Le donne curiose
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The curious women |
| Original title: | Le donne curiose |
Title page of the libretto, Leipzig 1903 |
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| Shape: | Musical comedy in three acts |
| Original language: | Italian |
| Music: | Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari |
| Libretto : | Luigi Sugana (German by Hermann Teibler) |
| Literary source: |
Carlo Goldoni : Le donne curiose |
| Premiere: | November 27, 1903 |
| Place of premiere: | Royal Bavarian National Theater , Munich |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ½ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Venice, mid-18th century |
| people | |
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Le donne curiose (German: The curious women ) is a comic opera (original name: "Musical Comedy") in three acts by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari . The libretto is by Luigi Sugana and is based on the comedy of the same name (original title Le donne curiose ) by Carlo Goldoni . The first performance took place on November 27, 1903 in the Royal Bavarian National Theater in Munich under the direction of Hugo Reichenberger in the German arrangement by Hermann Teibler . The first performance in Italian was in New York on January 3, 1912. The first performance in Italy took place on January 16, 1913 in Milan .
action
first act
Pantalone's friends as there are Ottavio, Lelio, Florindo, Lunardo, Asdrubale are sitting in the friends' club house and indulging in the game of checkers , chess and reading the newspaper. When Leandro appears with Almorò, Alvise and Mòmolo, they all reaffirm their friendship with men, which is primarily based on one principle: women are banned here. No woman should have access to the club house, nor should they find out what occupation the men are doing. That is not a problem for the long-married husbands Ottavio and Lelio, but the newly in love Florindo sighs for his lover Rosaura.
Pantalone appears and learns that on the occasion of the upcoming wedding of Florindo and Rosaura, a common feast for the friends will take place in the club house that same evening. He gladly pays the costs and instructs his servant Arlecchino to get the necessary ingredients for this feast.
Beatrice, Ottavio's wife, is annoyed to find that her husband has not yet come home, although it is already noon. Her daughter Rosaura suspects that the father gambled away all the money in the club house or, worse, that they meet other women. Eleonora, Lelios' wife comes to visit and claims to have found out that the men make the "lapis philosphorum" in the clubhouse, the so-called philosopher's stone . Colombina bursts into the excitement that follows. She claims to the other women that the men are looking for a pot of gold. She even speaks of witchcraft . In many pots the men are supposed to win the gold by conjuring up the devils and blowing into the furnaces. Arlecchino comes to see his lover Colombina. He is blackmailed by the women in order to find out the secret of the club house. To be left alone, Arlecchino agrees with every assumption made by women. That doesn't help him, the women become violent and he runs away.
Ottavio finally comes home to his wife Beatrice. He is apparently completely absorbed in his calculations and gives his wife no indication of what is going on in the clubhouse. Florindo also comes to Ottavio's house, following his lover Rosaura. While he confesses his great love to her, Rosaura first tries to find out the secret of the men's association with sweet words. But Florindo feels bound by his oath. Rosaura pretends to be offended and doesn't love Florindo anymore. With the help of the approaching Colombina and a pretended faint, Rosaura and Colombina manage to get the secret password "Amicizia" ("friendship"), but they do not get the key.
Second act
Eleonora discovers the keys to the club house and a letter from Pantalone in a handkerchief of her husband Lelio. As a precautionary measure, he had changed the locks because Arlecchino had lost the old ones. Eleonora pockets the key and letter before her husband finds out about it. Lelio comes home and is driven to the verge of madness by his wife for claiming to discover the secret.
Colombina and Rosaura come to Beatrice and tell her about the discovery of the secret password and a key, which they could not get. Ottavio comes home with Florindo, where they are harassed by the women and Beatrice tries under a pretext to persuade her husband to take off her skirt so that she can get the key. Colombina brings the coffee and through a mock accident she pours coffee on Ottavio's skirt. When the latter takes off his skirt, the women steal the key and Ottavio now leaves the house with a fake key and is plagued by a cold with Florindo.
