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The Best the House Could Afford: Critical Reaction to Rossini's Il

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The Best the House Could Afford: Critical Reaction to Rossini's Il National Library Bibliothèque nationaie 1*1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, nie Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Lïbrary of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or seil reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la fonne de microfiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or othemise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author' s ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. 'The best the house could afford': Critical Reaction to Rossini's i7 6aYbiet-e di Siviglia at the King's Theae, 18 18-1 83 0 Megan M. Paterson Facuity of Music Submitted in partiai Wlrnent of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Faculty of Graduate Studies The Universiv of Western Ontario London, Ontario October, 1999 O Megan M. Paterson 1999 ABSTRACT As one of the most popular fonns of entertainment in London in the early nineteenth century, ItaIian opera drew enthusiasric crowds to the King's Theatre and elicited much critical response fiom the press. This thesis uivestigates the reception of Rossini's l7 barbiere di Siviglia between 18 18 and 183 0. Period literature reveais an overwheiming preoccupation with the attributes of foreign singers, especially their style of ornamentation, and this thesis places II barbiere within the critical milieu of the time. Keywords: Rossini, II barbiere, England, London, King's Theatre, Italian opera, critics, singers, reception, ornamentation. ACKNO WLEDGMENTS Several people have been insmentd in the completion of my thesis. Foremost, 1 wodd like to thank my advisor, Dr. Robert Toft, for his guidance, invaluable insights, and continued encouragement. 1 would dso like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Richard Semmens for his attentive reading and constructive input. 1 am indebted to the staffat the University of Western Ontario Music Library, particularly Lisa Philpott, for their help and persistence in fmding sources that seemed impossible to locate. 1am grateful for the support and patience of rny fiïends and family. With deepest appreciation 1 thank Jeff Ross, Greg Dorter, and Catherine Irvine for their meticdous editing of dr&s upon drafts of rny work and specid thanks to Catherine for her kindness and diligence in preparing the ilhstrative material for uiis thesis. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Certificate of examination Abstract Acknowledgernents Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction The Propriety of English Journalism Growth of the Press Kinds and Foms of Publications Content and Quality of the Musical Coverage Audiences at the King's Theatre Reviews of Italian Opera Chapter 2 'Submitted to the Judgement of an English Audience' Rossini and il barbiere under English Scrutiny Reception of the première and initial reactions to Rossini Subsequent Response to Rossini and II barbiere Chapter 3 'Exninent Singers' Reception of the Singers Involved in the Première Notable Singers in the Revivals Chapter 4 'At dl costs the English public shodd not be bored' Celebrated Nurnbers " Our old fnends" Excessive Length Rossini the 'Mannerist' 'Barbarous additions' Chapter 5 'Meretricious Ornament' P~ciplesof Singing Sontag's Tastehl Flondity: cc Una voce poco Fa" Conclusion Appendix 1 Announcement Notices in the Dailies for IZ barbiere di SivigZiu Appendix 2 List of Seasonal Performances and Role Assignations Appendix 3 Cornparison between perforniances of Mozart and Rossini operas Appendix 4 Mlle Sontag's published embellishments for "Una voce poco fà" Vita CHAPTER ONE Introduction Musicologists continue to strive for a deeper understanding of the performance and reception of early-nineteenth-century Italian opera. Much has been written about the performances of this repertory on the continent, but few scholars have focused on the King's Theatre in London, one of the most significant centres for Italian opera outside Italy.' nie English public adored foreign spectacle, and the management of the King's theatre, dthough working under severe fmancid restrictions, procured some of the frnest continental singers in hopes that performers iike Angelica Catalani (1780-1849), Manuel Garcia (1 775- 1833), and Henrietta Sontag (1 806- L 854) would fil1 the house. Edrnund Waters (fi- 1805- 1 825) and John Ebers (1 785-1 83U), who rnanaged the theatre between 1815 and 1 828, staged works by &heEnglish public's favourite cornposers of Italian opera, Mozart, Rossini, Paisiello, Cimarosa, and Paer, and although these managers furnished the best productions they couid Bord, they were unsuccessfid in keeping the theatre fiom bankmptcy.' Curiously, little scholarship has been devoted to the performance and reception of operas by these composers, although in this regard