Oper. Geschichte einer Institution

Originalzitate zu
Michael Walter
Oper. Geschichte einer Institution
Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler 2016
I SICHTWEISEN
Anm. 2:
Memorie del Cardinale Bentivoglio, Con le quali descriue la sua Vita, e non solo le cose a lvi svccesse nel
corso di essa, ma insieme le più notabili ancora occorse nella Città di Roma, in Italia, & altroue ,
Venedig 1648, 184: »Ma riuscì famosissima specialmente vna Rappresentatione recitata in
musica per la gran diuersità dell’Inuentioni esquisite, che vi apparirono così intorno alla
singolar bellezza della Scena principale trasmutata più volte mirabilissimamente in più
Scene come intorno all’Eccelenza delli intramezzi delle macchine, de’ canti, de’ suoni, &
altri mille trattenimenti, che del continuo rapiuano il Theatro in ammiratione. E certo si
potè star in dubbio, se quelle fossero merauiglie imaginate, ò pur vere, ò se hauessero più
dell’humano, ò più del Diuino; e se in quel tempo fosse stato maggiore, ò il gusto, che la
Scena recaua con sì rara, e sì ben’accompagnata varietà di spettacoli; ò pure il diletto, che
dal Theatro nasceua per sì alta, e sì maestosa ragunanza di spettatori. Era particolarmente
arricchito d’vn gran numero di bellissime Dame il Theatro, mà sopra tutto la regina
appariua non men Regina in bellezza, che in qualità, con sì gran forza erano tirati gl’occhi di
tutti à rimirare i suoi, tanta era nel rimanente ancora la perfettione del suo volto; e sì rara in
tutte le altre parti quell’armonia di bellezza, che in lei si ammiraua, e che al bello d’ogni altra
con sì manifesta Superiorità preualeua.«
Anm. 9:
Kathleen Howard, Confessions of an Opera Singer, New York 1918, 120-121: »They [= die
Kostüme] retain the smells of the period also, many of them; for in a theatre like that of
Metz I don’t believe the men’s clothes were ever cleaned. Things which have been worn
several times a week for seven months a year during the past hundred years, accumulate a
richness and variety of odours which must be sniffed to be appreciated – a very ancient and
fish-like smell indeed. I often wished at Metz that I had no use of my nose, and I have
wished it many times since. As Amneris, to force your way for the entrance in the triumph
scene, through an Egyptian populace composed of German Infantrymen, is a squeamish
business at best; but when they are attired in clothes that haven’t been washed for years, it
is a feat before which any one may quail, especially if he belongs to the number of
unfortunates, unluckily far from rare among singers, whose stomach nerves are affected in
any case when they have a big part before them.
2
Washing was not any too popular in Metz even among the principals. I have dressed
with leading women whose arms showed streaks of white where the water had run down as
they washed their hands, stopping conscientiously at the wrists. Their make-up would be
removed with the same dirty rag night after night during the whole season; and their
personal garments under more or less smart outer raiment, had often done overlong
service. I must hasten to say, however, that this state of affairs was the exception rather
than the rule, and that in better theatres, the women principals were always scrupulously
cleanly.
Over ornamentation or fineness in undergarments is usually looked upon as rather
questionable, among the solid middle classes in Germany. My mother had made me a
dainty supply of be-ribboned linen, and I was told after I had been in Metz for some time,
that at first, the Alsatian woman who dressed me reported me to be ›beaucoup trop soignée de
ne pas avoir un amant.‹ However, she changed her mind later on, and put it down to
American extravagance – always a safe play. Some of the men were much more careless
than the women. Our operetta tenor played the whole season in the same shirt, powdering
the bosom freshly each evening with a yellowish powder which he used for his face.«
II RAHMENBEDINGUNGEN
Anm. 16:
Carlo Goldoni, Memorie del Sig. Carlo Goldoni scritte da lui medesimo, 1. Bd., Venedig 1788, 6566: »Sig., replicai [sc. Goldoni] […] sono in oro, o pur in argento? Sono, disse, in tanti
zecchini di Firenze, che dopo quei di Venezia, sono i più ricercati. Tantopiù comodi a
trasportassi, diss’io.«
Anm. 53:
Thomas Nugent, The grand tour, or, a journey through the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and France, 3.
Bd., 2. Aufl., London 1756, 35 (die erste Auflage wurde 1749 veröffentlicht): »One thing
however we are not to forget, that in Lombardy especially, which is divided into so many
principalities, in each state the money differs; so that strangers not acquainted with this
circumstance, are liable to be considerable loosers.«
Anm. 71:
Dwight’s Journal of Music vom 17.7.1852, 114 (der Bericht bezieht sich auf den Mai 1852): »I
am not sure whether it was a piece of good or bad luck to find here the principal artists of
the opera in St. Petersburg, who are returning from their winter’s engagements in the
Russian capital. These people always seem to be afflicted with some indisposition, and to
demand much waiting for and caresses. One night Pozzolani [= Pozzolini], the tenor, was
3
sick – no opera; – on another, Tamburini, the basso, – no opera again; and last Persiani,
the soprano — again no opera.«
Anm. 95:
Donizetti an Tommaso Persico, 20.3.1842, in: Guido Zavadini, Donizetti. Vita – Musiche –
Epistolario, Bergamo 1948, 582: »Ti farei morir dal ridere se to raccontassi il mio viaggio
sino quà – molle rotte, ruote che si rompevano, viti scappate via, non cavalli alla posta,
pranzi d’olio a Klagenfurt, cammino di ferro per arrivare a Vienna [...]«.
Anm. 118:
Francesco d’Arcais, Rassegna musicale, in: Nuova antologia. Terza serie 23 (1889), 371:
»Terminata la stagione di carnevale e quaresima i migliori artisti dei nostri teatri di musica
varcano l’Oceano, si recano nell’America del Sud ch’è la terra promessa della gente canora,
e non ritornano che in novembre. Il viaggio d’America che prima sgomentava la sensibile
prima donna e il mellifluo tenore, ora è diventato una gita di piacere. Gli artisti vanno a
Buenos Ayres ed a Montevideo, con la medesima disinvoltura con cui andavano una volta
da Roma a Bologna, o da Milano a Venezia. I piroscafi della Navigazione generale o della
Veloce sono assai più comodi delle antiche e sconquassate diligenze, i capitani di mare più
educati e gentili dei vetturini, e se per mare si corre qualche volta il pericolo d’un
investimento, si evita però l’incontro dei briganti che mezzo secolo fa, ed anche più
recentemente, aspettavano al varco i viaggiatori nelle gole degli Appennini. [-] Il numero
delle Compagnie liriche italiane che si recano nell’America del Sud aumenta ogni anno [...]«.
Anm. 120:
Peter Pears, Travel diaries 1936-1978, hg. v. Philip Reed, Woodbridge/Aldeburgh 1995, 7: »I
can see myself lying down for the rest of the week. How long is it before one loses the use
of one’s legs?! Why do they try to behave on board ship as though they were on land. This
is pure hotel life: tea with music at 4, ping pong and bridge tournaments, like a hotel on a
rainy day, when one unfortunately can’t go out. [...] One does little but eat and sleep. Lunch
then sleep then tea and talk then supper, a little fresh air, sleep.«
4
III ORGANISATIONSFORMEN
Unternehmeroper
Anm. 16:
William C. Holmes, Opera observed. Views of a Florentine impresario in the early eighteenth century,
Chicago u.a. 1993, 1-2: »True as this statement [von Piperno] might be in theory, the
fixation of the Pergola’s impresario Luca Casimiro degli Albizzi about profitable operatic
seasons, as shown in his correspondence, demonstrates that for him – as well as for the
academicians who backed his ventures – it was absolutely essential to run the Pergola’s
various seasons at a profit.«
Anm. 36:
Italian Opera in New York (From the »New York Herald,« Jan. 4th.) , in: The Musical World vom
27.1.1872, 54: »As we conceive it, an Italian opera impresario must be possessed of the rare,
yet, in this instance, necessary, qualities of a great general, a profound statesman, a
thorough musician, and a cunning politician. He must know how to conduct and manage
his company, to engage the best talent in America or Europe, to produce an
unexceptionable ensemble, to attract and then retain the creme de la creme of fashion and
respectability, and to give satisfaction to the general public. He must be in music what
Bismarck is in politics, what Grant is in war – thoroughly acquainted with his business.«
Anm. 41:
Valery [= Antoine Claude Pasquin], Voyages historiques, littéraires et artistiques en Italie, 2. Bd.,
458: »Il est difficile de se faire une idée de l’étrange domination qu’exerce en Italie
l’impresario (l’entrepreneur de spectacle) sur les chanteurs qu’il a engagés. Son autorité
absolue s’étend sur toutes leurs actions et leurs simples habitudes: les jours de
représentation, ceux même qui ne jouent point sont consignés chez eux jusqu’au lever de la
toile, afin de suppléer leurs camarades en cas d’indisposition. Un des articles de ce singulier
règlement donne à l’impresario le droit de séparer de son mari la cantatrice qu’il battrait. On
retrouve quelque trace de l’antiquité dans cette servitude aux plaisirs du public.«
Anm. 86:
I copialettere di Giuseppe Verdi, hg. v. Gaetano Cesari u. Alessandro Luzio, Mailand 1913, 322:
»Protezione del Governo, cioè: Dote ai teatri e non imposte! Nelle condizioni che si
trovano attualmente i teatrí di ogni genere, i poveri Impresari non possono far fronte alle
esigenze degli artisti e del pubblico. Invece dunque di servire degnamente l’arte, dopo
d’aver inutilmente lottato con mille difficoltà, sono bene spesso costretti di fuggire, fallire e
peggio, di avvilire quest’arte con spettacoli che non ne rialzano certo nè lo splendore, nè la
pubblica morale!« (Verdi an den Minister Guido Baccelli, Brief vom 4.2.1883).
5
Anm. 154:
[David Gottfried Manfred Kuhlau], Ueber die Musik in Calcutta, in: Allgemeine Musikalische
Zeitung vom 21.6.1822, 394-395. Übernahme des Berichts in The Harmonicon 1 (1823), 111:
»There is only one theatre in Calcutta, which belongs to the town, and is of considerable
dimensions. It is, at present, leased to Colonel Young and Dr. Wilson: a performance is
given every Friday evening, from seven to twelve, which however is not, properly speaking,
an opera, but rather a kind of connected concert, which consists a selection of English,
Irish, and Scotch melodies. During the acts, symphonies, concertos, etc., are performed by
the orchestra. […] The orchestra consists, besides the violins, of a double bass, two
violoncellos, two bassoons, two flutes, two clarionets, two horns, two trumpets, and kettledrums, and is under the direction of Mr. Delmar, who is first violinplayer, and who
frequently performs solos between the acts of the opera.«
Anm. 161:
Theatricals, in: The Calcutta Monthly Journal. November, 1836, 630: »We have now an excellent
Operatic Company; they have proved themselves strong in every department of Opera;
they have in addition to a good tenor, not possessed by the last Company, a female chorus,
Mad. Thonon, Madlle. Fleury, and another lady, with the addition also of Mad. Welter.«
[…]
»An Opera was, we ever understood, one of the necessaries of life, to the educated English
classes. Taking Calcutta, in point of commercial and political importance, Rio de Janeiro,
Merseilles [sic], Leghorn, Brussels, etc. etc., are not her equals, and yet they must have an
Opera. Indigo is up, sugar on the rise – the British Merchant has been heretofore a princely
fellow – why should he now, in prosperous times, be less princely than before?«
Anm. 162:
Delphine de Girardin / Théophile Gautier / Jules Sandeau / Joseph Méry, La croix de
Berny. Roman steeple-chase, Paris 1855, 24: »C’est la France qui est chargée d’amuser le genre
humain. Supprimez notre théâtre, Paris et l’Opéra, et l’univers tombe en léthargie incurable.
