A R R I G O BOITO, L I B R E T T I S T A ND

MUSICIAN

Yucci Maria Orsini Duse

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts

University of the Witwatersrond, Johannesburg
for thfl Degree of Master of Arts

Johannesburg 1976
 Abstract

Arrigo Boito, librettist ond musician.

The subject is considered under five main sections:

Part I - Boito the man

EARLY YEARS: Biographical detail - Early works:

Symphony in A minor; 'II Quattro Giugno*; 'Sorelj.fc cl'Italia1 -

Sojeurn in Paris; first collaboration viith Verdi: the *Inno

delle Naaioni* - Scapigliatura - Musical journalism - Poetical

and literary activity: 'Libro dei Versi1; 'Re Orso*; 'Le

madri galonti1 and short stories. D6but as librettist: 'Amleto'

- 'Mefistofele' ond ’Nerone'

MIDDLE I'tiRIOD: Collaboration with Verdj - The Duse-

Boito relationship. Shakespearean translations: 'Antony and

Cleopatra'; 'Romeo and Juliet'; 'Macbeth'.

LAST YEARS: Verdi's death - Publication of 'Nerone*

as a tragedy - Boito's death - The ‘Nerone premiSre.

BOIi'O AND VERDI: Verdi and Shakespeare - The revision

of the libr? of 'Simon Boccanegra1 - ‘(Hello1 - Falstaff.

Part II - Boito the critic

Boito's ideas on music reform - Wagner's ideas on the

subject.

Part III - Boito the librettis.

INTRODUCTION: Main features of Boito's libretti -

AMLETO: background. Analysis of the libretto in relation to

Shakespeare's tragedy - UN TRAMONTO and LA FALCE - ERO e LEANDRO:

The story. Comments on the dramatic and poetical structure of

the libretto ~ LA GIOCONDA: Boito's libretto and Hugo's

melodrama 'Angelo, Tyron de Podoue'. Dramatic and poetic

treatment of the story - SEMIRA and PIERLUIGI FARNESE: negative

and positive qualities of Boito's lesser libretti - IRAM:

analysis of the libretto and its relationship to Shakespeare's

Induction to 'The Taming of the Shrew' - BASI t BOTE: the story.

Comments on the libretto - OTELLO: background. Rossini's

'Otello*. Analysis of Boito's libretto in relation to the

original source. Aptness of Boito's poetry for musical

elaboration - FALSTAFF: background - Musical settings of

Shakespeare's comedy by musicians other than Boito. Analysis of

the libretto in relation to the original source.

Port IV - Boito, the librettist-composer of 'Mefistofele'

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FAUST LEGEND, from its origin

up to Goethe's masterpiece. FAUST AND COMPOSERS OTHER THAN

BOITO. Goethe's 'Faust'. Romantic, modern and avant-garde

works on the subject. Liszt's, Berlioz's, Schumann's and

Gounod's approach to Goethe's 'Faust*. GOETHE'S PLAY AND

BOITO'S LIBRETTO. Analysis of the libretto in relation to the

original source. BOITO'S OPERA - the score. Relationship

between music and poetry. 'Mefistofele1, in the light of

Boito's new conception of musical drama.

Part V - Boito, the librettist-composer of 'Nerone*

THE LIBRETTO OF NERONE: literary and historical

sources. Neronian scores by musicians other than Boito.

Analysis of the libretto. THE OPERA; the score. Relationship

between music and poetry. Comments of ’Mefistofele* and 'Nerone'.

CONCLUSION.

APPENDICES A II Quattro Giugno

Le Sorelle d'ltalia

Scapigliatura

Libro dei Versi

Re Orso

Boito's revision of 'Mefistofele*

Commedia dell'arte

Comments of Mefistofele.
 (v)

Preface

Boito is one of the most highly esteemed Italian librettists of

all time. His fame lies principally in the libretti which he

provided for Verdi. These are outstanding achievements and

their qualities have won the approval of even the most fastidious

critics. It is however-unfortunate that little is known about

Boito's other libretti and his own compositions are but infrequently

performed. Conrad L. Osborne writes:

I think that if I were called upon to select a

particular case that would best illustrate the
basic injustice of artistic life I would decide
on that of Arrigo Boito, who wrote 'Mefistofele':
here is a work lodei with stunning dramatic
effects, blessed by a libretto of real dramatic
strength, informed throughout with an intellectual
honesty that will not compromise with the
philosophical content of its source....i

It is however comforting to know that since the New York City

Centre Opera's production of 'Mefistofele* in 1969, there has

been a renewed interest in his work. Even more pleasing is the

fact that Boito's almost forgotten 'Nerone* provoked such

enthusiastic reaction when broadcast by R.A.I., Radio Televisione

Italiona, in August 1975, that the recording was re-broadcast

in October of the some year.

My intention in writing this dissertation has been to show

not only Boito's ability as librettist-adapter and librettist-

creator; the relationship between music and poetry in the libretti

which he set to music himself; his achievement in the light of

1. Osborne, C.L. High Fidelity. December 1959, p.87.

his idealistic music-reform but also his contribution as a

composer.

Boito the man cannot be ignored in a study of Boito the

artist and I have therefore also written at some length on this

subject. I have tried to collect between the covers of this

dissertation as much published and unpublished information as

possible about Boito, together with the opinions which I have

formed as a result of my study of Boito and his works.

In order to assist English readers I have provided English

translations of Italian quotations and portions of libretti.

All these translations are my own work unless otherwise

acknowledged.

My thanks are due to Maestro Notale Gollini, of Milan, for

his help in providing relevant material and Maestro Guglielmo

Serbian, Head of the Library of the Milan Conservatory, for his

warm encouragement. To my supervisor. Professor U.V. Schneider,

Director of the Research Unit in the Field of Music of the

University of the Witwatersrand, I owe a special debt of gratitude

for his invaluable assistance and criticism.

 (

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I - BOITO THE MAN

Page
CHAPTER I Early years .. .. .. 2

II Middle period • 30

III Last years ., 38

IV Boito and Verdi 45

PART II - BOITO THE CRITIC

Boito's ideas on operatic reform

PART III - 801TO THE LIBRETTIST

INTRODUCTION .. .. 68

CHAPTER I Amleto .. .. ,. 75

II Un tramonto and La fa,Ice .. ., 95

III Ero e Leandro .. .. .. .. 97

IV La Giooondo .. .. ,, ., 101

V Semira and Pier Luigi Farnese .. .. 110

VI Iram .. ». .. .. 119

VII Basi e bote .. .. ,, .. 132

VIII Otello 140

IX Falstaff .. .. .. .. 172

PART IV - BOITO - THE LIBRETTIST COMPOSER OF MEFISTOFELE

CHAPTER I The development of the Faust legend 203

II Faust and composers other than Boito 207

 (viii)

Esa!

C1APTER III Goethe’b ploy and Boito'% libretto .. 223

IV Boato's opera •• .. .. .. 254

PART V - BOITO THE LIBRETTIST COMPOSER OF NERONE

CHAPTER I The libretto of Nerone ,. .. 311

II The opera .. .. .. .. 338

CONCLUSION .. .. 378

APPENDICES: A .. .. .. .. .. 385

B <■ •« «« .» .> 387

C *» »« «• •• •• 391

D .. .• «« •> <• 393

E ,, «« .. .. ,. 398

F •* •• •« •• •# 404

G ., .« «« •• •« 407

H ■« •* «« »« •« 408

BIBLIOGRAPHY 410
BOITO - THE MAN
 2

CHAPTER 1

EARLY YEARS

Enrico Giuseppe Giovonni Boito, later known as Arrigo Boito, wos

born in the city of Padua on the 24th of February 1842, the second

son of Silvectro Boito, a Venetian painter of good repute, and of

Giuseppina Radolinska, a Polish lady of aristocratic but impoverished

family. Traces of Boito's mixed parentage may perhaps be found

in his conception of art, in the mixture of 'the shining and

compact ideal of the man of Italy, who dreams the Doric capitals;

the frontons of Aegina; the symmetrical, straight, solemn Palladion

lines'* and the ideal of the man of the North, a darker ideal,

more severe but more impregnated with the vapours of the Paradise

and the misteries of the soul'

Boito's writings are characterized by lack of autobiographical

references; memories of childhood are non-existent. Of an

extremely reserved nature, he never knew the pleasure of sharing

confidence, the luxury of self-revelation. In the course of

years his reticence wos to assume the character of a neurotic

fixation; he wos capable of violent reactions towards anyone who

tried to penetrate his inner soul or to discover his inner thoughts.

1. Boito, A.: 'Mendelsshon in Italia' in Tutti gli scritti

Milan: Mondadori, 1942; p . 1249.

2. Ibid., p.1250
 3

Boito's infancy was embittered by the disruption of the family, an

experience which was to leave on inneffaceable scor. Perhaps this

was why he always loved women who were unobtainable from the point

of view of marriage - as if he wanted to preclude the possibility

of his fathering a family. We may perhaps also conjecture that

Boito’s intellectual control over emotions and the Ictk of freedom

which was to influence his work in a negative way, was a consequence

of his tendency to create a defensive harrier against the insurgence

of memories too painful to be recalled.

The marriage between Silvestro Boito, on irresponsible and

extravagant man who was to die in 1856, (it seems as a result of a

brawl) ond the reserved Po!.ish gentlewoman had been a failure from

the beginning. It finally broke down, in 1851. Deserted by

their father the two boy- - Camilla, fifteen and Enrico, nine, were

token core of by a certain Luigi Piet, a musician, poet ond journalist

living in Venice where the Boito's family had established themselves

in 1844. It is possible that Piet set o model ,or the future r ito.

He was certainly responsible for his early cultural formation.

Both the children were initiated into the study of music. Camillo,

whose outstanding artistic gifts, inherited from his father, had

won him the patronage of Marquis Pietro Selvatico Estense (the

honorary president of the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice) was to

become an eminent architect and a writer and critic of much

originality. He had an important ond decisive influence upon

his younger brother, not only representing a father image but

 4

also fostering in Enrico o keen sense of beauty. He encouraged

and supported him throughout his life in every way possible. As

to Enrico: A letter sent by Luigi Piet in 1851 to Giuseppina

Boito, temporarily in Poland, perhaps seeking help, or in the hope

of a reconciliation between father and sons, informed her that:

Enrico, who is studying under Giovanni Buzzolla, shows

an extraordinary musica* talent and .an increasing
interest in composition. He always invents tunes and
writes sonatinas ... Maestro Buzzolla wants me to
assure you that, undoubtedly, he has in him the making
of o great composer.1

In order to encourage the musical vocation of her son, Signora

Boito took him to Milan, two years later. In the Lombard capital,

which had for years taken the lead in the political, historical

and cultural life of the notion, the second, very lengthy chapter

of the life of Arrigo Boito started.

The story of Boito1s early years in Milan is to be found in

the documents and reports preserved in the Archives of the

Conservatory of Milan. To this school Boito was admitted in the

autumn of 1853 as a student 'on probation*. A letter written by

Giuseppina Boito to the Curatorship of the Conservatory applying

for a bursary to bo granted to Enrico illustrates the difficult

circumstances in which the Boito family found themselves at the

time. The scholarship was granted and Boito was, in 1854, accepted

as a regular student and assigned to the composition class of Alberto

1. Quoted in Piero Nordi's Vita di Arrigo Boito. Milan:

Mondardori, 1942; pp.35-36.
 5

Mazzucato. In the early stages of his studies Boito gave small

ground for the expectations of Giovanni Buzzolla - his Venetian

teacher. His performance was so unsatisfactory that the authorities

of the Conservatory decided to dismiss him. Only Mazzucato seems

to hove recognized the potential of his pupil and it was through

his intervention that Boito was allowed to complete his musical

education. According to the final report of the year 1855 - 56,

Boito, 'in quanto concerne il ritmo e 1'ormonia non sorti dalla

nature una pronunciata disposizione, ma dell'arte sente perd il

lato e s p r e s s i v o . B o i t o was in root restive in the shackles of

technical rules. His approach to his art was already, at this

youthful period, that of the aesthete,the artist, rather than the

grammarian. This appears already to reveal the influence of

Mazzucato, who, writing in the Gazzetto Musicals' (9th January

1859) proclaimed:

By the word-technique, I do not only mean the knowledge

of the principles of composition, singing, harmony,
instrumentation, but also that of the aesthetic, poetical,
historical culture of which a sound composer cannot do
without.

Carried away by the nossibilities of cultural and spiritual

enrichment, Boito spent endless hours at the Brera Library. He

soon acquired a mastery of the Italian and French languages,

learnt the classical languages, and applied himself to the study

1. 'Not in the least gifted with rhythmical, harmonic and

melodic sense; he seems, however, able to exploit the
expressive possibilities of art.'
 6

of Italian prosody. He read swiftly and voluminously, assimilating

wfat impressed, his choice rather peculiar for o young boy, already

indicating the insatiable curious:ty, the passion for research, the

multitude of interests which he was to preserve throughout his Life.

Mazzucato, a man of High artistic principles, had a profound

influence on Boito. His teaching, unusual in the Italy of the time,

directed the minds, already trained in the set ideas of the past,

towards the trends of the future. It was however through

Mazzucato's enthusiasm that Boito retained a lifelong admiration

for Palestrina and Marcello, in spite of the fact that the same

Mazzucato opposed the views of the uncompromising traditionalists

who equated art to nationalism (and, at that time, to patriotism).

In a frank discussion on the music of the future which could not be

ignored because of false prejudices (Wagner's Dos Kunstwerk der

Zukunft had been written ten years before), Mazzucato wrote: 'Art

today, must be cosmopolitan and not national'.* In proposing

'the exchange of ideas, through the assimilation of aesthetic

elements which, though foreign to native tradition are, no less

than the indigenous, essential to art' Mazzucato asserted both

a modern and antique concept in art - a concept which excluded

each and every form of nationalism because that which is great and

beautiful is beyond any frontier. Mazzucato introduced in the

1. Gozzetta Musicale. 20th June, 1858.

2. Ibi'd.
 7

narrow academic atmosphere of the Milan Conservatory, a wind of

change which was to transform it into Italy's most progressive

school of music.

This spirit of innovation was immediately felt by both the

public and critics at the Aecodemio finale of the Conservatory, in

I860. It was particularly obvious in the essay presented by two

students of the second last years - Arrigo Boito^ and Franco Faccio.

Their work was a patriotic cantata entitled 'II auattro giuqno'

(The 4th of June), of which the poetic text and part of the music

was composed by Boito. Under Mazzucato he had made remarkable

progress and was, by this time, one of the most promising students

of the school of music, having, in the previous year, written a

symphony^ which had been performed at the Conservatory with success.

This was to remain Boito's only instrumental work. Since

adolescence Boito had felt himself attracted by dramatic music

because of the wide possibilities offered by it. 'The word is

the clearest and most precise medium bestowed on man in order that

he may portray his mind and his soul'® he wrote. From the

1. The name Arrigo, a romanticized version of Enrico, appears

for the first time on the title page of this work.
2. Regarding this symphony Piero Nardi, in Vita di Arrigo Boito
(p.49) writes 'Regrettably, of Boito'$ symphony, there is no
trace'. Nardi is incorrect in this statement, as the
symphony (in A minor) is to be found in the Library of the
Milan Conservatory. I actually have a photostat copy of the
autographed score (see Fig.l).
3 V'-rigo Boito, Scritti e document!', ed. Comitato per le
Oni'":nze ad Arrigo Boito nel trentennio della roorte. Milan:
Riz- li, 1948; p.27.
Symphony in A minor
Title page of the autographed score.
 9

beginning of his career as a composer, he sought the old of the

word so that music could acquire more precise significance.

Perhaps he was prompted by the exigencies of his intellectual

nature, perhaps, by the example of composers such as Beethoven,

Wagner, Berlioz, who, during the first half of the century, had

successfully attempted to reintroduce the word amidst the fundamental

values of music. Perhaps for this reason, Boito's first important

success took the shape of a cantata.

'II quattro giugno1, dedicated to a Garibaldian school-fellow

who died on the battle field, was written to celebrate the decisive

victory of the liberation of Lombardy. The work is of interest

because dramatically as well os ideologically, it anticipates many

features of Boito's future production.*

A critic of the time wrote: 'In the poetry of Boito there

is a worm inspiration, a sincere feeling but there is something

more: DRAMA'^ a perspicacious remark which focusea the true

nature of the talent of the budding poet. Another critic, on the

Gczzetta Musicale,(l6 September I860) recalled Gluck's famous

'Alceste1 letter of 176'/, forgetting however that Gluck's attempt to

endeavour to reduce music to its proper function, that

of seconding poetry by enforcing the expression of the
sentiment, and the interest of the situations, without
interrupting the action or weakening it by superfluous
ornament

1. 'See Appendix A, p. 385.

2. II Pungolo - 9 September 1860. (The article is unsigned.)

 10

was little different from the principle stated by Benedetto

Marcello in the introduction to the Solmi: 'As regards music, it

must be a superimposure which must be submitted to the expression

of the word and the s e n t i m e n t . I n any case, the opinions

expressed by both' Gluck and Marcello were nothing other than o

reiteration of the views of the Cameroto Florentine: and, later,

Monteverdi. T h e ,nineteenth century reforms of Wogner were of

course a summing up of oil these views.

The originality of the music, striving after new expressiveness

wag unanimously acknowledged but, nevertheless, it was noted that

the two young composers, Boito and Faccio, could often not resist

the temptation of being influenced by German music. It was pointed

out to them that what was congonial to the German environment and

atmosphere was not ideally suited to that of their home country.

The warnings, hevever," went unheeded, as in the last work produced

by Boito and Faccio as students for the AccoUemia Finale of 1861 -

the Mistero ’Sorelle d'ltolia1^ (Sisters of Italy).

On the front page of the 'Sorelle d'ltolia' Boito wrote:

1, Marcello.Benerletto, 'Estro poetico ed ormonicot, Venice

D. Lovisa, 1724.28, vol.l, p.2.

2. See Appendix B, p. 387.

I
 11

Meglio di ogni oltro titolo ci pare alluda all1 indole

di questo lavoro il titolo di 'Mistero1, gia* usato dal
Mickiewicz e dal Byron, a indicare un componimento di
soggetto oltranatiirale e fantastic© a simiglianza del
Misteri' dell* Evo Medio'.1

These words confirm a tendency already prevalent in Boito - to

conceive 'reality under the cosmic and universal aspect*^ spurring

him on to portraying life as an eternal conflict of the antithetical

principles of Heaven and Earth, Light and Darkness, Good and Evil,

of which the world represents the final result. These principles

are reflected dramatically in the conscience of every man generating

the dualism of the Ideal ai’.d Reality, of Belief and Negation, of

Hope and Despair. We may explain Boito*s attitude as the result

of the impact made on him by the romantic ideologies of his time,

so intensely felt by him as to determine his 'forma mentis* and

to play so large a part in his future work.

To return to 'Sorelle d'ltalia'; All the critics were

unanimous in their praise of the literary text 'energico per

concetti, sfolgorente per brio d'immagini originate nelle idee

e nelle forme1 as related by Maestro Gallignani. The music was

1. 'The word Mistero, already used by Mickiewicz and Byron to

indicate a work with o fantastic and supernatural theme
similar to the Mysteries of tho Middle Ages, seems to suggest
the true character of this work.1
2. Croce, B. 'Arrigo Boito*, in 'La letteratura della Nuova
Italia1. Bari: Lotorzo, 1947, vol.l, p.258.
3. 'Vigorous in concept, vividly imaginative and original both
in content and form'. Quoted in Arnaddo Bohaventura's
'Arrigo Boito - Mofisfofele', Milan: Bottega di Poesia,
1924, p.23.
 12

reviewed with the same 'fervour. In particular Boito’s music was

found, even if interesting, to be for too original and too

obviously influenced by the new musical trends prevailing in the

Europe of the time. The notices of the most eminent critics of

Milan were, however, enough to attract attention to the young

composers. Despite lively polemics, or more probably because of

them, the interest aroused by the Cantata brought with it success

in that the Minister of Public Instruction, at that time the famed

literary critic Francesco De Sanctis, awarded Boito and Foccio a

grant which enabled them to study further in various capitals of

Europe. In the late autumn of the same year (1861) the 'neo

maestri' were in Paris, the city of the 1artistic polytheism1,*

where recognized leading exponents of the world of culture

foregathered. Moving left behind them the stifling, provincial

environment of Italian culture, Boito and Foccio were, in Paris,

able to breathe the air of the sophisticated world. They came into

contact with aesthetic experiences which wore only just reaching

Italian circles and were not yet fully understood. They paid

their respects to Rossini - still the idol of the Parisians; made

the acquaintance of Berlioz and Gounod and eventually - at the end

of February 1862 - they met Verdi. It is in this year that there

commenced the relationship which 'was to reach its glorious

1. Boito, A. 'Cronaca musicale parigina', in op cit., p.2047.

 13

culmination in the creation of 'Otello' and 'Folstaff*

The 'Inno delle Nozionl1, (Hymn of the Nations) which Verdi,

as the representative of Italy, contributed to the International

Exhibition held in London in 1862, was the first product of the

Verdi - Boito partnership. Boito's text is justly criticized by

Francis Toye as 'the kind of panegyric on the supersession of war by

commerce and the arts, typical of international gatherings!,.^

It was obviously compiled in a great hurry, for a certain purpose

and is hardly worthy of serious consideration.

The period spent in Paris was for Boito an important one.

During this time the embryos of 'Faust' and 'Nerone' ware taking

shape in his mind. It was also here, in Paris, that Boito started

preparing the adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' for Faccio, thus

beginning his career as a librettist-collaborator. With the

'Cronoco musicals parigina*, written for the newspaper 'La

Pe.rsoveranza1, (2nd March 1862) the young Boito embarked upon his

activities as critic and journalist - an occupation to which he

became almost completely dedicated in later years.

In the spring Boito left Paris and went to Mystki, in Poland,

with the object of meeting the relatives of his mother, the latter

1. Walker, F. 'The man Verdi' London, J.M. Dent, 1962, p.447.

2. Toye, F. 'Giuseppe Verdi, his life and works'. Now York:

■A.A. Knopf, 1931; p.455.
 14

having died in 1859. In the solitude of the Polish country Boito

completed the libretto of 'Amleto* and wrote a few poems of great

beauty. He was still working on Faust but at this time, as we

gather from a letter to a friend - he had turned his attention to

Tacitus and, as a consequence, was pondering over 'the melodromma

to be baptized with the terrible name of Norone1

Following a circuitous route which brought him into Germany,

Belgium and England, Boito returned to Milan towards the end of

1852. He was now twenty. His travels had enlarged his outlook

enormously - far beyond the standard of his fellow-countrymen.

He became involved with the S capigliaVro,^ a party of young

iconoclasts dreaming of o renewal and regeneration of the arts.

He engaged himself wholeheartedly in the battle of reforming

Italian music and literature, his energies be-'ng, at that time,

almost exclusively devoted to literature and journalism.

Boito's activity as a critic was confined to the decade 1862

- 1872. The articles he contributed to La Perseveronza, Figaro.

Politecnico. Gazzetta Musicale, became the vehicles for the

propagation of his i-leals. Especially in Figaro - the periodical

founded in 1864 by Boito and Praga - the battle against the

conformism of Italian art and the absenteeism of the cultural

1. De Rensis, R. 'Letters di Arrigo Boito’. Roma: Novissima.

'1932; p.250.

2. See Appendix C, p. 391.

environment, assumed moments of extreme tension and rebellion.*

Whilst in France the ground of the young art was conquered little

by little, and a generation of pallid poets died singing, unheeded

but not in vain ... in Italy, a contented flock of sheep was

reviving the epic poem, the idyll of the Arcadians, the hymn of

the Prophets' wrote Praga in the second number of Figaro (2nd

January, 1864), And Boito:

We have lost the critical sense. There is no criticism

from the public or from the press. This explains the
apathetic tolerance every evening in the pit (stalls) of
our theatres; this explains the vacuous prattle every
day in our papers. This explains the oblivion in which
most vital problems of art are smothered, with nobody
thinking of the harm and scorn which lie ahead if things
continue in this way for a little while longer,2

In 1864 Mazzucato, Boito, Praga and the critic Filippo

Filippi, founded the'Societa del Quartette1, with the aim of

interesting the exclusively operatic-minded Milanese public \n the

classics of Italian chamber music and modern music in general.

The society had its official 'Giornole' to which Boito was the

most active and outspoken contributor.

1. The battle against conformism in art hod already elicited

from Praga the blasphemous verses against Italy's most famous
novelist and poet Alessandro Manzoni. (in 'Penomfare*,
Bologna, 1963, p.115), and from Boito the 'Ode all'Arte
Italiana' (in Tutti gli scritti*, pp.1373-74). This Ode,
loaded with robust remarks on the debased stoto of Italian
contemporary music, was recited by Boito on the occasion of
the first performance of Faccio's opera 'I profucihi
.fiamminghi1, (at La Scolo, on 11th November, 1863).
Published a few days later in the periodical 'Musso di
famiglia', the Ode was read b, Verdi and taken by him as a
personal affront.

2. Figaro, 21st January, 1864; itt Tutti gli scritti, p.1103.

 16

All Boito's articles are marked by a passion which is not

found anywhere else in his works. They are written in a vigorous

prose style; are strikingly imaginative and rich in reminiscences

resulting from his vast and catholic reeding. They offer a

detailed picture of the cultural life of his time, as well as a

highly subjective approach to the musical work under consideration.

Some of Boito's judgements and valuations seem curious, or

exaggerated, today - such as his excessive enthusiasm for Meyerbeer

and Mendelssohn and even more excessive dislike of Wagner. Boito

was, however, one of the few musicians in Italy able to appreciate

Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Schumann and, above all, Beethoven. His

admiration for the latter verged on idolatry.

Boito's poetical and literary production belongs to the

years from 1861 - 1875 (roughly coinciding with the period of

Scap'glictura). It is represented by the 'Libro dei Versi' (Book

of poems); the polymetric poem ' Re Orso1 (King Bear); the

comedy *Le madrl galantl' (The gallant mothers), written in

collaboration with Emilio Proga; the remarkable short stories

'L'Alfier nero1 (The Block bishop)J 'Iberia'* the unfinished

'II Tropezio*, (The trapeze); and the two chapters constituting

'La Musica in piazza1, (Music in the piazza) dedicated to

'Barbapedana' and 'Gippa' - choractoristic figures of 'modern

minstrels' dear to the Milanese of the old days.

The 'Libro dei Versi' and 'Ro Orso' are of special importance,

first, becauso Boito's libretti ore rooted in his early poety and,
second , because the essence of Scapigliotura is to be found in

them.^" Re Orso, published in 1865, caused a sensation; it even

attracted the favourable notice of Victor Hugo. At the age of

twenty-three Boito was, by far, the most progressive, independent

and original poet in Italy. He was the acknowledged, and much

discussed, leader of the Milanese avant-garde. All his doings

aroused wide interest. 'Take note of this strange phenomenon'

wrote the writer Antonio Ghislanzoni (Verdi's future librettist

.for Aida)

for a certain number of people Arrigo Boito is a mental

cose, an Ostrogoth, a gibbous mediaeval intellect, a
Himalaya of presumption. And yet, as soon as he
produces something - prose or poetry or music - everyone
u .nts to read it or to hear it; and they talk and
discuss and get excited. Masterpiece! Trash! These
are their judgements...'2

In the same year, on the 30th May, Faccio's 'Amleto' was performed

at the Teatro Carlo Felice, in Genoa. The opera did not mark the

beginning of a new musical era, as hoped by Boito, who thought to

have identified in Faccia the renewer of Italian music, whose

advent he, Boito, had advocated in the famous 'Ode All . rte

Italiana:

Forse gia nacque chi sovra I'altare

Rizzera 1'arte, verecondo e puro, g
Su quell1altar bruttato come un muro di lupanare.

1. See Appendix D and A p p e n d i x E . , pp. 393 and 398

2. De Rensis, R. Introduction to Critiche e cronaehe

musical! di Arrigo Boito (1862 - I870)1. Milan: Treves,
1931, pp. xvi-xvii.
3. In 'Tutti gli scritti, pp.1373-4.
 18

(Perhaps the man i.s already born who will restore art to its

dignity, on that altar defiled like the wall of a brothel.)

Amleto was, however, warmly received by the audience, much

talked about and discussed at length in print. In on open letter^

written by Mazzucato to Ronchetti - Monteviti (Foccio's teacher),

Boito's libretto was described as a masterpiece which contributed

greatly to the success of the opera. The press was unanimous in

the praise of the d-.,utant librettist.

In 1866 the outbreak of war with Austria compelled Boito

to abandon temporarily his artistic activity. Together with

Faccio and Praga he enlisted with the volunteers under the command

of Garibaldi. Boito and Faccio, inseparable through the whole

campaign’brought, even to the war, the independent and adventurous

spirit of Scapigliatura, running away from their camp to Milan in

order to meet their respective women friends and coming back

hastily,just in time to start off on the campaign*.^ Boito's

attentions were, at this time, devoted to the Duchess Eugenia Litto,

the first lady of Milan society. She was five years older than

the poet, mar ed and, in the words of the then Empresse of France

Eugenie, 'une des plus jolies femmes d'Europe'.^ In addition to

1. Published in the 'Giornale della societb del Quartette*.

31st May 1865.

2. Cattaneo, 0. 'Storig della letteroturo Italiona' Milano:

Garzanti 1968; vol.viii, p.269.

3. Nardi, P., op. cit., p.203.

 19

being beautiful, Eugenia Litta was intelligent, cultured, sensitive.

The tone of the letters Boito addressed to her suggests a deep love,

a genuine youthful passion that she, apparently, returned. When

the campaign was over the lives of Faccio and Boito diverged for a

while. Faccio embarked on his career os conductor and went to

Berlin and Copenhagen to direct seasons of Italian operas. Boito

was invited to join the Parisian Press. Victor Hugo, encouragingly

wrote to.him:'I am convinced that, should you write in La Liberte

about criticism, philosophy, nistory and art, you will create a

sensation .... You deserve and will have success.1"'" Boito

appears to hove been, for o time, undecided as to whether to accept

the offer. Eventually nothing came of the project and he resumed

his life in Milan. In spite of being taken up by Milanese society

Boito was still immersed in his artistic dreams. In the spring

of 1867 he was again at Mystki, in Poland. He needed a fresh

inspiration. In the tranquility of the countryside he devoted his

main energies to the realization of his Faust project.

The success and the increasing popularity of Gounod's opera

on the same subject (first performed in Paris in 1859) did not

deter him. He did not wish to limit himself to the Gretchen

episode as Barbier and Corr& (Gounod's easy-going librettists) had

1. Je suis convaincu que, si vous bcrivez dons La LibertS

critique, philosophic, histoire, art, vous jetterez tout de
suite un grand bclat...' Vous meritez et aurer le succes*.
The letter, dated 19th November 1866, is reproduced in Nardi,
cit. p.232.
 20

done. As Patrick Smith writes, Boito;

knew in himself that any opera on the vast subject of

Goethe's epic would hove to encompass a great deal not
only in terms of length and complexity but also in
terms of the inclusion of Goethe's for-ranging ideas
and ideals.1

The theme of the struggle between Good and Evil seen in a

cosmic os well as in a human context and the Faust myth,

symbolizing that human restlessness that seeks to transform the outer

world, must have exercised on irresistible fascination on his mind

so given to philosophical brooding. As a poet he succumbed to

Helen's magic and wonted to take advantage of the wonderful poetry

of the Classical SVulpurgis night scene - an episode which no other

composer hod dared touch. Boito was also attracted to the subject

by the conformity between it and his artistic nature, always

fluctuating between:

the ideal of the man of the North,..imprognated with

the vapours of the Paradise and the misteries of the
soul' and 'the ideal of the man of Italy who dreams
the Doric capitals; the frontons of Aegina'2
and the serene beauty of the classical world.

