The Opera House
and Theatre of the West

Back to top

L'Elisir d'Amore and THE ALLIANCE

This information was taken from:

Simon, Henry W.   100 Great Operas and Their Stories: Act-by-act Synopses.  New York: Doubleday, 1960. (Originally titled Festival of Operas, 1957.)

What is L'Elisir d'Amore ?

L'Elisir d'Amore (The Elixir of Love), an opera comedy in two acts
by Gaetano Donizetti
Italian libretto: Felice Romani

Setting: 19th century Italy, in an Italian village
First performance: Milan, 1832

Character	Vocal Part	Description
Adina	soprano	a wealthy young woman
Nemorino	tenor	hapless peasant with a speech impediment
Sgt. Belcore	baritone	blustering military man
Dr. Dulcamara	bass	think "Wild-West snake-oil salesman"
Gianetta	soprano	peasant girl and confidant of Adina

Act I, Scene I:

Nemorino, a poor peasant, is in love with Adina, a wealthy young woman who owns several estates. One day, Nemorino hears Adina read the love story of Tristan and Isolda (see Wagner below -- under construction. Apparently, in that story, love was helped considerably by a love potion.) Our hapless, young, peasant tenor wishes he had some of the "elixir of love."

Sgt. Belcore, a local military man, asks Adina for her hand in marriage in front of the entire village, but Adina flirtatiously discourages him. When the villagers have left, Nemorino asks to marry her as well, but in the proceeding duet, she denies him. Adina, it seems, is bored with Nemorino's pathetic attempts at love-making. (This is funny already!!)

Significant arias in Scene I: "Quanto e bella" (How beautiful she is) sung by Nemorino.

Act I, Scene II:

Dr. Dulcamara arrives in the village square, introducing himself in the comic aria "Udite, udite" (Sorry, I don't know the English translation). He is selling a magical elixir that is guaranteed to make the drinker become an invincible lover. (The elixir is nothing but wine.) Dulcamara sells it at such a reasonable price, so there are many customers. Nemorino privately asks Dulcamara for Isolda's love potion. Nemorino gets it -- but a much higher price -- his last gold piece. (Too bad Mosby was not there to advise him. A jug of white lightening will make you fall in love -- same amount of alcohol, half the price.) The young peasant is told that the potion will work within 24 hours. After Nemorino drinks the potion, he becomes tipsy. Empowered by the effect of the liquor, he flirts with Adina. Though Adina is piqued by the change of the peasant, she immediately accepts Sgt. Belcore's hand that very night. The wedding must take place immediately, for Belcore is to be shipped out that very night. Nemorino struggles vainly to change the wedding date so his elixir will have time to take effect upon Adina.

Act II, Scene I:

A few hours later, the villagers gather to prepare for Adina's wedding. Even Dr. Dulcamara is there. He sings to her, "Io son ricco e tu sei bella" (I am rich, and you are pretty.) Nemorino consults the doctor, and the doctor tells him that he'd better buy the 1/2-hour version of the elixir. (Mosby would be rolling his eyes at this point.) Nemorino has no money, however, but her arranges to enter Belcore's army so that he may receive an entry bonus.

Act II, Scene II:

Lo and behold -- Nemorino had a rich uncle that left him mega moula -- but this is unknown to our hapless, stuttering peasant. Nemorino drinks the fast acting "elixir" -- and is even more self confident than before. All the girls love him (it may be the wine, but it is more likely that they want him for his money). Even Adina turns around. Nemorino, however, acts unimpressed with all of them, including his beloved. Adina becomes upset. Dr. Dulcamara, on the look-out for a quick buck, offers Adina some "elixir of love," but she tells him she has a better pharmaceutical preparation -- feminine wiles (go, girl!).

Nemorino sees how unhappy Adina is, so he sings the most famous aria in the whole opera, Una furtiva lagrima (Down her soft cheek, a pearly tear; sequenced by Haydee Villar). Nemorino insists that he would gladly give his life to comfort her. Adina approaches him later, but Nemorino nevertheless maintains his indifference. Even when she says that she bought back his enlistment papers from Belcore, the peasant is still unmoved. Finally, Adina admits her love. They embrace and sing an impassioned duet. Belcore takes the news philosophically (there are no stabbings in this opera, kids), and the sergeant claims there are plenty of fish in the sea. Dr. Dulcamara proclaims he is a pharmaceutical genius -- his elixir brought the lovers together -- and everyone buys more bottles of his "Elixir of Love."

