THE commonly received opinion1that the oratorio originated in the devotional exercises held in the oratories of monasteries,ORIGIN OF ORATORIO.and thrown into the form of a musical drama by Filippo Neri (1515-1595), is without foundation. All that can confidently be asserted is that he causedlaudi spirituali, a kind of motett,2to be sung by way of recreation, and that he organised carnival performances ("rappresentazioni") which withdrew the mind from worldly follies;3whether, and in what degree, music had to do with these we do not know.4
The "Rappresentazione dell' Anima e del Corpo," by Emilio de' Cavalieri, who sought to reproduce the old tragedy on the same principles as Peri in the opera, was arranged for representation on a stage ("palco"), with scenery, costumes, and dances, and contained recitatives and choruses.5One performance took place, according to the preface to the score, in February, 1599, in the oratorium of the church of S. Maria, in Vallicella,6and this Della Valle remembered having attended when a boy.7Henceforward sacred dialogues andORATORIO.dramas set to music were frequent in Rome and elsewhere, and were given not only before the congregationdell' oratorio,8but in churches, monasteries, and palaces. The history of the development of these rappresentazione or azione sacra, also called oratorio,9has not yet been traced in detail.10
In time the performances were confined to Lent, when no opera was given, and although action and costume gradually disappeared from the churches,11and the whole assumed more and more the form of a concert, yet the dramatic element, or at least the dialogue, always remained.
The connection with the service of the church was so far maintained that a mass and an address from a boy preceded the oratorio, and a sermon was delivered between its two parts.12
The growth of the azione sacra kept pace with that of the opera seria.
Apostolo Zeno defined the form of the oratorio by giving it unity of action, time and place, and strict dramatic treatment, and Metastasio carried on and completed the work just as he had done in the opera. Its division was into two, not three parts, otherwise the arrangement corresponded altogether with that of the opera. The characters enter speaking; recitative is employed for the dialogue, and the airs serve"LA BETULIA LIBBRATA," 1773.to express the higher emotions; concerted songs occur but seldom, but the choruses are frequent, and more often form a part of the action than in the opera.
The subject-matter is borrowed from the Bible, generally the Old Testament, or from some old legend; but both persons and plot must of necessity be devised, so as to represent the story in a succession of dialogues. An effort is made to preserve the biblical diction in the poetry, but the animated rhetorical style of Italian poetry decidedly gets the upper hand. Moral and religious reflections are the almost invariable themes of the songs and choruses, which have rarely any individual character. In this respect, as well as in the dearth of dramatic action, the azione sacra comes nearer to the so-called azione teatrale than to the genuine opera seria.
The legend of Judith is treated as follows by Metastasio, in his oratorio "La Betulia Liberata," which has often been composed.13Thedramatis persona("interlocutori") are:—[See Page Image]
Ozia reproaches the desponding inhabitants of Bethulia for their cowardice, and declares his resolution not to give up the city to the enemy. Amital and Cabri oppose him, describing the sufferings of the people from famine and sickness. In vain he reminds them how the Lord has helped their fathers, they demand admission to Holofernes, and it is with difficulty that he obtains a delay of five days, and calls upon God for help, with the chorus. Then Judith enters; horrified atORATORIO.the decision, she upbraids them for their cowardice which dares to doubt God's mercy and set a limit to His power: "il primo è vile, temerario il secondo." Her song (5) may serve as a standard for the style of this poetry:
Del pari infecondaD' un flume è la sponda,Se torbido eccede,Se manca d' amor.Si acqaista baldanzaPer troppo speranza,Si perde la fedePer troppo rumor.
She exhorts the trembling people to trust and patience, and informs them that she has formed a great resolve, which as yet she can communicate to no one; while she prepares herself, all are to unite in prayer; the former chorus is repeated. Carmi brings Achior as a prisoner, who relates that, having told Holofemes of the courage of the Israelites and the wonderful power of their God, who renders them invincible as long as they trust in Him, he has been sent into the city to share its destruction. Judith approaching, is left alone with Ozia, who is surprised to see her richly adorned; she demands egress from the town with her maid, and departs, the chorus (in the distance) expressing astonishment at her enterprise.
