Puccini's Love Duets and the Unfolding of Time
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 9-2016 Puccini’s Love Duets and the Unfolding of Time Kae Fujisawa The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1564 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] PUCCINI’S LOVE DUETS AND THE UNFOLDING OF TIME by KAE FUJISAWA A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2016 ii © 2016 KAE FUJISAWA All Rights Reserved iii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Music to satisfy the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. L. Poundie Burstein Date Chair of Examining Committee Norman Carey Date Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Allan W. Atlas Ruth I. DeFord Barbara Russano Hanning THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iv ABSTRACT PUCCINI’S LOVE DUETS AND THE UNFOLDING OF TIME by Kae Fujisawa Adviser: Professor Allan W. Atlas This dissertation examines the twenty love duets that appear in the operas of Giacomo Puccini (1858•1924). More specifically, it analyzes the ways in which Puccini manipulates poetrydrama and music to create a naturalistic unfolding of “amorous emotions.” The analysis draws upon two models: (1) the solita forma de' duetti, the structural prototype for the nineteenth-century Italian opera duet; and (2) Henri Bergson's philosophy of time, which centers around the durée – a personally•experienced, elastic unfolding of evolving feelings – and the enhanced “becoming” endurance of the élan vital. The solita forma provides the structural framework for my assessment of Puccini’s creative development. Bergson’s concepts of time provides an aestheticexperiential framework through which to illuminate Puccini’s constant quest for a naturalistic emotional•temporal unfolding. This study unfold in four stages. (1) I review the origins and transformation of the solita forma, explain Bergson’s philosophy of time, and argue for their being appropriate analytical frameworks for approaching Puccini’s love duets. (2) I explore changes in the dramatic content of the duets in reference to the fin•de•siècle moral controversy between the politics of “respectability” and the prohibited yet growing interest in “free passion.” (3) Turning to the v poetic texts, I examine the verbal leitmotives in the duets in terms of their evocation of Bergsonian liberation from the real world and the related psychological slowing down of time. I then discuss the increasing fluidity and structural complexity of the texts with reference to the solita forma convention, the characteristics of the durée, and three dramatic parameters: the characters, their relationships, and their dramatic situations. (4) I address Puccini’s musical realization of the poetic•dramatic content as an emotional•temporal unfolding, surveying the variety and range of meter, tempo, and key, as well as the macro•tonal structures in both the individual duets and the three sets of interrelated duets. Finally, I offer analyses of the Act IV love duet of Edgar (1889), the Act I love duet of La bohème (1896), and the paired Act I and II love duets of La fanciulla del West (1910), always with reference to the solita forma convention and Bergson’s philosophy of time. In all, this multivalent analysis of Puccini’s love duets reveals his artistic quest for and “progress” towards the living representation of a drama of emotions and illuminates not only the composer’s keen poeticdramatic sensibility, but also his profound understanding of the human experience of time. vi To Mieko and Masatoshi Fujisawa vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Long ago, in a small northern town in Japan, I heard “Un bel dì vedremo” from Madama Butterfly for the first time on the radio. It was love at “first sound,” and the affair soon encompassed all of Puccini’s operas. The past five-plus years, which I have devoted to writing about his love duets, have been one big Bergsonian moment, one in which I have been gladly lost. I was able to complete this journey because of the warm support of many people. First, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my advisor, Prof. Allan Atlas. I applied for the Music Program at The Graduate Center in order to take his course on Puccini’s operas. Unfortunately, he never offered it during my course work. Instead, I had the great privilege to have him as my advisor. He accepted my ambitious exploration of Puccini’s love duets, keeping an open mind about my ideas about the solita forma and Bergson’s philosophy of time. His keen criticism and thoughtful guidance helped me reshape and construct my arguments. His detailed notations helped refine my text. His patience, warm encouragement, and rapid feedback kept me going. Without his generous support, this dissertation would not have been completed. I also would like to express my deep gratitude to my committee members, all three of whom contributed to this dissertation by nurturing my interests about emotional-temporal aspects of opera. Prof. Poundie Burstein inspired me with his enthusiasm for matters concerning musical form. I especially appreciate his acceptance of the committee chairmanship notwithstanding his busy schedule. Through her seminar on Renaissance music theory, Prof. Ruth DeFord opened my eyes to the significance of both metrical narrative and the manipulation of time in musical viii works. Prof. Barbara Hanning introduced me to the analysis of Italian opera texts and the profound interrelationship between text and music. Another great contributor is my editor, Rebekka Gold, who was the first person to read my drafts. With her special gift of understanding the thoughts behind the lines, she helped me express myself in English. Her questions and criticism also helped me reshape my arguments. Our shared love for opera often lead us to heated conversations, which always spiced up my spirit. I appreciate greatly Alan Konefsky’s moral support and advice and the encouragement of Kaori Fujisawa, Miwako Fujii, Sunyoung Kim, Meabae Lee, Tonia Passwater, Andrew Pau, David Pearson, Alan Richtmyer, and Cynthia Wong. I also would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of my professors, colleagues, and other friends, who granted me intellectual inspiration and generous support. Finally, I would like to say an enormous “ありがとう!” (“Thank you!”) to my parents, who accepted my pursuit of musicology in a remote country and supported me with their unconditional love throughout my journey. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………………xiii List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………....xv List of Examples………………………………………………………………………………...xvi Introduction………………………………………………………………...……………..….......1 Chapter 1: The Italian Duet, 1820s-1890s; the solita forma de’ duetti and its Transformation……....……………………………….....18 1. The Standardization of the solita forma de’ duetti………………………………………...19 2. Development and “Dissolution” of the solita forma de’ duetti….………...………….…...29 3.1. Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto: Osiride-Elcia, “Ah, se puoi così lasciarmi” (Act I).....….........37 3.2. Verdi’s Rigoletto: Gilda and the Duke, “Signor né principe io lo vorrei” (Act I)….........41 3.3. Leoncavallo’s I pagliacci: Nedda and Silvio, “Decidi il mio destin” (Act I)...............….45 Chapter 2: Puccini’s Love Duets and a New Philosophical View of Temporality…………51 1. The Standardization of Time and its Impact………...………….……….…………….......52 2. Kant’s Philosophy of Time……..….….……...………….………………………………...53 3. Bergson’s Philosophy of Time...….………...………….………………………………......56 4. The Impact of Bergson’s durée during the fin de siècle…..…………………………….…61 5. Bergson’s Philosophy of Time as an Analytical Framework for Puccini’s Love Duets………………...………………………………………………….…65 x Chapter 3: Dramatic Aspects of the Duet Texts………………………….…………..............68 1. Librettists and Literary Sources…….…...…………….………...........................................69 2. Fin-de-siècle Moral Controversy: Respectability and Free Passion……...…………..........73 3. Lovers in Puccini’s Operas and the Consequences of Love…...…...……….......................76 4. Dramatic Categories in the Love Duets…...…........….………............................................85 5. Temporal and Spatial Settings……………………….……….............................................90 Chapter 4: Verbal Leitmotives………………………….………............................................103 Chapter 5: Structural Organization of the Texts (Libretti) ………………………..………121 1. Methodology………….………….……….........................................................................122 2. Overview of the Large-Scale Duet Structures....................................................................125 3. The Evolution of Textual Fluidity, Asymmetry, and Complexity......................................131 3.1. Chronological Expansion of Poetic Meters................. .............................................131 3.2. Chronological Development of Intra-Sectional Structural Complexity.....................136 4. “Hidden” scena and cabalette – a cabaletta Duet…..........................................................146 5. Five Love Duets Embodying Increasing Structural