Verdi in Victorian London
By: Massimo Zicari
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
Published: 2016
Place of publication: Cambridge, UK
Language: eng
Number of pages: 348
ISBN-13: 9781783742141
Copyright date: 2016
Subjects: Travel; Opera; History and criticism; Press coverage
Description: "Now a byword for beauty, Verdi's operas were far from universally acclaimed when they reached London in the second half of the nineteenth century. Why did some critics react so harshly? Who were they and what biases and prejudices animated them? When did their antagonistic attitude change? And why did opera managers continue to produce Verdi's operas, in spite of their alleged worthlessness? Massimo Zicari's Verdi in Victorian London reconstructs the reception of Verdi's operas in London from 1844, when a first critical account was published in the pages of The Athenaeum, to 1901, when Verdi's death received extensive tribute in The Musical Times. In the 1840s, certain London journalists were positively hostile towards the most talked-about representative of Italian opera, only to change their tune in the years to come. The supercilious critic of The Athenaeum, Henry Fothergill Chorley, declared that Verdi's melodies were worn, hackneyed and meaningless, his harmonies and progressions crude, his orchestration noisy. The scribes of The Times, The Musical World, The Illustrated London News, and The Musical Times all contributed to the critical hubbub. Yet by the 1850s, Victorian critics, however grudging, could neither deny nor ignore the popularity of Verdi's operas. Over the final three decades of the nineteenth century, moreover, London's musical milieu underwent changes of great magnitude, shifting the manner in which Verdi was conceptualized and making room for the powerful influence of Wagner. Nostalgic commentators began to lament the sad state of the Land of Song, referring to the now departed "palmy days of Italian opera." Zicari charts this entire cultural constellation. Verdi in Victorian London is required reading for both academics and opera aficionados. Music specialists will value a historical reconstruction that stems from a large body of first-hand source material, while Verdi lovers and Italian opera addicts will enjoy vivid analysis free from technical jargon. For students, scholars and plain readers alike, this book is an illuminating addition to the study of music reception."--Publisher's website.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 329-335) and index.
Table of contents: title: List of Illustrations; title: Acknowledgments; title: Introduction; title: 1. Music Journalism in Early Victorian London; title: 2. Ernani (1845); title: 3. Nabucco and I Lombardi (1846); title: 4. I due Foscari and I masnadieri (1847); title: 5. Attila (1848); title: 6. Uneventful Years: 1849; title: 1852; title: 7. Rigoletto (1853); title: 8. Il trovatore (1855); title: 9. A Moral Case: The Outburst of La traviata (1856); title: 10. Luisa Miller (1858); title: 11. I vespri siciliani (1859); title: 12. The Years 1860 and 1861: Un ballo in maschera; title: 13. Inno delle nazioni (1862); title: 14. Don Carlos and La forza del destino (1867); title: 15. The Late 1860s and Wagner's L'Olandese dannato (1870); title: 16. Verdi's Requiem and Wagner's Lohengrin (1875); title: 17. Aida (1876); title: 18. Music Journalism in London: The Late 1870s and 1880s; title: 19. Otello at the Royal Lyceum (1889); title: 20. Falstaff at Covent Garden (1894); title: Conclusions; title: Appendix I: Verdi's Premieres in London; title: Appendix II: Verdi and Wagner in London; title: Appendix III: The Periodicals; title: Select Bibliography; title: Index.