Thomas Pasatieri - "Black Widow"

(1972)
Opera in three acts; libretto by the composer after Miguel de Unamuno's novella, Dos madres (1920).

Premiere

March 2, 1972, Seattle Opera. Notable productions: Lake George Opera Festival (New York), 1972; Atlanta Civic Opera Association, 1981

Original Cast

Henry Holt, conductor
Lotfi Mansouri, director
John Naccarato, production designer
Edguard Johnson, costume designer
James Coffin, projections

Synopsis

The lives of five people are strangely and tragically interwoven in this Spanish drama:

Raquel is a beautiful young widow whose inability to have children has poisoned her life. As a religious Spanish woman, she feels her purpose in life must be to bear children. When this proves to be impossible, her overwhelming frustration causes her to seek unnatural and devastating solutions to her problem.

Juan is a wealthy young man who has become Raquel's lover. His fascination for her becomes such an obsession that he is victimized into causing his own destruction.

Berta is a young girl who has loved Juan since childhood. Her compassionate desire to save him is tinted with religious fervor. She is innocent, courageous and vulnerable, an easy prey for Raquel's tragic scheme.

Doña Marta, Berta's mother, is strong and impulsive. Because she has always hoped for Juan and Berta's marriage, she is not able to see the impending tragedy.

Don Pedro, Berta's father, has great love for both Berta and Juan, but even his warmth and maturity cannot control the immense passions, frustrations and impulsive actions of the other four.

Act I: Raquel refuses Juan's proposal of marriage because she is unable to bear children. Juan's suggestion of adopting a child is angrily dismissed and his despair allows Raquel to reveal her plan: Juan should marry Berta and give Raquel their first born child. In Raquel's mind, the child would be created by Juan's love for her and, therefore, would rightfully belong to her. Juan is aghast at the heartlessness of this proposal and refuses. Raquel threatens and begs, but unable to move him, she breaks down and confesses her real love for him. Caught in her web, Juan is unable to withstand her tenderness. Without his saying so we know that he will give in.

Juan is visiting Berta and her parents. He has charmed them with stories and songs, recapturing the spirit of his childhood. (Don Pedro and Doña Marta had taken Juan into their home after the death of his parents.) Juan thanks them for the wonderful evening and bids them goodnight, promising to return the following day. Having always thought of Juan as her own son, Marta is overjoyed when Pedro reveals that Juan has asked for Berta's hand. Pedro wisely puts aside his traditional right to choose his daughter's husband, and since Juan's affair with Raquel is no secret, asks Berta to make the decision. Berta affirms that she has always loved Juan and can save him from Raquel if he will return her love. Pedro cautions her to think about it.

Juan is torn between the fascination of Raquel and the purity of Berta. He comes to propose to Berta and, trying to be honest with her, asks her to help him free himself of Raquel and lead a new life. Though Berta wants to be loved as well as needed, she has waited all her life for Juan's proposal and cannot refuse him. Suddenly, as if a shadow has passed over her, Berta feels a terrible fear which she cannot understand.

Raquel is alone on the day of Juan and Berta's wedding. Her great frustration has led her to this plan; her will has overcome all opposition. In her mind this is not merely a wedding day for Juan and Berta, but also for herself; they are all to be married this day and will bring forth a child which will belong to her. Behind a kaleidoscope of emotions we see what is going on in her mind: Berta's wedding preparations, the marriage ceremony and the reception. Raquel perceives everything as though she were actually there. She drinks and dances in frenzied celebration. In a final outburst of impatience, she orders the married couple to go and fulfill their most important obligation.

Act II: Juan and Berta have been unable to communicate openly in marriage. Aware of Juan's fascination with Raquel, Berta is trying to imitate her manner in front of a mirror when Juan enters. She suddenly realizes he is staring at her. Their mutual embarrassment brings forth their frustration and anger and they are both unable to speak. At once they scream at each other, neither able to understand what the other is saying. Sensing their childish behavior, they stop and with embarrassed laughter try to console each other. Berta again confesses her total devotion and Juan, unaware of his words, says, "You know how much I love you, my Raquel." Berta backs away from him in horror.

Impatiently awaiting the completion of her plan, Raquel is playing with a rag doll as though it were her child. She is interrupted by the arrival of a visitor and quickly hides the doll. Agitated and fearful, Berta enters, trying courageously to face her rival. Raquel has been expecting Berta's visit and is prepared to make the most of it. When Berta asks her to give back her husband, Raquel, with deceptive patience and kindness, instructs Berta in the art of winning Juan back by making him a father. Unaware of Raquel's diabolic plot, Berta leaves convinced of Raquel's sincerity. Raquel feels a moment of guilt but quickly justifies her actions. She knows that Berta is a complete woman capable of bearing the child which will become hers. As Juan enters, Raquel is lost in thought. He kisses her but she refuses to make love to him, disclosing that Berta has been there and he must go home to her. When Juan asks if he may return, Raquel replies that he should not come until he brings word of Berta's pregnancy. Frustrated and miserable, Juan leaves, and Raquel once again brings out her rag doll.

