FRA DIAVOLO " Fra Diavolo " is a comic opera in three acts, the words by Scribe and the music by Daniel Francois Auber. Its production was at the Opera Comique, Paris, Jan. 28, 1830.
Fra Diavolo, under the name of the Marquis of San Marco.
Lord Rocburg (Lord Allcash), an English traveler. Lady Pamela (Lady Allcash), his wife.
Lorenzo, chief of the carbineers.
Matteo, the innkeeper.
Zerlina, his daughter.
I companions of Fra Diavolo. Beppo, Peasants, robbers, carbineers.
The scene of the first act is laid at the hostelry of Matteo at Terracina in Italy, the English tourists making a flurried entrance, for the reason that they have narrowly escaped capture and robbery at the hands of Fra Diavolo's band. Fra Diavolo is the celebrated captain of a band of brigands and a price of ten thousand piastres is upon his head. It is the ambition of Lorenzo, the captain of the carbineers, to win the money. His greatest incentive lies in the fact that the reward would enable him to marry Zerlina, with whom he is in love. Fra Diavolo who, in the guise of the Marquis of San Marco, has attached himself to the English party in order personally to inspect their progress, now appears upon the scene. He has made himself particularly charming to Lady Allcash on the journey, which is her honey moon, and has been so successful in fact that the jealousy of Lord Allcash has been aroused. Naturally, that gentleman is not delighted with his reappearance. As he fears, a desperate flirtation between the dashing marquis and his bride ensues. As the marquis sings a tender barcarole to the lady, he makes an inventory of her jewels and is grieved to dis cover that his band has not been successful in effecting a wholesale capture of the Allcash valuables. But Fra Diavolo is a gentleman of resources and he plans to remedy this oversight on his own account. The first act ends with his escape from the inn, just as the carbineers under Lorenzo enter in search of him.
The second act is set in the sleeping apartment of Zer lina. The fair daughter of the innkeeper first lights the English guests to their rooms. During her absence, Fra Diavolo, who already is concealed behind the curtains, admits his comrades, Beppo and Giacomo. They shut themselves in the closet. Zerlina re-enters, prays to the Holy Virgin for protection and goes to rest. The robbers, thinking her asleep, begin operations and partially rouse her. It has been a detail of the plot to stab Zerlina but her prayers and her helplessness touch their hearts ; their arms fall harmless as they gaze upon her innocent face and they decide to delay the deed. The return of Lorenzo and his men again arrests their work and rouses the house. Lord and Lady Allcash rush in to discover the cause of the uproar, followed by Lorenzo to reassure Zerlina. Fra Diavolo, realizing that his discovery is imminent, hits upon the despicable plan of coming boldly forth and declaring that he was there for a rendezvous with Zerlina. At the same time, he whispers to
the Englishman that he has come by appointment with Lady Pamela and to clinch the evidence shows him her portrait which he has appropriated the day before. Lorenzo chal lenges him and Fra Diavolo, promising to meet him in the morning, cooly makes his escape. One of his companions is not so lucky and is taken captive. In order to gain his liberty he soon agrees to betray his leader.
We now come to the third and last act, and find Fra Diavolo back in his beloved mountains, happy once more because free to live the life he has chosen. He no longer wears the staid attire of a marquis, but appears as the real Fra Diavolo in the garb of the chief of bandits, with the picturesque and characteristic red feather waving gal lantly from his bonnet. Not only does he rejoice over his return to the mountain heights, but he is looking forward with great gusto to the completion of his confiscation of the Allcash property, and gives expression to this joyous prospect and to his love of life and power in a dashing song " Proudly and wide my Standard flies." A band of villagers in holiday attire enters, singing a pastoral chorus in celebration of the approaching mar riage of Lorenzo and .Zerlina, "Oh, my Holy Virgin, bright and fair." Lorenzo, who has had it proved to his satisfaction that Zerlina is innocent of Fra Diavolo's imputations, uses as snares Beppo and Giacomo, who are in his power. The chief of bandits is captured and led away to punishment by carbineers, after he has declared Zerlina's innocence. Zerlina is restored to her true lover, and the opera is brought to a strong dramatic close.
Of numbers deservedly popular are the piquantly hu morous duet of Lord and Lady Allcash, "I don't object ;" the quintet, sung upon the entrance of Fra Diavolo, " Oh! Rapture unbounded ;" Zerlina's romanza sung to the dis guised bandit and really descriptive of him, "On yonder rock reclining," which is undoubtedly the best known song of all in this opera; Fra Diavolo's barcarole to mandolin accompaniment, "The gondolier, fond passion's slave ;" the effective trio for Zerlina and Lord and Lady Allcash, " Let us I pray, good wife, to rest;" the serenade of Fra Diavolo "Young Agnes ;" Zerlina's aria "'Tis to-mor row," and her prayer "Oh, Holy, Virgin ;" the bandit's song before mentioned in the third act, the chorus of peas ants in same act, and Lorenzo's song " I'm thine." The work has many excellences, the text is vivacious and genuinely humorous; although at times the opera bor ders on horse-play, it is saved by its gay sparkling music, full of rich melody artistically arranged.
Fra Diavolo is a deservedly popular opera, and one of the class one wishes might oftener be heard in place of the "up to date" and so called "comic" opera, which often has no merit whatever as an opera.