Esempio misero d' amor funesto
Darö all' Eumenidi, se viva resto,
Col suono orribile de' miei sospir—
and the music takes the cue therefrom. While borrowing the pathetic tone and form of the opera seria, she turns them into a parody like that of the text, invoking the furies with all the rhetorical apparatus of tragedy; this is especially noticeable towards the close:—[See Page Image]
The parody facilitates the difficult task of carrying the musical expression of emotion to an exaggerated degree without making it ugly and unnatural. The refined delivery of the vocalist, and the ready apprehension of the audience, must always be presupposed. In the character of Fiordiligi Da Ponte has unquestionably kept Ferraresi del Bene in view; he was said to stand in tender relations towards her.[ 46 ] According to him she had a fine voice and an original and affecting delivery, and this opinion was confirmed by the London critics, although she was never considered there as a true prima donna;[ 47 ] and Mozart himself remarked that it was not saying much to pronounce Allegrandi far superior to Ferraresi. She had not a good figure, and was but an indifferent actress; but she had beautiful eyes and a charming mouth, and was in great favour with the public. It is not surprising, therefore, that Fiordiligi should have been placed on a higher level than her sister, both musically and dramatically.[ 48 ] Her very first air (14) places her in a far more favourable light. The disguised lovers, after a decided repulse, renew their shameless attack. Fiordiligi's condescending to answer them and to assert her inflexible constancy may not, indeed, be a proof of fine feeling on her part, but it demands an energetic and emphatic tone and strong and appropriate colouring. We therefore have a bravura air in two movements, an andante and allegro, closed by a long coda in accelerated tempo. The comic effect again rests on the element of parody, which is even more strongly marked than in Dorabella's air; the bravura passages, intervals of octaves, tenths and twelfths, the roulades which she flings at her opponents, the bass-like passages in the deeper register of the voice, all characterise Fiordiligi's Amazon-like haughtiness in an exaggerated manner. Afterwards, it is true, she FERRANDO. is induced by her more thoughtless sister to coquet with the new lover, but Dorabella's lover presents himself after a fashion calculated to make a strong impression upon her. Guillelmo is always light-hearted and cheerful; while, even in the parting scene, Ferrando has shown himself to be a man of softer mould. His air (17), after the first repulse of his suit, leaves no doubt as to his nature. It renders the vapid sentimentality of the words with remarkable tenderness and delicacy, but this kind of sentimentality being quite foreign to the southern nature, the portrayal of it would rouse more ridicule than sympathy. Such a character cuts a comic figure upon the 'stage—a circumstance which must be borne in mind in considering this opera. Even in his feigned wooing he expresses his feelings with warmth and animation, his eccentricities being indeed heightened by the difficulties of the situation. This is just the demeanour calculated to make an impression on Fiordiligi, and she soon begins to waver. Perceiving this, he expresses his delight with an extravagance which a man of calmer temperament would have been incapable of dissembling;[ 49 ] it is evident that his fancy gets the better of his excited feelings. So apprehended, this air (24) not only entrances our minds by its continuous flow of lovely melody, but gives us a sense of natural fitness for the situation and characters. It would have been an impossible task for music to represent Ferrando as singing this song with coolly calculated dissimulation; for the exaggeration of caricature is only appropriate when no conviction is required to be brought home to us, whereas here the impression experienced by Fiordiligi must be shared by the audience before it can become intelligible. The music must therefore express a feeling by which a man of excitable nature would be likely to be carried away.
