Another Country Heard From, Part 1
Jan 26, 2001 -
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an island for refusing to wed the man her father's chosen for her. A Dutch ship arrives, and its two tenor officers woo her, while their respective fiancées fume. The centerpiece of the work is a scene in which, pretending to have been sent by her father, both suitors, their girlfriends, plus a Dutch servant, all pretend to be Chinese, singing in doubletalk. Gianghera, no fool she, prefers a Dutch passenger who doesn't engage in all this literal nonsense. When her Asian intended approaches the island, armed with no less the Chinese navy, to claim her hand, the Europeans defeat him. Unlike Turandot, Gianghera is quite contented to toss away her heritage for the foreigner she loves.
In Part 2, we'll eavesdrop on a few more Occidental encounters with China...and examine an early opera by Gluck in which Chinese women pretend to be westerners.
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