3. Opera Buffa.
The acknowledged master of Italian operatic farce, or opera buffa, was Gioacchino Rossini (1792–1868), but his
final comedy, Le Comte Ory (Count Ory, 1828) was unusual in his oeuvre. It was written in French, in Paris,
where Rossini was to spend the rest of his life. It is based upon a play by the master craftsman of the French
theatre, Eugène Scribe (1791–1861). But unlike native French opéra comique, it was a fully-developed score,
containing no spoken dialogue.
Le Comte Ory is a farcical story of failed seduction; it has no deeper qualities whatever. The plot tells
how Ory, the bachelor son of some medieval Duke, tries to seduce the Countess Adèle, whose brother and protector
is off fighting the Crusades. To do this, Ory disguises himself first as a holy Hermit, then as the leader of a
group of nuns on pilgrimage. His rival for Adèle’s affections is none other than his own page, Isolier—a young
man’s role performed by a mezzo-soprano like Cherubino from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro. But unlike
Figaro, Ory ends with a scene in a darkened bedroom, where the double dose of gender confusion—a male
character disguised as a woman, and a female singer portraying a male one—adds a titillation to the otherwise
conventional form that is unique and very, very funny. rb.
The script, videos, and images will be posted immediately after class.
VIDEO LINKS
The good news: the 2011 Metropolitan Opera production of Le Comte Ory is available on YouTube, both
complete and in several shorter excerpts. The bad news: the video quality is not great, and only one scene has
English titles. So I also include a link to where you may buy the DVD set on Amazon; it is about $27, which is
not bad for a 2-disc set.
I also include links to two other complete productions (though neither with English titles), almost diametrically
opposite in approach. One comes from the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, and is modern, sparkling, and clear.
It is well worth a look for its quite unusual design inspired by Heironmyus Bosch, and inventive approach to
staging throughout; it features the same tenor, Juan Diego Flórez. For comparison purposes, I have given cues to
the equivalent sections we watched in class.
The other is a production from my own alma mater, Glyndebourne, which I think was the first company to mount
a modern revival of the opera. Unfortunately, this version has little of the sparkle of that 1956 production; this
one has old-fashioned costumes and scenery, and singers who (at least in close-up) make little attempt to hide
their age. But it is musically excellent, and I wonder (though without proof) if it was actually devised as a
return to what the premiere might have looked like in 1828. So I have included it for that reason, as a straight
performance that puts the emphasis where it belongs: on the music.
The bedroom scene at Pesaro (see link above)
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| IMAGES |
The thumbnails below cover the slides shown in class, though
there may be a few small discrepancies. Click the thumbnail to see a larger image.
Click on the right
or left of the larger picture to go forward or back, or outside it to close. |
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Here are brief bios of the composers and writers considered in the class, listed in order of birth.
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Eugène Scribe, 1791–1861. French dramatist.
Scribe wrote between 300 and 500 works for the stage. Although his spoken plays are seldom revived, his formula of the "well-made play" remained as a standard principle for at least a century. His opera libretti include the first French grand opéra, Auber's La Muette de Portici, Rossini's Le Comte Ory (both 1828), numerous works for Meyerbeer, a couple for Offenbach, and Verdi's Sicilian Vespers (1855).
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Gioacchino Rossini, 1792–1868. Italian composer.
Rossini's fame rests on his 39 operas, especially the comedies, all written while he was still in his thirties. In 1829, after writing Guillaume Tell, one of the foundation stones of French grand opéra, he essentially retired, settling in Paris, and writing only occasional pieces plus his masterpieces of sacred music, the Stabat Mater of 1842 and Petite Messe solennelle of 1864.
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Gaetano Donizetti, 1797–1848. Italian composer.
One of the leading composers of historical and romantic operas in the bel canto era, including a trilogy featuring Queen Elizabeth I, plus comedies in both Italian and French, Donizetti nonetheless began his career with a mythological scene, Pygmalion.
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Vincenzo Bellini, 1801–35. Italian composer.
The short-lived Bellini, who was born in Sicily, trained in Naples, and finally achieved success in Milan and Paris, with his operas La sonnambula, Norma, and I puritani. Renowned for his long melodic lines and psychological acumen, he was the quintessential composer of bel canto opera.
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