[Verdi, 1849]

Tänk om man fick vakna upp bredvid Carrie Bradshaw en regnig morgon i New York. Ha lite morgonsex, tända en "cirre" och bara slappa en hel dag. Livet..

-Henka

    Me despierto por la mañana con Herbert von Karajan en la radio y tengo que frotarme los ojos y comprobar el calendario para asegurarme de que el generalísimo Franco no está vivo ni la Unión Soviética es una potencia mundial. Hubo una época, definida por las dictaduras, en la que Karajan suministró el telón de fondo musical. En el tercer cuarto del siglo XX, su sonido era ubicuo y su poder absoluto.

       Era un sonido inconfundible. Todo lo que dirigía Karajan parecía de una suavidad extrema, como unas camisetas de algodón tras pasar por suavizante. Ya fuera Bach o Bruckner, Rigoletto o las Rapsodias españolas, la música se caracterizaba por una línea perfecta de belleza artificial que no era tanto creación del compositor como resultado del empeño del director en ofrecer un producto reconocible.

       Y no hay duda de que era inconfundible. En una ocasión entré en una tienda de libros de arte en Manhattan, de altos techos y paneles de madera, y tuve que pedir al dependiente que sustituyera el concierto de Chaikovski que salía de los altavoces por una grabación más auténtica. "¿Cómo sabía que era Karajan el que dirigía?", exclamó. "Porque tiene una forma de dirigir obvia", fue mi respuesta.

      Un álbum de homenaje en Deutsche Grammophon realizado por su viuda, Eliette, pone de relieve lo mejor y lo peor del director. El primer disco empieza con una Pastoral de Beethoven doblemente pasteurizada, sintética en extremo, seguida de unos Debussy y Ravel homogeneizados y un Adagietto de Mahler en el que se ha anestesiado todo dolor, una parodia de Mahler. El segundo disco contiene extractos de oratorios y óperas, algunos de una emotividad trascendental -un resplandeciente 'Erbarme mich' de La Pasión según San Mateo, un emocionante 'Dies Irae' del Réquiem de Verdi y fragmentos de las Valquirias de Wagner. Cuanto más grandes eran las fuerzas, mejor era su interpretación.

      Si Karajan tenía algún talento, era para la organización y la oportunidad. Creció en Salzburgo después de la Primera Guerra Mundial, cuando una diminuta ciudad de montaña se convirtió en la segunda ciudad de un Estado austriaco en declive, y allí aprendió los peligros de la falta de poder. Con la ascensión de Hitler, en 1933, se unió al Partido Nazi, no una sino dos veces, y fue recompensado con un puesto de director de música en Aquisgrán, el más joven del Reich. La prensa controlada por Goebbels empezó pronto a aclamarlo como "Das Wunder Karajan (el Milagro Karajan)", en contraste con Wilhelm Furtwängler, que era poco de fiar políticamente. Karajan aprendió de Goebbels el arte siniestro de enfrentar a una potencia artística contra otra.

      Después de la guerra, a Karajan le impidieron subirse al podio mientras duró la desnazificación, pero un ejecutivo de EMI, Walter Legge, le llevó a Londres a grabar con la Philharmonia Orchestra, compuesta por combatientes británicos recién desmovilizados. La relación, que duró 10 años, otorgó a Karajan una experiencia fundamental en la política de la controversia y una genuina afición a los conflictos. Tras la muerte de Furtwängler, en 1954, fue nombrado director vitalicio en Berlín, y la deshecha capital del Reich le sirvió de cabeza de puente para la expansión imperial. Si hubo una lección que Karajan aprendió de los nazis, fue la necesidad de dominar el mundo.

      Ningún músico en la historia ha buscado el poder que alcanzó Karajan, el poder de dictar el repertorio y los músicos en las salas de conciertos y los salones del mundo. Reaccionario por naturaleza, excluyó la música contemporánea atonal y diversos estilos de interpretación. Christoph von Dohnanyi ha llegado a acusarle de destruir la tradición alemana de dirección musical al imponer sus gustos y su estilo propios de forma tan imperativa. Nikolaus Harnoncourt, que tocó el violonchelo en la orquesta de Karajan, vio prohibida su entrada en Salzburgo y Berlín cuando empezó a dirigir conjuntos de instrumentos de época. Cada vez que Karajan grababa un ciclo de Beethoven -y lo hizo en cinco ocasiones-, era una oportunidad menos de interpretación alternativa.

      Su hegemonía fue autocrática y no dio resquicio a las contradicciones. Cuando los músicos de Berlín, en 1983, se negaron a aceptar a la clarinetista que había seleccionado, Sabine Meyer, él incrementó sus actividades con la orquesta rival, la Filarmónica de Viena. Trabajó con y contra dos compañías discográficas; a su muerte, en julio de 1989, estaba preparándose para abandonar Deutsche Grammophon y pasarse a sus amigos japoneses de Sony. No conocía la lealtad, excepto hacia sí mismo. Su amor a la música se limitaba a su forma de hacer música.

      El pasado nazi de Karajan no es secundario, aunque no fue de los que cometieron holocaustos. No hay ninguna sospecha de que cometiera crímenes raciales, y su carrera en el Reich sufrió a partir de 1942 cuando se casó con una rica heredera de ascendencia parcialmente judía. Lo que adquirió de los nazis fue un sistema de valores que aplicó a la inocente e ineficaz industria de la música a partir de 1945 de forma despiadada e implacable. Demostró que la música era, sobre todo, cuestión de poder. Muchos se sintieron, y permanecen, impresionados. A algunos, como a mí, su actitud nos pareció antimusical. Yo la analicé en El mito del maestro (1991) y en The life and death of classical music (2007). Todavía me cuesta escucharle en la radio con ecuanimidad.

