Abstract
La Straniera may not be Bellini’s most popular opera, yet it provides a perfect artificial universe, populated by virtual persons [Not unlike the mathematical models populated with computer-simulated consumers and firms. Kydland (2004, Nobel Prize Lecture) employed in Law & Economics.], to explore the condition of exiles, displaced foreigners and undocumented migrants. In this universe, fact and rules on citizenship, immigration and sanctuary leading to a socially preferred equilibrium can be tested—without the unbearable cost to society that enactment without testing would have (We would not want the “confusion, violence and tragic ending” mentioned in the cover of a 2007 recording of La Straniera spilling out into real life.).
Bellini does a lot more than rescue from oblivion a deservedly forgotten novel (The librettist’s Avvertimento acknowledges “L’Etrangère”, by Charles Prévost d’Arlincourt as source. Apparently the book was still selling well by the time of the opera’s premiere in 1829. It is now understandably forgotten.), thus unavailable for Law & Literature analysis [This discipline cannot live up to its promise of exposing the inequities of Law as it stands, using examples of alternative justice drawn from fiction (Olson, Future(s) of law and literature, 2014), absent a minimum mind-space for the literary work employed (Williams, The utility of law & literature in legal education, 2014).]; and offering little hope to methods of Game Theory (Bellini’s opera spans over barely more than two hours and a half. By contrast, the information in the 372 pages of the novel is excessively diluted. Even a small amount of information imperfection is known to have a major impact on the predictable outcome (Stiglitz, Nobel Prize Lecture, 2001).). An ominous addition in the opera, non-negligible fractions of public opinion find that an ‘unknown stranger’ should not expect the same compassion as would be ‘justified’ towards a destitute Queen.
Even those who agree to the ‘tenuous historical grounds’ of the plot may find that fact-finding on fictional material as conducted in this paper is counter-intuitive. Yet one such ‘fact’, the unexpected death of Ingeborg comes to untie the intrigue and ultimately reveal the identity of Agnes (the Stranger of the title), concealed until then.
The opinions expressed in this paper are personal and do not commit the institutions he is or has been associated with.
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Notes
- 1.
Not unlike the mathematical models populated with computer-simulated consumers and firms. Kydland (2004) employed in Law & Economics.
- 2.
We would not want the “confusion, violence and tragic ending” mentioned in the cover of a 2007 recording of La Straniera spilling out into real life.
- 3.
The librettist’s Avvertimento acknowledges “L’Etrangère”, by Charles Prévost d’Arlincourt as source. Apparently the book was still selling well by the time of the opera’s premiere in 1829. It is now understandably forgotten.
- 4.
- 5.
Bellini’s opera spans over barely more than 2 h and a half. By contrast, the information in the 372 pages of the novel is excessively diluted. Even a small amount of information imperfection is known to have a major impact on the predictable outcome (Stiglitz 2001).
- 6.
In both Italian (tongue of the opera) and French (tongue of the source novel) the primary meaning of straniero, étranger, is “from another nation” (foreigner).
- 7.
Opposite to “estrangement” in English, there is no word for “separated” or “divorced” in Italian or French with the same root as “stranger,” and the title La Straniera has nothing to do with this estrangement.
- 8.
Note 19 below.
- 9.
Very little is certain about refugees which make the headlines today. In Act 1 of the opera, “maybe” the future Duke of Brittany will prove more loyal to his word than expected (scene 2); “maybe” Heaven has placed him in the Stranger’s way, but “maybe” his actions will just end up making her more miserable (scene 7). “Maybe” this obscure banished woman is infamous (scene 9), impious even (scene 15); “maybe” she is guilty of something, or “maybe” she is the lover of someone else (scene 10). In act 2, scene 6, “maybe” one day the facts of this unbelievable case will be revealed, but in the meantime there is no point in asking the Court what they are. Resilience to ambiguity, a core component of managers’ yearly evaluation, should be one for policy analysts and policy makers, too.
- 10.
This form of causation, a similar but not identical movement of coordinated series, is different from the direct, efficient (if not single) causation often required in Law. There may be no special reason why two quite different observables should entertain a cause-effect relationship, “it is just the way the mathematics turn out” (Granger 2003).
- 11.
Allegedly, the librettist did “not want to deviate excessively from the intent of the novelist,” or overlook “the obstacles raised by such a fantastic subject.”
