Parola Scenica: Towards Realism in Italian Opera Etdhendrik Johannes Paulus Du Plessis
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Parola Scenica: Towards Realism in Italian Opera ETDHendrik Johannes Paulus du Plessis A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD by Thesis Abstract This thesis attempts to describe the emergence of a realistic writing style in nine- teenth-century Italian opera of which Giuseppe Verdi was the primary architect. Frequently reinforced by a realistic musico-linguistic device that Verdi would call parola scenica, the object of this realism is a musical syntax in which nei- ther the dramatic intent of the text nor the purely musical intent overwhelms the other. For Verdi the dramatically effective depiction of a ‘slice of a particular life’—a realist theatrical notion—is more important than the mere mimetic description of the words in musical terms—a romantic theatrical notion in line with opera seria. Besides studying the device of parola scenica in Verdi’s work, I also attempt to cast light on its impact on the output of his peers and successors. Likewise, this study investigates how the device, by definition texted, impacts on the orchestra as a means of realist narrative. My work is directed at explaining how these changes in mood of thought were instrumental in effecting the gradual replacement of the bel canto singing style typical of the opera seria of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, by the school of thought of verismo, as exemplified by Verdi’s experiments. Besides the work of Verdi and the early nineteenth-cen- tury Italian operatic Romanticists, I touch also briefly on the œuvres of Puccini, ETDGiordano and the other veristi. Declaration I declare that this thesis is my own work. It is submitted for the degree of PhD by Thesis in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted before for any other degree or examination in any other university. H J P du Plessis This seventeenth day of December, 2007 2 Acknowledgements It is impossible to acknowledge everyone who contributed in some positive way to this research, and many deserve unreserved appreciation. I am most grateful to the staff of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), especially my line management, who generously allowed me to spend time on this project, provided it did not clash with my daily tasks. I thank the SABC Reference Library for making available to me its entire compact disc collection. Suzette Jansen van Rensburg, Assistant Librarian at the Inter Library Loans Desk in the University of the Witwatersrand’s Wartenweiler Library, also deserves a word of thanks for regularly and swiftly obtaining for me rarely read manuscripts. I am indebted to Elsa Burger and Grant Tanner of the SABC’s Print Centre for printing and binding as this project developed. Translations in the text are my own unless otherwise noted, and special thanks must go to Prof. Grazia Weinberg of the University of South Africa, who clarified the principles of Italian versification to which I adhere. Dorothy van Tonder proof-read an advanced draft of the copy, and I am grateful to her for consolidating language and style. I also need to thank Dr. Eberhard Künkel and James O’Donoghue for reading proofs while I was compiling my findings. Dr. Susan Rutherford of the University of Manchester made extremely valuable comments and suggestions when this project and its author were at a particularly low ebb, always observing the correct protocol, and for this I can- not adequately thank her. Her comments were lucid, focused, and supportive. I also owe Prof. Dr. Angelo Gobbato of the University of Cape Town a vote of thanks for his positive comments. Prof. Merle Williams of the University of the ETDWitwatersrand was genuinely compassionate when I faced great difficulties in the concluding stages of this research, and Prof. Gerrit Olivier, also from the University of the Witwatersrand, made final highly appreciated insightful com- ments to bring this text to this, its final version. I am also indebted to Prof. David Lawton of Sunny Brook, New York, for sending me his vocal score of Stiffelio before the Kathleen Kuzmick Hansell Urtext was published in 2003. I am sin- cerely grateful to Prof. Roger Parker of Cambridge for valuable insights and for recognizing the potential in my topic, as I am to Dr. Sue van Zyl and Prof. Jane Taylor of the University of the Witwatersrand. My thoughts go to my parents who supported me throughout my undergradu- ate studies and beyond. Finally, I cannot adequately acknowledge the support of my partner Kobus Jacobs while I worked on this project—an endeavour that cut across six years, between 2002 and 2007—to the exclusion of most things domestic. He also helped to make ends meet in funding this study. 