Giacomo Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi: Reinventing Dante for Social Criticism Michiko Hara Italian Studies Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures McGill University December 2017 Thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Arts © Michiko Hara 2017 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT – RÉSUMÉ ………………………………………………………….. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS …………………………………………………………. vi INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………... 1 1. Historical Context ……………………………………………………………... 5 1.1. Puccini’s Youth ………………………………………………………….. 5 1.2. The Private Life as a Maestro ………………………………………….. 8 1.3. Puccini in the Italian Context …………………………………………... 10 1.4. Puccini, Dante and Italianità …………………………………………… 12 1.5 Puccini’s Political Ideology ……………………………………………... 20 1.5.1. Puccini’s Nationalism …………………………………………… 20 1.5.2. Puccini and Fascism …………………………………………….. 23 2. Gianni Schicchi and Its Enigma ……………………………………………… 27 2.1. From Dante to Puccini ………………………………………………….. 27 2.1.1. Dante’s Gianni Schicchi: A Brief Excursus …………………… 29 2.1.2 The Genesis of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi ……………………… 35 2.2 Musicality in Gianni Schicchi …………………………………………... 38 2.3. Gianni Schicchi: Epitome of Florentine Society ………………………. 41 2.4. Departures from Dante …………………………………………………. 51 2.5. The Reception of Gianni Schicchi ……………………………………… 55 3. Puccini’s Personal Voice ………………………………………………………. 58 3.1. Gianni Schicchi as an Integral Part of Il Trittico ……………………… 58 3.2. Gianni Schicchi in the Context of Puccini’s Oeuvre …………………... 61 3.3. Puccini’s Authorship ……………………………………………………. 65 CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………………… 69 BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………………… 75 i ABSTRACT Giacomo Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, a one-act opera forming part of his trilogy called Il Trittico, received its world premiere in New York on December 14, 1918. Schicchi is a character that Dante Alighieri, approximately six hundred years earlier, condemned to Hell in his Commedia, more precisely in Canto XXX of the Inferno, for having impersonated the deceased Buoso Donati and successfully falsified the latter’s will. Surprisingly, Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi is a comedy with a happy ending and the impersonator Schicchi, one of Dante’s worst sinners, becomes a hero. Why did Puccini, known to be a cosmopolitan xenophile, choose Dante at this particular time? In fact, it is Puccini’s only opera based on an Italian source and the only opera buffa or comedy in his entire oeuvre. Moreover, if Dante was indeed the inspiration for his Gianni Schicchi, why did Puccini not respect the quintessence of Inferno XXX? Unfortunately, scholarly works that directly address these issues are scarce. With a view to finding answers to the aforementioned questions, the first chapter deals with the historical aspects from the biographical, social, political and artistic points of view. Then, the following chapter focuses on the theme of Gianni Schicchi, i.e. the close reading of the opera’s libretto taking into consideration its musicality and in comparison with Dante’s severe treatment of Schicchi. By then, it becomes clear that: if Gianni Schicchi is a comedy, it is a black comedy reflecting Puccini’s Nihilism and sarcasm; whereas Dante’s judgment was based on a strict and rigid interpretation of Thomas Aquinas’s theology and his political vision sustaining the aristocracy, Puccini approached Schicchi more humanly and democratically; and, Puccini thus challenged Dante’s ideological position. In sum, the opera Gianni Schicchi represents Puccini’s criticism of social injustice and hope for a better society without class struggle. This preliminary conclusion, ii however, is supported solely by circumstantial evidences. In order to substantiate and make it worthy as the final conclusion, the final chapter discusses Puccini’s other operas to find a coherent flow of the theme as well as the question of authorship. Doing so, it becomes evident that the theme of social injustice constitutes the thread throughout his entire oeuvre. iii RÉSUMÉ Gianni Schicchi, opéra en un acte de Giacomo Puccini qui fait partie intégrale de sa trilogie Il Trittico, a connu sa première mondiale à New York le 14 décembre 1918. Schicchi est un personnage que Dante Alighieri a condamné à l’enfer dans sa Commedia, et plus précisément dans le Canto XXX de l’Inferno, pour s’être fait passer pour le feu Buoso Donati et pour avoir ainsi falsifié son testament avec succès. Par contre, l’opéra de Puccini est une comédie dotée d’un heureux dénouement qui transforme Schicchi, un des pires pécheurs selon Dante, en un héros. Puccini étant réputé pour être cosmopolite et xénophile, on peut se demander ce qui l’a incité à choisir cette fois-ci Dante ? En effet, il s’agit du seul opéra de Puccini qui est basé sur une source italienne et du seul opéra buffa parmi toutes ses œuvres. De plus, si Dante a été en effet l’inspiration pour son Gianni Schicchi, pourquoi n’a-t-il pas respecté la quintessence de l’Inferno XXX. Malheureusement, la