Heavenly but Humble -- The Hermit in Opera
n evokes the word of God to prevent his taking of Rome, in the next scene it powerfully becomes a reality when the pilgrim "Leone" -- was anyone really fooled? -- leads a group of women and children to protect the city. In Rossini's Le Comte Ory, such disguise has a less noble intention -- In Act I, the lecherous Ory disguises himself as a hermit to try to gain entry to a castle where the lovely Ragonde has been left unprotected while her brother is away at the Crusades. Luckily, he is recognized and sent packing...though he returns in Act II, dressed as a nun!
Probably the most famous hermit-like character in opera is none other than Frère Laurent -- Friar Laurence -- in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette. He is another man of Nature, first seen gathering herbs, and certainly not someone normally involved with the Capulet family, whose religious practices are probably more on a scale of the end of Act I of Tosca. Laurent's knowledge of what we would call alternative medicine is crucial to the plotting of the opera, as it is he who concocts the sleeping potion that Juliette uses to feign death. It wouldn't surprise me if he also supplied Roméo with the poison conveniently on the latter’s person within Juliette’s tomb. As with most of the other hermits discussed here, religion doesn't seem a strong factor in his behavior, and thus the dabblings in herbology. That's what is really crucial about their being hermits -- unlike high priests in the public eye, hermits have their own private agenda unconnected with any organized church, and so they can act outside the "system."
As we have seen, for operatic characters to have a run-in with such fellows can be something of a mixed blessing. He may mean well, but not always does he do good. If, like Agathe, you’ve been visiting one, do be careful.
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