An Egregious Mistake in a Book About Operas

An Egregious Mistake in a Book About Opera

By Warren Boroson

The Ethicist in Sunday’s Times argues that you shouldn’t write in a book, even if it’s to correct an error.  After all, you might be wrong. Or perhaps the “mistake” was deliberate.

   Nonsense.

   Correct away.

   Why help perpetuate mistakes?

   I’ll unhesitatingly correct false information in library and other books—in pencil. And I’m proud to admit it. On my tombstone I’m sure shall be written: “He helped make the world a better place.”

  By coincidence recently I was reading an old opera book—published in 1908. “The Standard OperaGlass.” Subtitled: “Detailed plots of one hundred and forty eight celebrated operas.”  And therein I lit upon an egregious mistake.

    Before I get to that mistake: 148 celebrated operas? Are there really that many?

    Well, if you include “Armorer” by Lortzing; “By Order of His Highness”  by Reinecke;  “Folkungs” by Kretschmer, “Jessonda” by Spohr; “Marga” by Pittrich;

“Melusine” by”Piper of Hamelin” by Nessler; “Vampire” by Marschner; and a bunch of other totally and no doubt deservedly forgotten operas.

    +++

    Also interesting: old names for popular operas. Below, first the old name, then the new name.

    Delila. Samson and Delila.

    Don Juan. Don Giovanni.

    Sold Bride. Bartered Bride.

    Seraglio. Abduction from the Seraglio.

   Marguerite. Faust.

   Dusk of the Gods. Gotterdammerung.

   +++

    Okay, back to the egregious mistake.

    I was reading the synopsis of Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly” when I lit upon the name of the male lead. Linkerton. Not Pinkerton.

    For example, “Goro…shows his new Japanese house to an American lieutenant, Linkerton, who has purchased it in Japanese fashion for 999 years….”

    So, just a common, innocent typo, you say? The way “Lucia” is listed as “Lucia die [!] Lammermoor” in the book – but only one time?

    Sorry to report, Linkerton is spelled that way in the opera book…14 times! And never the right way!

    So, did I change Linkerton to Pinkerton? It’s my own damn book, of course. But if someday it winds up in a garage sale, should I keep future readers from thinking that this rotter’s name was Linkerton and not Pinkerton? Should Pinkerton himself, the seducer, escape scot-free?

   I’m sorry to report that I decided that making 14 changes was too damn much and did nothing.

  By the way, do you happen to know Lieutenant Linkerton’s – I mean Pinkerton’s – first name?

   Answer: Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton.