PLOT
A one-act Singspiel. Two bucolic lovers, Bastien and Bastienne; Bastien has been lured away from Bastienne by a city-dweller and seeks out Colas, a fortune-teller and magician. There is eventual reuniting of the lovers once it gets to the point at which Bastien threatens suicide.
Bastienne, a shepherdess, fears that Bastien, has forsaken her for another girl, and decides to go into the pasture to be comforted by her flock of lambs. Before she can leave, however, she runs into Colas, the village soothsayer. Bastienne requests the help of his magical powers to help win back her Bastien. Colas comforts her with the knowledge that Bastien has not abandoned her, rather, he's merely been distracted lately by 'the lady of the manor'. His advice is to act coldly towards Bastien, which will make him come running back.
Bastien is heard approaching, so Bastienne hides herself. Bastien swaggers in, proclaiming how much he loves Bastienne. Colas then tells him that Bastienne has a new lover. Bastien is shocked and asks the magician for help. Colas opens his book of spells and recites a nonsense aria filled with random syllables and Latin quotations. Colas declares the spell a success and that Bastienne is in love with Bastien once more. Bastienne, however, decides to keep up the game a bit longer and spurns Bastien with great vehemence.
Bastien threatens suicide, which Bastienne merely shrugs off. Finally, the two decide that they've gone far enough and agree to reconcile. Colas joins them as they all sing a final trio in praise of the magician.
ACT BY ACT
”Bastien and Bastienne”
Opera in 1 act
Sung in German
About 50 min
The action takes place in a pastoral village. The time is indeterminate.
Act 1
Bastienne, a shepherdess, fears that her "dearest friend", Bastien, has forsaken her for another pretty face, and decides to go into the pasture to be comforted by her flock of lambs.
Before she can leave, however, she runs into Colas, the village soothsayer. Bastienne requests the help of his magical powers to help win back her Bastien. Colas (being a soothsayer) knows all about the problem, and comforts her with the knowledge that Bastien has not abandoned her, rather, he's merely been distracted lately by 'the lady of the manor'. His advice is to act coldly towards Bastien, which will make him come running back.
Bastien is heard approaching, so Bastienne hides herself. Bastien swaggers in, proclaiming how much he loves Bastienne. Colas informs him that Bastienne has a new lover. Bastien is shocked and asks the magician for help.
Colas opens his book of spells and recites a nonsense aria filled with random syllables and Latin quotations. Colas declares the spell a success and that Bastienne is in love with Bastien once more. Bastienne, however, decides to keep up the game a bit longer and spurns Bastien with great vehemence. Bastien threatens suicide, which Bastienne merely shrugs off.
Finally, the two decide that they have gone far enough and agree to reconcile. Colas joins them as they all sing a final trio in praise of the magician.
ROLES
Bastienne – Soprano
A shepherdess
Bastien - Tenor
Bastienne's lover
Colas - Bass
A quack magician
COMPOSER
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1756-1791
Place of birth: Salzburg, Austria
Place of death: Vienna, Austria
BIOGRAPHY
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian composer widely known as one of the greatest composers of all time. He is the the archetype of the classical period together with his contemporaries Haydn and Beethoven. He was a versatile composer writing operas, symphonies, chamber music, piano works, concertos and much more. In his short life he wrote more than 600 works.
Mozart began playing the harpsichord at the age of three and started composing at the age of five. During his childhood he went on tour with his sister, who was also a child prodigy, and his father, Leopold, performing in Europe.
He married into the Weber family. Together with his wife Constanze they had six children of whom two survived infancy.
In 1781 Mozart moved from Salzburg to Vienna. The last 10 years of his life were very productive. His most popular operas; Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte and Die Zauberflöte were all written during this period. The three first are also known as the “Da Ponte” operas with reference to the librettist.
COMPOSER'S QUOTE
“What's even worse than a flute? - Two flutes!“
“The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.“
FUN FACTS
Mozart had lots of pet animals and was very fond of scatological humour.
Most prominent operas
Bastien und Bastienne 1768
Lucio Silla 1772
La finta giardiniera 1774
Idomeneo 1781
Die Entführung aus dem Serail 1782
Der Schauspieldirektor 1786
Le nozze di Figaro 1786
Don Giovanni 1787
Così fan tutte 1789
Die Zauberflöte 1791
La clemenza di Tito 1791
LIBRETTO
Friedrich Wilhelm Weiskern
1711-1768
Johann Heinrich Friedrich Müller
1738-1815
Johann Andreas Schachtner
1731-1795
The German libretto is by Friedrich Wilhelm Weiskern, Johann Heinrich Friedrich Müller and Johann Andreas Schachtner, based on Les Amours de Bastien et Bastienne by Justine Favart and Harny de Guerville.
SCORE
DOWNLOAD THE SCORE
INSTRUMENTATION
2, 2, 0, 0 - 2, 0, 0, 0
Strings
Chorus
CONTEXT
Bastien und Bastienne was one of Mozart's earliest operas, written in 1768 when he was only twelve years old. It was allegedly commissioned by Viennese physician and 'magnetist' Dr. Franz Mesmer (who himself would later be parodied in Così fan tutte) as a satire of the 'pastoral' genre then prevalent, and specifically as a parody of the opera Le devin du village by Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
After its supposed premiere in Mesmer's garden theater (that is only corroborated by an unverified account of Nissen), it was not revived again until 1890. It is not clear whether this piece was performed in Mozart's lifetime. The first known performance was in 1890 at Architektenhaus in Berlin.
VIDEOS
FULL LENGTH OPERA
Act 1
Aria - Diggi Daggi Shurry Murry (Colas)