The Project Gutenberg EBook of Stories from the Operas, by Gladys Davidson This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license Title: Stories from the Operas Author: Gladys Davidson Release Date: January 1, 2018 [EBook #56280] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES FROM THE OPERAS *** Produced by Andrés V. Galia, Readbueno and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) cover STORIES FROM THE OPERAS frontispice ISOLDA SNATCHED THE CUP FROM HIS TREMBLING HAND, & DRANK. title_page STORIES FROM THE OPERAS BY GLADYS DAVIDSON Author of "Two Hundred Opera Plots," "The Old Testament Story" PHILADELPHIA J. B. Lippincott Company Printed in Great Britain PREFACE Owing to the appreciation which has been accorded to my three series of "Stories from the Operas," it has been decided to re-issue the collection in one volume, and to include in this additional stories of new and popular operas recently produced in England. The plan of the work, as before, is to present all the incidents of each libretto in the clear, readable form of a short story; and it is hoped that the combined volume will continue to prove of interest, not only to opera-goers but to all lovers of dramatic tales. The three volumes have been entirely reset and re-collated in a manner which it is hoped will make them easier for reference. AUTHOR'S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my best thanks to the following Publishing Houses and holders of copyrights for their kind permission to include in this volume the stories of the various operas selected, and for the helpful information they have given me regarding libretti, etc.:— Messrs. Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew, Ltd., London. (For Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci.) Messrs. Boosey & Co., Ltd., London. (For Auber's Fra Diavolo, Flotow's Martha, and Meyerbeer's Robert the Devil.) Messrs. Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzic. (For Wagner's Lohengrin and Tristan and Isolda). Messrs. Brockhaus, Leipzic. (For Humperdinck's Königskinder.) Messrs. Chappell & Co., Ltd., London. (For Gounod's Faust.) Messrs. Cramer & Co., Ltd., London. (For Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann.) Covent Garden Opera House Management. (For courteous assistance.) Herr Adolph Fürstner, Berlin, W.10, and Herr S. Fischer Verlag, Berlin, W.57. (For Strauss's Elektra and Rosenkavalier.) (The story of Elektra is published by authorization of Herr Adolph Fürstner, Berlin, W.10, and Herr S. Fischer Verlag, Berlin, W.57. Copyright, 1908, by Adolph Fürstner, Berlin.) (The story of Rosenkavalier is published by authorization of Herr Adolph Fürstner, Berlin, W.10. Copyright, 1909, by Adolph Fürstner, Berlin, W.10.) Messrs. Frederick Harris, London. (For Verdi's Il Trovatore.) Messrs. Heugel et Cie, Paris. (For Thomas's Mignon.) Messrs. Hutchings & Romer, London. (For Wallace's Maritana.) Mr. Charles Manners and the Moody-Manners Opera Company. (For Tschaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.) Messrs. Novello & Co., Ltd., London. (For Beethoven's Fidelio, Bellini's La Sonnambula, Meyerbeer's Star of the North, Verdi's La Traviata and Rigoletto, and Wagner's The Flying Dutchman and Tannhäuser.) Messrs. Rendle & Co., Ltd., London. (For Bizet's Carmen and Gounod's Philemon and Baucis.) Messrs. G. Ricordi & Co., London. (For Puccini's La Bohème, Madam Butterfly and Manon Lescaut.) Messrs. Schott & Co., Ltd., London. (For Wagner's The Mastersingers, The Nibelung's Ring and Parsifal.) Herr Josef Weinberger, Vienna. (For Wolf-Ferrari's The Jewels of the Madonna.) G. D. CONTENTS PAGE Auber— Fra Diavolo 1 Balfe— The Bohemian Girl 14 Beethoven— Fidelio 28 Bellini— La Sonnambula 38 I Puritani 46 Benedict— The Lily of Killarney 52 Bizet— Carmen 62 Donizetti— Lucrezia Borgia 73 Lucia di Lammermoor 80 The Daughter of the Regiment. (La Figlia del Reggimento) 87 Flotow— Martha 95 Gounod— Faust 105 Philemon and Baucis 115 Romeo and Juliet 125 Halèvy— The Jewess. (La Juive) 135 Humperdinck— Die Königskinder (The Kingly Children) 143 Leoncavallo— I Pagliacci. (The Mountebanks) 158 Mascagni— Cavalleria Rusticana. (Rustic Chivalry) 165 Meyerbeer— Robert the Devil. (Robert le Diable) 171 The Huguenots. (Les Huguenots) 180 Star of the North. (L'Etoile du Nord) 192 Mozart— The Marriage of Figaro. (Le Nozze di Figaro) 206 Don Juan. (Don Giovanni) 217 Nicolai— The Merry Wives of Windsor 229 Offenbach— The Tales of Hoffmann. (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) 