In the second part Ozia seeks to convince the heathen Achior that there is but one God. Before his arguments have been quite successful Amital enters and describes the death-stillness, expressive of the extreme of need and despair, which hangs over the city. Shrieks and tumult interrupt him; Judith returns, and relates how she has slain Holofernes; she holds the decapitated head before the incredulous Achior, who swoons for fear. After Judith's song, he comes to himself and declares his conversion to the faith of the God of Abraham. Carmi enters, and relates that at Judith's bidding they had raised a war-cry; the Assyrians, discovering the death of Holofernes, were seized with terror and fled precipitately.
A song of thanksgiving to God, in which Judith leads the chorus, forms the conclusion.
The composers treated the oratorio in the same way as the opera seria,14only that the want of dramatic variety favoured the adoption of the concert style of music. In its form there was no important difference; we find the same treatment of the recitatives, secco and obbligato, of the songs and of all important parts, including the choruses; only"BETULIA"—OVERTURE.that the bass voice is made use of in solo singing. We might expect to find the musical conceptions inspired by earnestness and reverence; and this was so far the case that the oratorio excluded all that was trifling, voluptuous, or that related to the passion of love. But a religious tone was entirely wanting, and the operatic style was only modified, not essentially altered. Every song in an oratorio would have been quite in place at a corresponding point in an opera seria, and many operatic songs might have been transferred to an oratorio with perfect propriety. The bravura of the vocalists was considered as appropriate in the churches as on the stage, only that a certain amount of moderation was becoming.
During Lent, when the opera was closed, the public looked for entertainment to the oratorios, and flattered themselves that they were at the same time fulfilling a religious duty, because the performance took place in a church.
Mozart's music to "Betulia Liberata" (118 K.) is quite on this level. There are unfortunately no indications of time or place on the original score, which exists in two volumes of 382 pages and fifteen numbers; the handwriting and composition place it undoubtedly between 1770 and 1773. As we know that Mozart received a commission for an oratorio at Padua in March, 1771, it may safely be conjectured that this was the "Betulia Liberata," and that it was performed in Padua in 1772.15
The three movements of the overture in D minor are quiet and more concentrated than usual; the arrangement of the parts is more independent, with attempts at imitative treatment. Besides oboes and bassoons, there are four horns (in D and F), and trumpets (in D), used frequently and in the same manner as at present.
ORATORIO.
A secco recitative follows the overture; the music never rises above the dialogue, with its long, sermonising speeches and rhetorical bombastic reflections. There are only two accompanied recitatives: the first occurs when Judith upbraids the people; short and skilfully modulated instrumental phrases interrupt the animated declamation, and the whole is lively and expressive. Later on Judith delivers the long narrative of her adventure with Holofemes (II) in an accompanied recitative. The stringed instruments strike the chord in a high pitch, with which Judith's alto voice strongly contrasts. There are but few agitated passages; but, indeed, even in stirring moments the music never reaches anything like characterisation. The prayer of Judith at the most critical point of the piece is not conspicuous either for tunefulness or varied accompaniment.
The solo parts are distributed among all the four voices: for Amital, Cabri and Carmi are soprani, Judith alto, Ozia tenor, and Achior bass; they are never united in an ensemble, and there is not one duet.
Judith has three airs, besides a solo with chorus. The first (5) approaches as near as possible to a bravura song. The words are expressed with grace and animation. The passages are neither predominant nor tedious, which is doubtless due in part to the singer for whom the part was composed, for the second song (7), powerful and dignified as it is, is also without passages; it begins with the favourite long-sustained note. The chief movement of the last song (11)—a long adagio with a carefully composed accompaniment—is finely descriptive of Judith's mood, but there is no appeal to the feelings by beautiful melody. The whole part is not bravura in the strictest sense; the deeper alto notes are only occasionally employed.
That this moderation of style was not inseparable from the character of oratorio music, may be seen from the parts of Amital and Ozia. The second song for Amital (10) and the first for Ozia (1) are regular serious bravura songs, with passages, long-sustained notes, and florid accompaniments. Amital's last song (13) is solemn and earnest, to suit the words, but still keeps the performer well in view; Ozia's"BETULIA"—ARIE, CHORUSES.second song is soft and graceful, and the first which reminds us of Mozart's later style.
The bass part of Achior is less carefully written, and not nearly so bravura in style. The first song (6) is more noisy than vigorous, both in voice and accompaniment. This boisterous treatment of the bass voice was then common, and it was on that account excluded from the opera seria.16In this place it accords with the dread apparition of Holofernes which is described. The second song of Achior, after his conversion (12), is very simple and insignificant; the accompaniment is partly imitative.
