The corregidor
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The corregidor |
| Shape: | Weird opera |
| Original language: | German |
| Music: | Hugo Wolf |
| Libretto : | Rosa Mayreder |
| Literary source: | “The three-cornered hat” by Pedro Antonio de Alarcon |
| Premiere: | June 7, 1896 |
| Place of premiere: | Mannheim |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ½ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Andalusia early 19th century |
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The Corregidor is a comic opera in four acts by Hugo Wolf . The libretto was written by the Austrian writer and women's rights activist Rosa Mayreder . It is based on the novella "The Tricorn" (El sombrero de tres picos) by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón . The premiere was on June 7th, 1896 in Mannheim and received great applause. Today the work is rarely found on the repertoire.
action
The opera is set in a provincial capital in Andalusia (Spain) at the beginning of the 19th century.
first act
Image: Place in front of the mill
The Corregidor (judge) Don Eugenio de Zuniga is an old man with serious troubles. He is tempted to break out of his uniform marriage one day to spend a loving hour with the much younger Frasquita. The racy woman really turned his head, although she and her husband, the miller Lukas, are one heart and one soul. Nevertheless, the perky Frasquita teases her husband over and over again about his baseless jealousy.
Frasquita has just received another visit from the Corregidor. He showered his beloved with lots of declarations of love, while Lukas overheard the two from a hiding place. Frasquita seizes the opportunity to wrestle her admirer with a promise to find her nephew a job as a court secretary. When the corregidor wants to be a bit intrusive, the object of his desire runs away laughing.
Second act
Image: Kitchen in the mill
The court messenger Tonuelo, who is almost always drunk, sends the miller the message that he should come straight to the Alkalden (mayor) at the town hall. Lukas has barely left the house when Frasquita hears a cry for help from outside. A few minutes later the corregidor enters the kitchen. It is soaking wet, because fate had not led its way over, but into the Mühlbach. The lustful fellow Frasquita confesses his love again. To make things easier with her, he assures her that her nephew has now been appointed court assistant. When this news did not produce the hoped-for success either, he tried violence and threatened the beautiful miller with a gun. With presence of mind, Frasquita takes her husband's box from the wall and in turn threatens the intrusive Corregidor. He didn't expect that. The resolute lady's behavior gives him a shock that makes him faint. But Frasquita abandons the old man and runs off to look for her Lukas.
The spirits of life are slowly awakening again in the corregidor. He undresses, hangs his wet clothes on the fire, goes into the adjoining bedroom and goes to bed.
Metamorphosis - Image: In the apartment of the Alkalden
The alkali and his secretary Pedro celebrate a happy carousing party. Suddenly Lukas appears and wants to know from Alkalden why he had him ordered so urgently. The mayor, however, does not know anything and asks the guest to drink too. Now Lukas notices that the corregidor tricked him into being alone with his wife. He starts pretending to be drunk and runs away.
Third act
Image: forest
Lukas wants to go to his beloved Frasquita in the mill as quickly as possible and she in turn wants to go to her husband, whom she thinks is in the town hall. Because it is dark night, the two run past each other in the forest.
Metamorphosis - Image: In the mill
Lukas is surprised that his mill is not locked. When he entered the house, he was even more amazed that the corregidor's clothes were hanging by the fire and that the corregidor himself was sleeping in his bed. Now anger grabs him. He would like to kill the corregidor, but the thought immediately occurs to him to reward like with like. He slips into the clothes of his supposed rival and sets off to visit his wife, Donna Mercedes.
Meanwhile the corregidor has woken up and is looking for his clothes. Because he cannot find them, he has to be content with the miller's clothes. Surprisingly, the Alkalde enters the mill with a few helpers to arrest its owner. When the lantern shines faintly, they mistake the corregidor for the one they are looking for and first of all give him a good beating. When the corregidor reveals himself, they leave him and return to town with him. Frasquita, who has meanwhile also reached her home, joins the men.
Fourth act
Image: Street in front of the Corregidor's house
The morning is just beginning to dawn when the corregidor and his entourage reach his house and ask to be admitted. The servant does not recognize him and claims that her employer came home an hour ago and is now in Morpheus' arms. Now Donna Mercedes also enters the balcony and examines the newcomers. She recognizes her husband immediately, but initially plays the unsuspecting one. Finally, Lukas joins them and explains to everyone that he wanted to form an alliance with Donna Mercedes, but she thought he was her husband's murderer and was beaten up by the servants. When Frasquita and Lukas realize that no one has cheated on the other, it's all sunshine again. A happy "good morning" ends the game on stage.
Musical highlights
In the first act
- Frasquita's aria In the shadow of my locks my lover fell asleep.
- The duet between Frasquita and Lukas In such evening party hours
- I want to keep Frasquita's Arie watch until morning comes
In the second act
- The monologue of the Corregidor's heart, do not despair quickly because women are women!
In the third act
- the scene of the miller What death silence, must she have fled with him? - There I stand deceived, there I stand dishonored, and yet the poorest of me are denied vengeance.
Finally, in the fourth act , the numerous ensemble scenes up to the cheerful finale
literature
- Leopold Spitzer : Hugo Wolf's "The Corregidor". Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag, Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-900270-48-1 .
- Kordula Knaus: Feminist on librettistic (dis) paths. Rosa Mayreder's libretto for Hugo Wolf's Corregidor. In: Musikologica Austriaca 26 (2007), pp. 219-230.
- Till Gerrit Waidelich: Rosa Mayreder's libretto for Hugo Wolf and the problem of style. In: Frankfurt magazine for musicology . 2008. Online Publication 11, pp. 1-18