What's Going On?

En route back from a glorious military victory, Don Pedro and his men (including Benedict, Claudio, Don John, and Borachio) visit the magnificent home of Leonato (where dwell his niece Beatrice, her cousin Hero, and her maid Ursula). No sooner has Benedict entered than he and Beatrice start insulting each other, because “There is a kind of merry war betwixt Signor Benedict and her. They never meet but there’s a skirmish of wit between them.”

While those two are sparring, Claudio and Hero, simpler souls who are deeply attracted to each other, arrange to be married. Don John and Borachio hatch a plot to disrupt their wedding: Don John will bring Claudio to observe, from a distance, Borachio making love with Margaret; Claudio will mistake Margaret for Hero and call off their wedding.

Costume sketches and inspirational images provided by Beatrice + Benedict costume designer Jennifer Madison.

Meanwhile, Don Pedro arranges a pair of eavesdropping scenes in the hopes of kindling love, not killing it: Benedict will overhear three of the men discussing how sad it is that Beatrice desperately loves Benedict, a confirmed bachelor, while Beatrice witnesses two of the women talking about Benedict’s hopeless, unrequited love for the shrewish Beatrice.

All plots succeed. Beatrice and Benedict get over themselves, and fall in love. Meanwhile, Claudio publicly humiliates Hero on their wedding day.

Beatrice is furious with Claudio: “O God, that I were a man! I would eat his heart in the marketplace.” She demands Benedict prove his love for her by killing Claudio. Benedict agrees to do so; but before it comes to that, the music-master Somarone unravels Don John’s plot. Claudio does penance for his failure to trust Hero, and the two couples are united.

Listen For…

Shakespeare

Beatrice and Benedict is an opéra-comique, almost a musical comedy in French, with musical numbers alternating with dialogue scenes. The dialogues were scenes from Shakespeare, translated into French. We are presenting the show in English, so Seattle audiences can enjoy the genius of one of our own language’s greatest writers directly from the singers’ mouths.

The Spirit of French Romanticism

Idiosyncratic, unpredictable, and forever true to himself, Berlioz championed the artist as individual in the often impersonal factory that was the world of nineteenth-century French music. He was a master of the orchestra who never composed to the preset forms of “absolute music.” Instead, he wrote music to tell whatever story had seized hold of his mind and heart. Here, in his most successful opera, he expands Shakespeare’s popular comedy with music that is whimsical, effortless, and instantly compelling.

Music as Poetry

Much Ado About Nothing isn’t particularly lyrical, as Shakespeare plays go. This play is more about sparkling wit and complex human emotion than beautiful verse. Berlioz’s music adds depth and richness to the world of the story, from the opening music of martial triumph, to the traditional Sicilian dances, to the tongue-in-cheek music for weddings and funerals. This opera’s wonderful love music ranges from the unstable effervescence of the title characters to the velvety moonlit smoothness of the gorgeous nocturne.