Dismayed by the almost impossible task of reducing Goethe's huge

work to the dimensions of an opera libretto, Boito had originally

intended to treat it in two separate operas: 'Mefistofele' and

'Elena'. Eventually he renounced this idea and solved his problem

by incorporating both parts of Goethe's Faust in a large scale

1. Smith, P. 'The tenth Muse - A historical study of the opera

libretto' London: Gollancz, 1971, p.334,

2.
 ' 21

opera to be called 1liefistofele*.

In the winter of 1867 the management of La Scala was able

to announce 'Mefistofele' (side by side with Gounod's 'Romeo et

Juliette1 and Verdi's 'Don Carlos') as the new opera d'oLbligo for

the next Carnival Season. As Boito's critical and literary

activity had by this time earned for him a wide reputation, the

performance of his first operatic work assumed the importance of

a national event. It was preluded and followed by$>ress campaign

for and against the work more intense than anything called forth

by the work of other contemporary composers. For the occasion

it was decided to set aside some of the rules of the theatre -

the libretto was published and sold days before the performance

to enable it to be judged as a literary work in itself and to

allow the public to come to an understanding of its unusual

dramatic-philosophic conception. On Filippi's suggestion, it was

decided, perhaps unwisely, to let the composer conduct his own

work so as to form a complete trinity•- poet,composer, director.

From what came to be known during the endless rehearsal as to the

originality and the beauty of the music, it seemed that 'Mefistofele*

was to be a landmark in the history of Italian opera. The

prophecies of Boito’s supporters were not destined to be realized,

however. If the performance of Mefistofele, on the 5th of March,

1868 remained memorable in the annals of operatic history, it wos

'on account of the extraordinary scenes witnessed and the violence,

the passion aroused in the audience by the work of a young artist

 22

of t w e n t y - s i x . Y e t , the evening had begun under the most

favourable auspices. A house overflowing with oil that was most

elegant and noticeable in Milan society received the composer with

a spontaneous, unanimous demonstration of sympathy. The last bars

of the 'Prologue ,in H e a v e n i n spite of being played fortissimo,

were made inaudible by the thunderous applause. The first, act

(The Easter Sunday and The Poet) made little impression but the

'Garden Scene', at the beginning of Act ii, was rewarded with

approval. It was during the second part of the same act that

violent reaction started. The scene on the Brocken, (The Witches'

Sabbath', with the Witches' orgy and the infernal cohorts singing

the plainsong of the Tantum ergo during Mefistofele's coronation)

was found provocative and irreverent by the majority of the audience.

The antagonism between Boito's partisans and his opponents became

more and more heated as the evening progressed. The third act -

the moving 'Prison scene' - was utterly spoiled by the inadequacy

of the interpreters. The grand scene at the Emperor's Palace,

with which the fourth.act started, was greeted with hisses and

catcalls but fche following 'Classical Sabbath' scene seemed

fleetingly to be found acceptable. The real fracas was reserved

for the Intermezzo, sinfonico - a descriptive orchestral piece

placed between the fourth and the fifth acts. It was meant to

1. Bonavia, F. Grove's Dictionary of music and musicians.

London: ed. Eric Blom, 1954. 5th ed. vol.l, p.792.
 23

portray the clash of the catholic armies of the Emperor with those

of the pseudo Emperor, supported by Faust and Mefistofele. The

pandemonium reached its height during the fifth .act (Foust's death)

of which virtually nothing could be heard. At the end of the

opera, whilst the audience was in open revolt, the whole orchestra

rose to a man to give the unfortunate composer a spontaneous

ovation. Fist fights developed; the house was cleared and the

exasperated crowd continued to fight in the piazza outside La Scala

and the adjacent streets until, next morning.

It has been repeatedly said that the audience of La Scala,

too conservative and nationalistic in outlook 'was not ready to

understand the new language that he (Boito) intended to speak'*

and that because of prejudice, 'its verdict was bound to be

w o r t h l e s s . I t is true that the opera, in which the composer

was obviously struggling to free himself from the shackles of the

Italian tradition, was not intended to please the ordinary opera-

goer. We must howover remember that the audience, which had

rapturously applauded the Prologue in Heaven - the least traditional

and most original part of the opera - was not initially prejudiced

against Boito. The excessive length of the opera (the performance

had lasted nearly six hours); the intricacy of the plot and -

above all - the faulty execution, were mainly responsible

It Mazzucato, G. Grove's Dictionary of music and musicians

London: ed. Fuller Maitland, vol.l, p.355., 1919.

2. Grove's dictionary af music and musicians, 1954t p.793.

for the failure of Mefistofele. It does however seem, from whet

appeared in the press, that the young composer hod proceeded too

for on the way to originality and hod, perhaps, undertaken more

than he was capable of achieving. Strangely enough, the novelty

of the work even disconcerted many of Boito's confreres of the

Scopiglioturo. Writing in 'La Gazzetto di. Hilcr.o'. (6th March,

1868), Giuseppe Rovoni, after praising the librettist for his

masterly condensation of Goethe's masterpiece, dismissed the

musician with contemptuous remarks;, Iginio Ugo Tarchetti, of

the Ewporio pittoxesco, (15 - 21 March, 1868) found the verdict

of the audience to be )ust. Boito's music was lacking in passion

as well as in melodic fluency; the recitatives were monotonous

and boring in the extreme. Considering Boito's literary gifts

to be undoubtedly superior to his musical ones, Tarchetti concluded

his article with the remark that it would be highly fortunate if

the failure of th pera persuaded its author to follow, in the

future, only the path which would inevitably have brought him

ultimate fame and success - poetry.

This opinion was fairly generally held.

Boito's future lack of conviction regarding his musical

gifts was probably the result of the failure of Mefistofele. It

is possible that, being a critic himself, he recognized the justice

of much of the criticism which appeared in the press after his

unlucky debut. Be it as it may, he accepted the fact that the

 25

opero needed many and courageous cuts,^ at the cost of sacrificing

the libretto, though masterly in conception and blessed with

original and beautiful verses. Seven years elapsed before foito's

setback was to be reversed. As his finu'cial condition was

precarious he resumed work. For the next ten years Baito was

indefatigable. Beside continuing his literary and journalistic

activities he wrote translations and several libretti, under the

pseudonym of Tobia Gorrio (an anagram of his own name). The

translations of Wagner's Rienzi. Tristan. Das Leibesmohl dor

.Apostel, the Wesendonk-lieder; of Weber's FreischUtz? of

Glinka’s Russian and Ludmilla, may be regarded as the most

important ones.

In 1871', Boito, whilst working on Nerone and the re-arrangement

of Mefistofele. started setting to music his own new libretto,

'Era e Leandro1. He also revised the libretto of Amleto for

Faccio,but the revival of the opera at La Scala, on 12th February

1871,proved to be a failure. By 1872 'Ero e Leandro' was apparently"

completed. It did not, however, please its hypercritical author

who subsequently destroyed most of the score. The libretto was

again sex by Giovanni Botbesini in 1879, and, more successfully,

by Luigi Fancinelli in 1897. Boito*s other libretti - with the

exception of 'La Gioconda* written in 1874 - 75 for Amilcare

Panchielli, were intended for talented composers of the younger

1. See Appendix F, p. 404.

 26

generation. The eclogue 'Un tromonto' (1873), was written for

Fciccio's pupil Gaetano Coronaro; the oriental tableau 'La falce1

(1875) for Alfredo Catala.ni; 'Semira' (or 'La regina di Babilu',

1876) for Luigi San Germane ai.d 'Pier Luigi Farnese' (1877) - an

episode of the Italian Renaissance - for Costantino Palumbo.

'Iram* (1879) was prepared - although never set - for Cesare

Dominiceti. It is a most beautiful text for a comic opera

foreshadowing 'Folstaff1 not only in mood but in verbal virtuosity

os well. 'Basi e bote1, the date of which is uncertain, is a

'commedio di maschere" in Venetian dialect, full of verve. Boito

wrote it originally for himself but it was only to be set in 1927

by Riccardo Pick-Mangiagelli. All the translations ond libretti

written by Boito during these years are important os they played

their part in preparing him for his later role. It was through

these relatively unimportant ventures that Boito became acquainted

with every style. He acquired an absolute mastery of prosody and

vocabulary; he widened, perfected and reinforced his instinctive

dramatic genius thus readjing himself for the two collaborations of

which he was to write: 'The act in my life with which I am most

satisfied is the voluntary service that I dedicated to the Man who

is just, noblest of all and truly great.'*

Verdi appears to have conceived the idea of writing an opera

on the subject of Nero in about 1871. Giulio Ricordi (Boito's

1. Weaver, W.F. ’Boito-Gorrj.o, the critic1. Opera News.

March 28, 1955, p.6.
 27

and Verdi's publisher) enthralled by the possibility of giving

'to Italian art a new musical masterpiece ... perhaps one of its

greatest masterpieces' did his best to bring together Verdi and

the young poet 'whose very great talents the some Verdi 'had

recently had occasion to admire in A m l e t o . B o i t o could not yet

give Verdi unreserved admiration but hod arrived at something like

a just estimato. Moreover, as Franck Walker writes*.

the position of Boito, a true poet and a man of high

literary ideals, was that he saw Verdi heedlessly
expending his great gifts in the dehnsed medium of
the Italian operatic melodrama, on librettos that
were a by-word for absurdity and banality of language.
He had a vision of the possibility of a new marriage
. of poetry and music such as he imagined to have
existed in Greek tragedy.2

He consistently worked towards the realization of this ideal.

Boito was, with an unselfishness which we cannot help but admire,

prepared tn renounce his own libretto, thus socrificing his most

cherished ambition, in favour of the older composer. Eventually,

the idea of Nerone being driven out of Verdi's mind by the prospect

of Aida, the project came to nothing. Nearly nine years were to

elapse before the possibility of collaboration became reality.

The revision of Mefistofele was finished by the early autumn

of 1875. Its performance was due at the Teatro Comunale, in

Bologna, on the 4th of October. Bologna, the Bayreuth of Italy

1. Ricordi's and Verdi's letters on the subject vf 'Nerone' are

quoted in Frark Walker, op. cit., pp.463-7.

2. Walker, F., op. cit., p.462.

os it wos to be named for having first and enthusiastically

received Lohengrin and Tonnhduser (in 1871 and 1872 respectively),

was by this time Italy's most progressive musical city.

Incidentally, it was to Boito that Wagner, after the performances

of Lohengrin at Bologna, addressed his famous ’Brief an einen

italienischen Freund*. This was repeatedly printed in the press.

A passage in it could have been intended to please his young

cosmopolitan colleague:

A new marriage between the geniuses of all the countries

is perhaps necessary; and, in the case of us Germans,
we could not desire a more beautiful choice of love than
that which couples the genius of Italy to the", of Germany,

It is not easy to understand Boito* s attitude towards Wagner.

During the seventies his former dislike of Wagner seems to have

turned to sincere admiration. He, Faccio and Filippi, promoted

the performance of Lohengrin at La Scola in 1873. Wagner was

however to remain an enigma to Boito even in his later life. In

1894, in a letter to the French critic and journalist Camille

Beilaigue,Boito, commenting on Wagner, defined him as:

That .adorable and hateful German creator ... Hybrid,

monstrous, half man and half brute, faun, sotyre,
centaur or Triton, or better still, half God and half
ass; Dionysus in the divine delirium of his inspiration
end Bottom in his foolish stubborness, we will never
be able to love him unreservedly.2

He ended his letter, however, by paying a tribute to the musician

1. Nardi, P. op. cit., p.336.

2. Ballo, F. ’Arriao Boito' Turin, Arione; 1938, pp.30-31.

 29

'who hod conquered the whole sphere of harmony of which only half

had been explored before him.’

In Bologna the •drastically revised Mefistofele won a remarkable

success. It was however in Venice that the opera, performed in

its final version at the atro Rossi ni on 13th May, 1876, under the

baton of Faccio, achieved a real triumph. There were subsequent

productions in several other Italian cities. The first foreign

performance was given in London at Her Majesty's Theatre on 6th

June, 1880. In the same year it reached Boston, New York, Lisbon,

Barcelona, and, shortly aftsr, Warsaw, S-.int Petersburg and Hamburg,

winning sensational acclaim everywhere.

 30

CHAPTER II

MIDDLE PERIOD

In 1876 Boito, freed from the necessity of writing to earn a living,

concentrated his energies on Nerone. 'I live immersed in the

blood and perfumes of Roman decadence"* he wrote to Count

Salina on the 15th February, confiding to him his hopes of having

the opera completed and performed within one year. Its composite

was actually to occupy the rest of his life. The success of

Mefistofele, which had affirmed boito*s musical reputation far

beyond the boundaries of Italy, resulted in a change in his position.

Now, in his early thirties, Boito was a highly esteemed, influential

person, well established in the society of the new V.lan. The

days of Scapigliatura were in the past. Boito, who in the heyday

of his scapigliato life had hymned a 'carousel of suicidal poets'^

had seen too many of them take their own lives in disillusionment

and despair. Iginio Tarchetti (+1869), Giuseppe Rovani ( l-1874),

Emilio Praga (+1875), died before their time having destroyed

themselves through drink and drugs. Giulio Pinchetti (+1870)

shot himself (as Giovanni Camerana was to do some years later)

'tired of chasing phantoms'? as he wrote before dying. They were

the victims of their own psychological malaise as well as of the

1. Nordi, Ropcit. p.406.

2. ... pallida giostra di poeti suicidi...1 (Boito's poem

A Giovanni Camerana1; in op. cit., p.35)
3. '... stanco solo di stringer fantasmi...1. In Nordi, op.
cit., p.349.
 31

unquietness of their oge - on age historically and spiritually

unsettled which left little, or no room at all, to the dreams and

hopes which had accompanied the Risorgimento uprising. Boito

was perhaps the only member of the Scapigliatura who both felt

strongly and could see the lack of moral roots and serurity in his

fellows. He too, hod explored the artificial paradises; he too,

had sought every experience but, a man of stronger fibre, he had

rejected all that was foreign to his nature and found his way back

to reality. He, who hud been so fervent an adherent of

Scapigliatura referred now to it as 'the time of my blessed and

insane and most ignorant youth.

Boito's life, for the next few years was, on the whole,

uneventful, his main occupation, besides working on Nerone, being

the polishing and refurbishing of early poems and libretti. Then,

there came to him a task worthy of the most 'splendid' and most

'elegant' versifier of Italy, of the poet 'endowed with talents of

a truly superior nature',^ In these terms had Ricordi described

Boito to Verdi at the time of the 'Nerone' project. The task was

that of writing a libretto for Verdi. The result was 'Qteilo*.

so successful at its La Scala premiere of 1887 that Boito and

Verdi were persuaded to collaborate once more and produce that

triumph in the field of humourous opera, 'Folstaff', premiered

1, Walker, F., op. cit; p.448.

2, Walker, F. op. cit; p.465.

 32

amidst enormous acclaim in 1893.

It is o sign of Boito* s control over his personal and artistic

emotions that he could write such a brilliantly witty comedy as

Folstaff under circumstances far from favourable. Faccio's

illness and subsequent death (21st July, 1891) were to Boito a •

tremendous blow; voluntarily, he assumed on his shoulders all the

cares and responsibilities deriving from the tragedy and assisted

Faccio and his family in jvery way possible. 'If you knew in what

horror and sorrow I livu you would spare me your harsh words and

suspicions' he wrote to Eleonora Duse in April 1890, during Faccio's

illness - 'I spend my days, all my hours beside him. I hope to

be able to accustom myself to this t o r m e n t ' T h e wonderful

relationship which had, over a few years enriched and enlivened

both Boito1s and Duse’s .life of common work and passion, was now

practically over.

Boito had first met, and admired, the Venetian actress an

1884, at a party given in her honour by the intellectuals of Milan

where she had been playing at the Teatro Carcano for a short

season, alternating Dumas' Fils 'La dome aux camelias' with

Vorga's 'Cqfralleria rusticono'. (The 'play later to be made an

operatic success by Pietro Mascagni, in 1890.) Eleonora Duse,

then twenty-five, was an attractive, intelligent woman besides

being an actress of exceptional talent. Her world-wide renown

1. Nardi, P., op cit., p.579.

 33

was still to come but her genius was already obvious. She was

an extraordinary creature and had had an extraordinary life. A

child of the theatre, Eleonora had trodden the stage since her

earlier childhood, soon acquiring a thorough knowledge of theatrical

conventions and a prodigious mastery of technical means. At the

age of fourteen sh_ hod her first'mystical experience. She was

playing Juliet at Verona when, on smelling a bunch of roses she

had carried with her on to the stage, she ceased to be Eleonora

Duse and 'become' the Shakespearean heroine. Before an enraptured

audience she 'lived' and suffered her part with almost unbearably

poignant intensity of feeling. It was a memorable success;

probably the most important to her. She recalled it towards the

end of her life when, looking back to her tormented.solitary

existence, she said:

... happiness ... was perhaps the rose which fell from
my hands one evening in a theatre at Verona when I was
still a child and my name was Juliet: ... the rose
which Romeo picked up and never gave back to me.^

From that evening Eleonora Duse rejected all professional

mannerisms and conventions in the name of a freer, more human and

spontaneous form of art capable of producing on the stage the

highest and truest reality for herself and others. Duse's early

acting style - nervous, full-blooded, passionate - was wonderfully suited

1. Simoni, R. Eleonora Duse, in the booklet issued on the

occasion of the Mostra celebrativa nel centenario dalla
nascita - 1858 - 1958. Museo Teatrale alia Scala. Milan.
 34

to the romantic and melodramatic repertoire dear to the audiences

of the nineteenth century. Although it had been enthusiastically

praised she was tormented by a profound dissatisfaction and had

conceived a new, more exalted and sophisticated ideal of art, far

removed from what she had actually achieved.

Boito, whom Duse had met again in 1887 after throe years of

artistic wandering and sentimental unhappiness, was to be near her

in one of the most crucial moments of her restless life. He gave

her, love, encouragement, protection, playing also a decisive role

in the shaping of her artistic personality. Boito made Duse

aware of the fact that 'theatre is a trivial thing when one does

not reach the summit.^ He taught her how to 'raise the ardent centre

of life from the heart up to the brain‘d thus converting instinct

end passion into Ideas, sufferance into Poetry. She learned from

him that perfection can only be attained through hard work,

discipline, inflexible self-criticism and an absolute, almost

asceticcl devotion to the artistic ideal. Under Boito's influence

Duse's art matured rapidly gaining immeasurably in restraint,

subtlety and refinement. She was soon to attain a height which,

if we accept the testimony of men such as G.B. Shaw, Chekhov,

Hofmannsthal, Rilke,Garcia Lorca, Pirandello and all critics of

the time, had never been reached on the dramatic stage before.

1. Signorelli, Olga. Eleonora Duse. Milan: Silvano

editorialo d'orte; 1959, p.49.
2. Nardi, P. op. cit., p.564.
 35

As Duse's artistic taste grew more and more refined the old

repertoire, including the now uninspiring translations of

Shakespeare, became hateful to her. She asked Italian playwrights

for new, more original works; she became the ideal, unsurpassed

interpreter of the tormented spirituality of D'Annunzio's,

Chekhov's, Ibsen's, Maeterlinck's heroines. It vrs for Eleonora

Duse that Boito translated 'Antony and Cleopatra', 'Romeo and Juliet',

and 'Macbeth' b e c o m i n g once again interpreter and mediator of

Shakespeare's powerful genius. As with Verdi, Boito guided Duse

to the exegesis of Shakespeare, insisting on a more vigorous approach

to the text in matters of historical truth, in detail as well os

interpretation. On the subject of 'Antony and Cleopatra1 Boito

wrote to her:

Discard all those costumes suitable for a choreographic

action. TRAGIC lines and colours ore needed....? I
think that Shakespeare, in striking Iras dead by means
of Cleopatra's kiss, intended to offer us the visual
and plastic image of the fatality of her kisses. The
feeling, soon to be replaced by other emotions, that
her kisses hove destroyed Antony, his legions, and
Egypt comes to her in a flash. She realizes that her
kisses ore the seal of a violent death.... It is the
woman who, in that moment, feels herself an asp. Gee
how pregnant is this episode and what a new light it
throws on the whole tragedy!^

1. In 1967, Sister Mary of St. Mark (Eleonora Bullough-Duse

the granddaughter and last heiress of Eleonora Duse) donated
a precious collection of documents which belonged to Eleonora
Duse to the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, in Venice. It was
among these documents that Piero Nardi discovered the
authograph translation of Macbeth, the existence of which
was'previously unknown.
2. Nardi, P., op. cit., p.555.
 36

The role of Cleopotro was to become one of Duse's greatest

interpretations. She included the play in her triumphal Russian

tournbe of 1891,and was in that country greeted os 'the symbol of

the immortality of dramatic art which had been so hard tried by

the decadence of the artistic taste of the end of the century.^"

The uniqueness of Duse's expressive style caused such a sensation

as to mark the beginning of a new epoch in the history of Russian

theatre. Anton Chekhov who was present at the first performance

of 'Antony and Cleopatra' in St. Petersburg left a record of the

profound impression made upon him by the Italian actress in his

diary and letters as well as in some lines of the 'Seagull*.

Directly inspired by Eleonora Duse he entirely changed his style

of dramatic composition, influencing, through his new approaches,

the famous Moscow Art Theatre.^ Boito's and Duse's lives were

soon to diverge. She, launched on her career, was passing from

triumph to triumph, destined for a life of unceasing wandering.

He detested the 'circus tent1, exile from his own house - the

house crammed with books where he lived behind locked doors playing

Bach and working with closed abutters and light burning in broad

daylight. Duse and Boito met at constantly widening intervals;

their love was to der'lne into a lifelong correspondence only

1. Signorelli, 0., op. cit., p.5.

2. As the same Chekhov and, aft • him Konstantin Stanislavsky
- the founder of the Moscow Art Theatre - ‘often admitted.
Sea: Sheean, V. 'Eleonora Duse. A season of dream in the
life of Arrigo Boito'. High Fidelity 9. October, 1959, p.167.
 37

interrupted during the period of Duse's stormy relationship with

Gabriele D'Annunzio. After Boito’s death, Eleonora Duse admitted

to her intimates that she ‘owed everything good in her life to

liim1.1

1. Sheean, V., op. cit., p.168.

 38

CHAPTER III

LAST YEARS

Boito entered the new century with his dream of giving life to

Nerone still unrealized. He was still a well respected member of

Milanese intellectual society. In 1893,he had received, together

with Max Bruck, Saint SaSns and Tchaikovsky,the Degree of Doctor

of Music 'honoris causa1 from the Cambridge University, (Oxford

was to bestow a similar honour, later.) In 1895 he was made

Chevalier of the Legion of honour and many titles had been

conferred upon him by the Italian Government. In his dual capacity

as writer and composer he was frequently asked to sit on boards

for the adjudication of dramatic and musical works. He was still

serving the cause of Art (he always wrote it with the capital A)

with unquestionable integrity though with less enthusiasm. He

had assisted Alfredo Catalan!,Giocomo Puccini,Riccardo Zondonai,

among others, during their early struggles but he was out of

sympathy with the general trend towards verismo and its, in his

opinion, ignoble themes. Steeped as he was in the great literature

of the past - Dante, Shakespeare and Goethe - Boito was unable to

accept the new tendencies increasingly invading Western art in the

last three decades of the nineteenth century. The former apostle

of the future, who had advocated active participation towards a new

European art, now chose to ignore the struggles and ideals of the

younger generation. Verdi remained to him the last exponent of

 39

Italy's great musical tradition as well os the harbinger of the

future. Through him he had experienced the great joy of

penetrating into the sphere of uninhibited creativity, the realm

of violent passion, of open air exuberance,from which he had

formerly excluded himself. Verdi died on the 21st January 1901,

carrying 'away with him an enormous measure of light and vital

warmth', as Boito wrote in his wonderful letter to Bellaigue,

continuing:

I threw myself into my work, as if into the sea, to save

myself, to enter into another element, to reach I know
not what shore or to he engulfed with my burden in
exertions (pity me, my dear friend) too great for my
limited prowess.1

Boito's voluntary servitude to Verdi, not only limited to the

preparation of the libretti to 'Otello' and 'Falstaff', had for

too many years diverted his attention from his own work. Now,

that he could have devoted himself whole-heartedly to the

realization of 'Nerone* (the text of which was probably finished

as early as 1890), he was exhausted, probably mentally overworked,

incapable of recapturing the feverish excitement or the serene joy

of working. Of a neurotic, hypersensitive temperament, he was

regretfully tormented by a paralyzing distrust of his own ability,

by the fear of not being able to accomplish his 'cruel task'. In

1901 he, acceding to the pressure of his friends, consented to the

publication of the text of 'Nerone', a tragedy in five acts, with

1. Walker, F.; op. cit.; p.509.

 40

the added 'Avvertenza' that the book 'does not in all respect

conform to the one intended for lyric r e p r e s e n t a t i o n * T h e

tragedy provoked the liveliest discussion. Whilst the grandeur

of its design, the refined beauty of its verse, the aesthetic

consistency of the characters were highly praised, the psychological

reconstruction of the character of Nero, for whom Boito had

deliberately departed from the accepted tradition, excited polemics

often assuming a harsh tone. This criticism probably contributed

to making Boito more and more doubtful and hesitant. The last

chapter of Boito*s life - of which the affectionate demotion of

Velleda Ferretti and the friendly artistic collaboration with

Camille Bellaigue are notable features - is the story of the

struggle with' his ever-expanding, tantalizing opera. In 1902,

after permitting 'Nerone* to be announced for La Scala, Boito

withdrew it, fearful of its artistic inadequacies. He attended

to its revision tenaciously, fanatically even to the extent of

devitalizing the work; he worked with the long patience of the

scholar who, secluded in his 'turris eburnea1/ignores the value of

time. In 1914,Camillo, his much beloved brother, his keenest

supporter, died. Boito was now seventy-two. He hod, in the

past years, lost one by one his oldest and dearest friends - Luigi

Guoldo, Giovanni Camerana, Giuseppe Giacosa, Antonio Fogazzaro.

He carried on working, in isolation. *1 shall finish Nerone, or

1. Boito, A. op. cit., p.182.

 41

I shall not finish it', he had written decades before to Verdi, ,

if I have not the strength to finish it I shall not complain,

but shall pass my life, neither sorry nor glad with that dream in

my m i n d . H o w e v e r , he, who had worked unflinchingly for all his

life, steadfast before his own shrine of discipline, was fully

conscious of the duty he had assigned himself. On the 12th of

October 1916,Boito wrote the word 'fine' on the last page of the

vocal score of 'Nerone' signing 'Arr.igo Boito and Kronos'. He

was still working on the orchestration when after a visit paid to

the front during the first World War, in 1917, he began to feel

unwell. He neve - fully recovered. In March 1918,he was token

to a nursing-home. An internal complaint and an attack of angina

pectoris precipitated the calamity. On June 10, after whispering

to his friends 'When I will be back home again, with two hours of

work a day, for a couple of months, I will be able to complete

"Nerone"....'^, he asked to be left alone, A few minutes later

he passed away. He died in solitude - in that solitude he praised

so much and from which he had drawn so much inspiration for his

works. The news of Boito's death spread immediately over Milan,

the city which had become his own by adoption and upon which he had

had such a dynamic influence for almost half a century.

The manuscript of 'Nerone', together with the letters

1. See Chopier 'Boito and Verdi', p.53.

2. Gotti, Carlo 'Arrigo Boito', in the 'Illustrozione Italiana1,

8th March, 1942.
 42

and notes referring to the opera, was entrusted to Arturo Toscanini

who, having followed the evolution of Nerone step by step and enjoyed

the esteem and confidence of its author, had an intimate understanding

of Boito's intentions. Toscanini, with the help of Smareglia and

Tommasini, revised and completed the opera, orchestrating those

sections in short score, guided by innumerable minute indications

contained in the same score, the rough orchestral score^ and memoranda

found among the papers of the deceased. On 1st May 1924, six years

after its author’s death and half a century after it had been

originally started, the opera which had aroused the intense

curiosity and the anxious expectation of not only Italy, but the

whole of musical Europe, was first performed at La Scalo, Toscanini

conducting. The audience, comprised of visitors from all parts of

the world, had come to Milan to make this gala occasion a glorious

tribute to B^ito. Nerone, superbly performed by a cast which

included Rosa Raisa (Asteria), Luisa Berta c (i-ubria), Aui< ' -,i. -

Fertile (Nerone), Carlo Goleffi (Fanuel) v-v.’ Journet (Simon

Mago), Ezio Pinza (Tigellino), was staged wj.tk cr magnificence

hardly seen before and was received with riotous .••"•it •.-.las'n. The

contrast between the dying, pagan world of power ana •.urruption

represented by Nerone and his court and the new born world nf faith

and spirituality embodied in the gentle figure of Fanuel and his

Christian brethren, was stupendously evoked by the combined

resources of music, poetry, scenography and choreography. However,

after the curtain fell on the lost performance of Nerone. mony

1. The existence of this score is not generally known. A

•reproduction of the last two pages is given at Fig.2.
 43

Fig.2 The lost two pages of Nerone. (Manuscript Orchestral Score.)

 44

started asking themselves if Boito, in obedience to a theory, had

not perhaps sacrificed music - the most important element of all

operas - to the other arts. It was noticed also that, in the

musical score of Jerome' there were no signs of that genial

audacity manifested by Boito in his original Mefistofele. nor

did it possess the lyrical impulse and the vibrant vitality of his

second version of Mefistofele. In spite of pages of striking

beouty and noble inspiration, which could not but add to the fame

of their composer Nerone was, on the whole, the inevitable result

of a too long period of spiritual and artistic strife.

Reluctantly, because of th= admiration and reverence inspired by

the Maestro, it was finally admitted that Boito's monumental music

drama was an oeuvre manquee.

Nerone was not, after all, destined to be the crowning

achievement of Boito*s life. His fame as composer was rather to

rest on Mefistofele - the daring experiment of his incandescent

youth; as librettist, on the masterful libretti of his maturity and,

last but not least, as a man and artist, on the high example of

moral and artistic integrity offered by his own, admirable life.

 45

CHAPTER IV

BOITO AND VERDI

The Boito-Verdi relationship is o dominating factor in the lives of

both men and it is likely that neither would have reached the

highest peak of his art, were it not for his association with the

After the success of Aida (first performed at Cairo in 1871)

Verdi appeared to hove decided to put an end to his operatic career.

He had only composed the String quartet in E minor, in 1873, and,

in the following year, the Requiem Mass to honour the memory of

Alessandro Monzoni, whom ho venerated. Giulio Ricordi hod viewed

Verdi's inactivity with increasing concern. Verdi was to him

’not only the greatest Italian musician of his age but the embodiment

of Italy’s national aspirations, the essence of (that) 'Italianitd

which he, Rico:di, was championing in the battle fought in Italy

over the question Verdi versus Wagner. It was at Ricordi1s

instigation that Boito, in the summer of 1879, prepared for Verdi

the scenario^ for a libretto based on Shakespeare's 'Othello*.