Vous ne pouvez vous faire une idée de l’ennui qui désole la mappemonde. Heureusement,
Paris envoie à la province des Deux-Indes tout le bruit charmant qu’il fait, lorsqu’il a
détrôné quelque roi. Un jour, Calcutta était à l’agonie il allait mourir d’ennui. La Compagnie
des Indes est riche, mais elle n’est pas amusante; avec tous ses trésors elle ne pourrait pas
acheter un sourire pour Calcutta. Paris lui envoya Robert le Diable, la Muette de Portici et
quelques drames d’Hugo et de Dumas. Calcutta entra en convalescence et se porte fort
bien aujourd’hui.«
Anm. 213:
Zit. nach Simon Lévy, Pétition à messieurs les membres du conseil municipal de la ville de Lille.
Demande de subvention, Lille 1862; http://gallica.bnf.fr/ ark:/12148/bpt6k5508600r
[1.1.2016], 2: »Les représentations dramatiques sont incontestablement un élément
6
d’instruction. Les discussions de la scène exercent l’exprit; elles donnent l’éveil aux
opérations mentales, fournissent des idées nouvelles, habituent à une existence
intellectuelle. Le Théâtre concourt donc à l’éducation populaire; c’est un moyen de
civilisation et de perfectionnement; il est une école. Il est évident que par son jugement, sa
conduite, son intelligence, un peuple habitué aux spectacles ne ressemble pas à celui qui
s’enferme dans les cabarets. Fréquenter le Théâtre, c’est s’introduire dans un monde plus
élevé; comprendre les intérêts qui l’animent et participer aux discussions qui l’agitent, c’est
vivre avec une société plus avancée, c’est fréquenter des hommes d’une intelligence
supérieure, c’est s’instruire, en un mot, par l’habitude et le contact, même lorsque les pièces
ont des défauts graves, car l’assemblée sait les redresser. Le spectacle donne donc au peuple
ce dont il manque, la fréquentation d’une société plus instruite; il détruit une des
circonstances qui retardent le plus le progrès, l’obligation d’exister avec des hommes dont
les facultés morales sont peu développées, le mode de vivre encore grossier; il le transporte
dans une atmosphère morale toute nouvelle. On détruit ainsi les effets d’une société
illettrée dont il ne peut secouer la chaîne et dont l’influence est immense.«
Anm. 236:
Kathleen Howard, Confessions of an Opera Singer, New York 1918, 111: »Sometimes one of
the principals would miss the train and be forced to come on by a later one, and then the
sequence of scenes in the opera would be changed quite regardless of the plot, for we
would play all the scenes, in which he did not appear, first, and do his afterwards. After the
opening chorus, the soprano would go on for her aria, and while she was singing it, we
would decide what to give next. ›I’ll do my aria!‹ ›Oh no! Not the two arias together!‹ ›Let’s
have the duet from the third act, and then the soprano and tenor can just come in casually
and we’ll do the big quartet, and then you can do your aria!‹ We would see the audience
hunting in a confused sort of way through their libretto, with expressions rather like Bill
the Lizard. This happened once in the ›Merry Wives,‹ which is confusing at best.«
Hof- und Staatsoper
Anm. 32:
Franck Monnier, L’Opéra de Paris de Louis XIV au début du XX e siècle, 25: »L’administration
présentée comme un ensemble cohérent et uni est un mythe: en témoignent les
achoppements continuels entre la tutelle ministérielle, les agents de surveillance placés par
le gouvernement et l’administration interne du théâtre. Il n’existe pas une administration,
mais des administrations, chacune défendant des intérêts parfois contradictoires.«
Anm. 38:
