Erlkönig

song by Schubert
Erlkönig, also called Erl-King or Elf-King, song setting by Franz Schubert, written in 1815 and based on a
1782 poem of the same name by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. “Erlkönig” is considered by many to be
one of the greatest ballads ever penned. The song was written for two performers, a singer and a
pianist, and it packs a remarkable amount of tension and drama into a mere four minutes. Its
effectiveness is doubly impressive because Schubert was only 18 years old when he composed it.

Inspired in part by his friendship with a number of talented singers, Schubert produced some 600 art
songs during the course of his brief career (he died at age 31). “Erlkönig” is by far the best known of
these. The poem that provides its text, like many of the supernatural tales that dominated literature in
the Romantic era, has its roots in a Scandinavian folktale.

Goethe’s poem tells the story of a boy riding home on horseback in his father’s arms. He is frightened
when he is courted by the Erl-King, a powerful and creepy supernatural being. The boy’s father,
however, cannot see or hear the creature and tells the boy that his imagination is playing tricks on him.
The boy grows increasingly terrified by what he hears from the Erl-King, but his father tells him that the
things he thinks he sees and hears are only the sights and sounds of nature on a dark and stormy night.
When the Erl-King eventually seizes the boy, the father spurs on his horse, but when he arrives home his
son is dead.

Goethe’s poem, which is reproduced below, contains a conversation that includes a father, his child, and
the evil Erl-King. So as to distinguish among the speakers, the father’s words are in bold and the son’s in
double quotation marks, while the Erl-King’s words are in single quotes.

WAGNER
Irish princess Isolde is being transported to Cornwall on the ship of Tristan, whose uncle, King Marke,
desires to wed her. Her maid, Brangäne, tries to calm her down after she becomes angered by a sailor's
song about an Irish girl. Tristan gives evasive answers to Isolde's questions. The Irish ladies are loudly
mocked by Kurwenal, who also sings a scathing rhyme about Isolde's fiancé Morold, who was murdered
by Tristan when he arrived in Cornwall to demand payment for Ireland. Isolde, barely in control of her
rage, recounts Brangäne how the injured Tristan came to her in disguise after his struggle with Morold
so that he may be treated by Isolde's knowledge of herbs and magic, which she inherited from her
mother.
Isolde is eagerly awaiting Tristan in the garden of Marke's castle while far-off horns announce the king's
departure with a hunting party. Isolde thinks the celebration is a long way off, but Brangäne cautions her
about spies, especially Melot, an envious knight whom she has seen spying on Tristan. Melot is a buddy
of Tristan, Isolde responds. Brangäne is dispatched to keep watch, and the warning torch is
extinguished. She enthusiastically welcomes Tristan when he shows up. They agree that they feel safe in
the arms of the night and laud the darkness for blocking off the light of convention and false
appearances. Even though Brangäne's voice in the distance cautions that it will soon be daylight, the
lovers are unaware of any danger and compare the night to death.

Kurwenal is caring for Tristan, who is in critical condition, back at his castle. Kurwenal responds to a
shepherd's question concerning his master by saying that only Isolde could save him using her magic
skills. As soon as the shepherd notices an incoming ship, he decides to perform a merry melody on his
pipe. Tristan sees the world of darkness as a hallucination, where he will return with Isolde. Kurwenal is
thanked for his dedication, and he imagines Isolde's ship coming closer. However, the shepherd's
melancholy song informs him that the sea is still empty. Tristan remembers hearing the music when he
was little. He wishes Isolde's medication had killed him then rather than causing him to suffer now since
it brings back memories of the fight with Morold. Finally, the shepherd's song becomes upbeat.

MAPEH
BIZET
Soldiers parade in the square. Micaëla arrives, looking for José. Moralès tells her that José is on the next
watch. He tries to persuade her to wait with them, but Micaëla decides to return later. A crowd of street
children appears, followed by the relief guard headed by Zuniga.