Verdi read and approved it, encouraged Boito to write the libretto,

and went so far as to admit that it could possibly be of use to

him. He did not seem, however, willing to commit himself fino.'ly

to writing another opera. Through the diplomatic manoeuvres of Ricordi

1. Garner, M. Puccini. London: Duckworth, 1974, p.51.

2. The scenario is o plan of the stage action without any verses.
 46

and with the complicity of Foccio, Countess Maffei and Giuseppina

Strepponi, Verdi's remarkably intelligent second wife, his initial,

hesitation was eventually overcome. ’Let us allow the stream to

find its own way down to the sea* - wrote Giuseppina Strepponi to

Giulio Ricordi exorting him to avoid arousing in Verdi's mind the

idea of pressure being exerted - 'It is in the wide open spaces

that certain men are destined to meet and to understand one another.'^

Verdi’s decision to break his long silence was probably prompted

by the desire to prove to the younger generation of Italian

composers, in the 1880s und*r the spell of Wagner, that the principles

of the Italian operatic tradition were still valid. It was however

Verdi's lifelong admiration of Shakespeare which probably

finally determined his capitulation. As for back as 1853,he had

mentioned, in a letter sent to the playwright and librettist Antonio

Somma that he preferred Shakespeare 'to every other dramatist,the

Greeks not excepted.^ Again, he acknowledged Him to be the

greatest authority on the heart of man, ’one of my very special

poets', confessing th I have had him in my hands from my earliest

youth and I read and re-read him c o n t i n u a l l y . T h e supremely

tragic figure of King Lear had caught Verdi's imagination already

1. Arrigo Boito - Scritti e documenti, p.31.

2. Toye, F., op. cit., p.86.
3. Ibid., p.133.
 47

in 1842 - 43. In 1850,Verdi had prepared for the librettist

Salvatore Cammarano a complete scenario of King Lear asking him

to turn it into a drama, without regard for conventions. The

project seems then to have remained in abeyance until 1853,when

Verdi returned to it, this time with Antonio Somma as librettist.

By 1855 the libretto was finished and, in all probability, much of

the music composed. Verdi's dream of a setting of King Lear'

was however destined to remain unrealized. It seems likely that

the music composed for King Lear was included in that destroyed

on Verdi's instruction given shortly before his death. Verdi's

first Shakespearan opera was Macbeth (1847) 'a splendid and

uncommonly interesting failure1^ to put it in the words of Francis

Toys, for which there were several reasons: Verdi had not as yet

reachsd his full maturity as a composer; Piave’s libretto was

uninspired, and Macbeth was itself an exceptionally difficult ploy

to adapt for the operatic stage. Although Verdi always retained

an affection for this opera, he did not consider it to be the

1. Toye, F., op. cit., p.277.

 48

success which he hod hoped to achieve. His ambitions as regards

the setting of Shakespeare - and his intention of thus paying

homage to him, were then still not realized whe» he renewed his

collaboration with Boito in 1879 and the time was ripe for him to

embark on a project of the dimensions of ’Otello*.

Before finally making up his mind about 'Otello1 Verdi, who

was - as suggested by Frank Walker - probably *submitting Boito

to the practical test of collaboration1,^ entrusted to him the

revision of the text of Simon Boccanegra for the Scala revival of

1881. The opera had been a failure at Venice in 1857. The

libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, rather unfortunate both in

literary and dramatic structure, seemed to Boito beyond remedy.

i. It it, perhaps, ironical chat Verdi's Macbeth has now, in

the 1970s, nearly a hundred and thirty years after it was
first produced, succeeded in achieving a more or less
permanent position in the repertoires of several opera houses.
This has come about, to o substantial degree, through Maria
Colics' singing of the role of Lady Macbeth at the
Metropolitan Opera House in 1959 and also through the efforts
of the South African soprano, Joyce Barker, who has sung the
role of Lady Macbeth in Johannesburg, at Sadler's Wells in
London, and at a number of American Opera houses. The
reason that Macbeth is now more acceptable than it was at
the time of its first production lies probably in the fact
that the audiences of the 1840s were not prepared to accept
an opera without leading tenor role, whilst this is by no
means unusual in the twentieth century. Through the years
Verdi also continued his attempts to improve the work,
frequently making elaborate changes. The most significant
of these wns made for the Paris production (1865) when he
added Lady Macbeth's unforgettable aria 'La luce longue1,
and the third act duet between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

2. Walker, F., op. cit,, p.484.

 49

On Verdi's insistence Boito, however, undertook the task and

accomplished it in masterly fashion. He tidied up the dialogue;

suppressed a superfluous change of scene in Act I: made intelligible

the cause of the Doge's death adding,,in Act II, the episode of

Paolo's preparation of the poisoned cup; brought into focus the

most important characters. In the superb, highly dramatic Council

Chamber scene (added to Act I, on Verdi's suggestion) Boito

'brought to the fore the dynamic and leaderly qualities of

Boccanegra, who in Piave's version was seen primarily in his

fatherly guise'.^ All the changes made by Boito in this libretto

may be taken as examples of his adaptive ability,1of his secret

of getting to the core of the story and the characters and being

able to express both in a dramatic and concise way1 Needless

to say, through the reworking of 'Simon Boccanegra' Boito entrenched

himself once and for oil in Verdi’s esteem. Their further

collaboration was characterized by a docility on the part of Verdi

unknown to his earlier librettists. Verdi had always required of

his literary collaborators the ability to order his scenarios into

speeches and then to set them in serviceable, though not necessarily

first-rate, verse. He had, in the past, interfered with the

libretti maintaining control over the general plan; he had

insisted on strong contrasts, strong emotions, strong situations,

1. Smith, P.J., op. cit., p.343.

2. Ibid,, p.345.
 50

without regard for the plausibility of the development of the

action. Boito was no mere versifier nor complaisant partner; he

was an accomplished poet and dramatist; an highly educated,

refined mind; a scholar, eager to improve Verdi’s cultural outlook

and, above all, to instil in him a new respect for the literary and

dramatic value of the libretto. When Verdi suggested a non-

Shakespearean but theatrically effective off-stage revolt to take

place at the end of the third act of 'O t e l l Boito, politely but

firmly, objected:
... Otello is like a nan moving in circles under an
incubus and under the fatal and growing domination of
that incubus he thinks, he acts, he suffers and commits
his terrible crime. Now if we invent something which
must necessarily excite and distract Othello from his
tenacious incubus, wc destroy all the sinister enchantment
created by Shakespeare and we cannot logically reach
the climax of the action. That attack by the Turks is
like a fist breaking the window of a room where two
persons were on the point of dying of asphyxiation.
That intimate atmosphere of death, so carefully built'-
up by Shakespeare, is suddenly dispelled. Vital air
circulates again in our tragedy and Othello and
Desdemona are saved....1

1. Letter of Boito to Verdi of October 1880 (Tr. Walker) - In

Frank Walker, op. cit., pp. 478-9. This letter is usually
quoted as an example of the unique nature of the Verdi-Boito
relationship. I would rather emphasize the seriousness of
Boito's approach tr Shakespeare at a time when Shakespeare
was known in Italy through unfaithful translations, absurd
operatic and ballet versions, and mutilated theatrical
reductions aimed at focusing the attention of the spectators
on the ’liattatore* or 'mattatrice'. (spotlight-chaser).
After attending a performance of King Lear, in 1887, Eleonora
Duse wrote to Boito What a mess, last night! Oh,
beautiful soul of Shakespeare ... how much we ruin y o u 1...’
(quoted in Nardi, op. cit., p.564.)
 51

Verdi's idea was discarded and Soito elaborated what is the

present, magnificent finale defined by Spike Hughes as 'one of the

most masterly strokes of pure theatre in the history of opera.^

By 1885 the libretto of Otello was, in essentials, finished. The

opera was completed the following year, though the meticulous plans

for the production delayed the premiere at La Scolo until February

5th, 1887. Otello was performed under the baton of Faccio in

an atmosphere of incredible tension before a huge audience which

included critics from all over Europe. As soon as 'the tremendous,

dissonant opening chord of 'Otello came crashing ou t1,"* it was

immediately felt that Verdi, sixteen years after his supposed

retirement from the musical arena, had still much to say. The

immense, simultaneous shout which made 'the theatre rock1'* at the

end of the first act lef'c no doubt as to the reception of the opera.

At the end of the performance, acknowledged by Hueffer of The Times

as 'the most remarkable first performance of modern times'^,Verdi

took Boito’s hand and dragged him out on the stage to share in the

triumph. Nearly twenty-four years had elapsed from the time of

the 'Ode All'Arte Italiana'. Through his patience, his unselfish

devotion, his intelligent co-operation Boito had won for himself

1. Hughe*, S. 'Famous Verdi Operas' London, Robert Hale: 1968

p.46/.

2. Werfel, F. and Stefan, P. 'Verdi - The man in his letters'.

(Tr. Downes) New York: Fisher, L.B., 1942, p.73.
3. Toye, F. op. cit., p.189.
4. Ibid. p.192.
 52

Verdi's unreserved admiration and a truly affectionate friendship.

Yet, this unparalleled example of harmonious collaboration nearly

come to an end in 1884. After the performance of 'Mefistofele'

at Naples, a banquet was given in Boito's honour at which, according

to o misleading account published in some newspapers, he had

regretted not being able to set 'Jago' (the title originally

intended for 'Otello') to music himself. Verdi, resenting what

he thought to be on allusion to his incapacity to create satisfactory

music,offered to give Boito back 'his manuscript intact, without a

shadow of resentment'^ if he, Boito, wished to set it to music.

Boito's reply is among the most deeply moving, sincere and

revealing things which he ever wrote. It is worthwhile to quote

it extensively as it is a splendid, autobiographical document which

throws light on Boito's I man and artistic nature.

After saying that he had written the libretto solely for the

joy of seeing Verdi resume composition, for the glory of becoming

his working associate,and for the ambition to hear his own name

coupled with that of Verdi and their names in turn connected with

that of Shakespeare, Boito, humbly declared;

1. Verdi's letter to Faccio, is quoted in,and translated by

Frank Walkerf^cit.,pp.489-50.
 53

This theme and my libretto are yours by right of conquest.

You alone can set Othello to music - all the dramatic
creations you hove given us proclaim this truth. If I
have been able to divine the inherent powerful musicaiity
of the Shakespearean tragedy, which at first I did not
feel, and if I have been able to demonstrate it in fact
with my libretto, that is because I put myself at the
viewpoint of Verdian art, because I felt in writing
those verses what you would feel in representing them in
that other language, a thousand times more intimate and
strong - the language of sound.1

The consciousness of not having in himself the strength of genius

capable of realizing high ideals dictated to Boito words of

discouragement and resignation. Referring to Verdi's offer to

give him bock the libretto Boito wrote with touching sincerity:^

What you cannot suspect is the irony that, through no

fault of yours, appeared to me to be contained in that
offer. Look! Already for seven or eight years,
perhaps, I have been working on 'Nerpne' (put the 'perhaps'
where you like, attached to the word 'years or -co the word
working). I live under that incubus; on the days when
I don't work I pass the hours in reproaching myself for
laziness; on the days when I do work I pass the hours
in reproaching myself for stupidity; and thus life runs
away and I am slowly asphyxiated by an ideal too exalted
for my powers. To my misfortune,I hove studied my
period - that is, the period of my subject - too intently,
and I am terribly in love with it,and no other subject in
the world, not even Shakespeare's Othello,could distract
me from my theme. It responds in everything to my
character as on artist and to the conception I have
formed of opera. I shall finish 'Nerpne' or I shall not
finish it, but it is certain that I shall never abandon
it for another work, and if I have not the strength to
finish it I shall not complain, but shall pas,s my life,
neither sorry nor glad, with that dream in my mind
Do not abandon Otello', do not abandon it! It is
predestined for you. Create it. You had begun work
upon it and I was all encouraged and was hoping already
to see it finished at some not distant date. You are
rounder than I, stronger than I; we tested our strength

1. Walker, F., pp. 489 - 50.

2. Ibid., pp. 489-50.
 54

and my arm bent beneath yours. Your life is tranquil

and serene; take up your pen again and write me seen:
Dear Boito, do me the favour of altering these verr.-s,
etc. etc. 1 will change them at once, with joy, ond
I shall know how to work for you, I who do not know
how to work for myself, for you live in the true and
real world of Art, and 1 in the.world of Hallucinations.

The collaboration which produced Falstaff has little of the

dramatic tension of the story of the creation of Otello. The

idea of writing a comic opera - the first since his unsuccessful

early attempt 'II Finto Stanislao* (also known os 'Un giorno di

regno1, of 1840) had always tempted Verdi. As for bock as 1366,

according to the testimony of the French singer Victor Maurel* -

Verdi had sought a libretto in Molidre and in the French plays of

the nineteenth century but had not been able to find a satisfactory

subject. Mourel had sent him a French version of 'The taming of

the Shrew* which had besn prepared for production by M. Coqueline.

Verdi, after recognizing the attractiveness of the lively and

witty comedy, confessed that only a Rossini or o Donizetti could have

dealt with it properly, In spite of this view, Verdi had resented

Ressini's statement that, although he greatly admired Verdi os a

composer of dark, serious, melancholy character, he believed him

incapable of writing a light opera such os Donizetti's 'Linda di

Chamounix' or 'L'elixir d'araore*. (Quoted in the ."w-nories of the

sculptor Dupre which appeared in the Qozzettq di Milano in 1879),.

In 1887, rumours proclaimed Verdi's intention to write a lyric

comedy, this time based on Don Quixote. Eventually Verdi did not

1. In 'Verdi, Boito Shakespeare' - by A. St.John-Brenon. Musical

Quarterly New York; P.H. Lang, 1916, vol.ii, pp.151-152.
 55

find even Cervantes' masterpiece to be entirely suitable. It was

in 1889 that Boito suggested to Verdi 'The merry wives of Windsor1

going so far, it seems, as to prepare a scenario in forty-eight

hours in order not to allow Verdi's interest time to flag.

Falstaff's character had always fascinated Boito who considered

him spiritually akin to Satan and Thersites. He had in fact, in

the 'Prologue in the Theatre1 of his first 'Mefistofele', written:

Mephistopheles is the doubt which generates knowledge

as well as the Evil which generates Good ... Job has
his own Mephistopheles called Satana; Homer has one
colled Thersites; Shakespeare another one called
Falstoff.l

Verdi, in turn, had already considered 'Falstaff as a subject for

a comic opera in 1867 - 8 (Ghislanzoni the librettist of Aida,

was supposed to write the libretto). Breaking down Verdi's

Hesitation was, this time, a comparative!/ easy matter. All the

composer's scruples about old age and the conviction that he had

with 'Otello' fired off his list cartridge1, were put aside before

Boito*s persuasive words

It is a great thing to conclude a life of artistic

endeavour with a world triumph such as 'Otello1...
There is only a bettor way of concluding a career
than with 'Otello' - that is, with the triumphs of
'Falstaff. After having sounded every note of
human sorrow, to end with a magnificent outburst of
merriment! That would indeed be outstanding:^

1. Boito, A. Op. cit., pp. 100-101.

2. In Pietro Nordi, op. cit., p.514.

 56

The 'Folstoff' libretto wos ready in the early spring of 1890.

Boito hod probably taken to heart Shakespeare's dictum 'brevity

is the soul of wit'^ as suggested by Klein but he had without doubt

remembered Verdi's statement that 'in the theatre excessive length

is synonymous with boredom and of all styles the boring is the

wordt'.^ The libretto was a model of clarity and conciseness.

On studying it Verdi probably realized that here was at last an

opportunity to write a lyric comedy of the most refined kind. He

set to work with immense delight and enthusiasm. Despi'ce the

fact that he worked at it no more than two hours a day the score

was finished by the summer of 1892. 'Folstoff, premiered at

La Scala on February 9th, 1893 before an audience ’that equalled

the Bayreuth pilgrims in social and intellectual brilliance1^ was

received with a tremendous enthusiasm, although the charming scene

in the Windsor Forest did not seem to have stirred the majority

of its listeners as might have been expected. The critics agreed

in ranking the work of the octogenarian composer as a masterpiece.

Comparisons were made to Mozart, Haydn, Rossini, Beethoven and

Wagner. Charles Villiers Stanford, in the admirable article

contributed to the Daily Telegraph wrote:

1. Klein, J.W. 'Verdi and Falstaff*.The Musical Times,

July 1st, 1926, p.606.
2. Toye, F. op. cit., p.87.
3. Brookway, W. and Weinstock, H. 'The Opera. A Hiutory of its
creation and performance'. New York: Simon and Schuster,
1941, p.386.
 57

The book is in every respect admirable, rich in poetry

of the highest order, in situations of an ingenuity so
clear in workmanship that they seem both simple and
spontaneous-, rich also in the mastery of the 15th century
Italian which the author uses with such an ease as to
make it appear a most natural vehicle of expression, and
with an absence of all pedantry which is the highest
witness to the depth of his knowledge; above all an opera
book which only a musician could have written for o
musician.1

For tioito it was ample satisfaction to have 'forged a hammer from

Shakespeare that caused the bronze colossus from Busseto (Verdi's

heme) to resound again at a time when age was about to silence him'^

cs he was to write to Bellaigue. Shortly after the success of

Falstoff Boito, in the hope of having a third Shakespearean

masterpiece added to 'Otello' and 'Falstoff', suggested to Verdi

a libretto based on 'Antony and Cleopatra1; then prepared a

general plan of King Lear - the opera which Verdi had wished to

write for forty years. He selected those scenes of Shakespeare

which he intended to use and sketched the opening episode based

on Lear's division of his kingdom.

Boito* s efforts proved, however, vain. Giuseppina Strepponi,

who was watching over the health of her aged husband, put her veto

to Verdi's further commitment.

1* Stanford, C.V. 'Studies and memories'. London: Constable,

1908, p.17'1

2, Roinhard, G. Pauly 'Thn later Nineteenth.century,1in Music and

the theatre'. An introduction to opera. New Jersey:
. Prentice Hall, 1970, p.248.
 PART II

BOITO - THE CRITIC

 BOITO'S IDEAS ON OPERATIC REFORM

Boito's critical writings and essays, especially those containing

his ideas on music reforms, are characterized by vehemence and

passion, indicative of the incandescent atmosphere of Scapigliatura.

The fact that Boito was not only the most dynamic but also the most

militant member of the artistic vanguard of Milan is clearly shown

in the polemical ardour with which in the interest of his reforms,

he opposed the persistence of a tradition which he considered to

be incompatible with the new demands of large sections of European

thought.

When in tho early 1860‘s the Italian melodranra, far removed

from the new musical ond dramatic ideals which the Wagnerian

reforms hod brought about, became the focus of vivacious polemics,

Boito entered the fight with defiant, provocative arrogance.

It is known that the relationship between Verdi and Boito -

who had previously provided the oldor composer with the text for

the Hymn of the Nations - deteriorated owing to the objectionable

allusion made by Boito to those unworthy of a tradition triumphant

in the 'holy harmonies of Pergolese and Marcello' who had defiled

the sacred altar of Art 'like the walls of a brothel1.*

1. Boito, A. 'Ode all'Arte Italiona (A Sapphic Ode with Glass

in Hand), in op, clt., p.1373 - 4.
 60

It is not certain that this allusion was actually aimed at

Verdi, but Verdi certainly took offence. Boito's impetuous nature

knew no diplomatic subtlety. In reviewing a revival of '% Lombardi

alia prime crociato1 at La Scala, for instance he, referring to a

remark made by Verdi,wrote:

'You must be wall-eyed', Verdi said when he was writing

'I Lombardi' and keep one eye on the public and one
eye on Art'. For those times this was a courageous
statement, since there were many composers who kept
both eyes only on the public, which is bad for the
eyesight and for art as well. That was the time to
be wall-eyed, and every artist of any gift had to be
so (though not all of the wall-eyed artists were gifted).
Today, however, it is time to look straight at Art, with
both eyes wide open, iserene and confident.*

This ironic comment must also have displeased Verdi.

After the Scala production of Verdi's new opera 'I Vesori

Siciliani1** bvito harshly attacked the 'official* poet of the

French lyrical stage, EugSne Scribe, describing his libretto as

'wretched, clumsy, ignorant'.^

He unceasingly urged his fellow-composers to regard »he

libretto as the basis of the musical drama, insisting on the

necessity to eradicate the absurd melodramatic formulae based on

elementary conflicts of passion and character, supported by

illogical structures. Moreover, being at the same time poet and

musician, his concern was not confined to the dramatic structure

of the melodramma but included considerations of the nature of

1. Figaro - 7 January, 1964. In 'Tutti gli scritti, p.1195.

2. PremiSred at the Paris Opera on the 13th June, 1855.
3. Figaro - 11 February, 1886. In 'Tutti gli scritti, p.1118.
 61

the poetic text, which he desired to be flexible, refined and both

capable of and inspiring musical elaboration.

Before being a musician one must be u poet. One must

prepare in advance and magnify the images which he
wishes to express in sound in order to find those very
sounds without looking for them. He must be the one
,who finds - and not the one who searches. The sounds
must be perceived by the ear secretly. The task of
the musician is to be able to choose, catch and develop
them like cells.1

And again; 'A musician needs the thought and the word of a great

and profoundly human poet to give the true physiognomy to the

notes'.^ Perhaps when Boito wrote these words ho was thinking

of a rapprochement of the musical and poetical world based on the

example of past centuries when poets such as Chiabrera, Rinuccini,

Zeno, Metastasio, Goldoni and Parini had contributed so much to

the glory of Italian opera. Reality, however, offered in the

Italy of the time, a discouraging picture of craftsman - musicians

too easily satisfied with the mediocrity of versifying 'poetucoli',

such as Solora, Piave, Sonima, Cammarono, Zanardini, still

anchored to the 'libretto-conovaccio* structured in the 'forme

d'obbligo'. Those librettists produced a mere pretext for

certain vocal and scenic requirements, obviously ‘unaware of the

important role which is to-doy expected to be played by them* and

without thinking in the least that what was required of them was

1. Arrigo Boito - Scritti e document!, p.146,

Ibid., p.27.
 62

'to shake the entangled music in order that it might proceed on

its w a y ' *

Boito considered the rest of Europe, where so much had been

accomplished in artistic reforms. Literary musicians like Weber,

Chopin, Schumann, Berlioz and Mendelssohn - the latter so close

to Boito in his intellectual-artistic aspirations - had revived

the musical tradition by means of their cultural involvement and

had, at the same time, enriched it with their restless sensitivity,

with new values and bold expressive means. No one in I Laly, seems

to have felt this stimulus, with the exception of Boite who did,

however, think that the glorious cycle of instrumental music had

perhaps been concluded with Mendelssohn and Schumann. He suggested

placing this illustrious tradition at the service of the opera,

the renewal of which was the concern, and the main task of

contemporary composers. In the theory of the fusion of all arts

in a spirit of superior harmony originally formulated by

J. Gottfried Herder, and now advocated by Friedrich Nietzche and

Richard Wagner, the romantic generation had found a high ideal

and a splendid spiritual incentive. This ideal appeared to have

reached a definite form in the Gesamtkunstvierk theory and musical

work of Wagner.WeeaerianisB’i was by now spreading all over Europe

in an almost irresistible manner. Before the phenomenon of

Wagnerianiera, Boito had been able to maintain an independent

critical attitude. From his initial, unreserved acceptance of

it, when he thought to have discovered in Wagner, poet,aesthete

i; Lq Perseveranza - 13 September, 1863, In 'Tutti gli scritti,

p . 1080.
 63

and composer in one, the destroyer of the operatic formula, ’the

manjborn and predestine to fulfil the innovatory mission' , Boito

seems to have passed on to his rejection, identifying Wagner with

the Bar-Jesus^of art in his day. .

a false apostle ... a false precursor, one of
those dangerous propagators of iths ill said, ill thought
ill heard; one of those madmei \'ho, with their
thoughts on the light diffuse darkness; pompous
disseminators of clamorous confusion; spoilers
of theories by their practice and of practice by
their theories; talents more swollen with vanity
that nourished with k n o w l e d g e . .2

It must, nevertheless bo admitted that Soito gained from Wagner

the example of the militant artist devoted to the realization of

high ideals, as well as a few basic principles, mainly of aesthetics,

concerning the theory of the importance of all the factors called

to contribute to the creation of the music-droma, including the

role to be ployed by the orchestra, the employment of symphonic

technique and the relationship between poetic and musical text in

the music drama. These principles ended up by assuming the

features of personal aesthetic conceptions in the process of

passing from theory to practice and in adapting to the taste and

sensitivity of a different race and environment.

Whilst Wagner was concerned with the art-work of the future,

Boito did not lose sight of the present. In Figaro, the

mouthpiece of the Scopigliato intellectualism which launched the

attacks against the bourgeois art, in the name of rree,

1. Bar-Jesus is the false prophet mentioned in the Acts, XIII.

2. Boito, A.o|>.cit. p.1256 (Translation,Walker, F.)

 63

unprejudiced Art, modern both in form and content Boito, in and composer in one, the destroyer of the operatic formula, 'the

reviewing the new opera Ginavra di 'j&ozia by Maestro Rota, manjborn and predestin'd to fulfil the innovatory mission', Boito

recently performed at La Scala, wrote: seems to have passed on to his rejection, identifying Wagner with

The opera of to-day,' to have life and glory and to the Bar-Jesus^of art in his day. .
fulfil the high destiny prescribed for it must attain, a false apostle ... a false precursor, one of
in our opinion: those dangerous propagators of iths ill said, ill thought
ill heard; one of those madtne-, vho, with their
i. he complete obliteration of formula
thoughts on the light diffuse darkness; pompous
ii. the creation of form
disseminators of clamorous confusion; spoilers
iii. the actualization of the most vast tonal and
of theories by their practice and of practice by
rhythmic development possible today.
their theories; talents more swollen with vanity
iv. the supreme incarnation of the drama.1
that nourished with knowledge....2
For a better understanding of what he was saying, the young
It must, nevertheless be admitted that Boito gained from Wagner
critic referred his readers to one of his earlier articles written
the example of the militant artist devoted to the realization of
in La Perseveronzo (13 September 1863). In this article Boito,
high ideals, as well as a few basic principles, mainly of aesthetics,
in accusing the second-rate librettist of the opera II vecchio
concerning the theory of the importance of all the factors called
della Montagna by Maestro Cancogni of having despoiled another
to contribute to the creation of the music-drama, including the
great period of history' indicated the remedy in denouncing the
role to be played by the orchestra, the employment of symphonic
malady.
technique and the relationship between poetic and musical text in
There are in the language of men words and meanings
the music.-drama. These principles ended up by assuming the
which are easily confused,and which,especially in
aesthetic matters,it is useful to disentangle; two
features of personal aesthetic conceptions in the process of
of these words are FORM and FORMULA.,.. Since opera
had existed in Italy, down to our own times, we have
passing from theory to practice and in adapting to the taste and
never had true operatic form, but always the diminutive
- the FORMULA. Born with Monteverdi, the operatic
sensitivity of a different race and environment.
formula passed to Peri (sic), to Cesti, to Sauchini,
to Paisiello, to Rossini, to Bellini, to Verdi, acquiring
Whilst Wagner was concerned with the art-work of the future,
force, development, variety (and acquiring much with
these last great figures), yet remaining FORMULA, as
Boito did not lose sight of the present. In Figaro, the
FORMULA it was born. The designation ARIA, RONDO,
CABALETTA, STRETTO, RITORNELLO, PEZZO CONCERTATO, are
mouthpiece of the Scapigliato inteilectuolism which launched the
all there, drawn up for inspection,to confirm the truth
of this assertion. The hour has come for a change of
attacks against the bourgeois art, in t’ne name of -'ree.
style; form, largely attained in the other arts, must
develop, too, in our own; its time of maturity must
have arrived; let it take off the TOGA PRAETEXTA and
assume the TOGA VIRILIS, lot it change name and
1. Bar-Jesus is the false prophet mentioned in the Acts, XIII.
construction and instead of saying LIBRETTO, the term
2. Boito, A.p|vcit. p.1256 (Translation, Walker, F.)
1. Figaro, 21 January, 1864. In 'Tutti gli scritti,' p,H07.
 of conventional art say and write TRAGEDY, as did the
Greeks....!

In order to make of the melodramma an 'elevated poem, tragic and

epic, mimic and rhapsodic',^ it was necessary,in Boito's opinion,

to return, for inspiration, to the Greek tragedy and the medieval

mystery.

Repeatedly, Boito, in his writings, insisted on the literary

quality of the texts, well aware of the fact that this was the

prerequisite for a more flexible musical articulation of the

melodramma. Driven by a firm intention of reform, and by the

desire to demonstrate that his criticism would result in positive

example, he decided to put his fine brain and outstanding poetical

gifts at the service of other composers. He prepared for them a

handful of libretti which, with a very few exceptions, represent

as Fausto'Torrefranca wrote 'a truly delicious mirage in the

desert of poetry adapted for music existing at that period.

Boito knew, however, that, should the elaboration of both

the musical and poetical structure of the music-drama stem from

the same creative impulse, the rhythmic and sonorous effects

suggested by the verse, and the intensity of the poetical vision

conveyed in it, would not be lost, or diminished,in the musical

setting. For this reason Boito the poet placed himself at the

1. 'Translation by Walker, F.
2. Ibid., p . 1257.
3. Torrefranca*s statement (in Arriqo Boito - The Musical
Quarterly 1920, vol.vi, p.540) refers to La folce but it
could well apply to the majority of Boito's libretti.
 65

of convention :1 art say and write TRAGEDY, as did the

Greeks....1

In order to make of the melodramma an 'elevated poem, tragic and

epic, mimic and rhapsodic',^ it was necessary,in Boito's opinion,

to return, for inspiration, to the Greek tragedy and the medieval

mystery.

Repeatedly, Boito, in his writings, insisted on the literary

quality of the texts, well aware of the fact that this was the

prerequisite for a more flexible musical articulation of the

melodramma. Driven by a firm intention of reform, and by the

desire to demonstrate that his criticism would re ult in positive

example, he decided to put his fine brain and outstanding poetical

gifts at the service of other composers. He prepared for them a

handful of libretti which, with a very few exceptions, represent

as Fausto'Torrefranca wrote 'a truly delicious mirage in the

desert of poetry adapted for music existing at that period.'"*

Boito knew, however, that, should the elaboration of both

the musical and poetical structure of the music-drama stem from

the same creative impulse, the rhythmic and sonorous effects

suggested by the verse, and the intensity of the poetical vision

conveyed in it, would not be lost, or diminished,in the musical

setting. For this reason Boito the poet placed himself at the

1. 'Translation by Walker, F.
2. Ibid., ,0.1257.
3. Torrefrunca's statement (in Arrigo Boito - The Musical
Quarterly 1920, vol.vi, p.540) refers to La falce but it
could well apply to the majority of Boito's libretti.
 66

service of Boito the musician, deciding to prove his budding

strength in two extraordinarily daring projects: Mefistofele and

Nerone, both revolving around the pereniolly fascinating theme of

the struggle between the antithetical powers of Good and Evil.

 PART III

BOITO - THE LIBRETTIST

 68

INTRODUCTION

Boito's activity as a librettist, from 1862 ('Amleto*) to 1893

('Falstaff'), coincides with one of the most fluid periods in the

history of Italy's cultural and artistic life. It was during this

time that the craving for a cultural renewal, first felt by the

Scapiglioti, materialized in the diverse literary and poetical

solutions linked with the names of Giosue Carducci, Giovanni Verga,

Giovanni Pascoli, Gabriele D'Annunzio and the musical reform of

Arrigo Boito. 'Mefistofele*, 'Nerone1, and the handful of libretti

which Boito prepared for hit, fellow-composers, were meant as the

actualization of the principles which he promoted indefatigably.

Not all Boito's libretti are masterpieces; Irotn, Basi e bote.