238 Puccini— Manon Lescaut 247 La Bohème 255 Madam Butterfly 270 Rossini— The Barber of Seville. (Il Barbiere di Seviglia) 282 Strauss— Der Rosenkavalier. (The Rose-Bearer) 289 Elektra 301 Thomas— Mignon 307 Tschaikovsky— Eugene Onegin 318 Verdi— Ernani 328 Rigoletto 337 Il Trovatore, or the Gipsy's Vengeance. (The Troubadour) 348 La Traviata 361 The Masked Ball. (Un Ballo in Maschera) 370 Verdi—continued Aïda 377 Othello 390 Wagner— The Flying Dutchman. (Der Fliegende Holländer) 397 Tannhäuser 406 Lohengrin 418 Tristan and Isolda 429 The Mastersingers of Nuremberg. (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) 438 The Nibelungs' Ring. (Der Ring der Nibelungen):— Part I. The Rhinegold. (Das Rheingold) 449 Part II. The Valkyrie. (Die Walküre) 455 Part III. Siegfried 464 Part IV. The Twilight of the Gods. (Die Götterdämmerung) 472 Parsifal 480 Wallace— Maritana 495 Lurline 508 Waltershausen— Colonel Chabert. (Oberst Chabert) 513 Wolf-Ferrari— The Jewels of the Madonna. (I Gioielli della Madonna) 524 Short Biographies of the Composers Auber 536 Balfe 536 Beethoven 537 Bellini 538 Benedict 538 Bizet 539 Donizetti 540 Flotow 541 Gounod 541 Halèvy 542 Humperdinck 542 Leoncavallo 543 Mascagni 544 Meyerbeer 544 Mozart 545 Nicolai 546 Offenbach 546 Puccini 548 Rossini 548 Strauss 549 Thomas 551 Tschaikovsky 551 Verdi 552 Wagner 553 Wallace 554 Waltershausen 555 Wolf-Ferrari 555 Alphabetical List of the Operas 557 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ISOLDA SNATCHED THE CUP FROM HIS TREMBLING HAND AND DRANK Frontispiece AUBER To face page 1 BALFE " 14 BEETHOVEN " 28 BELLINI " 38 DONIZETTI " 73 GOUNOD " 105 HALÈVY " 135 MASCAGNI " 165 MEYERBEER " 171 MOZART " 206 OFFENBACH " 238 PUCCINI " 247 ROSSINI " 282 TSCHAIKOVSKY " 318 VERDI " 328 WAGNER " 397 auber AUBER STORIES FROM THE OPERAS FRA DIAVOLO One bright Easter Eve, early in the nineteenth century, a lively group of carbineers were gathered together in the inn of Terracina near Naples, drinking success to the enterprise they were engaged upon; for they were just about to attack a horde of brigands supposed to be in that neighbourhood, and were expecting to meet with many exciting adventures. The captain of the outlaw band, Fra Diavolo, was the most celebrated bandit in Italy, and fully justified his sinister name, for his daring raids and impudent roguery had made him a terror to the country-side, and the mere mention of his name caused peaceful travellers to tremble in their shoes. All previous attempts to capture the cunning outlaw had proved ineffectual; so when at last a troop of carbineers was sent out from Naples to lie in wait for the whole band, joy was felt in every village round about, and the peasants hoped to be freed from their dreaded enemy at last. The soldiers had been awaiting news at the inn of Terracina, but on learning that Fra Diavolo and his rogues had been seen in the neighbourhood, they at once received orders to start off in pursuit. In merry haste, they drank the stirrup- cups poured out for them by old Matteo, the inn-keeper, and his pretty daughter, Zerlina; for a price had been set upon the head of Fra Diavolo, and they were eager to win the reward. But the captain of this gay troop, a handsome young brigadier named Lorenzo, sat alone at a side table, full of gloom; and when the inn-keeper presently invited all the company to attend the wedding of his daughter with a neighbouring farmer on the morrow, the look of sadness on his face deepened still more. For Lorenzo, on arriving at the inn, had quickly fallen in love with the pretty Zerlina himself, and when he had declared his passion for her, the maiden had gladly responded with an answering love as deep and tender as his own. But Matteo, the inn-keeper, would not hear of his daughter wedding a poor brigadier who had naught but his wretched pay to live upon, and to settle the matter he hastily arranged a marriage for her with Francesco, a well-to-do young farmer who came forward as a suitor just at this time. Negotiations were quickly made, and the ceremony fixed to take place on Easter Morn; and now, on the evening before, Zerlina, compelled to obey her parent's will, was bidden to say farewell to her portionless lover. Whilst the two were whispering together in a sad undertone, a loud noise of excited voices was suddenly heard without, and next moment a lady and gentleman rushed wildly into the inn, both dishevelled, and showing signs of great alarm. They declared in agitated tones that they