Pietro Mascagni and His OperasNortheastern University Press, 2002 - 378 pàgines Just twenty-six when the electrifying premiere of his Cavalleria Rusticana at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome catapulted the impoverished musician into sudden fame and fortune, Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945) went on to write fifteen more operas, including L'Amico Fritz, Guglielmo Ratcliff, Iris, Parisina, and Il Piccolo Marat. With privileged access to extensive primary sources, including Mascagni's 4,200 letters to Anna Lolli, his mistress for more than three decades, author Alan Mallach provides a compelling portrait of a flamboyant, combative, and emotional man who was passionately devoted to the Italian opera tradition and committed to innovation in musical language and dramatic form. Deftly combining serious biography with critical commentary, Mallach begins with the captivating story of Mascagni's rags-to-riches adventure, from his birth in Livorno in Tuscany, to his musical studies first with Alfredo Soffredini and later at the Milan Conservatory, to his years as a vagabond musician, to the worldwide success of his breakthrough opera. He then traces Mascagni's private and professional life after Cavalleria, examining a prolific yet controversial career that was forever overshadowed by the work that unexpectedly thrust him into the limelight. Mallach provides a full analysis of Mascagni's oeuvre and discusses his complex relationships with such Italian cultural and political figures as Edoardo Sonzogno, Giacomo Puccini, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Luigi Illica, and Benito Mussolini. He also thoroughly chronicles Mascagni's bouts with manic depression, his marriage to Lina and devotion to their three children, his grueling schedule of concert and operatic tours, his patriotism and bitter opposition to Italy's involvement in both world wars, and his passionate love affair with Anna Lolli. This richly textured biography will appeal to fans of the still beloved and popular Cavalleria, and it will introduce opera enthusiasts to the power, intensity, and melodic beauty of the brilliant composer's many other significant works. |
Continguts
Becoming a Composer 18631882 | 3 |
Student Wandering Musician and Guglielmo Ratcliff 18821887 | 19 |
Cerignola and the Composition of Cavalleria rusticana 18871890 | 39 |
Copyright | |
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Frases i termes més freqüents
Amica Anna Lolli April audience August Carlo Cavalleria rusticana Cerignola chorus composer composer's concert conductor conservatory Corriere della Sera Costanzi critics D'Annunzio debut Despite dramatic early emotional Fascist father February filanda finally Forzano Gragnani Guglielmo Ratcliff ibid Il Piccolo Marat Illica Iris Isabeau Italian opera Italy Italy's January July June L'Amico Fritz La Scala later Le Maschere letter to Gianfranceschi letter to Lolli librettists libretto Liceo Rossini Lina Livorno Lodoletta Luigi maestro March Masca Mascagni parla Mascagni wrote Maschere Menasci Milan Mocchi Morini Museo mascagnano Musicale musicians Mussolini Naples Nerone November October operetta orchestra Parisina performance Pesaro piano Piccolo Marat Pietro Mascagni Pinotta play Pompei premiere Puccini Rantzau Renzo Ricordi role Rome Santuzza scagni Scala scene score second act Silvano singers Soffredini Sonzogno story success Targioni Targioni-Tozzetti Teatro theater third act tour Turridu Verga Vistilia writing written wrote Lolli young Zanetto