      "Celebrar" ahora su vida, con ocasión de su centenario, representa un último esfuerzo a la desesperada, por parte de una industria discográfica moribunda, para sacar provecho de un león muerto desde hace mucho tiempo. Algunas conmemoraciones del festival están subvencionadas con subsidios ocultos de los reverentes y obscenamente ricos herederos del director, que tenía un patrimonio de más de trescientos millones de euros en el momento de morir.

      El hecho de que Karajan fuera un hombre malo o bueno no viene al caso. Fue un director inteligente, con talento para hacer que una orquesta se adaptara a su sonido personal, una capacidad que explotó con fines inmorales. Impuso su ego en el mundo de la música clásica de tal forma que aplastó la independencia y la creatividad. Su legado es regresivo, y su centenario es el momento perfecto para dejar caer el telón de una vez sobre una vida poco meritoria que no produjo ninguna idea original ni defendió ningún valor humano que mereciera la pena. Karajan está muerto. La música está mucho mejor sin él.

-Norman Lebrecht-

She is so right. The courage and the "duty" to serve the music. That is one of the important things that helped her survive with her art in tact.

Desire and discussion with self to improve, sometimes paralyzing oneself over being too difficult on one self.

Affirming and inspirational.

and a clip from a traditional production with two Italian men who really know their parts, Aldo Protti and Nicola Zaccaria.

I count myself fortunate to have seen live one of the last Rigoletto's of Aldo Protti's career, while on tour with the Met during the days they did tour. Today so many young baritones attack this role so early, yell their way through it, and never ever come to understand the little "jester".

Verdi has a complex, vivid, tortured man with the only good thing he has done in his life being defiled by the sexual "glutton" he serves. That he helped hurt and tease and insult so many other people. This meeting with Sparafucile is so dark and important and the start of the end of any good in his life in a tragic, hideous way. The Jester is the one fooled in the end.

Verdi of course paints the ominous with the forgiving, as in the last act of Otello, when his protagonist surrenders to some small part of himself, Verdi is always the most forgiving and supportive of his character, aware of how frail is the will to survive the temptations of jealousy or revenge. The final look of Rigoletto in this clip as given to us by the dark blaze look of the fool thinking, forming the first plan to have the last laugh. We all know he doesn't get it. But we see the thought consumes him.

Their faces tell you everything, and when they do, so fabulously, opera in it's traditional form is, IS good theater.

Los que lamentablemente no pudimos conseguir las entradas (se agotaron realmente rápido) pudimos verlo por TVP. Se debe agradecer el gesto de los directivos y del Alcalde del Callao que permitió también la transmisión.

Pero al grano, en este momento nos interesa la música. De hecho los que han estado en el teatro han disfrutado de un espectáculo de primera calidad, por televisión pudimos verlo pero al inicio con un poco de errores técnicos propios, tal vez, del nerviosismo y de las transmisiones en vivo que no son para nada fáciles. Aun así eso no fue impedimento para notar que estábamos viendo un espectáculo de calidad.

Juan Diego Flórez nos presentó un Duque de Mantua espléndido; derrochando virtuosismo y genialidad desde el Questa o quella hasta el Bella figlia dell'amore, pasando por una Donna è mobile que si mal no escuché le pidieron bis pero no pudo repetirla, tal vez por esas cuestiones del debut, los nervios, etc. Me gustó la interpretación de Ella mi fu rapita! y del complicado Possente amor mi chiama, que remató con el Re que pocos tenores saben hacer bien.

Por su parte, Marianelli destacó bastante como Gilda e hizo un Caro nome bastante aceptable pero, a mi opinión, las mejores partes fueron el dúo con JDF, el cuarteto del último acto (Bella figlia dell'amore) y su escena final que estuvo cargada de dramatismo.

El Rigoletto que interpretó Frontali fue genial. Para destacar está el dúo Quel vecchio maledivami! que cantó junto a Sparafucile interpretado por Carlo Malinverno que realmente me impresionó bastante (aunque su aparición en el último acto es mejor); también se pueden mencionar el dúo de Rigoletto y Gilda; el Cortigiani, vil razza dannata (de la escena cuando ruega que le devuelvan a su hija); y la escena final (pero en Rigoletto la escena final que me encanta, sin lugar a dudas, es la que interpreta Leo Nucci).

La interpretación de la peruana Josefina Brivio como Maddalena fue bastante buena. Humberto Zavalaga hizo un Monterone interesante. Todos ellos demostrando que en el Perú hay bastante talento.

Aunque en Perú las orquestas son regulares en cuanto a calidad, para mí la de la Universidad de Lima tiene un mejor concepto; y no me decepcionaron pues interpretaron de manera aceptable siguiendo todas las indicaciones del joven maestro Michele Mariotti.

La dirección de escena fue sobria y respetuosa con el libreto de la ópera; al menos no nos presentaron esas rarezas (en cuanto a escenografía y dirección de escena) con las que muchas veces nos mandan los grandes teatros del mundo. Aunque por momentos si resultaba un poco tedioso ya que esas columnas grandotas no se movían.

