19th Century Italian Opera Research Papers (original) (raw)

Part One; Verismo in ltalian Opera: A Historical Perspective, provides an overview of Italian operatic activity between the years 1890 and 1930 inclusive and is subdivided into four chapters which follow a roughly chronological sequence.... more

Chapter One, Cavalleria and the Preceding Decade, covers the period 1880 to 1890 and describes the fortunes of the two principal music publishers, Ricordi and Sonzogno. The first and second Sonzogno competitions are outlined in detail together with their importance in stimulating interest within the ranks of the younger Italian composers, leading eventually to the appearance of Pietro Mascagni’s pioneering work, Cavalleria rusticana. Contemporary critical reaction to the opera is chronicled and the reasons for its success fully analysed (two interesting precursors, Mariska and Mala Pasqua! are also described).

Chapter Two, Towards a Deﬁnition of verismo, shows the extent of the gulf between literary and operatic realism and examines contemporary attitudes to the question. The lack of any artistic manifesto for the movement is attributed to the unwillingness or even inability of its main practitioners (both composers and librettists) to formulate one, despite isolated attempts such as the Pagliacci prologue. Ultimately any deﬁnition must take into account the evidence of the libretti themselves together with the influence of contemporary literary trends and the artistic proclivities of individual librettists and the remainder of the chapter examines these factors in some detail, arriving at a final profile of a typical verista opera of the Cavalleria mould to which we may apply the generic term verismo puro.

Chapter Three, Growth and Consolidation: 1890-96, demonstrates the extent to which Sonzogno capitalized on the immense success of Cavalleria and chronicles the methods used to promote verismo puro as a viable operatic commodity. A chronological profile of the principal composers and works of the giovane scuola is accompanied by an account of the Ricordi-Sonzogno rivalry and the chapter concludes with an examination of the various factors which led to a temporary abatement in verismo puro opera production.

Chapter Four, Diversiﬁcation and Decline: 1897-1920, describes how verismo puro, despite being fragmented into a series of closely allied genres (each of which is examined and commented upon), enjoyed several revivals in the first two decades of the twentieth century, none of which could arrest the downward trend in the fortunes of Casa Sonzogno. The eventual demise of the movement (circa 1918) is therefore due as much to insufficient editorial promotion as to the changing tastes of post-war Italian. audiences.

Part Two, Verismo Puro: A Structural Analysis, outlines in four chapters the basic framework of a typical libretto of the genre. The introduction presents a cross-section of twelve works which will be extensively analysed and commented upon in the ensuing discussion, giving reasons for their choice together with short plot summaries.

Chapter One, Character Patterns, shows how the prevailing ethos of verismo puro can be interpreted in a Durkheimian light and isolates three main character-types: the Rebel, the Traditionalist and the Victim, each of which is examined both individually and collectively within the context of the sample operas. The concept of a "central core" consisting of these three ﬁgures is introduced and a model of dramatic development proposed in which a tripartite progression from Characters through Contracts to Conflicts provides the mainspring of the on-stage action (expressed otherwise, the “central core" of Rebel-Traditionalist-Victim is held together by a complex web of contractual obligations which, when broken, form the basis for immediate conflict).

Chapter Two, Contractual Patterns, examines the various kinds of agreements made between the Rebel, Traditionalist and Victim and classifies them under two main headings: Moral and Legal Obligations (these are once again defined in Durkheimian terms). The labels Primary and Secondary are then used to describe the narrative importance of such contractual obligations (broadly speaking Primaries occur on-stage, Secondaries off-stage). Three phases in contract development are isolated: lnitiations, Breaks and Reinforcements, with each permutation (e.g. Primary Contract Reinforcements of the Moral variety) being fully analysed with reference to the sample operas.

Chapter Three, Conflict Patterns, demonstrates how the breaking of contractual obligations eventually leads to acts of violence which both expiate the crime committed and restore social equilibrium. Three types of conﬂict are described (Mental, Verbal and Physical); these form various Primary and Secondary combinations which are then annotated and documented. One major conclusion arrived at concerns the relative importance of violence in verismo puro, which is shown to have been grossly exaggerated by previous commentators.

Chapter Four, Dramatic Structure, brings together the constituent elements of the genre (namely Characters, Contracts and Conflicts) and shows how these coalesce into one dramatic entity within the libretto. A linear approach is adopted; the sample works are ﬁrst analysed following the traditional Exposition-Development-Climax model which is further reﬁned by the addition of what are termed Subsidiary Forces (Catalysts, Stabilizers, Divine, Societal / Environmental, Mental and Miscellaneous Forces; these are given either a Positive or Negative polarity depending on whether they decrease or increase tension within the libretto). Each sample opera is now graphically depicted as a series of interactive structural devices whose cumulative dramatic effect can be precisely measured. The outcome of such an analysis is to show a remarkable degree of similarity in both narrative techniques and dramatic intensity between otherwise dissimilar works.

(NB Part Three is currently being revised and will appear in Academia once this revision is completed)

Part Three, Italian Opera Production, 1890-1920: A Statistical Survey contains details of all performed and unperformed Italian operas (i.e. those set to original Italian libretti by both Italian and foreign composers and librettists either staged or completed during the period 1 January 1890 to 31 December 1920 (almost 900 works in all). Data has been tabulated by computer under the following headings (full details of each are to be found in Part Three, together with a more extensive summary of the overall aims of the volume):

Section One: Master Catalogue

Section Two: Composer Catalogue

Section Three: Librettist Catalogue

Section Four: Source Catalogue

Section Five: Genre Catalogue

Section Six: General Chronology

Section Seven: Act Analysis

Section Eight: Statistical Analysis

Two further sections list a general bibliography for the entire thesis together with technical information on the methods used to compile Part Three.