doctrine sur ce point précis est peu abondante. Dans le but de trouver des réponses auxdites questions, le premier chapitre traitera des aspects historiques, soit d’un point de vue biographique, sociale, politique et artistique. Le focus du deuxième chapitre portera sur l’analyse du libretto de l’opéra Gianni Schicchi en prenant en considération sa musicalité et le mettant en contraste avec le traitement sévère auquel Dante a assujetti Schicchi. À ce stade-là, il nous paraitra clair : que si Gianni Schicchi est une comédie, il s’agira d’une comédie noir reflétant le Nihilisme et le sarcasme de Puccini ; que le jugement de Dante est base sur l’interprétation stricte et rigide de la théologie de Thomas d’Aquin ainsi que sa propre vision politique valorisant l’aristocratie, tandis que l’approche de Puccini envers Schicchi est plus humaine et démocratique ; et que Puccini a ainsi lancé défi à la position idéologique de Dante. En somme, l’opéra Gianni Schicchi représente le critique de l’injustice sociale de iv Puccini et son espoir pour une meilleure société libre de la lutte des classes. Cette conclusion préliminaire est cependant appuyée uniquement de preuves circonstancielles. Afin de la soutenir davantage et de la rendre digne de la conclusion finale, le dernier chapitre discutera d’autres opéras de Puccini ainsi que « la notion d’autorité ». En ce faisant, il deviendra sans équivoque qu’il y a un fil conducteur à travers ses œuvres, soit le thème de l’injustice sociale. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I cannot begin to describe how indebted I am to Professor Eugenio Bolongaro for his invaluable assistance with my thesis. He graciously agreed to become my thesis supervisor halfway through the process and the enthusiasm that he displayed regarding my thesis topic inspired and encouraged me throughout my work. His multi-dimensional thinking and thorough guidance on drafting taught me how one should develop a more comprehensible and convincing thesis. I owe special thanks to Professor Gabriella Ravenni, president of Centro Studi Giacomo Puccini in Lucca, Italy, who kindly received me in her office and provided me with insightful information on Giacomo Puccini as well as various sources of reference concerning him. I would also like to thank Professor Matteo Soranzo who gave me my first exposure to Dante and his Commedia during my undergraduate program in Italian Studies. Without his expertise and suggestion about “authorship,” the conclusion of my thesis would have omitted this important facet. Last but not least, I want to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Lucienne Kroha who guided me throughout my studies at McGill University: she was always available for any guidance that I needed and encouraged me to pursue my passion. Finally, after almost thirty years of legal practice, the high academic standards of McGill University and the excellent services rendered by its support staff were a great incentive for me to pursue my academic interest, namely: Mr. Lonnie Weatherby, an expert librarian knowledgeable about Italian literature, taught me how to conduct proper library research; and, Ms. Lynda Bastian, our Graduate Study Coordinator, always helped me and made my student life easier. vi INTRODUCTION Giacomo Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi is a one-act opera forming part of his trilogy called Il Trittico. It received its world premiere in New York on December 14, 1918 and was immediately well received both abroad and in Italy where it was first performed in Rome on January 11, 1919. The title of the opera is derived from its protagonist, Gianni Schicchi, a character whose story already had a distinguished, though minor, career in Italian letters since Dante Alighieri condemned him to Hell in his Commedia, more precisely in Canto XXX of the Inferno, for having impersonated the deceased Buoso Donati and successfully falsified the latter’s will. Surprisingly, Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi is not a story about eternal damnation but a comedy with a happy ending and the impersonator Schicchi, one of Dante’s worst sinners, becomes a family hero. Perhaps even more surprising is the fact that Gianni Schicchi, Puccini’s eleventh opera, is the only one that is based on an Italian source and the only opera buffa, if not the only comic opera,1 in Puccini’s entire oeuvre. Why did Puccini, who was known to be a cosmopolitan xenophile, choose Dante at this particular time in his career to depart from his usual practice of finding inspiration from non-Italian sources and instead drew a character from Dante, the most prestigious Italian cultural icon? Moreover, in drawing from such literary giant as Dante, why did Puccini not respect the quintessence of Inferno XXX and rather transformed Dante’s bleak tale into a comedy that saved Schicchi from Hell and let him enjoy the heavenly Florence? Some scholars point out that Puccini always admired Dante but that does not shed much light either on the choice of subject – Schicchi after all is a minor character in the Commedia – or the drastic recasting by the composer of the story told by the poet.