Por último, queda agradecer al Gobierno Regional del Callao que permitió la realización del Primer festival internacional de ópera Alejandro Granda R. y agradecer a TVPerú por transmitir la ópera para el Perú y el mundo, pero principalmente para el Perú, ya que el amor por esta música se ha perdido considerablemente a tal punto que con pocos recursos nuestras pocas asociaciones musicales se preocupan por no hacerla desaparecer del país.

No hay duda que este Rigoletto hará historia. ¡Bravo!

PD: La opinión es basada en la transmisión televisiva. No tengo duda de que si hubiera estado en el teatro se hubiera disfrutado mucho más el espectáculo, aun así, mis felicitaciones por tan buen producto.

Fuentes: RPP, mi papá :)

PD: El 3 también es el primer aniversario del blog ¡Yupi!

I can't help but wonder if you can love someone and not even know it. Everyone says, "you just know." I'm not entirely convinced. Sometimes you can think you love someone, so that when they tell you something like:

"We can't go back to my place because I have this old guy staying with me ... He's my father's relative .... No, you don't want to meet him .... Why? Because he's toothless and has this crazy hair everywhere -- just disgusting ... and he's annoying .... OK FINE, he's just ... ridiculously paranoid .... Why? You're not going to believe me ... OK, he's with the witness protection program, so he can't deal with strangers .... No, no, no, the witness protection program didn't place him with me, he was put in there 18 years ago because he saw a guy shoot his brother in the face. They placed him in Florida and he's been coming up here for the past 7-8 years or so to see family around the holidays. He used to stay with his mother, but now she's in a nursing home so my father put in in my house. And he can't deal with new people .... Why are you laughing?"

You actually let it fly. Yes, I actually let that one go, making good use of the rationalization that a) you just can't make that shit up and b) even if you can, you have to give this guy credit for creativity and comedic value. Clearly, that is the kind of love that's so passionate that it's blind. It's the narcotic variety of love, blurring the senses, bringing you up, letting you crash, then bringing you up again in a never ending cycle of blissful misery.

Then there's the "brotherly" love, which is too often confused with romantic love. Sometimes it's the love that you try so desperately to turn into something more. Sometimes it starts with something more, but ultimately becomes something less.

And then you have the love between two open, balanced, caring people. I call them the Rigoletto Lovers, as they are "a world unto themselves," as my favorite line in the opera reads. That is the kind of love that I want. It is when two people have the emotional wherewithal to put complete faith and trust in each other and maintain an equilibrium between desire and caring. They have a special understanding of each other, a relationship that they could have with no one else, and maybe even a similar understanding of the world. Don't get me wrong -- these two have their own lives and their own friends, but their happiness as individuals contributes to a soulful union.

I am sure I am missing many varieties of love, but these are what I see most often.

Now, consider this: Do you think that you can have two people who are potential Rigoletto Lovers, but who can't see it because they're too emotionally stunted to let their guard down? So they just keep coming together, butting heads, and separating -- an inexplicable draw, tempered by fear, doubt and insecurity? I wonder things like that sometimes ...

Read on to see how Rigoletto stood up to NYC Food Guy's Pizza Test...

NYC Food Guy's three requirements for a good slice of pizza...

1) Light, airy crust strong enough to support the weight of a slice, chewy enough to be eaten alone

2) Tasty sauce which isn't too sweet, salty, or thin and doesn't pool when you fold a slice

3) Good Cheese to Sauce Ratio. I like a balanced slice. If I didn't I'd eat a white slice or a marinara.

How Rigoletto fared...

1) The crust was light, airy, sturdy, and slightly chewy. The flavor is nothing special, it reminded me of an ordinary Italian bread. Grade: B+

2) The sauce was a little sweeter than I like but it had some substance and it held the cheese to the slice without squirting off the edges. Grade: C

3) The sauce to cheese ratio was pretty much perfect. The slice folded well and I wasn't squeezing out extra sauce when I got past the slice's halfway point. Grade: A

So there you have it, the crust and the sauce to cheese ratio carry Rigoletto's plain slice. As I stated earlier, it's by no means the best slice on the UWS but definitely a worthy option compared to places like T&R, City Pie, and Freddie and Peppers (all reviewed here).

One other interesting option at Rigoletto is something I had only enjoyed at Traviata pizza (reviewed here), garlic and pepper-based sauces to put on the pizza.

Rigoletto offers a mild:

A medium:

And a spicy:

My only excuse for not trying all of these enticing sauces is that it was semi-late and I didn't want to be tasting them for the rest of the night. Regardless, the delicious garlic sauce at Traviata Pizza most closely resembled the mild sauce at Rigoletto, so there's a good starting point.

Continue the rest of my New York Pizza Tour here.

Rigoletto Pizza - Cash Only

Aqui una de mis grabaciones favoritas de esta opera, con los mejores fireworks posibles, y con la dupla excepcional de Milnes y Sutherland. Pavarotti en su mejor rol.

Verdi: RIGOLETTO

Duca Luciano Pavarotti
Rigoletto Sherrill Milnes
Gilda Joan Sutherland
Sparafucile Martti Talvela
Maddalena Huguette Tourangeau
Giovanna Gillian Knight
Monterone Clifford Grant
Marullo Christian du Plessis
Borsa Riccardo Cassinelli
Ceprano John Gibbs
Contessa Kiri te Kanawa
Usciere John Noble
Paggio Josephte Clément

Conductor Richard Bonynge
Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra

Decca, 1971.

But the best part about the best bet for culture in Bucharest (we were really going for the alliteration there), is the current exchange rate between the US Dollar (or, even better, the Pound or the Euro...or basically any currency that's not the US dollar) and the Romanian Leu.  Around $0.30 to one Leu plus some pretty low ticket prices to begin with equals a night at the opera for as low as $2.00, and as high as $20.00.  And now's a great time to check them out, with upcoming productions of some of the greatest operas ever written including Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, Madama Butterfly, and Lucia di Lammermoor.  And while you may not have heard most of those operas in their entirety, there's at least one piece from each that we guarantee you've heard in the past.

And if you haven't, we'll give you $5.00.  Or 5 Lau.

Thanks, Opera Nationala Bucuresti!

Opera Nationala Bucuresti
B-dul Mikhail Kogalniceanu 70
313.1857
http://www.operanb.ro/

Jan Marshall - Author of A Curious State of Affairs (available in the UK & USA) talks about an enthralling and well crafted five star film: Match Point

I lead a busy life and so don’t always have the time to see films when they are first released. Add to this an immense dislike of being in a cinema audience (inconsiderate people using their mobiles during the film, tapping the back of your seat with their feet, munching popcorn and rattling sweet papers) and the upshot is, I will often wait until a movie has been released on DVD, or is on the television before watching it (in the comfort of my own home). For these reasons, it was only last night that I got to see Match Point (2005) written and directed by my all time favourite talented man: Woody Allen.

Now if you’ve read my novel, or know me personally - you will be aware that I am a life long fan of Woody BUT having said that I want to assure you that my opinion of this film is unbiased by my admiration for this multi-talented man. This film is BRILLIANT. It is superb - and if you’ve got a chance, see it. I cannot recommend it enough. My husband indulges my adoration of Woody and has on occasions been long suffering when he’s sat through one or two of the less successful Woody Allen films without complaint. However this time, he couldn’t take his eyes of the screen and afterwards delivered the opinion that it was “bloody brilliant!” Praise indeed coming from him, since a film isn’t usually worth watching unless something is being blown up or there are gruesome goings on, every few minutes.

Anyway, Match Point is a polished and powerful, disturbing and clever drama with morality and fidelity at its heart. It is set in London (UK) and there is no trace of Jewish dialogue or quirky humour; instead, this masterpiece focuses on the important part luck plays in life.

The story is about a former tennis pro Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who is a would be social climber. He meets a rich kid Tom Hewitt (Matthew Goode) leading a charmed life. Their forming friendship exposes upper class English society, warts and all, as Chris ingratiates himself with his newly found friend’s family and inner circle. Chris is ambitious, good looking and believable - yet underneath the facade he is nothing more than sympathetic slime. His relationship with Tom’s sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer) and the femme fatale Nola (Scarlett Johansson) who is the author of his ultimate moral downfall,  exposes the relationship between romantic love and violent narcissism. Chris becomes addicted to the material benefits and kudos that money can provide, and we the audience suffer a moral dilemma as we are torn between the sheer horror of Chris’s violent acts and our own curious desire to see him get away with them, in the final denouement.

I can’t review the film without mentioning opera - since there is a thread of opera that runs though it. The main characters are opera lovers - that is to say they enjoy occupying an opera box where they can view the performance from a lofty height, towering over the lowly people in the stalls below. They sip champagne, lack concentration and are easily distracted from the music. I feel this is symbolic in several ways: it indicates the way the upper class folk who heirs can look down on and feel superior to the ordinary masses who must live humbly from what they alone can earn in a life time. It says much about them as people.  

Chris joins his new friends to listen to a performance of Verdi's La Traviata (literally The Woman Who Strayed, or perhaps more figuratively, The Fallen One), and also Rigoletto (The hunch-backed court jester Rigoletto is deeply bitter about his own deformity. When the jester, overcome by jealousy finally goes too far, he provokes a curse from his victim, with his innocent daughter paying the final price). You cannot help realise that Chris is being compared to Rigoletto and is the fallen one - although Chris is different because he is from a working class Irish background, rather than because he is deformed physically. His downfall is caused by a similar envy of the upper class, and the innocent blood of his own unborn child is spilled in the process (as well as the blood of others) exposing Chris as deformed mentally and morally. There is nothing casual or by chance about the inclusion of the specific operas - they are judiciously chosen to illustrate the point, as you would expect from the maestro himself.

The whole film pivots on the luck of a single moment in time. So few of us realise that whatever the intelligence, or training or skill - luck still plays a part in success; being in the right place at the right time is all important.

“There are moments in a (tennis) match when the ball hits the top of the net, and for a split second, it can go either way. With a little luck it goes forward and you win. Or maybe it doesn’t and you lose.”

One can’t help thinking of moments in your own life when luck has played it’s hand (or not) - and certainly in Woody’s life. If Mia Farrow had not found the photographs of her adopted daughter ….

We can all think of events when luck played a part - or didn’t! When a dear friend of mine was killed in a car crash, I thought a thousand times over that if he had left the house just a moment later he would have not met that young un-insured driver (with no driving licence and a skin full of alcohol) head on, swerved to avoid him and hit a tree.

Chris says: “I’d rather be lucky than good.”

Me? I'd rather be good than lucky - although I'm only human so given the option, I'd rather be good and lucky!

