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Appendix 3 Synopsis of Méhul’s Joseph The libretto for Joseph (by Alexander Duval) is closely based on the Bible (Genesis 37, 39–47) but tells much of the story through narrative recollection . The opera begins when Joseph is already the chief minister of the Pharaoh, and concentrates on Joseph’s reunion with his father and his reconciliation with his brothers. For most of the opera, Joseph conceals his identity and is known to his father and his brothers only as “Cleophas, the chief minister of Pharaoh.” In the opening scene of the opera, Joseph is alone in his magni¤cent palace , brooding upon his situation. “All the honors with which Pharaoh favors me are in vain,”he sings in the brief recitative (“Vainement Pharaon!”), “because my heart is tormented by the happiness that I have lost.” In the¤rst section of the aria which follows (“Champs paternels! Hébron, douce vallée”), Joseph sings of his youth, when he was surrounded by his father’s love, the only time when he was truly happy. As he tells of the fraternal jealousy that destroyed that love, his lyricism is also disturbed. The tempo changes from andante to allegro, and the accompaniment becomes more agitated. Joseph imagines that his brothers are with him and begins to speak to them directly: “Were you not disturbed by our father’s tears? How could you see him weep, and remain unmoved? You deserve my hatred!”“And yet,” Joseph says in the ¤nal phrases of the aria, “if you were to truly repent, your tears would reconcile us.” In the dialogue which follows this aria, Joseph’s faithful servant Utobal enters and asks why his master is wandering the halls of the palace so late at night, when all the inhabitants of the city are asleep. All of Memphis is preparing to honor him, Utobal reminds Joseph, for his role in saving them from the horrible famine which has swept their land. But Joseph continues to think of the past and unburdens his heart to Utobal in the following romance (“A peine au sortir de l’enfance”). Here Joseph tells the story of his brother’s betrayal in three verses. He was only fourteen years old, he sings, and innocent as the lambs that he guarded in his father’s ¤elds. But his ten older brothers were jealous of the special love between Joseph and his father Jacob, and one day attacked him while he was praying. They threw him into a dark pit, and left him for dead. Three days later, some foreign merchants happened to come by and drew him up out of the pit in order to sell him as a slave. The famine that has af®icted Egypt has no doubt affected Hebron as well, and in the dialogue that follows this romance, Joseph commands Utobal to travel to the land of the Hebrews and invite them to come to Egypt. This invitation is of course unnecessary. After Joseph exits, an of¤cer enters and tells Utobal of the arrival of some unknown Hebrews. Utobal hurries off to tell Joseph the news, and the “unknown Hebrews,” the brothers themselves, take the stage. They have come to Egypt to seek relief from the terrible famine and sense that they may meet their lost brother Joseph here. Their attitudes toward their situation are varied. Naphtali and Reuben trust in the goodness of God, but Simeon is tormented by his guilt. God has singled him out for punishment, he believes, because he was the one who incited the rest of the brothers to attack Joseph. Despite his pivotal role in the betrayal, Simeon is the most tenderhearted of the brothers and is driven almost to insanity by his remorse. In the next number (“Non! Non! l’Éternel que j’offense”), Simeon gives voice to his agony in some of the most complex and tormented music in the entire opera. Simeon understands that his sin against Joseph was more than fraternal betrayal—it was a sin against his father, against the community, even against God himself. The other brothers also feel remorse for their misdeeds, but it is Simeon who most acutely feels their signi¤cance, thus functioning in the drama as a kind of receptacle for collective guilt. The brothers’ efforts to calm and comfort him are in vain. Midway through the ensemble, some of the brothers hear someone coming. They beg Simeon to compose himself, so that their horrible crime will remain...

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