Le barbier de Séville (Beaumarchais)

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Data
Title: La barbier de Séville ou La précaution inutile
Genus: comedy
Original language: French
Author: Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais
Premiere: February 23, 1775
Place of premiere: Paris, Théâtre des Tuileries
Place and time of the action: Seville , present
people

The four- act comedy Le Barbier de Séville ou La précaution inutile (The Barber of Seville or The Useless Caution) is the first part of the Figaro trilogy by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732–1799). It was 1775 by the Comédiens-Français premiered .

Seville (colored photograph, 1907).
Ramón Bayeu y Subías : Majo with guitar (around 1786).

In contrast to his first two pieces, Eugénie and Les deux amis (The Two Friends) , Beaumarchais did not want to move the audience with Le barbier de Séville , but to amuse them - but with the same goal of making the injustice of class and patriarchy tangible. The work was an international success and served as a template for Il barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini and other operas .

Emergence

In a letter to the minister of the royal house of Breteuil in 1784, Beaumarchais wrote that after his first sentimental works he had tried “in accordance with my true character” at the Barbier de Séville to “bring the old, free cheerfulness back to the stage and bring it back to the stage with the light, to combine the fine and sensitive tone of our joke today. "

The comedy is a reminiscence of the author's trip to Spain in 1764/65. A fragmentary draft is entitled Le sacristain, Intermède imité de l'espagnol (The sexton , Spanish-style interlude). Raisin is still called Pauline in it. She has been married to Bartholo for seven months, but is still a virgin . Her lover Lindor, disguised as a sexton, represents her corrupt harp teacher Bazile.

Beaumarchais, who in his youth was the music teacher of the daughters of Louis XV. had been, then reworked the material into a (lost) Opéra-comique, which was rejected by the Comédiens-Italiens in 1772 .

In the year mentioned, the definitive version for the speaking stage was created. It was accepted by the Comédie-Française and cleared by the censors , but performances planned for 1773 and 1774 could not take place because Beaumarchais was involved in sensational affairs .

The first Figaro: Préville (Pierre-Louis Du Bus).

The leading roles were played by Jean-Claude Col (e) son called Bellecour (Almaviva), Denis Déchanet called Des Essarts (Bartholo), Louise-Adélaïde Berton de Maisonneuve called Doligny (Raisin), Pierre-Louis Dubus called Préville (Figaro) and François Augé (Bazile). For the premiere , Beaumarchais increased the number of elevators to five. After the piece failed, the four-act version was reverted to, and the next performance three days later was a triumph. The Comédiens-Français also played the work at court. Of the two book editions from 1775, the second is considered authoritative. It contains a foreword and an ariette , which is unusual in the Comédie-Française , which Mademoiselle Doligny had no longer dared to perform after the audience's noise at the premiere .

The music numbers are likely to have been taken from the Opéra-comique version. Mozart wrote the twelve variations in E flat major KV 354 / 299a on the romance Je suis Lindor in Paris in 1778 . The thunderstorm music between the last two acts was composed by the first violinist of the Comédie-Française, Antoine-Laurent Baudron.

A successful opera, the piece was not only by Rossini : In Paisiello's Barbiere di Siviglia , 1782 in St. Petersburg was first performed, sang three years later (before Beaumarchais guest of honor) Queen Marie-Antoinette , the Rosina, the future King Charles X to Figaro.

action

The shortest summary of the piece comes from Beaumarchais himself:

“An old man in love wants to marry his ward tomorrow ; a young lover with more skill gets ahead of it and makes it to his wife on the same day, in front of the nose and in the guardian's house . "

initial situation

Count Almaviva saw a beautiful person six months ago in the Prado in Madrid . Without ever having spoken to her, he followed her to Seville. There he learned that it was a noble orphan named Raisin who was married to the old doctor Bartholo. In reality, however, she is his ward and opposes marriage. Bartholo is brutal , stingy and extremely jealous . He holds Raisin prisoner like a slave , he even locks the blind of her window with the key. Figaro was the count's servant , who then recommended him for a government post. So he became a pharmacist's assistant in the royal stud in Andalusia . Because administering horse medicine to people or unwanted writing released, he dabbled in Madrid as a theater author and retired recently as barber by Spain. The house where he drains is with Bartholos who rents it to him and whose barber, surgeon and pharmacist he is. He doesn't think much of the higher ranks. So he says to the count: "As for the virtues that are required of servants: Does your Excellency know many gentlemen who would be worthy to be servants?"

