The Jewel Box is a pasticcio

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, or inauthentic.-Etymology:The term is first attested in the...

 opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 constructed by Paul Griffiths

Paul Griffiths (writer)

Paul Griffiths is a British music critic, novelist and librettist. He is particularly noted for his writings on modern classical music and for having written the libretti for two 20th century operas, Tan Dun's Marco Polo and Elliott Carter's What Next?.-Biography and career:Paul Griffiths was...

  out of various pieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...

. Its mostly English libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

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

Opera North

Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and the Theatre Royal, Newcastle...

 at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham

Theatre Royal, Nottingham

The Theatre Royal, Nottingham in Nottingham, England, is part of the city's Royal Centre, which also incorporates the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall. The theatre is in the heart of Nottingham City Centre and is owned by Nottingham City Council...

, on 19 February 1991. The conductor was Elgar Howarth

Elgar Howarth

Elgar Howarth is an English conductor and composer.Howarth was educated in the 1950s at Manchester University and the Royal Manchester College of Music , where his fellow students included the composers Harrison Birtwistle, Alexander Goehr, Peter Maxwell Davies, and the...

, the director was Francisco Negrin and the designer was Anthony Baker.

Background

Griffiths, realising that aria

Aria

An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...

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

Lo sposo deluso

Lo sposo deluso, ossia La rivalità di tre donne per un solo amante is a two act opera buffa, K. 430, composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart between 1783 and 1784...

and L'oca del Cairo

L'oca del Cairo

L'oca del Cairo is an opera buffa in three acts, K. 422, begun by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in July 1783 but abandoned in October.The complete three act libretto by Giovanni Battista Varesco remains....

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

Anniversary

An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...

 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

Skylight opera theatre

The Skylight Opera Theatre is a professional light opera company located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1959, Skylight performs in the 358-seat Cabot Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center in Milwaukee...

 (1993), Wolf Trap Opera (1994), Chicago Opera Theater

Chicago Opera Theater

The Chicago Opera Theater is an opera company that was founded as the Chicago Opera Studio in 1974 by Alan Stone to give vocal students performance experience, although it has grown into a professional opera company...

 (1996), and New Jersey State Opera

New Jersey State Opera

The New Jersey State Opera is an opera company based in Newark, New Jersey. It was established in 1964 as the Opera Theater of Westfield, and shortly after opening Alfredo Silipigni was hired as Artistic Director. The name was changed to the Opera Theatre of New Jersey in 1965, and in 1968 the...

 (1996). In England, it was revived by Bampton Classical Opera

Bampton Classical Opera

Bampton Classical Opera is an opera company based in Bampton, Oxfordshire specialising in the production of lesser known opera from the Classical period...

 in 2006 for the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth.

Roles

Role	Voice type Voice type A voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics. Voice classification is the process by which human voices are evaluated and are thereby designated into voice types...	Premiere Cast, 19 February 1991 (Conductor Conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... : Elgar Howarth Elgar Howarth Elgar Howarth is an English conductor and composer.Howarth was educated in the 1950s at Manchester University and the Royal Manchester College of Music , where his fellow students included the composers Harrison Birtwistle, Alexander Goehr, Peter Maxwell Davies, and the... )
Colombina	Soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Mary Hegarty
Composer	Mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...	Pamela Helen Stephen
Singer	Soprano	Jennifer Rhys-Davies
Dottore	Tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	Mark Curtis
Pantalone	Baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...	Quentin Hayes
Pedrolino	Tenor	Barry Banks
Father	Bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...	Stephen Richardson

Synopsis

Four characters from the commedia dell'arte

Commedia dell'arte

Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...

 (Dottore, Pantalone

Pantalone

Pantalone, or Pantalone del bisognosi, Italian for 'Pantalone of the needy', is one of the most important principal characters found in commedia del arte...

, Colombina and Pedrolino

Pedrolino

Pedrolino is a zanni, or servant character in the commedia dell'arte. His name is essentially the same as "Pete" or "Petey" in English—a diminutive form of the name Peter. He is normally portrayed as personable, charming and kind, to the point of excess—he blames himself for wrongs never done and...

) 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.