Otello and Falstaff can however, be described as such. The

flexibility of both poetical and dramatic structure, to be seen

especially in Boito's lust two works, is the result of what Fausto

Torrefranca defined as 'a slow process of decantation'^ - in other

words, of endless research and experiment aimed at seizing new

beauties of verbal expression, of metrical originality, of

brilliantly conceived plots and actions. In channeling his

poetical and dramatic gifts into the stream of the musical drama

Boito succeeded in re-establishing that ideal of literary pre­

eminence which had, owing to the preponderance of music in the

1. Torrefranca, F. 'Arrigo Boito'. The Musical Quarterly

New York: Lang, P.H., 1920; vol. vi, p.537.
 69

romantic conception of the melodramma, practically disappeared

after the time of Metastasio. Boito's contributions to the

libretto were many.^ First and foremost, he brought to it a

greatly widened concept of poeiics, partly derived from the

awareness of what Hugo, Berlioz and Wagner had done with the French

and German languages in order to revivify them and, partly, from

his own musical ear peculiarly sensitive to rhythmical and

syllabic scansion and nuances of sound. Boito was the first

Italian librettist to move away from the long, singable lines -

either pastoral or grandiloquent - which, bequeathed by Metastasio

to the generations of librettists succeeding him, had remained th s

very essence of Italian operatic verse. The short, nervous lines

already experimented with in Re Orso;

Re Orso
Ti schermi
Dal morso
De'vermi

became Boito's hallmark.

Not all of the many novelties contributed by Boito to the

poetical structure of the libretto met with the approval of the

purists. They objected especially to his excessive use of

archaic words and modes of expression, to his arbitrary

accentuation and to the abuse of sibilant sounds, traditionally

used only within comic contexts. They did not appreciate that

Boito was, by means of the language of the past, attempting to

1. See Smith, P., op. cit., p, 337-338.

 70

widen the language and syntax of the present, to extend the range

of verbal possibilities even to the extreme extent of considering

the words themselves as sound patterns, aiming 'to break open once

and for all the closed-in world of the Italian libretto with its

ingrained and ever-repeated formulas'.*

As a dramatist, Boito was far less radical. Although

working within conventions, he did however greatly improve the

form and structure of the libretto. His method of construction

does not, in fact, differ much from the traditional but is employed

in a more consistent and organically conceived manner. Boito was

aided, in this, by his inborn dramatic sense, his knowledge of the

laws governing the operatic stage and his instinct for well

balanced dramatic structure.

If the choice of subjects clearly reflects Boito*s breadth

of interests and critical snobbism, the fact that he attempted

every genre - idyll, tragedy, comedy, epic, historical drama - is

an indication of his intellectual curiosity and versatility as well.

There is no such thing as a Boitian libretto. Practically

each work possesses its own individual character. There are,

however, in Boito's libretti, recurrent traits indicative of his

approach to operatic dramaturgy. His libretti,cost in three or

1. Smith, P., op. cit., p.338.

four octs,^" are classically structured: the first act for

exposition and presentation of characters; the middle section for

development, the final act for the major climax and denouement.

Each act is divided into a number of 'scenes', a new scene

beginning (as in the French classical drama) whenever the group on

stage is altered by anyone leaving or joining it.^ The first

acts, usually the longest, liveliest and best constructed, show

Boito at his most resourceful in the technique of stage movement

and visual effect. For the conclusion of the work he prefers to

dispense with external stagn effect rather concentrating on the

pathos of the human drama.

However complex the story might be (as in many of the adaptati

Boito gives it o clear and logical design and unfolds it in a

sequence of well organized, swift-moving and self-explanatory

episodes. Nearly all Boito's libretti begin with large choral

scenes of a spectacular nature. The chorus and the setting, for

which the most punctilious stage directions are given, evoke an

appropriate atmosphere, thus putting the spectator in a receptive

frame of mind. The characters are presented successively^ a

traditional device permitting the audience to become acquainted

with one character before the next appears. Detail is added

1. With the exception of 'Lu folce* and 'Un tramonto1. written

for Gaetano Coronaro and Alfredo Catalan!, when still
students of the Conservatory.

2. This refers especially to the early libretti.

 72

whilst the oction unfolds. Once having established the atmosphere,

presented the characters and situation, Boito sets in motion the

action by means of a dramatic incident invariably represented by

the clash between the heroine, hero and her/his villainous opponent.

This 'conflict situation', which takes the centre of the stage in

the middle section of the drama, is often retarded, to create both

contrast and suspense, by spectacular scenes such as the ceremonial

dances in 'Semira' the allegorical apotheosis scene in

'Pier Luigi Farnese'; the Dance of the Hours in 'La Giocondo'

The oction is brought to a rapid denouement in o final act which is

generally short, sombre and rather static.

The most remarkable features of Boito's libretti are:

1) lengthy, carefully worded speeches given, in turn, to the

most important characters,

2) extended love scenes ending with reflective or ecstatic duets

containing the best of Boito's lyrical poetry. The static

effect of such scenes is counteracted by interruptions, often

in the nature of ominous announcement, coming from distant

voices or off-stage choruses,

3) juxtaposition of strongly contrasting situations which,

together with conflict of characters, are powerful and

infallible means for emotional tension.

4) the employment of the chorus, consistent throughout all the

works for the purpose of engendering atmosphere as well as

taking direct part in the action.

 The whole apparatus of the stage - scenery, costume,

movement, choreography, lighting - is exploited to the full to

create the maximum of visual, dynamic and dramatic effect. The

painstaking attention devoted to the total organization of the

spectacle clearly reveals Boito's adherence to Wagner's

Gesamtkunstwerk theory.^

Boito's tendency to conceive life as an eternal conflict

of antithetical principles is, as we have seen, the result of the

impact made on him by the romantic ideologies of his time, and is

reflected in the conception, (and embodied in the characters) of

his dramas. The couples Mefistofele - Margherita; fro -

Ariofarne; Semiro - Zoroastro; Pier Luigi Farnese-Donata/

Gioconda-Barnaba; Desdemona - Jago; Norone - FanuSJ are

symbolic of the polarity of Good versus Evil which provided the

main spring for Boito's dramaturgy and was to achieve universal

significance in 'Mefistofele* and 'Nerone'.

Of the eleven libretti which Boito wrote for other Italian

composers of his time four are adaptations, the other original

works.^ 'Amleto*, 'La Gioconda1, 'Otello', 'Falstaff'. belong to

the first category/ 'La Falca', 'Un tramonto1, 'Ero e Leandro'.

'Semira', 'Pier Luigi Farnese', ’Basi o bote', to the second.

'Iram' belongs to both categories, in that a portion of it appears,

1. The roots of this total organization, also evident in Grand-

opera, actually go back to Lully's spectacles and even earlier.
2. Separate chapterswill be devoted to 'Mefistofele' and 'Nerone*
which must be studied in relation to their music.
in all likelihood, to hove been an adaptation from Shakespe

whilst the remainder is of Boito's own invention.

 CHAPTER I

AMLETO

Boito prepared his first libretto - 'Amleto* - for Franco Foccio

in 1862, when he was twenty years old and already submerged in

the visions of 'Faust* and 'Nerone* - the great themes which were

to accompany him throughout his life. From this dfebut as

libretti st-collaborator emerge some features which were to confirm

themselves as the constants of Boito's artistic life: the ability

to place himself over and above his personal exigencies in order

to serve the highest purposes of art; the predilection,'in the

choice of subjects, for great and deep works of poetry or subjects

far removed from the ordinary evory-day life; the faculty of

impressing in his adaptations 1 that seal which limits them in

extension and profoundness without diminishing them in significance1;

and, above all, an inborn dramatic and poetical skill coupled with

a great concern for the problems of music. 'Amleto1 is far from

being a superb libretto 1scarcely less successful at reproducing

the spirit of the ploy than his (Boito’s)later work for Verdi',^

as Winton Dean claims. It is, however, an interesting work in

which Boito shows a remarkable degree of originality and achieves

valuable results.

. 1. Vicinelli, Luigi. Arriao Boito poeta e il Nerone. Roma:

Nuovo Antologia, 1924, vol. VI, p,229.
2. Dean, W. 'Shakespeare and Opera', in Shakespeare and music
London: Hartnoll, 1964, p.101.
 76

Hamlet, the first of Shakespeare's Four Great Tragedies, was

written at the close of the 16th century and first published, in

o mangled version, in 1603, at the height of the Renaissance.

For over three hundred and fiity years it has remained the most

popular, the most frequently performed, the most investigated and

the most enigmatic of Shakespeare's ploys. The reasons for the

plays's enduring appeal are not hard to find. Beside having a

most fascinating and enigmatic hero,'Hamlet' is crowded with

visual excitement; a ghost stalking about the ramparts in full

armour, court pageantry and intrigue, a play within a play, a

brawl in the graveyard and a duel replete with poisoned rapiers.

The superb theatricality of the play, coupled with the deceptive

simplicity of its plot - tit its crudest, a revenge story carried

out in a series of sensational incidents - has, over the centuries,

tempted many composers (from Caruso's 'Amleto' Florence, 1789)

to Machavar-ani's 'Hamlet', (Tbilisi, 1964)and Searle's 'Hamlet'

(Hamburg, 1968) with rather disappointing results. In the

imaginative process of embodying in a 'modern' setting an old story

basically derived from a twelfth century chronicle by the Danish

historian Saxo Grammaticus, Shakespeare transformed the revenge

motive into something much more significant. Ho invested it with

a variety of interests and a philosophical probing into the nature

of life, death and man - all things not easily reducible to

operatic terms. If we odd to this the great number of important

characters and the complexity of the interconnecting strands of

 77

the drama we can understand why 'Hamlet' should present almost

insuperable problems of adaptation,

Boito’s libretto is by far the most satisfactory solution

to those problems. The handling of the play - the five, long

acts of Shakespeare cast by Boito into four brief and swift acts

- is a miracle of synthesis. Boito succeeded in keeping intact

the dramatic development and the organic unity of the plot through

the brood lines of the fundamental episodes. The structural

framework reveals an inborn and strong sense of the theatre, the

episode alternating in well contrasted scenes in obedience to the

inalienable laws of the operatic stage without however abdicating

to the demand of logic. In order to encompass in a libretto such

an intricate and lengthy drama os Hamlet, Boito had to remove

episodes which were not easily realisable in music and reduce the

number of characters. Other incidents had to be expanded and new

facts introduced in order to allow for the operatic distribution

of weight rather than the straight -J-amatic. Boito did this with

consummate skill: whilst his excisions do not alter drastically

the Shakespearean intent he succeeded in making every addition

strictly relevant to the action. A brief analysis of the libretto

explains Boito's method of adaptation.

The opening section of the opera is markedly different from

the beginning of the play. In the first scene of 'Hamlet'

Shakespeare establishes at once the atmosphere of doubt, distrust

and suspicion which pervades the tragedy. Two men, soldiers on

 78

guard on the ramparts of the castle of Elsinore,wait to be relieved

in the darkness of a cold winter night. Marcellus and Horatio (the latter

a friend of Hamlet who has been told of a ghostly apparition

resembling the lote King of Denmark, father to Hamlet) join the

sentries on watch. The uneasy atmosphere of apprehension is

intensified by the challenges leaping out of the darkness. When

the Ghost has appeared, it is decided to tell Hamlet what has

occurred.From the platform we pass to the Court scene where

Hamlet is seen for the first time.

Boito eliminates the first scene of Shakespeare's ploy and

his opera starts in the Royul Hall of the Castle with a strikingly

effective scene - a coronation feast - which at first glance suggests

something not in the literary source. The essence of this scene

As,however, actually to be found in Shakespeare, in Laerte's lines:

.... I came to Denmark,

to show my duty in your coronation....

(Act I, Sc.ii.ll.sa-S)1 i

The exploitation of a significant point such os this, sometimes

contained even in only a few words, is an important feature of

Boito's adaptive method. There are two other examples:

1. In Shakespeare's Court Scene (Act I, Sc.ii) Claudius, now

King of Denmark, in announcing his marriage to the widow of his

dead brother uses many figures of speech in which two contrasting

ideas are brought together (e.g. 'With mirth in funeral, end with

dirge in marriage', line 12). On Shakespeare's use of these

1. The numbering of lines follows that of W.C. Clarke's and

W.A. Wright's edition of Homlet, in The complete works of
 79

contrasting words are built the King's and the Queen's stanzas in

Boito's interpolated Brindisi scene:

RE (con un nappo in mono)

Requie ai defunti. - E colmisi

D'cltno liquor la tazza.
Oriani per essi. - E i l colice
Trabocchi sull'altar;

REGINA

Requie ai defunti. - E intreccinsi

Poetiche carole.
Oriam per essi. - E un cantico
Alziam di volutta.

(KING:raising a cup.

Peace to the dead. Let us fill our cups

with vivifying wine.
Let us pray for them. Let our cups
brim over the altar.

QUEEN

Peace to the dead. Let us dance

and sing in circle. Let us pray For them.
Let us raise a voluptuous song.).

2. Boito's whole opening scene with the brindisi, revelry and

wild dances is on elaboration of Hamlet's lines:

The king doth woke to-night and takes his rouse,

Keeps wassail and the swaggering up-spring reels;
And, as he drains his droughts of Rhenish down,
The kettle-drum and trumpet thus bray out
The triumph of his pledge....
(Act I, Sc. iv,t 1 1 - 8 - 12).

The blasphemous toast 'Requie ai defunti* punctuated by the

courtiers’ shouts of 'E Gloria al Re', led by Claudio, with Gertrude, Amleto
Ofeiio (the last two aside) each contributing a stanza, is

a conventional ensemble scene, yet wonderfully functional in its

exposition of characters and situation. Amleto, embittered by

the hasty and incestuous marriage of his mother curses the two

sinners, whilst Ofelia, who sincerely mourns the dead king, cannot

bring herself to join in the toast. (Here Boito offers a fine

illustration of his skill in integrating purely musical numbers

into the dramatic structure of the plot.)

Hamlet's first soliloquy -'0, that this too too solid flesh

would melt' (Act I, Sc.ii), opening with the lament that God has

'fixed his canon 'gainst self-slaughter', shortened in length but

still containing what is necessary in adhering to Shakespeare's

intention becomes, in Boilo's first scene, Amleto's sombre passage.

'Ah si dissolve quest* ribbietto forma*. Ofelia's aria, in the

same scene,'Dubita pur che brillino'-, is an elaboration of Hamlet's

love letter as read by Polonius in Shakespeare's Act II, Sc.ii

'Doubt thou the stars are fire'. Comments uttered by the courtiers

and the officials during this coronation scene give information

about the political unrest, hinting at Fortenbras' war against

Denmark. Several passages containing the essence of the dialogue

between Hamlet, Horotio and Marcellus about the ghostly apparition,

with which Shakespeare closes the second scene of Act I, are

skilfully inserted by Boito among the toasts and the spirited

dancos of the revellers. By means of this device he provides an

occasion for dramatic contrast rt the same time motivating the

 81

ensuing Ghost scene. (in Shakespeare the Ghost appears for the

second time in Act I, Sc.iv.) In the second part of Boito's

Act I the scene shifts from the Royal Hall in the castle to the

ramparts outside. As in Shakespeare, Amleto, who is with Marcello

and Orario, comes to know the precise history of the events leading

up to his father's murder and to Claudio's usurpation of the throne,

through the Ghost's revelation. As in Shakespeare, the Ghost

charges Amleto to avenge this 'foul and most unnatural murder', a

duty which he accepts without hesitation. In this episode the

dialogue is taken almost literally from Shakespeare sometimes,

however, abbreviated.

The use or the 'terzn rimo' ( a b a , b o b , etc.)

*Tu dei saper ch'io son 1'onima lesa

Del morto padre tuo, su cui lo sdegno
^Dell'Eterno Giustizia incombe e peso.
Me stesso fei per mio fallire indegno
^Ed or le colpe della vita lieta
B
Purgo col foco del dolente regno***

(You must know that I am the wounded sou'

Of your dead father, upon whom the rage
Of the Eternal justice heavily lies.
By sinning, I have debased myself .
And, now, the sins of my too carefree life
I am purging in the fire of the sorrowful reign...)

•confers upon the Ghost's speeches curiously Dontean overtones, not

unfitted however to the situation, dealing with a damned soul

engaged in colloquy with d living person. There is no model in

Shakespeare for the 'De prufundis clamavi' recited by Amleto,

Orazio and Marcello at the end of Act I. This was, however, one

of the numbers most warmly applauded at the first performance of

*Amleto' in Genoa,in 1865,

The second act of the libretto is likewise divided into two parts.

The first part encompasses a small portion of Shakespeare's Act II

(drastically reduced to a few lines taken from the second scene)

and the main sections of Act III, Sc.i,-the 'To be or not to be'

speech and the nunnery scene. The second part is wholly dedicated

to the 'play within the play' episode, which in Shakespeare takes

place in Act III, Sc.ii. By omitting many episodes from the

second and third acts of Shakespeare's tragedy, Rosencrantz,

Guildenstern and the side plot in which they are involved,are

suppressed. The intense compression to which the plot is subjected

weakens the dramatic tension of the play as well as the psychological

complexity which Hamlet, as a Shakespearean character, possesses.

The instability of Hamlet's purposes and his pathological incapability

of action - the problem which has occupied critics for many

generations - is not only central to the character of Hamlet but

is the pivot upon which the play turns. The pensive soliloquy

'To be or not to be', ending with the conclusion that action has

disappeared in speculation,occurs, in Shakespeare, in Act III, Sc.i,

after several episodes motivating it. Boito transfers this

'scena del dubbio' (scene of doubt) to the very beginning of his

second act. It follows so soon on Amleto's encounter with the

Ghost that the hero's famous monologue seems to spring from it and
we tend to lose sight of the fact that 'two months have passed and

he has done n o t h i n g * T h e monologue ('Essere o non essere1) is

followed by a shortened and much paraphrased version of the

nunnery scene, undoubtedly one of the weakest,and the only

inconsistent point,of the libretto. This strongly dramatic scene

of the play, with Ophelia's deceit on the one hand and Hamlet's

awareness of it on the other, whilst at the same time conducting

his own pretence, is reduced by Boito to a rather pedestrian

duologue. The libretto offers no explanation whatever as to

Amleto's design 'to put an antic disposition on' in order to conceal-

his plans for revenge. His sudden change of mood must have seemed

inexplicable to those not familiar with the ploy who, in Boito's

time, constituted the majority of the audience. The ensuing

short scene, with Polonio announcing the arrival of the company of

players, leads to Amleto's speech, based on Shakespeare's '0, what

a rogue and peasant slave am 1- ' (Act lx, Sc.ii), in which the hero

informs the oudience of his intention to unmask the guilty King by

watching his reaction during the performance of 'The murder of

Gonzago', telling a story similar to Claudio's own. With this

speech ends the first part of Boito's Act II,

In the first draft of 'Amleto' (the manuscript version) which

differs in many points from both the Genoa and the Scala

1. Bradley's comment is quoted in Helen Gardner's 'The historical

approach: Hamlet'. 'Shakespeare, the tragedies', New Jersey
(ed. Alfred Herbage). Prentice Hall, 1964, p.68.
redactions,^ Amleto's soliloquy is followed by another, interesting

episode. A troupe of singer-comedians bursts upon the stage.

Boito, in a witty paraphrase of Hamlet's advice to the players to

1suit the action to the word, the word to the action' (Act III, Sc.ii)

allows his Amleto to voice his own, Boito1s, views on the art of

the future jeopardized by the abuses of the singers and the

stupidity of the public:

... Mo pur ti raccomando - non tempestar le scene

Cogli acuti furori - doll' ugola feroce,
A un polo da cuccagna - non ridur la tuo voce.
E ver,'chi va piO in alto - piO 4 sublime e possente'
Gridono le platee - d' un’ idiota gente.
Mo mentre tu t'arrompichi - per acchiappor la noto.
La tuonante parola - riman di senso vuota,
E 1'arte al tocco reo - del vostro abbracciamento,
Cantori, 4 profanato - da un grande tradimento.
. . . V a 1 nell'arte lontana - un sperato ovvenire
Che lento, lento innalzasi - con luminose spire;
Badote, le vostr* ugole - potrian tardarne il corso,
Dio vi tolga I'obb.vobrio - di cotanto rimorso.

(... And also, I beg you, do not storm the stage with the
violent raging of an angry throat, nor turn your voice
into a greased pole. It is true that the audience, a
foolish man, shriek acclaim that he ’who rises higher,
is more sublime and mighty', but while you surge up to
grasp the note your thundering words remain empty, and
Art is, at the touch of your rude embrace debased - oh!
singers - .a great betrayal. There is in the art of to­
morrow a promise of hope slowly rising in luminous
spirals. Be careful that your throats do not retard
its progress - May God keep from you the bitterness of
remorse).

All that remains of this reform-motivated episode in the final

reduction of 'Amleto* is found in Act II, Sc.ii where, commenting

1. The variant readings of the libretto are found in De Rensi

’L ’Amloto di A.B.', Ancona: La Lucerna, 1927.
 85

on the tragedy being performed before them, the old and the young

spectators support the art of the post and of the future,respectively

Quale incanto! Brovi, bravi.

Viva 1'arte d e 1 nostri avii
Noi, piO baldi e men devoti,
Vogliam I 1arte dei nepoti.

(What a wonder! Bravi, bravi,

viva the art of our ancestors! -
We, more bold and less devout
hail the art of our descendants).

The play-within-the play scene (Act II, Sc.ii) is largely based on

Shakespeare’s, but with the ensuing episode Boito introduces an

innovation: another ensemble scene, again so cleverly planned

musically and dramatically as to fit into the design of the whole

without interfering with the development of the plot. Claudio,

Gertrude, Amleto and Qfelia, speaking in on undertone while

Luciano's monologue is being delivered, reveal the passions by

which they are moved. This scene, closing in noise and confusion

after the flight of tho terrified King, is a stroke of genius and

provides a climactic ending to Act II.

The deviation of the musical drama from the play is sharply

manifested in Boito’s Act III, constructed in two parts. The

first presents, besides the King's prayer scene, (Shak. Ill, iii)

highly important incidents from Shakespeare Act III, Sc.iv. - e.g.

the dialogue between Hamlet and his mother; the murder of Polonius

and the last appearance of the Ghost to Hamlet in the Queen's

closet. The second part contains the episode of Ophelia's madness

(Shakespeare, Act IV, Sc.v) and death. The King's prayer scene
 86

offered a convenient beginning for Boito's third act. The scene,

evolved from the last two lines (given to Claudius)of Shakespeare's

Act III, Sc.iii

My words fly up, my thoughts remain below;

Words without thoughts never to Heaven go.

is beautifully realized. Claudio attempts to repeat the Lord’s

Prayer, but repeatedly breaks down and flies in terror.

0 Padre nostro, - che sei nel cielo,

Sii benedetto, - nel tuo splendor...
PREGAN LE IABBRA, - MA SON DI GELO ANIMA E COR.
Venga il tuo regno - e sully terra
Si compia I'alta - tuo volontd
AH! CHE UN DEMONIC - PEL CRIN M'AFFERKA.
PIETA, PIETA!
Ne dono il pane - quofcidiano,
0 Padre Santo, - dolee Sovran...
DI SANGUE LORDA - HO ANCOR LA MANO
E PREGO UN PAN!1
Perdona al tristo - le sue peccota
Com'ei perdono - ogli affensor...
CIEL2 LA MIA MORTk - HO QUI SEGNATA.
PIETA, SIGNOR!

(Our Father - which art in Heaven

Blessed be thou - in thy splendour
THE LIPS DO PRAY - BUT HEART AND SOUL ARE ICY COLD
Thy kingdom come - thy will be done
In earth...
AH! A FIEND IS SNATCHING AT MY HAIR
HAVE MERCY ON ME!
Give us this day - our daily bread
0 holy father? Sweet king!
MY HANDS ARE STAINED WITH BLOOD
AND I PRAY FOR BREAD.
Forgive the sinner his trespasses.
As he forgives them that trespass against him
HEAVEN! I HAVE SIGNED MY DEATH!
LORD, HAVE MERCY UPON ME.)

After this the action follows Shakespeare closely up to the murder

of Polonio, whose role is reduced by Boito to a subsidiary one.

The Queen's closet scene finds its prototype in Shakespeare

 87

(Act III, Sc.iv) but is much abbreviated and to say the least,

ineffective. The dialogue between Hamlet and the Queen is, in

the tragedy, one of the most stirring scenes. Hamlet, after

denouncing Claudius, urges his mother to repent her incestuous

marriage and abandon the King. In his extended, most effective

passages, he passes through a gamut of contradictory emotions

ranging from bitter contempt to deference:

You are the Queen, your husband's brother wife

And - would it were not so: you are my mother....
11.16.17

... So, again, good night -

I must be cruel only to be kind, 11.178.9

from rage, to gentle persuasion:

Nay but to live

In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed
Stew'd in corruption... 11.91.3

0, throw away the worser port of it (the heart)

And live the purer with the other half.
Good night: but go not<to my Uncle's bed.
11.157.9

>oito's Amleto, stripped of the conflicting aspect:) of his

personality is reduced to little more than a melodramatic shadow

of himself. His aria '0 re Ladrons*, founded on Shakespeare's

lines 'A murderer and a villain1 and 'A king of shreds and patches'

(11.97 and 103) is but a poor substitute for the intensely emotional

Shakespearean original. As in Shakespeare the Ghost appears

again to Hamlet, in the Queen's closet, to whet his 'blunted

purpose'. The first part of Boito's Act III ends with the Queen's

outburst of rage and passion:

Ah: che alfine all' empio scherno...

 88

which has no counterpart in Shakespeare.

The second part of the act reaches a higher degree of artistic

merit. Apart from its admirable dramatic construction and the

superb characterization of Ofelia, it contains the most excellent

specimens of poetry ever before written for a libretto.

The scene opens outside the castle; the rumbles of Laerte's

revolt against the King - •• heard from afar, accompanying the

entire scene of Ofeliu -i madness - the surrounding unrest being

the concomitant of her inner disorder. The dialogue between

l.aerte and the King, token from Shakespeare's Act IV, Sc.v.>

contains only the essential exchange of words necessary to the

unfolding of the action. Ofelia, drivei to madness by the loss

of her father and by unrequited love, appears on the stage singing

lyric upon lyric - a symptom of her pathetic state. She Segins

with a requiem for her father's death:

La bara involta
D'un drappo nf.ro....

(The bier, enwrapped

in a black wall....)

which is an elaboration of Ophelia's short passage beginning

They bore him barefaced on the bier (Act IV, Sc.v.).

The following song, characterized by a sudden change in the

metrical scheme:

Ma quando sarem gW.nti al camposanto

E che ci nvran levato il brvno manto...

(i\s soon as we will reach the cemetery

and, after having lifted the dork cloth... )
is related to the passage in Shakespeare in which Ophelia speaks

the language of the flowers. (Act IV, Sc.v.) After the exit

the King ond Laerte, Ofelia, left alone, moves towards the waters

of a running stream singing u sad tune about her unhappy love.

Boito's beautiful lines:

Amleto! Amleto! chi parld d 1Amleto?

Cala qUeto - vespero; la brezzo
6 una carezzo, - un bacio, una favella;
La brezzo e quella - che cant<3 quel nome....
... Evi mi dicea: "Va2 fatti monachella'...
Val fatti manachellal va! le anello
Del tuo capo recidi" ed io non volli
(Me lasso!) udir la porola profondai
Ed or men vd co' sospir tronchi e folli...
Per troppo amor della mia chioma bionda..

(Amleto! Amleto! who pronounced this name?

The day sets quietly - the breeze is .
a caress, a kiss - or is a voice?
It was, perhaps, the breeze which song that name...
Go to a nunnery. Go! and cut your curly hair.
I did not heed (alas!) his sound advice.
I otn now wandering with dementest sighs
For having laved too much my golden hair.)

which seem to carry already the music within themselves, largely

due to the mid- and end-line rhymes, still further intensify the

poignancy of the scene. The drowning of Ophelia is recounted,

in Shakespeare, in the Queen's powerfully evocative passage

beginning' with;

There is a willow grows aslant a brook... (Act IV, Sc.vii),

Shakespeare often relies on the evocative power of his language

to conjure up scenes of action, landscape, atmosphere. Boito

gives a theatrical extension to the episode of Ophelia's death.

She disappears among the weeping willows singing a willow song,

traditionally associated with unhappy love:

AhimS! chi pionge? e il salice,

Che piange, e pionge tanto
Che 1'acqua del suo pianto
Formd questo ruscel...

( Alas! who weeps? It is the willow

which weeps; it weeps so much
that the waters of its tears
gave birth to this brook... )

After a while her body, surrounded by flowers, appears floating

on the water of the brook. Boito's stage instructions state

simply; Moonlight. Curtain. All the passages given to Ofelia

in this superbly dramatic scene rank among Boito’s highest poetical

achievements. The metres, varying continually, convey the

sensation of her innermost anxiety and distraction which

Shakespeare obtained by abrupt alternation between prose and verse,

speaking and singing. As regards dramatic technique, it is

illustrative of Boito's understanding of the requirement of the

operatic stage that he was successful,here, in enhancing the pathos

inherent in the tragic figure of Ofelia and her .0 less tragic

fate by means of the r .ipression of all the episodes of the

original Shakespeare irh,in an operatic context,could have

distracted attention from the character central to this scene.

For the last act of Afflleto it is advisable to follow the

Genoa version which represents Boito's original intention; the

Scala reduction of the libretto, absurdly mutilated, should not

be considered in a critical evaluation. In the Genoa version the

fourth and final act, divided into two parts, follows Shakespeare's
 91

construction very closely. The first part of the act is built up

of three episodes, each with its own atmosphere but in connected

mood. The first episode, which begins with the grave-digger's

macabre humoresque is constructed as a discussion between them and

Amleto. Amleto's address to Yorick's skull:

Ahimel
Povero Yorick! mel rammento io pure
Gioviol college e mattamente gaio...

(Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him,

a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.)

harking bock to Amleto's youth, is or intact, transference from

Shakespeare. It is suddenly interrupted by Ofelia's funeral

procession, the peculiar effect of which is produced by the

contrast between the deeply felt 'Oremus pro ea' whispered by the

crowd and the 'Mors tua, vita mea1 of the grave-diggers, cynically

echoing it. The third episode is the well-known struggle between

Hamlet and Laerte in Ophelia's grave, which reaches its climax

both in Shakespeare and Boito in the hero's cry of passion:

I loved Ophelia: forty thousand brothers

Could not, with all their quantity of love,
Make up my sum -

(lo quella morta, amai piO'che 1'amor di mille e mille

Fratelli insiem!)

In the second part of the act the scene changes to the hall

of the Royal Palace where the duel between Amleto and Laerte

before the King, the Queen and the courtiers is followed by the

final catastrophe. The only important alteration is the

suppression of the scene containing the entry of Fortinbras, the

construction very closely. The first port of the act is built up

of three episodes, each with its own atmosphere but in connected

mood. The first episode, which begins with the grave-digger's

macabre humoresque is constructed as a discussion between them and

Amleto. Amleto's address to Yorick's skull:

Ahimdi
Povero Yorick! mel rammento io pure
Giovial college e mattamente goio...

(Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him,

a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.)

harking back to Amleto's youth, is an intact, transference from

Shakespeare. It is suddenly interrupted by Ofelia's funeral

procession, the peculiar effect of which is produced by the

contrast between the deeply felt 'Oremus pro ea' whispered by the

crowd and the 'Mors tua, vita mea1 of the grave-diggers, cynically

echoing it. The third episode is the well-known struggle between

Hamlet and Loerte in Ophelia's grave, which reaches its climax

both in Shakespeare and Boito in the hero's cry of passion:

I loved Ophelia: forty thousand brothers

Could not, with all their quantity of love,
Moke up my sum -

(lo quella morta, amai piO'che 1"amor di mille e mille

Fratelli insiem!)