3 Contents Abstract 2 Chapter 3 98 Declaration 2 Problems of theatrical signification in 98 ‘programme’ music Acknowledgements 3 Overtures and interludes: programmatic 99 Contents 4 interpretation of a text Foreshadowing parola scenica without words 109 List of Illustrations 5 Musico-dramatic narrative ‘senza parole’ 112 Preface 7 Untexted parola scenica 118 Preamble 7 The orchestra in general 121 Realism in literature, and on the dramatic 8 Parola scenica in the orchestra 123 and lyric stage Chapter 4 127 Parola scenica: on the cusp 9 between text and music Verdi’s operatic heritage in focus, 128 The way forward 11 The Verdian operatic narrative Parola scenica: Verdi’s experiments after Paris 133 Chapter 1 14 Verdi takes up parola scenica as musical 145 Problems of Realism 14 ‘ground zero.’ Realism or realism: a phenomenon with a 17 Close readings from the third stylistic period 148 dual nature Don Carlos Classical Realism: its sources in nineteenth- 20 Close readings from the third stylistic period 156 century literature and theatre Aida Musical and operatic Realism/Naturalism: 23 some terminological issues Chapter 5 193 Verdi and operatic realism 26 ‘Parola scenica made music . ’ 193 Parola scenica 32 Is it, or is it not parola scenica? 198 Verdi and parola scenica 34 The final word on Verdi: comparatively speaking 206 Parola scenica: setting up opportunities for 36 Parola scenica and the veristi 213 dramatic narrative intent Giordano: ‘Viva Robespierre!’, Andrea Chénier 215 Parola scenica: economy of means 46 Juxtaposing narrative and description: 220 The narrative process: audience involvement, 51 operatic jump-cut. multi-spatiality and the inner space; Chapter 6 237 defamiliarization Conclusion 244 I: Audience involvement 52 Post scriptum 245 II: Multi-spatiality 53 II: ‘The artistic inner space’ 55 Table of References 247 ETDIV: Estrangement 56 Chapter 2 59 Problems of libretto, storytelling and narrative 59 The mélodrame 60 An inter-textual comparison between 62 Donizetti and Verdi The Italian librettist as dramatist: artisan versus 73 artist The Verdian libretto as drama 76 Verdi, libretto and theatre 78 Narrative intent to serve artist and public 81 Stiffelio and the Verdian narrative 83 Traversing the literary text 92 4 5: List of illustrations Chapter 1 1.1: ‘Che è ciò?’ from Act I La traviata 29 1.2: ‘Deus meus’ from Act IV La battaglia di Legnano 40 1.3: ‘Liberamente or piangi . sfrenati, o cor’ from Act I of Attila 43 1.4: Using parola scenica to simulate the spoken voice 45 1.5: ‘Fu la sorte dell’armi a ‘tuoi funesta’ from Act II Scene 1 of Aida 47 Chapter 2 2.1: Inno delle Nazioni: extract 90 2.2: ‘Oh qual m’invida ed agita’ from Act I of Stiffelio 95 Chapter 3 3.1: Prelude to Macbeth 102 3.2: Fenella’s ‘speech’ in La Muette de Portici 110 3.3: Choir of people in La Muette de Portici 111 3.4 Onomatopoeic gestures in Rigoletto 113 3.5 Extract from the storm in Aroldo 114 3.6 Extract from Schubert’s Erlkönig 119 3.7 Opening bars from ‘Eri tu’ in Un ballo in maschera 120 Chapter 4 4.1: Extract of parola scenica as opposed to recitative in Stiffelio 138 4.2 (a) and (b) Stiffelio’s Act I Scene 10 themes 140 4.3: The ‘Plaudiam’ chorus in Stiffelio 141 4.4: Extract from ‘Fontainebleu!’, Don Carlos 149 4.5: ‘Le cerf s’enfuit sous la ramure’ from Act I of Don Carlos. 150 4.6: ‘Le bruit du cor’ from Don Carlos 150 4.7: ‘Fontainebleau!’ from Don Carlos 150 4.8: Extract from ‘Fontainebleu!’, Don Carlos 151 ETD4.9 ‘Le bruit du cor’ from Don Carlos 151 4.10: ‘De quels transports’ from Don Carlos 151 4.11: The love theme in Don Carlos, and how it mutates 151 4.12(a) & (b): Ordinary and obscured stress patterns in simple quadruple time 154 4.13: ‘Fontainebleau!’ from Don Carlos 155 4.14: A caesura in thought, and a break in the action 156 4.15: Prelude to Aida (Budden 1981: 199) 157 4.16(a) & (b): Motives in Aida (Budden 1981; Abbate & Parker 1989) 157 4.17: ‘Celeste Aida’ from Act I Scene 1 of Aida 158 4.18: Scena e Concertante from Act I Scene 1 of Aida 158 4.19: ‘Si, corre voce’ from Act I of Aida 159 4.20: ‘Celeste Aida’ from Act I of Aida 160 4.21: ‘Quale insolita gioia’ from Act I of Aida 161 4.22: Motives from Aida (Abbate & Parker 1989: 224) 161 4.23: Cross-referencing of Aida themes (Abbate & Parker 1989: 226) 162 4.24: End of the ‘Dance of the Little Moors’ 164 5 4.25: Act II duet between Aida and Amneris 165 4.26: Amneris concluding her first speech 166 4.27: Amneris tries to force Aida to admit to her relationship with Radamès 168 4.28: Amneris gets Aida to speak of her ‘love interest’ 169 4.29: Amneris’ interrogation continues 172 4.30: A mixture of styles 173 4.31: Verdi’s preparation for parola scenica to follow 174 4.32: The start of the duet proper between Aida and Amneris 175 4.33: Thematic derivation in