100 Great Operas and Their Stories: Act-By-Act Synopses (18 page)

Now enter the juvenile lead, young Ernesto. In their discussion it comes out that the old man has found a beautiful
and wealthy lady for Ernesto to marry. But Ernesto has refused—and he refuses again. For (like any good light tenor in an Italian opera) he is deeply in love and faithful to the one and only—his Norina. This angers the old fellow all over again. He threatens to turn Ernesto out of his house, and finally he tells him that he is about to get married himself. This, of course, is terrible news for Ernesto. Now he will be disinherited, and he will be unable to marry his Norina. In a duet made up of contrasts, Ernesto bewails this sad state of affairs while Pasquale gloats over it. But before he leaves, Ernesto offers one word of advice: “Do not get married without! consulting someone else—say, Dr. Malatesta.” Gleefully Pasquale allows that he has already done so, and that he intends to marry the doctor’s own sister. Poor Ernesto now feels that he has been betrayed by Malatesta, the one man he has always trusted.

Scene 2
finds Norina in her room reading a romantic novel and singing sweetly on matters of love. She congratulates herself that, like the heroine in her book, she also is well versed in the arts of
amour
. An especially tender love scene in the novel, which she reads aloud to herself, inspires her to sing the charming aria
Quel guardo, il cavaliere
. Following this, a letter is brought, which Norina knows in a moment to be from Ernesto. Just as she finishes reading it, Dr. Malatesta rushes in to tell her his plan will be successful. But Norina hands him the letter from Ernesto. Malatesta reads it aloud and learns that the young man is brokenhearted. He calls Malatesta a villain, claims that he will be disinherited because of Pasquale’s marriage to Norina, and threatens to leave Rome and Europe as soon as possible.

Malatesta quickly exonerates himself. He promises that Ernesto will be only too happy to remain when he hears his new plan. What is this plan? Why, simply to pass off Norina (whom Pasquale has not yet seen) as his sister Sofronia, who is really in a convent. Pasquale, he is sure, will happily consent to the marriage, and Malatesta’s cousin, Carlotto, will act as notary and perform a mock marriage. Norina will then
make life so miserable for Pasquale that he will be desperate to get away.

Malatesta and Norina then sing an amusing duet in which he coaches her in her new role. She must learn to act like a shy country girl one minute, but like a real shrew the next. The scene ends with these two reveling in the thought of revenge on selfish old Pasquale.

ACT II

Back in Don Pasquale’s house a very sad and downhearted Ernesto delivers himself of the dramatic aria
Cercherò lontana terra
. Believing that he is disinherited and that he has lost his Norina forever, he resolves to go far away, to end his days in sorrow and remorse. He will be happy only in the thought that Norina is happy: this will make his sorrow bearable. And off he goes (but not very far).

Now, Pasquale enters. Dismissing his servant, he struts about admiring his “fine figure.” “Not bad for someone aged seventy,” he murmurs to himself—but he carefully makes sure that no one is around to hear his age!

Then Malatesta arrives to present timid and veiled Norina. The two old men sing a charming trio with the girl, she pretending to be frightened and on the verge of fainting, Malatesta consoling her and telling her to be brave, and Pasquale expressing delight, but wondering whether the face under the veil will prove to be as lovely as the rest.

Norina plays expertly her part of a shy young girl fresh from a convent. All of her naïve answers to the old Don’s questions delight him, and she is finally persuaded to lift her veil. Needless to say, Pasquale is overwhelmed. He proposes; she accepts; Malatesta goes off to fetch the notary; and the marriage contract is drawn up. It is, of course, a counterfeit contract.