The two airs of Cabri (2) and Carmi (14) are, as usual with secondary parts, simple, and not without expression, but in no way original.
The traditional aria form is adhered to in almost all the songs. The second part, distinct from the first in composition if not in time and measure, is short and superficially treated; generally only the last part of the first movement is repeated. The latter is broadly conceived, with long ritomelli; the invariable cadenza is brought in in the usual way. The accompaniment resembles that of operatic songs, but is more carefully worked out. Original passages for the second violins—sometimes, too, for the violas—occur, here and there, as well as attempts at imitation; and the wind instruments are occasionally employed independently. All these attempts show decided talent, but they are few and far between, and the orchestra has not the stamp of independent vigour.
The choruses, although occupying more space in the composition, do not materially differ from those of the opera. The concluding chorus of the first part (8) is like a study for a recitative, turned into a chorus by means of the accompaniment, which consists of two alternate strongly marked subjects. The elaboration is not contrapuntal, butORATORIO.harmonic, and a simple but rich modulation gives significance to the movement. The voices give the full harmony, and a moderate amount of agitation in the melody and rhythm appears when the declamation demands it. The favourable pitch, the interesting modulation, the characteristic accompaniments, and the dignified seriousness which runs through the whole, all combine to make this chorus effective and excellent of its kind.
The two other choruses are prayers connected with solos. The first (4) is very simple. Ozia sings a melodious, beautifully conceived cantilene, full of feeling, which is accompanied by the violins pizzicato, and the chorus ends with a repetition of the two last lines. The second verse, with a change of composition, preserves the same character; after which the first is repeated, and leads with effective climax to a full close.
The last chorus is more grandly conceived. Judith answers the thanksgiving of the chorus in two strophes descriptive of the victory, and then the chorus falls in again; this is repeated three times, and a moral reflection follows as a closing chorus. Mozart has chosen an ancient church melody for the refrain of the chorus:—[See Page Image]
The melody is four-part, the partially varied harmony dignified and powerful, and interesting in its simplicity; the voices are well treated and animated. At the fourth"BETULIA"—COMPARISON WITH HASSE.repetition Mozart has assigned the Cantus firmus, somewhat altered in the second part, to the tenor voice:—[See Page Image]
Thence he passes to the closing chorus. The solo part of Judith, simple, dignified, and earnest, resembles a regular song; but the declamatory is more prominent than the melodious element. Although somewhat overpowered by the chorus, the character of Judith is here most significantly expressed. Whenever Mozart allows himself free play, he exhibits originality, truth, and earnestness.
The closing chorus is lively and brilliant, but kept in moderation, and its character is not without strength and dignity.
That this conception of the oratorio was not peculiar to Mozart, but was the then commonly received one, is plain from a comparison of this with other contemporary oratorios—with those, for instance, by Hasse, which are reckoned among his most important works. Whoever should form, on the strength of the eulogies pronounced by Hiller on the oratorio "Sant-Elena al Calvario,"17a conception of thisORATORIO.and similar pieces founded on our present ideas of sacred music, would find himself much deceived. Here, as in all Hasse's oratorios, the art of the vocalist is the determining element, and the expression of emotion coincides in essentials with that of the opera. The differences in Mozart's oratorio are unimportant, and are founded on variations in the taste of the time and of the composer.
Hiller speaks with great admiration of the pilgrims' chorus, to which Hasse has set the chorale "O Lamb of God" in such a way "that its whole attraction consists in the alternation of the voices and of the various instruments among whom the melody is divided; the bass and violin are in unison throughout, and give animation to the whole, with a simplicity that is worth more than ten fugues, and which betrays more insight into the true beauty of song than the most artistic counterpoint." It almost seems as if Hiller wished to point at J. S. Bach, and remembering some of the marvellous creations of Bach—for instance, the first chorus in the St. Matthew "Passion Music"—the contrast between different artistic tendencies and personalities can hardly be better exemplified than by comparing him and Hasse. Hasse has succeeded in bringing the chorale into accordance with the Italian style of his oratorio, but he loses thereby the proper significance and effect of the chorale. The way in which Mozart has introduced the Catholic church melodies unaltered is, from this point of view, grander and more striking. And Hasse was looked upon in Mozart's day as a representative of the good old times in the traditions of which he had been educated.
