100 Great Operas and Their Stories: Act-By-Act Synopses (40 page)

ACT IV

A great many things happen rather quickly in the last act, and the musical numbers fairly trip over each other’s heels. It takes place at night in the garden of the Count’s estate, and the first music heard is Barbarina’s worried little aria about losing a pin that Susanna is sending to the Count. Figaro discovers her secret—and his suspicions about his bride and his master are confirmed. Then the music master, Don Basilio, makes some ironical comments to Dr. Bartolo on the subject, and these are followed by Figaro’s great aria,
Aprite un po’ quegl’ occhi
, in which he warns all men against the machinations of women. Finally, there is sung another great aria,
Deh vieni, non tardar
, in which Susanna ecstatically sings about her approaching love. Figaro overhears this and it makes him still more jealous.

Now Susanna and the Countess exchange costumes, and the action speeds up swiftly and furiously. The page boy Cherubino starts to make love to the Countess (thinking her at first to be Susanna). The Count, coming to his own rendezvous with Susanna, sends the boy packing–and starts to make love too. (He is, of course, wooing his own wife, but he does not know it.) And Figaro starts to make love to Susanna (his own wife, disguised as the Countess), much to her chagrin. He has, however, really penetrated the disguise, and after he has enjoyed her anger, they have a fine time making things up.

At the end the Count is shown up as having made a fool of himself. In a noble melody he begs pardon of his wronged and neglected lady, and the opera ends on a wholesome note of rejoicing by everyone.

MARTHA

(Marta)

Opera in four acts by Friedrich von Flotow
with libretto in German by W. Friedrich (pen
name for Friedrich Wilhelm Riese) based on
Lady Henriette
, a ballet-pantomime with scenario
by Vernoy de Saint-Georges and some of
the music by Von Flotow

Time: early 18th century

Place: in and about Richmond, England

First performance at Vienna, November 25, 1847

    Although the composer and the language of this opera were originally German, its origin, character, and appeal are all pretty international. First of all, it was composed in Paris, where Flotow spent most of his musical life. Secondly, its libretto, by Friedrich Riese, is based on a French ballet libretto. Thirdly, the story takes place in eighteenth-century England and is quite, quite British. And fourthly, it used to be sung at the great multilingual opera houses mostly in Italian. In fact, it afforded one of Caruso’s best roles. And the two most familiar arias are known to us, not by their German names, but by their Italian and English names. They are, of course,
M’appari
and
The Last Rose of Summer
.

OVERTURE

The overture, a familiar number in pops concerts, is made up chiefly of music for the Richmond Fair scene in Act I and the broad melody from the finale of Act III.

ACT I

Scene 1
Lady Harriet Durham, our heroine, is an aristocratic lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne of England. That places the story in the beginning of the eighteenth century, and the opening scene takes place in milady’s boudoir. She is such an aristocratic lady-in-waiting that she has her own staff of ladies-in-waiting to wait on
her
. And she is bored. Oh, terribly bored. She is even bored by the charming little chorus they sing for her, and so she dismisses them. That is, all except one—her special favorite, Nancy. Nancy suggests, in an aria, that maybe Harriet is in the dumps on account of love. No, says Harriet, it’s nothing like that. Just plain, horrid old boredom. (As a matter of fact—from all I’ve read about it—Queen Anne’s court really was a pretty stuffy sort of place.) Anyway, the two girls liven things up a bit with a pyrotechnical coloratura duet on the subject of
ennuie
. And then, in comes one of the causes of the boredom—Sir Tristram Mickleford. This middle-aged dandy imagines that Harriet is in love with him. Nothing could be further from the truth, wherefore the two girls amuse themselves by making fun of him.

Just then a troupe of girls is heard going past the window, singing. It turns out that they are on their way to the Richmond Fair, where they intend, according to the custom of the day, to offer their services as maids to those farmers who ask for them. “Fine idea,” thinks the bored Harriet, and she immediately suggests that she and Nancy should disguise themselves and join these girls. Sir Tristram is to join them, himself disguised as a country squire. The old fool objects strenuously, but the girls cajole and bully him into it; and as the scene
ends, they are rehearsing a country dance and leading the old gentleman out to catch up with the others.

Scene 2
takes us to the famous Richmond Fair. It’s fine, sunny, British sort of weather, and all the girls and farmers are out, melodiously explaining the business of the day in the jolly opening chorus. That is, a girl makes a bargain with a farmer to serve him for a wage they agree on, and once the agreement is made, it is binding for a whole year.

Now enter the two heroes—Lionel and Plunkett. They are there to get servants for their farm, and it appears that they are foster brothers. Through a very melodious duet we learn the following important facts: Lionel’s father had appeared with the little boy at the farm of Plunkett’s parents, and soon after he had died, without ever revealing his name. But he had left a ring for the little boy—a ring which, if shown to the Queen in time of need, would get help from her. The two boys had been brought up together as brothers, and now they are jointly running the prosperous farm that Plunkett’s parents had left them.