1st act

So-called balcony of Raisin, Seville.
Andalusian (colored engraving, 1784–1788).

(The setting is a street in Seville. All windows are barred.)

Scenes 1 f .: A Abbé same in a brown coat wrapped and with downcast hat brim , the Count is waiting for the moment when Rosine behind the morning blind appears her window. He meets Figaro, who, with his guitar slung around his neck, forges verses singing about wine and indolence . Almaviva wishes to remain incognito and to be called Lindor.

Scenes 3 f .: Bartholo opens the blind of the window on the first floor. He complains about the Age of Enlightenment . Rosine drops couplets from the ( fictional ) comedy La précaution inutile from the balcony . While Bartholo goes to get the paper, she signals to her admirer to pick it up. Inside is a piece of paper that asks him to introduce himself to her singing. On Figaro's advice, the Count wants from the known him Supreme one cavalry regiment at Bartholo quartered leave.

Scenes 5 f .: Bartholo leaves the house and orders no one to let in. He goes to find Rosine's singing teacher Bazile, who is supposed to organize the wedding planned for the following day. Figaro lends the count his guitar, whereupon he introduces himself to his beloved as a student of middle-class origin. Raisin can only briefly assure him of her love in return. Then someone walks into the room and she slams the window. Almaviva tells Figaro that he will marry Raisin.

2nd act

(Plays like the last two acts in Rosine's apartment . The window in the background is closed with a barred blind.)

Scenes 1–7: Rosine writes to her admirer. Figaro, who has access to the house, carries the letter. When Bartholo arrives, he is hiding in the harpsichord room . There follows a funny appearance by the doctor's servants, of whom the young one yawns all the time, the old one sneezes all the time.

Scenes 8–11: Figaro hears Bazile saying to Bartholo that Almaviva is incognito in Seville to track down Raisin. The bribable clergyman offers to slander the count, but Bartholo believes that a quick marriage is the safest option. He finds out that Raisin wrote to someone.

Scenes 12–15: The count appears to Bartholo disguised as a regimental veterinarian and makes fun of him. He has the house but leave again because the doctor's privilege has, by quartering to be spared. Before that, Almaviva slips her lover a letter, instead of which she lets the guardian read a more harmless one. She accuses Bartholo of invading her privacy and threatens to run away if he touches her. He replies that they are not here in France, where women are always right, and invokes “the most recognized right in the world - that of the strongest”.

3rd act

Scenes 1–4: This time Almaviva poses as a clergyman named Alonzo, a student of the allegedly ill Bazile. He hands Bartholo the letter that Rosine wrote to him, claiming that the recipient left it to a lover. He advises Bartholo to inform Rosine of this shortly before the marriage in order to break her resistance. This gives him Bartholo's trust. This asks him to take over Bazile's singing lesson. Rosine sings an ariette from La précaution inutile, which celebrates spring as a time of youth, sensitivity and liberation. Bartholo doesn't leave the lovers alone, but he nods several times so that Almaviva can kiss Rosine's hand.

Scenes 5–10: Bartholo claims in a song that although he is not a Thyrsis, he is still “worth the price” in bed. Figaro comes to shave him. He can't lure him away from the lovers, but he can steal the key to the blind.

Scenes 11–14: The “sick” Bazile finds a deputy when he arrives, about whom he knows nothing; but they all tell him to be silent and to lie down again. The count emphasizes this request by handing him a purse . He whispers to his lover that he will get into her at midnight with the help of the captured key. Rosine explains coram publico that she wants to marry the one who will free her from her captivity.

4th act

(The theater is dark. It's about midnight. A thunderstorm is raging outside.)