OPERA BUFFA was a gradual outgrowth from the opera seria, in which originally comic characters took part in burlesque scenes.OPERA BUFFA.Even so late as 1718, when Scarlatti's "Telemacco" was produced, there were scenes of coarse humour between Tersite and Silvina in this otherwise conventionally correct opera.1When, however, the discrepancy between these and the dignity and purity of the opera seria came to be fully felt, the comic scenes were detached, generally without much difficulty, and given as independent additions, between the acts.2It had long been the custom to interpose between the acts of the spoken drama—tragedies as well as comedies—musical representations which had no connection with the piece itself, and were called intermedi or intermezzi, and in the opera both the comic scenes and the ballets were gradually loosed from their connection with the main body of the work and placed between the acts. The relish of the audience for these comic interludes soon led to the production of independent comic pieces called intermezzi, which took the place of the disjointed scenes from the opera. As a rule there were but two characters, one male and one female, and there was no continuous plot even when the same characters appeared in the different intermezzi. The dialogue was carried on in plain recitative, and there were neither solo songs nor duetsOPERA BUFFA.to interfere with the main opera. In the intermezzi which Metastasio himself composed for his "Didone Abbandonata" in 1724, the characters are Ribbio, a poet, composer, singer, and impresario, who is desirous of establishing a theatre on the Canary Islands, and Dorina, the prima donna whom he wishes to engage; after many affectations she sings a song before him, whereupon he produces others, of his own composition, and they vie with each other in mutual compliments. In the second intermezzo Dorina, dressed for the stage, displays her tragic powers to Ribbio as Cleopatra; finally they conclude a romantic contract, which includes a prospect of tender relations between the two.
Great effect was caused by the caricaturing and ridiculing of the opera seria, and by the exposure of the personal relations of stage heroes and heroines; elements which have always played a great part in opera buffa.
The intermezzo gives, as it were, the back view of the opera seria, not with the intention of destroying the ideal effect by sarcastic criticism, but rather in order to heighten it by force of contrast. Even the independent opera buffa preserved much of this parodying reference to the opera seria.
Pergolese's "Serva Padrona" which was first produced in Naples in 1730, was another example of an intermezzo for two characters; it met with great success not only in Italy, but in France3and Germany,4and set the fashion for similar pieces. Very soon an intrigue was introduced, a connected plot was supplied, and the number of characters increased first to three, then to four.5The development of the intermezzo was rapid, and before long the inconvenience of carrying on two independent dramas simultaneously caused the complete emancipation of opera buffa from opera seria.6Equal rank with the latter it never attained. It came toTHE INTERMEZZO.maturity on the boards of the smaller theatres ("teatrini"), and was long in gaining admission into the larger theatres. Even then it was only exceptionally introduced during the season or stagione, side by side with the opera seria, although in the German court theatres an opera seria and a buffa were not seldom played alternately during the carnival. In Italy comic operas were only admitted in summer, and at those times when there was no grand opera. They did not pass for exhibitions of perfect vocal art, and fewer calls were made on the powers of the singers apart from their comic talent in delivery and action. There is no doubt that this external subordination was of inestimable value to the development of the opera buffa.
It received a firm foundation of musical configuration—recitative, aria, ensemble—without the necessity of submitting to limitations and laws so fixed as to have become absolute. The bass voice, which was considered most suitable to comic characters, and had already been appropriated to them in the old opera, was made the chief vehicle for comic effects in the intermezzo. Volubility of utterance, mimicry, and comic action were as necessary as a fine voice. The highly paid male soprano might therefore be dispensed with in opera buffa; the unnatural conventionality of the opera seria would have been insupportable in representations of daily life. By this means the voices were brought into their proper relations; the lover's part was allotted to the tenor, and the performance generally gained in variety and in the natural grouping of the parts.
The distinction of primary and secondary parts was disregarded, as well as the limitation to a small number of vocalists; though these seldom went beyond seven.7There were usually three female parts; the most decidedly comic was the sly, pert waiting-maid (a standing figure of the opera buffa), or a scolding old woman, an unsophisticated peasant-girl, &c.
OPERA BUFFA.