What does this opera have to do with THE ALLIANCE?

Why in goodness graciousness did LD use "Una furtiva lagrima" in THE ALLIANCE? If you recall, THE ALLIANCE is the episode where Mattie was nearly raped by Deke Logan. When we first hear "Una furtiva lagrima" (text translation by Stephen McCloskey) for the first time in the episode, a plethora of cows sing along as Mattie rides up to the father of the man she killed in self defense. It is a highly effective scene -- beautiful camera shots, beautiful music -- but did LD have a meaning behind the music? Perhaps we are supposed to feel for Mattie as Nemorino feels for Adina -- that we, in our deepest hearts, should sympathize with Mattie. Maybe the song suggests that Mattie rode out to talk to Willis Logan to seek comfort -- comfort in knowing that Logan forgives her for killing his only son. (The song in the aria coincides with Nemorino wanting to comfort Adina in her unhappiness.) When Logan does not forgive her, that is the true tragedy of the show.

The song fits beautifully with the whole scene. It is wonderfully elegant, and it adds a touch of class to the entire episode.

Back to top

Nabucco and Dead Man's Walk

The following opera information was taken from:

Ewen, David.  The New Encyclopedia of Opera.  New York: Hill and Wang, 1971.

Guinn, John and Les Stone, eds.  The St. James Opera Encyclopedia: A Guide to People and Works.  Detroit: Visible Ink Pres, 1997.

Lazarus, John.  The Opera Handbook.  Boston: G. K. Hall, 1987.

What is Nabucco?

Nabucco (Nabucodonosor), an opera in four acts
by Giuseppe Verdi
Italian libretto (based on a ballet by A. Cortesi): Temistocle Solera

Setting: 586 BC in Jerusalem and Babylon
First performance: Milan at La Scala, 1842

Character	Vocal Part	Description
Abigaille	soprano	Nabucco's supposed daughter (really a slave girl)
Fenena	mezzo-soprano to soprano	Nabucco's other daughter
Ismaele	tenor	tenor
Nabucco	baritone	King of Babylon
Zaccaria	bass	High Priest of Jerusalem

Act I:

The opera opens with the Levites grieving about their defeat by Nabucco, but Zaccaria urges them to have faith ("Sperate, o figli" -- sorry, no translations for most of these titles). Fenena, a prisoner of the Jews, is in love with Ismaele, as is Abigaille. Abigaille, in the company of Babylon soldiers, offers freedom for himself and for his people if he returns her love. Ismaele, in love with Fenena, refuses. Nabucco enters with his troops and mocks the Jews ("Tremin gl'insane"). Zaccaria attempts to kill Fenena, but Ismaele prevents him. An angry Nabucco orders the Jewish temple to be destroyed.

Act II:

Fenena becomes regent while Nabucco is fighting in the wars. All hell breaks loose when Abigaille finds a document that proves she is not Nabucco's daughter, but a slave girl. In her fiery recitative, she decides to ruin everyone, yet she also reveals great beauty when describing her love for Ismaele ("Anch'io duschuiso un giorno"). Zaccaria brings Abigaille the news that Fenena, in her love for Ismaele, has converted to Judaism and is setting the Jewish prisoners free. Abigaille will have to resume power. Zaccaria prays for guidance ("Tu sul labbro"). Just as Abigaille is about to seize the crown, Nabucco returns. To mock the Jews and his own daughter, he places the crown on his head and claims he is a god. He orders Zaccaria and the newly converted Fenena to bow before him and worship him. A thunderclap throws the crown off his head. Nabucco goes mad from paranoia, and Abigaille seizes the crown. She throws Nabucco into prison. (Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.)

Act II, Scene I:

Acting as regent, Abigaille orders the death of the Jews, including Fenena.

Act II, Scene II:

The Jewish slaves lament their fate in the chorus, "Va, pensiero, sull'ali dorate" (Fly, O thought, on Golden Wings). Zaccaria prophesies the fall of Babylon.