- 12.
A spoiler rather than a prequel, the Avvertimento reveals the Stranger’s identity from the start, making the audience close to omniscient, while copiously deviating from historical fact concerning Agnes of Merania.
- 13.
Truly unique performances have attracted this kind of remark. That “something” is not only about rendering the subjective identity of a character (the way she perceives past and present fact; or her emotions, hopes and fears when she projects that identity into the future). An additional degree of difficulty of that “something” comes with her dual identities: if we split exiles into “deserving” and “undeserving” we end up thinking like Montolino in Act 1 scene 5 (note 48 below).
- 14.
Her name is just “La Straniera”. Such is the name misfortune gave her, the one she had in happier days is meaningless for everyone, “she just forgot it”, in Act 2 scene 2.
- 15.
Very little in terms of identity, background and intentions. Act 1, scenes 2 and 5; act 2, scenes 1 though 4. In the latter (for once the Choir is right, rather than an echo chamber for widespread prejudice), “Law does not allow her to leave the courtroom unidentified”. Today, the US Supreme Court goes further: even absent legal proceedings or reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, there is nothing wrong with “stop and identify” statutes. Naturally, this identification (or failure to identify) may expose a person as an “undocumented alien” and lead to expulsion.
- 16.
We accept responsibility for the anachronism, intended as an additional heads-up. Like an illegal alien today, The Stranger knows her identity, but won’t tell, not even to Arthur, to whom she provides a false name, “Alaïde”.
- 17.
Covering the different meanings of the term “Stranger”, as in note 1 above and Camus’ novel.
- 18.
A sorceress. In the twelfth century, witchcraft is terrifying—definitely not something to be joked about. Like a terrorist, a witch may strike randomly, creating a feeling of exposure and helplessness. Mass-media and networks alike (the former did not exist in the twelfth century, but the latter did—although not with their current electronic reach) further fuel that feeling. We are not alone in exploring this parallel between witchcraft and terror or war thereon. Caplan (2004), Mueller and Steward (2011) and many others provide further background on “witch-hunting,” a metaphor used since McCarthysm at least.
- 19.
Bellini shuffles historical fact when it gets in the way of the story he intends to tell. Agnes, not Ingeborg, died in 1201 (except for the typo “around 1300,” the libretto places the action “around 1200”). Ingeborg, not Agnes, had by then been exiled for 7 years.
- 20.
Spenta è Isemberga, e riedere, Regina, al soglio dèi. Mi annunzia il lieto evento con questo foglio il Re, Act 2, scene 11. The audience is left to guess the constitutional background against which this would be good news. Pope Innocent III had rather warned Philip: “If some unfortunate event came to fall upon [Ingeborg], to what rumors wouldn’t you be exposed? Word would go that you have killed her, and then it would be pointless for you to even think of another union.”
- 21.
Offstage, necessarily before Act 1 scene 6, but not at the time of Arthur’s alleged trespassing into Karency (Act 1 scene 5). Or he would have immediately recognized the Queen.
- 22.
Isoletta, Act 1 scene 2; Montolino and Osburgo, Act 1 scene 5; the Prior, Act 2 scene 3. Even her brother “Valdeburgo” (who must call her Agnes when they are in private) refers to her in public as “an obscure exile, of ill fame, maybe,” Act 1 scene 8. We have to assume (note 30 below) that Agnes and “Valdeburgo” do not meet for the first time in Act 1 scene 10 (note 57 below).
- 23.
Historians do record an Arthur of Brittany, heir of this Duchy through his mother and of the English throne through his father. The statement in Act 1 scene 7, “Da regnanti io son disceso, posso un serto a te recar” could then refer to the English scepter. “By 1200” (note 14 above) this Arthur was 13, or half Agnes’ age, but this might not be beyond Bellini’s fact-shuffling capabilities.
- 24.
Consistent with the title “Count of Ravenstel,” this phrase in Act 1 scene 5 is to be understood literally: most of the legal developments could not happen as written if Arthur had already inherited the lawmaking and judiciary powers of the Dukes of Brittany. The historical Arthur of Brittany inherited the Duchy in 1201, and Philip betrothed to him the daughter he had had with Agnes. The princess was by then 2 years old.
- 25.
