L’ÉTOILE DU NORD AND DINORAH

Two other operas by Meyer beer remain for mention. One of them has completely disappeared from the repertoire of the lyric stage. The other suffers an occasional revival for the benefit of some prima donna extraordinarily gifted in lightne and flexibility of vocal phrasing. These operas are "L'Étoile du Nord" (The Star of the North), and "Dinorah, ou Le Pardon de Ploërmel" (Dinorah, or The Pardon of Ploërmel). Each of these contains a famous air. "L'Étoile du Nord" has the high soprano solo with obbligato for two flutes, which was one of Jenny Lind's greatest show-pieces, but has not sufficed to keep the opera alive. In "Dinorah" there is the "Shadow Song," in which Dinorah dances and sings to her own shadow in the moonlight—a number which, at long intervals of time, galvanizes the rest of the score into some semblance of life. The score of "L'Étoile du Nord," produced at the Opéra Comique, Paris, February 16, 1854, was a embled from an earlier work, "Das Feldlager in Schlesien" (The Camp in Silesia), produced for the opening of the Berlin Opera House, February 17, 1847; but the plots differ. The story of "L'Étoile du Nord" relates to the love of Peter the Great for Catherine , a cantinière. Their union finally takes place, but not until Catherine has disguised herself as a soldier and served in the Ru ian camp. After surreptitiously watching Peter and a companion drink and roister in the former's tent with a couple of girls, she loses her reason. When it is happily restored by Peter playing familiar airs to her on his flute, she voices her joy in the show-piece, "La, la, la, air chéri" (La, la, la, beloved song), to which reference already has been made. In the first act Catherine has a "Ronde bohémienne" (Gypsy rondo), the theme of which Meyer beer took from his opera "Emma de Rohsburg." "L'Étoile du Nord" is in three acts. There is much military music in the second act—a cavalry chorus, "Beau cavalier au cœur d'acier" (Brave cavalier with heart of steel); a grenadier song with chorus, "Grenadiers, fiers Moscovites" (grenadiers, proud Muscovites), in which the chorus articulates the beat of the drums ("tr-r-r-um"); the "De auer" march, a cavalry fanfare "Ah! voyez nos Tartares du Don" (Ah, behold our Co acks of the Don); and a grenadiers' march: stirring numbers, all of them. The libretto is by Scribe. The first act scene is laid in Wyborg, on the Gulf of Finland; the second in a Ru ian camp; the third in Peter's palace in Petrograd. Time, about 1700. Barbier and Carré wrote the words of "Dinorah," founding their libretto on a Breton tale. Under the title, "Le Pardon de Ploërmel" (the scene of the opera being laid near the Breton village of Ploërmel) the work was produced at the Opéra Comique, Paris, April 4, 1859. It has three principal characters—a peasant girl, Dinorah , soprano ; Hoël , a goat-herd, baritone ; Corentino , a bagpiper, tenor . The famous baritone, Faure, was the Hoël of the Paris production. Cordier ( Dinorah ), Amodio ( Hoël ), Brignoli ( Corentino ) were heard in the first American production, Academy of Music, New York, November 24, 1864. As Dinorah there also have been heard here Ilma di Murska (Booth's Theatre, 1867), Marimon (with Camp an in i as Corentino ), December 12, 1879; Adelina Patti (1882); Tetrazzini (Manhattan Opera House, 1907); and Galli- Curci (Lexington Theatre, January 28, 1918), with the Chicago Opera Company. Dinorah is betrothed to Hoël . Her cottage has been destroyed in a storm. Hoël , in order to rebuild it, goes into a region haunted by evil spirits, in search of hidden treasure. Dinorah , believing herself deserted, loses her reason and, with her goat, whose tinkling bell is heard, wanders through the mountains in search of Hoël . The opera is in three acts. It is preceded by an overture during which there is sung by the villagers behind the curtain the hymn to Our Lady of the Pardon. The scene of the first act is a rough mountain pa age near Corentino's hut. Dinorah finds her goat asleep and sings to it a graceful lullaby, "Dors, petite, dors tranquille" (Little one, sleep; calmly rest). Corentino , in his cottage, sings of the fear that comes over him in this lonely region. To dispel it, he plays on his cornemuse. Dinorah enters the hut, and makes him dance with her, while she sings. When someone is