Cavalleria Rusticana

I liked it, in particular the religious scene around the half hour and so on (it will be called that) towards the 53 minutes

thallo wrote:

Notice how Wikipedia doesn't speak at all about the music... the "historical" value of Cavalleria Rusticana has always been limited to the fact that it is considered the first opera of the "verismo" genre. The libretto, as is well known, is based on a novella by Verga. But musically, what is verismo?

In reality, I don't know, and musicologists have never particularly killed themselves trying to explain it...

... but you must rise above it

Jokes aside, even if you don't like it, I would at least speak of the transition from the novella to the drama and the skillful scenic transcoding elaborated for the "new audience."

Apropos of this last thing, I recall that anthropological and customary elements of certain interest to a non-Sicilian audience converge in this novella, guaranteeing Verga the opportunity to continue his work of disseminating Sicilian culture.

That being said, in the novella, the lives of the characters and the episodes fell into a rigid logic innate to the collective mentality, regulated by economic laws that determined the protagonists' attitudes and the flow of events:

- Turiddu's abandonment by Lola for Alfio was motivated by the latter's prosperity, and the relationship transformed into the struggle of the poor against the property owner

- gna’ Lola, who loved to show off hands adorned with "large gold rings" received as gifts from her husband, triggered Turiddu's retaliation, as he sought to court Santuzza, daughter of the "massaro Cola […] rich as a pig"

Practically speaking, fates were conditioned by "property" (la roba)

The drama, instead:

- shadows some elements and brings others to the foreground that in the narrative form were merely accessory

- portrays a typical situation experienced by characters of the humblest classes but with all those behaviors of the bourgeois classes

It is no longer economics that regulates relationships, but love and jealousy—the burning passions that piqued the most curiosity

Substantially, the transition from narrative to theater had changed the "economic connotation" into one of a "psychological-sentimental" type, more responsive to the expectations of the audience.

In the novella, the driving motive was given by Turiddu's story and things were observed from his point of view; in the drama, everything declines in favor of Santuzza, who fills the scene with her presence, which Verga paints as a pathetic creature, a victim of capricious situations caused by others, contributing to attracting sympathies toward her (aided also by the mastery and protagonism of Duse, even if almost a debutante, an actress of great prestige).

Even if, in Capuana's judgment (we all know who that is?), comparing Duse's interpretation with that of an improvised actress from a traveling company, Duse's Santuzza was less authentic, "falsified in gestures, in the expression of the voice"; the traveling actress's interpretation, on the other hand, provided the image of an authentic Santuzza, with truthful language, without flaws or misplaced intonations.

I know it's not much, but I hope it's a good starting point.

It would be nice to talk about the Verismo Melodrama in relation to the Choruses, the Dramatic Dialogues, and the Arias...."}

There are others who, during the Verismo period, wrote "Verist" operas. Clearly only this one is known, but beneath the ashes there are many forgotten or even tarnished operas. One day perhaps we will also have news of other musicians contemporary to Puccini or Mascagni, of the same caliber or perhaps better. In the meantime, everything has depended on the promotional activity of the publishing houses... We only know what they wanted us to know.

raffaeleb wrote:

There are others who during the Verismo period wrote "Verismo" operas. Clearly only this one is known, but beneath the ashes there are many

... so I think the time has come to mention something and someone, visual and audio links are welcome

Am I mistaken, or is there also a movie on the subject?

Frank wrote:

Essentially, the transition from narrative to theater had changed the "economic connotation" into a "psychological-sentimental" type that was more responsive to the audience's expectations.

which is then the reason why I have many doubts about the definition of "verismo opera"... or rather, about the definition normally given to verismo opera, namely an 'opera of... verismo theme.' The verismo theme is only a starting point in verismo opera. The language changes radically (the libretto of Cavalleria as well as that of Pigliacci, for example, is as far from verismo as it gets....), materialistic social themes do not exist, the forms are almost never touched (arias, choruses, duets, everything remains intact), only an extremization of certain elements that were already widely present in Verdi remains.