Act IV:

Nabucco, in prison, hears the people lament the upcoming death of his daughter, Fenena. His sanity returning, he prays to Jehovah, to save her ("Dio di gruda"). Nabucco escapes and rushes to save his daughter. As the funeral march is performed for Fenena, Nabucco saves hers. He orders all idols destroyed, and he restores Zaccaria back to high priest of the Jews. Abigaille reappears. She has taken poison and dies in repentance to Jehovah.

Dead Man's Walk and McMurtry's mention of Nabucco:

Why should I talk about it when you can read it yourself?!? Here's an excerpt from the book!

McMurtry, Larry.  Dead Man's Walk.   New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995.

Part 4, Chapter 6:

The line of Comanches was still some two hundred yards away. Lucinda Carey, watching from behind her three veils, rode toward them slowly, singing her aria. When she had closed the distance to within one hundred yards, she stretched her arms wide; Elphinstone [the snake] liked to twine himself along them. She felt in good voice. The aria she was singing came from Signor Verdi's new opera Nabucco -- he had taught her the aria himself, two years ago in Milan, not long before she and her husband, Lord Carey, sailed together for Mexico....

As she came nearer, close enough to see the Comanche war chief's great hump and the ochre lines of paint on his face and chest, Lucinda, Lady Carey, opened her throat and sang her aria with the full power of her lungs -- she let her voice rise high, and then higher still. She pretended for a moment that she was at La Scala, where she had had the honor of meeting Signor Verdi. She filled her lungs, breathing as Signor Verdi had taught her in the few lessons she had begged of him -- her high, ripe notes rang clearly in the dry Texas air.

Why was Nabucco mentioned in Dead Man's Walk?

For those of you that have had the fortune of reading Dead Man's Walk, the opera story really has no parallels to the plot in the book. There are no religious themes (Christianity v Indian spiritualism), so the opera really does not relate to the book on the whole.

Individual scenes might related to the book, however. Which aria could it be? Of course, the song has to be a woman's part, because I highly doubt that Lady Carey would be singing tenor, baritone, or bass. ;) So that leaves either the soprano (Abigaille) or the mezzo-soprano (Fenena) role.

This leaves us many choices, but what would Lady Carey be singing at that particular moment? A love song to the Indians? -- I highly doubt it. Buffalo Hump, Kicking Wolf, and the other Indians believe she is singing a death song. So a death song it shall be!! In Act IV, Abigaille has a death scene. I imagine that since it is at the end of the opera, that the other characters would be commenting on it, so I would rule this one out, in my opinion. I don't think Lady Carey is singing this song.

According to the Opera Database, Fenena has a death song of her own. This might be the one Lady Carey chose to sing. From my very little understanding of Italian, she is singing to God and about his power in heaven. Since I don't have the fortune of having the opera at the moment, I do not know how Fenena was supposed to sing this. If Lady Carey sang it confidently and without remorse, than this aria would make as much sense as any. She sings of the power of God and of the heavens. It would be an appropriate song to sing at that particular moment -- she is trying to show the Indians her confidence and strength at that moment. She intends it to frighten off the Indians.

What about Abigaille's scene in Act II? In Act II, Abigaille orders the death of the Jews. Not having the opera, I'm not sure if this is really in an aria form, or whether it is recitative, or both. It takes up the majority of the scene, I believe, and I don't think Lady Carey was singing for very long from how I interpreted the book. However, for me, this one might make more sense than Fenena's song. Since Abigaille is ordering the death of the Jews, and Lady Carey comes in the form of pestilence and destruction, I think this is the far more appropriate aria. Lady Carey definitely would be singing something powerful -- and the Indians would take notice, as they did. They call her the "Death Woman" -- as Abigaille really was in Nabucco.

Back to top

"Is Newt a Tenor?" and Other Stimulating Opera Questions

If the bunch from LD:TS and LD:TOY were to take it on stage, what singing parts would they be?

According to the "rules" of opera (see A Beginner's Guide to Enjoying Opera), any hero would be a tenor. Newt Call would be singing the tragic tenor, while Hannah would definitely be the tragic soprano suffering a hideous death. (Before Hannah dies in the fire, though, she ought to be allowed one final aria!) Get out your hankies, kids.

In LD: The OPERA, Newt would sing Gluck's "J'ai perdu mon Eurydice (I have lost my Eurydice)." I don't really know how he'd manage it, though, since I think the part was really meant for a castrati (YES, MEN, THE PAIN!!! ASSUME THE SPACEBALL POSITION!). But, thank goodness, castration has been outlawed, so I guess Newt would have to sing it in his tenor voice.