Match Point lets us glimpse into the world of the spoilt young socialites who ride of the back of future inheritance. It shows how obsession can lead to temptation and corruption. It reminds us of the important part that luck plays in our lives, whether we want to believe it or not. It is an equal to my all time favourite Woody Allen film: Crimes and Misdemeanors- and is so worth seeing. It is five star!

Watch a trailer of Match Point here.

]]> http://programadefestas.wordpress.com/2007/12/15/rigoletto-teatro-nacional-de-sao-carlos/ Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:55:11 +0000 profestas http://programadefestas.wordpress.com/2007/12/15/rigoletto-teatro-nacional-de-sao-carlos/ Se gosta de ópera, tem o Rigoletto, a ver no Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, até 21 de Dezembro, às 20h - Tel. 21 325 30 00.

Se não sabe ainda se gosta, tente.

Verdi fala da crueldade humana e do abuso do poder. Em temas de riqueza melódica, profundamente actuais.

La donna è mobile
Qual piuma al vento,
Muta d'accento - e di pensiero.
Sempre un amabile,
Leggiadro viso,
In pianto o in riso, - è menzognero.
 
È sempre misero
Chi a lei s'affida,
Chi le confida - mal cauto il core!
Pur mai non sentesi
Felice appieno
Chi su quel seno - non liba amore!

This tutorial is primarily intended for students who are going to write about opera, though I hope it will also be of interest to students studying other topics.

For this tutorial you will need a vocal score of Verdi`s Rigoletto. If all you have available is a full score, that is all right. You will also need a recording of the opera. During the tutorial you will be pointed towards a specific section of the score- and be prepared to write some bar numbers into your score.

1. Aims of the tutorial

This tutorial focuses on an aspect of assignment writing many students find problematic, particularly those students who have little knowledge of music theory. The aspect in question is writing about music, and particularly, how to use music examples in essays. Students often acknowledge the importance of music in opera – rightly – but then go on to write essays that do not address how the music is being used.

This tutorial aims to explain:

• how to use music examples in essays
• how to reference music examples
• how long examples should be
• what kinds of scores to use
• what kinds of things to say about examples when writing an essay about opera
• how to improve your mark through the apt use of musical examples

The materials refer to an extract from Rigoletto, so you will need a score of this opera. Either a full score or a vocal score will do, though I recommend a vocal score.

2. Writing about music.

Let`s begin by outlining a simple framework that can be used for writing about music.

2.1. The basic framework of music.

Consider this question: what does music consist of?

One answer, which provides a basic framework for writing about music, is that music consists of:

a. Five elements
b. Two ways of organising the five elements

The five elements are:

1 Melody
2 Harmony
3 Rhythm
4 Dynamics
5 Timbre or tone colour

Two ways of organising the five elements are:

1. Form
2. Texture

A composer is faced with the problem of what to do with the five elements, form and texture. Creating music can largely be regarded as a process of organisation: melodies, harmonies etc. have to be organised if something meaningful is to be created. However, when writing about music the task is to deconstruct, not to construct: when analysing a piece of music we ask what the composer has done with the five elements and form and texture.

2.2. The five elements explained in more detail.

But before pursuing this line of argument, let`s look at the five elements of music in more detail.

2.2.1. Melody.

Notes coming one after each other, thereby creating a recognisable line, create melody. A melody is not necessarily a tune and is not necessarily pleasant to listen to. Nor is a melody necessarily always in the upper part; a bass line can be a melody even though it is not a tune. In this sense `melody` is a technical term, implying little in the way of aesthetic judgement. To call something a melody is not necessarily to imply that it sounds good: it is to make a judgement that a recognisable line has been created, regardless of how pleasant or not this line might sound.

2.2.2. Harmony.

Harmony is created when notes sound together at the same time. Again, like melody it is a value free term; it does not imply that the notes so combined sound pleasant. Harmony can be harsh, dissonant – it is still harmony. The study of harmony usually involves the study of chords and how they are used.

2.2.3. Rhythm.

Under the heading of rhythm comes anything to do with how long sounds last. Features such as accent and pulse, which create patterns, also come under the heading of rhythm. Rhythm might be considered to be the basic element of music: there is no music without it.

2.2.4. Dynamics.

How loud or soft notes or sounds are. This includes things like crescendos, fadings away, and sudden loud or soft passages.

2.2.5. Timbre or tone colour.

The distinctive colour of voices and instruments. We can tell the difference between a clarinet and an oboe because each instrument has its distinctive timbre. Every human voice has a unique timbre.

2.3. The two ways of organising the five elements.

The two ways of organising the five elements are -

2.3.1. Form.

What are we looking at when we look for form in music? The search for form is usually the search for some kind of repetition. Every musical style has characteristic ways in which repetition is used. For example, Ternary Form has a distinctive patter of repetition (ABA), where an opening section is repeated.

2.3.2. Texture.

Texture is the most difficult aspect of music to define. It has got to do with how the music is built up, for example, how many instruments are playing, what they are playing, how many melodic lines are sounding at the time, whether there is a main melody, whether there is an accompaniment. The possibilities are infinite. Texture is very important; it is one of the main reasons why musical styles sound different.

Examples of three common and simple textures:

a. melody and accompaniment (Verdi`s “La donna mobile”)

b. block chords (as in a hymn tune like “Abide with me”)

c. counterpoint (music made up a of several melodic lines going on at the same time, as in the final scene of Verdi`s Falstaff)

3.Conclusion.

If you keep the above seven points in mind they can generate basic questions about what is going on music. If you want further clarification of any of the above terms you could consult a good music dictionary.