Arrêt vom 17. März 1780, zit. nach Répertoire universel et raisonnée de jurisprudence civile,
criminelle, canonique et bénéficiale, hg. v. Joseph Nicolas Guyot, Paris 1781, 43. Bd., 359-360:
7
»Le roi s’étant fait représenter le résultat des comptes de l’académie royale de musique,
depuis que le privilège & l’administration en ont été rendus au corps de sa bonne ville de
Paris; sa majesté a vu avec peine que la dépense excédoit de beaucoup la recette: &
considérant que le produit des octrois qu’elle a bien voulu accorder à cette ville‚ sont payés
indistinctement par tous ses habitans, & destinés à des dépenses nécessaires ou d’une utilité
générale; sa majesté ne sauroit approuver qu’une partie de ce produit serve à subvenir aux
frais des amusemens de la classe plus aisée.«
Anm. 51:
Répertoire universel et raisonné de jurisprudence civile, criminelle, canonique et bénéficiale […]. Nouvelle
édition corrigée, & augmentée, hg. v. Joseph Nicolas Guyot, Paris 1784, 12. Bd., 388: »Mais Sa
Majesté, en renonçant, du moins pour un temps, à la forme d’entreprife, a approuvé les
vûes qui lui ont été présentées pour associer aux succès & aux bénéfices d’une
administration nouvelle, les Directeurs & les principaux sujets de l’Académie Royale de
Musique, afin d’exciter ainsi de plus en plus leur zèle & leur activité.«
Anm. 64:
Zit. nach Actes de la Commune de Paris pendant la Révolution. 2 e série (du 9 Octobre 1790 au 10
Août 1792, hg. v. Sigismond Lacroix, 4. Bd.: Conseil général de la Commune – Corps municipal –
Bureau municipal. (Suite). 26 avril–20 juin 1791, Paris 1905, 76: »J’ai vu une administration
faible, sans bases, sans principes; une autorité partagée entre plus de trente personnes et,
par conséquent, nulle; des intérêts privés croisant l’intérêt général; d’une part, des talents
méconnus; de l’autre, des prétentions exagérées. J’ai vu des ateliers mal inspectés, des
magasins en désordre, des fournitures faites sans économie, une inexactitude ruineuse dans
les payements, des règlements injustes tyranniques à quelques égards et nécessairement
violés chaque jour et impunément.«
Anm. 89:
Philippe Agid / Jean-Claude Tarondeau, Governance of major cultural institutions: The case of the
Paris Opera, in: International Journal of Arts Management 10/Nr. 1, 16: »During Hugues Gall’s
nine years as director (1995-2004), the Opera was in a paradoxical position. It was a state
institution, highly dependent on the finance and culture ministries and two thirds publicly
financed. But it was also an autonomous organization as defined by a quasi-contract
between management and the relevant authorities.«.
Anm. 99:
Louis Véron, Mémoires d’un bourgeois de Paris, 3. Bd., Paris 1857, 104-105: »J’avais hésité près
de quinze jours; mais, après réflexion, je m'étais dit: ›La révolution de juillet est le triomphe
de la bourgeoisie: cette bourgeoisie victorieuse tiendra à trôner, à s’amuser ; l’Opéra
deviendra son Versailles, elle y accourra en foule prendre la place des grands seigneurs et de
8
la cour exilés.‹ Ce projet de rendre l’Opéra tout à la fois brillant et populaire me paraissait
avoir de grandes chances de succès après la révolution de juillet.«
Anm. 104:
Louis Véron, Mémoires d’un bourgeois de Paris, 3. Bd., Paris 1857, 231: »Voulez-vous savoir
pourquoi je n’ai pas perdu d’argent à l’Opéra? c’est surtout parce que je n’y suis pas resté
longtemps, c’est parce que j’ai prudemment quitté la place au moment où la subvention
diminuait.«
IV RECHTSFRAGEN
Anm. 8:
Zit. nach Répertoire universel et raisonnée de jurisprudence. Civile, criminelle, canonique et bénéficiale.