Mosby. Dearest Mosby. We have heard what he sounds like singing "Dixie," and he would have to be, BY THE RULES, a baritone. He's got the black hat, yet I picture him to be like a Wagner's FLYING DUTCHMAN type. You know. The tragic hero. Mourning. Haunted. THE FLYING MOSBY.

Now, Austin could be either a tenor or a baritone, for he is too young to be a bass. He could be a second tenor, which, sadly, is pretty much how his role is in the show. :(

Unbob, we know from the show has a deep voice (I think Frank C. Turner is either a baritone or a bass), but BY THE RULES, Unbob would be a tenor. He'd have to have a sweet voice -- baritones and bases don't usually get the sweet arias, so Unbob would be a tenor.

Josiah, the father, would have to be delegated to the bass, because he is an old guy. I have no doubt of this.

In TS, Ida would be a mezzo or a contralto (isn't Diahann Carroll a mezzo?), for she is the motherly type.

Now the TOY women are a little more fun to figure out. :)

Amanda Carpenter. You can imagine her as a Carmen type. She would definitely be a mezzo or a contralto. She'd have to have an earthy sexiness to her voice.

Mattie Shaw would be a soprano. You see, sopranos took the "breech" parts, like the page boy Cherubino in Mozart's MARRIAGE OF FIGARO. Since females assuming a male role were the only women allowed to appear on stage in pants, Mattie would have to assume the "breech" part. She would be a soprano from this line of thinking. Also, she is the hapless female, so she would be a soprano by these rights, too.

Now, Enona. Yes, she appears in pants, but her nature suggests something of a fortune-teller like woman. She might assume a contralto part, like the fortune teller Ulrica in Verdi's UN BALLO IN MASCHERA.

Remember Frances from WHEN SHE WAS GOOD? I think she would be a soprano. Like Donizetti's LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, Frances takes a sharp instrument to her kin. WATCH OUT FOR SOPRANOS THAT HAVE GONE MAD! Death, baby, death!

Back to top

Opera and the American Old West

I highly suggest anyone who is an opera fan or has the slightest interest in opera to get this book:

Dizikes, John. Opera in America: A Cultural History. New York: Yale University, 1993.

Dizikes expresses the bond between opera and the American Old West better than I ever could:

Opera and the historical West were in harmony, but it was different from what [Walt] Whitman meant by harmony. The explosive energy, the massed choral power, and the soaring individual voices of opera corresponded to the infinitely mixed voices of the American people, to their feeling of immense movement and release after the Mexican War, freed from previous constraints: free as the Mississippi rushing to the Gulf, free as the plains stretching endlessly over the horizon. Italian opera and the West mirrored each other in passion and terror. The duels, murders, poisonings, and assassinations on the operatic stage spoke directly to the western audience's experience of its own history -- its Indian massacres, vigilante floggings and lynchings. True: the imaginary madness of opera paled beside the actual madness of "bleeding Kansas," the fury of operatic villains was mild beside the rage of secessionist fire-eaters, the cruelty of slave drivers, and the ravings of Indian killers. But in the audience and on the stage one sensed people out of their own control, driven fatally toward some obscure destiny. Thus the blood of Ernani mingled with that of Sitting Bull and John Brown, the madness of Lucia invoked the spirits of those innumerable women maddened by the isolation of the plains and mountains. The heartbeat of western history was violence, a timpani beat of inexorable fatality. Verdi amid the redwoods. Donizetti in the Sierras. Music, Italian music, in Dakota.

Aside (this is something I learned from Dizikes, too): Walt Whitman wrote opera reviews for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. :) His volume of poetry, Leaves of Grass, contains many references to opera. One poem was entitled "Italian Music in Dakota." Hence, Dizikes' reference. :)

Back to top

Composers and Operas of the 19th Century

Under construction.

Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875)

If you were living in the 19th century, there was a good chance that you may have heard at least a couple of Georges Bizet's operas. By far the most famous of Bizet's operas was Carmen, the tale of a gypsy woman and soldier. It's pretty shocking for an opera. The main characters are starkly real compared to most of the aristocratic characters that were seen on the stage at that time. Another of Bizet's operas, The Pearl Fishers, is noted for its beautiful tenor/baritone duet.