The square fills up with soldiers and women from the factory. Carmen attracts the most attention.
Before returning to the factory, she throws a flower to José, which he picks up when everyone else has
dispersed.

Micaëla returns and gives José the letter from his mother. Suddenly there is uproar in the factory and a
crowd of women rushes out. They accuse Carmen of drawing a knife during a fight with another girl.
Carmen refuses to answer Zuniga’s questions and he decides to send her to prison. While Zuniga is
writing out the warrant, Carmen seduces José, who lets her escape.

Carmen and her friends, Frasquita and Mercédès, are entertaining Zuniga and Moralès. A crowd of
soldiers arrives with the celebrated bullfighter Escamillo. He is instantly attracted to Carmen.
Carmen, Frasquita and Mercédès are left alone with Dancairo and Remendado, who have a plan for
which they need the girls’ help. Frasquita and Mercédès are ready, but Carmen says she cannot join
them because she has fallen in love with José and is expecting him.

José’s voice is heard in the distance. He declares his love for Carmen, who dances for him. When the
roll-call sounds from the barracks, José is torn between his military duty and his feelings for Carmen. At
the moment José decides to leave, Zuniga returns. José is fiercely jealous and starts a fight with his
superior officer. Carmen’s associates return and deal with Zuniga. José realizes that his army career is
over and he now has no choice but to join them.

Black-market smugglers come by night to the border. Carmen’s and José’s love affair has run its course:
she has grown tired of him and he, though still obsessed with her, is tense and unpredictable. Frasquita
and Mercédès hope to read their fortunes in a pack of cards; when Carmen cuts the cards, they foretell
only her death. The women leave to decoy some customs guards, and José remains behind in the camp.

Micaëla and Escamillo converge on the deserted encampment, seeking José and Carmen respectively.
Micaëla hides as José confronts and fights Escamillo. Carmen and the smugglers return and stop them,
and Escamillo invites the whole party to his next bullfight.

Micaëla is discovered. She begs José to return to his dying mother.

A crowd has gathered for Escamillo’s bullfight. The toreros enter to enthusiastic acclaim; Carmen is with
Escamillo. After Escamillo has entered the arena, Carmen meets José. She taunts him and he kills her.

WA GNER
SCHUBERT’S WAGNER’S
VERDI’S BIZET’S
PUCCINI’S

Verdi
At one of her brilliant supper parties, the beautiful but frail demi-mondaine (a woman supported by a
wealthy lover -Merriam Webster Dictionary), Violetta Valéry, meets the well-born Alfredo Germont.
They immediately fall in love and she decides to abandon her life of pleasure.

Alfredo's father did not approve of their lifestyle in the country and demands that Violetta renounce
Alfredo. Violetta determined to make the sacrifice, then departs and leaves only a note for Alfredo.
She appears at a ball in Flora's house on the arm of an old admirer, Baron Douphol which makes Alfredo
angry. Alfredo challenges the Baron to play cards where Alfredo wins consistently. Unable to persuade
Violetta to go with him, Alfredo insults her. Violetta becomes ill, and all her friends desert her, leaving
her virtually penniless.

Alfredo returns to Violetta. His father told him of the real story behind Violetta's departure from their
country house, and urged him to seek her forgiveness. Overjoyed at the sight of him, Violetta attempts
to rise but falls into Alfredo's arms. Germont and the doctor enter as Violetta dies.

Puccini
When American naval vessels frequented Japanese seaports, American Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin
Pinkerton met Cio-Cio-San ("Butterfly") and was captivated by her beauty. Pinkerton rented a Japanese
house and part of his rental package is his "betrothal" to Cio-Cio-San.

Treating the marriage merely as a casual affair, Pinkerton returns to America after the wedding leaving
Cio-Cio-San loyally waiting for his return. He marries an American woman named Kate. When he returns
to Japan three years later with his American wife, he learns that he bore a son with Cio-Cio-San. Upon
learning that Pinkerton had married another woman, Cio- Cio-San kills herself to make sure that
Pinkerton takes their son with him.