Act 1

Number	Description	First line	Singer(s)	Source	Notes
1	Overture			from Lo sposo deluso Lo sposo deluso Lo sposo deluso, ossia La rivalità di tre donne per un solo amante is a two act opera buffa, K. 430, composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart between 1783 and 1784... , K.430	Wind parts probably not by Mozart
2	Quartet		Colombina, Pedrolino, Dottore, Pantalone	from Lo sposo deluso	Wind parts probably not by Mozart
3	Aria	"You avow that you'll be faithful"	Colombina	"Voi avete un cor fedele", K.217	possibly for insertion into Galuppi's Le nozze di Dorina
4	Aria	"Can no-one explain it?"	Composer	"Chi sà qual sia", K.582	For insertion into Martín y Soler's Il burbero di buon cuore Il burbero di buon cuore Il burbero di buon cuore is a dramma giocoso or opera in two acts by Vicente Martín y Soler. The Italian libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte is based on the French comedy by Carlo Goldoni...
5	Aria	"Ah, se in ciel, benigne stelle"	Singer	K.583	possibly an entr'acte Entr'acte ' is French for "between the acts" . It can mean a pause between two parts of a stage production, synonymous to an intermission, but it more often indicates a piece of music performed between acts of a theatrical production...  for C. P. E. Bach's "Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu"
6	Aria	"The goddess of fortune"	Pedrolino	"Si mostra la sorte", K.209	probably for insertion into an opera buffa Opera buffa Opera buffa is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ‘commedia in musica’, ‘commedia per musica’, ‘dramma bernesco’, ‘dramma comico’, ‘divertimento giocoso' etc...
7	Arietta	"A kiss on the fingers"	Pantalone	"Un bacio di mano", K.541	for insertion into Anfossi Pasquale Anfossi Bonifacio Domenico Pasquale Anfossi was an Italian opera composer. Born in Taggia, Liguria, he studied with Niccolò Piccinni and Antonio Sacchini, and worked mainly in London, Venice and Rome.... 's Le gelosie fortunate
8	Quartet		Colombina, Pedrolino, Dottore, Pantalone	"Mandina amabile", K.480	for insertion into Francesco Bianchi's La villanella rapita La villanella rapita La villanella rapita is an opera giocosa in two acts by Francesco Bianchi. The libretto was by Giovanni Bertati.-Performance history:...
9	Recitative and aria	"This is the one I'm seeking"	Father	"Alcandro, lo confesso", K.512	concert aria
10	Aria	"This young composer"	Dottore	"Clarice cara", K.256	probably for insertion into Piccinni Niccolò Piccinni Niccolò Piccinni was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure, even to music lovers today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly the Neapolitan opera buffa—of his day... 's L'astratto, ovvero Il giocator fortunato
11	Aria	"Souls of greatness and noble spirits"	Composer	"Alma grande e nobil cor", K.578	for insertion into Cimarosa's I due baroni di Rocca Azzurra
12	Quartet		Colombina, Pedrolino, Dottore, Pantalone	"Dite almeno in che mancai", K.479	for insertion as in no. 8 above

Act 2

Number	Description	First line	Singer(s)	Source	Notes
13	Trio		Colombina, Pantalone, Father	from L'oca del Cairo L'oca del Cairo L'oca del Cairo is an opera buffa in three acts, K. 422, begun by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in July 1783 but abandoned in October.The complete three act libretto by Giovanni Battista Varesco remains.... , K.422	scoring and completion possibly by Simon Mayr Simon Mayr Johann Simon Mayr , also known in Italian as Giovanni Simone Mayr or Simone Mayr was a German composer.- Life :...
14	Aria	"Take a look at Pantalone"	Pantalone	"Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo", K.584, removed from Così fan tutte Così fan tutte Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
15	Gigue			"Eine kleine Gigue", K.574
16	Aria	"Do not ask, in all compassion"	Pedrolino	"Per pietà, non ricercate" K.420	for insertion into Anfossi's Il curioso indiscreto
17	Aria	"No, che non sei capace"	Singer	K.419	for insertion as in No. 16 above
18	Aria	"Onward? Still further?"	Composer	"Vado, ma dove", K.583	for insertion as in No. 4 above
19	Recitative and aria	"Enough. It's over"	Colombina	"Basta! Vincesti", K.486a	concert aria
20	Trio		Colombina, Pedrolino, Pantalone	from Lo sposo deluso
21	Aria	"With due reverence and respect, sir"	Dottore	"Con ossequio, con rispetto", K.210	probably for insertion as in No. 10 above
22	Two andantes			a sketch for mechanical organ, K.615a, and a reprise from No. 1 above	the first andante was adapted for orchestra by Elgar Howarth
23	Aria	"By what this hand's creating"	Father	"Per questa bello mano", K.612	concert aria with double-bass obbligato Obbligato In classical music obbligato usually describes a musical line that is in some way indispensable in performance. Its opposite is the marking ad libitum. It can also be used, more specifically, to indicate that a passage of music was to be played exactly as written, or only by the specified...
24	Aria	"Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!"	Singer	K.418	for insertion as in No. 16 above
25	German Dance			K.571, no. 6
26	Epilogue	"Now take my thanks"	Composer	"Nehmt meinen Dank", K.383	concert aria