Bastien and Bastienne by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Short summary

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Bastienne, a shepherdess, fears that her lover has forgotten about her. She asks the help of a charlatan sorcerer, who advises her to meet her lover coldly so that he will return to her.

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The work recounts the fate of Bastienne the shepherd and Bastienne the shepherdess. The girl feared that her lover had forgotten her. She asked Kolas, the village sorcerer and charlatan, for help. He reassured the heroine, saying that Bastien would not leave her. The shepherd only briefly became infatuated with the city beauty.

The sorcerer advised the shepherdess to meet her lover coldly, after which he assured Bastien would return to her immediately. At his approach Bastienne began to hide. The charlatan, however, told the shepherd that his chosen one had a new suitor.

Frustrated, Bastien asks Kolas to help him. The latter pretends to read spells, after which he tells her that from now on Bastienne will love only the shepherd. At the same time, the girl decides to reject her lover’s confessions once more to tease him. The shepherd says he will kill himself. With the help of a sorcerer, the lovers do reconcile.