So, I kind of messed up on that whole posting every Saturday thing. Many apologies.
This one holds a special place in my heart. The theory/history confidant I’ve mentioned before was a bassist, and on one of the many late evenings we spent preparing for our Romantic Period seminar she mentioned this gem from the quill of Michael Haydn. Yes, Haydn. This is Joseph’s kid brother. Technically his first name is Johann, but everyone named their composer child Johann (Pachelbel rant, anyone?). Clearly Michael just wanted some individuality. Which he never got, since he is best remembered as being Joseph’s kid brother. But I digress.
This week’s opera: Der Bassgeiger zu Wörgl
Composer: (Johann) Michael Haydn (1737-1806)
Librettist: Pater Leo Peternader
Date of Composition: c. 1775
Other Remarks: M. Haydn was mostly known for his symphonies and sacred choral music, but every once in awhile he got bored and wrote a Singspiel. (For those not in the know, this is basically the German precursor to a musical - spoken dialogue interspersed with songs and generally in a comic mood) This one is relatively unknown. Granted, most of Michael’s works are relatively unknown, but that’s beside the point. The title translates to “The Bassist of Wörgl,” and, like the vast majority of string bassists, this bassist’s story focuses on being drunk. Now, a word of warning before we get farther into the plot: the one and only synopsis I ever found for this work was in German, which may have contributed to some of the hilarity encountered. Still, what doesn’t change in translation is the fact that an 18th century virtually-unknown composer basically wrote a sitcom-opera about a drunk guy who happens to play bass. And y’all should be thanking me - this will be the first synopsis I know of in English. You’re welcome.
Our story opens with Bartl, the aforementioned bassist, coming home drunk one night.
Yes, he brings his bass out drinking.
Presumably the bass is off somewhere pretending not to know Bartl.
Liesl, the loving wife that she is, runs out to find and stop him. HOWEVER Bartl is secretly a very devious drunk bassist, and snuck into the house while she was out searching the river. Now the tables have turned and he’s locked her out of the house! Liesl gets back and tries to get in the house, but Bartl won’t let her in until she promises to stop nagging him about his Trinkfreudigkeit, which I originally translated as “drunken happy time” but I’ve since learned means alcoholism. I like my translation better.
She's so angry that she's misplaced her nose!
I like how the bass is apparently sentient. And self-propelling. Also, I feel like "getting bored and writing a Singspiel" is a recurring theme in 18th century opera.
ReplyDeleteHe was originally going to be holding the bass and then I realized it would have made his arm obnoxiously long. Even childish drawings should have standards. Hence, sentient bass. It's the only plausible solution. I should make a tag for "getting bored and writing a Singspiel."
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