The Lighter Classics in Music by David Ewen
episode. A third popular orchestral excerpt from this opera is the
204 words | Chapter 63
dramatic “Dance of the Camorristi” during a revel in the Camorristi
hideout in the opening of the third act.
As an opera _The Secret of Suzanne_ (_Il Segreto di Susanna_) is a
trifle. The libretto by Enrico Golisciani concerns a terrible secret
harbored by the heroine, Suzanne: she is addicted to smoking. Since her
husband finds cigarette butts in their house he suspects her of
entertaining a lover during his absence. Spying on her through the
window, one day, he learns about his wife’s secret to his infinite
relief, and does not hesitate to join her in a smoke. Light, breezy,
infectious, and unpretentious, this little opera has been a favorite
with operagoers everywhere since its world première in Munich on
December 4, 1909.
The overture is as gay and as capricious as this merry tale. It begins
vivaciously with the main theme in first violins and the woodwind. After
this idea has been elaborated upon, a second melody is heard in the
flute and clarinet accompanied by strings. The two melodies are soon
merged contrapuntally, with the first theme heard in woodwinds and
trumpet and the second in the strings.
Sebastián Yradier
Sebastián Yradier was born in Sauciego, Álava, Spain on January 20,
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