In the second part of the act t h :scene changes to the hall

of the Royal Palace where the duel between Amleto and Loerte

before the King, the Queen and the courtierr is followed by the

final catastrophe. The only important alteration is the

suppression of the scene containing the entry of Fortinbras, the

 92

successor to the Danish throne, and the removal of Hamlet's body

with military rites - the close of Shakespeare's tragedy. The

close relation between the opening and the end of 'Hamlet' has been

pointed out in the most recent criticism. Helen Gardner,^ fo:

instance, remarks that the ploy, beginning with sentries at their

watch being relieved, ends with a soldier's laying to rest - he too

being relieved from the burden of life. Boito read the tragedy as

a revenge play - a one-sided interpretation which helped to reduce

the complexity of the play and also, in some measure, some of the

inconsistencies in the development of the plot and of Hamlet's

character. He deleted Shakespeare's prologue scene ( ;nd therefore,

logically, the last scene which is related to it) also symbolic of the

mystery and darkness of Hamlet's world which in Boito is not much

emphasized. He too, however, anticipating the modern critical

approach, gave to his 'Amleto' a cyclical structure which was

responsible for the perfect symmetry and balance of the 'musical

tragedy1, as he called it. The setting and dramatic structure

of the opening and the ending is, in the Genoa version, the same.

Amleto is first seen amidst the hollow glitter and pomp of Claudio's

court - a solitary figure dressed in an 'inky cloak', mark of his

grief for his father's death, of his melancholic disposition and,

possibly too, of his being on 'ambassador of death,* according to

1. Gardner, H.'fcit., pp. 68-9.

 93

G. Wilson Knight's definition/ In his very first soliloquy,

opening with the lament that the Almighty would not forgive self­

slaughter, Amleto reveals his thought of giving up the battle of

life. He joins in the toast led by Claudio and punctuated by

the courtiers' shouts of 'E gloria ol re', cursing the King and

the Queen to death. In circumstances similar to that of the

opening - a magnificent court scene in which the Brindisi led by

Claudio is accompanied by the reiterated acclamations of the

courtiers - the King and the Queen meet their death and Amleto,

after having accomplished his revenge is at last relieved,

through Laerte's mortal stroke, from the burden of lif-s.

Unfortunately, when the opera was revived at La Scalo in

1871 for a single disastrous performance, this second part of the

act was suppressed. The murder of the King was token into the

graveyard scene - an arbitrary deviation, not only from

Shakespeare but from Boito's original design, which brings the

drama to too rapid a close leaving the plot unsolved.

We do not know the reason for this suppression but it might

have been because of the limited stamina of the public of Milan

which even 'as late as the 1900s had not yet grown inured to the

length of Wagnerian o p e r a . B o i t o , in his artistic integrity,

must have viewed the shortening of his tragedy as a humiliating

surrender to the taste of that public he had thought himself able

1. Quoted in Gino Matteo's Introduction to Hamlet. New York:

AIRMONT Classic Series, 1965. p.XXIII.
2. Corner, M., op. cit., p.133.
to educate. He was never to achieve his ambition in this respect,

Mefistofele and Nerone, which he conceived as the culmination of

his artistic intention being destined for similar emasculation.

 95

CHAPTER II

UN TRAMONTO and LA FALCE

Boito's second libretto - the eclogue Un tramonto (A sunset) -

is a small scale, unpretentious work in one act. The poem by

Emilio Praga, which prefaces it, is intended as the programme for

the descriptive instrumental prologue and also introduces the

action of the play. The scene, set at autumn sunset, is a

woodland glade close to the legendary Avellana spring, in the

Apennines. The time is the Middle Ages. The shepherdess Dora,

crouched against the wall of a sheep-fold, comments on the end of

the storm which has mercilessly battered the trees of the forest.

Her beautiful and vaguely Arcadian speech is punctuated by

reiterated sounds of distant hunting horns. She sings a love-song

and, whilst musing over its words, gazes at the trees as if hoping

for her dreams to become reality. A page-boy, who wanders through

the forest having lost himself during the storm which has dispersed

his hunting party, appears to Dori, asking for help. She shows

him the way back but he, fascinated by her charm and kindness,

returns to her. The sound of the horns, the stamping of the

horses' hoofs come nearer and nearer but the hunting game, with

its joyful excitement, no longer attracts him. On hearing the

bell of a distant church ringing the Angelus, Dori and the page

kneel down in prayer whilst the last ray of sunlight suddenly

flares up on the horizon.

 96

Un tromonto with its inconsistent plot, and lack of action,

its unrophisticated symbolism and rather naive allegorical

pretentions, is undoubtedly the weakest of Boito's libretti.

There are, however, many beautiful passages, especially those given

to Dori, which reveal a poetic standard far superior to that of the

majority of the Italian librettists of the time.

A finer example of a one-act libretto is represented by

La Falce (The Scythe), a kind of symphonic poem dramatized by

a lengthy scene constructed in two opposing parts: the first

tragic and the second idyllic. An opening instrumental section

describes the battle between the Mahometans and the idolaters

fought at Dedr, in the second year of the Hegira. As the curtain

rises,,Zohra, an Arabian girl, is seen wandering through a desert

place mourning for those who had died in the battle and invoking

death for herself also. Seid, a mower who, carrying a scythe

appears to her in the darkness, is believed by her to be Azrael, the •

cruel and invincible Angel of Death. She eagerly surrenders to

him but Seid reveals his trus identity. Life and love eventually

triumph. The youth and the maiden, wrapped in the same mantle,

make their way towards the desert transfigured with happiness.

The finale, in the form of a duet, is based upon a song given out

by a caravan moving off into the distance.

The oriental setting of the story, the atmosphere of

unreality which pervades it, the warm tones of the picture, make

of this libretto an extremely attractive work, beautifully suited

to the dreamy and gentle art of Catalan!, for whom it was prepared.
 97

CHAPTER H I

ERO E LEANDRO

By common consent Ero e Leondro (jHeto ond L e mder) is, with the

possible exception of Irom, and Bosi e bote, the best of Boito’s minor

libretti. The care with which it is written; the scholarly precision

with which the elaborate setting of each act is described and the

wealth of stcc* directions, clearly reveal Boito's intention to

conform to those principles of librettistic reform to which he

adhered. With Ero e Leandro , conceived and written at the same

time as the re-arrangement of Mefistofele , Boito seems to revert

to the ideals of the Florentine Comerata who, in search for

classical purity, stressed simplicity and brevity as the constants

of Greek art. The libretto which, in a true seventeenth century

tradition begins with a lyrical Prologue,is concise; the plot,

revolving around three characters, is simple and direct, Boito

draws the basic story-line from classical sources - among them, on

apocryphal poem by Musoios.* Whilst the libretto was originally

written in two acts, it was re-written in a three act version

proceeded by a Prologue for Bottesini in 1879, and _ later modified

in 1897, for Mancinelli . The Mancinelli version is the official

form published in 'Tutti gli scritti1. My comments refer to it.

1. Boito may have also known the melodratnma bearing the same
title written by A. Di Benedetto and set to music by
Ferdinando Pabr in 1794.
 98

The story runs as follows: In the Thracian town of Sestos, on

the European shore of the Hellespont, the celebrations for the

Festival of Aphrodite are in progress. Amidst the rejoicing of

an exultant crowd, Leandro, a young man of Abydos - a town on the

opposite Asian shore of the strait - is proclaimed the victor of

the athletic games held in honour of the Goddess of Love. Songs

of praise are sung by the chorus whilst he receives the wreath of

laurel from the hands of Ero, the most beautiful among Aphrodite’s

priestesses. Addressing her Leandro sings to the lyre the charming

Anacreontea on the mischievous nature of Cupid (masterly translated

and adapted by Boito). Ero e Leandro fall in love with each other,

provoking the furious jealousy of Ariofarne, Archon of Thrace and

King of the Sacrifices - d character introduced by Boito into the

story as the embodiment of the overriding power of Evil,

, .ufarne lusts after Ero (Act II) but she disdainfully rejects his

advances, rather choosing to spend the rest of her life secluded in

the Tower of the Virgin, placed in the middle of the Hellespont.

Leandro, however, succeeds in reaching his beloved, swimming the

Hellespont nightly, guided by a orch which she places upon the

tower. One night, (Act III) during a fearful storm, Leandro, on

hearing Ariofarne's steps approaching, casts himself down from the

tower into the rough sea and is swept away by the waves. At the

sight of leandro's body, which the waves have carried to the

European shore, Ero dies. Ariofarne1s cry of rage, as he bends

over the dead girl is muffled by the song of the chorus which,
 99

with a few lines of comment' on the death of the two young lovers,

brings the story to an end. 'Ero e Leandro' is, if not Boito at

His best, a remarkably fine, well organized work in which its

author makes the most of the dramatic possibilities inherent in the

mythological episode. In the first act (ll tempio di Venere),

exciting and full of action, everything - singing, dancing, grouping

of forms and colours - is designed to appeal to the imagination.

The oct is most effective from o dramatic point of view. The

second act (l.'Afrodisio), with its somewhat melodramatic conflict

of character, is negligible. The third act (La Torre della

Vergine) is, both dramatically and poetically, masterful. It

opens with an offstage chorus (La notte diffonde) commenting on the

enchanting beauty of the night. Ero sits at her tower window

waiting for Leandro. She is in pensive mood. The uneasiness in

her mind finds a counterpart in her speech, illustrated by the

insistent note created by the mid-line rhymes of the endecasyllables:

Quand'ei la prime volto qui m*appcrve

Col passo delle larve (e avea le stille
Nelle ouoille a caritd sugdi).
Hi disse: - Sette stadi d'alto mare
Mi vietan d ; baciare il tuo bel viso.
Mo in cuore ho fiso di vorcarli, solo
Che m'asseconde e il volo fro le spume
Diriga un lume dalla torre....

(When here he appeared to me for the first time

As silent as a shadow (how touching
were the tears I saw in his eyes!)
He told me: ’Seven stadia of deep sea
Prevent me from kissing your sweet face.
Give me your help, and I will boldly cross them
If, from the tower, you will light my way).
 100

The static effect of this lengthy passage is counteracted by the

ominous interjections of the off-stage chorus. She recalls her

clandestine wedding to Leandro in an exquisite passage which is a

faultless translation of a section of the poem by Musaios:

E fur compiute poi lo dolci nozze;

Mo al segreto connubio alcun poeta
Non inneggid,ne*s'allegro' per teda
La stanza marital nd per ghirlando....

(We secretly were wedded.

There was no poet to sing a bridal song,
No garlands, nor bright torches, to moke
the hymeneals gay....)

The dreamy duet in which Ere e Leandro express their hope to find

some distant place 'Andrem sovrc i flutti profondi') where they

may be happy together, is one of the best instances of lyric poetry

written by Bcito. It it; interrupted by a frightening thunder-clap

which brings the two lovers abruptly back to reality. The

increasing tension of the ensuing section culminates in Ero's

speech which, with its broken, disconnected lines, conveys well her

frenzied fear and agony of mind:

,... 0 mio Leandro ... fuggi...

No... non fuggir ... La ... 1'uragano... rosta...
E qua... Ariofarne... Ld I'idro... quo... il mostro...

( .... Oh! my Leandro ... flee'...

... No ... remain! There ... the storm ... remain ...
And here ... Ariofarne ... There ... the hydra ...
here... the cruel beast ...)

After the stormy climax of the final scene a beautiful effect of

contrast is provided by the intervention of the chorus which, in

concluding the story, recaptures the tone of serene beauty and

the atmosphere of remoteness established in the Prologue.

 101

CHAPTER IV

LA GI0C0NDA

'Lo Giocondo is from a literary point of view of the leoct value

and yet the most successfully popular of Boito's minor libretti.

It is *an exercise in French grand-opera, wi\h a show stopping

aria for every vocal category and plenty of variant cvj'ortuni ties

for confrontations and tableaus'. It was well suited to the

ebullient and somewhat crude inspiration, of Amilcare

Ponchielli - who made of it his masterpiece - but has been

often abused and dismissed by the majority of the critics on the

ground of its bad taste and melodramatic absurdities. Doubtless,

some of the verses, bombastic and rhetorical, are in no way

superior to those of Somma, Solera,Piave or Cammarano. As

regards dramatic situations and scenical organization La Giocondo

seems to me to be, however, a remarkably effective piece of work.

Boito was not responsible for the absurdity of the plot. It is

known that the libretto was founded on the five acts prose-drama

by Victor Hugo 'Angelo, Tyran de Podoue*. a farraginous, dark play

which had, however, hod an enthusiastic reception when first

performed in Paris at La Com&die Francaise, on 28th April, 1835.^

1. Smith, P., cit., p.335.

2. The Russian composer C&sor Cui was also
attracted by this same story. His 'Angelo* had its premiire
in St. Petersburg on 13th February, 1876. Ponchielli's
'Lo Giocondo' was first given at La Scala a few weeks later,
on 8th April.

i
 102

The manner in which Boito, by way of important modifications,

contrived to make an intelligent and coherent libretto out of such

a story is, unquestionably, masterful. After eliminating, together

with some exceedingly brutal scenes, all the political and historical

events which ployed so large a part in Hugo's play (and did indeed

distract the attention from the essential plot), Boito concentrated

on the characters and on the central dramatic and emotional

situations, stressing the poignancy of the human drama. He also

(.hanged the scene from Padua to Venice of the seventeenth century

and cast the story in four acts, each with its own title: 'La bocca

del Leone1 (The Lion's mouth); 'II Rosario* (The Jusary); 'Co d'oro

(The house of Gold); 'II Canal Orfono' (The Orfano Canol).

In Act I, the curtain rises to reveal a crowd of gay Venetians who,

singing a lively chorus (Feste e pane - Festivities! Bread!) gather

in the courtyard of the Palazzo Ducole to celebrate a regatta on

the Canal Grande. The Cathedral of San Marco stands in the

background and one of the notorious Lion's mouths, into which anyone

could put a note secretly denouncing a fellow citizen to the

Inquisition, is also prominent. Barnoba,a Jago-Scorpio like

character, observes the crowd, pretending also to be in festive moc..

His opening: 'E danzan su lor tombe' (They dance upon their own

graves) immediately reveals the vil'any of his soul. He then

informs the audience of his passion for Gioconda, a beautiful

and popular ballad singer who now appears leading by the hand La

Cieca, her blind mother. Repulsing the attentions of Barnaba,

 103

Giocondo leaves her mother seated on the steps of the Cathedral

whilst she goes in search of her lover, Enzo Grimaldo - a Genoese

nobleman who has been forbidden to come to Venice and is there

disguised as a ship's captain. He was once engaged - and still

loves - Laura Adorno, the wife of the haughty Alvise Badoero,

leader of the Inquisition. The Badoeros arrive just in time to

save La Cieca who B a m a k o has denounced as a witch. Barnaba's

action is part of the scheme which he had devised in order to

force Gioconda to submit to his desire. With the appeorance of

Alvise Badoero and his wife who, splendidly dressed and accompanied

by an armed guard, descend the staircase of the Giants to the

Courtyard of the Ducal Palace,Boito provides a magnificent visual

moment which Ponchielli's music supports well. La Cieca, in

gratitude, gives to Laura her ireasvred rosasy with the prophetic

words: 'A te questo rosario accs.ttalo; ti porterd fortune;'

(l offer you this rosary... Take it; it will bring you good

fortune.) The rosary plays a cardinal role in the development of

the plot. (Ponchielli, in his musical setting, appropriately uses

the theme given to it in the Prelude, pitted against the dark motive

of the villain, Barnaba, who is at the end of the opera to tfiurder

the blind woman. The same theme is also used extensively,

throughout the work.) Enzo, w'o happens to be present recognizes

Laura and she him. Barnaba, knowing their story, thinks he can

get Gioconda in his power if he proves her lover to be faithless.

He arranges a meeting between Enzo and Laura on Enzo's brigantine

 104

that very evening. He then dictates to a public letter-v/riter a

revelation of Laura's infidelity to be put in the Lion's Mouth for

delivery to her husband. From behind a column .'Gioconda

overhears the dictation but dcas not, however, know for whom the

message is intended nor the name of the woman who Enzo is to meet.

Barnaba's monologue, uttered whilst he throws the accusation into

the Lion's Mouth, is a wonderful passage of poetry in which Boito,

in a set of images characterized by contrast, conjures up the

splendour and cruelty of seventeenth century Venice:

0 monumento,
Reggia e bolgia dogale! Atro portento!
Gloria di questa e delle etd future ...
... Gioia tu olterni e error con vece occulta:
Quivi un popolo esulta
Quivi un popolo muor,

( Oh, monument!
Kingdom and ’bolgia' of the doges! Dark portent!
Glory of this age and of those to come...
Joy and horror alternates according to a mysterious law;
here a people rejoices, here a people dies.)

The finale of the act, intensely dramatic and full of movement

perhaps, the finest scene in the whole opera. Maskers enter and

dance amidst the happy crowd. The riotous Baccanole is interrupted

by the sound of Vespers issuing from San Marco. An off-stage organ

and chorus singing the 'Angelus Domini* prepare-the way for a

religious choral mood on stage. Gioconda's despairing *0 Dio!5

Cuore! dono funesto!' (Oh God! Oh, my heart! A fatal gift)

rises above the chorus whilst she - hand in hand with her mother -

very, very slowly crosses the courtyard toward the church.

 104

that very evening. He then dictates to a public letter-writer a

revelation of Laura's infidelity to be put in the Lion's Mouth for

delivery to her husband. From behind a column . Gioconda

overhears the dictation but dess not, however, know for whom the

message is intended nor the name of the woman who Enzo is to meet.

Bornaba's monologue, uttered whilst he throws the accusation into

the Lion's Mouth, is a wonderful passage of poetry in which Boito,

in a set of images characterized by contrast, conjures up the

splendour end cruelty of seventeenth century Venice:

0 monumento,
Reggio e bolgio dogale! Atro portento.1
Gloria di questa e delle eta future ...
... Gioia tu alterni e orror con vece occulta:
Quivi un popolo esulta
Quivi un popolo muor.

( Oh, monument!
Kingdom and 'bolgici1 of the doges! Dark portent!
Glory of this age and of those to come...
Joy and horror alternates accorc'.ng to a mysterious law;
here a people rejoices, here a people dies.)

The finale o* intensely dramatic and full of movement is,

perhaps, thu -cene in the whole opera. Maskers enter and

dance amidst the happy crowd. The riotous Baccanaie is interrupted

by the sound of Vespers issuing from San Marco. An off-stage organ

and chorus singing the ‘Angelus Domini' prepnre-the way for a

religious choral wood on stage. Gioconda's despairing '0 Dio!:

Cuore! dono funesto!' (Oh God! Oh, my hecrt! A fatal gift)

rises above ths chorus whilst she - hand in hand with her mother -

very, very slowly crosses the courtyard toward the church.

 105

The second act, which takes place on an island of the Fusina

Lagoon beside which Enzo's brigantine is moored, opens with a

vivacious sailor's chorus. Barnaba, disguised as a fisherman,

sings a lovely barcarolle 'Pescator, affonda I'esco1 (Fisherman,

sink your bait). Then, in rapid succession come: Enzo's most

famous aria 'Cielo e mar1 (Sky and sea); Laura's and Enzo's love

scene culminating in the ecstatic duet 'LaggiO nelle nebbie remote'

(Over there ... in the distant mists); Laura' prayer 'Stella del

mariner' (Star of the mariner) and the dramatic duet 'L'ano come

i£ fulgor del creoto' (I love him like the splendour of creation)

between Giocondo and Laura. This represents the climax of the

act. What follows is extremely dynamic: overcome with jealousy,

Giocondo is about to stab her rival when, at the sight of the

rosary which Laura lifts imploring help, she recognizes in Laura

her mother’s rescuer. Giocondo helps Laura to escape, just in

time, as Barnaba comes on deck leading the furious Alvise. Rather

than yield to the vengeful husband Enzo sets fire to his vessel

and all jump overboard. Strange to say, whilst passages of

poetical excellence such as the Enzo-Laura duet or Sa-naba's

monologue '0 monumento' of the first act did not seem to inspire

Ponchielli, he was able to turn the pedestrian verse of the duet

between Lauro and Giocondo into the richest and most effective

moment in the whole opera. A fact which, should not 'Otello'

and 'Falstaff prove that the very reverse is the truth, seems to

provide fuel for those commentators who claim that it is unnecessary

 106

for a librettist to be o poet, even going so for as to affirm that

good poetry, with its intricate rhythms and musical overtones, can

possibly interfere with the free development of music.

Act III, in two parts, is laid in the palace of Alvise Sadoero -

the Ca d'oro. The first part, is set in o private chamber of the

palace and begins with Alvise's uninspired and rhetorical monologue

'Si, morir ella de'j (Yes, to die is her fate), uttered against

the sound of distant dance music. The nobleman, after deciding

to eliminate Laura, who has deceived him, sends for her to come to

his room. When Laura entevs, dressed to receive his guests, he

hands her a phial of poison, imposing suicide upon her. She must

drink it before the liltiny serenade ’La gaia conzon' (The merry

song), which they hear through the open window, is ended. As

soon os Alvise has deparl.ed, Gioconda slips in. The gay off-stage

c.,orus provides the background for the scene in which Gioconda

persuades Laura to drink a sleeping potion instead of the poison,

telling her rival she will save her. When Alvise returns, he

finds his wife apparently dead. The second part of the act, laid

in the magnificent hall of the Ca' d'Oro, is o sumptuous tableau

full of animation and dramatic intensity as well. Alvise greets

the guests he has invited to witness the spectacular Dance of the

Hours, symbolizing the eternal struggle between Light and Darkness.

Suddenly Barnaba appears dragging in La Cieca, whom he has caught

praying beside Laura. A tolling bell is heard. On learning of

the supposed death of Laura, Enzo, who is among the masked guests
 107

discloses his identity.• ('II tuo proscritto io sono, Enzo

Grimoldo' - I cm the man you outlawed, Enzo Grimaldo.) In the

general confusion Gioconda, in order to save the life of Enzo,

steals up to Barnaba promising him that she will yield to him in

exchange for his help. He agrees, but seizes her mother as a

hostage whilst Alvise, dramatically drawing bock a curtain,

reveals the motionless Laura to his Horrified guests. This scene,

with its mossing of colours and of action and its superbly

climactic 'concertoto finale* ('D'un vampiro fatal ... Gid ti vedo...

Scorre il pianto ... Se lo salvi' - Of a fatal vampire ... I already

see you ... Tears are running down - If you save him), given to

the whole company, must be accounted, as Lawrence Robert suggests

'as one of the glories of Italian opera

For the conclusion of La Gioconda Bcito discards all external

stage effect, concentrating on the inward drama. He sets the

scene in Gioconda's home, a ruined palace on the Giudecca island.

She sitsalone, awaiting Laura. With nothing to live for, the

unfortunate heroine sings the tragic aria 'Suicidio." (Suicide!)

filled with the despairing thoughts of approaching death. Putting

her feeling aside, she helps Enzo and Laura to escape. (The

poignancy of the scene is musically heightened by two affecting

reminiscences: the off-stage serenade which was heard through the

window during the Laura - Gioconda duet in Act III and a reprise

of the 'rosary* motive, associated with the memory of La Cieca

whose life has been saved by Laura). After bidding the lovers

farewell, Gioconda suddenly remembers her pact with Barnaba.

1. Lawrence, L. 'La Gioconda' in Introduction to Opera1, New

York: Barnes and Noble, 1961, p.104.
 108

He appears, in fact, to claim his reward. Defiantly facing him,

Gioconda stabs herself to the heart, leaving the villain to scream

in vain that he has murdered her mother.

'Lo Gioconda' is, undoubtedly, a drama of coarse emotional

situations - absurdly melodramatic, if we commit the error of

judging it by present-day standards. It actually contains all the

ingredients which appealed to the tastes of the fans of the romantic

drama and, whatever we think of the story, we must admit that the

libretto, characterized by swift dramatic strokes and a close

sequence of self-explanatory situations, is unusually well constructed.

The rapidity of the dramoti; action tends, perhaps, to override

the characters who are, in the whole, sketchily delineated.

Barnoba, although stereotyped, is a much more sober and, to a degree,

a more credible version, of the original, truculent Homodei of

Hugo's play. Gioconda, drawn always in strong colours but with

remarkable variety and completeness is, by far, the best

characterization. She may remain, in essence, a conventional

romantic heroine, but she is a strikingly effective operatic figure

- an obvious model for Puccini's Tosca and Cilea's Adriana

Lecouvreur.*

Boito's passion for contrast is to be seen at various levels:

in the simultaneous suggestion of contrasting scenes and emotional

1. Mosco Corner, in his biography on Puccini, suggests a

possible influence of Boito's libretto 'La Giocoi -'n*, upon
Sardou's drama 'Tosca* - See op. cit: pp. 23; 330-1.
situations; in the duel between Good and Evil, as embodied in the

antithesis Gioconda - Barnaba and, in a Less obvious end more

subtle way, in the conflicting aspects of Gioconda's personality

as well as in the tragic dualism of her human condition:

Canto I'amore e il g.iubilo

Questo da te si vuole
S'anco nel sen ti soffoca
L'onta e il livore e il duol.^

(Sing of love and joy...

this is required of you -
even if suffocating from shame,
hatred and grief.)

1. Boito wished this passage, which does not howe"er appear

in the present version of the opera, to be inserted in
Act III, after the Dance of the Hours. See 'Tutii gli
scritti',p.!533.
 109

situations; in the duel between Good and Evil, os embodied in the

antithesis Gioconda - Barnaba and, in a less obvious and more

subtle way, in the conflicting aspects of Giocondo's personality

as well as in the tragic dualism of her human condition:

Canto I'amore e il giubilo

Questo do te si vuole
S'onco nel sen ti soffoca
L'onta e il livore e il duol.^

(Sing of love and joy...

this is required of you -
even if suffocating from shame,
hatred and grief.)

1. Boito wished this passage, which does not however appear

in the present version of the opera, to be inserted in
Act III, after the Dance of the Hours. See 'Tutti gli
scritti*,p.1533.
 CHAPTER V

SEMIRA and PIER LUIGI FARNESE

Again, the theme of the struggle between Good and Evil, roughly

represented by pitting conflicting characters against each other,

returns in Boito's next two libretti: 'Semira' and 'Pier Luigi

F a m e sc". both lyric tragedies, in four acts. In the first work,

Semiramis, the legendary queen of Assyria, renowned for

lasciviousness rather than for her beauty and bravery, is somewhat

arbitrarily chosen by Boito as the polar character of the evil-

minded high priest Zoroastro. The action, which shows a close

resemblance to that of 'Ero e Leandro', is set in Babylon. The

sensuous atmosphere of that land is splendidly evoked in the first

act, depicting the Night of Baalthis. The opening stage directions,

running to thirty-two lines, besides being a brilliant descriptive

passage in itse.if.. is an instance of the grandeur of Boito's

scenical conception. Scenography and choreography remain the only

interesting features of this libretto, otherwise so disappointing

as to make any detailed consideration superfluous.

Of the four acts, of Semira the first must be reckoned the.best. The

episode of the love of Ara - the young king of Armenia - for the

enemy queen Semira, whom he meets for the first time disguised as

a Bride of Baalthis (scenes iii, iv), is well contrived and

beautifully framed in choruses - the first, the Magi's chorus

'Languidomente I'etere sospira* (The air exhales languor), opening

the ceremonies in honour of the Goddess Boolthis; the last, ('Sia

gloria a Zoroastro* - Glory to Zoroaster) heralding the appearance

of Zoroastro, whose impressive apostrophe to the rising sun brings

the act to an end. The second act (ll tribute - the tribute)

which introduces us to the excited ceremonial atmosphere of

Semiro* s court, is conceived as an imposing stage spectacle.

Choral and choreographic movements play a most important part.

(Especially effective, the Almeas* prophane dances and the Dance

of the Zodiac in the fourth scene). Against this background of

pomp and ceremony develops the main conflict of the story - the

one between Ara and Zoroastro, who secretly lusts after Semira

(Scene iii). In Scene v Ara, disdainfully, pays his tribute '.o

the haughty, powerful Semira, of course not recognizing in the

imperious figure seated on a high throne like o golden idol, the

maiden of his dreams. Before the end of the act, Semira,

conquered by the power of love, reveals herself to Ara as the

'Bride of Baolthis", provoking the rage of Zoroastro who swears

vengeance. The third act (La bottoglia - The battle) consists of

two parts linked by a symphonic interlude. The first part is

devoted to the rebellion of Ara and the consequent battle between

the Armenians and the Babylonians. In the second part,Ara is

wounded by Zoroastro by means of a poisoned arrow. At Semira* s

imperious request, the dying hero is taken to her palace. At

this point there is a tremendous clash between Semira and Zoroastro,

so conventionally and melodramatically depicted however, as to make

 112

the whole scene ludicrous, rather than effective. If the first

three acts confronted us with dynamic action. Act IV, laid in

Semira's apartment, is largely static. On realizing that she

cannot live without Ara, Semira resolves to follow him 'into the

azure, shining stillness of the kingdom of souls'. As Zoroastro

approaches at the head of a riotous mob, who wants the queen's

death, Semira stabs herself. The young lovers die in each other's

arms, after recalling 'with accent of supreme ecstasy* the wish

formulated at the time of their first meeting, in the intoxicating

atmosphere of the Night of Paalthis:

Vivere un'ora sotto i boci tuoi...

E sotto i tuoi sospii...
Un'ora e poi,.,

(To live on hour with your kisses, your sights of love -

An hour... and then... to die.)

'Pier Luigi Farnese1. is a semi-historical libretto,

skilfully conceived, although, in my opinion, only partially

successful. The abduction of a nun, an attempted rope, poison,

orgies, conspiracies and intrigue are the ingredients of the

melodramatic story which displays a certain affinity with that of

‘La Giocondo'. The historical background is Charles V s invasion

of Northern Italy, resulting in the consolidation of Spanish

egemony over the j. .insula. The libretto has variety and

liveliness, but is flawed by a fundamental weakness in the - •

treatment of the characters who seem to exist not as individuals

but as the means to create dramatic situations. Pier Luigi Farnese

 113

(1503 - 47), duke of Parma and Piacenza - an historical figure

and a typical Renaissance ruler - is presented by Boito as a

ruthless despot and a libertine - the stereotyped, sinister

villain of the melodramatic stage.His antagonist, Gianni

Anguissola, is a singularly colourless, unattractive hero whilst

Donata is the model heroine, embodying all the virtues. The

only admirable characterization is that of Grillo, a pert,

lighthearted adolescent who throws some light on the atmosphere of

unrelieved gloom, which pervades the story. The first act (La

statua di ne/e - The snow statue),very exciting from a dramatic

point of view, opens in a delightfully unconventional mariner in

the courtyard of an ancient cloister in Piacenza. A small crowd

of townspeople and a vroop of acrobats watch in amusement, and

with lively comments, a gigantic snowman bearing a striking

resemblance to the hated Pier Luigi Farnese. The author of the

statue involved in putting the finishing touches to his work,

is hailed by the crowd as the 'Michelangelo of the snow'. He is

the leader of the troop of acrobats, the boy nicknamed Grillo (the

cricket). Among the crowd is Gianni Anguissola, a descendant of

a noble family whose power Hod been usurped by the Farneses, and

three of his friends. Their conversation discloses, besides

details of the historical and political situation, that a

conspiracy is afoot against Pier Luigi Farnese. There ensues

a lively little episode in which Grillo introduces himself and his

companions to Gianni. His speech: 'Saltando la libera mia vita

guadagno' (My jumps earn me bread and freedom) so spontaneously

fresh and joyful, ends with an irresistible 'Saltarello';

Svelto, jsnelio, ^guscic, _sbolza,

^corri, _sfuggi, salta, salta....