Berta is praying before a statue of the blessed mother. Her prayer reveals that she is now expecting a child. Juan enters and, finding this scene, is annoyed because he thinks she is playing another game. She entreats him to look into her eyes and see the waiting eyes of his child. At the peak of her emotions Juan finally understands what she is telling him. Instantly, Juan says that he must go. Berta is stunned realizing that he will go once more to Raquel. In a wild outburst she orders him to go for the last time and tell Raquel that she, Berta, has won.

Berta is in the final stages of pregnancy and as the pains begin, Marta asks Pedro to go for the doctor. Torn between happiness and guilt, Juan is incapable of helping or comforting Berta. Pedro arrives with the doctor, who takes Berta and Marta to the bedroom. Juan expresses his feelings of helplessness to Pedro who tries to cheer him by describing the joys of fatherhood. At this moment Raquel bursts into the house. Knowing this is the precise moment when "her" child is to be born, she demands to be with Berta. Marta, hearing the commotion, comes out of the. bedroom. She and Pedro struggle with Raquel and demand that Juan throw her out of his house. Since they have no knowledge of Raquel's plan, they think she has gone mad. Juan knows better and tries ineffectively to deal with her. With almost superhuman strength Raquel overcomes them and rushes into the bedroom at the moment the child is born.

Act III: Raquel has moved in with Juan and Berta and taken over the child. Berta is dressed like a little girl with her hair in ribbons. As Raquel rocks the baby, singing a lullaby, Berta asks, "When may I sing-my child-my song?" Raquel leaves carrying the sleeping child so that the entire town may witness her triumph. Left alone, Berta continues talking as if Raquel were still there, accusing Raquel of taking over her home, her husband and child. In despair, she says that here she is neither wife, mother nor daughter; she is nothing. Berta decides to return to her parents' home where she was at least the child that was loved. She packs a few belongings and runs out of the house. The eerie laughter of Raquel is heard in the background.

Marta and Pedro are discussing the time Berta ordered them out of her house a few weeks before. Pedro, feeling that what children say in anger should be quickly forgotten, believes Berta probably needs help and asks Marta to visit her again. Marta agrees and leaves the room to get dressed. A moment later Berta arrives, rushing into her father's arms and begging to be allowed to stay. During their tender scene, Marta reenters to find her daughter looking like a little girl with ribbons in her hair and acting very strangely. She orders Berta to stop this madness, to dress and act like a woman and to think of her child. When Berta mentions Raquel, Marta urges her to fight for her place. "Do you love Juan? Do you still want him?" she asks. "He is all I want," she replies, "I am too fired to fight." Marta makes a quick decision and orders Berta out of her house, saying Berta should live in the streets rather than hide like a coward. Pedro is shocked, but Marta assures him that she knows what she is doing. In the trio which provides the musical climax of this scene, Berta summons her last ounce of strength and courage and leaves to carry out her mother's orders. As she leaves, Marta collapses.

Her mother's words echoing in her mind, Berta returns to her home to face Raquel. Desperate and pathetic, she tries to fight Raquel using the same words spoken by her mother. Raquel remains perfectly, maddeningly calm. Turning to Juan for help, Berta desperately pleads and demands that he force Raquel to return her baby, but Juan cannot speak. This is the moment he has been dreading since the beginning and he is slowly torn apart by his feelings for the two women. With Berta and Juan in total desperation, Raquel calmly asks if she should show Berta her legal papers. Now for the first time Berta sees the true extent of the plot in which she is the victim. The papers reveal that Juan signed over his entire estate to Raquel before his marriage. Berta turns on Juan once more as Raquel voices her triumph. With a final scream of agony, Juan runs away from the two women, leaving them alone to face each other. At this point, the opera shifts to another plane, out of the focus of reality. A surrealistic procession carrying Juan's corpse moves through the women's lives as in a dream.

Epilogue: Berta seems completely demented as she speaks in meandering, hopeless phrases, while Raquel rocks the baby. Both seem totally divorced from reality. Raquel tries to break into Berta's thoughts. Once more Raquel tells Berta that she has nothing except her youth, which she must again offer to a man. In a final gesture, completely taking over Berta's life, Raquel offers to find her a man and give her a dowry if she will marry again. "It's no good to be a widow."