''Fra Diavolo, ou L'hôtellerie de Terracine'' (''Fra Diavolo, or The Inn of

Terracina Terracina is an Italian city and '' comune'' of the province of Latina, located on the coast southeast of Rome on the Via Appia ( by rail). The site has been continuously occupied since antiquity. History Ancient times Terracina appears in anc ...

'') is an opéra comique in three acts by the French composer Daniel Auber, from a libretto by Auber's regular collaborator Eugène Scribe. It is loosely based on the life of the Itrani guerrilla leader Michele Pezza, active in southern Italy in the period 1800-1806, who went under the name of Fra Diavolo ("Brother Devil"). The opera was first performed by the Opéra-Comique at the Salle Ventadour in Paris on 28 January 1830 and an Italian version was prepared by Auber and Scribe for performance in London in 1857. This contained new recitatives and arias, as well as expanding the roles of Fra Diavolo's accomplices. The opera was Auber's greatest success, one of the most popular works of the 19th century and was in the standard repertory in its original French as well as German and Italian versions. An English translation was also prepared. Hugh Macdonald has characterised this comic opera as "the most successful work of its kind before Offenbach."Macdonald, Hugh, "Record Reviews: French Romantics" (1986). ''The Musical Times'', 127 (1715): p. 34.

Roles

Synopsis

Disegno per copertina di libretto, disegno di Peter Hoffer per Fra Diavolo (s

Zerline, daughter of the innkeeper of Terracina, is in love with an impoverished soldier, Lorenzo, but her father wants her to marry the rich old Francesco. Lorenzo is in pursuit of the notorious bandit Fra Diavolo. Diavolo himself arrives at the inn disguised as a marquis and robs two English travellers, Lord and Lady Cockburn. Lorenzo manages to retrieve part of the stolen goods and is rewarded with enough money to marry Zerline. Diavolo is determined to rob the travellers again and enlists the help of his two comical henchmen, Giacomo and Beppo. During the night the three of them sneak into Zerline's room and steal her

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...

. Lorenzo appears and mistakes the 'marquis' for a rival in love. The next day Zerline is forced to marry Francesco as she now no longer has her dowry. Diavolo instructs his henchmen to warn him when Lorenzo and his troop of soldiers have left the town so he can safely rob again, but the two are recognised in the crowd by Zerline and Diavolo is tricked into appearing and arrested when the signal is given as arranged. Zerline is free to marry Lorenzo again.

Recordings

* Urania URLP-204: Irma Beilke, Marie Louise Schlip, Hans Hopf, Lorenz Fehenberger, Karl Wessly, Arno Schellenberg, Gottlob Frick, Kurt Böhme; Chorus of the Dresden State Opera; Staatskapelle Dresden; Karl Elmendorff, conductorRinger, Alexander L., "Auber: ''Fra Diavolo''" (October 1952). ''The Musical Quarterly'', 38 (4): pp. 642-644. * EMI Classics: Nicolai Gedda, Mady Mesplé,

Jane Berbié Jane Berbié (born 6 May 1931) is a French mezzo-soprano particularly associated with Mozart and Rossini roles. Life and career Berbié was born Jeanne Bergougne, in Villefranche-de-Lauragais, Haute-Garonne, France, and as a child was ent ...

, Jules Bastin, Ensemble Choral Jean Laforge, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra; Marc Soustrot, conductor (1984)

Film

Expanding and renaming the roles of Beppo and Giacomo, respectively, Laurel and Hardy starred as "Stanlio" and "Ollio" in the 1933 feature film ''Fra Diavolo'' (sometimes titled as ''The Devil's Brother'' or ''Bogus Bandits'') based on Auber's opera. There is not a great deal of singing in the film. Much of the chorus material is intact, and Diavolo has three numbers; however, Zerline gets to sing only the small bit necessary to the plot (singing when she undresses), Stanlio and Ollio only repeat songs heard by others, and no one else sings.

References

Notes Sources * Holden, Amanda (Ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. * Schneider, Herbert, "''Fra Diavolo''" in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) * Tubeuf, André, Notes accompanying the Soustrot recording

External links

Fra Diavolo : opéra comique en trois actes
1860 publication, French, digitization by BYU on archive.org {{authority control Opéras comiques Operas by Daniel Auber Libretti by Eugène Scribe French-language operas Operas 1830 operas Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique Operas set in Italy Operas adapted into films Cultural depictions of Fra Diavolo