Page 223 - ESSENTIAL LISTENING TO MUSIC

his estate in Italy, which by 1871 had become a single, unified state. The plan was to lead the life of a country squire—or so he thought.
But like a performer who feels he owes the audience more, or has something more to prove to himself, Verdi returned to the theater, composing the critically acclaimed Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893), both based on plays of Shakespeare. Of all artists, musical or otherwise, late-bloomer Verdi created quality works at the most advanced age: Falstaff was composed in his eightieth year.
Verdi’s Dramaturgy and Musical Style
When the curtain goes up on a Verdi opera, the listener will find elements of dramaturgy—construction of the drama—and musical style that are unique to this composer. For Giuseppe Verdi, conflict should inform every scene, and he expressed conflict, whether personal or national, by juxtaposing self-con- tained, clearly contrasting units of music. A rousing march, a patriotic chorus, a passionate recitative, and a lyrical aria might follow in quick succession. The composer aims not at musical and dramatic subtlety but rather at banner head- lines of emotion. The psychic states of the characters are so clearly depicted, sometimes exaggerated, that the drama comes perilously close to melodrama, reliant on sentimentality and sensationalism at the expense of subtle character development. But it is never dull. There is action, passion, and intensity, all the things that give an opera mass appeal. In 1854, Verdi said, “There is one thing the public will not tolerate in the theater: boredom.”
How does Verdi generate this feeling of intense passion and nonstop ac- tion? He does so by creating a new kind of recitative and a new style of aria. As before, recitative still narrates the action, and the aria still expresses the charac- ter’s emotional states. But Verdi replaces simple recitative, accompanied only by basso continuo (bass plus keyboard chords), with orchestrally accompanied recitativo accompagnato. This allows the action to flow smoothly from or- chestrally accompanied aria to orchestrally accompanied recitative and back without a jarring change of texture. As for the aria, Verdi brings to it a new in- tensity, or as the Italians called it forza. Yes, Verdi is a composer squarely in the tradition of Italian bel canto opera. He focuses his attention on the solo voice and on a lyrical, beautiful vocal line. Indeed, no composer had a greater gift for writing simple, memorable melodies that the audience could whistle on the way out of the theater. Yet Verdi also adds intensity and passion to these arias by pushing the singers to the upper reaches of their range. The thrilling moments in which the hero (the tenor) or the heroine (the soprano) go right to the top are literally the high points of any Verdi opera.
La traviata (1853)
We may measure the passionate intensity in Verdi’s operas by listening to a por- tion of his La traviata, written in Paris in 1853. La traviata means literally “The Woman Gone Astray.” The wayward woman here is the sickly Violetta Valery, a courtesan, or high-class prostitute, who first resists and then succumbs to the love of young Alfredo Germont. Then, without explanation, Violetta deserts Alfredo, in truth so that her scandalous reputation will not bring disgrace on his respectable family. The hot-tempered Alfredo now publicly insults Violetta,
italy 201 Copyright 201 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
56797_ch13_ptg01.indd 201 29/08/14 3:36 PM