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La Colonie (1776) - Antonio Sacchini
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Background
La colonie is Nicolas Etienne Framery’s French parody of Sacchini’s Italian L’isola d’amore, which was premiered during the 1766 Roman carnival. However, Framery chose music in a pastiche-like fashion from various Sacchini operas, without actually using any arias from L’isola d’amore.
Although the operas that Sacchini specifically composed for Paris faced resistance from opponents of foreign composers, La colonie received praise from critics. The 1775 French premiere at the Comédie-Italienne was quite successful; the work even drew comparisons with Pergolesi’s wildly popular La serva padrona. A reviewer for the Mercure de France asserted: “There is no aria that does not have character and which does not excite admiration. Enjoyable melodies, lively expressions, piquant motives, picturesque accompaniments, it is all charming. The comedy is delightful, interesting, and amusing.”[1]
A year later, Framery introduced Olympiade (Padua, Nuovo, 1763) as L’olympiade. This second parody was met with mixed reviews and was not nearly as successful as La colonie.
[1] Mercure de France (November 1775): 179. Quoted and translated in Eldred Thierstein, Antonio Maria Gaspero Sacchini and His French Operas (Ph.D. diss.: University of Cincinnati, 1974), 50.
Plot
In the first act, the audience learns the history of the colony: Fontalbe had been the commander of a fleet of ships that was escorting his fiancée Bélinde to Martinique. One night, Bélinde disappeared in a ship commanded by Fontalbe’s friend, Dorval. The following day, Fontalbe received a letter announcing Bélinde’s marriage to Dorval; he set out to recapture his unfaithful lover, but was shipwrecked on the island of which he is now governor. As there were almost no women among the settlers, a law was instituted dictating that any maiden who arrives on the island must choose a husband from among the men within eight days or else be executed.
As the opera opens, Fantalbe is thinking about his wedding that will take place this evening: he will marry Marine, though he still bemoans his lost love for Bélinde. Marine, recently shipwrecked on the island, arrives before him and Fontalbe gives her the ultimatum: she must marry one of the island’s men or she will be sent off. Marine recounts the events that brought her to the island: she, and her love Blaise were accompanying her master and mistress on a business trip when their ship wrecked, killing everyone except her.
Fontalbe declares his love for Marine and asks her to choose him for her husband. Marine questions him about the marriage law’s origins and Fontalbe tells her the history of the colony, including his own love story with Bélinde. Marine, well aware of Fontalbe’s social position, professes that she reciprocates his feelings, but fears that Bélinde will return. Reassured by Fontable and excited about her future social advancement, Marine agrees to marry the governor.
Once outside Fontable’s living quarters, she encounters Blaise, who in fact survived the shipwreck and managed to recover some of the cargo, which he plans to sell. Marine is happy Blaise has survived, so it is with difficulty that she reveals to her lover that she has promised to marry the governor. Infuriated, Blaise vows to himself to find a new love. At this moment, Bélinde enters. Lost and frightened, she sings of her love for Fontalbe and mourns his loss. Bélinde recognizes Blaise as her former gardener, and he offers to help her. Blaise relates his encounter with Marine, her imminent marriage with the governor, and the island’s marriage law. Shocked, Bélinde is determined not to submit to the law and accepts Blaise’s suggestion to pretend to be his wife.
Now, Bélinde tells the story of her arrival on the island: she reveals that she had been tricked by Dorval, her future husband’s friend, into boarding his ship. Dorval died soon thereafter, and Belinde began her search for her lost lover. Blaise proposes that they find the governor to ask about news of Fontalbe.
In the course of the encounter, Fontable, though at first recognizing his lost love, tells her that he is the governor of the island; Bélinde relates her story and confesses her love to him; the two lovers reunite. A moment later, Blaise enters and addresses Bélinde as his wife. Though Bélinde protests, Fontable does not believe her and storms out in a fury. As the curtain falls at the end of Act I, all the main characters are left caught up in a web of misunderstandings and confusion.
At the beginning of Act Two, the island’s pavilion is decorated to celebrate Fontalbe and Marine’s wedding. Marine, though aware of Fontalbe’s love for Bélinde, remains excited about the event. Fontalbe, baffled that Bélinde married Blaise, sings to convince Marine that he loves her. When Blaise arrives, Marine speaks to him condescendingly and bids him goodbye.
Bélinde loses hope of winning back Fontalbe: she finds Blaise and tells him that she is about to get into a small boat for Blaise to take her away to her death. The lovesick woman entrusts Blaise with a note for Fontalbe, once again pleading her innocence. Meanwhile, despite Marine’s protests, Fontalbe has decided to look for Bélinde to clarify the situation. Soon, Blaise arrives and announces Bélinde’s plan, handing Bélinde’s note to Fantable. Fontalbe runs off to find Bélinde and, as good fortune would have it, the lovers are reunited. Marine attempts to reconcile with Blaise, who rejects her advances.
At the celebrations for Fontalbe and Bélinde’s wedding, Blaise finally forgives Marine, giving in to the power of love.
Bibliography
Title from title page: LA COLONIE / QPÉRA COMIQUE / EN DEUX ACTES
Genre: Tragédie lyrique
Composer: Antonio Sacchini, 1730-1786
Librettist (Italian): A. Gori, dates unknown
French adaptation by: Nicolas Etienne Framery, 1745-1810
Based on: Parody of Sacchini’s Italian opera L’isola d’amore (1766)
Setting: A newly inhabited island
Premiere: Paris, Comédie-Italienne (Bourgogne), 16 August 1775
First published: Paris: D’Enouville, n.d.
Volume in the UNT Collection: Paris: D’Enouville, n.d.
For further reading on La colonie, see:
Demuth, Norman. French Opera: Its Development to the Revolution. Sussex: Artemis Press, 1963.
DiChiera, David. “Sacchini, Antonio.” Grove Music Online, ed. Laura Macy. [Accessed 19 April 2004]. <http://www.grovemusic.com>
Jullien, Adolphe. La cour et l’opéra sous Louis XIV: Marie-Antoinette et Sacchini, Salieri, Favart et Gluck. Paris: Didier, 1878.
Thierstein, Eldred. Antonio Maria Gaspero Sacchini and His French Operas. Ph.D. diss., University of Cincinnati, 1974.
Physical
Dimensions: 33.6 x 25 cm.
Conservation: Foxing; bleed-through; discoloration; cover slightly worn around the edges; dealer stamp on front cover and title page.
Binding: Pink, patterned paper on board with spine containing "Colonie par Sacchini" and the Dewey Decimal number.
Comments: From the Lloyd Hibberd Collection; North Texas property stamps.