heard approaching, she jumps out of the window. It is Hoël . Both he and Corentino think she is a sprite. Hoël sings of the gold he expects to find, and offers Corentino a share in the treasure if he will aid him lift it. According to the legend, however, the first one to touch the treasure must die, and Hoël's seeming generosity is a ruse to make Corentino the victim of the discovery. The tinkle of the goat's bell is heard. Hoël advises that they follow the sound as it may lead to the treasure. The act closes with a trio, "Ce tintement que l'on entend" (The tinkling tones that greet the ear). Dinorah stands among the high rocks, while Hoël and Corentino , the latter reluctantly, make ready to follow the tinkle of the bell. A wood of birches by moonlight is the opening scene of the second act. It is here Dinorah sings of "Le vieux sorcier de la montagne" (The ancient wizard of the mountain), following it with the "Shadow Song," "Ombre légère qui suis mes pas" (Fleet shadow that pursues my steps)—"Ombra leggier a" in the more familiar Italian version. IMG:872270115144378713_music533.png:Music [ Listen ] This is a pa age so graceful and, when sung and acted by an Adelina Patti, was so appealing, that I am frank to confe it suggested to me the chapter entitled "Shadows of the Stage," in my novel of opera behind the scenes, All-of-a-Sudden Carmen . The scene changes to a wild landscape. A ravine bridged by an uprooted tree. A pond, with a sluiceway which, when opened, gives on the ravine. The moon has set. A storm is rising. Hoël and Corentino enter; later Dinorah . Through the night, that is growing wilder, she sings the legend of the treasure, "Sombre destinée, âme condamnée" (O'ers had owing fate, soul lost for aye). Her words recall the tragic story of the treasure to Corentino , who now sees through Hoël's ruse, and seeks to persuade the girl to go after the treasure. She sings gaily, in strange contrast to the gathering storm. Lightning flashes show her her goat cro ing the ravine by the fallen tree. She runs after her pet. As she is cro ing the tree, a thunderbolt crashes. The sluice bursts, the tree is carried away by the flood, which seizes Dinorah in its swirl. Hoël plunges into the wild waters to save her. Not enough of the actual story remains to make a third act. But as there has to be one, the opening of the act is filled in with a song for a Hunter ( ba ), another for a Reaper ( tenor ), and a duet for Goat-herds ( soprano and contralto ). Hoël enters bearing Dinorah , who is in a swoon. Hoël here has his principal air, "Ah! mon remords te venge" (Ah, my remorse avenges you). Dinorah comes to. Her reason is restored when she finds herself in her lover's arms. The villagers chant the "Hymn of the Pardon." A proce ion forms for the wedding, which is to make happy Dinorah and Hoël , every one, in fact, including the goat. Except for the scene of the "Shadow Dance," the libretto is incredibly inane—far more so than the demented heroine. But Meyer beer evidently wanted to write a pastoral opera. He did so; with the result that now, instead of pastoral, it sounds pasteurized. hector Berlioz (1803-1869) T HIS composer, born Côte-Saint-André, near Grenoble, December 11, 1803; died Paris, March 9, 1869, has had comparatively little influence upon opera considered simply as such. But, as a musician whose skill in instrumentation, and knowledge of the individual tone quality of every instrument in the orchestra amounted to positive genius, his influence on music in general was great. In his symphonies—"Episode de la Vie d'un Artiste" (characterized by him as a symphonie phantast i que ), its sequel, "Lelio, ou la Retour à la Vie," "Harold en Italie," in which Harold is impersonated by the viola, and the symphonie dram at i que , "Roméo et Juliette," he proved the feasibility of producing, by means of orchestral music, the effect of narrative, personal characterization and the visualization of dramatic action, as well as of scenery and material objects. He thus became the founder of "program music." Of Berlioz's operas not one is known on the stage of English-speaking countries. For "La Damnation de Faust," in its original form, is not an opera but a dramatic cantata. First performed in 1846, it was not made over into an opera until 1893, twenty-four years after the composer's death.