It would be nice to speak of Verismo Melodrama in relation to Choruses, Dramatic Dialogues and Arias....

in this light, I relink "Il cavallo scalpita," the aria with chorus by Alfio

something begins to be heard that Mascagni uses throughout the entire opera. In its first entries, the chorus sings more or less in sections; the men sing "oh che bel mestiere" and the women perform vocalises responding to Alfio. When the climax increases, everyone enters, but in a sort of canonical structure, with staggered entries. It wouldn't be anything new, if it weren't for the fact that some sing the same text (oh che bel mestiere fare il carrettiere), and therefore there is a kind of echo effect. The same effect occurs in many moments of the Regina Coeli, which then continues with Santuzza's aria "inneggiamo, il Signor non è morto"

... I am providing different links also to let you know different interpretations...

I have always taken this echo effect as an irony of a "verismo" people who are not always able to keep time :-) anyone who has ever participated in a village procession knows that a similar effect happens quite often...

But I want to push my own agenda by telling you something.

This is one of the most appreciated pieces of the opera, perhaps even one of the most engaging ones. The history of Italian opera is overflowing with prayers, but normally the group prayer is "used" by the soprano in turn to talk about her problems, as a lyrical-mystical moment, let's say. Here Santuzza only has the role of soloist; she does nothing more, she doesn't even change the text...

Listen instead to La Forza del Destino...

... one of the examples that also makes it clear how Tebaldi HELD HER OWN in comparison with Callas"}{

Open content (youtube)

Open content (youtube)

Open content (youtube)

Other verismo works...

"I Pagliacci" by Ruggero Leoncavallo is practically the only other verismo opera in the repertoire.

Some claim that Giordano's "Andrea Chenier" and "Fedora" are verismo works, but that is nonsense.

There are other verismo works by Mascagni ("Silvano") and Leoncavallo ("Gli zingari"), by Umberto Giordano ("Mala vita"), and by the almost unknown today Antonio Smareglia ("Nozze istriane"). All of them are impossible to find on Italian stages.

...nice topic

Tiger wrote:

Am I wrong or is there also a film on the subject?

1982 film, directed by director Franco Zeffirelli

Some info:

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalleria_rusticana_%28film_1982%29

Precisely, being unknown, they have now remained only on paper.

In my town's library a while ago I found a reduction for piano and singers of an opera published by Ricordi.

"It seemed like a tiny matchstick but instead it was an atomic bomb", so the expert on this musician told me, who has dedicated his life to digging through the many libraries of Milan and Venice finding material that would make one shudder. But I will link you the site.

As I was telling you, much more s...t was thrown at this southern composer compared to Leoncavallo. Except that Leoncavallo fled to France and then returned, while he fled to America and stayed there.

http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Floridia,_Pietro

Let's always go slow with these things, eh :-) it is right to be wary of sensational discoveries. In the first '900s there was a lot of well-made and successful music, but it is normal that some things remain and others are forgotten. It is not the multinationals or the politicians who decide it; look, it is wrong to take it out on those who throw sh*t. Let's also remember that during that period someone was writing The Rite of Spring, someone else Pelleas et Melisande, and someone else still Wozzeck...

But always during that period, Manon Lescaut, La Bohème, La Fanciulla del West, etc., were being written.

Anyway you are right, there are A-list and B-list musicians. Perhaps that period was the "end of the championship" and so let's say that the last player in the end was the one who caused the end of the Verismo opera... namely, Italian opera.

I have a few questions:

Mascagni was a great composer or the composer of only one "great opera"... namely Cavalleria Rusticana?

Can we consider him a composer of international prominence, or do we limit his work as an expression of "Verismo in music"?

Is it true that there are hypotheses regarding the fact that his "oblivion" (of Mascagni) after Cavalleria Rusticana may be linked to the fact that he didn't actually write it himself?