Nouvelle édition corrigé, 6 augmentée, hg. v. M. Guyot, Paris 1784, 12. Bd., 389: »S. M. confirme
tous les droits, prérogatives et privilèges qu’il lui a plu et aux rois ses prédécesseurs
d’accorder à l’Académie royale de musique par les lettres patentes du 15 août 1672, celles
du 1er mars 1689, registrées en la cour du parlement le 30 juin suivant; l’arrêt du conseil
d’état du 11 décembre 1728, les lettres patentes du 27 février 1729, et les arrêts du conseil
des 1er juin 1730, 4 avril 1732, août 1749, 13 mars 1757, 3 juin 1758, 26 juillet 1765; arrêt
du conseil du mois de juin 1769; réglement du 6 novembre suivant; ordonnance du 29 mars
1776; les arrêts du conseil d’état des 30 mars 1776, 27 février 1778, 30 avril suivant, 17 mars
1780, 3 janvier de la présente année [...]«
Anm. 30:
Zit. nach De Rivafinoli, vs. Ansetti. Decided in 1833, in the Court of Chancery of New York, by
Chancellor Walworth, in: The Western Monthly Magazine, a continuation of the Illinois Magazine 3
(1835), 393: »It would also be difficult for the master to determine what effect coercion
might produce upon the defendant’s singing, especially in the livelier airs; although the fear
of imprisonment would unquestionably deepen his seriousness in the graver parts of the
drama. But one thing at least is certain; his songs will be neither comic, or even semiserious, while he remains in that dismal cage, the debtor’s prison of New York. I will
therefore proceed to inquire, whether the complainant has any legal right thus to change
the character of defendant’s native warblings, by such a confinement, before the appointed
season for the dramatic singing had commenced.«
Anm. 141:
Anna Riggs Miller, Letters from Italy, describing the manners, customs, antiquities, paintings, &c. of
that country, in the years MDCCLXX and MDCCLXXI, to a friend residing in France, 1. Bd.,
9
London 1776, 200-201: »The theatre is under great restrictions from the police. Before an
opera is to be performed, the King himself takes the pains to read it over, and to erase
every line that can admit of an indecent or double meaning (although I believe the Serious
opera is generally thought very decent). This attention is particularly paid to the theatre, on
account of the morals of the Royal family. The King never goes to the Comic opera, nor
permits any of his own family to go thither.«
Anm. 161:
Clara Louise Kellogg, Memoirs of an American primadonna, New York/London 1913, 108-109:
»[…] I confess freely that one of the things I most regret is the innocent, normal coquetry
which is the birthright of every happy girl and which I entirely missed. It is all very well to
be carefully guarded and to be made the archetype of American virtue on the stage, but
there is a great deal of entirely innocuous amusement that I might have had and did not
have, which I should have been better off for having. My mother could hardly let me hold
a friendly conversation with a man – much less a flirtation.«
Anm. 167:
Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung vom 13.1.1853, 196: »Dem ehemännlichen Nießbrauchsrecht
unterwirft der Entwurf [eines Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuchs für das Königreich Sachsen] auch
dasjenige was die Ehefrau durch […] Ausübung einer Kunst oder eines eigenen Gewerbes
gewinnt […] Hierin findet sich eine Abweichung von dem bisher gültigen Rechte, insofern
als nach diesem der Ehemann auf dasjenige was die Ehefrau durch sogenannte ›operae
artificiales‹ sich erwarb, keinen Anspruch hatte. Diese Ausnahme fand z.B. rücksichtlich
der Gagen verheiratheter Schauspielerinnen und Sängerinnen öfters praktische
Anwendung.«
V DIE SÄNGER
Anm. 1:
Zit. nach Richard McCandless Gipson, The life of Emma Thursby. 1845-1931, New York
1940, 193: »Now, childie, I want you to make the very uttermost of this most desirable
success and secure for yourself a firm standing in America, so, that you may make a pot of
money here, as Clara L. Kellogg has done. A thorough money success is feasible in America
alone, when it is based upon a European reputation. That is why Kellogg went to London
and sang for Mapleson first for nothing and then next to nothing, and why she wishes to
sing in Europe again now, before commencing her next campaign. […]
Get hold of the right Agent: Jarrett and Ullman preferable to any, and let them ›exploiter‹
you. Let the money point be the minor consideration, but let them undertake to make a
10
›star‹ of you. Bring you back to London for the season ’79 and make a big show of you.