In this way only can we justify the deep impression made upon the equally excitable Fiordiligi, when, left alone, she reproaches herself doubly for having coquetted with Ferrando, and been false at heart to her lover. The feeling COSÌ FAN TUTTE. of remorse, and of newly strengthened fidelity which the memory of her absent lover inspires, is charmingly expressed in the lovely air (25), "Per pietà, ben mio, perdona." This is genuine emotion, springing from the heart, and the music expresses it with all the charm of pure melody. This important air, in two elaborate movements—adagio and allegro—gives ample opportunity for display to the singer and an independent part to the wind instruments, especially the horns, without doing injury to truth of expression. It is undeniably akin to the great air in "Figaro" (p. 92) composed for the same Ferraresi, although they differ both in tone and colouring. Probably the individuality of the singer, distinctly recognisable in the three songs, exerted considerable influence over their composition; and it may also be remarked that too vivid a representation of such a mood as this would have exceeded the limits of opera buffa; even as it is it suggests almost too serious a complication and solution of the situation. Ferrando, on learning the faithlessness of his Dorabella, breaks at first into violent indignation; but this soon gives way to softer feelings, which he cannot overcome. In his lovely cavatina (27)—so Mozart has entitled it—his anger is only faintly suggested, while the memory of his still-loved Dorabella shines forth from the darkness of the soul.[ 50 ] While he is yet in this sentimental mood he is urged by Don Alfonso to make one more attack upon Fiordiligi's heart. With this intent, he surprises her in the act of putting into effect her romantic determination to escape from her own weakness by donning man's attire and following her lover to the wars. The duet which ensues (29) is of singular design and unusually rich elaboration. In contrast with Fiordiligi's grandiloquent sentiments, as she fancies herself again by the side of her lover, comes the melancholy plaint, the urgent petition of Ferrando; her resistance grows weaker as his entreaties grow more earnest—until at last she sinks into FERRANDO—GUILLELMO. his arms. This scene consists of a regularly worked-out duet in two movements, but the long suspense requires a corresponding length of reaction from it, and we have to all intents and purposes a second duet, with two movements expressive of the happiness of the lovers. Here again the expression of feeling is so direct and true that we cannot but imagine Ferrando carried away by the impulse of the moment. In fact, these two characters and their relations to each other are somewhat out of keeping with the rest of the opera. Da Ponte failed in giving due effect to the deeper psychological interest of the characters; Mozart has clothed them in flesh and blood, but even he has failed to endow them with the distinct and vivid personality which is to be found in "Figaro" and "Don Giovanni."
No doubt the idiosyncrasies of the performers, who were for the most part more of singers than actors, and had apparently not much talent for comedy, had considerable influence on the plan of the piece;[ 51 ] the part of Guillelmo was written for the excellent buffo Benucci (Vol. III., pp. 51, SS).[ 52 ] He first comes forward independently, when, in his disguise as an Albanian, his first attack has been repulsed and, Fiordiligi having expressed her haughty indignation, he boldly ventures on a fresh declaration of love. Here he had originally an air (584 K.) of the most decided buffo type, which opposed to the exaggerated pathos of Fiordiligi an extravagance of a different kind, and expressed in strong caricature the confidence of the new wooers in the ultimate success of their
(To Fiordiligi.)
Rivolgete à lui lo sguardo
E vedete come stà;
Tutto dice, io gelo, io ardo,
Idol mio, pietà, pietà.
(To Dorabella.)
E voi, cara, un sol momento
Il bel ciglio à me volgete,
E nel mio ritroverete
Quel che il labbro dir non sà.
Un Orlando innamorato
Non è niente in mio confronto,
Un Medoro il sen piagato
Verso lui per nullo io conto.
Son di foco i miei sospiri,
Son di bronzo i suoi desiri.
Se si parla poi di merto,
Certo io son ed egli è certo,
Che gli uguali non si trovano
Da Vienna al Canadà.
Siam due Cresi per richezza;
Due Narcissi per bellezza;
In amori i Marcantoni
Verso noi sarian buffoni;
Siam più forti d'un Ciclopo,
Letterati al par di Esopo;
Se balliam, il
Pick ne cede,
Si gentil e snello è il piede,
Se cantiam, col trillo solo
Facciam torto al uscignolo,
E qualche altro capitale
Abbiam poi, che alcun non sà.
Mozart has turned this into a comic air in the grand style, worthy to rank with those of Leporello, although the delicate malice which characterises the latter would be out of place here. The various points, not only where the mention of dancing and singing suggest musical freaks, but throughout, are made effective in the happiest musical contrasts, without disturbing the flow and consistency of the whole song. Towards the close especially, the climax is inimitable. After the transition into D minor on "trillo" and "uscignolo"—[See Page Image] GUILLELMO'S AIR. the wind instruments sound a mocking fanfare to the violin quavers on "qualch' altro capitale"—[See Page Image] COSÌ FAN TUTTE. whereupon Guillelmo, after the exit of the sisters, breaks out with the whole strength of his voice into a triumphant allegro molto—[See Page Image]
