User:Alt4297/The African Duet
| The African Duet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Music by | Manuel Fernández Caballero |
| Date premiered | 13th May 1893 |
The African Duet ('El dúo de la Africana') is a zarzuela in one act, divided into three parts, with music by Manuel Fernández Caballero and a libretto by Miguel Echegaray. It premiered with great success at the Teatro Apolo in Madrid, on the 13th May 1893.
Plot
[edit]A modest opera company is preparing to put on a performance of L'Africaine by Giacomo Meyerbeer. The tightfisted impresario Querubini (like Mozart's character) has a motto to save as much as possible and to not pay anybody.
The tenor, a young man from a good family who has fled his home, is completely in love with the soprano, Antonelli, Querubini's wife. This flirtation makes the impresario jealous but his daughter falls for the young tenor.
Giuseppini, the tenor, takes advantage of rehearsals to embrace Antonelli, unleashing Querubini's anger when he does it without shame in the middle of the performance. Querubini interrumps them in a fit of rage. After the intervention of the authorities everything returns to normal, but a second interruption by the young tenor's mother, who has been looking for him all over Spain, causes everything to fall apart again.
Music and libretto
[edit]The musical numbers in this zarzuela are:
- Prelude
- Chorus: Good morning, Inocente,
- Giuseppini and Antonelli Entrance,
- Andalucian Song
- Melodrama: Oh mia Selica
- Chorus of gossip
- Querubini and Giuseppini Duet
- Antonelli and Giuseppini Duet
- Jota: No cantes más la Africana
- The African Scene
- Finale
Furthermore, it is noteworthy to mention the hilarious libretto, which mixes Italian and Spanish effortlessly.
| Character | Voice type | Premiere cast, 18 May 1893 |
|---|---|---|
| Giuseppini, tenor from Aragón in love with the soprano | tenor | Emilio Mesejo |
| Querubini, stingy and jealous impresario | comic bass | Manolo Rodríguez |
| Antonelli, soprano from Seville in love with the tenor and the impresario's wife | soprano | Joaquina Pino |
| Inocente, the theatre's stage manager and a nervous person | actor | |
| Amina, the impresario's daughter, in love with the tenor | actress | Carmen Salvador |
| Inspector, police officer in search of the tenor | actor | |
| Doña Serafina, the tenor's mother and a noblewoman from Aragón | actress | Pilar Vidal |
References
[edit]External links
[edit][[Category:Zarzuelas]]