Esteemed as one of the greatest composers of all time, Johann Sebastian Bach even wrote an opera about coffee. The German composer, vastly revered as an organist, had written ‘SchweigtStille, PlaudertNicht ‘ which literally means ‘Be Still, Stop Chattering’. However, there is a different name for, ‘The Coffee Cantata’.
The comic opera, reportedly written in 1735, speaks about a lively young woman named Aria and her love for coffee. Aria’s father, Schlendrian is against this habit of hers and tries to cure Aria from her addiction to the enticing drink. He tells Aria that she cannot marry unless she lets go of her passion for coffee. Although Aria agrees with her father, in secret she asks her suitors for a permission to drink three cups of coffee every day, if they sought her hand in marriage.
Father and daughter reconcile when Schlendrian approves three cups of coffee for Aria, written into her marriage contract.
The opera shows strong opinions about coffee and includes expressive lines that describe Aria’s feelings. She says that she would shrink into a roasted goat if she wouldn’t be allowed to have her three small cups of coffee every day.
People have made memes and t-shirts about how important coffee was to them. It has also become a way of expressing one’s cool. But Johann Sebastian Bach came up with an entire opera about his love of coffee.
Coffee Everyone!