Worse, that preface goes on to mention “the dangers of excitement of a pure and ardent soul that knows no moderation, disdains ordinary life, takes pleasure in vague idealism, gets lost in contemplative daydream, and lacks religious education. One sees the excesses to which a heart full of loyalty, virtues and honor can be drawn, when trusting own forces alone, despising the customs and the holy duties.”
- 26.
Fictional character. By contrast with her father (note 23 below), cost-benefit analysis is absent from her love for Arthur.
- 27.
“Becoming his wife! O happy day, O ultimate joy! If pain is worth such prize, then welcome be pain.”
- 28.
Fictional character and title. Opposite to his daughter Isoletta, he is very sensitive to the social promotion brought by the intended marriage.
- 29.
The character has no historical roots, but plays a significant role in the plot. He is very active in the propagation of rumors about the Stranger to bring her into discredit and run her down.
- 30.
Osburgo still trusts his ability to control events: in Act 1 scene 5, “è nei miei laci Arturo.” In Act 2 scene 1, “No big risk! Arthur, held in custody, cannot contradict me; and money bought those who helped Valdeburgo off the lake.” His confidence is no longer warranted: things do not happen as control theory predicts, people react and adapt (Kydland 2004).
- 31.
When Arthur storms into the courtroom “She is innocent. I am the guilty one,” Act 2 scene 3, Osburgo objects “Judges, don’t believe him… He is ill… his mind still rambles… he is delirious.” Arthur insists: “I killed Valdeburgo, I swear it, I was furious, I believed I was punishing a rival” and the jurors wonder what to make of it. Two scenes later, “for powerful reasons” the Prior will not prosecute although he is aware of Osburgo’s attempt to pervert the course of justice. Osburgo cryptically argues that “if of anything, [he] is guilty of excessive zeal.” The Prior tells him not to put forward excuses where he is not being formally indicted—although his future actions will be under permanent surveillance.
- 32.
Fictional character. He has jurisdictional powers, as evidenced in the criminal trial of Act 2.
- 33.
La Straniera provides an early example of this vocal identity, emerging as distinct from a lighter form of bass. The historical Agnes had brothers, but none by the name of Leopoldo—and none known to have accompanied her into exile.
- 34.
Avvertimento is adamant that he was sent to Brittany on Philip’s orders, to watch over Agnes’ security, but “security” is undefined (to make sure she is well, or that she does not leave the “forbidden walls” of Karency? Either way, he does a terrible job at it, or has an agenda when he supports the “homeless, unworthy woman” theory). Notes 18 above and 57 below.
- 35.
Ingeborg (1196), Ego autem quid dicam et quid faciam ex toto ignoro.
- 36.
Or, in the case of Ingeborg, to her many legal counsels, including William of the Paraclet, canonized in 1224; and two archbishops of Lund; one of them a close friend of Pope Innocent III (Pedersen 2005).
- 37.
In real life, Ingeborg, even when writing from captivity, consistently styled herself “Queen of France” in every letter. Agnes was no crybaby either: “Used to life in the forest since her days at her father’s court, she distinguished herself by her courage and grace in the royal hunts. Riding a mettlesome horse, she went after the stag and the timid deer; the King and the barons admired the force and the precision of her arrow shots. With their classical background, clerics compared her to Virgil’s Camilla.”
- 38.
Baldwin (1994) mentions sex in the title, but mainly focuses on a jurisdictional issue (who, of the State or the Church, is to have authority on marriage matters). Philip’s chronicler Guillaume le Breton was allowed to quote him as saying, colorfully enough, “she tied my little needle.” Philip quickly retreated from this veiled accusation of witchcraft, to hold a position in which they were both victims of a maleficium which prevented sex between the two of them, and the two of them alone.
- 39.
Philip married his first wife Isabelle for reasons related to the territorial dimension of Constitutional Law (adding the county of Artois to the royal demesne). In the dynastic dimension, the poor health of Isabelle’s son prompted further marriages after her death. First to Ingeborg, and when Philip proved unable (and arguably, later unwilling) of having sex with her, to Agnes.
- 40.
Historically attested and not barred by the Avvertimento. Agnes had played by the reproductive rules of sex (note 32), but had no power on the dynastic rules (note 33). Illegitimate children were not eligible for the succession line, and illegitimate they would remain while the King was bigamous (note 14 above). Research conducted for this paper showed that for modern migrants, the status of their children is sometimes more central than their own.
