving, as he supposes, _Friar Lawrence_ to explain to _Juliet_ the details of the ceremony. It is then the friar, in the dramatic, "Buvez donc ce breuvage" (Drink then of this philtre), gives her the potion, upon drinking which she shall appear as dead.

The scene changes to the grand hall of the palace. Guests arrive for the nuptials. There is occasion for the ballet, so essential for a production at the Grand Opera. _Juliet_ drains the vial, falls as if dead.

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, "o ma femme! o ma bien aimee" (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 ame" (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 "Romeo 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 _Mephistopheles's_ sinister invocation of the flowers. In "Romeo 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 Carre. Produced, Opera 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_ FReDeRIC, a young n.o.bleman _Buffo Tenor or Contralto_ WILHELM, a student on his travels _Tenor_ LAERTES, an actor _Tenor_ LOTHARIO _Ba.s.s_ GIARNO, a gypsy _Ba.s.s_ ANTONIO, a servant _Ba.s.s_

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 pa.s.sion; 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 pa.s.se. From these early impressions we are accustomed to call _Philine_ by her Italian equivalent of _Filina_. _Frederic_, since Trebelli appeared in the role 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 role at the Metropolitan Opera House, December 5, 1883, with Nilsson and Capoul.