had just been set upon by a band of fierce brigands, who had robbed them of all their jewels and available property, and they added that it was only by leaving the robbers in undisputed possession of their travelling carriage that they had been able to escape with their lives. Whilst Zerlina ran to attend to the exhausted lady, the gentleman, who was extremely fussy in manner, introduced himself as Lord Allcash, an English peer of great wealth touring through Italy with his newly-wedded wife, explaining that it was scarcely a mile away that their postillion had been stopped by the bandits. On hearing this, Lorenzo exclaimed that it must have been the very band of outlaws he had been sent to capture—that of the famous Fra Diavolo—and calling his men together, he bade them march forth to the hillside at once. Full of joy, the carbineers sprang to their feet and hurried from the inn, eager for their expected prey; and with a last sad farewell to the now weeping Zerlina, Lorenzo quickly followed. Lord Allcash immediately sat down to write out a notice, offering a reward for the recovery of his stolen property; and his wife, having noticed the tender parting between Zerlina and her lover, drew the girl aside and asked the cause of her trouble. Having learnt that it was only a matter of dowry that kept these two loving hearts apart, the lady, being of a sentimental disposition, persuaded her husband to make the reward a thousand ducats, hoping that the prize would be gained by the handsome Lorenzo, who would thus become an eligible suitor for the inn-keeper's daughter. The notice was then fastened in a prominent place; and Lord and Lady Allcash were just about to retire to the private apartments that had been hastily prepared for them, when a splendid carriage suddenly drew up at the inn door. A handsome man, of gay débonnaire appearance, stepped lightly to the ground, and bowed gracefully to the English tourists; and Lady Allcash, to her delight, recognised a charming fellow-traveller who had followed in their wake for several days past, and with whom she had more than once indulged in a pleasant flirtation. But her husband uttered an angry exclamation, for, being somewhat dull and stupid himself, he was already jealous of his coquettish wife's brilliant admirer; and seizing her by the hand, he led her into an inner chamber, very much against her will. The gay newcomer, who gave his name as the Marquis of San Carlo, entered the inn and ordered a repast, announcing that he meant to remain the night; and old Matteo bustled his servants about in high good-humour, blessing the good fortune that had brought two great lords to his hostelry on the same day. He informed the Marquis, with many humble apologies, that he himself would be absent from the inn until morning, since he intended to spend the night with his future son-in-law, Francesco, who was to be married to his daughter on the morrow; but he assured him that every possible attention would be accorded to him during his absence. So far from expressing annoyance at this announcement, the Marquis showed signs of pleasure, and as he sat down to the supper that had been quickly spread before him, he asked the landlord for the news of the neighbourhood. Matteo informed him that the talk of the country-side at that time was all of the daring bandit, Fra Diavolo, whose lawless band had only a few hours ago set upon and robbed the rich English lord and lady whom he had seen on entering the inn; and seeing that the Marquis was inclined to scoff at the notion of brigands, he bade his daughter sing to their guest a ballad well known to the peasants round about, in which the wild deeds of the famous robber were set forth in glowing colours. Just as the song came to an end, two rough, swarthy men, wrapped in dark, ragged cloaks, entered the inn, and asked for shelter for the night; and when Matteo, suspicious of their rascally looks, declared that he did not harbour vagabonds, the Marquis good-naturedly begged him to grant their request, saying that he would gladly pay for their board and lodging. Matteo, though somewhat surprised at the great lord's generous offer, made no more objection, but ordered one of the servants to provide the tramps with food, and afterwards to lodge them in the barn; and then, bidding his noble guest farewell for the night, he set off to the farm of Francesco, calling to Zerlina to accompany him part of the way. No sooner had the inn-keeper and his daughter departed, than the two vagabonds, casting