Pauline, a noble but penniless young woman, is about to leave her friend Anastasie and the latter’s mother, Madame Samson, who accommodated her. Madame Samson informs Anastasie that an important visitor, the count de Morland, a rich man with a title, wants to buy their property. She specifies that he will arrive incognito. Anastasie, worried, fears that the count will covet Pauline. Her mother reassures her and says that her dowry of 300 000 francs is a lot more valuable than Pauline’s title of nobility. Soon after, Monsieur Sylvestre, a dance instructor, arrives to give a lesson. Madame Samson mistakes him for the count de Morland and begins a serious conversation with him, which puzzles Monsieur Sylvestre; he is unaware of the misunderstanding. However, he begins to take Madame Samson’s flattering words seriously. When she sees this “so-called count” from the window, Pauline quickly realises that it is in fact her dance instructor. At this moment, the real count de Morland arrives. Pauline welcomes him, and he explains that he met her mother in Paris and that she talked about selling the castle. As he is trying to negotiate discreetly, he chose not to reveal his identity—to avoid overpaying. Meanwhile, Monsieur Samson, puzzled by the odd behaviour of the so-called count, comments on his only talking – what is more, with great familiarity – about actors of the Opera. The real count is still incognito and takes part in the conversation between Pauline and Monsieur Samson; he mentions having heard that Monsieur de Morland will soon marry the daughter of an old friend of his father. At the same time, Madame Samson reveals that she already knew the real identity of the anonymous visitor (without specifying his name). Monsieur Sylvestre, still lost, is surprised to learn that a wedding involving him is still planned. Madame de Brennemur (Pauline’s mother) finally arrives and introduces her future son-in-law, the count de Morland, who wants to marry her daughter. Madame Samson introduces Monsieur Sylvestre as her future son-in-law too, also calling him “Monsieur de Morland”. At this moment, the truth comes out. In the end, Madame Samson comes up with an arrangement: the count can buy the castle for a reasonable price, on condition that this over-the-top story remains a secret.

String marionette

Young audiences

Bernard Laure

France

Printed

Castle

Bourgeoisie

Arranged marriage

Professor

Happy marriage

Comical

French

Father

Suitor

Count

Teacher

Lady

Daughter

Aside

Misunderstanding

Situation comedy

Plot twist

Une méprise

A misunderstanding

The play is set in Cannes in 1871. Madame Palmer, her daughter Miss Kate (both Americans), Monsieur Balandard and his nephew Arthur, a young painter, are staying in a hotel. The young painter is in love with Miss Kate and paints her portrait. However, Miss Kate does not recognise herself in the painting and suggests, in Arthur’s face, that he find a “real” job. The young man is hurt: he draws a caricature of Miss Kate’s silhouette and complains to his uncle – Monsieur Balandard. Meanwhile, Madame Palmer organises an occult ritual with her daughter to find out the name of the daughter’s future husband. Cléophée, Madame Palmer’s occult “friend”, writes the name “Bal…”. From that moment on, Madame Palmer tries to arrange a marriage between her daughter and Monsieur Balandard. However, the uncle decides to help his nephew. To do so, he organises a fake occult ritual and hides Arthur inside a speaking bubble. In the end, the farce is revealed and faith in occultism is shattered.

Glove-puppet

Not specified

Maurice Sand (Maurice Sand)

Nohant

Casino

Hotel

Painter

Unrequited love

Spirits

Occultism

Trap

Satirical

Farcical

Eugène Lambert, George Sand, Maurice Sand : puppet of Arthur Dupinceau.

