Rip Van Winkle is a folk opera by the American composer Reginald de Koven. It was the first American opera written on commission for the opera's producers. Rip Van Winkle was premiered by the Chicago Opera Company in Chicago on January 2, 1920.
De Koven's Rip Van Winkle is based on Washington Irving's short story and Joseph Jefferson's stage adaptation. However, the libretto, written by American playwright and poet Percy MacKaye, differs significantly from both sources.
Characters in Rip Van Winkle
- Rip Van Winkle, a happy-go-lucky man (High baritone)
- Nicholas Vedder, the inkeeper (Bass)
- Peterkee Vedder, his daughter (Soprano)
- Katrina Vedder, her older sister (Soprano)
- Derrick Van Bummel, a schoolmaster (Baritone)
- Jan Van Bummel, his son (Tenor)
- Hendrick Hudson, captain of the Half Moon (Bass-baritone)
- Dirck Spuytenduyvil, mate of the Half Moon (Bass)
- Goose Girl (Mezzo-soprano)
- Hans Van Bummel, Jan's younger brother (Mute)
Synopsis of Rip Van Winkle
The story takes place in the mid-eighteenth century in the Catskill Mountains.
Act I
Scene 1 - A Village Green
Jan Van Bummel wants to marry Katrina. She has already chosen a husband - Rip Van Winkle - and haughtily rejects Jan, mocking his stutter. But Rip Van Winkle does not arrive for the wedding. Nicholas reminds Katrina that Rip is poor and lazy, and encourages her to marry Jan instead.
Derrick enters with Peterkee. She has skipped school to go fishing for mermaids with plum cake, as Rip instructed her. Rip enters with the other schoolchildren, flying kites. He has forgotten all about the wedding, and Katrina declares that she hates him. Rip goes off with the Goose Girl to dance as a thunderstorm approaches.
Peterkee and the other children beg Rip to take them away so they can avoid being punished. He promises to take them to the mountains to see the faerie folk. Hendrick Hudson appears; since the children believe in him, he invites them to play ninepins. He also promises Rip a magic flask, which he will offer Katrina as a wedding gift.
Katrina and Jan enter, but do not see Hudson. Rip tells them about the magic flask, but they believe him to be drunk. Finally Katrina declares that if Rip cannot bring her the magic flask by sunset the next day, she will marry Jan instead. Rip and Peterkee follow Hendrick Hudson's voice to the mountains.
Act II
Scene 1 - Rip Van Winkle's Hut
Rip and Peterkee enter. He shows her the hiding place in the chimney where he will keep the magic flask. They hear fairy voices and go outside.
Scene 2 - A Mountain Path in the Moonlight
There is a chorus of fairy and goblin voices. Rip and Peterkee encounter the Half Moon. Dirck Spuytenduyvil is carrying kegs of drink.
Scene 3 - The Mountain Peak
Hudson and his crew are drinking and singing. Hudson gives Rip the magic flask, explaining that he got it from a mountain spirit. Once the crew learns that Rip is to marry Katrina, however, they conspire to prevent the wedding. They invite Rip and Peterkee to play a game of ninepins for the magic flask; Peterkee wins. They get Rip drunk, which will cause him to sleep until Peterkee is old enough to be his bride.
Act III
Scene 1 - The Forest at Dawn
Twenty years later, Rip is awakened by the faeries. He gets up, moving stiffly, and calls for Peterkee.
Scene 2 - The Ruins of Rip's Hut
Peterkee recovers the magic flask, which she hid in Rip's chimney. Rip enters, and she mistakes him for a ghost or a faerie. They begin to recognize each other, and she introduces herself as Peterkee. Nicholas arrives to bring Peterkee back for the wedding. Rip, confused, tells them that it is his wedding, but they laugh at him.
Scene 3 - A Village Green
The villagers prepare for the wedding of Peterkee to Hans Van Bummell. Jan and Katrina appear with their twelve children.
Rip enters. The children have run from him, mistaking him for a witch. In horror, he realizes that none of them know Rip Van Winkle. Nicholas threatens Rip for breaking up the wedding, but Peterkee offers him a drink from the magic flask.
The crew of the Half Moon appears. They give Peterkee a ring and declare her the Bride of the King of the Mountain. She and Rip enter the church to be married.
Other Operas by Reginald de Koven
Sources:
- Kobbé, Gustav. The Complete Opera Book. New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1919.
- MacKaye, Percy and Reginald de Koven. Rip Van Winkle: A Folk Opera in Three Acts. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1919.
- Melitz, Leo, trans. Richard Salinger. The Opera Goer's Complete Guide. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1921.
- Rip Van Winkle vocal score.
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