- 41.
Leaving a mandatory place of residence is, as a minimum, a violation of the terms of asylum. Concerning Ingeborg at Cysoing, see Le Glay (1849). Somebody stays at Karency posing as Agnes, so for all legal purposes, she is where she should be. The sorrowful woman who grieves in a cottage nearby is “nobody,” just “The Stranger.”
- 42.
Historically, that marriage happened in 1193. Although in the fiction a slightly earlier date would be advantageous, it cannot be set before Philip’s return from the Crusade in late 1191—the symptoms the King showed are consistent with the “sweat disease” contracted in the Holy Land. The unprecedented circumstances of Ingeborg’s estrangement still puzzle us as modern readers. They cannot be related to a change in the international landscape, which does not happen overnight (Damsholt 1996).
- 43.
Historically, that marriage took place in 1996, but the fiction could require an earlier date: by 1200, after giving birth to two children, her romanza complains about “lost youth.” The dates of birth of the two children (note 35) may similarly have to be brought back. In history, Agnes was chosen by default—Marguerite of Geneva had declined (Baldwin 1994). In the Avvertimento, her role is more active: she sends Philip a ring, a lock of her hair and a portrait.
- 44.
Historically, this reconciliation happened in 1200, meaning that Agnes’ exile was both simulated and short, opposite to what the fiction requires (previous and next notes).
- 45.
In real life, the opposite happened (note 14 above). Her death disposes of the questions of whether the reconciliation with Ingeborg was final, and whether Agnes knew or suspected that it was not. In real life, a letter from Innocent to Ingeborg tells us how precarious it was: “You have known before, and now perceive more fully, how we first admonished our son in Christ Philip, illustrious king of the French, though very dear, to receive you according to the order of law. And then with the oil nourishing to wounds, we infused wine with the Samaritan, imposing the sentence of interdict on the land of that king. He has now inclined his heart to obey apostolic commands, so that he would receive you as his wife and queen of the French, and swear on his soul that he will treat you royally and not remove you except by judgment of the church. Never, and we believe this is certain, did our legate, who would not dare to transgress our instructions, accept as his oath whatever the king might have said to the effect that you should be his wife and queen of the French for seven months, and he would treat you royally for that space of time.”
- 46.
Not unlike Ingeborg (1195): “I was taken from my paternal home and brought to the kingdom of the French and raised to the royal throne; because my happiness was envied by the enemy of the human race, I am thrown down to earth like dry and useless wood, destitute of comfort and counsel. My spouse, Philip king of the French, abandoned me, though he did not find what he could condemn in me.”
- 47.
Bellini suggests a short marriage and a long exile (notes 35 and 38 above).
- 48.
“The celebration is [not only about the impending marriage of Isoletta and Arthur but also] about the anniversary of the date in which Brittany was returned by the British to Philip Augustus,” right before Act 1 scene 1. Better than the source novel, “the English fled before the triumphant legions of the immortal Philip Augustus,” but not good enough: historically, 1 year after Arthur of Brittany acknowledged Philip as suzerain (spring 1999), he returned that suzerainty to John I Lackland of England.
- 49.
Montolino can understand a “just pity for Agnes, whose fall was a shock for the whole of Europe,” not for a wanderer that everybody avoids, maybe an adventuress (in the source novel). “Da ciascun fuggita” in Act 1 scene 1 has a mirror in the Avvertimento: “divieto di lasciarsi vedere da chicchesia”.
- 50.
The French Constitution of 1793 provided that asylum was “granted to those who suffered persecution for the cause of freedom,” adding “tyrants are not eligible for asylum.” Obvious from the phrasing, asylum is available on a case by case basis, when the government is satisfied that a person who claims to be a “combatant of freedom” does not have instead ties to some “Liberation Movement” included in some list of “terrorist groups.”
- 51.
Note 14 above. This fright, however, is best left to a vile crowd (Act. 1, scene 4), the local elite must not yield to it.
- 52.
Hints to her royal identity start as soon as Act 1 scene 2.
- 53.
Wrongly, as it were: Agnes must refer to the “queen sacrifice” performed by Philip, the man she trusted as husband. She does not suspect someone is listening, so she must genuinely lack information about Philip’s tactical move, yielding to Innocent’s pressure. In other terms, he did not care to share?