(Svelte} slender!'dart: jump! 'run! frisk! jump! jump'),

the hopping and sonorous effect of which is enhanced by the

skilful use of allitteration. Conquered by the exuberance of

Grillo, Gianni conceives and expresses, the idea, eagerly accepted

by the volcanic adolescent, if making him his accomplice. A

sudden chang. in mood is brought about as a procession of nuns on

their way to the cloister, crosses the stage singing a chaste and

serene melody ('Un salmo algelico, s'aggira e canto' - An angelic

psalm is heard around us). Among them is Donata, Gianni’s former

fiancbe who, believing him in exile, is to enter the convent that

very day. Against the chanting of the nuns, piously answered by

the 'Oremus, Domine, in te speravi1 of. the crowd, are outlined

the utterances of Gianni and the other conspirators, unfolding their

plans. This scene is constructed with consummate theatrical skill

but what follows - Gianni's and Donato's mutual recognition and

the heroine's conflict between love and moral obligation - is

dramatically weak. As soon as Donata has entered the convent

building and Gianni is led away by his friends, Grillo invites

all people on the stage to join him in the destruction of the

snowman. With growing excitement the crowd throw snowballs at

the image of Pier Luigi Farnese giving vent, half laughing and

half howling, to their abhorrence of the tyrant. The entrance of

Pier Luigi Farnese himself, in company with his attendants, brings

the bustle to o sudden halt. In a moment the stage is cleared

and the impudent Grillo is left alone to face the music. Farnese*

rage subsides, however, before the fearless boy who, frivously but

effectively, defends himself:

Lo scultor son io
Del vostro serenissimo ritratto.
Perchd offendete uno scultor ducale?
Io v'ho fatto e disfotto,
E se nel prime caso sta 11 misfatto,
Nell'cltro caso ho cancellato il male.

(I am the author of the portrait of your Serene Highness.

Why do you offend a Caesarean sculptor?
I mode your image. I have destroyed it.
If in the first instance lies the crime
See, in the second, I have made up for it).

The final scene of Act I, involving the abduction of Donato from

the convent by Pier Luigi Farnese and his attendants, is mere

melodramatic rhetoric. It is, however, dramatically functional

as,'with this incident, the action is rapidly set in motion.

Ths second act (il Giullar Nero - The black jester) takes place

in a magnificent setting in the Hall of the Farnese Castle, turned

into a Court theatre. A chorus in praise of the Duke brings to

an end the allegorical spectacle splendidly staged by Farnese for

the entertainment of his gues+s. Donata, sumptuously clad in

blue and gold - the colours of the Farnese House - defiantly

rejects the precious gifts with which she is presented during

the course of a solemn ceremony. The tension resulting from th"

incident is, once again, dissipated by the sudden appearance of

 116

Grille, who breaks upon the stage through an open windoy, after

having successfully accomplished at Fasnese's request, a seemingly

impossible act of funambulation. Disguised as a block jester,

Gianni /vtguissola also gains access to the castle. By means of

a clever stratagem, and with tho complicity of Grille, he makes

himself recognized by Donato, whose co-operation he needs in order

to put his plan into action. In the name of their love for each

other and for their country, Gianni asks the hesitating Donato to

unlock a hidden door in the Farnese* s private room. He informs

her that, at a given signal, the conspirators will enter the castle

through o secret passage leading to the ducal apartmen:. Sounds

and music heard from behind the curtains of the court theatre

indicate that the Farnese's orgy is in full progress. An orgiastic

chorus (’Si rida, si palpiti, si vuoti la coppa* - Let us laugh,

let us love, let us drink) ends this remarkable act, worked with

admirable poetical skill and incomparable dramatic effectiveness.

Act III (Volpe e Leone - Fox and Lion) which takes place on the

ramparts of the castle, shows the open conflict between Pier Luigi

Farnese and Gianni Anguissolo, who has revealed his true identity.

There is nothing to excite interest in this rather mechanical

opposition of characters nor is the preceding scene between Gianni

and Donata worthwhile. The inner moral conflict of Donato, who

sees her holy obligations as a nun opposed ko her love for Gianni,

is not convincingly conveyed in her rhetorical utterances. The

final scene of the third act is quite animated. From outside

 117

o warlike crowd is heard approaching. Bells ringing, tfv, so- .ding

of the tocsin1 and trumpet calls, announce that the revolt aimed at

overthrowing Farnese has started. Gianni promises the tyrant to

save his life in exchange for Donato's freedom. Farnese consents.

He will, however, keep Donato os hostage in the besieged castle.

Taken all in all, the rather lengthy fourth act (L'Ostaggio - the

Hostage), laid in the Duke's apartment, is good, although the

loquacity of the characters tends to affect the rapidity with which

the drama should be brought to conclusion. Especially Donato* s

interminable opening monologue, in which she expresses her worries

for Gianni's and her own fate, seems to me to flout all laws of

dramatic structure. The beautifully polished lines of her aria

'Ciessidra, limpido urna dell'ore* (Clepsydra, transparent urn of

the hours), if admirable from a poetical point of view, are

dramatically inapposite, hardly suggesting feeling of anxiety or

anguish. The subsequent scene, showing the conflict between

Farnese and Donato, his attempt at raping her, her plea for mercy

and, finally, he’- drinking a phial of poison rather than yield to

him, is well constructed. Farnese, admirably depicted in his

frenzy of rage and erotic passion, may indeed have provided

Puccini's librettists Giacosa and Illica - both close friends of

Boito - with the model for Scorpio. Donato's touching distress

compels sympathetic pity. The episode is brought to on end by

the eruption of Gianni, who urges the dying Donato to flee with

him. She explains that she has taken poison to escape the Duke
 118

and dies in his arms. Farnese is murdered by an angry mob whilst

shouts of victory seal the e.id of his tyrannical rule. Gianni's

despairing utterance 'Haledizionei1 brings the end of the act and

the drama.
 119

CHAPTER VI

IRAN

Ircm begins the series of Boitc’s masterpieces. It is a witty and original

libretto, beautifully written and artistically conceived. The

story is in itself extraordinarily attractive, the handling of

the plot masterful and the organization of the libretto close to

perfection. The poetry is exquisite and the portrayal of the

characters - so far Boito's weakest point - superb. The story

about c penniless drunkard who, for a practical joke or 'to make

a parable of human v a n i t y ' a s suggested by Francis Forgusson, is

treated for one night as a lord so rich as to satisfy his every

desire, is found in the Arabian Nights as well as in later versions

which might have been known to Boito. The Arabian Mights is

generally indicated as the source of Irom. Notwithstanding the

fact that this has beet, maintained by an authority such as Patrick

Smith and that there is no mention of a possible Shakespearean

derivation in Winton Dean's exhaustive book Shakespeare in music.

I would venture to suggest that Boito's direct source might once

again have been Shakespeare, who used the very same tale in his

Induction to The Taming of the shrew!. Indeed, many details in

the story as told by Shakespeare and Boito are too alike to suggest

mere coincidence. Like Christopher Sly, Iram is a tinker (in

1. Forgusson, F. Shakespeare. The Pattern in his carpet.

New York: Deiacorte Press, 1968, p.49.
 120

Boito, a pypsy tinker) who indulges himself in drinking/ like

Sly, he is kidnapped by a huntsman lord for a day of luxury: like

Sly, he, after a very short resistance, allows himself to be seduced

by the allure of aristocratic life and to succumb to the i.eraptation

of feminine beauty - in both Shakespeare ,nd Boito, a p ^ e in disguise.

Thu scene where the huntsman duke plays the trick on Irani (Act I,

Scene ii) and the episode of Iram's awakening in the duke’s mansion,

(Act II, Scene i) seem to me to be obviously based on Shakespeare* s

analogous scenes. The opening scene of the libretto appears to

lie an elaboration of the brief exchange between Sly and Marian

Hacket, the 1alewife of Wincot', at the very beginning of the

Induction; the second part of Act II, and the whole third act are

however Boito's own creation. (in Shaki speare we do not witness

Sly’s return to reality. We leave him a lord ready to-watch the

play to be presented by the travelling players. He last speaks

a few words after the players' first scene and, for some inexplicable

reason, his story is thereafter dropped from the action.)

Like Shakespeare's play Iram opens outside an alehouse/ the

scene is not England but a Bohemian dukedom and the time is the

seventeenth century. The tinker Iram, in a very high spirit, is

celebrating vintage day amidst a crowd of follow gypsies inciting

him to drink mor% and more:

Versa! trinca! cioncaJ affoga

Nel bicchier!
E tracanna, e ti disfoga
Torna a berJ
 (Pour! Drink! Tipple! drown in your pot!
Gulp down, drink your fill, end drink again!

Iram's increasing intoxication gives wings to his imagination,

inspiring o passage of kaleidoscopic brilliance (foreshadowing

that in Act III, Scene i of Falstaff):

II mondo e un trillo
Per 1'uomo brillo.
Un trillo enorme
Di suoni e forme....
Trillo nel calice
La birra bionda
Trilla nel salice
La molle fronda
Tra I'erbo il grillo
Strilla il suo trillo
Trillando tremolano
L'aure sui fior
Trillando palpitano
Le fibre in cor

(To a drunk man

the world is a trill.
An immense trill
of sounds and shapes....
Trills in its gloss
the golden beer
Trills in the willow
the supple branch.
Amidst the gross
the cricket chirps
its own trill.
Whilst trilling,quivers
the breeze on the flowers.
Whilst trilling, quivers
the fibres of the heart.)

Boito's extraordinary ear for verbal music is well illustrated in

the above quoted excerpt remarkable for the peculiar effect

produced upon rhythm by the unusuol rhyming scheme and by the

skilful use of assonances and alliteration (especially effective

atre the sonorous vibrations' produced by the recurrent vibrant

R sound). It is when confronted with passages like this that we

fully realise whot Boito was aiming at when in his youthful poetry

- and especially in Re Orsor he was experimenting with similar

devices. It is unfortunately well-nigh impossible to translate

such passages into another language and retain even a modicum of

the intended effect. An example of Boito's humour is found in the

following episode where the staggering Iram, on realising that his

legs are also 'trilling*, looks for a support and not finding one

conceives the brilliant idea of resorting to leaning on a CANTO

FERMO:

DOmine va in cantina
REcipe vn'ampia tina
MJisvra cinque gotti
FA gorgogliar le botti
SOLfeggero* cosi
LAudando la tua spina
SIno al novello di
DOmine va in cantina.

(DOmine, go to the wine cellar

REcipe: an ample winevat;
MEasure five mugs:
FAg at the bubbling tub
SOlmizing in this way:
'LAudable is my bunghole'
Since now to the new day.
DOmine go to the wine cellar.)

One cannot help but feel that Boito was, in writing the above,

aware of Guido d'ArezzoV prayer to St. John, the supposed origin

of the entire system of tonic-solfa.*

Ut queant lexis Resonare fibris

Mira gestorum Famuli tuorum
Solve polluti Labii reotum
This 'liturgical* mood is taken up by the spirited 'congregation'

which, duly answering Irom, seems eager to produce the maximum of

choral effect to the fury of Marianna, the luscious hostess, who

breaks upon the merrymakers, indignantly ejecting them. Iram is

left alone to face the anger of his fiery lover. Invited by

Marianna to choose between herself and a bottle of wine which he

has, in the meantime, stolen, Iram, torn by the dilemma, gives

vent to his feelings in an amusing speech: *0 sposo, o bottiglia?’

(A wife ... or a bottle?), obviously parodying Hamlet's famous

monologue of 'To be, or not to be*. After gouging the not easily

dismissoble advantages of each, Iram finally opts for the bottle.

Abandoned by Marianna he, by now dead drunk, falls heavily to the

ground. According to Boito's stage directions, Iram's sleep is

to be accompanied by sweet music, gradually to be taken over by

the sounds of on approaching hunting party. The conversation

between the Lord and a huntsman, with which Shakespeare opens the

hunting scene, is reduced by Boiio to a brief exchange between the

Duke and his page Folchetto, and is utilized by him at the

beginning of Iram Scene ii. Then, Boito departs from Shakespeare

by making the Duke express his admiration, for Marianna of whom he

has caught a glimpse during the hunting gome, and by making him

and Folchetto improvise a serenade in honour of the lovable rustic

beauty. The episode of the finding of the sleeping drunkard

shows a close affini , •dth Shakespeare’s. Some of the language

of the play is also retained in the libretto. The Lord's idea

 124

of playing the joke on Sly is, in Shakespeare, followed by an

extended monologue in which the nobleman explains his plan down

to the most minute details. Boito made use of these details for

the construction of his second act. Thus, according to the

Lord's instruction, the drunken man is to be taken to his *fairest

chamber' and the second act of Iram is laid in the sumptuous golden

room of the Duke's mansion. As the curtain rises, we hear an

excited whispering, occasionally interrupted by bursts of laughter.

We see the sleeping gypsy now 'wrap't in sweet clothes', covered

with jewels and with 'rings ... upon his fingers', surrounded by

'brave attendants' ready to obey his commands with a low,

submissive reverence. Some of the valets are burning 1sweet wood

to make the lodging sweet',* whilst the Duke, after asking Folchetto

to,dress himself ‘in oil suits like a lady', orders a troop of

musicians 1to moke a dulcet and a heavenly sound’ when Iram wakes.

As in Shakespeare, Iram's very first words are an imperious request

for a drink. This is followed by his determination to persuade

the obsequious attendants that:

rhe Altezza? lo son Iram, ramaio ...

Iram, the tinker - call not me Honour ...)

The o. . lines of his subsequent speech 1Dormi? sei desto?'

(Do I dream or am I wide awake?), modelled after Shakespeare,

1. All this is given in Boito’s detailed stage directions

placed at the beginning of Act II, Scene i. See Tutti gli
scritti, p.387.
show him, however, responsive and appreciative:

Se questo e un sogno, un'estasi

Iram, piu non ti sveglia
E, se codesta 4 veglia
Non voglio piu sognar.

(if this is o dream, on ecstasy,

is better not to wake
but if this is reality
I won'.t dream anymore.)

Finally convinced of being 'a lord, indeed', he accepts his new

role, ready for the final and most deceptive temptation of all:

the love of a beautiful 'lady1. The beginning of the 'love scene*

between Iram and his 'Madam wife' is taken almost verbatim from

Shakespeare who, with this episode, ends Sly's story. Boito

develops the episode in the most hilarious manner. Folchetto,

well usurping'the grace, voice, gait and action of a gentlewoman',

as forecast by the Lord in Scene i, provokes Irom's coarse

attentions. This leads to a brilliant series of exchanges in the

course of which Iram receives his first instruction in the

necessity of accommodating his ungovernable desires to the rule of

courtly love. Being warned that: 'Hard play is low' and

'A gentleman only makes love by means of words', he calls forth

his strongest efforts at correctness and courtesy in order not to

irritate the fastidious lady. Irom's exit is followed by the

entrance of Marianna, who, in despair because of Iram's

disappearance, calls upon the Duke for help. Charmed by the grace

of the simple country girl, who appears dazzled by the glitter of

the court, Folchetto offers her his protection. Taking advantage

of his female attire and pretending to be the Duchess the page

lovingly embraces and kisses her. The scene is suddenly brought

to an end by the entry of the enraged Duke, soon followed by the

appearance of Iram andhis retinue. Overjoyed by the sight of

Marianna,Iram loses his self-control, much to the consternation of

his 'Madam-wife' who takes him to task severely. Marianna,

implores the Duke - alias Iram - whom she does not recognise, to

help her in finding the lost sweetheart and, finally, to consent to

their marriage. Iram is, of course, willing to assist. From the

moment he starts exercising his power we may be a little inclined

to believe that he is exploiting the situation to his own advantage

(and to the distress of ttvz Duke, who ends asking himself ‘who, of

the two, is the one who has been tricked?*). He promises a

hundred sequins to whoever will find Iram 'preferably olive1, as

suggested by Marianna; then, another hundred are offered to the

girl as a proper dowry; as a lost homage, he decides to put on

Marianna's lovely little hand the Duke's precious sapphire ring

which he, Iram, is presently wearing. When, announced by the

Court Chamberlain, a group of gypsies enters the room asking for a

king to be elected, Iram proposes ... Iram for the vacant throne,

thus arousing the enthusiasm of the picturesque crowd. Their

vivacity seems to be contagious and the lost scene of the act shows

us the whole company dancing and singing in a lively Romanesca.

This is one of the best and most interesting scenes of the libretto

being, besides an eye-catching pectacle in itself, a very happy

essay in characterization through verse.

Marianna's sprightly lines:

Danziamo, o zingari, la roraanesca,^

Moviam dei cimbali la gala tresca,
E sovra i languid! suoni omorosi
II pie riposi, poi sciolga il vol...

(Let's dance, o gypsies, the Romanesca

Let the gay cymbals start their intrigues
Let's rest upon the languorous sounds
then, let's abandon ourselves to the flight...)

convey an impression of spontaneous joy, of delightfully feminine

charm and exuberance.

The inspired and vigorous verse of the Duke:

La danza-d un'estasi che 1'alme odesua

E un volo, un impeto fascinator
Danziamo, o zingari, la romanesca,
Finchd 1'anelito ci affoga il cuor...

(Dancing is an ecstasy which seduces the soul

It is a flight, a fascinating impetus.
Let's dance, o gypsies, the Romanesca
Till the desire will fade away....)

contrast with the feathery charm of Folchetto's lyrical effusion:

II labbro vola del labbro all'esca,

Nota e parola canton d'amor.
Alla parola par che si mesca
Un'aura fresco di veli e fior.

(Answer the lips to the lips allurement

And notes and words sing a lovesong.
The freshening breeze, full of shades and flowers
Seems to be mingled with the lovesong words....)-

Iram's poetry is given his own stamp by the robust gaiety of the

rhythm: ,.

1. Tresca refers to the lively movement of a country dance, as

well os to an amorous intrigue.
 Trillono e balzono ■timpani e sistri
Pifferi e nacchere con vario suon,
Stridendo fuggono gli. augei sinistri,
Dispersi all'eco della ccrnzon,

(Leaping and trilling moke a gay sound

Tambourines, sistra, castanets and fifes...
Screeching, the birds of ill omen flee
Scored by the echo of our lively song.)

"The choral reprise of the Duke’s stanza (La danza 6 un* estasi.,.)

provides an animated finale to the second act.

The scene of the third act is the same as in Act One, but Marianna'

inn is closed and the scene of the former revelry appears to be

deserted. Alone on the empty stage, Marianna wonders:

Dove soro fjuel nomade

Vagante cilXa fortune...

(Where can my gypsy be

At the mercy of fate...,)

She has decided to go to the end of the world to find him and

promises herself not to return without Iram. Hardly has she left

the stage when the Duke, Folchetto and a few attendants appear

carrying Irom, motionless under the effect of a sleeping potion.

As if guided by o presentiment Marianna returns; overwhelmed by

joy she finds herself reunited to her beloved, who is slowly'

regaining consciousness. Heralded by their tripping song

'Trillono e balzano cembali e sistri the gypsies happily invade the

stage; recognising in Iram their king, they burst into a

spontaneous chorus of acclaim and affection - to the astonishment

of Iram who ponders:

 Da tutto questo imbroglio e forza ch’io deduce
Ch'entro od un cerchio magico in folio ho messo il pie.
lo m* addormento zingaro e mi risveglio Duco,
Poi m'addormento Duco e mi risveglio Re.

(From all this tangle 1 must deduce

that 1 have been caught in a magic ring,
I fall asleep a gypsy and I awake a Duke.
I fall asleep a Duke and 1 awake a King.)

The Duke tells Irani and Marianna the whole story, much to their

amusement. Folchetto, however, charged with outrageous flirtation

with Marianna, must defend himself. With a delightful ditty:

Bacio di paggio 4 bacio di farfalla,

Sfioro e non punge.

(The kiss of a page is like a butterfly's:

it skimsbut does not sting...)

he induces Irom to pardon him.

A solemn hymn in praise of copper. ,

Gloria al rame! Egli 6 sonoro

Pit) dell’oro

(Glory to copper
it is more sonorous than gold itself.)

sung by Iram seated on his upturned cauldron as on a throne and

accompanied by resounding hammer strokes, leads to a reprise of

the gypsies' song. Led by Marianna and Iram, now appreciative of

the advantages of living in freedom, in the pursuit of happiness,

the colourful crowd moves slowly towards the East where:

II sol nascente
Irradia il bel sentier della speranza.

(J.he rising sun

Shines upon the beautiful path of hope.)

Folchetto, the Duke and his retinue, remain on the stage waving
 129

Da tutto quest© imbroglio 6 forzo ch'io deduce

Ch'entro ad un cerchio magico in folio ho messo il pie.
lo m'oddormento zingoro e mi risveglio Duca,
Poi m'oddormento Duca e mi risveglio Re.

(From all this tangle I must deduce

that I have been caught in a mugic ring,
I fall asleep a gypsy and I awake a Duke.
I fall asleep a Duke and I awake a King.)

The Duke tells Irani and Marianna the whole story, much to their

amusement. Folchetto, however, charged with outrageous flirtation

with Marianna, must defend himself. With a delightful ditty:

Bacio di paggio S bacio di farfalla,

Sfiora e non punge.

(The kiss of a page is like a butterfly's:

it skims but does not sting...)

he induces Iraro to pardon him.

A solemn hymn in praise of copper. ,

Gloria al rame! Egli 4 sonoro

Pid dell'oro

(Glory to copper
it is more sonorous than gold itself.)

sung by Iram seated on his upturned cauldron as on a throne and

accompanied by resounding hammer strokes, leads to a reprise of

the gypsies' song. Led by Marianna and Iram, now appreciative of

the advantages of living in freedom, in the pursuit of happiness,

the colourful crowd moves slowly towards the East where:

II sol nascente
Irradia il be) sentier della speranza.

(J.he rising sun

Shines upon the beautiful path of hope.)

Folchetto, the Duke and his retinue, remain on the stage waving
 130

with their handkerchiefs a good-bye to their friends for a day,

Iram is o unique work; it does not belong to the Italian

comic tradition nor to the time during which it was written.*

It is a modern libretto in the true sense of the word - a model

literary comedy in itself and a perfect springboard for musical

elaboration. In Boito's production, it represents a brilliant

achievement in breaking away from his undoubtedly restricted

dramatic world revolving around the immutable axis of Good and

Evil. In Iram Boito seems to have overcome the need of a

mechanical opposition between hero/heroine and villain: in it,

the characters are not black nor white; they have the worldly

attributes of plausible human beings and do precisely what under

the circumstances they are expected to do.

Iram is also the first and most striking evidence of Boito’s

capacity to adapt his talent, moulded in his serious libretti, to

the spirit of sheer comedy. That he possessed a comic vein,

Boito had already proved in Re Orso, in some passages of Mefistofele

and Amleto and in Grille's witty remarks in Pier Luigi Farnese,

But, whilst in those works the comic element was either incidental,

aimed at relieving the strain and heightening the effect of the

tragic interest,or in the nature of sophisticated irony, Iram is

pure comedy. Enjoyment is written on every page of it and we

1. The date of its composition - 1879 - has been established by

Piero Nardi from the manuscript copy found in the Archives
of the House Ricordi. The libretto was first published in
1942 in Tutti Gil Scritti,
cannot but succumb to the irresistible charm, the vivacity, the

engaging spontaneity which infuse, it from beginning to end.

 CHAPTER VII

BASI E BOTE

When confronted with Basi e (Kisses and blows) again we are

led into wondering whether Boito's natural inclination was not

after all perhaps for comedy, Basi e bote, a Commedia di

Maschere which seems to have been originally conceived oR o

marionette play, is a brilliant piece of work - a theatrical

divertissement bubbling with humour and breathing the piquant air

of the Commedia dell’Arte,^ to which it owes a great deal. In

Basi e bote we encounter the traditional Italian masks' the old

rich merchant Pcntalone and his notary Tartaglia, this last

stammering, of course, as befits his name; the sophisticated,

'upper class' lovers Florindo and Rosaura; the fast-tolker and

impudent servingman Arlecchino and his saucy sweetheart Colombina.

Pierrot, the mute servant traditionally associated with both

Commedia dell’Arte and opera buffo, completes the cast. The

story, the usual love intrigue with young men plotting to get a

girl away from an old man, is given a new sparkle by Boito's

incomparable theatrical verve. The qualities of farce, of mime,

of ballet, of comedy alternate and the entertainment seems to

shimmer like the water of the lagoon. The Venetian dialect.

1. Probably written after Iram and before Otello and Falstaff.

Basi e bote was first published, in its entirety, in 1914
in the periodical La Letturo (N? January/February).
2. See Appendix G., p.407.
 133

fluent, ductile and full of musical cadences, adds enormously to

the iridescence of the text and to the excitement of the situations,

besides being an appropriate complement to the setting - a picturesque

'campiello' on a bank of the Canal Grande. The curtain rises on

Pantalone who, closely followed by Pierrot, walks hurriedly from

his shop to his house carefully barring the respective doors behind

him. As he is about to leave for a business meeting, he entrusts

to Pierrot the task of tending his possessions, including his

beautiful ward Rosaura, whom he wishes to marry. Whilst taking

snuff he improvises a song in praise of tobacco. This is followed

by a dialogue with an imaginary interlocutor, of irresistible

comicality. After Pantalone's exit, Pierrot pulls from his

waistcoat a placard on which are inscribed in big letters the words

'Pierrot loves Colombian' and mimes a love scene. On hearing

Arlecchino, who approaches singing a lilting song 'Son Arlechin,

son Trufaldin1 (I am Harlequin, I am Truffaldino)\ Pierrot flees,

hiding himself in a nearby gondola. Arlecchino appears on the

stage with his love-sick me ‘•.er, Florindo, the elegant young man

who, in contrast with the buffo-characters speaks a lofty Italian,

affecting prim manners (Scene ii). He is in love with Rosaura

and, in a true Commedia dell'Arte tradition, it is through the

machinations of Arlecchino (who, on his own, will conquer Colombina)

that the two lovers will be brought together at the end of the

1. Tr’iiffaldino means 'a cheater*.

 ploy. The most remarkable numbers in this and the next scene

are: Arlecchino's hilarious 'Canzone della spatola ~ ossia -

I"arte de missiar bene la polenta e de metarghe el tocio* (Song

. of the spatula1 - or - the art of stirring the 'polenta1 and to

finish it with sauce), and the delightful quartet of Florindo -

Rosaura;, Arlecchino - Colombina. The exchanges of the two

couples are designed to characterize each pair; the languid,

romantic lovers of the upper class indulge in their mood with

extravagant delicacy:

Florindo: Nolle e leggiero sospira 1'oura

.«.Dolce Rosaura

Rosaura: II mare e quieto, 11 cielo e U n d o

...Dolce Florindo

(Florindo: Tender and light the breeze sighs

...Oh! sweet Rosaura

Rosaura: The sea is quiet; the sky is clear

...Oh', sweet Florindo.)

The servant couple, who speaks in dialect, are more straight­

forward and much more earthbound:

Arlecchino: Xe quasi sera, vien zo la brine

...Ciao Colombina

Colombina: E mi me meto sul finestrin

...Ciao Arlechin

(Arlecchino: It is nearly night, it is getting cold

...Ciao Colombina

Colombina: I will watch you from the window

...Ciao Arlecchino.)

It is amusing to note how Boito, parodying, himself, gives

to the servant lovers, in Scene iv, one of those rapturous duets

ploy. The most remarkable numbers in this and the next scene

are: Arlecchino's hilarious ’Canzone della spatola - ossia -

I'orte de missior bene la polenta e de metarghe el tocio* (Song

of the spatula1 - or - the art of stirring the ’polenta1 and to

finish it with sauce), and the delightful quartet of Florindo -

Rosauro-, Arlecchino - Colombina. The exchanges of the two

couples are designed to characterize each pair; the languid,

romantic lovers of the upper class indulge in their mood with

extravagant delicacy:

Florindo: Nolle e leggiera sospira I'aura

...Dolce Rosaura

Rosaura: II mare 4 quieto, il cielo 4 lindo

...Dolce Florindo

(Florindo: Tender and light the breeze sighs

...0h2 sweet Rosaura

Rosaura: The sea is quiet; the sky is clear

...Ohi sweet Florindo.)

The servant couple, who speaks in dialect, are more straight­

forward and much more earthbound:

Arlecchino: Xe quasi sera, vien zo la brina

...Cioo Colombina

Colombina: E mi me meto sul finestrin

...Ciao Arlechiri

(Arlecchino: It is nearly night, it is getting cold

...Ciao Colombina

Colombina: I will watch you from the window

...Ciao Arlecchino.)

It is amusing to note how Boito, parodying, himself, gives

to the servant lovers, in Scene Lv, one of those rapturous duets

 135

which regularly appear in his libretti, charged, of course, with

ironical overtones:

.... E cerchemo a uno a una

Le isolete in mezo al mar.
Fin che el lio de la fortuna
Finiremo per' trovar.

(... Let us search one by one

all the islets of the sea
till we find
the haven of happiness.)

Florindo and Rosauro echo their words; the flirtation scene is,

however, soon interrupted by the return of Pantalone who angrily,

scolds Pierrot for forgetting his duty. Night has, in the

meanwhile, fallen on the ccnpiello. Laughing loudly, Pierrot

lights up with his lantern the corner where the frightened lovers

are hidden. The discovery of the two couples leads to a cudgel

play' "during which, in keeping with the tradition of the marionettes

theatre, Pierrot and Pantalone are unmercifully beaten whilst

Arlecchino and Florindo take advantage of theconfusion to snatch

kisses from their respective lovers. The whole neighbourhood is

aroused. Men and women appear at the windows and on the stage,

variously observing and participating in the tumultuous scene.

Attracted by the confusion, a patrol of guards armed with torches

and lanterns, come to restore order. Convinced by Arlecchino's

accusations that Pierrot is a thief and responsible for the uproar,

the guards arrest him and lead him off to jail. With a noisy

ensemble of comments the act moves to its close.

 136

For the second and last act the scene is changed to an interior

room - Pantolone's kitchen. Colorabino, seated knitting near

the window, comments .. goily on the events of the previous night:

'Quonti basi.'' Quante hotel' (How many kisses! How many blows!1) .

The melodious fluency and the piquant overtones of the Venetian

dialect give a glittering effect to the verse's of her extended

'solo', half sung and half danced,passage: 'Columbina ga un gatin

... el ga none Trvfaldin' (Columbina has o kitten ... whose name

is Truffaldino.) Arlecchino, who has in the meantime slipped

into the kitchen and reacted to the words of her song now starts

making love to her. Their idyll is, however, shortlived.

Bemoaning his fate, Florindo appears on the stage; The sustained

lines of his recitative:

Gid do tre lune, o donna, innamoroto

II cuore mio di lacrime si vela.

(it is three months, My lady,

that my love-sick heart sheds tears for you...)

are followed by a solemn 'aria' marked by a distinctively

Metastasian, poetical mood:

Quolunque sia I'evento

Della mia rea fortune,
II fato non pavento
Non so che sia timor,
Delia rapace mono
Si saivi 1'innocente,
A1 barbaro inumano
La rapird I'amor.

(Whatever wicked event

Life has in store for me
I am not afraid of Fate
I know not what is fear.
 137

From the rapacious hand

The innocent will be saved.
From the cruel barbarian
She will be saved by love.)

Again, Boito seems to make fun of himself in counteracting the

static effect of Florindo's scene by interruptions in the nature

of gostronomicai interjections from Arlecchino, busy at frying

eggs for himself and at fie same time providing a rhythmical

accompaniment to his master's sentimental effusions by noisily

grating cheese. Eventually tired of Florindo's sighing and

bewailing, Arlecchino decides to resort to one oF his tricks, to

be played upon the foolish and easily deceivable Pantalone. He

promises Florindo that he will not lose his beloved Rosaura; he

explains his scheme to Florindo ond Colombina, also giving them

instructions as to what to do. The two men withdraw as Pantalone

enters, in night shirt and night cap, rather the worse for wear

and in a dejected mood. In broken phrases he gives vent to his

feelings and, after a great deal of self-commiseration, he angrily

calls Colombina. The scene of the old, crabbed master

exchanging insults with the witty and cheeky serving girl is, of

course, a stock device however cleverly exploited by Boito, as is

what follows. Pompously speaking lotin, Arlecchino re-enters

disguised as o doctor. He takes Pantalone's pulse (flirting, at

the some time, with Colombina) quickly coming to the conclusion thnt

the old man is seriously ill. As a consequence, Pantalone decides

to put forward the date of his marriage to that very day. The
 138

notary Tartaglia enters, followed by Florindo and Rosoura and,

according to Arlecchino's instructions insisting on a handsome

dowry, he draws up a wedding contract, eagerly signed by Pontalone.

The fake doctor hastily leaves and Arlecchino steps in.

Pretending to be dying, Arlecchino asks Pantalone to approve his

marriage, 'in extremis1. No sooner has Pantalone signed the

second wedding contract than Arlecchino, suddenly recovered,

introduces to the bewildered old man the newly married couple

Florindo - Rosauro. Disgusted by these antics, Pantalone decides •

to turn to philosophical solace. After brief hesitation, he

gives his blessing to the two young couples, to the delight of all.

Finally, and once again in the purest Commedia tradition, all the

characters line up at the front of the stage, whilst Arlecchino

delivers his lost speech:

Viva le masct
Viva el teatroi
Forse, comedie,
Diavoli a quatro!
Viva la scena
De intrighi piena,
El specio alegro
Del mondo negro...

(Viva the masks!

Viva the theatre!
Forces and comedies
and hellish uproars!
Viva the stage,
full of intrigues -
the happy mirror
of the dark world....)

ending with a petition to either applaud the play or to hiss it

off stage. We will, of course, applaud. We leave with regret

 139

the joyful, whimsical world of the Masks with its adorable

marionettes, paradoxically, so vibrantly alive

Perhaps because in dealing with the lesis demanding field of

comedy, the emphasis is naturally lead to the human element in

both Iram and Basi e bote and Boito succeeded in characterization

as never before.
 140

CHAPTER VIII

OTELLO

During many years of working in the field of the libretto, Boito's

inborn poetic and dramatic gift had been refined and developed and

he was now ready to embark on his greatest achievements, Otello

and Falstaff.

Othello, written in all likelihood in 1604 but not printed

until 1622, ranks among the masterpieces of Shakespeare*s 'tragic

period'. The story, taken from a lurid tale by the Italian

writer Giambattista Giraldi. Cinthio has a sombre, strange

fascination. Shakespeare's dramatic treatment of the tale is

by his standard surprisingly simple; even the number of

characters participating in the action is unusually small. What

makes of Othello the unique work which it is, is the splendour

of the language, the depth of the characterization and, above all,

the desolate and laconic objectivity of the drama itself. Strange

to say, whereas the majority of Shakespeare's plays have tempted

composers of widely different nationalities over the centuries,

Othello waited two-hundred years before finding its first composer

in Rossini (1792 - 1868) whose Otello, on a libretto by Francesc ,

Berio di Salsa was first performed at Naples, on December 4th, 1816.

After Rossini, Shakespeare's Tra'gedy of jeolc-jRy inspired a few

other works including: Verdi's opera Otello. premiered at Milan

in 1887 and, more recently, Machavarani's ballet Othello staged at

 141

Tbilisi.in 1963. Until the appearance of Verdi's masterpiece,

Rossini's enjoyed a very high reputation, not entirely undeserved.

The libretto, only tenuously linked with Shakespeare is absurd.

The opera contains, however, numbers of extraordinary beauty

justifying the favour accorded to it by audiences more musically

minded than critically orientated. These numbers, all found in

Act III, which is the only Act which followed Shakespeare fairly

carefully, are: the climactic storm scene (transferred from

Shakespeare’s Othello. Act II, Scene i); Desdemona's Willow Song;

the ensuing 'Ave Maria* and the song of a gondolier (heard in the

distance, just before the Willow Song) based on Dante’s well known

Nessun mnggior dolore

Che ricordarsi del tempo felice
Nello miseria....

(There is no greater pain

Than to remember bygone happiness
In deep woe.)

Rossini's sensitive treatment of this last act could have sufficed

to save the opera from the oblivion into which it has been

confined. Unfortunately, to meet the demand of a public which

could not accept the murder of Desdemona, the composer turned the

ending of the opera into a happy one. A love duet, adapted from

his earlier opera Armira ('Cara per quest anima'), sealed the

final reconciliation y'f the hero'and the heroine to everyone's

satisfaction. Such a practice, which was the rule rather than

the exception at Rossini's time, would not hove been admissible

 142

a few decades later. The alteration ruined the libretto from a

dramatic point of view.

During the course of the nineteenth century the growing

concept of the artistic purity of the work of art - and, in the

cose of adaptations, of the inviolability of the original source,

(derived from a better knowledge of the literature of the past

and from the theories of Wagner, Berlioz and other romantic

writers), hod put new demands upon librettists and composers as

well.

Boito's treatment of the tragedy "f Othello clearly reflects

this new trend. He remained faithful to the spirit and much of

the letter of the original as far as was possible, allowing for

the difference between an opera and a play. As Boito wrote to

Verdi:

A melodramma is not a drama, our art lives on elements

which are foreign to the spoken tragedy. The
atmosphere which has been destroyed can be re-created,
eight bars are sufficient to revive a feeling, a
rhythm can give new life to a character. Music is,
among all arts, the most powerful. It has o logic of
its own, freer and swifter than the logic of a thought
conveyed by words. It is much more eloquest, too.I

To claim as many critics have done, that Boito's Otello is

'written strictly after Shakespeare's original'^ or that it is

1for the most part a translation of the original1'* is a mistake

1. In Nardi, op. cit., p.470.

2. Annesley, C. 'The Standard Operaglass1, 1911, p.251.
3. Howes, F. and Hope-Wallace, P. A key to opera London:
Blackie and Sons, 1939, p.180.
 143

which does not do Boito justice. His libretto is not on arid

imitation of Shakespeare’s tragedy. In choosing the most salient

episodes presented by the original and in channeling his adaptation

to them, he gave one of the many possible readings of the ploy, at

the same time, on intelligent and personal one. Boito’s version

is based on the assumption of the absolute innocence of Desdemona

whom he sees as a symbol of good to be opposed to the evil

figure of Jago. Otello, the only character who changes his

narure and his attitude towards life during the course of the ploy,

is the slave of his own passions who becomes the instrument, and

eventually the victim, of the destructive power of evil. Boito

also altered the structural framework of the play giving it an

organic unity of his own. Shakespeare's tragedy has five acts.

The first of them, which takes place in Venice, is a kind of

Prologue which lays down the conditions necessary for the

development of the story: Othello's bravery as a soldier and his

value to the city of Venice; the enmities to which he is exposed

and his recent wedding to the daughter of a Venetian Senator. In

this particularly long-drawn-out introduction Shakespeare presents

his cnaracters - Othellc, "ago, Desdemona, along with the more

subordinate Cassio and Roderigo - in clear outlines giving details

motivating their past, present and future. In the remaining four

acts of the play, which form an Indivisible unit localized on

the island of Cyprus, the premises set forth in the Prologue are

carried out to a logical conclusion. To reduce the tragedy to

 144

opex : dimensions Boito decided to remove the first oct, the

only one which could be spared. Its contents are not essential

to the actual drama. Some essential points had, of course, to be

retained and Boito incorporated them into his first act, which

corresponds to Shakespeare's second, with admirable skill. Thus,

whilst Othello opens in a street of Venice, in the middle of

logo's quarrel with Roderigo, Otello opens in the harbour of

Cyprus. A crowd of Cypriots, Jago, Montano, Cassia and Roderigo

oro gazing at the sea where a ship is struggling through a storm.

Boito's decision to start the action of the opera with Shakespeare's

storm scene was, undoubtedly, a clever one from a musical,

dramatic and spectacular point of view. It 'provided Verdi with

a superb opportunity to moke o tremendous initial impact, and

exploit the great musical possibilities of the storm's progress as

a means of hightening the excitement of the drama'.* It also

creates a kind of psychological background, showing the

incontrollable forces of nature as it were in league with human

passions. As to the spectacular impact of this scene it suffices

to remember some of the recent product' -s of Otello (such as the

one given at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York,on March 25,

1972 with Franco Zeffirelli as director and set designer.) Here

1. Hughes, S., op. cit. p.444.

 145

the famous opening chord 'was accompanied by a lightning flash

that blinded the audience so that the first thing that they could

see was a turbulent dockside with willing crowds, scudding clouds

and rocking ships*

Otello, the winner over the adverse forces of men and nature,

arrives on the poop of his vessel from which he descends amidst

unfurling banners and the cheers of the crowd.

Before entering the stronghold in company with Cassio and

Montano, Otello announces to the jubilant Cypriots the defeat of

the Turks and the dispersal of their fleet. His short but

impressive passage establishes him at once as a valiant soldier

and a commanding personality - on important point, os the tragedy

of Otello lies in the extent of his fall.

The ensuing dialogic between Jago and Roderigo,(who secretly

adores Desdemono) is taken from Shakespeare's first act to a

greater extent than is generally admitted. The two men's first

exchange in the opera:

Jago (in disparte, a Roderigo):

Roderigo,
Ebben, che pensi?

Roderigo: D'affogarmi

(Jpgo: Well, Roderigo, what are you thinking?

Roderigo: Of drowning myself.)2

corresponds to Shakespeare's passages in Act I, Scene iii.I

1. Opera News May 1972, p.20.

2. English version by Peggie Cochrane - RICORDI, libretto issued
by the RCA VICTOR RECORD DIVISION LD/LDS 6'55,
 146

Roderigo; logo.

logo; Whot soyest thou, noble heart?

Roderigo: Whot will I do, thinkest thou?

... I will incontinently drown myself.

Jago's cynical comment;

E.chi s'affoga per amor di donna.

(Fool is he who drown himself

for love of woman.)

is a shortened, and much generalized paraphrase of 'Ere I would

soy I would drown myself, for the love of a guineo-hen, I would

change my humanity with o baboon' and 'Drown thyself? Drown cats

end blind puppies (Act I, Scene iii).

Jago’s next long passage is built on detached sentences

found in the first and third scenes of Othello's Act I enj very

skilfully pieced together by Boito. The first port of Jogo's

speech derives from Act I, Scene iii:*

There ore mony events in the womb Suwia, fa senno, aspetto
of time, which will be delivered L'opra del tempo.
•-,(11.369-70)
It cannot be that Desdemona should A Desdemona bella Che nel segreto dei
leng continue her love unto the Moor tuoi sogni cdori.
(11.342-4) Presto in vggio verronno i foschl baci
Di quel selvaggio dalle gonfie labbra
I profess me thy friend, and I confess Buon Roderigo, omica tuo sincere
me knit to thy deserving with cables of Mi ti professo, n& in piO forte arabascio
perdurable thoroughness. (11.337-9) Soccorrerti potrei.
If sonctinomy, and o frail vow, So un frogil vote.

1. The numbering of lines follows that of M.R Ridley's edition

of Othello. London; Arden Shakespeare Paperbacks, 1971.
 147

betwixt an erring barbarian, and a di femmina non d tropp'arduo nodo

super-subtle Venetian, be not too hard pel genio mio nS per I’infemo giuro
for my wits, and all the tribe of hell che quella donnn sard' tua
thou sholt enjoy her. (11.355-9)
M'oscolto:
I hate the Moor (11.365-6). Bench'io finga d'amarlo, odio
I hate the Moor (11.384) quel More....

The second part, containing Jogo* s account of Cassio's promotion

over him, has been transferred from Act I, Scene i and synthetized

by Boito as follows:

... but he, sir, had the election; Quell‘azzimato copitono usurpo
And I, of whom his eyes had seen the proof II grodo mio, il grado mio che in cento
At Rhodes, ot Cyprus, and other grounds Ben pugnate bottaglie ho meritoto;
Christian and heathen, must be lee'd and Tal fu il valor d'Otello, ed io rimango
calmed
By debtor and creditor, this eounter-

Me, in good time, must his lieutenant be, Disua Moresca Signorio 1 ‘Alfiere .
And I, God bless the mark, his worship's
ancient.

(That foppish captain usurps

my rank, the rank that in a hundred
well-fought battles I have earned.
Such was Othello's will and I remain
of my Moorish Lord ... his ensign.)
 148

The last lines of Jago's speech:

Ma, come 6 verche tu Rodrigo sei,

Cosii pur certo che se il Moro io fossi
Vedermi non vorrei d'attorno un Jago,

(So, too, 'tis true that,

were I the Moor I would not wish to see
an logo about me.)

ore comparable to:

It is as sure as you are Roderigo

Were I the Moor, I would not be logo.

Boito seems to have, however, deliberately given Jago's sentence

on ominous ring which has no counterpart in Shakespeare., Whilst

Jogo leads Roderigo aside, obviously plotting for revenge, the

Cypriots celebrate the victory over the Turks lighting thebonfire

which they have been preparing since (Hello's exit and singing and

dancing around it. This episode which Herbert F>Peyser defines

as a 'pleasant intermezzo ... which has nothing to do with

Shakespeare'^ and Ernest Newman an 'unnecessary interpolation,^

was actually suggested to Boito by a few words in the Herald's

proclamation of the very beginning of Shakespeare's Act II, Scene

It is Othello's pleasure; our noble and valiant

general, that upon certain tidings now arrived,
importing the mere perdition of the Turkish fleet;
that every man put himself into triumph: some to
dance, some to make bonfires....

1. Peyser, H.F. 'Otello' Introduction to Opera New York:

Peltz M." • E,Ed., 1961; p.164.

2. Newman, E. More Opera Nights. London: 1954, p.657.

 149

The Fire Chorus is, undoubtedly, o wholly operatic affair. It

does however, provide a fine illustration of Boito's skill in

integrating conventional devices into the plot without upsetting

its dramatic structure. The Fire Chorus functions not only as a

background but as a transition clearing, in fact, the way for

Jago's proposal of a drinking bout. Jago's brindisi, which

follows soon after, is another good example of Boito's dramatic

use of operatic conventions. It takes its origin in logo's

drinking song 'And let me the cannikin clink1 into which logo

breaks, in Othello,without warning. Whilst in Shakespeare the

song is a purely musical insertion (a song is expected to function

as wine's proverbial ally), in Boito's the Brindisi scene serves

to reveol Jago's character, his objectives and details of his

plot against Otello. Thus, by the end of this scene, we know

that Jago is going to use Roderigo in making probable the 'displanting'

of Cassia - Jago's first aim and the starting point towards the

ruin, of Otello. From this moment on until the return of Otello

followed by Desdemona, the action follows Shakespeare's closely

enough. A small variation is that Roderigo is present during the

increasing intoxication of Cassio whilst Montano is not. Also,

logo's second song 'King Stephen was a worthy peer' is not retained

in the opera nor is Cassio's drunken moralizing, Cassio does not

soy 'For mine own part, no offence to the General, nor any man of

quality...' as in Shakespeare (Act II, Scene iii) but he makes a

strikingly dramatic utterance when, against Jago's last words of

the 'brindisi' song, he soys:

 150

In fondo oil'aniraa
Ciascun mi guardiJ...
... Non temo il ver...
Non temo il ver ....

(To the bottom of my soul

Let all look...
I do not fear,
I do not fear the truth.)

As George Houger has pertinently remarked 'the truth is the lost

thing he needs to fear. Treachery is what he ought to be aware

of',1 as Jago incites Roderigo:

Pensa che puoi cosi. dell lieto Otello

Turbar la prima vigilia d'omorJ

(Think how you will be able thus

to trouble the happy Othello's first night of love.')

The drunken Cassio is provoked by Roderigo into a duel which

involves also Montano, ju/jt arrived to call Cassio to the guard.

Whilst pretending to try to make peace, Jago whispers to Roderigo

to go and rouse the town:

Va al porta, con quanta piu possa

Ti resta, gridando: sommossaJ sommosso.*
Vo! spargi il tumulto, 1'orror. Le campane
Risuonino a stormo.

(Go to the harbour with all the speed

you can muster, "crying: Revolt! Revolt!
Go! Spread confusion and ho" or. Let
the bells sound the alarm.)

It is Jago who causes the bell to be rung, whereas in Shakespeare

he exclaims:

Who's that that rings the bell? Diablo .. ho

The town will rise.

1. Houger, G. 'Othello and Otello'. Music and Letters.

London: Oxford University Press, 1969. vol.50, p.83
 151

The episode which follows Otello’s entrance in the brawl,

and ends with Cassia's degradation, contains passages, neatly

transferred, and literally translated, from Shakespeare although

abbreviated here and there. From the moment of Cnssio's downfall

up to the end of the act, the opera diverges from the play.

Shakespeare has logo remain on the stage where, in a sequence of

duologues (with Cassio and, then, Roderigo) and monologues, he

acquaints the audience with his plans for the future: he will

take advantage of the guileless affection between Cassio and

Desdemona to create, for Othello, the appearance of evil. With

mounting delight he determines on the practical moves vhi’ch will

begin to transform into working reality his devilish design. In

the opera, it is Otello and Desdemona who are left together after

the restoration of order in the town. The remainder of the act

is filled with their rapturous love duet which, far from being a

conventional insertion, serves an informative and dramatic

function as well: it explains the origin of Otello's and

Desdemona's marriage; it reveals the dreamy nature of their

relationship - so defenseless in a world which contains Jago - and

provides a contrast, and a deeper motivation for the following

scenes of jealousy. In the need of unfolding the past along with

the present Boito resorted, once again, to Shakespeare's first act:

the largest section of the duet is closely related to Othello's

travel history in Scene iii; its closing lines are, instead,

borrowed from the greeting scene in Act II, Scene i, where Othello,
at the height of his still unbroken happiness, says words quivering

with the unconscious fear of a menacing, inexorable fate:

... If it were now to die,

'Twere now to be most happy, for I fear
My soul hath her content so absolute,
That not another comfort, like to this
Succeeds in unknown fate ....

Happiness does, however, prevail favoured by the peaceful

atmospherr; of the night. ’Gia la pleiade ardente in mar discende1

(The burning Pleiades already sink into the sea), sings Otello,

and Venus, the star of love, shines on high. There is no Jago

present planning to break this pure harmony as in Shakespeare's

anaioguous love scene,which is utterly devoid of intimacy.

Otello and Desdemona kiss before retiring together to the castle

holding each other in firm embrace. As Edgard Istel has pointed

out ‘the powers of darkness have indeed begun their spinning of

the hidden thread, but they have not as yet succeeded in really

disturbing Othello's and Desdemona's p e a c e * O n l y the quiet of

night has been momentarily interrupted but not the 'vigilia d'amore'

which is about to begin.

The second act of Otello is essentially a continuous conflict

between Jago and Otello - a strange one because, whilst Otello

cannot see his opponent, the audience, which is acquainted with

Jago’s aims from the beginning - sees with clarity. Again this

1. Istel, E. The 'Othello' of Verdi and "Shakespeare. The

Musical Quarterly 1916, v.ii; p.380.
 153

act, full of masterly touches and passages of inspired invention,

is an example of Boito's superb adaptive ability. Comparison

with the original play shows that whilst most of the action and

much of the language have been retained by Boito, he made some

alteration in the running order of the episodes. The opening

short scene between Jago and Cassia in which Jago suggests the

erstwhile captain to await Desdemona in the adjacent garden to

plead for her intercession with Otello on his behalf, is taken

from Shakespeare's Act II, Scene iii:

I'll tell you what you shall do .... Our general's

wife is now the general....

The rest is drawn from Act III, Scene iii,which is the dramatic

centre of the, play as it shows how logo succeeds in subjugating

Othello. If Boito, in contrast to Shakespeare, gives Jago a short

time for preparation, the process of the awakening of Otello's

jealousy follows much the same course as in Shakespeare's tragedy

Jago's 'Credo' (I believe in a cruel God) which he, cynically

declaims after his exchanges with Cassio, is Boito's own creation

but it seems to have been suggested to Boito by isolated passages

in Timon of Athens. Titus Andronicus and Othello itself. It

sounds, however, so thoroughly Boitian that we cannot but agree

with Francis Toye when he says that 'it is conceivable that Boito,

the Goethe-enthusiast, the author as well as the composer of

'Mefistofele, was unconsciously tempted to overstress the affinity

between Othello's ancient and the spirit that ever denies'

1. Toye, F., op cit., p.418.

 154

I find myself unable to accept the word 'unconsciously* as I feel

convinced that Boito deliberately emphasized the evilish nature of

-logo os this was essential to his own reading of the play. On

the other hand, the thesis of logo's 'motiveless malignity', first

put forth by Coleridge, has also been accepted by Lomb, Hazlitt,

Swinburne, Bradley, Gronville-Barker and other Shakespearean

critics who have also pointed out the similarity between lago and

the character role of Vice in the Morality Plays.* Jago's paean

to the 'D.ivinity of Hell who has created him in His own image*,

is followed by Desdemona1s evid Cassia's meeting and conversation.

Boito allows Otello to ente:,- by chance in this crucial scene and

Jogo slyly turns this to his advantage when, apparently unintentionally,

he says 'Cio1 m'occoro1 (I like not that). The effect is stregthened

because Otello believes that Jago has not seen him; whilst in

Shakespeare the fact that logo and Othello enter together makes

logo’s sudden exclamation less effective. Further alterations

can be detected in the ensuing section. In the play the colloquy

between lago and Othello is interrupted by Desdemona who has

meantime taken leave of Cassio. Boito causes Desdemona and

Cassio to remain in the garden for a while watched by Othello.

The scene in which Jago subtly arouses Otello* s jealousy, inflaming

1. See: Introduction to Shakespeare's Othello: Great Britain:

Kenneth Muir ed., 1968, p.15, and Wolfgang Clemen
Shakespeare's dramatic art, London: Methuen, 1972, p.68.
him by refusing to be more explicit, is taken almost literally

from Shakespeare (Act III, iii) but of course, abbreviated.

When Jago realizes that his plan to arouse Otello’s suspicion of

Cassio has been successful he allows himself the triumphant irony

of his warning against jealousy:

Temete, signor la gelosia,'

E'un'idra fosca, livida, cieca, col suo veleno
Ss stesso attosca, vivida piaga le squorcia 11 seno.

(Beware, my lord of Jealousy!

'Tis a dark hydra, malignant, blind, it
poisons itself with its own venom,
its breast is ripped by an open wound.)

After the scene in which Otnllo demands proof of Desdemono's

infidelity, Boito introduces another innovation. Desdemona

reappears in the garden surrounded by women, children and sailors

who have come to serenade her bearing gifts and strewing flowers

atshe approaches. When the islanders' chorus ends Desdemona

kisses the children and hands a purse to the sailors whilst the

women kiss the hem of her dress. This charming interlude,

obviously inspired by logo's words to Cassio 'She is of so free,

so kind, so apt, so blessed a disposition.... (Shakespeare, Act

II, Scene iii), besides being an excellent theatrical device,

throws into relief Desdemona's goodness and her love and concern

for others. Therefore, the ensuing scene in which she pleads

for Cassio's restoration to Otello's favour (which in Shakespeare

comes before the 'green-eyed monster' scene) appears to be the

logical outcome af her altruism and of her trust in all men.

 156

There follows the incident in which Desdemono drops the handkerchief

given her as a first-love gift by Otello, whilst wiping his forehead.

Emilia picks it up and Jago receives it from her. The

'handkerchief quartet1 provided Verdi with a1 unique opportunity

for the characterization of the four personages. Edgard . "

says that Otto Ludwig has drawn attention to Shakespeare's

'polyphonic dialogue':

In scenes of this character the genuine dramatic life

pulses most strongly in such polyphonic passages,
where different voices in different rhythms, each one
with continuing individuality, meet and cut othwort
each other. But the number of voices thus interwoven
must not be so increased as to render them
indistinguishable.^

Boito and Verdi made a masterly transcription of such a 'polyphonic

dialogue'. In the handkerchief quartet, Desdemona, with touching

humility sues for love(*La tua frnciulla io sonc’ - T cm ybu.t

handmaiden); Otello, in on as .-k , ..-rments h s e l f with doubts

and suspicions (’Forse perchS -j. iuc...' - Vurchance because I

have declined into the vale of years.; At the same time Jogo

and Emilia are engaged in a quarrel, Ihe opportunist

tactician, realizing that the fortuUoue happeidig can be turned

into design, snatches the handkerchief' from tho reluctant Emilia

who, intimidated by the villain'o i.stBiciictiun, dares not rt-sist.

Boito slightly alters the character of Emilio who, in contrast

with Shakespeare’s treatment, is invested with a deeper sensitivity

and n o b i l i t y . ____________

1. Ludwig's passage is quoted in Istel, E., op, cii., p.381.

 157

Other episodes worthy of mention are; kilo's anguished

foiewell to war and to his former content and peace of mind:

Ora e pe- sempre addio, sante memorie.

Addio, sublimi incanti del pensier!
Addio, schiere fulgenti, oddio, vittorie,
Dardi volanti e volanti corsier!
... Clamori e conti di battaglia, addio.'
Della gloria d'Otella £ questo il fin;

(Now and forever farewell, holy memories,

farewell, sublime content of the mind!
Farewell, brave troops, farewell, victories,
flying shafts and racing steeds'....
Sound and song of battle, farewell!
Othello's glory is gone.)

and Jago's account of C a s s i V s talk in his sleep ('Era la notte.

Cassia dormia' - It was nig'it, Cassio was sleeping) with its wily

suggestion 'D@sdemona soav&' (Sweet Desdemona). This is aimed

at driving Otello into a frenzy of jealousy and is followed by

Jago's statement that Desdemona's handkerchief (which is in fact

in his pocket) is in Cassia's possession. The tremendous final

scene shows Otello, his mind already poisoned, falling on his

knees with Jago, both raising their hands to heaven as for a

solemn oath and invoking the God of Vengeance. Jago and Otello,

the active villain and his passive victim, are now tied together

in the blind passion of hatred which can'only destroy them....

All these episodes are derived from Shakespeare but their

compression tightens the structure, producing an effect of

admirable intensification.

Boito's third act consists of the last sc^ne of Shakespeare's

Act III and of the first two scenes of Act IV, again condensc-d
into a single act with extraordinary ability. In the opera the

curtain rises on Otello and Jago in conversation in the Great

Hall of the castle. A Herald announcing that the galley bringing

the Venetian envoys to Cyprus has been sighted, interrupts them.

This episode has no parallel in Shakespeare; it has, however, the

function to remind us of Otello1s status and responsibilities and

prepare the way for the entrance of Lodovico, the Venetian

Ambassador. In a brief dialogue Otello bids Jago to continue

outlining his plan to engage Cassio in a compromising conversation

which Otello will overhear and which will prove Cassia's and

D^sdemona's treachery; this is taken from Shakespeare's Act IV,

.... But encave yourself,

and mark the jeers, the gibes, and notable scorns,
that dwell in every region of his face.

The episode which follows, that in which Desdemona, perhaps

deceived by the apparent calm of Otello, insists again on pleading

for Cassio to the ever-rising fury of Otello, is the result of the

fusion of two important scenes in Shakespeare: the first, in Act

III, Scene iv, from line 31

Desdemona: "Well my good lord,..-.

to line 90:

Desdemona 'I pray, talk me of Cassio;

the second, in Act IV, Scene .ii, from line 25

Othello Let me see your ayes ....

Lock in my face

up to and including Othello's furious outburst beginning with:

into a single act with extraordinary ability. In the opera the

curtain rises on Otello and Jago in conversation in the Great

Hall of the castle. A Herald announcing that the galley bringing

the Venetian envoys to Cyprus has been sighted, interrupts them.

This episode has no parallel in Shakespeare; it has, however, the

function to remind us of Otello1s status and responsibilities and

prepare the way for the entrance of Lodovico, the Venetian

Ambassador. In a brief dialogue Otello bids Jago to continue

outlining his plan to engage Cassio in a compromising conversation

which Otello will overhear and which will prove Cassio's and

Desdemona's treachery; this is taken from Shakespeare'1s Act IV,

Scene i:

.... But encave yourself,

and mark the jeers, the gibes, and notable scorns,
that dwell in every region of his face.

The episode which follows, that in which Desdetnona, perhaps

deceived by the apparent calm of Otello, insists again on pleading

for Cassio to the ever-rising fury of Otello, is the result of the

fusion of two important scenes in Shakespeare: the first, in Act

III, Scene iv, from line 31

Desderaona: 'Well my good lord...-.

to lino 90:

Desdemona 'I pray, talk me of Cassio;

the second, in Act IV, Scene ii, from line 25

Othello Let me see your eyes ....

Look in my face

up to and including Othello's furious outburst beginning with:

 159

Had it pleas’d heaven

To try me with affliction.... (11.48 - 49)

The incident in which Jago convinces the hidden Otello of

Desdemona's guilt by cleverly manipulating Cassio's conversation

about his mistress Bianco (his remarks could apply to Desdemona),

is essentially the same as in Shakespeare (Act IV, Scene l).

Bianco, who, in the play, returns the handkerchief to Cassio, thus

rousing Othello's wrath and passion, does not appear at oil in the

opera. It is therefore Cassio who produces the handkerchief

which Jago had previously placed in his lodging. The succeeding

trio('Questa & una ragno...' - This is a spider's web), is all

Boito's. Then, as in Shakespeare (Act IV, Scene i), Otello asks

Jago to.obtain poison to kill Desdemona but Jago advises:

II tosco - no

Val meglio soffocarla,

la, nel suo letto, la, dove ha peccato.

(A poison, no -
'Twe' etter to strangle her
there her bed, there, where she has sinned.)

and offers his own services for the murdering of Cassio, for

which service he is promoted by Otello to the vacant command.

The episodes of the arrival of the Venetian messengers; of

Othello's reading of the message recalling him to Venice and

appointing Cassio as governc: in his stead,and of his striking of

Desdemona, have an abbreviated operatic counterpart. The public

humiliation of Desdemona is, perhaps, the only regrettable

innovation. In the ploy Othello insults her when only Lodovico

 160

is present whereas in the opera she is brutally shamed before a

crowd of people and the entire Senate. There follows a great

ensemble scene in which all express their reaction to the situation.

Desdemona, compassionated by Emilio, laments her lost love ('A

terra: .. Si... nel livido fango' - Fallen ... yes ... in the

leaden dust); Roderigo bewails the departure of Desdemona;

Cassia views the sudden turn of fortune with fearful misgivings;

Lodovico gives vent to his indignation. The chorus contributed

sympathetic reflections, now denouncing Otello (’Quell'uomo nero

Asepolcrale' - That black man is deadly) now bemoaning the

wretched Desdemona ('Piangon cosi nel ciei lor pianto gli angeli'

- Thus do the angels shed tears in heaven). This scene is, for

the most part, freely invented by Boito and, in part, based on

episodes in Shakespeare's second scene in Act IV. After this

ensemble Jago urges Otello not to delay his revenge and Roderigo

to murder Cassia if he would not lose Desdemona. At the climax

Otello furiously bids the crowd go whilst, behind the scenes, a

triumphal fonfo : vnctuated the off-stage 'Evviva' of the Cypriots.