Upon that basis, America will then in a short time give you a fortune.«
Anm. 5:
Giulio Gatti-Casazza, Memories of the opera, London 1977 [Original: New York 1941], 190:
»It is often said that to have a great operatic career it is necessary to have a magnificent
voice and extraordinary schooling. Not at all! I have known singers who had fine voices,
whom the public ignored. And I have known artists with mediocre voices who,
nevertheless, were pleasing to the initiated as well as the uninitiated public.«
Anm. 24:
Clercpret [= Isaac Clark Pray], Teresa Parodi and the Italian opera, New York 1851, 11: »The
most conspicuous result has been the failure of many of these [sc. Italian and French
vocalists], often highly educated artists, to maintain, for any long period, their places in
popular esteem. Their triumphs, usually have been ephemeral. They have come like
Summer moths – have glittered in the blaze of popularity – have scorched their wings, and
have perished.«
VI AUTOREN
Anm. 30:
Zit. nach Luke Jensen, The Emergence of the Modern Conductor in 19th-Century Italian Opera, in:
Performance Practice Review 4, no. 1 (1991), 55: »quando non è indovinato il colore dell’opera,
quando gli effetti drammatici vengono male interpretati, quando i vaghi colori che devono
presentare le voci, gli istrumenti e le masse non sono che eseguiti del pure valore delle note,
allora, credilo, le bellezze di uno spartito non possono essere comprese dal pubblico. Non
basta fare tutti i forti, tutti i piano e tutti i crescendo, non basta misurare i tempi col
metronomo. Vi è una grande differenza da forte a forte, da piano a piano, da crescendo a
crescendo; come un pezzo di musica eseguito nello stesso movimento può presentare
colore diverso a seconda dell’accentazione e di quel non so che, che si può fare sentire, che
si può spiegare all’atto pratico, ma che però non è possibile di potere indicare co’ segni
musicali.«
Anm. 32:
Carteggi Verdiani, hg. v. Alessandro Luzio, Bd. 4, Rom 1947, 242: »Hanno torto i fiorentini
sulla Follia [eine Oper Riccis], o per meglio dire ha torto il direttore che non ha capito e
non ha saputo rendere le idee del compositore. Questi Direttori sono un vero flagello! [–]
Nelle musiche attuali la direzione musicale e drammatica è una vera necessità. Una volta
una prima donna con una cavatina, un rondò, un duetto, ecc. poteva sostenere un’opera,
11
oggi no. [–] Le nostre opere, buono o cattivo, hanno intendimenti ben diversi! Voi che
avete in mano una Gazetta Musicale predicate dunque il bisogno dei Direttori! Flagellate tutti
questi asini, che sono per di più anche impertinenti. Sapete voi che un direttore d’orchestra
a Napoli ha osato scrivere sopra una partitura di Meyerbeer (credo l’Africana) presso a poco
queste parole: ›si omette quest’aria, perchè è cattiva e non si capisce come Meyerbeer abbia
osato scrivere tal mostruosità‹. Capite?« (Brief Verdis an Giulio Ricordi aus dem Jahr 1871).
Anm. 34:
I copialettere di Giuseppe Verdi, hg. v. Gaetano Cesari u. Alessandro Luzio, Mailand 1913, 265267: »Quest’è un principio che conduce al barocco ed al falso. È la strada che condusse al
barocco ed al falso l’arte musicale alla finde del secolo passato e nei primi anni di questo,
quando i Cantanti si permettevano creare (come dicono ancora i Francesi) le loro parti, e
farvi in conseguenza ogni sorta di pasticci e controsensi. No: io voglio un solo creatore, e
m’accontento che si eseguisca semplicemente ed esattamente quello che è scritto; il male sta
che non si eseguisce mai quello che è scritto. Leggo sovente nei giornali d’effetti non
immaginati dall’autore; ma io per parte mia non li ho mai trovati. Capisco tutto quello che dite
voi all’indirizzo di Mariani. Tutti siamo d’accordo sul suo merito, ma qui si tratta non di un
individuo, per quanto si grande, ma di arte. Io non ammetto né ai Cantanti né ai Direttore
la facoltà di creare, che, come dissi prima, è un principio che conduce all’abisso... Volete un
esempio? Voi mi citaste altra volta con lode un effetto che Mariani traeva dalla sinfonia dell
Forza del Destino facendo entrare gli ottoni in sol con un fortissimo. Ebbene: io disapprovo
quest’effetto. Quelli ottoni a mezza voce nel mio concetto dovevano, e non potevano
esprimere altro, che il Canto religioso del Frate. Il fortissimo di Mariani altera completamente
il carattere, e quello squarico diventa una fanfara guerriera: cosa che non ha nulla a che fare
col soggetto di dramma, in cui la parte guerriera è tutt’affatto episodica. Ed eccoci sulla
strada del barocco e del falso.« (Verdi an Giulio Ricordi, 11.4.1871).
