''The Jewel Box'' is a

pasticcio In music, a ''pasticcio'' or ''pastiche'' is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, ...

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

constructed by Paul Griffiths out of various pieces by

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

. Its mostly English

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

by Paul Griffiths includes new translations of most of the Italian-language texts of the musical numbers. It was premiered by Opera North at the

Theatre Royal, Nottingham The Theatre Royal in Nottingham, England, is a theatre venue in the heart of Nottingham City Centre and is owned by Nottingham City Council as part of a complex that also includes the city's Royal Concert Hall. The Theatre Royal attracts maj ...

, on 19 February 1991. The conductor was

Elgar Howarth Elgar Howarth (4 November 1935 – 13 January 2025) was an English conductor, composer and trumpeter. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Grove noted that "his performances are marked by powerful concentration and a clear communicat ...

, the director was

Francisco Negrin Francisco Negrin (, born June 5, 1963)Federico Figueroa (Mexico City, October 2004) "Un mexicano en el mundoarchived here is a creative director working in opera, as well as in the world of stadium and arena based shows and other events. He is c ...

and the designer was Anthony Baker.

Background

Griffiths, realising that

aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

s composed by Mozart for insertion in other composers' operas are seldom performed nowadays, worked up what he called "a ''jeu d'esprit''" which also contained music from the composer's unfinished operas '' Lo sposo deluso'' and ''

L'oca del Cairo ' (''The Goose of Cairo'' or ''The Cairo Goose'', K. 422) is an incomplete Italian opera buffa in three acts, begun by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in July 1783 but abandoned in October. The complete libretto by Giambattista Varesco remains. Mozart ...

'' and some of the arias which he had written for concert performances. This came to the attention of Nicholas Payne, General Director of Opera North, who scheduled its première for 1991, the year of the bicentenary of Mozart's death.

Performance history

After the Nottingham premiere and subsequent performances in Opera North's territory of northern England, the opera was performed in the United States by Skylight Opera Theatre (1993), Wolf Trap Opera (1994),

Chicago Opera Theater The Chicago Opera Theater (COT) is an American opera company based in Chicago, Illinois. COT is a resident company at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago's Millennium Park and is currently in residence at the newly renovated Stude ...

(1996), and New Jersey State Opera (1996). In England, it was revived by

Bampton Classical Opera Bampton Classical Opera is an opera company based in Bampton, Oxfordshire and founded in 1993. It specialises in the production of lesser known opera from the Classical period. Performances are always sung in English. ''Opera today'' called the ...

in 2006 for the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, with the orchestra conducted by

Edward Gardner Edward Gardner may refer to: * Edward W. Gardner (1867–1932), American balkline and straight rail billiards champion * Edward Joseph Gardner (1898–1950), U.S. Representative from Ohio * Ed Gardner (1901–1963), American actor, director and wr ...

. The Editor of Opera magazine Rodney Milnes was enthusiastic about ''The Jewel Box''; "If anything more ingenious and original happens by way of a special event in Mozart year than Opera North's and Paul Griffiths's ''The Jewel Box'', then I'll eat my hat". He went on - "his greatest triumph has been to string his pearls together into an entirely logical musical order, 'a Mozartian key sequence,' as he wrote, 'through thirds and fifths, and simultaneously distributing the numbers helpfully among the singers". He found that the opera was "a convincing musical entity in its own right,

hich Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...

rescues from the library shelf a substantial body of top-drawer Mozart written mostly for the theatre, and indeed returns it to the theatre where it belongs. It's crammed full of great music almost to the point of indigestion".Milnes, Rodney. Jewels in a setting. ''

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

'', April 1991, Vol.42 No.4, p.382-384.

Roles

Synopsis

Four characters from the

commedia dell'arte Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...

( Dottore,

Pantalone Pantalone (), spelled Pantaloon in English, is one of the most important principal characters found in commedia dell'arte. With his exceptional greed and status at the top of the social order, Pantalone is "money" in the ''commedia'' world. His ...

Colombina Columbine ( Italian: Colombina; French: Colombine; ) is a stock character in the commedia dell'arte. She is Harlequin's mistress, a comic servant playing the tricky slave type, and wife of Pierrot. Rudlin and Crick use the Italian spelling C ...

and

Pedrolino Pedrolino is a ''primo'' ('first') Zanni, or comic servant, of the commedia dell'arte; the name is a hypocorism of ''Pedro'' ('Peter'), via the suffix ''-lino''. The character made its first appearance in the last quarter of the 16th century, app ...

) open the opera with a quartet. There is no more music, so the Dottore summons the Composer, who, with the aid of a singer of tragic music and his own father, gradually works out how the opera should go. The opera ends with an epilogue sung by the Composer.This synopsis and the following list of musical numbers are based on information in the programme for two preview performances which took place on 7 and 11 January 1991, at the

Grand Theatre, Leeds The Grand Theatre, also known as Leeds Grand Theatre and Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House, is a theater (building), theatre and opera house in Briggate, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It seats approximately 1,500 people. Building It was ...

Musical numbers

Act 1

Act 2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jewel Box, The English-language operas Operas 1991 operas Works based on operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart