Page 43 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

A POR TR AIT OF IT AL Y  41

The 20th Century
In the early 20th century,
Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West
(The Girl of the West) brought
cowboys into opera, Turandot
looked towards the Orient and
Tosca brought torture and
murder. Some composers
have attempted to emulate
French and German music,
and only a few Italian pieces,
such as those by Otto rino
Respighi (1879–1936), have
Luciano Pavarotti brought opera to a wider international audience been regularly perform ed.
The most important name in
forces in different parts of firmly in the opera repertoire. post-war Italian music was
the building. In the 1680s, During the 17th century, Luciano Berio (1925–2003),
Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713) Alessandro Scarlatti (1660–1725) who developed Music Theatre,
turned to classicism. Corelli was formulated a model which an art form lying somewhere
famous for the concerto grosso, consisted of an orchestral over- between drama and opera. In
a style that contrasted the ture followed by a later years, however,
solo string group with the full sequence of narrat- Berio continued the
ensemble. He was followed ive, set as recitative, tradition of Grand
by Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741), and interrupted by Opera with his
who concentrated his efforts on da capo (three-part) elaborate production
developing the solo form of the arias. Themes for the of Un Re in Ascolto.
concerto grosso. He used wind weightier opera seria But it is Luciano
and plucked instruments as were largely drawn Pavarotti (1935–2007)
well as violins. from mythology, who must be credited
while the lighter with renewing an
opera buffa had international interest
The Emergence of Opera
stock scenes that in opera. In the 1990s,
Opera first emerged during the sometimes owed his televised perform-
wedding celebrations of Italy’s a large debt to ances with “Three
wealthy 16th-century families. the traditions of Tenors” co-stars José
Monteverdi was the first com- commèdia dell’arte. Carreras and Placido
poser to establish his work Famous for his Domingo secured a
comic operas, such Puccini’s Tosca, first massive world
as The Barber of Seville, staged in 1900 audience for opera.
was the composer Another star of opera
Gioacchino Rossini. Among and classical music is inter-
other contributors, Vincenzo nationally renowned conductor
Bellini (1801–35) and Gaetano Riccardo Muti, former director
Donizetti (1797–1848) of La Scala and now the director
developed bel canto singing, of Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera.
a style stressing fine tone
and ornamentation.
The two most prominent
opera composers of the latter
half of the 19th century were
Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo
Puccini (1858–1924). Verdi
often turned to the works
of Shakespeare as well as
to contemporary subjects
Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901), in order to form a basis for his
whose first works were for the work, while many composers,
opera house La Scala (see p197), like Puccini, turned to the new
was the most important opera trend of verismo (slices of
composer of the 19th century. realism) – La Bohème is one
His most celebrated works of the most refined examples The illuminated interior of
include Rigoletto and Aida. of this style. Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera

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