Life of Mozart

246 " cos! FAN TUTTE."before appearing to their brides undertake and carry out thetrial of their constaney ; Despina undertakes the cure in herown person, and in the last finale a real notary is brought on,whom she afterwards declares to be her lover. The progressof the plot is completely changed, almost all the songs aretransformed and taken from their proper connection. Herklot'salterations in "Die verhängnissvolle Wette" wentstill deeper.^'' The ladies are not put to the test by their ownlovers, but, with the connivance of the latter, by two of theirfriends, whose servant Pedrillo takes part in the intrigue asthe doctor and the notary. Not to mention the injury whichthe musical characterisation suffers thereby, the clumsinessof the test imposed is made still more apparent, and the finalreconciliation becomes more unreal and revolting.Da Ponte has made no effort to soften the awkwardness ofthe situation ; it is indeed very much increased by theexchange of lovers made during the trial, as if the rightchoice was that which is then made. G. Bernhard (Gugler),who has done honour both to words and music by hisexcellent edition of the opera,^^ removed this obstacle in hisadaptation, "Sind sie treu?" (Stuttgart, 1858). Here eachlover proves his own mistress, and the plot and its developmentare modified accordingly.^^ Da Ponte sacrificed theexcuse this would have afforded to the two ladies—who mightbe supposed unconsciously drawn towards the true object oftheir affections—to the dramatic effect of the embarrassingAttempts to remedy thisposition of the men on either side.defect led to other and greater ones.^° In an old adaptation," Die Wette, oder Mädchen-List und -Liebe," the author37 In this form the opera was performed in Berlin, and again in 1822 atBraunschweig (A. M. Z., XXIV., p. 378), in 1823 at Cassel (A. M. Z., XXV.,p. 450), and in 1824 at Munich (A. M. Z., XXVI., p. 58S).•'8Morgenblatt, 1856, No. 4, p. 75.39 This has occasioned the displacement of some of the songs, not always totheir disadvantage. This version is not only far superior to all that preceded it,but is excellent in itself by reason of its taste and cleverness and careful regardfor musical requirements.^0 A Danish translation by Oehlenschläger, with which I am not acquainted,appears to have altogether transformed the plot (Oehlenschläger, Lebenserinnerungen,I., p. 121 ; IV., p. 43).