- 54.
Oh potess’io scoprire, cara donna, chi sei; scioglier potessi il velo in cui ti copri anco a te stessa! Whether she is a Queen or some unfortunate woman shouldn’t matter, if his compassion would go to either (note 45 above).
- 55.
“Sola io merto soffrir…. la rea son’io.”
- 56.
“Io nacqui per penar, per fare altrui soffrir.” In the same scene, “Sempre a far dei miseri dannata, o ciel, saro?”
- 57.
“Offer her a scepter,” in note 19 above.
- 58.
“E meco il lutto, la sventura, il dolor” and “The sky becomes dark for me.” Her boat is dark (Act 1 scene 3), and in Act 2 scene 2 she wears a mourning veil.
- 59.
“Fia verace dunque la fama? E tu proscritta, errante, infamata, avvilita…”
- 60.
Note 38 above.
- 61.
Three letters, out of 38,650 in the libretto: a tiny yet vital piece of information that Arthur misses.
- 62.
Four letters, “Taci!” Why doesn’t she want him to openly acknowledge that she is Agnes? Are her motives related to what we suggested in note 37 above?
- 63.
Their “secret identity” (as we would read in Superman comics) is compromised in this area, they must move to another where it isn’t. Alternatively, why not assume that they must leave for Paris? Why imagine that Philip would first write to some obscure prior of the Hospitaliers (note 15 above) rather than to the person he specifically sent to Brittany to make sure all was well with Agnes (note 30 above)?
- 64.
Actually, not much: a woman in shock, haggard, uttering obscure words. She won’t elaborate on what she meant when she said she had been fatal to the one she loved—that is her secret.
- 65.
Note 8 above. Her recollection of “happier days” followed by “misfortune” is not rationally consistent with having forgotten her name. Under due process, however, irrational answers are admissible.
- 66.
Compare with note 50 above. A diffuse feeling of guilt for making people unhappy does not make her guilty or an accessory in the criminal proceedings for murder.
- 67.
Assault “in the heat of anger” or and wounds inflicted in a fight remain punishable under the Statutes of St. Louis (two generations later, it is true).
- 68.
“La legge il vieta: scoprasi” in Act 2 scene 4. See note 11 above.
- 69.
The identity of the Queen emerges; a Queen commands (as in the scene before the church, “obey and follow me”), and on occasion forgives (Act 2, scene 4), compare with Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia, Act 1 scene 6, “La clemenza è regale virtù.”
- 70.
We understand that, like the “insuperable barrier” between them in Act 1 scene 7, the obstacle is marriage. We are probably wrong: Agnes definitely knows that she has been exiled because her marriage is void—although she may or may not know that the exile is tactical (note 49 above).
- 71.
There is no menace in Ingeborg (1203), when she sees death as a liberation: quam dulcis, quam jucunda, quam suavis mihi miserae, mihi desolatae, mihi ab omnibus repudiatae et ejectae, unica mors corporalis adveniret.
- 72.
What she believes she knows or doesn’t, and how right that belief is. Unlike the player in game theory, who adheres to personal estimates (or he wouldn’t call them “information”) the artist can distance herself from beliefs and speculations of her character.
- 73.
Note the association between being a foreigner and the accusation of witchery. What about foreigners under instant suspicion of being terrorists? By contrast with witches, terrorists may well exist.
- 74.
The Canon Episcopi reads: “Some unconstrained women seduced by illusions and phantasms of demons, openly profess that in the dead of night, they ride upon certain beasts with the pagan goddess Diana, with a countless horde of other women, and fly over vast tracts of country. Now who is so stupid as to think that all these things that are done in dreams actually happen?”
- 75.
See previous note. Agnes’ hunts and horse-riding abilities (note 32 above) weren’t helping much with her reputation?
- 76.
The King of France.
- 77.
We would say today “crime against the State,” like treason or terrorism.
- 78.
In some countries, the “radicalization” of terrorists (regardless of whether they are nationals, lawful residents or undocumented aliens) is sometimes attributed to “preachers,” both local and distant, Internet-based.
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Bertone, L. (2018). Exile and Identity: Findings of Fact and Opinions of Law, in Bellini’s La Straniera . In: Annunziata, F., Colombo, G. (eds) Law and Opera. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68649-3_3
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