Colombina and Beatrice want to dress up as men. Rosaura, who is left alone, regrets that she rejected Florindo so harshly. Florindo for his part breaks up under a pretext from Ottavio and comes back to Rosaura. Rosaura takes advantage of this situation to get the keys to Florindo.
Third act
Pantalone is waiting for Arlecchino. When Arlecchino arrives, Pantalone learns that he could not get the candles he had ordered for the feast. Eleonora comes to the club house but loses the key in fright and flees when she is approached by Arlecchino. When Colombina and Beatrice arrive, they run into Eleonora, but they only recognize one woman who they consider to be one of the women with whom the men in the club house supposedly hang out.
Pantalone finds the pair of keys lost by Eleonora, meets Colombina and Beatrice in disguise, reveals them as women and snatches the second pair of keys from them.
One after the other, Lelio, Ottavio and Florindo arrive and discover that nobody has the keys anymore. You decide to knock. Pantalone shows the men the two pairs of found keys and grumpily gives them back. Everyone goes into the house. Florindo stays behind and sees Rosaura approaching, but does not recognize her at first.
Rosaura comes to the club house with Arlecchino and Florindo's keys. Florindo recognizes Rosaura's betrayal. He goes into the house and leaves Rosaura standing in front of the locked door as a punishment. Rosaura really faints this time. Arlecchino catches them. Eleonora, Beatrice and Colombina join in and, when they see Rosaura, also make as if to faint. But they quickly grab hold of Arlecchino and force him to unlock the door.
In the club house, the friends pay homage to Pantalone at the feast. You are separated by an opaque glass door from the women who are standing in the anteroom and who keep poking their noses through the glass door with curiosity. You must find that your husbands are completely innocent and all of your guesses are wrong. Instead, they marvel at the exuberant atmosphere and the festive dishes. Arlecchino tries to hold them back, but the women are pushing more and more against the pane. When dessert arrives, the glass door finally gives in to the pressure of the women. Pantalone jumps up indignantly. The women notice their curiosity and the associated misstep and literally beg for mercy.
Pantalone grants mercy and accepts Colombina's proposal to dance together. Arlecchino, who asks Colombinas to show him the love he had promised to open the door, receives a slap in the face. Rosaura and Florindo reassure each other of their mutual love. Everyone celebrates a big party in loud exuberance.
Instrumentation
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : two flutes (2nd also piccolo ), two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons
- Brass : two horns , two trumpets , two trombones
- Timpani , drums : bass drum , cymbals , triangle , tambourine , glockenspiel
- harp
- Strings
- Stage music: bells in e and g sharp, cuckoo clock , at least two mandolins , at least two guitars , piano (or harpsichord ), double bass , violin
Cast of the premiere
| role | First cast, November 27, 1903 (conductor: Hugo Reichenberger ) |
First performance in Italy, January 3, 1912 (conductor: Arturo Toscanini ) |
|---|---|---|
| Arlecchino | Georg Sieglitz | Antonio Scotti |
| Beatrice | Charlotte Chicken | Rita Fornia |
| Colombina | Hermione Bosetti | Geraldine Farrar |
| Florindo | Hans Koppe | Hermann Jadlowker |
| Leandro | Hans Breuer | Jeanne Maubourg |
| Lelio | Andres de Segurola | |
| Ottavio | Paul Bender | Adam Didur |
| Pantalone | Friedrich Brodersen | Antonio Pini-Corsi |
| Rosaura | Ella Tordek | Bella ancients |
Web links
- Le Donne curiose : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Text book in German on the Internet Archive
- Le donne curiose (Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
- Action by Le donne curiose on Opera-Guide landing page due to URL change currently unavailable
- Work data for Die curious women based on MGG with discography at Operone
Individual evidence
- ↑ Manuela Schwarz: The curious women. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 6: Works. Spontini - Zumsteeg. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1997, ISBN 3-492-02421-1 , pp. 752-755.