Zampa

Opéra-comique in three acts. Libretto by Mélesville. Music by Ferdinand Hérold. First performance: Théâtre de l’Opéra-Comique, Paris, 3 May 1831.

Synopsis

Act one

The scene is set in Sicily, in the early seventeenth century. The wealthy merchant Lugano is about to give his daughter Camille in marriage to the Florentine officer Alphonse de Monza, who has rescued him from brigands. The region remains unsettled, even though rumours are circulating that the corsair Zampa has just been arrested after ruining the honour of many families. The population has placed itself under the protection of ‘Saint Alice’, a statue named for one of Zampa’s victims, Alice Manfredi, and commemorating her tragic memory. Hearing this story for the first time, Alphonse realises with horror that Zampa is none other than his older brother, a libertine who vanished when Alphonse was still a child. But Alphonse is now lured into an ambush, leaving Camille unprotected. A stranger (who is none other than Zampa) bursts in and announces that Lugano is in his clutches. He demands the merchant’s possessions and Camille’s hand in marriage. Seeing the statue of Alice, his lieutenant, Daniel, warns him to beware: will not the seducer’s past crimes catch up with him? To reassure his companions, Zampa slips a ring onto the statue’s finger. All cry out in fear when the marble hand closes around the jewel. 

Act two 

The village has succumbed to terror as everyone continues to wonder about the identity of the new master. Alphonse, who has escaped his captors, believes Camille to be unfaithful, whereas she is only trying to protect her father, without being able to explain why. The new marriage is imminent when Alphonse decides to intervene. He identifies Zampa from a description, and prepares to hand him over to the angry population. But a coup de théâtre turns the tables in the villain’s favour: the viceroy promises Zampa a pardon if he agrees to join the fight against the Ottoman army. While the people celebrate their new champion, Camille finds herself condemned to marry the triumphant pirate. 

Act three 

In her bridal chamber, Camille awaits her father, but it is Alphonse who appears, proposing to abduct her. She rejects him, invoking her oath of allegiance to God and a promise that Zampa has made to keep his word. And now the corsair himself returns. After making sure that the statue of Saint Alice has been smashed to pieces and thrown into the sea, he tries to sway Camille, who begs him to confine her to a convent instead. Zampa reveals that he is the Count of Monza, a Florentine nobleman, believing this news will convince her to be his. Camille, remembering Alphonse’s story, has no recourse but to invoke the protection of Alice Manfredi. The statue then reappears and drags Zampa into the flames as Mount Etna erupts.