The Fools of April
Ah, the memories of playing tricks on family and unwitting friends on April Fools’ Day. Some ruses were innocent, like resetting an alarm clock to make your siblings late for school, but some were darn near diabolical.
The holiday is a silly one marked by pranks that some spend an entire year planning. I am sure you all have stories about being fooled by a newspaper headline, a radio or TV announcement, or invitations from friends that led to a joke being played on you that culminated in a loud chorus of “April Fool!”
You may be asking yourself why I am writing about April Fools’ Day in an opera blog? The answer is simple if you have ever seen an opera buffo , where a ludicrous character justifiably becomes a object of ridicule and a victim of endless pranks. Of course, one cannot think about fools without William Shakespeare coming to mind - Shakespeare who is the Master of the Fool in literature. Before we look at an example of a fool from Shakespeare and one from the opera, I will explain how the holiday began.
A Bit of History
Various theories abound about how and when April Fools’ Day, a.k.a. All Fools’ Day, began. According to my research, some theories tie the day to ancient festivals like Hilaria in ancient Rome and other festivals linked to the Vernal Equinox celebrated in the Spring.
A popular explanation for the holiday is linked to when the Gregorian calendar replaced the Julian calendar by edict of the Council of Trent in 1563; France was a late adaptor and did not follow the Gregorian calendar until 1582. In the Julian calendar, New Year’s Day was timed with the Vernal Equinox and celebrated in late March/early April. Those who were not paying attention to the newly adopted Gregorian calendar were stillcelebrating the New Year on April 1st. Hence, they were labeled April Fools.
What is a Fool?
Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing Donizetti’s Don Pasquale would be able to answer this question after they stopped laughing. The character of Don Pasquale checks every box of attributes that describe the character of a fool. He is unabashedly vain, selfish, mean-spirited, lacking in self-awareness, and convinced that he is smarter than everyone else. And did I mention judgmental, condescending, and rude? In opera, karma visited upon a fool is commensurate with the sins he has committed or the level of ludicrous behavior he exhibits.
Short Summary of Don Pasquale
We meet the wealthy Don Pasquale when he has reached the end of his rope with his free-spirited nephew and heir, Ernesto, who has overstayed his welcome. Don Pasquale wants to be rid of Ernesto and wants to disinherit him, leaving Ernesto penniless. However, he does attempt to find his nephew a wife, but Ernesto resists because he is in love with a young widow, Norina.
Enter a man with a devious plan, the good doctor, Malatesta, who tells Don Pasquale that he wants him to meet his beautiful, young, timid sister, Sofronia (actually Norina), who would make a wonderful wife for a man of his stature. Norina is furious about the plan and Ernesto is heartbroken; until they realize that the doctor has conceived a brilliant ruse to play on Don Pasquale.
What ensues is nothing short of two hours of belly laughs at Don Pasquale’s expense. After the sham marriage ceremony, the shy and retiring Safronia turns into a demanding shrew whose key competency is spending Don Pasquale’s money and avoiding consummating the marriage. Poor Don Pasquale is out-witted and out-matched at every turn, humiliated and mocked for his bumbling attempt to woo his new wife and keep her happy. In the end, he begs to be free of Safronia-Norina, who in turn could marry the besotted Ernesto.
Follow this LINK to watch a trailer for Don Pasquale from Opera Australia. If you like, there are many links to the entire opera on YouTube.
The Fool in King Lear
Shakespeare’s “fools” are often the wisest characters in his plays, who because of their lowly stature are considered to be non-threatening and are often objects of ridicule. However, those who fail to see the value of the fool, or jester, do so at their own peril. Fools have the license to say what others would be afraid to mention. They offer commentary for the audience as they predict the fate of characters based on what they have been able to observe and discover. You see, no one worried about talking near a fool, because they underestimated their intelligence and cunning.
My favorite Shakespeare tragedy is King Lear, and it is in that play that we meet the most trusted and sophisticated fool of all, simply named “The Fool.” This man was the only person Lear trusted in the end, when he beseeched the Fool to be his touchpoint, asking him to guard his sanity and to tell him when he was descending into madness. It was Lear’s catastrophic decisions regarding his two treacherous daughters that sealed his fate as a powerless, broken man, a king without land or armies, and bereft of allies save the Fool.
The Fool is more stable than Lear and serves as his conscience when he makes irrational decisions. Every time Lear acts badly, the Fool goads him, reminding him of his failures.
One of the Fool’s most famous quotes is “ though wouldst make a good fool. Old before thy time. Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise.” Act I, Scene 5
The following LINK begins with a two-minute clip of director Sam Mendes discussing the Fool’s importance in King Lear. Keep watching if you want to see snippets of various productions of King Lear from the National Theater in London, including the rendition of the play with Anthony Hopkins as King Lear.
In Conclusion
My final thought about April Fools’ Day, dear Members, is a cautionary one. Be incredibly careful today. Do not trust anyone. Be wary of everything you see or hear today. Verify, verify, verify.
Warm regards,
Bernadette
This OperaBlog was contributed by Bernadette Snider, Vice President for Communications, Santa Fe Opera Guild Board of Directors, April 1, 2023.