# Bastien und Bastienne

Bastien und Bastienne (Bastien and Bastienne), K. 50 (revised in 1964 to K. 46b) is a one-act singspiel, a comic opera, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Bastien und Bastienne was one of Mozart's earliest operas, written in 1768 when he was only twelve years old. It was allegedly commissioned by Viennese physician and 'magnetist' Dr. Franz Mesmer (who himself would later be parodied in Così fan tutte) as a satire of the 'pastoral' genre then prevalent, and specifically as a parody of the opera Le devin du village by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The German libretto is by Friedrich Wilhelm Weiskern, Johann Heinrich Friedrich Müller and Johann Andreas Schachtner, based on Les Amours de Bastien et Bastienne by Justine Favart and Harny de Guerville. After its supposed premiere in Mesmer's garden theater (that is only corroborated by an unverified account of Nissen), it was not revived again until 1890. It is not clear whether this piece was performed in Mozart's lifetime. The first known performance was on 2 October 1890 at Architektenhaus in Berlin.
The opera is written in both French and German manners. Many of the melodies are French in manner, but Bastienne's first aria is true German lied. This melody is also used in Mozart's Trio in G for Piano, Violin and Violoncello, K. 564 (1788). Another purely German lied is Bastienne's aria "I feel certain of his heart". Mozart utilizes the orchestra sparingly, with the exception of the reconciliation scene.
The opening theme of Mozart's overture resembles that of the first movement of Beethoven's Symphony no. 3, Eroica (in a different key). It is unlikely that Beethoven was familiar with Mozart's youthful opera. In any case, opening a movement with an arpeggio of the tonic chord was an extremely common occurrence in the Classical period. The resemblance is likely coincidental.
Although he was very young, Mozart already had excellent vocal writing skills and a knack for parody and whimsy which would reach full flower in his later works. Bastien und Bastienne is possibly the easiest to perform of Mozart's juvenile works.

## Roles

| Role | Voice type |
| Bastienne, a shepherdess | soprano |
| Bastien, her lover | tenor |
| Colas, a quack magician | bass |

## Synopsis

    Place: A pastoral village
    Time: Indeterminate
Bastienne, a shepherdess, fears that her "dearest friend", Bastien, has forsaken her for another pretty face, and decides to go into the pasture to be comforted by her flock of lambs.
Before she can leave, however, she runs into Colas, the village soothsayer. Bastienne requests the help of his magical powers to help win back her Bastien. Colas (being a soothsayer) knows all about the problem, and comforts her with the knowledge that Bastien has not abandoned her, rather, he's merely been distracted lately by 'the lady of the manor'. His advice is to act coldly towards Bastien, which will make him come running back.
Bastien is heard approaching, so Bastienne hides herself. Bastien swaggers in, proclaiming how much he loves Bastienne. Colas informs him that Bastienne has a new lover. Bastien is shocked and asks the magician for help.
Colas opens his book of spells and recites a nonsense aria filled with random syllables and Latin quotations. Colas declares the spell a success and that Bastienne is in love with Bastien once more. Bastienne, however, decides to keep up the game a bit longer and spurns Bastien with great vehemence. Bastien threatens suicide, which Bastienne merely shrugs off.
Finally, the two decide that they have gone far enough and agree to reconcile. Colas joins them as they all sing a final trio in praise of the magician.

## Noted arias

* "Mein liebster Freund hat mich verlassen" – Bastienne
* "Ich geh' jetzt auf die Weide" – Bastienne
* "Befraget mich ein zartes Kind" – Colas
* "Wenn mein Bastien einst im Scherze" – Bastienne
* "Würd' ich auch, wie manche Buhlerinnen" – Bastienne
* "Grossen Dank dir abzustatten" – Bastien
* "Geh'! du sagst mir eine Fabel" – Bastien
* "Diggi, daggi, shurry, murry" – Colas
* "Meiner Liebsten schöne Wangen" – Bastien
* "Er war mir sonst treu und ergeben" – Bastienne

## Recordings

| Year | Cast (Bastien, Bastienne, Colas) | Conductor, orchestra | Label Catalogue number |
| c. 1940 | Paul Derenne Martha Angelici André Monde | Gustave Cloëz Orchestre du Conservatoire de Paris | 78rpm set: L'Anthologie Sonore Cat: FA 801-806 |
| 1952 | Waldemar Kmentt Ilse Hollweg Walter Berry | Sir John Pritchard Wiener Symphoniker | LP: Philips Cat: ABL 3010 |
| 1956 | Richard Holm Rita Streich Toni Blankenheim | Christoph Stepp Münchner Kammerorchester | CD: Deutsche Grammophon Cat: 474 738 2 |
| 1957 | Three soloists of Wiener Sängerknaben | Edouard Lindenberg Wiener Kammerorchester | LP: Philips |
| 1965 | Peter Schreier Adele Stolte Theo Adam | Helmut Koch Kammerorchester Berlin | CD: Berlin Classics Cat: 0091292 BC |
| 1969 | Thomas Lehrberger Ileana Cotrubaș Peter van der Bilt | Leopold Hager Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg | CD: ORFEO Cat: C 705061 B |
| 1976 | Claes H. Ahnsjo Edith Mathis Walter Berry | Leopold Hager Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg | LP: Deutsche Grammophon Cat: 2537 038 |
| 1976 | Adolf Dallapozza Brigitte Lindner Kurt Moll | Eberhard Schoener Bayerisches Staatsorchester | LP: EMI Electrola Cat: 1C 065 30231 |
| 1986 | Three soloists of Wiener Sängerknaben: Dominik Orieschnig Georg Nigl David Busch | Uwe Christian Harrer Wiener Symphoniker | CD: Philips Cat: 422 527-2 |
| 1989 | Vinson Cole Edita Gruberová László Polgár | Raymond Leppard Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra | CD: Sony Classical Cat: 45855 |
| 1990 | Ralph Eschrig Dagmar Schellenberger René Pape | Max Pommer Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester Leipzig | CD: Berlin Classics Cat: 0010102BC |
| 1991 | Dongkyu Choy Eva Kirchner Thomas Müller De Vries | René Clemencic Alpe Adria Ensemble | CD: Nuova Era Cat: 7344 |
| 2006 | Bernhard Berchtold Evmorfia Metaxaki Radu Cojocariu | Elisabeth Fuchs Junge Philharmonie Salzburg | DVD: Deutsche Grammophon Cat: 000440 073 4244 2 |
| 2018 | Alessandro Fisher Anna Lucia Richter Darren Jeffery | Ian Page The Mozartists | CD: Signum Classics Cat: SIGCD547 |
| 2019 | Tetsuya Mochizuki Eri Unoki Masumitsu Miyamoto | Keiko Takata (piano) Mozart Singers Japan (MSJ) | CD: Exton Cat: OVCL-00745 |