4. Some practice at using the framework.

We`ve got our basic framework: let`s get some practice at using it. But first a few words specifically about writing about opera.

4.1. Writing about opera.

In a way opera is more complicated than pure music because there is more going on than `just music`. However, when writing about opera you have one great advantage – there is usually a verbal text. You have something to focus on, a way of starting to get to grips with the material. Perhaps it is easier to write about music that sets a text because you can discuss how the composer sets the words.

So when you are studying a passage from an opera, there are two basic questions that make a good start:

1 What is the effect of the passage?

2 How is the effect created?

There is usually no problem in answering the first question – you can use your own reaction (though that is not necessarily an infallible guide, since you are unlikely to be moved to tears and laughter by Cavalieri`s Rappresentatione di Anima e di Corpo, as the original audiences were).

The second question is more difficult – you have to say what is happening in the music to create the effect; you have to analyse the music using the seven-point framework.

Look at it another way: you want to make a point in an essay. You want to say what happens in an opera at a certain point. You start by describing the effect, but then you have to say how the effect is created – and this is the difficult bit, because in order to say how the effect is created you have to analyse the music. You have to say how the music relates to the verbal text, and put all this across in a way that is clear to the reader by, for example, using precise references. Not an easy task.

Let`s start by looking at some essentials.

4.2. Scores.

It is a good idea to use scores when studying opera. For one thing, it is very difficult to write about music without having a score to refer to.

Vocal scores are generally more useful than full scores for opera, unless you want to write about orchestration in detail. Vocal scores are a lot easier to follow than full scores and will be more than adequate for most of your work on Opera in Context. Also, full scores of many operas are hard to find.

If you are not a brilliant score reader I suggest following the words first, and then trying to follow the music afterwards.

4.3. Practice at score reading.

In order to study the rest of these materials you will need a vocal score of Verdi`s Rigoletto, or at least, a vocal score of the extract from it we are studying. The extract is No 6 in Act I (though you also might find it referred to as Act II scene 1). The libretto reference is from Rigoletto`s “Quel vecchio maledivami!” to his “va,va,va,va!”.

The extract begins with the orchestral introduction to “Quel vecchio” and ends the bar after Rigoletto`s last “va!”. Number every bar in this extract in your score. You should end up with 69 bars. As a check, Rigoletto`s first “va” should be in bar 10 (bars 1-9 are the orchestral introduction).

4.4. Referencing.

In the material that follows references are to these bar numbers, though when writing about opera other methods of referencing are possible.

This brings up a perennial problem when studying opera: the scores don`t generally have bar numbers

Some solutions to this problem are:

1 Refer to lines in the libretto, not forgetting to give Act and scene numbers. Don`t forget to say what opera you are writing about – yes – it has been done. Arias and recitatives are identified by their first lines.

2 You could use rehearsal numbers or letters (large numbers or letters placed in the score at strategic points); these should be the same in every edition.

3 Best of all is to have a short photocopied extract in an appendix. By short I mean one of two pages, which is quite a lot of a vocal score. Either number the bars of the extract yourself (as we have done here) or use page numbers, with bar one at the start of each page.

Finally, you will be using your references to the extract as evidence in an argument, so you should not write long sections of analysis. Short examples with apt comments will do the job.

5. An exercise.

Listen to the specified extract from Rigoletto, following the score. If you can`t read music, or can`t read it very well, concentrate on following the words. Just by doing this you have made a start on following the score and on this basis might even be able to try to make some comments on what is happening in the music. For example, just by listening you might be able to identify changes in the instruments used in the orchestral accompaniment.

The next stage is to think about how you might make good use of this extract in an assignment. Some comments on this follow.

When writing about an extract from an opera it is vital to establish:

a. the historical context of the opera
b. the context of the extract

a. You need to know the general cultural and musical- operatic contexts, so that you approach the piece with the right expectations and ask the right questions. You wouldn`t start looking for leitmotifs in this extract, though you might look for a recurrent theme. And you wouldn`t look for a da capo structure or a ritornello.
But you might want to consider the extract in the context of the development of nineteenth-century opera: why would it not appear in Rossini?

b. What happened in the opera before the extract? What happens immediately after the extract? These are relevant questions. What is the dramatic function of the extract within the Act, the scene, or even the opera as a whole? These too are important questions.

So you have to ask the right questions, and they have to be questions that you can reasonably expect to be able to provide an answer to: analysis involves asking searching questions about the text.

The kinds of questions we can ask of an extract from an opera could concern:

a tone
b atmosphere/mood
c dramatic pace
d characterisation
e form

As a general rule, keep questions about short extracts concrete and fairly straightforward.

Exercise 1

Here is a quick exercise to give you some practice.

Think of seven questions to ask of this extract, along the lines of:

Why is `x` there (`x` being a musical feature)? How does Verdi create the appropriate mood?

For example: why does Verdi use a solo cello melody? Why give this meldoy to the cello instead of some other instrument like the bassoon?

1. A response to Exercise 1.

My seven questions are:

1. How does Verdi create the appropriate mood in bars 1-10?

2. What is the effect of the music in bars 10-13? How is this effect created?

3. How does the music change in bar 13, and why?

4. Bar 36: why is ff used?

5. Why is there no accompaniment in bar 37?

6. Bar 43: how does the accompaniment change and why?

7. What is different about the bass line in bars 51-52, compared to the preceding bars? Why is it different?

Now try and answer some of the questions, either mine or your own. I won`t answer the questions, as answers to another question will be discussed in detail later on.

