ad
with the father in Mireille's behalf. The poor girl toils on through
the heat, and at last arrives nearly prostrated by sunstroke. Vincenzo
soon appears, and is shortly followed by Raimondo, who, seeing the sad
condition of his daughter, is moved to pity and gives his consent to
the union of the lovers. The sudden joyful change of affairs restores
her wandering senses and the happy pair are united.

The music is in no sense dramatic, but lyric and pastoral throughout,
and is specially marked by the beautiful French chansons with which it
abounds. The first act opens with a delightful pastoral chorus of the
maidens under the mulberry-trees ("Facciam carole, o giovinette"),
which is very fresh and graceful. The second begins with an equally
delightful chorus and farandole ("La Farandola tutti consola"),
followed by the beautiful Provencal folk-song, "Dolce una brezza,
intorno olezza," which is full of local color. Tavena sings a quaint
fortune-teller's roundelay ("La stagione arriva"), and in the next
scene Mireille has a number of rare beauty ("Ah! piu non temo fato "),
in which she declares her unalterable attachment to Vincenzo. The
finale of this act, with its strong aria ("Qui mi prostro innanzi
ate"), is very spirited, and in fact may be considered the only
dramatic episode in the whole work. The third act opens with the
quaint little song of Andreluno, the shepherd boy ("L'alba
tranquilla"), with oboe accompaniment. It also contains a plaintive
song for tenor ("Ah! se de preghi miei"), and closes with a waltz song
("O d'amor messagera"), which is fairly gorgeous in bravura effects,
and Hanslick says was a concession to Miolan-Carvalho, like the jewel
song in "Faust" and the waltz song in "Romeo and Juliet." In the
original libretto the song had its place in the first act, and indeed
numerous changes have been made in the libretto since the opera first
appeared; as in the original, Mireille dies in the arms of her lover,
and Urias, Vincenzo's rival, is drowned in the Rhone. When it first
appeared, however, great objection was made to several of the
situations, and the libretto was declared fantastic and uninteresting;
hence the changes. As a lyric drama, delightfully picturing the
quaintness and simplicity of provincial life, not alone in the
tunefulness of the music, but also in its pastoral naivete and what
may be termed its folk-characteristics, it will hold a high place upon
the stage as long as young and fr