L'Oncle et le neveu

Balandard

Young man

Innkeeper

Constable

American

Woman of the bourgeoisie

Young woman

Invocation of the spirits of the dead

Aria

Les Esprits frappeurs

The Spirits that strike

The owner of a hotel is facing difficulties because she has been without servants for several days and one of her guests is very sick. Don Procopio and Don Enrico arrive at the hotel. Don Enrico would like to marry Don Procopio’s daughter. But Don Procopio has promised her to an American who is to arrive that very day. Pulcinella comes to the hotel and asks to be hired as a servant, but the old owner mistakes him for a doctor and Pulcinella finds himself forced to care for the sick man. Then, Marietta arrives, followed by Felice, who is courting her frantically. In order to get rid of Felice, Marietta tells him that she is married to a very jealous Spanish man. When Pulcinella arrives, Felice believes that he is Marietta’s husband and challenges him to a duel. While Felice has gone to fetch weapons for the duel, Don Enrico arrives and wants to kill Pulcinella as well, because he thinks that he is the American spouse of his beloved. At the end of the play, all the characters meet on stage and great confusion ensues.

All audiences

Ferrajolo Francesco

Italy

Salerno

False doctor

Jealousy

Love

Duel

Italian

ovvero Pulcinella creduto medico chirurgo, sposo americano e marito spagnolo

Old woman

Host

Sick person

Guardian

Pulcinella

Felice Sciosciammocca

Word for another

Echoing lines

Word warping

Repetition of a word

Sword fight

Slaps

Address to the public

Ha! Saverio!

Oh! Saverio! or Pulcinella mistaken for a doctor and a surgeon, an American spouse and a Spanish husband

The opera is made up of two tableaux. In the first, El Titetero (the puppeteer) invites the audience to watch the farce to come. In the second, he provides a brief summary of what has happened earlier and reveals the scheme that is being plotted by two characters – Doneta and la Tía (her aunt, who is played by a puppet with the baritone voice of le Titerero’s actor). The two women are planning to trick a third character – Lindísimo. All through the opera, the puppets are the singers’ doubles: a dialogue takes place between the two levels of the opera. In the first scene, Doneta complains to the Tía about the wishes expressed in the testament of her very wealthy uncle – doctor Cerote. For her to receive her inheritance, he said she must marry a vain and elegant man: his nephew Lindísimo. Lindísimo does not wish to marry Doneta either, and he devises a plan to avoid marrying her. On their first encounter, he explains that don Cerote’s widow also died and that she had made modifications to his testament: Lindísimo will only receive his share of the inheritance if he does not marry Doneta. La Tía and Doneta are distraught, as they believe they have been disinherited. After Titerero’s speech at the beginning of the second tableau, the Bridge of Sights appears in the hand-puppet booth. It is first crossed by Lindísimo’s puppet then, without his noticing it, by Doneta’s, who hides behind a venetian mask. In a lavish salon, Lindísimo writes notes that he then distributes in town: he asks to meet with the most beautiful woman in Venice. Doneta finds one of these notes. She follows the Tía’s advice, puts on a mask and goes meet Lindísimo. They both engage in a game of seduction after which Lindísimo succumbs to Doneta’s advances and proposes to her. Doneta removes her mask and, despite being taken by surprise, Lindísimo accepts this outcome. In the end, le Titerero asks the following question: “What is best in love? Knowledge, innocence or experience?”. The three characters reply in unison: “The most charming one is the one wknows the most”. The libretto ends with an unspoken sentence, which can only be discovered upon on reading it: “And we are almost certain that once this little comedy is finished, they will marry, and she will cheat on him.”

Spain

Madrid

Inheritance

Seduction

Trickery

Venice

Puppeteer

Narcissism

Tomás Borrás, Fantochines. Madrid: CIAP, 1931 (cover page)

Spanish

Masked characters

Reciter

Instrumental tune

Dialogue between actor and puppet

Fantochines

Small string puppets

Christine is in love with Heini, a law student, but her father has promised to give her in marriage to the apothecary, a character so conceited and ridiculous that she cannot tolerate him. Heini resolves to leave for Leipzig in order to finish law school and he makes Christine promise that she will resist the apothecary’s advances in the meantime. The apothecary, however, learns that an uncle has bequeathed his fortune to him before he passed away, provided that he would marry his niece: he easily forgets about Christine. But his baseless allegations about Christine offend her father, and, as he is furious with the apothecary, he calls Heini back in order to organise the wedding of the young lovers.