VII DAS OPERNPUBLIKUM
Anm. 10:
Giovanni Domenico Ottonelli, Della christiana moderatione del theatro. Libro secondo, detto La
Solvtione De’ Nodi. […], Florenz 1649, 52 (auch abgedruckt in Lorenzo Bianconi / Thomas
Walker: Dalla »Finta Pazza« alla »Veremonda«. Storie di Febiarmonici, in: Rivista italiana di
musicologia 10 [1975], 408): »E di questa sorte [nämlich von jener Art, dass sie nicht der
theologischen Zensur unterworfen werden müssten], intendo, che alle volte si fanno
bellissime Rappresentazioni nella Serenissima Città di Venetia, alle quali chi và, pagha per
l’ingresso non poche gazzette come alle Mercenarie, ma prezzo assai maggiore, e
corrispondente alla nobiltà e magnificenza dell’Attione e del pomposissimo apparato.«
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Anm. 43:
Costituzione accordata ai Lucchesi dal Duca di Lucca L’anno del passione 1847, Paris 1847, 6: »Vi sia
peʼ Signori opera seria in musica nella stagione di S. Croce, e per il popolo, una volta l ’a nno
almeno, la compagnia Canelli; e per la classe di mezzo più volte all’anno una Compagnia
Drammatica; e sia garantita ai Contadini la Commedia de ʼ Magi sacri.« (Der Rest des
Artikels lautet: »Ai Contadini sarà garantita ancore la frequenza delle bettole, l’uso de’
mortaletti [= mortaretti] per le feste sacre, e delle feste sacre il divertimento e lo sciupìo.«)
Anm. 65:
New York Herald, zit. nach The Musical World 36 (1858) [= 4. Dezember 1858], 775: »[…] all
the young ladies in society were taught to play or to sing, sometimes before they had learnt
to spell correctly, and many of them at this day understand French and Italian better than
their mother tongue. Consequently, when the Astor Opera House was erected, there was
an audience already grown up for it, and this audience has been receiving multitudes of
recruits as the finishing schools turn out their cohorts year by year, until now that we have
a public – as least so far as the feminine part of it is concerned – perfectly capable to weigh
truly the merits of any music.«
Anm. 66:
Topics of the month, in: Holden’s Dollar Magazine 1/1 [1848], 58: »The neighbourhood is
aristocratic. and the neighbours are people of the first fashion as well as of the first
standing; many of them, however, are more remarkable for their money than for their
manners, and are so rich that they can afford to indulge in the luxury of being thought
mean; but that is no busines of ours. on y, we cannot but wonder that any one should
choose to be thought mean, who might just as well be accounted generous.«
Anm. 81:
Zit. nach Beth L. Glixon / Jonathan E. Glixon, Inventing the business of opera. The impresario
and his world in seventeenth-century Venice, Oxford u.a. 2006, 20-21, Fußnote 21: »Perché, però,
sarebbe troppo osservabile, e mal inteso, il lasciar palco così cospicuo senz’esser foderato
di polite tavole, con tutte le sue abentie e pertinentie, io glielo farò agiustare di tutto punto,
come appunto è quello dirimpetto dell’Eccelentissimo Bembo, se però non comandasse in
contrario.«
Anm. 82:
Mary King Waddington, My first years as a French woman, 1876-1879, London 1914, 44:
»Many marriages are made there. There are very few theatres in Paris to which girls can be
taken, but the Opéra Comique and the Conservatoire are very favourite resorts. When a
marriage is pending the young lady, very well dressed (always in the simplest tenue de jeune
fille) is taken to the Conservatoire or the Opéra Comique by her father and mother, and
very often her grandmother. She sits in front of the box and the young man in the stalls,
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where he can study his future wife without committing himself. The difference of dress
between the jeune fille and the jeune femme is very strongly marked in France. The French
girl never wears lace or jewels or feathers or heavy material of any kind, quite unlike her
English or American con temporaries, who wear what they like.«