The Overture to The Caliph of Bagdad (Le Calife de Bagdad) is Boieldieu’s most famous piece of music. The opera was a triumph when introduced at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on September 16, 1801. The libretto, by Saint-Just, is set in Bagdad where Isaaum is a benevolent Caliph, but given to mischievous pranks and tricks, including parading around the city in various disguises. Once, as an army officer, he meets and makes love to Zeltube. Her mother, suspicious of him, orders his arrest. When the Caliph reveals himself, he also discloses his intentions were honorable and that he intends making Zeltube his bride.
The overture opens with a mellow song for strings. When the tempo changes, a sprightlier tune is heard in strings and brought to a forceful climactic point. The music now assumes a dramatic character after which a new subject, again in a sensitive lyrical vein, is offered by the strings.
The Overture to La Dame blanche (The White Lady) is also popular. La Dame blanche is the composer’s greatest work in the opéra-comique form. It was received with such sensational acclaim when introduced in Paris on December 10, 1825 that, temporarily at any rate, the sparkling comic operas of Rossini (then very much in vogue) were thrown into a shade. In time, La Dame blanche received universal acceptance as a classic in the world of opéra-comique. Between 1825 and 1862 it enjoyed over a thousand performances in Paris; by World War I, the total passed beyond the fifteen hundred mark. The libretto, by Eugène Scribe, is based on two novels by Sir Walter Scott, The Monastery and Guy Mannering. The setting is Scotland, and the “white lady” is a statue believed to be the protector of a castle belonging to the Laird of Avenel. The castle is being administered by Gaveston who tries to use the legend of the white lady for his own selfish purposes, to gain possession of the family treasures. Anna, Gaveston’s ward, impersonates the white lady to help save the castle and its jewels for the rightful owner.
The vivacious overture is made up of several of the opera’s principal melodies. The introduction begins with a motive from the first-act finale, and is followed by the melodious and expressive “Ballad of the White Lady.” The Allegro section that follows includes the drinking song and several other popular arias, among these being the ballad of “Robin Adair” which appears during the hero’s first-act revery and as a concert piece in the third act.
Giovanni Bolzoni
Giovanni Bolzoni was born in Parma, Italy, on May 14, 1841. He attended the Parma Conservatory, then achieved recognition as a conductor of operas in Perugia and Turin. In 1887 he became director of the Liceo Musicale in Turin. Bolzoni wrote five operas, a symphony, overtures, and chamber music, but all are now in discard. He died in Turin on February 21, 1919.
About the only piece of music by Bolzoni to survive is a beguiling little Minuet which comes from an unidentified string quartet and which has achieved outstanding popularity in various transcriptions, including many for salon orchestras with which it is a perennial favorite.
Carrie Jacobs Bond
Carrie Jacobs Bond, whose art songs are among the most popular by an American, was born in Janesville, Wisconsin, on August 11, 1862. Coming from a musical family, she was given music instruction early, and made appearances as a child-prodigy pianist. After marrying Dr. Frank L. Bond, a physician, she went to live in Chicago where her husband died suddenly, leaving her destitute. For a while she earned a living by renting rooms, taking in sewing, and doing other menial jobs. Then she began thinking of supplementing this meager income with the writing of songs. To issue these compositions, she formed a modest publishing firm in New York with funds acquired from her New York song recital; for a long time her office was in a hall bedroom. Her first publication, just before the end of the century, was Seven Songs, which included “I Love You Truly” and “Just a Wearyin’ For You,” each of which she subsequently published as separate pieces. In 1909 she achieved a formidable success with the famous ballad, “The End of a Perfect Day,” of which more than five million copies of sheet music were sold within a few years. Her later songs added further both to her financial security and her reputation. She was invited to give concerts at the White House, received awards for achievement in music from various organizations, and was singled out in 1941 by the Federation of Music Clubs as one of the two outstanding women in the field of music. She died in Hollywood, California, on December 28, 1946.
Carrie Jacobs Bond knew how to write a song that was filled with sentiment without becoming cloying, that was simple without becoming ingenuous, and which struck a sympathetic universal chord by virtue of its mobile and expressive lyricism. Besides “I Love You Truly,” “Just a Wearyin’ for You” and “The End of a Perfect Day,” her most famous songs included “His Lullaby,” “Life’s Garden,” “I’ve Done My Work,” and “Roses Are in Bloom.” Her songs are so popular that they have been often heard in various transcriptions for salon orchestras and band.