hasty glances around, approached the Marquis and began to talk familiarly with him; for, though old Matteo little imagined it, the dashing guest he had served so obsequiously was in reality none other than the famous Fra Diavolo himself, now engaged on one of his most desperate enterprises! Having heard that a rich English lord and his lady were travelling through Italy, the daring brigand had determined to relieve them of all their available belongings, and to this end, being of gentlemanly aspect and manners, he had provided himself with fashionable attire, and made their acquaintance under the name of the Marquis of San Carlo. The coquettish Lady Allcash had quickly fallen under the fascinating spell of the brilliant Marquis, who, regardless of the fussy husband's black looks, had flirted desperately with her from the beginning; and, following in their wake from hotel to hotel, he had discovered under the pretence of friendly interest, the exact amount of all the valuables the wealthy pair had brought with them from England. Having learnt that Lord Allcash intended to bank the sum of twenty thousand gold pieces at Leghorn, the disguised brigand had given orders to his band to waylay the travellers on their journey thither, and to possess themselves, not only of the gold, but also of the lady's handsome jewels; and he had also bidden two of the gang to follow him to the inn of Terracina, to give him an account of their raid. These two rogues, whose names were Beppo and Giacomo, now told their daring leader that they had stopped the English travellers at the spot agreed upon; but though they had easily secured the diamonds and other jewels, they declared they had been unable to find the gold. On hearing this, Fra Diavolo was disappointed and perplexed, but declaring that he would quickly discover the whereabouts of the money, he bade the bandits retire to the barn to await his further orders. As the two rascals departed, Lady Allcash entered the parlour, announcing carelessly that her husband was resting, and, being somewhat dull, she had come to indulge in a little conversation with the charming Marquis; and the disguised bandit, determined to make the most of this fortunate circumstance, plunged at once into another amiable flirtation with the frivolous lady. They were, however, quickly interrupted by the angry husband, who had no intention of being supplanted by a mere stranger; but the pretended Marquis, with careless ease, refused to quarrel, and cleverly inveigled the duped one into friendly conversation. With great cunning he expressed sympathy with Lord Allcash in the loss of his valuables, enquiring casually if he had managed to save the large sum of gold he had been conveying to Leghorn; and with conceited pride, the Englishman replied that his own wits had served him in this matter. Having heard that bandits were in the neighbourhood, he had changed all the gold into bank-bills, which he had caused to be sewn up in the coat he was wearing, and also in the large sleeves of his lady's gown, and by this simple ruse he had managed to cheat the robbers. Whilst they were talking together, and Fra Diavolo was inwardly rejoicing at the information he had gleaned, approaching footsteps were heard outside, and next moment, Lorenzo and his carbineers hurried into the inn, exclaiming that they had gained a victory. Having cut off the brigands' retreat, they had caught the whole band in an ambush, and, attacking them unawares, had quickly killed twenty of their number, after which the remainder had fled away in a panic. Zerlina, who had also returned, quickly hastened to the side of her lover, rejoicing to see him again so soon; but Lorenzo declared that they must set off again immediately, for they had not yet captured the leader of the band, and could not rest until that deed was accomplished. He had, however, good news for Lord Allcash, whose lost valuables he had himself recovered from one of the bandits; and to the great delight of the travellers, he placed their jewels before them once more. Lady Allcash now announced that Lorenzo was entitled to the reward offered for the recovery of the jewels, and demanding her husband's pocket-book, which he had already replenished from his hidden store of bank-bills, she took therefrom a note for a thousand ducats, and handed it to the young brigadier. Overjoyed at the good fortune that had so suddenly made him even richer than his rival Francesco, Lorenzo clasped Zerlina in his arms with delight, knowing now