The tenor part was usually the sentimental, unhappy lover, and required most from the singer, but there were often two tenor parts, in which case one was comic; the buffo tenor was not however nearly so well defined a part as the buffo bass. The bass parts were decidedly comic; a blustering old man and a cunning or a stupid servant were seldom wanting. When the lover was a bass, he was either jovial or comical.
In spite of all this freedom, certain typical features were formed that recur in all the varieties of grouping and disguise. The opera buffa was far from adopting in dialect or costume the well-defined character, of the Italian popular comedy, but the resemblance in form is unmistakable. It was in imitation of the popular plays that the comic parts were made caricatures, the effect of which depended on striking but exaggerated peculiarities. The music was made to display these,8and there can be no doubt that the want of individual character in the opera seria favoured the passage to the opposite extreme in the opera buffa. As a relief to the caricatures,mezzo caratterewere invented, in which the purely musical element was more pronounced.
Intermezzi required an easy and loosely connected plot; the popular jokes would not have come out so well from a studied, well-connected drama, as from effective situations where favourite characters could follow their bent. If the situations were of ample variety, lively and humorous in their rendering, the audience was quite ready to forget how weak the thread was which held them together. The opera buffa was always written for a specified company, and theFORMS OF OPERA BUFFA.poet, limited both as to characters and effective situations, found his labour simplified by such a skilful use of the conditions ready to hand as should secure him applause and success.9Opera buffa, being held in little esteem, was seldom taken in hand by poets of note; even Goldoni's texts are, as he acknowledges himself,10unworthy of esteem. Goethe,11when he was studying the comic opera in Rome with the composer Kayser, remarked, that "there were a hundred things to be observed, to which the Italians sacrificed the spirit of the poetry; for instance, each character was to be brought forward in a certain order and a certain degree—each singer must have pauses, &C."12His own experience gave him a very just judgment on opera texts, and he rightly ascribed a certain amount of simplicity, which, apart from the music, made them appear poor and meagre, to a tendency to treat the subject fancifully, like a child's fairy story.13But the majority of comic libretti are disconnected and absurd, without spirit or delicacy, depending entirely on the effect of humorous exaggeration; and the universal opinion was a just one, that the words of the comic opera were as poor as the music was charming.14
The musical forms of the opera seria were modified and remodelled by the comic composers with very unequal skill and success. The recitative needed little transformation; the more trivial treatment of the dialogue suggested itself, and the accompanied recitative was only varied to suit the comic situations. The aria, on the contrary, belonged essentially to musical art, and had been developed at the cost of dramatic truth; opera buffa did not concern itself with either of these facts. It adopted the forms of the opera seria (unless when it parodied them) only in the partsdi mezzo car otterewhich it had appropriated from the opera seria.
OPERA BUFFA.
The contrasting of different motifs was preserved as an essential condition of musical composition, but the rules as to method and succession were no longer regarded as binding. The subjects were more slender and fugitive, so as to be more easily united, and they profited thereby in freedom of movement and form. In many airs which have only one tempo, the constituent parts of the original aria can be clearly recognised, but the subjects are arranged and repeated according to circumstances, the subordinate subjects are more important and longer, and the means at command are more freely used. Piccinni was the first to introduce the rondo form, which repeats the main subject several times with freely treated intermediate movements. It met with great applause, and was variously developed, being at last adopted in opera seria.15But the simpler form of the cavatina was more usual, and received many modifications; the ballad style was also not infrequent.
This freedom and many-sidedness of treatment was more especially favourable to the dramatic aspect of the piece, and brought the plot into closer relationship with the music, particularly in the ensembles. Duets, terzets, and quartets were introduced wherever the situation required, and this musical dramatic character reached its highest point in the finales, which are true musical representations of a dramatic climax ascending to a catastrophe. These finales, products of the continual struggle to render music not the ornament but the helpmeet of the drama, are the property of the opera buffa.
Nic. Logroscini, who was considered as the inventor of comic opera, and the deity of thegenre bouffon,16is said to have written the first finale, the main subject of which was developed in one continuous movement. Nic. Piccinni (whose "Buona Figliuola" was so well received in Rome in 1761, that it may serve as a date for the recognition of operaDEVELOPMENT OF OPERA BUFFA.buffa as a distinct branch of the art) treated each scena of the finale as a separate movement, and displayed far greater variety and more effective working-up.