Scenes 1–4: Bazile confesses to Bartholo that he was bribed by “Alonzo”. He believed, however, that this was actually an agent Almaviva or the count himself. Bartholo means that Bazile will get the notary that Figaro has appointed under a pretext. Then he shows Raisin her letter, which Almaviva had received rather than "Lindor". The woman who came into possession of it passed it on to get rid of Raisin as a rival. Shaken by the alleged betrayal of her lover, Rosine agrees to marry her tormentor. She also reveals to them the imminent attempt at liberation. Bartholo goes to get armed help.

Scenes 5–8: Figaro and the Count climb a ladder into Rosine's apartment. This accuses "Lindor" of having sold her to someone else. But after he has identified himself as Almaviva, she sinks into his arms. When Bazile appears with the notary, he allows himself to be bribed again and, as the second witness after Figaro, signs the document that turns the lovers into husband and wife. Bartholo arrives too late to prevent the marriage contract from being signed. In his anger, he grabs the notary by the throat. With the Alkalden , which he brought with him, this arouses the suspicion that he had embezzled ward money. However, he escapes an investigation because the count waives a dowry . In the end, Figaro says that if youth and love wanted to deceive an old man, all he can do about it is "précaution inutile".

Preface

The Lettre modérée sur la chute et la critique du "Barbier de Séville" (Modest plea for the failed and criticized "Barber of Seville") , which was not created until after the 16th performance, does not have a programmatic character like the preface to Eugenie . Rather, Beaumarchais reckons in an ironic tone with the criticism that the Journal de  Bouillon in particular had made of the play. He also gives references to his subsequent works, the comedy Le mariage de Figaro and the libretto Tarare (Trara), adapted by Da Ponte as Axur, re d'Ormus (A., King of Hormus) and set to music in both versions by Salieri .

gallery

  • J. Aveline le Jeune, Claude-Louis Desrais: Raisin (Lyon 1779).

  • Nicolas Dupin, Claude-Louis Desrais: Almaviva (1778–1785).

  • The first raisin: Mademoiselle Doligny.

  • Dazincourt as Figaro (1786).

  • Émile Bayard : Raisin (1876).

  • Émile Bayard: Almaviva (1876).

  • Émile Bayard: Bartholo (1876).

  • Émile Bayard: Bazille (1876).

Opera versions

literature

It owes its name to the barber de Séville: Le Figaro (first edition, 1826).

Video

  • Recording of the production by Gérald Marti at the Théâtre Royal du Parc de Bruxelles , 1997, with Damien Gillard (Almaviva), Daniel Hanssens (Bartholo), Micheline Goethals (Rosine), Thierry Lefèvre (Figaro), Jean-Claude Frison (Bazile); Musical arrangements: Damien Gillard ( video on YouTube ).

Web link

Wikisource: Le barbier de Séville (Beaumarchais)  - Sources and full texts (French)