He is not the only composer who is remembered for a single work

Sorry for the long absences...

I'm responding quickly, without too much research, so if I miss the mark, tell me, so I can adjust my aim.

Mascagni was a successful composer. He went everywhere, went on famous tours in the United States, wrote many other works, including operettas, film music, and chamber arias—all material that earned him a lot of money. This means that historically, his role was FUNDAMENTAL. The problem is that musicologists are basically music historians but tend to be critics above all... this means you tend to evaluate the historical role ALONGSIDE the aesthetic value of the works. Put that way, there are Mascagni's contemporaries who wrote much more interesting and problematic operas. It is difficult to evaluate the role of time on art, but it is a fact that Berg TODAY has many pieces in the repertoire, despite being little considered in his time, whereas for Mascagni only Cavalleria is performed. Anyone who thinks that "pleasant" music is more successful than "problematic" music should go see L'Amico Fritz, a very boring opera by Mascagni, performed practically only in Italy today.

This division between art and history does not simplify things but complicates them. Because Mascagni, like many other composers of that period, certainly has dark sides that we do not know. I'll give you a striking example: up until 20 years ago, Liszt was considered just a virtuoso; today he is considered a genius of composition because someone went and analyzed his non-piano works... It is possible that Mascagni wrote very interesting things that we today consider secondary because, for lack of a better term, they are not performed or played. Only time and studies will be able to make us understand if Mascagni was a man of a single opera or something more (artistically speaking, because historically he is fundamental).

For those who might be interested, I am dusting off this old topic

http://www.operadifirenze.it/events/cavalleria-rusticana-la-luce-nel-tempo/?gclid=CNfS86OBwcECFQPMtAodUVwA2g

En passant...

thallo wrote:

which is also the reason why I have many doubts about the definition of "verismo opera"... or rather, about the definition normally given to verismo opera,

I think that it is - or remains - extremely difficult to give a definition of this musical aesthetic. I think the most sensible answer was given by René Leibowitz: it is above all a choice of subjects. One can define Verismo Opera as being created based on a libretto that deals with "everyday" events (preferably contemporary), that is, simple and "true" events without the slightest intention of stylization intervening.

And precisely because of this difficulty in defining a 'verismo opera,' I find that your statement, Claudio:

thallo wrote:

Some claim that Giordano's "Andrea Chénier" and "Fedora" are verismo operas, but it is nonsense.

is both shareable and not shareable at the same time, although I am more inclined toward sharing it.

Let me try to explain myself: I cannot think that so many very important pens of musical criticism and historiography - starting with Rubens Tedeschi who, among other things, absolutely does not love verismo opera, even though he has just turned 100: best wishes my beloved music critic - have said and written nonsense; instead, I think there was, more likely, a lack of deeper analysis of post-Verdian works: which resulted in everything being thrown into one big melting pot, this is true, from which emerges, - and rightly so, - only the gigantic figure of Puccini.

thallo wrote:

It is possible that Mascagni wrote very interesting things that we today consider secondary because, for better or worse, they are not performed or played. Only time and studies will be able to make us understand if Mascagni was a man of a single opera or something more (artistically speaking, because historically it is fundamental)

On this point, I would quite easily put my hand in the fire: Mascagni was a composer of one opera and... a few pieces and arias here and there. But nothing more!

I don't know if I said it explicitly in previous comments, but I don't like Cavalleria... I consider it unbalanced... These days I am preparing Les Contes d'Hoffmann with the choir and there is an impressive compositional wisdom. It will surely also be a matter of aesthetic choices, but Mascagni, qualitatively speaking, is a second-tier composer to me...

Last night at La Scala, Cavalleria rusticana was insulted. Unimaginable. And frankly, it seems to me that Kaufmann's cancellation was the minor problem, given that evil genius holding the baton. Whatever one thinks of opera, to even ruin the Intermezzo requires conducting and musical skills that are quite out of the ordinary