But it seems that a witness is necessary. And who should that witness be? Why, Ernesto, who just happens to be in the other room. And a very angry Ernesto he is, for he has not yet been told Malatesta’s plan, and, to add insult to injury,
he has been almost thrown out of the house by the servants when all he wanted to do was say good-by. Malatesta, however, draws Ernesto aside and tells him of the fake contract. Somewhat calmed by the news, he consents to go through with the farce. The document is signed, and the notary leaves. Naturally, at this point there is a perfect opportunity for a quartet. The emotions expressed go something like this: Norina is worried lest Ernesto lose his temper and give the plot away; Ernesto thinks he will go mad from confusion; Malatesta begs him to believe in him; and Don Pasquale smugly observes that he
may
deal more gently with his nephew. Finally the ceremony is completed and the papers are signed.

Now the fireworks really begin. Suddenly, according to plan, Norina becomes a shrew. She pushes Pasquale away when he tries to embrace her and tells him he is too old even to take her walking, Ernesto, she says, will do that! Next, she proceeds to try to ruin Pasquale. She orders the present servants’ salaries to be doubled and tells the major-domo to hire at least twenty-four more immediately. Furthermore, they must all be young and handsome. Nor does she stop here, but then and there orders a new carriage and new furniture. Meanwhile Pasquale moans and groans that he will be ruined. Norina ignores him and keeps right on, saying that the thousand other items can be taken care of next day. The delighted Ernesto and Malatesta congratulate each other; Pasquale bemoans his fate; and the quartet comes to a grand climax as the curtain falls.

ACT III

Scene 1
finds Don Pasquale virtually tearing out his hair. Norina, his supposed new wife, has ordered all sorts of finery, and poor Pasquale is going over the bills. As he does this, the servants keep on delivering more and more things. Norina grandly enters and, without a glance at Pasquale, blithely announces that she is going to the opera. Pasquale tries to block her way and is rudely rebuffed. “Old men should go to bed early,” says the vindictive Norina. She shoves him away, flings
one last insult at him, and merrily goes off, accidentally on purpose dropping a letter, which he picks up and reads. It is a love letter to “Dearest Sofronia” and specifies a time and a place in the garden for an assignation. Furious, Pasquale sends a note to Malatesta to tell him that he is sick, and then he staggers out of the room.

Now the servants take over. They are delirious with happiness, they say; for while there is not a moment’s peace, what does that matter when there is so much money to be got? They finish up by warning each other to be careful. That way they will be able to keep on working in this fine house.

When the servants leave, Malatesta and Ernesto appear. They are discussing Ernesto’s forthcoming rendezvous, for it was Ernesto, of course, who wrote the love letter. It is agreed that Ernesto is to disappear the moment Malatesta arrives with Pasquale. As Ernesto rushes off, Pasquale enters complaining bitterly. He wishes Ernesto had married Norina, he says. His “wife” has squandered his fortune, and now she is planning a rendezvous with a lover.
And
in his own garden! Malatesta, reading the letter, pretends to be appalled, and Pasquale swears revenge. In a very amusing duet Malatesta proposes his own plan. “Surprise them in the garden,” he says. “Threaten to expose them. And,” he adds, “faced with public disgrace, they are sure to give each other up.” Pasquale is sure this treatment is too lenient. He agrees, however, to send his wife away if she is guilty, while Malatesta ironically promises that he will make sure she is properly handled after that.

Scene 2
takes place in the garden, on a perfect spring night. Our hero is heard singing one of the most beautiful arias in the opera (
Com’ è gentil
), and the chorus joins in occasionally, answering Ernesto as he sings of his passion. (Incidentally, at the first dress rehearsal of this opera, everyone thought it might fail. Donizetti went home; he found this serenade in a drawer; he gave it to the leading tenor; and on opening night it was the hit of the show.) When it is over, Norina joins Ernesto, and now only one thing is possible—a glorious duet
(Tornami a dir che m’ami)
. As their song of longing and loving ends, Pasquale and Malatesta are seen coming toward
them, and Ernesto escapes into the house according to the agreement. Norina pretends to be horrified as Pasquale demands to know where her lover is and starts searching with pretended help from Malatesta.

