New-York tribune., 1888-04-19
TERDpS OTELLO.

orcdf lG IL Itaildn opera IN inc sense tnot th4
term is understood to have whom we speak Of th(
works Of Rossni. Donnizetti and BeIIni. th(
Verdi Of thirty years agol Is 1t French opcrai
German opera1 Or music drama In the war
merriam sensef To the connoisseur. II not To tho idN
prattler about music each OF these designations su9
gests q distinct idea; a form, a style, manner
Which of them might with most propriety bo applied
to vsrdps latest and probably last creas
toni Tho circumstance that tho booN
is In the italian language has little to dc
with the question, no matter how loudly On cxcitss
BILE listener, Monday evening, may shout,
"Viva Iallano," TO testify his admiration OF Vers
music "The style is the man."
1t Is many years since Verdi ceased to write operas
for the Carnival season In his native country; la
Fora del Dcstino" was composed for st. Petersburg,
"Don Carlos for Paris "Aida' for Cairo. "Otellos
was composed and produced under anomalous con
ditions, and though It nrst the stage lamps a
Milan It's style not disnctively italian Neither 10
It dstinctivey French German 1t is Of It's kind
verdian; characteristic Of tho composer Of "Rgo
lettos aTrovatore, and "Traviatap In its essence.
though widely different from them in expression.
The composer himself indicates that he desires IL to
be looked upon as outside the old operate conveus
tons. According to him 1t is "Dramma nrico "
quattro att" Aidas no called "opera in auattro
atti.n Tho distinction is not undesignsd. TheN
are many external indications that he wished ~
serious q view to be takon of his work as Wagnert
that he aimed In tho first instance at presentation
of its dramatic contents and considered tho music
as q means, and not entirely az an
end In this he followed o wagnerian precepA
His score Is filed with instrumental nterludcs designed
to accompany actions or depict emotions. He leavel
no question In our minds this point, but almost -
fully as Wagner in his "Lohengrin' period, he !ndt
Gates the bodily movements that arc to 60 hand n
hand with the music In the storm picture whick
begins the opera, the manipulator Of tho artificial
lightning Is not left to bis discretion as TO the proper
time for dlscharging his brutum fumen; In tho low
duet at tho close Of tho first act the coming OF tho
moon and stars are sought to DO intensified BY dcscr
tive effects in the music and when In the last sceno
of all Otelo kisses the dead Desdemona, and
the one characteristic theme of tho opera, drawn nom
the love duet, IS repeated, the composer indicates
on what beat of the bar he desires each kiss TO fall
These are only few instances OF Verdfs apprecis
ton of the necessity Of suiting the action 10 the
music, tho music to tho action, and they SINK into
insigniGcance when compared with his treatment o1
the murder in the last act Then oteilos entrance
and actions up to the awaking of Dcsdemona are
accompnisd by q solo the doublebasses nterruptea
at intervals by energetic saccato passages from other
Instruments It Is not difficult to recall number Oh
melodramas written since Beethoven's FideIio,' IN
which similar dramatic effects are sought, Dut ,no
audacity of Verdps procedure Is unexamplcd IN Italian
opera and do not doubt that had he wrlttch 'his
scene twenty years ago 1t would have boon receVeo
by his countrynen with amazenent, not with hisses
YET last February, told, the Milan audience
redemandcd 1t uproariousy and the critics with ta
ian procvities could not sufficiently express their
admiration for 1t. What IL the meaning cf such
change In conviction and tastef h IL the fuit OK
legitimate development on italian unes'
1t is entirely an immatera question whether or not
Verdi owes tho progress toward dramatic expression
which Aidas and Otello' show to the influence Of
nh % HASA tro
cumstances surrounding their production show that Al
an age when most composers rest on their laureH
Verdi began tho study of French and German masters
The fact shows seriousness Of purpose, convctlos
Of duty toward art that has few parallels ew
ago the story spread that no was so gnorsv
VI their music that no had not seen tbs score Of
Mozarts masterpiece To Offset this his friends related
that in 1884 his teacher played and anayzed Don Clio.
vann' for him SO often that Verdi got surfet Of 10
which lasted for long time We know nothing abous
the truth Of tho story but have no hesitation In saying
that II Verdi knows Don Giovanni be has never oes
trayed tho fact In his music from @Oberto" to Oteio
If, the contrary he Is unfamiliar with the WORKS OF
Meyerbeer, Wagner, Gounod and Dlzet the evidences
in "Aida' and Otello' strangely misleading. 10
is enough for present contention, however, that
see In Otelo' an honest consistent and, In soma
pects most successful effort to realize the hghel
purposes which associate with tho conception Of
real lyric drama With this conception natonaism
acceptance of modern theories by Verdi that no has In
uoduced sucn set numbers in his the socaed
" " HOW song and the Ave Maria" These are IN
their nature lyrical, and would have been treated 10
much the same way by Wagner or any modern French
German composer. Mitness wailher's prize song
in Die Melstelsnger' or the sailor, song at tho DO.
demona sings a song Of willow" before her death
Just as poor, dstraught opheiia sings her ~ Hey NJ
ines OF VerdI's and Ambrolse 1homass operas do the
samei And why should not their songs be Of tht
N End nd AIT fhaPg ~ QHf
f0lktuneSl NJ. Thomas went TO sweden for his song
Verdi had genius enough to compose fair match ior
Boito's nbrctto Is perhaps as excellent opera
book a. could be made out Of Shakes peares tragedy In
have all lost much Of their in tho pro-
cess OF translatng them into operatlc personagesha
opera glasses THIS Is the fate that commonly befa
great tragic heroes when conscsnceless ubrests aud
house Tho lvellest memory that we have OF n.
Thomas's Hamlet Is that he sings good drinking song
But Boito res ponsibs for having made speetssaian
of this kind observable in tho book Of La Glo-
eonda' which Bolto wrote for PoncheiiL There how.
simply rsmouIding play Of Victor Hugo's-the prince
of those dramatsts and novests who utilize the most
give plQuancy to their creations, and delight In conn
polling sympathy with moral monster BY consortine
most tender and amiable feelings In two tpstancei
whlle constructing the character OF Iago Bolto wont
show the potency OF his system 0!
mixed defamation and melody; In tho second
he achieved nothing more than an utterly despicable
piece OF trap for curtain tableau There are ew
clements IN the character drawn by Shakespea oa
which music has vital and determinale expression.
Music cannot voice ali Of the keen. cruel steeLnke
which Is the basis Of what DE- johnson
describes the cool malgnIty Of Iago silent in bis
subtle In his designs and studious e once
Of his interest and his vengeance must content 10
self with the cruder manifestations OF bis nature This
conviction might have been accepted as the motive
which prompted the composition Of the so-csllcd
Credo" in which the operate Iago blatantly bias
phemes God and humanity and pronounces his only be-
lief TO be fate It not for the second variation 10
which we have referred This Is In the finale Of tho
hird Iago works up Otellos Jealous rage to such
pitch that the Moor swoons whereupon while tho air
resoundIDg with shouts of Evviva otello| from ths
,borus the Ancient plants hs foot upon the prosls,e
orm and standing erect and pointing with horrible
triumph to the motioness body Of Otello" exclalms
Ecco II Leone l"-Behold the Lion"
Ecco IL Leone i-Behod the Lonp This Is Iowery
nelodrama not tragedy But Boito has told the
story defly the whole, and has co-operated IN .
spirit Of sympathy with tho composer In tho pro-
luotion Of something which Is much superior 10 tbs