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ Alma viva = living soul. Uses the pseudonyms Lindor (Lindoro = one of the names of the "innamorato" in the Commedia dell'arte ) and Alonzo.
  2. ↑ In the tradition of Pantalone in the Commedia dell'arte . Figaro: “It is a handsome, fat, small, young old man, mottled gray, cunning, shaved, blasé, who is constantly lurking, sniffing, grumbling and moaning.” Almaviva about his rival : “The head wobbly, the skull bald eyes dull, the look wild, the angry look of Algonquin - Indian ... "(act 2, scene 13)
  3. ↑ Rosina = rose. Figaro describes her as "the prettiest little thing, gentle, affectionate, lovable and fresh, appetizing, light-footed, well-built, beautiful arms, rose-colored mouth and what hands, teeth, eyes ...!" (2nd act, scene 2 )
  4. ^ Echo of "fils Caron (Caron son)". In the tradition of Arlecchino in the Commedia dell'arte. Appears in the costume of the majos as Goya portrayed them. As comes to light in Le mariage de Figaro , he is a child stolen by Gypsies from Bartholo and his former servant Marceline with the baptismal name Emmanuel (Hebrew עִמָּנוּ אֵל = God with us; related to Jesus in the New Testament ).
  5. ↑ Don = Lord. Echo of basilisk = king of the serpents. Organist of the Great Monastery, thus clerical class. Commercial slanderer.
  6. ↑ La jeunesse = the youth ( meant ironically ).
  7. ↑ L'éveillé = the bright one (meant ironically).
  8. ↑ Alcalde = judge , Kadi (from Spanish- Arabic قاضي).
  9. ↑ Alguazil = judicial officer (from Arabic اَلْوَزِير).
  10. ↑ This was followed by Le mariage de Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) in 1784 and La mère coupable (The guilty mother) in 1792 .
  11. ↑ Pierre Larthomas , with the assistance of v. Jacqueline Larthomas (ed.): Beaumarchais, Œuvres, Gallimard ( Bibliothèque de la Pléiade ), Paris 1988, pp. 1257–1263, here p. 1259.
  12. ↑ Pierre Larthomas, with the assistance of v. Jacqueline Larthomas (Ed.): Beaumarchais. Œuvres, Gallimard (Bibliothèque de la Pléiade), Paris 1988, pp. 1138–1145.
  13. ↑ As the main female character in the drama Les deux amis by Beaumarchais is named after the Creole Pauline Le Breton, who had given the author a buff.
  14. ↑ He arranged the couplets from Spanish and Italian melodies.
  15. ↑ Pierre Larthomas, with the assistance of v. Jacqueline Larthomas (Ed.): Beaumarchais. Œuvres, Gallimard (Bibliothèque de la Pléiade), Paris 1988, p. 1591.
  16. ↑ Le Barbier de Séville ou La précaution inutile, comédie en quatre actes par M. de Beaumarchais, représentée & tombée sur le Théâtre de la Comédie Française aux Tuilleries le 23 de février 1775, Ruault, Paris 1775 ( digitizedhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fgallica.bnf.fr%2Fark%3A%2F12148%2Fbtv1b8613375h%2Ff7~GB%3D~IA%3D~MDZ%3D%0A~SZ%3D~ double-sided% 3D ~ LT% 3D ~ PUR% 3D ).
  17. ↑ Ariette der Raisin in scene 4 of the third act. See the interpretation by Micheline Goethals, 58:40).
  18. ↑ In the Théâtre de la Reine at the Petit Trianon in Versailles . Cf. Anton Bettelheim : Beaumarchais, Eine Biographie, 2nd, revised edition, C. H. Beck , Munich 1911, p. 413.
  19. ↑ Lettre modérée sur la chute et la critique du “Barbier de Séville”, p. 19 f. ( Digitized versionhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fgallica.bnf.fr%2Fark%3A%2F12148%2Fbtv1b8613375h%2Ff21~GB%3D~IA%3D~MDZ%3D%0A~SZ%3D~ double-sided% 3D ~ LT% 3D ~ PUR% 3D ), in: Le Barbier de Séville ou La précaution inutile, comédie en quatre actes par M. de Beaumarchais, représentée & tombée sur le Théâtre de la Comédie Françoise aux Tuileries le 23 de février 1775, Ruault, Paris 1775.
  20. ↑ Act 1, scene 2.
  21. ↑ “(...) what has it brought about that you praise it? Stupidities of all kinds: freedom of thought , attraction , electricity , tolerance , vaccination , quinine , the encyclopedia and dramas  ... "(Scene 3) Beaumarchais, on the other hand, was proud of his science, philosophy and discoveries, but also of unrest, Agitation , inventions and reforms set a time. Cf. Pierre Larthomas, with the assistance of v. Jacqueline Larthomas (Ed.): Beaumarchais. Œuvres, Gallimard (Bibliothèque de la Pléiade), Paris 1988, p. 457.
  22. ↑ Among other things he calls him "Balordo" (fool), "Docteur Barbaro" and "Papa".
  23. ↑ Scene 15.
  24. ↑ Scene 4.
  25. ↑ Scene 5.
  26. ^ Singer in the eponymous idyll of Theocritus .
  27. ↑ Essai sur le drame sérieux (attempt on serious drama ).