Foiled in finding her lover, Pasquale tells Norina to leave his house, but she pertly reminds him that it is
her
house. Malatesta interrupts them and reminds Pasquale of his promise to let him handle things. He takes Norina aside and quietly instructs her on just how to behave. Aloud he announces that another bride is to enter the house on the morrow. She is to be Ernesto’s wife, the widow Norina. Now Pasquale’s pretended wife pretends real anger. She swears she will never live under the same roof with this Norina and even demands proof that the new marriage is to be a real one. Ernesto is called and is told that his uncle has approved of his marriage to Norina. For appearance’s sake Norina objects, and this, naturally, makes old Pasquale demand the marriage even more strongly. He asks to see the proposed bride. “She is already here,” says Malatesta, and leads Norina to him. The plot is then made clear to Pasquale by Malatesta. The poor Don, confused and angry, denounces them all. However, there is good in everyone, even in a selfish old rogue, and he finally gives in to Norina and Ernesto, who are on their knees to him. He puts his arms around them, and Malatesta’s words Bravo,
bravo, Don Pasquale
introduce one last quartet in which they all moralize on the foolishness of an old man who marries a young girl, for it can only bring trouble.

ELEKTRA

Opera in one act by Richard Strauss with libretto
in German by Hugo von Hofmannsthal,
based on Sophocles’
Elektra

Time: after the fall of Troy

Place: Mycenae

First performance at Dresden, January 25, 1909

    
Elektra
is not only a thriller; it is a shocker, too. In fact, when it was first performed in Germany in 1909, some critics thought that the last word (or shall we say note?) had been written in unashamed frankness and passion. What, then, caused all the furor? It was just the familiar Greek legend first outlined by Homer and later immortalized by Sophocles. But the librettist had retold the story more or less in terms of modern psychology, while Strauss had composed a score as explicit and as exciting as only a modern master could make it.

You may recall, from Homer or Sophocles or Bulfinch, that while King Agamemnon of Mycenae was at the Trojan War, his wife Clytemnestra had taken a lover—one Aegisthus. When Agamemnon returned, he was promptly murdered; and since then Aegisthus and Clytemnestra had ruled in his place. Two of Agamemnon’s children—Elektra and Chrysothemis—were
kept around the palace almost as slaves. A son—Orestes—had escaped, and the two sisters prayed for the return of their brother to avenge the father. Elektra grew up a strange, brooding, savage woman.

The opera opens in a court of the palace as a number of the women servants discuss her odd behavior. Only one of these women has any sympathy for Elektra, for she feds her moral strength and regal grandeur. Soon Elektra herself enters and invokes the spirit of her dead father, Agamemnon. A few moments later she has an interview with her younger sister, Chrysothemis, in which the older girl tries to pour some of her own strong spirit into the younger and weaker one. When Clytemnestra appears, asking what sacrifices she should make on account of her guilty dreams, Elektra offers no comfort. Instead, she predicts the violent end that will overtake her own evil mother.

Now the false news is spread that Orestes lives no longer. Chrysothemis herself brings it to Elektra, who tries to persuade the younger girl to join her in committing the act of vengeance demanded by the gods, now that the brother is gone.

But the fact is that the false news has been brought by two strangers, and one of these is Orestes himself. There is a scene in which brother and sister recognize each other. Orestes, though he is less savagely vengeful than Elektra, knows what he must do, and he grimly enters the palace with his aged companion. A moment later are heard the two despairing cries of Clytemnestra that indicate her murder, and Elektra savagely shouts for joy that the deed has been done. Now Aegisthus enters. He has heard of the news of Orestes’ death, and Elektra, with grim mockery, assures him that it is certainly true. She leads him into the palace—and there he meets the same fate as Clytemnestra.

Elektra is deliriously delighted with this solution of the domestic affairs of the Agamemnon family. She dances a brief dance of victory, and then, as the opera closes, faints away in ecstasy.

THE ELIXIR OF LOVE

(L’Elisir d’amore)

Opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti with
libretto in Italian by Felice Romani