Opera Guide– Bianca, by Henry Kimball Hadley

American Comic Opera in One Act after La Locandiera by Goldoni

Oct 20, 2009

Bianca (1918) is an American opera in one act by Henry Hadley, based on the play The Mistress of the Inn by the Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni.

Bianca is an opera in one act by the American composer Henry Kimball Hadley. It premiered in New York on October 18, 1918. The libretto, written by Grant Stewart, is based on the play The Mistress of the Inn (La locandiera) by Carlo Goldoni. Hadley (1871-1937) was a mainly composer and conductor of film music, but also wrote several operas. He was the first American composer to conduct his own opera at the Metropolitan Opera House.

A complete vocal score of Henry Hadley's Bianca is available online from Google Books.

Il Conte della Terramonte and Il Marchese d'Amalfi, two of Bianca's good customers, are playing dice at the inn. The Marchese loses, and must buy the Conte a flask of wine. He hopes that his poor luck in dice means that he will have good luck in love with Bianca.

Pietro explains that Bianca is sleeping, but the Conte insists on waking her to fetch his wine. The Marchese takes this as evidence that the Conte doesn't truly love her, but the Conte explains that money is the most important thing.

Bianca arrives, reproaching herself for having fallen asleep, and fetches the wine. The Marchese gives her a fancy kerchief; the Conte scoffs at this gift and offers her pearl earrings. She refuses at first, then accepts the gifts.

Fabricio enters, ordering the servants to hastily prepare the inn for a grand guest, the Cavaliere del Ruggio. The Cavaliere arrives and orders Fabricio to keep the women of the inn away from him. The Marchese and Conte greet him, and reassure him that he will get over his women hating when he finds the right woman.

Bianca welcomes the Cavaliere to the inn, and he is rude to her. The Conte and Marchese reassure her that it is not her, merely the Cavaliere's hatred of all women. They urge her to turn him away for not respecting her.

Fabricio, returning from showing the Cavaliere to his room, asks the same of her, but she refuses. It was her father's dying wish, she says, to treat all guests with kindness. He reminds her that her father also wished for them to love each other, but she rejects him.

Bianca resolves to win over the Cavaliere with her kindness. Fabricio again attempts to express his love for her, but she scolds him, saying that she must put on a smiling face for the guests who court her, but not for him. But when he leaves, she expresses her disappointment in how easily he gave up; she does not want a man who lets her order him about.

The Cavaliere complains about the quality of the linen, and again insists that only the male servants wait on him. He berates her for wearing the Conte's pearl earrings; she says that she only wears them as to not offend the Conte, and takes them off. She gains the Cavaliere's sympathy by pretending to burn herself with an iron; but when he discovers that the iron is cold, he resolves to leave immediately.

Carlo brings her a cordial in a gold flask from the Cavaliere, but she rejects it. Seeing how upset the Cavaliere's departure has made Bianca, the Conte and the Marchese conclude that they have treated her too kindly. They pretend to leave to teach her a lesson.

The Cavaliere is enraged that Bianca refused his gift; the Conte says that she does not accept gifts from boors. The Cavaliere calls him a liar, and the Conte challenges him to a duel. He needs a sword, but the Marchese's has been broken in a previous duel and is useless. Bianca arrives, begging them to stop fighting. The Marchese moves away from the action under pretext of protecting Bianca.

Fabricio breaks up the fight with an ironing board, then commands Bianca to love him; she agrees. They all rejoice in the triumph of love.

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