| Dec. 16th, 2009 @ 12:01 am A rabbi in opera |
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The number of rabbis who appear in opera can probably be numbered on the fingers of one hand--the only opera in which I can think of one is Halevy's La Juive--but I've just come across another one. It is true that he does nothing rabbinical beyond a few extended references to Scriptural texts, that's he really a marriage broker, and that his contribution is essentially nudging the hero into getting married to a pretty girl--but the libretto describes him as a rabbi, although that's only in the dramatis personae. If you went by the actual text of the libretto, you'd would only think of him as a middle aged guy who tends to quote Scripture more than usual.
The opera is L'Amico Fritz, by Pietro Mascagni. Mascagni's best known opera is the one act Cavalleria Rusticana, which set the pace for verismo opera, with a fairly tawdry plot that ends in tragedy. L'Amico Fritz is his second best known work, and is fairly different. It's an idyllic comedy (although there are not really any jokes or absurd situations) in three short acts (running time is actually only about fifteen minutes longer than Cavalleria--just over ninety minutes) set in rural Alsace. The rabbi is given the name David, and he's one of Fritz's friends--Fritz being the hero, and the local landlord--who prod him into realizing he loves the daughter of one of his tenant farmers.
Just thought you might be curious. (Post prompted by buying a new recording on DG featuring Roberto Alagna as Fritz, Angela Goerghiu as the girl he loves, and George Pretean as Rabbi David.) |
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