Many of the deficiencies of the text must have had considerable influence on the music. The latter was constantly striving after dramatic effect and characteristic situations, and was as constantly dragged back by caricature and absurdity. The custom also arose of providing unworthy comic effects for the buffo characters, such as the mimicry of natural sounds, quick speaking, and others that have become gradually extinct. On this point the severe mentorship of the opera seria exerted a wholesome influence in preventing the complete sacrifice of form to fun; so that, to the observer of the present day, regularity of form is more observable in comic opera than freedom of treatment.
From opera seria too the comic opera received its main principle, viz.: that the essence of the opera is in music, and more especially in song, on the suitable treatment of which it depends for all its effect.
The majority of dramatic composers have tried their hand at opera buffa; besides Nic. Logroscini (17...-1763), Bald. Galuppi (1703-1765), Nic. Piccinni (1728-1800), we may particularly note Pietro Guglielmi (1727-1804), Pasq. Anfossi (1736-1797), Giov. Paisiello (1741-1816), Domen. Cimarosa (1754-1801), all men of prominent parts and thorough musical training. Add to this the innate love of the Italians for beauty of form, and it will be easily comprehensible that in spite of many excrescences opera buffa should have blossomed into a musical art, which in creative genius and intellectual power soared far higher than its elder sister, whom it soon surpassed in the favour of the public.17
The greater freedom of style was of advantage also to the instrumental parts, which took an independent share in the characterisation. Many situations were heightened by the orchestra coming to the foreground—as for instance during the frequently recurringparlandowhere it falls to the instruments to give the clue to the intended expression.
OPERA BUFFA.
The instrumental scores which Piccinni was blamed for overloading and making unnecessarily prominent appear to us indescribably poverty-stricken.18But it was thus that the orchestra gradually developed into such an independence as makes it capable of following the rapid emotions of the actors, and of serving at the same time as a firm foundation for the whole artistic organism.
The overture in three movements was not the only one permissible; symphonies in two parts were frequent, as also a somewhat more elaborate allegro movement, which served as an instrumental introduction.
Anfossi's "Finta Giardiniera" had met with great success in Rome in 1774, whilst Piccinni's opera was hissed off the stage. In spite of its miserable text it was produced in 1775 at Vienna,19and in 1778 at Paris;20and at Munich Mozart received the libretto to compose for the Carnival of 1775—
The dramatis persona are as follows:—[See Page Image]
The Marchesa Violante Onesti has been wounded by her lover Conte Belfiore in a fit of jealousy, and he, believing that he has slain her, flees. She sets forth in disguise to seek him, accompanied by a faithful servant, Roberto; they both enter the service of Don Anchise, Podestà of Lagonero, as gardeners, she under the name of Sandrina and he as"LA FINTA GIARDINIERA," 1775.Nardo. The Podestà falls in love with Sandrina and neglects for her the waiting-maid Serpetta, to whom he has been paying his addresses. Nardo strives in vain for Serpetta's favour; the two intruders are equally obnoxious to her. Ramiro, Don Anchise's guest, and the accepted lover of his niece Arminda, is deserted by the latter, who becomes affianced to Belfiore.
At the opening of the opera the inhabitants of Lagonero are busily employed decorating the garden for the reception of the betrothed couple; Ramiro informs the Podestà that an unhappy love torments him, and departs. The Podestà sends Nardo and Serpetta to a distance, in order that he may declare his love to Sandrina; this she seeks to evade, while Serpetta continually contrives to interrupt them, so giving occasion for a comic aria from the Podestà. Thereupon Sandrina announces to Nardo her intention of leaving the place to escape the attentions of the Podestà, and complains of the faithlessness of men; Ramiro entering, bewails the inconstancy of women, and Nardo the cruelty of Serpetta. Arminda, who has just arrived, behaves whimsically to the Podestà and Serpetta; Conte Belfiore enters, greets her as his bride, and comports himself like a vain affected fop, boasting to the Podestà of his nobility, his wealth, his good looks, his conquests, and his love for Arminda.