Carmen

Carmen is a gypsy woman that corrupts noble soldier Don Jose into a life of crime. (The poor guy didn't know what hit him!) Carmen is full of passion, and she is a woman that enjoys her freedom most of all. Her joie de vive and Don Jose's possessiveness leads to a tale of death. (You knew someone was going to get it, didn't you? It feels like an episode of LD:TOY!!)

Carmen can be played by a mezzo-soprano to a soprano. Don Jose, of course, is a tenor part.

My most favorite songs in Carmen are The Habanera (L'amour est un oiseau rebelle, sequenced by Paulo Norberg), the Chanson boheme (Les tringles des sistres tintaient), the Toreador Song (Votre toast je peux vous le rendre, sequenced by Joshua Kaufman), and the "Clickety-Clack" Quintet (Eh bien! vite, quelles nouvelles?) (The "Clickety-Clack" is in reference to Carmen Jones, starring Dorothy Dandridge and a young Diahann Caroll, who played Ida Grayson in LD:TS)

The Pearl Fishers (Les Pecheurs de Perles)

I only know one song from this opera, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Nadir (tenor) and Zurga (baritone) were once in love with the same woman, Leila (soprano). This caused a rift in their friendship (does this sound familiar to Call and Mosby??), but they have sworn a vow of friendship ever since. Au fond de temple saint (sequencer???) is about their friendship.

Guiseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901)

Italian composer Guiseppe Verdi dominated the opera scene during the latter half of the 19th century. Verdi's first opera Oberto was written in 1838, and his last operas Otello and Falstaff, were composed in 1887 and 1898, respectively. Verdi first gained notoriety with after the death of his first wife and infant children.

Verdi's triad Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore (1853), and La Traviata (1853) note Verdi's level of artistic maturity and sophistication. According to Dizikes, these operas usually were met with "vehement enthusiasm" by the general public or "fierce disparagement" by discrimating opera critics. The general public understood Verdi's own saying, "It is better to invent reality than to copy it."

Rigoletto

Rigoletto is based on a play by Victor Hugo. Rigoletto (baritone), a hunchback, is the jester in the Duke of Mantua's court. The Duke (the tenor) is your typical Don Juan. Naturally, as is the course of any tragic opera, Rigoletto's daughter Gilda (soprano) falls in love with the duke. Rather than have his beloved daughter spurned by the love of this worthless man, Rigoletto plots to kill the duke. In an ironic twist, Gilda ends up getting killed and her death is bemoaned by her grieving father, while the worthless duke walks away without a scratch.

My favorite songs in Rigoletto are all the duets between father and daughter, because they are so sweet and tender. I cannot help but like La donna e mobile (sequencer Bill King) which the cad of the duke sings about the fickleness of women.

Il trovatore

I don't know much about Il trovatore (The Troubador) except that any kid who has ever watched a Saturday morning cartoon knows the Anvil Chorus (sequencer??). (With Call's penchant for head trauma, it's something he should avoid ....)

La Traviata

Oh, oh, oh!!! I love La Traviata! La Traviata (The Fallen One) is based on the story Camille. You remember Camille ... I think it had Greta Garbo in it. Anyway, Violetta Valery (soprano) a courtesan already ill with consumption, falls in love with innocent Alfredo (tenor). Through a series of tragic events, Violetta gives us one final aria before she dies in the arms of her beloved Alfredo. According to Dizikes, La Traviata was targeted by moral leaders of the time for its lewdness (a courtesan, for crying out loud), yet women flocked to this opera in hoards. They perhaps understood that Violetta was perhaps the most morally correct of all the characters.

There are so many great songs in La Traviata. The last part of Act II when Alfredo denounces Violetta in front of a party is mesmerizing. Alfredo's Drinking Song (sequencer Marco Milano) is catchy, and Violetta's song Sempre libera (sequencer Marco Milano) makes you want to jump up and sing some high notes. Of course, when Violetta sings Addio del passato (sequencer Bill King) on her death bed, it is time to grab your hankies as she sings her goodbye to happiness. WAHHHH! Anyway, La Traviata is fantastic. I recommend anyone seeing it.

Back to top

Opera Houses of the American Old West

Under construction.

Back to top

19th Century Opera Singers

Under construction.

Back to top