Antoine Watteau, Fete Venetiennes, c.1718 - 1719Class Conflict Part 1: The Proletariat, Revenge!
Class Conflict Part 2: The Bourgeoisie, Revenge!
Revenge, yes revenge
Is a pleasure meant for the intelligent;
To forget insults and outrages
Is always low and base.
With acuteness and inisight,
With judgement and discernment,
I can do it. The case is serious;
But, believe me, I’ll bring it off.
If I have to search through the whole legal code
If I have to read through the whole statute-bool
With some quibble or paraphrase
I’ll find out an obstacle.
All Seville knows Dr Bartolo :
That rascal Figaro will lose the day!
Class Conflict Part 3: The Nobility, Revenge!
Gushing uncontrollable teenage hormones
I no longer know what I am or what I do,
One minute I'm on fire, the next I'm frozen,
Every woman changes my color [makes me blush]
Every woman makes my heart beat faster.
At the mere mention of love, of delight,
I become disturbed, my heartbeat changes,
I try to speak of love
[I feel] A desire which I cannot explain.
I no longer know what I am or what I do,
One minute I'm on fire, the next I'm frozen,
Every woman changes my color [makes me blush]
Every woman makes my heart beat faster.
I speak of love awake
I speak of love in my dreams,
To the water, the shadows, the mountains,
To the flowers, the grass, the fountains,
To the echoes, the air, the winds,
That the sound of vain accents [speech] is
carried away with itself.
And if nobody listens,
I speak of love to myself!
Text by Lorenzo da Ponte
Translation by Naomi Gurt Lind
The most beautiful musical cat fight ever written:
Scheming and plotting to get one's own sweet way (actually, I'm posting these two for the amazing ensemble singing).
And yet, love can remain true despite time and infidelity
And in the end, after all the malicious scheming for revenge and advantage, when it all blows up in everyone's face and they all look like jackasses, there is only one thing possible to do...
Sposi, Amici! Viva L'Amore!
Beaumarchais' original play was a provocative scandal and a huge hit with the public, appearing right on the eve of the French Revolution when it seemed everyone "forgot their station." Mozart turned the play into a comedy about love and human nature, two things that he thought were full of music and very funny.
well-- at least his Lordship begs forgiveness... perhaps our current Lords could do with a bit of that!
ReplyDeleteI remember Mozart describing the plot in Amadeus: "...but he's actually measuring his marriage bed!"
ReplyDelete...but I can't watch these clips. Not yet. Mozart was, and remains, "my mother's music."
Maybe in another 50 years. ;-/
My mother's music was Glenn Miller. She hated Mozart.
ReplyDelete