Serpetta and Nardo having quarrelled, we next find Sandrina busy in the garden. Arminda informs her that she is about to wed Conte Belfiore; upon which Sandrina swoons. Arminda calls Belfiore, and leaves the unconscious Sandrina to his care while she runs for her smell-ing-bottle; when she returns Ramiro enters, and the four lovers recognise each other in extreme confusion; the Podestà, entering, seeks in vain for a solution of the mystery; they all go out, and leave him alone. Before he can recover from his astonishment, Serpetta, to excite his jealousy, relates that she has seen Belfiore and Sandrina holding tender intercourse, and he withdraws in order to watch them. Belfiore tries to extort from Sandrina the confession that she is Violante; at first she denies it, but then forgets herself and reproaches him for his infidelity. As he falls repentant at her feet, Arminda enters with Ramiro, all the rest rush in, overwhelm him and Sandrina with reproaches, and the act closes amid universal confusion.
The second act opens with Ramiro reproaching Arminda for her inconstancy, while she does the same to Belfiore; then Serpetta makes fun of Nardo. Sandrina, who, in her own despite, still loves Belfiore, is surprised by him in the garden, forgets herself again, and overwhelms him with reproaches; when he remorsefully sues for her love again, she recollects herself, and explains that she has known Violante, and has only been giving expression to her feelings. Quite confused, he makes her tender excuses, and tries to kiss her hand, but seizes instead that of the Podestà, who has drawn near unobserved, and goes out confounded.
OPERA BUFFA.
The Podestà first reproaches Sandrina, then makes her a formal declaration of love, which she seeks in vain to evade. Ramiro enters with a letter, wherein Belfiore is denounced as the murderer of the Marchesa Onesti, and requires the Podestà to institute a formal inquiry; to Arminda's disgust the Podestà declares the marriage postponed, and Ramiro is filled with fresh hope. The Podestà interrogates Belfiore, who, in spite of the whispered hints of Arminda and Serpetta, becomes confused, and draws great suspicion on himself; then Sandrina appears, and explains that she is the Marchesa Violante who was wounded, not killed; they do not believe her, and treat her with contempt. When she is alone with Belfiore, and he in delight renews his expressions of love, she tells him she is not Violante, but has only impersonated her to save him. Amazed and horrified, he loses his senses and begins to rave, but soon comes to himself.
Serpetta informs the Podestà and Ramiro that Sandrina has fled, but when they have hurried forth to seek her, betrays to the listening Nardo that Arminda has had her rival conveyed to a hiding-place in the neighbouring wood, in order to prevent any interference with her union to Belfiore.
Next we see Sandrina left alone in darkness, want, and despair; in quick succession there enter Belfiore led by Nardo, the Podestà seeking Sandrina, and Arminda and Serpetta to make sure that she is secure; in the darkness the Podestà declares himself to Arminda, and Belfiore to Serpetta, both believing that they are addressing Sandrina, to the delight of Nardo, who now enters, followed by Ramiro with torches, calling upon Belfiore to renounce the hand of Arminda. When the party recognise each other there is first great consternation; then all break into abuse and reproaches; Sandrina comes to an understanding with Belfiore, they both imagine themselves shepherds, and amid the universal hubbub sing pastoral ditties; then she enacts Medusa, he Hercules, and at last they dance with delight, while the others are beside themselves with anger and astonishment.
In the third act, Nardo is again scorned by Serpetta, then Belfiore and Sandrina attack him, making passionate love to him in their madness, and he escapes with difficulty. The Podestà is beset by Serpetta, whom he repulses, by Arminda, who wants to wed Belfiore, and by Ramiro, who demands Arminda's hand, though she again declares that she detests him.
Belfiore and Sandrina having fallen asleep in the garden, awake to soft music, cured of their madness; they recognise each other, and after some resistance she listens to his suit. Upon this Arminda resolves to bestow her hand on Ramiro, and Serpetta on Nardo, and only the Podestà remains unmated.
It was no easy task even to follow these clumsily connected situations, too incoherent to be called a plot; and it"LA FINTA GIARDINIERA"—GERMAN VERSION.would have taxed the efforts of any composer to save such a work from utter oblivion.
Only the second and third acts of Mozart's original score (196 K.) are preserved, in two volumes, containing together 344 pages; the first is lost, and there is no known copy of the Italian score, so that the recitatives of the first act are unknown.
The opera was later produced in German; the German text is inserted in the original score by L. Mozart, with trifling alterations of a note here and there to suit the declamation. Besides these there are numerous abbreviations, both in the recitatives and in some of the songs (13, 17, 19, 25), which were made for the first performance at Munich, and indicated by rough chalk strokes and erasures; with the same end, Mozart recomposed the whole of an abridged scene.