When you have answered the questions, listen to the extract again. Does having worked this exercise make you think any differently about the extract?

1. Examples of pieces of writing for evaluation.

The three pieces of writing that follow are examples from imaginary assignments.

The assignment title is:

What techniques of musical characterisation does Verdi use in Rigoletto?

Read the extracts, and then give each an approximate grade.

2. Three extracts from imaginary essays.

Extract 1

In the middle of the opera Rigoletto meets Sparafucile for the first time. The scene starts with Rigoletto recalling Monterone`s curse, which we hear in the music. Sparafucile then approaches. Sparafucile is depicted as a suave and slightly sinister character. Antonio Frascati, who sang the role in the last performance I saw ably put this across. However, he didn`t quite get the low notes. This scene is very important because in it Sparafucile plants in Rigoletto`s mind the idea of killing the Duke. Rigoletto is at first horrified when he learns of Sparafucile`s profession, and we hear his horror reflected in the music. Verdi creates a sinister atmosphere for the whole scene, with gloomy harmonies and low sounds in the orchestra.

Extract 2

At the start of Act II (or in Act I scene ii) Rigoletto meets Sparafucile for the first time. This is a crucial part of the story; after their meeting is over we as good as know that Rigoletto is going to hire Sparafucile to kill the Duke, even though this is not explicitly stated in the scene. The Act opens with tense-sounding chords, with a short motif used in the bass also helping to create an unsettled atmosphere. But before Sparafucile starts to sing the mood changes, and this change is brought about by the music; a cello melody is heard, played ppp, with a light accompaniment. This perfectly expresses the character of the suave and sinister Sparafucile.

Rigoletto and Sparafucile sing arioso-type phrases over this melody. At “demonio” Rigoletto expresses his horror when he learns what Sparafucile does for a living. Rigoletto`s horror is heard in the music; there is a build up to a ff climax, a dramatic pause and then the accompaniment stops completely. The music is expressing the contrast between the cool and controlled Sparafucile and the agitated Rigoletto.

Extract 3

The start of Act II (sometimes called Act I scene 2) is an excellent illustration of Verdi`s masterly use of musico-dramatic techniques, and especially how he uses music for characterisation. The Act opens with a series of diminished 7th chords played by the orchestra (bars 1-10); these chords are played at a pp dynamic level. A brooding and mysterious atmosphere is created. The use of a short three-note motif in the bass adds to this effect.

When Rigoletto first sings he does so quietly, using a repeated note. Rigoletto recalls Monterone`s curse; bars 10-13 use the `curse motif` with which the opera opened and which was also heard when Monterone cursed Rigoletto and the Duke in Act I. The music as well as the words tells us that Rigoletto is thinking about the curse. The dissonant chord in bar 12 also helps to express how Rigoletto is feeling; he is in a state of emotional turmoil.

In bars 13-14 Verdi uses the music to express what kind of person Sparafucile is. A solo cello, beginning in bars 13-14, plays a melody in which mainly consists of small leaps and stepwise movement. When we hear the melody we know that Sparafucile is going to be an ingratiating character.

My comments and grades follow.

1. Comments on three extracts from essays on Rigoletto.

Extract 1

In the middle of the opera (1)Rigoletto meets Sparafucile for the first time. The scene starts with Rigoletto recalling Monterone`s curse, which we hear in the music. (2) Sparafucile then approaches. Sparafucile is depicted as a suave and slightly sinister character.(3) Antonio Frascati, who sang the role in the last performance I saw ably put this across. However, he didn`t quite get the low notes. (4) This scene is very important because in it Sparafucile plants in Rigoletto`s mind the idea of killing the Duke.(5) Rigoletto is at first horrified when he learns of Sparafucile`s profession, and we hear his horror reflected in the music.(6) Verdi creates a sinister atmosphere for the whole scene, with gloomy harmonies and low sounds in the orchestra.(7)

1 Too vague a reference – be more precise.

2 But what happens in the music? You need to say.

3 How is this done?

4 This is irrelevant.

5 A good comment on the dramatic importance of the scene.

6 But what happens in the music to suggest Rigoletto`s horror?

Grade: 52

Extract 2

At the start of Act II (or in Act I scene ii) Rigoletto meets Sparafucile for the first time. (1) This is a crucial part of the story; after their meeting is over we as good as know that Rigoletto is going to hire Sparafucile to kill the Duke, even though this is not explicitly stated in the scene.(2) The Act opens with tense-sounding chords,(3) with a short motif used in the bass also helping to create an unsettled atmosphere.(4) But before Sparafucile starts to sing the mood changes, and this change is brought about by the music; a cello melody is heard, played ppp, with a light accompaniment.(5) This perfectly expresses the character of the suave (6) and sinister Sparafucile.(7)

Rigoletto and Sparafucile sing arioso-type phrases over this melody. (8) At “demonio” (9) Rigoletto expresses his horror when he learns what Sparafucile does for a living. Rigoletto`s horror is heard in the music; there is a build up to a ff climax followed by a dramatic pause and then the accompaniment stops completely. (10) The music is expressing the contrast between the cool and controlled Sparafucile and the agitated Rigoletto.(11)

1 Good precise reference.

2 Good comment on the place of the scene in the narrative.

3 Quite a good comment on the music, but doesn`t identify why the music sounds tense.

4 Yes, a good comment on an important detail of the music.

5 Good comment on the music, but there could be one or two more telling details added here. For example, what musical characteristics does the accompaniment have?

