Beatrice and Benedict, the principal characters of Hector Berlioz’s 1862 comic opera of the same name, quarrel, hurl taunts and insults at one other, and then fall in love.
Berlioz described the two-act opera, based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, as “a caprice written with the point of a needle.” It was his final completed work. Biographer David Cairns observes that “listening to the score’s exuberant gaiety, only momentarily touched by sadness, one would never guess that its composer was in pain when he wrote it and impatient for death.” The sparkling, vivacious score was well received when it was it premiered at the the Theater der Stadt in the German spa town of Baden-Baden on August 9, 1862.
The opera’s libretto, written by Berlioz, simplifies Shakespeare’s play by eliminating subplots in order to emphasize the relationship between the title characters. When the curtain opens on the first act, the citizens of the Sicilian town of Messina have gathered to welcome home the victorious army of Don Pedro of Aragon, following a successful battle campaign against the Moors. Héro eagerly awaits the return of her fiancé, Claudio. Meanwhile, Béatrice inquires about the returning Bénédict, and then greets him with scorn. The two trade insults. Scheming and trickery eventually bring the two together. Before the second act curtain falls, Bénédict declares his love for Beatrice, and the two sign a wedding contract. The libretto ends with the line, “today a truce is signed, we’ll be enemies again tomorrow”.
The following excerpts are taken from a 1992 recording featuring conductor John Nelson, who passed away in March of 2025:
Béatrice et Bénédict Overture
The Overture begins with a flurry of playful taunts and needling barbs. It is music taken from the opera’s giddy final scene (L’amour est un flambeau). A few moments later, the serene voice of the clarinet opens the door to a majestic love which contains echoes of Wagnerian chromaticism. Briefly, the music enters a shimmering and mysterious nocturnal world. Swirling through the Overture’s inner voices, the “needling” motif from the opening remains a persistent presence.
“Je vais le voir”
In the Act 1 aria, Je vais le voir (“I’m going to see him”), Héro lovingly awaits the return of Claudio. She anticipates their marriage and the trouble-free life which lies ahead. With echoes of Mozart, the music is filled with dignity, dreaminess, and quiet melancholy. The final moments pay homage to the bel canto tradition, with vocal acrobatics. This recording features Sylvia McNair:
“Vous soupirez, Madame?”
The first act concludes with the shimmering nocturnal duet, Vous soupirez, Madame! (“You sigh, Madam!”) between Héro and her maid Ursule (Sylvia McNair, Catherine Robbin). Here, Berlioz anticipates French music to come, from Léo Delibes’ Flower Duet from Lakme (1883) to Gabriel Faure’s Pavane, Op. 50 (1887).
Human follies evaporate as Héro and Ursule comment on the serene, moonlit night, the faint hum of insects in a nearby meadow, and the gentle sound of wind rustling through the trees. The final notes fade into the magical stillness of the night.
“Dieu! Que viens-je d’entendre?”
Béatrice’s second act monologue, Dieu! que viens-je d’entendre? (“God! What did I just hear?”), returns us to the noble love theme, heard in the Overture.
This recording features Susan Graham:
Recordings
- Berlioz: Béatrice et Bénédict, John Nelson, Orchestre de l’Opéra de Lyon, Susan Graham, Sylvia McNair, Jean-Luc Viala Amazon
Featured Image: Cover of the first edition vocal score, with illustration by A. Barbizet