The abridged songs are adopted in the German version, but one air (20), which was marked in chalk "to be omitted," is retained. That Wolfgang was himself concerned in this adaptation is proved by the fact that on certain pages the accompanied recitatives which were retained in the German opera are rewritten in his own hand. Spoken dialogue takes the place of the plain recitatives, and the German cues are inserted by a third hand. In Rei-chardt's "Theaterkalender," the operetta, "Das verstellte Gartner-Madchen" has been included among Mozart's works since 1781, and it was performed under this title at Frankfort in 1789. Mozart probably undertook the adaptation after his return from Paris to Salzburg, when he busied himself with the improvement of German opera. The translation may safely be ascribed to Schachtner. The score is preserved in duplicate; and a selection of the songs was printed by André under the title "Die Gärtnerin aus Liebe."21
OPERA BUFFA.
This opera takes an unquestionably higher rank both as to originality, technical skill, and vivid characterisation than any that had preceded it. The seven personages, all drawn in firm outline with a sure hand, are not all comic characters.
The part of Ramiro is avowedly written for a male soprano, probably for the celebrated Tomm. Consoli (b. 1753), who entered the Munich Kapelle in 1744, and was summoned to Salzburg for the approaching festival performance. The part is throughout a serious one; Ramiro is the sentimental unfortunate lover, who only becomes comic by his alternate hopes and fears, as, true to his first inclinations, he opposes Arminda's jealous resentment.
In his first unimpassioned song (2) he declares that, being scarcely healed from his first unhappy attachment, he recoils from all fresh enticements; he has not yet seen his faithless beloved again, the sight of whom afterwards causes him to forget all in the desire to win her. The cavatina (18) renders the sentiment of true and hopeful love simply and tenderly. Finally, resentment against his faithless mistress is expressed in an agitated air (21) with strongly accentuated declamation and rapid changes of harmony. All three songs render consistently the exalted mood of a man of sentiment, whose passions, nevertheless, are not consumed by their own intensity; the individuality of the singer may doubtless have lent itself to this treatment of the part. This individuality is also evident in the fact that Ramiro's songs pay chief regard to the singer in the passages, and adhere closely to the older forms. But there is unmistakable progress in the richer and freer grouping of the subjects, and in the delicate feeling with which the digression in the middle movement is treated, and gradually led back to the main subject.
Arminda stands next to Ramiro. As an imperious, passionate girl, who ill-uses her faithful lover, and runs after another man, she is more repulsive than comic. Musical characterisation, by giving to her violence an air of pettishness, has introduced a comic element into her first air (7) which brings the noble lady very near the soubrette. The air (13) in which she threatens the Count with vengeance for"LA FINTA GIARDINIERA"—SANDRINA.his inconstancy has a caricatured expression of the pathetic, which parodies the manner of the opera seria, and might, therefore, produce a comic effect. The absence of all bravura in this part, in spite of the style of the songs, which seems to call for it, was no doubt to suit the particular singer—a seconda donna.
The part of Sandrina was expressly written for Rosa Manservisi, who was highly thought of, both as a singer and an actress.22It is comic neither in intention nor fact. An unhappy woman, of deep and delicate feelings, injured and deceived, is forced by adverse fate to dissimulate; the difficulties into which she is led by her disguise are not ludicrous, but painful, and excite only sympathy. It was common at the time to introduce persons and situations of a sentimental character into opera buffa, without any regard to the incongruity of different styles.23The principal scena given to Sandrina at the close of the second act quite oversteps the boundary of opera buffa. Left deserted in the dark and gloomy forest, she gives vent to her despair in a song (21), which strikingly expresses the breathless anguish of a tender, timid maiden, in the face of unknown dangers.
A characteristic passage for the violins—[See Page Image]
the agitated nature of which is increased by syncopated notes in the accompaniment, and by the strong accent thrown on the last fourth of every bar—goes through the whole movement of the allegro agitato in varied modulation; the voice comes in with detached exclamations, and once a melodious phrase silences the accompaniment for a moment, until the orchestra again takes up its restless movement. The song passes immediately into an expressive accompaniedOPERA BUFFA.recitative, in which Sandrina becomes calmer, and assures herself, by looking round, of her forsaken condition. This is followed by the cavatina (22)—