6 Be careful about using words like `suave`, which are to a certain extent subjective (a character might be suave in one production but not in another). `Sinister` is probably less controversial.

7 A good link between the music and characterisation.

8 Good comment on the texture.

9 Good discussion of word-setting, good precise reference.

10 Good comment on a dramatically significant use of music.

11 A good conclusion, which has been backed up with evidence.

Grade: 62

This extract has done enough to make it over the 59 barrier. An essay that is very good, even excellent, in many respects is unlikely to score more than 59 unless there is some use of the music as evidence.

Extract 3

The start of Act II (sometimes called Act I scene 2) is an excellent illustration of Verdi`s masterly use of musico-dramatic techniques, and especially how he uses music for characterisation. The Act opens with a series of dissonant chords played by the orchestra (bars 1-10); these chords are played at a pp dynamic level. A brooding and mysterious atmosphere is created. The use of a short three-note motif in the bass adds to this effect.

When Rigoletto first sings he does so quietly, using a repeated note. Rigoletto recalls Monterone`s curse; bars 10-13 use the `curse motif` with which the opera opened and which was also heard when Monterone cursed Rigoletto and the Duke in Act I. The music as well as the words tells us that Rigoletto is thinking about the curse. The dissonant chord in bar 12 also helps to express how Rigoletto is feeling; he is in a state of emotional turmoil.

In bars 13-14 Verdi uses the music to express what kind of person Sparafucile is. A solo cello, beginning in bars 13-14, plays a melody in which mainly consists of small leaps and stepwise movement. When we hear the melody we know that Sparafucile is going to be an ingratiating character. (1)

1 There is no need to comment in detail on this passage, but note the precise referencing and the way that details of the music are picked up and used as part of the analysis. There are quite a few short and apt references to the music, and to how the music is contributing to - even creating – the dramatic effect.

Grade: 68

Barry Mitchell

Theory of Music is a weblog of www.barrymitchellmusic.com. barrymitchellmusic.com features free mp3 downloads of historic performances by artists such as Gigli and Toscanini, ambient music and music by Barry Mitchell performed by The Locrian Ensemble.

Una de mis interpretaciones favoritas es la que realiza Tito Gobbi en una grabación discográfica de EMI, junto a Maria Callas, en el año 1955. Curiosamente, Maria Callas nunca representó esta ópera sobre un escenario. Por fortuna, podemos sobrecogernos con Gobbi y la música de Verdi en esta grabación realizada en 1946.

Os presento: "Cortigiani, vil razza dannata", Escenas 3 y 4 del Acto II de Rigoletto.

Dedicada a mi madre.

Os presento, "La donna e' mobile". Aria para tenor perteneciente a la Escena 2, del Acto III, de "Rigoletto" de Giuseppe Verdi. La canta el papel del "Duque de Mantua".

Cuentan que, siendo tan pegadiza, Verdi no la ensayó en el Teatro para que el público no se la aprendiera antes del estreno, allá por 1851 en "La Fenice" de Venecia.

Yes, the pigs are quacking.

A part dels abrics de pells i de l’activitat frenètica dels nois i les noies de vermell, dirigits amb mà fèrria per un eficient noi de negre, que no va parar de fer-los anar a amunt i avall durant els entreactes —la qual cosa era evident que els divertia molt, vista l’alegria com en rebien les ordres [aquest comentari també ho és, d’irònic]—, va ser una nit excepcional.

Excepcional pel descobriment d’una òpera que només coneixia fragmentàriament i del lloc i la funció exactes d’alguns dels seus fragments més coneguts: el Rigoletto, de Giuseppe Verdi. L’argument no és difícil de resumir: Rigoletto és el bufó de la corrupta cort del duc de Màntua, i no és el menys corrupte dels cortesans. Però té una filla, Gilda, a la qual vol mantenir apartada d’aquesta corrupció. El duc la veu a missa, se n’enamora i segueix la noia fins a la casa on viuen. D’altra banda, els cortesans, farts de Rigoletto, decideixen segrestar la noia pensant que és l’amant del bufó. Deshonrada la noia, Rigoletto decideix venjar-se.

Excepcional per les excel·lents veus dels cantants principals: la soprano albanesa Inva Mula en el paper de Gilda, el baríton Carlos Álvarez en el paper de Rigoletto, i del tenor Marcelo Álvarez en el del duc de Màntua (que, tot s’ha de dir, es podria haver esforçat una mica més a «La donna è mobile», potser per això va ser rebut al final amb una sonora esbroncada... d’un espectador).

L’escenografia no era excepcional però mantenia un bon equilibri entre el minimalisme excessiu (pobresa escènica, si ho preferiu) i absurd d’alguns dels muntatges que s’ha vist al teatre, i l’absoluta descontextualització d’altres. Una superfície giratòria amb unes parets semicirculars que anaven formant els diferents espais en què transcorre l’acció només en moure una paret. Al tercer acte canvia una mica: la casa d’Sparafucile i Maddalena elevada sobre el nivell del terra i l’espai buit, trist i desolat, ple de runa —com trist, buit i desolat queda Rigoletto al final— de l’escena final.

Excepcional també pel magnífic cor d’estossecs, esternuts i rasperes habituals al Gran Teatre del Liceu, i que diu molt poc a favor de la salut del respectable... o de la seva educació.