United States or Bahrain ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
One finds it difficult to understand how ever the thing came to be tolerated by musicians. Of course the desire to find a counter-blast to Wagner has done much for Verdi; but while one can understand how Dr. Stanford and others hoped to sweep away "Parsifal" with "Otello" and "Falstaff," it is not so easy to see what on earth they proposed to do with "Traviata."
In the last act, where she, as Otello, seized Desdemona and dragged her by the hair to the bed that she might stab her, the effect was one of such tragic horror that many left the theatre. She thus united the most cultivated vocal excellence with dramatic genius of unequaled power. "Mme.
Ah, Ronzi de Begnis, thou lovely one! Ah, Caradoni, thou smiling angel! Ah, Malibran! But what is most certain and lamentable is the decay of stage beauty since the days of George IV. Think of Sontag! I remember her in Otello and the Donna del Lago in '28. Young fellows have never seen beauty like THAT, heard such a voice, seen such hair, such eyes.
Garcia was Otello, I was Iago and when he rendered the phrase': here Pantaleone threw himself into an attitude and began singing in a hoarse and shaky, but still moving voice: "L'i ... ra daver ... so daver ... so il fato lo piu no ... no ... no ... non temero!" The theatre was all a-quiver, signori miei! though I too did not fall short, I too after him.
Doubtless the way in which Garcia* plays and sings the part of Otello is preferable, taking it all together, to that of Davide; it is pure, more severe, more constantly dramatic; but with all his faults Davide produces more effect, a great deal more effect. There is something in him, I can not say what, which, even when he is ridiculous, entrances attention.
Othello has formed the subject of the following compositions: "Otello," opera in 3 acts, text by Berio, music by Rossini ; "Othelleri," parody by Müller, Vienna ; Othello, overture by Krug ; "Un Othello," operetta, by Legoux, Paris ; and "Othello," opera in 4 acts, text by Boito, music by Verdi .
When Remenyi visited the United States in 1878, he arrived a few weeks after Wilhelmj, and notwithstanding the fact that the two violinists were widely different in temperament, ideas, musicianship, in fact in every particular, they were frequently made the subjects of comparison. At this time Remenyi played an "Otello Fantaisie," "Suwanee River," "Grandfather's Clock," etc.
The libretto for Verdi's last work, "Otello," was prepared by Boïto, who had previously assisted him in rearranging his "Simon Boccanegra," and who also wrote the poem of "La Gioconda" for Ponchielli. Boïto is a thorough believer in Wagner's doctrine that every composer should write his own opera books, and he followed this rule in his interesting opera "Mefistofele."
In many of his works, especially in Otello, Rossini made a great step forward towards realism in opera. As Victor Hugo has victoriously demonstrated, such poverty is no obstacle to genius and wealth in them is only an advantage to mediocrity. I was one of the regular pianists at Rossini's.
Verdi had now retired to his estate of Sant'Agata, and it was supposed his career as composer had closed, as he gave his time principally to the care of his domain. From time to time it was rumored he was writing another opera. The rumor proved true, for on February 5, 1887, when Verdi was seventy-four years old, "Otello" was produced at La Scala, Milan, amid indescribable enthusiasm.
Word Of The Day