Mozart ' Ernanuele Senici, "'Adapted to the modem stage': La clernenza di Tito in London," Cambridge aperaJournal7, no.1 (1995): 4. ' For penod accounts of the serious manageriai probIems that plagued the theatre and burdened it with bankruptcies, see John Ebers, Seven Years of the King's Theatre (London, l828), Michad KeIly, Reminiscences of Michael Kelly, of the King S Theatre and Theatre Royal Drury Lane, including a period ofnearfy halfa cenhrry; with original anecdotes of many distinguished persons, political, licerary, and musical, vol2 (London: Henry Colbum, 1826), and " A Statement of the Matters relative to the King's Theatre," Quarteriy Musical Magazine and Review: 1 8 1 8,239-63. has fared better thm others? Rossini, however, despite the considerable number of performances of his operas in London at the beginning of the nineteenth century, has been neglected. The first of his operas to appear on the London stage was II barbiere di Siviglia (1O March 18 18). This thesis investigates the reception both Rossini and i7 barbiere received in London between 18 18 and 1830, &er which tirne discussion of the opera in the musical press declines precipitously- An examination of the principles that guided and ïnfluenced reception in this city will increase our understanding not only of contemporary opera conventions as a whole, but also of the issues that were important to early-nineteenth- century English audiences. Penod literature, including newspapers, magazines, journais, and amateur accounts, foms the documentary base of the study. The eariy nineteenth century witnessed a flourishing of music criticism, and the musical press repiarly reviewed the operas appearing on the London stage. Reviews fiom these periodicals provide a weaith of information on such matters as the operas themseIves, composers, singers, staging, orchestras, and audience reactions. Of the existing secondary literature, twû studies on opera and the English musical press by Theodore Fenner are particularly significant.' Fenner catalogues all performances between 1785 and 1830 and provides a fairly accurate List of the reviews published for the premières, as well as subsequent revivais. Beyond Fenner, research on See, for example, Senici, " 'Adapted to the modern stage"' and Rachel CowgiIl, " Re-gendering the Libertine; or, the Taming of the Rake: Lucy Vestris as Don Giovanni on the early nineteenth-century London stage," Cambridge Opera Journal 10, no. 1 (1998): 45-66. See Theodore Fenner, Leigh Hunt and Opera Criticism: The "Examiner" Yeats 1808-1821 (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1 972) and Fenner, Opera in London: VÎews ofthe Press 1 785-2830 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1994). specific aspects of opera in England has been undertaken by Ernanuele Senici and Rachel Cowgill (see note 3). In order to achieve an accurate understanding of early nineteenth-century opera criticism, one must appreciate the flexibility of operatic composition and production. In the early nineteenth century, the 'work' simply could not reside in the printed score alone. For example, singers, not composers, controlled the final shaping of roles, and other aspects of the operatic event such as set design, costumes, action, and so on were not included in the score. Libretti offer some help in this regard, but the incomplete annotations render them deficient for my purposes. It was customary for operatic roles to be written for specific singers, and Rossini origuldy fashioned the music for Il barbiere to accommodate the vocal capabilities of his Roman cast, which inchded Manuel Garcia, Signora Rhigetti-Giorgi, and Luigi am boni.' However, an integral aspect of Italian operatic performances involved the alteration of roles-through interpolations and embellishments-to suit the specific singer. Thus, details of performances of a particular opera differed from season-to-season or even night-to-night.' The various versions that resulted, while not necessarily reflecting Rossini's conception, are valuable for what they reveai about contemporary Rossini's contract for If barbiere stipulates that he agreed to make whatever changes were required or desired: "Maestro Rossini must set to music according to the qualities and convenience of the singers, obliging himself also to make where needed a11 those alterations necessary either to ensure the good reception of the music or to meet the circumstances and convenience of those same singers , at the simple request of the Impresario, because so it must be and no other way etc." See Rossini, Gioachino. Ii barbiere di Siviglia: Fucsimik of the Aurograph [email protected] a preface by Philip Gossett, Bologna: Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale, 1993. Gossett provides a transiation of the contract. This was especially the case at the King's Theatre where singers and managers customarily adapted operas to fit the Company and the taste of the public during that season.
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