This important piece of exposition being tunefully disposed of, the Fair begins. Maids offer, themselves, reciting their accomplishments; farmers make bargains with them. Meanwhile, the disguised Lady Harriet, Nancy, and Sir Tristram look on, amused. Plunkett and Lionel are attracted by the girls and come over to inquire about their services. Sir Tristram tries to get the girls away, but they are attracted by these two handsome fellows, and by the joke as well. In a fine quartet a bargain is struck. The girls will serve these farmers for one year. Wages: fifty crowns per annum, porter to drink on Sundays, and plum pudding on New Year’s. Lightheartedly they agree, and they even accept the initial binding fee. But then, when they think that ends it and wish to go home with Sir Tristram, the men insist on their bargain. All the farmers—and the Sheriff as well—join in on the side of sound business. The act ends as the two men take off the two girls in their farm wagon. Sir Tristram tries desperately to intervene, but the whole chorus holds him back.

ACT II

Lionel and Plunkett have brought home their newly acquired servant girls, knowing them only as Martha and Julia. It does not take long to realize that there are going to be some labor troubles in this household, for the two girls not only seem unable to perform any tasks, they actually refuse to do them. Two fine quartets develop out of this comic situation. The first expresses the farmers’ original amazement and may roughly be translated as “Well, what do you know about that?” The second is known as the
Spinning Quartet
, in which the employers try to show the girls how to work a spinning wheel. The result is complete futility so far as work is concerned and complete delight for the audience with its musical expression. Plunkett gets really angry and chases the supposed Julia out of the room. But Lionel has been smitten with his “Martha,” and he speaks very gently to her. In a duet he promises never to ask her to do anything she does not want to do; all he asks is that she sing him a folk song. Touched by the handsome young man, she obliges. It is the Irish song
The Last Rose of Summer
that she sings. He is so much moved by it that he impulsively asks her to marry him, but she only laughs. Then, seeing his seriousness, she is once more touched. Just at that moment Plunkett returns, dragging in Nancy. Then the clock tolls twelve, and there is a sudden change in the charged atmosphere. Everyone grows quiet, and they sing the lovely
Good Night Quartet
.

The two men then lock up and go to their rooms. No sooner are they gone than Harriet’s silly old lover, Sir Tristram, comes in by the window. He has a carriage awaiting the two girls outside to escape in, and after a brief trio they scamper out.

ACT III

The act begins with a fine drinking song delivered by Plunkett as he downs a mug of good old English porter with his farmer friends at an inn at Richmond Park. Then they
go off to try to catch a glimpse of good Queen Anne, who is hunting in the park that day with her ladies-in-waiting. Sure enough—the ladies-in-waiting, dressed in hunting garb, come right up to the inn a moment later and, naturally enough, they sing a hunting song. But Plunkett, coming out of the inn, finds Nancy there—the girl he had hired as a servant for a year under the name of Julia. Immediately he tries to get her back, but of course she refuses, and her companions drive the rude fellow off with their spears.

When they are gone, Plunkett’s foster brother, Lionel, wanders in disconsolately. He is still in love with
his
hired girl, the Lady Harriet, whose name he believes to be Martha, and he sings the famous aria known in English as
How So Fair
, in Italian as
M’appari
, and in German as Ach,
so fromm
. As he finishes, the Lady Harriet herself also wanders in, dressed like a huntress. He begs her to return; she refuses; an angry duet develops; and finally Sir Tristram is called for. Everyone else also comes in (except, that is, the Queen), and the farmers are put quite in the wrong. Now the great ensemble number, heard first in the overture, develops. It is led by Lionel, who begs heaven’s forgiveness—not for himself, but for the girl who, he believes, has wronged him. A fanfare is heard off-stage. The Queen is approaching; and Lionel, suddenly remembering his ring, gives it to his friend Plunkett to deliver to the sovereign. For Lionel is now under arrest, and he knows that the ring, when presented to the Queen, may save him. He is led off under guard as the act closes.

ACT IV

Scene 1
Lionel, through the good graces of his ring and Queen Anne, has been released, and Lady Harriet visits him, for she loves him after all. She explains all this to Nancy, and then she sings, once more,
The Last Rose of Summer
. But Lionel, who has been put into jail on her account, will have none of her now, for he does not believe her to be sincere. Now Harriet tries to win him over by telling him a great secret. She herself had brought the ring to Queen Anne, and
it turns out that Lionel (unbeknownst to himself) is not a farmer at all, but none other than the Earl of Derby! Even this startling piece of court gossip does not change the mood of the angry young man, and the duet ends with his leaving her rudely.

But a high-spirited English lassie is not so easily defeated, and she enlists the aid of Nancy and Plunkett in a plan she has up her sleeve. These two, for their part, engage in a very flirtatious duet, and it is clear, long before it is over, that as soon as the tenor and soprano can be got into each other’s arms, the mezzo and the baritone will imitate the higher aristocracy.

Scene 2
And in the final scene the plan is carried out. A replica of the Richmond Fair has been constructed. Everyone looks, dresses, acts, and—to some extent—sings, just as he did at the Fair early in the opera. Lady Harriet (looking once more like Martha) says that she can do pretty well, not as a servant girl perhaps, but as a woman and a wife, and Nancy allows as how she’s pretty good at spinning after all. Lionel is thus completely won over; Nancy is not surprised to find herself in Plunkett’s arms; and everyone ends with a final reprise on
The Last Rose of Summer
. How else
should
a musical comedy end?

A MASKED BALL

(Un ballo in maschera)

Opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with
libretto in Italian by Antonio Somma based on
Augustin Eugène Scribe’s text for Daniel Auber’s
Gustave III ou Le bal masqué