As the stage empties and Otello and Jago are left alone, Otello

grows delirious and, haunted by the evil vision Jago has

conveyed to him, becomes convulsive and falls senseless to the

ground. This short, and extremely painful scene, finds its

prototype in Shakespeare's play, Act IV, Scone i, where Othello

falls 'into an epilepsy*, after raging furiously. As the fanfare

sounds forth Otello* s fame and the people cry glory to the Lion of
Venice, Jogo, putting his heel on the head of the unconscious

Otello, shouts with triumphant disdain and diabolical sarcasm,

'Here lies the Lion:' This ending of the act has no counterpart

in Shakespeare. It is Boito's invention and, as remarked by

Spike Hughes 'with Verdi's music must rank as one of the most

masterly strokes of pure theatre in the history of opera'.*

The fourth act - a masterpiece - is, both musically and

dramatically, the best of the whole opera* the highest manifestation

of Boito's mastery and Verdi's genius. With dramatic aptness,

Eioito discarded everything which could interfere in any manner

with the continuity of the action and with the dominant tone of

the act. If the previous act was filled with the sufferings

which ore the aftermath of the tremendous conflict of Act II,

Act IV brings the denouement which none of the characters, not

even Jogo, can quite control. This, Boito's last act, covers the

ground of Shakespeare's Act IV, Scene iii (the episode between

Desdemona and Emilio,, ending with Desdemona's farewell to her

lady-in-waiting) and Act V, scene ii. The famous scene when

Emilia helps her prepare for bed - full of Dosdemona's ghostly and

unresisting sense of death - is preceded, in the play, by the

superfluous appearance of Othello and Lodovico in Desdemona's

apartment. At tho beginning of Act V, Shakespeare inserts

another scene - a very long one - embracing the entrance of many

1. Hughes, S., op. cit., p.467.

characters ( and leading up to the murder of Roderigo), completely

distracting attention from Desdemona's fate. It is only in the

second scene of Act V that Shakespeare introduces us into

Desdemono's bedroom. Boito discarded these two unnecessary

scenes, joining the episode of the farewell to Emilia directly

with Otello's appearance in Desdemona's room. In this way, his

fourth act achieved a marvellous symmetry and inner cohesion,

further intensified by the heart-breaking sadness of Desdemono's

Willow Song (as given in Shakespeare, but with slight variations

and so beautifully translated to stand on the same level of

poetic beauty as Shakespeare's lines). Desdemona's final scene

is given added poignancy by her singing of the 'Ave Maria* which,

with the dreadful reiteration of: nell'ora della morte1,

creates the suspense of impending tragedy. This interpolated

prayer to the Virgin offers another illustration of Boito*s

genius in providing Verdi with lyrical opportunities, and at the

same time, ’adding to the drama in a way Shakespeare might have

wished he had thought of himself

The marvellour soliloquy which Shakespeare gives to Othello

at the very beginning of Act V, Scene ii, (it is the cause, it is

the cause my soul) in which he tells himself that he is

sacrificing Desdemona to justice, is rep-seed by a dumb-show.

According to Boito's stage directions:

1. Hughes, S., op. cit., p.475.

 163

Othello enters by o secret door. He pieces a

scimitar on the table. He stands before the
candle undecided whether to extinguish it or not.
He looks at Desdemono, then puts out the light.
The room is now illuminated only by the candle
burning above the prie-dieu. He draws near to
the bed and looks down on the sleeping Desdemono.
He kisses her three times. On the third kiss
she awakens.

The opening dialogue between Desdemono and Otello follows

Shakespeare very closely up *o the murder of Desdemono, whilst

the scene between Othello and Emilia, ending with Emilia's cry

for help, is greatly shortened. The rest of the act is

subjected to important modifications. As observed by Francis

Toye, few will, however 'regret the suppression of the excessively

protracted end of the tragedy as Shakespeare wrote it, in

particular the unnecessary murder of Emilia and the promised

torture of logo'.^ Jogo's refusal to answer Otello's question

and his flight dispose of him in a satisfactory manner.

Otello's last speech has an infinite, unbearable pathos as

he acknowledges the depth to which he has fallen:

Niun mi tema
S'anco ormato mi vede. Ecco la fine
Del mio cammin... Oh! Gloria! Otello fu.

Let no one fear me

though you see me armed. This is my
journey's end ... Glory! Othello is no more.)

When the final desolation comes upon him, after realizing the

being he loved and has murdered was innocent, he cries to the

1. Toye, E»|».cit., p.418.

 164

dead Destlemona:

E tu ... come sei pallidal e stance, e muto, e bella

(And you ... how pale you ore, and wan and mute and beautiful.)

This is a most moving passage,followed by a brief sequence founded

on a few words in the play: '0 ill-starred wench!' and 'cold,

cold my girl, even like thy chastity1, and ending with the

agonizing:

Desdemona! Desdemona ... Ah! ... morta! ... morta! ...

morta!<..

Otello knows that there is no escape from the consequences of

what he has done. He draws a hidden dagger and stabs himself.

Shakespeare's words:

I kiss'd thee ere I kill'd thee; - no way but this,

Killing myself, to die upon a kiss

are paraphrased by Soito to reproduce the rhythm of the lines

heard in theLove Duet atthe end of Act Is

Otello: Act XV

Ah! la gioia m'inonda Otello:

Si fieramente ... che ansante
mi giacio... Or morendo ... nell'ombra...
Un bacio.... ov'io mi giacio...
Un bacio ... Un bacio ancora ...
Desdemona: Otello! un altro bacio.

Otello: Un bacio ,.. ancora un bacio

With overwhelming poignancy the music recalls the motive

associated with the kiss scene bringing memories of pest happiness

and of a love now so tragically destroyed. By the end of the

c-,. ra Otello has come full circle, regaining his former nobility.

As in Shakespeare, he is 'the one that loved not wisely, but too

 165

well1, his weaknesses acquiring the splendour of human passions.

The excellence of Boito’s libretto has been so universally

acknowledged that little needs to be added to what has been

written over many years. Two remarks seem to me particularly

pertinent: the first, written in 1903 by the German musicologist

Dr Istel who considered Boito’s book 'the best written since

Richard Wagner's death, and the only one which, based throughout

on Wagner's principles, does not really depart from them for a

moment'.^ (We will remember that the insertion of set numbers

is always dramatically motivated and in no way hinders the flow

of the music or of the dramatic action.)

The second remark is found in the Verdi biography, written

a few years later by Gino Monaldi:

The libretto of Othello (sic) cannot be classified

with the semi-literory tribe of earlier opern-texts
which were, at bottom, merely a springboard for the
musician ... Boito's Othello is a feat in which
the poet participates as a genuine collaborator in
the musician's work of art. It is dramatic
composition, thought out and written down so that
from letter to letter it might remain in closest
contact with the music and poetically blend
therewith.2

In justice to Boito a full chapter could easily be devoted to the

poetry of the libretto. I must, however, in the scope of this

di-sertation, confine myself to consideration of a few passages which

may serve as examples of Boito's command of language and of his

musical-poetic artistry, for it is obvious vliat the poet bore

1. Istel, E., op. eit., pp. 385-6.

2. ibid., p.386.
 166

in mind the musician in every line he wrote. The sequence in

Act I of the 'Fuoco di gioia1:

Fuoco di gioia - I'ilare vampa

Fuga la notte - col suo splendor,
Guizza, sfovilla - crepita, avvampa,
Fulgide incendio - ohe invade il cor....

defined by Spike Hughes as 'one of the most fascinating and

sensuously original pieces of music Verdi ever w r o t e ' w o u l d

never have been written in such a way without the rhythmical

suggestions of the Boitian text- .and, incidentally, mart

probably without the study of the score of Mefistofele ^

In the Fire Chorus Verdi abandons the broad melodic line so

typical of him in favour of a more nervous, fragmentary kind of

treatment, perfectly corresponding to the rhythmical pattern of the

text. (See Ex.l) The second example is concerned with Jago's dream

story (Act II). The double septenary lines of hisi speech may

be' divided into five syllable lines in alternate rhymed lines.

Era la notte, Cassio dormia, gli stavo accanto.

Con interrotte voci tradia I'intimo incanto.
Con lobbro lente, lente, movea nell'abbandono
Del sogno ardente; e allor dicea, con flebil suono....

1. Hughes, S., op. cit., p.445.

2. Many critics - from G B Shaw to Fausto Torrefranca and

Ildobrando Pizzetti - have pointed out the influence (in
all respects) exerted by Boito upon the older and much
more gifted composer. A propos of Jago's 'Credo', Shaw
observes that 'certain touches in Jago's Credo were
perhaps either suggested by Boito, or composed in his
manner in fatherly compliment to him'. (London music in 1888-89
London - 3rd ed. 1950, p.388.)
 167

i Fittm e briyktly b u r - n in g ! .

F h m e b rig h tly bur.

F lu m e brightly b u r-,tin g !

. Flrnnn b rig h tly b a r . ning, flu m e brightly

fu -(fa la. i:ot. to

T h a t uiitit its ijilcKtlui,

'fli-c k v r in g fir e .

Ex. 1.
 168

Era la notte Le labbra lente

Cassia dorraia lente movea
Gli stavo accanto nell’abbandono
Con interrotte del sogno. ardente
voci tradia E allot dicea
I'ititimo incanto con flebil suono.,«,

Verdi put to splendid use the possibilities offered by this

hidden metrical structure adjusting his music to it and, as

Francis Toys remarks: 'It may be doubted whether any fusion of

voice, orchestra and text has aver been more perfect then this1 *

(See Ex. 2), My last example is concerned with the famous

Love Duet at the end of Act I, a number which, in Herbert Peyser's

opinion 'for sheer rapturous beauty, stands above anything he

(Verdi) ever w r o t e . T h e most lyrical portion of the duet

covers four stanzas, given in turn to Desdemona and Otello, each

constituted of four hendecasyllobic lines which con be broken up,

at the musician's convenience, resolving themselvos naturally

into six, differently stressed (mainly septenary) lines. The

warm, exquisitely lyrical musical lines of Desdemona follow the

rhythm of the hendecasyllable (See ex. 3 ) :

Quando narravi I ’esule tuo vita

E i fieri , eventi e i lunghi tuoi dolor
Ed io V u d i o coll 'onimo ropito
In quei spaventi e coll'estasi in cor.

1. Toye, F., op. cit., p.423.

2. Peyser, H.P., op. cit., p.165.

.V m ing hix lip* thx-n p m tJ y a n d
 170

E x .3 J1 J " " ' >«!°<°__________________________________

. to , 7
— k.k-,.....i . k
^ = ... -
- - - ta e l f io - r i e - v e n - • ti e i Imi-ghi tuoi do-
m a rt'a h

Otello’s magnificently virile phrasing follows the scansion

of the most rhythmically incisive septenary meter, apt to the

characterization of the hero (see ex. 4).

Pingea dell’armi il fremito la pugna

E il vol gagliardo alia breccia mortal.
V a s s a l t o orribil ec'sra c o lVugna
Nelbaluardo e il sihilante stral.

Ex. 4

As Francis Toye has stressed, Verdi's definite ideal in setting

Boito's Libretto to music was to give to his verses 'the most

true and significant accent possible*.^ This is why Otello

1. Toye, F., cit., p.419.

 171

the dramo of 'the suffering mortal who is musically revealed

down to the faintest tremor of his nervous system1* remains one

of the greatest operas ever written. It is, indeed, 'the opera

that the musical dramatist, Verdi, had been working his way

towards, throughout his long career1

1. Werfel, F., cit., p.74. i

2. Osborne, C., The Complete operas of Verdi*, London; V. Golloncz,

1969, p.470.
 172

CHAPTER IX

FALSTAFF

'If Boito has succeeded- admirably in adapting Othello, he performed

a miracle in filletting Shakespeare's ploddingly repetitive pot­

boiler, The Merry Wives of Windsor, throwing out its poor jokes,

turning its bad prose into excellent verse, paring down its clumsily

extravagant cast of characters in preparation for Verdi's brilliant

musical characterization of Falstaff, the Fords, Mistress Quickly

and the adolescent love bundle made up of Nonnetta and Fenton,*

writes Charles Osborne. Indeed, many critics and Shakespearean

authorities, as for instance Francis Fergusson, find that 'Falstaff

is less inspired here (Marry Wives) than he is in the "Henry IV" plays

and that the comedy as a whole lacks the imaginative distinction of

Shakespeare's best w o r k s ' o t h e r s , go so for as to dismiss the

play as "a heartless farce, a botchwork ... barely worthy of

inclusion in the canon'® and to assert that, in reconventionalizitig

Falstaff in the Merry Wives, Shakespeare 1turned him so decidedly

into a gull and a buffoon that the thing is like a rejection in

itself, or a manifesto of complete eventual disinterest

1. Osborne, C. 'The complete operas of Verdi’. London,

V. Gollancz: 1969, p.437..
2. Fergusson, F. op. cit., p.127.
3. Shattuck, C.H. 1Six episodes in the life of a play' in
The Merry Wives of Windsor, New York, Fergusson, 1966, p.20.
 173

in the character1 There is, perhaps, some exaggeration in

these two last remarks although we must admit that many signs in

the play seem to lend credit to the tradition which wants the play

wr-l'btsn in fourteen days by order of Queen Elizabeth I who, according

to Rowe 'was so well pleased with that admirable character of

Falstaff, in the two parts of Henry IV, that she commanded him to

continue it for one ploy more, and to show him in l o v e ' T h e

comedy is obviously hastily built out of diverse and ill-digested

materials but perhaps because of its satisfying theatricolism and

abundance of broad mirths, it has held the stage since it first

appeared enjoying, at times, (especially during the eighteenth

century) an enormous popularity. During the eighteenth century

it flourished on the stage, o hundred casts and three hundred and

thirty-six performances being recorded in London alone. By the

end of the century, although the personal popularity of Falstaff

as a character had risen to its apogee, the Merry Wives as a play

was ignored by serious writers. This decline of appreciation of

the ploy was the natural result of the gradual loss of interest

in the classical and the rise of the romantic point of view.

'The last century found its local colour, its rather complacent

moralizing, and its good-natured high spirits very much to its

taste1'*, but, more recently, the bright and happy version of

1. Stewart, J.I.M, 'The birth and death of Falstaff; in

Shakespeare. Henry IV. Parts I and II. ed. G.K. Hunter,
London: Macmillan, 1970, p.127.
2. Introduction to The Merry Wives ('The complete works of
William Shakespeare') New York: W.G. Clark and A. Wright, p.47.
3. Fergusson, F. Op. cit., p.128
The Merry Wives of Windsor produced ot Stratford on Avon (duriig

the 1955 season) does not seem to hove roused any great critical

interest. The Merry Wives of Windsor has often been subjected to

many forms of adaptation, from the near ballad-opera production

put on by Elliston at Drury Lane in 1824, to actual opera.

Boito's use of Shakespeare's character of Falstaff was by no

meat's the first appearance of the fat knight on the operatic stage.

It was in 1761 that there appeared, in Paris, the first opera on

Th« Merry Wives of Windsor. Its title was ~Le vieux coquet, ou

).es deux amies, and the author was a french violinist named

Popsvoine. The opera, killed, it is soid, by its libretto, was

only perform? I once. Towards the end of the century The Merry

Wives of Windsor was set three times within five years'. Ritter's

Die Lustige Weibor (1794) and Ditter von Oittersdorf's Die Lustiqe

Weiber von Windsor und dor dicko Hans (1796) were both on the same

libretto, by G.C. Roemer,* Salieri's Falstaff. osia le tre burle,

(lib. by De Francoschi) appeared in 1799. Salieri's opera must have

enjoyed a certain popularity (Beethoven made a set of variations

on one of its themes; La stessa, la stessissima), and De Francheschi'

libretto still presents soma points of interest. None of these

operas, however, is remembered to-day. Bolfe's Falstaff on libretto

by Maggioni, performed in London in 1838, was another failure.

The first successful operatic version of the Shakespearean comedy

i* :ierefore Nicolai's Die lustige Weiber von Windsor produced

in Berlin in 1849, a sophisticated comedy full of tuneful melodies

 175

end containing episodes almost worthy of Verdi (e.g., the Garden

and the Windsor Park scenes, and Mrs Page's^" ballad of Herne the

Hunter), S.H. Mosenthal, who versified the libretto sketched by

Nicolai himself and very closely following the play was, os

observed by Winton Dean,*' no Boito, but he was, however, not

insensitive to Shakespeare and tried, as Boito was to do with much

greater success, to improve upon the original text by borrowing

points from other plays: Henry IV, Twelfth Night and A Midsummer

Night's Dream. To start the opera with the wives, rather than

with Falstaff (who only appears before the 'buck basket* scene)

was, undoubtedly, a mistake. Also regrettable is the omission of

the characters of Bardolph and Pistol, Falstaffs companions

linked with the low life, and more genuinely comic side of his

nature. The reduction of Mistress Quickly's role to one of mere

insignificance is also a loss to the story. Vaughan Williams'

Sir John in Love, written in .1929 and revived at Sadler's Wells in

1945, has not won the success which, according to Hubert Foss this

'lovely opera - u c *’ tic at times as well as swift in movement1^

deserves.' In Winton Dean's opinion however. Sir John in Love is

a disappointing work 'partly owing to the clumsiness of the libretto,

partly because it treats the plot as a slow comedy of rustic life

1. Mistress Page and Mistress Ford are rechristened in the

libretto Frau Reich and Frau Fluth, respectively.
2. De<m, W., op. cit., p.122.
3. Fo-ii, H . , Ralph Vaughan Willioms, London; G. Harrap, 1950,
p.130.
 176

instead of a sophisticated farce*. * Det-n finds that the folk

idiom of the music (twelve genuine folk tunes being included in

the score) is not 'really suited to the play which needs a

quicksilver deftness if it is not to become tedious',^ also

criticizing, as dramatic miscalculations, the retention of far too

many minor characters (' they crowd each other cut; the composer,

whose gifts in any case were expansive and lyrical rather than

dramatic, has no space to develop or differentiate them')^and the

excessive emphasis laid on the Fenton - Anne Pags subplot.

Perhaps Hubert Floss is in the right when he observes that 'while

Boito and Verdi made out of Shakespeare's Falstaff an eternal work

of art, o superlative opero, Vaughan Williams has quite simply

translated Shakespeare into music1,* fully preserving the words as

well as the spirit of the age of Shakespeare.

The Boito-Verdi Falstaff (Milan 1893), described by Richard

Strauss as 'one of the greatest masterpieces of all time',® and by

Charles V. Stanford as 'a masterpiece of diction as well as of

music, u child of which both the parents may be equally proud'^

1. Dean, W. op. cit., p.127. '

2. Ibido
3. Ibid.
4. Foss, H., op. cit., pp. 69-70.
5. Osborne, Charles, The complete operas of Verdi, London:
Pan Books, 1973, p. 488,
6. Stanford, C.V., op. cit., p.170.
 177

seems to have swept the stage clear of both Nicolai's and Vaughan

Williams1 operas. Boifco's libretto, to which Verdi referred as

'a lyric comedy unlike any other1*, is wholly admirable. With

incredible dexterity Boito solved the nearly impossible task of

turning Shakespeare's five-act sprawling farce into a beautifully

shaped three-act libretto in which the story of Falstaffs

frustrated affair with the country domes and that of pretty Anne

Page's amorous intrigue, are wonderfully woven together.

Although mainly based on the Merry Wives of Windsor, the libretto

shows considerable divergences from the play. Many incidents

having little relation to either of the main stories and some of

the characters connected with them, (such as Master William Page

and his Latin lesson, and the duol between Parson Evans and

Doctor Caxus prevented by the Host of the Garter) are not found

i,i the opera book. Boito1s Doctor Caius is a fusion of traits

taken from Slender, Shallow, Parson Evans and Caius himself.

Anne Pago becomes, for convenience, Nannetta Ford; Mistress

Quickly, whose role is more prominent in the libretto than in the

play, is not Or Caius' servant but the confidante of Mistress Alice

Ford and Mistress Meg Pago. By omitting tha Mother Prat's

episode, Boito reduces the series of Falstaffs misadventures to

two; his concealment in the buck basket which is then emptied

into the Thames water and his assignation with the merry wives at

1. The letter to Gino Monaldi dated 3rd December, 1890 is found

in Franz: Werfol, op. clt., p.396.
Herne's Oak in the Windsor Forest. Boito's Falstaff is a character

less hard than his English forebear. As remarked by A. St. John

Brenon, Boito 'did not touch heavily on the more sinister features

of the witty sensualist, those which made Victor Hugo say of

Falstaff, 'glutton, coward and brute, he walked on the four paws

of disgrace1,* but rather brought out his move remarkable qualities;

an irresistible enjoyment of life; o boisterous gaiety; an

amusing ribaldry and witty insolence. By borrowing lines and

passages from the Henry IV plays, notably the monologue on honour,

Boito 'restored Falstaff to something of his previous impish glory,

and made him a character with whom, rather than at whom we can

laugh,^ The arrangement of all the incidents drawn from the

several Shakespearean sources and of those freely invented by Boito

in six scenes, contrived in such a way as to assure dramatic

contrast and climax as well as the requisite pace and nimbleness,

is a further example of Boito's theatrical mastery. (Each of the

opera's three acts is divided into two parts, rather short and

almost equal in length.) In contrast with Shakespeare, who starts

his comedy with an 'ensemble* scene taking place in a street in

Windsor, before Page's house, Boito's version opens in a room

1. A. St. John Brenon, op. cit., p.152.

2. Granville-Barker, Frank, 'Verdi and Shakespeare'. Music

Parade 2 . No., 5, (undated: see The Music Index, 1951.
Information Service, p.50) England: Unwin, A,, p.20
 179

of the Gorter Inn where Falstoff, after sealing two letters he

has just written, lies back comfortably in a huge armchair, and

starts sipping his sherry. Pistola and the red-nosed Bardolfo,

Falstoff s old associates, are in attendance when Cajus, the town

physician, brushing them aside, takes Falstoff to task for having

broken into his house, bullied his servants and stolen one of his

horses. The imperturbable knight immediately puts aside Cajus1

complaints, not by attempting to excuse or deny the facts, but

simply admitting them with deliberate insolence: 'Ho fatto cid

die hai detto... L'ho fatto apposto' (I did everything you say ...

I did it purposely). Cajus' further accusations, this time

directed at Pistola and Bardolfo, charged with having emptied his

pockets after making him drunk, are declared by Falstoff to be

unfounded. The dialogue between Falstoff and his minions,

characterizing them as inveterate rascals, moves on quickly

establishing the tone of the scene in a most effective manner.

A string of reciprocal invectives leads, to Cajus' solemn resolution:

Giuro ... che se mai m'ubriaco. ancor'o oll'osteria
Sard fra gente onesta, sobria, civile e pia.

(if ever I get drunk again at the inn, I swear,

it will be only with honest, sober, civil, pious folk.)^

Accompanying him to the door with ironic ceremony, Bardolfo and

Pistola try to show some sympathy with their victim by answering

his last utterance with the pious chanting of a mock-solemn 'Amen1,

severely criticized, on aesthetic grounds, by Falstoff who reminds

them of the basic rule of art: 'Ruber con g a r b o e a tempo'

1. English version by Dole McAdo; libretto issued by Angel

Records (Angel Album 3552 C/ L )
 180

(Steal deftly and at the right time).

The passage about Bardolfo's rubicund nose serving as a

lantern on the journeys from tavern to tavern but too expensive

however, to be maintained in times of financial crisis, is

borrowed from Henry IV, Parts I, III, iii. Its insertion after

the first episode of the opera book and before the one concerned

with Falstaff's planning to assail the virtue of two we.ii hh; wives

in order to better his fortune, comes in quite naturally.

Falstaff's self-praise of his tremendous belly starting with

'Se Folstaff s'assotiglia non 5 pli) lui' (if Falstaff thins, he is

not himself) and inspired by a passage in Henry IV, Part II, IV,

iii,^ is sealed by Pistola's and Bardolfo's acclamations of

'Falstaff immense', ,cnorne Folstaff:' Their enthusiasm is,

however, soon to flag under the Knight's injunction to deliver

two letters to the buxom dames whom, he believes, have looked on

him with greedy intentions. Pistola's and Bardolfo's reluctance

to oblige - the commission being against their principles of

honour - elicits from Folstaff, the natural enemy of anything moral

and respectable, his famous meditation on honour in which he

dismisses it as a nonsense by demonstrating that;it cannot fill

a belly, nor set a leg, or an a m , or anything and that neither

th~ living nor the dead can possess it. The first part of this

speech is taken from :',e Merry Wives. Act II, Scene ii:

1. * I have a whole school of tongues in this belly of mine; and

not a tongue of them all speaks any other word but my name.*
 181

You s+ond upon your honour! Why, thou unconfinable

baseness, it is os much os I can do to keep the terms
of my honour precise....

The second part is drawn, and almost literally translated, from

the speech inspired in Falstaff by the gallant death of Hotspur in

Henry IV, Part I; V, iv.

Can honour set to a leg? No: or an arm? No ...

Honour hath no skill in surgery, then? No. What
is honour? a word. What is that word honour?
air ... A trim reckoning....

At the end of this speech the corpulent knight drops his mortally

wounded dignity, angrily chasing his unfaithful companions out of

the room. If the opening tavern scene is dominated by Falstaff's

massive presence as well as by his fierce vitality and anarchic

wit, the second part of the act, laid in a sunny garden near Ford's

house, is filled with the chatter and mischievous laughter of the

gay wives of Windsor. A fresh country air seems to breathe over

this delightful scene, skilfully spun by Boito out of no more than

twenty-seven lines (out of two hundred and forty-five) found in the

first scene of the second act of the ploy. As the curtain rises

we f ''•'stress Alice Ford who, followed by her pretty daughter

No. » just leaving her house. She has received Falstaff's

passiuriute message and is anxious to tell her neighbours - Mistress

Meg Page and elderly Mistress Quickly - about it. Meg Page has

also received a similar letter. On learning from Falstaff's

identically worded missives that he proposes to seduce them both

the wives decide, half amused and half indignant, to punish his

impudence. Mistress Ford's allusion to the old libertine's

 182

physical bulk in Shakespeare* s Merry Wives (Act II, Scene i):

What tempest, I trow , threw this whale., ashore

at Windsor?

develops, in Boito's hand, into the garrulous quartet of the

gossiping women in vhich each of them contributes, by means of

witty remarks, to the characterization of the mountainous knight.

Quell*otre! quel tino!

Quel Re delle ponce,
Ci ha ancora le d a n c e
Del bel vaghoggino.

(That winebag! That winevat!

That king of paunches,
still prattling like
a handsome youth.)

As Ford enters followed by Caius, Bardolfo, Pistola and Fenton

(Nonnetta1s young suitor) the women, keeping together, retire into

the background continuing their comments on Falstoff. At the

same time, the five men voice together several opinions: Caius

tells Ford what *a rascal, a trickster and a thief* Falstaff is;

Bardolfo and Pistola warn him of Falstoff's plan to seduce his

wife? Fenton declares himself prepared to pack the old rogue 'off

to hell whilst Ford, dazed by the hubbub, mutters:

Un ronzio di vespe e d* avidi

Calabron brontolamento,
Un rombar di nembi gravidi
D'uragani 3 quel ch'io sento.,..
... Parian quattro ed uno ascolta:
Quol dei quattro ascolterd?
Se parlate uno alia volta
Forse allor v'intenderd?

!
 .183

(The huzz of bees

the whine of wcisps
the crash of thunder -
these are all I hear...,
... Four speak, one listens -
which shall hove my ear?
If you talk one at a time
Perhaps I'll understand.)

Ford's imperious injunction to Pistola 'Ripeti* brings the nonet

to an end. Already in 1893 Charles V. Stanford, in the admirable

article written on the occasion of the first performance of Falstaff

drew attention to the cleverness of Boito's ensemble verses

observing:

Without being cast in the old sterotyped mould or being

unduly tramelled by forced rhymes, Boito contrived that
nine of his characters should simultaneoulsy utter as
many different verses, all exactly balancing each other,
all clear and distinctive, without any palpable
straining of metre.*

It is interesting to note how Verdi, by seizing on the opportunities

provided by the metrical scheme of the verse, succeeded in obtaining

the irresistible effect of the nonet, by combining the lively ^

rhythm suggested by the six syllable lines of the chattering women,

with the rapid ~ rhythm associated with the octosyllabic lines of

the muttering men. (see Ex. l). The ensuing love duet between

Nannetta and Fenton ('Labbra di focoi ... Labbra di fioreJ...) forms

an exquisite transition between the scone of the exit of all the

characters and the re-ent*ance of the women who quickly arrange to

send Mistress Quickly as a messenger to the 'faithless wretch.' As

1. Stanford, C.V.o&'cit. pp. 173-4.

 183

(The buzz of bees

the whine of wasrg
the crash of thunder -
these are all I hear....
... Four speak, one listens -
which shall have my ear'/
If yog talk one at a time
Perhaps I'll understand.)

Ford’s imperious injunction to Pistola 'Ripeti* brings the nonet

to on end. Already in 1893 Charles V. Stanford, in the admirable

article written on the occasion of the first performance of Falstaff

drew attention to the cleverness of Boito's ensemble verses

observing:

Without being cast in the old sterotyped mould or being

unduly tramelled by forced rhymes, Boito contrived that
nine of his characters should simultaneoulsy utter as
many different verses, ell exactly balancing each other,
all clear and distinctive, without any palpable
straining of metre.1

It is interesting to note how Verdi, by seizing on the opportunities

provided by the metrical scheme of the verse, succeeded in obtaining

the irresistible effect of the nonet, by combining the lively ^

rhythm suggested by the six syllable lines of the chattering women,

with the rapid ^ rhythm associated with the octosyllabic lines of

the muttering men. (see Ex. 1 ). The ensuing love duet between

Nannotta and Fenton ('Labbra di focal ... Labbra di fiore!...) forms

on exquisite transition between the scene of the exit of all the

characters and the re-ontrcnce of the women who quickly arrange to

send Mistress Quickly as a messenger to the 1faithless wretch.' As

1. Stanford, C.V.o&cit. pp. 173-4.

 184

Vfii^

jlL.

-4 s&a&ai aia
 185

the three women leave the stage a second time Fenton end Nannetta

resume their 1pretty game of love'. It was Boito's idea to have

the love episodes of the young couple, (hardly existing in

Shukespeare) 'appear suddenly at very frequent intervals'. He

wrote in fact to Verdi: 1in all scenes in which they take part

they will keep kissing by stealth in corners, astutely, boldly,

without letting themselves be discovered, with fresh little phrases

and brief, very rapid duologues, from the beginning to the end of

the comedy; it will be a most lively, merry love, always disturbed

and interrupted and always ready to recommence'.*

On hearing people approaching once more (this time the men) Nannetta

runs out followed by Fenton singing the wondrously tender 'Bocco

baciata non perde venture' to which Nannetta answers, from a distance

'Anzi rinnova come fa la luna'. The exchanges between the men,

still discussing their plot involving Ford presenting himself to

Folstaff under another name (Fontana), keep the plot in motion.

Eventually the women and men join in an ensemble (musically, a

variation of the one already heard),in which all, with the exception

of Fenton (who sing a lyrical line soaring above the other's

phrases) carry on with their scheming. Alice's reprise of 'Mo il

visa mio su lui risplenderc/ - a quotation from Falstaff's

extravagant love letter - is the cause of the burst of laughter to

which the curtain falls. It is impossible to pass from the

1, The letter to Verdi, dated 11th July 1889, is quoted in

Walker: p.497.
 186

consideration of this scene without a mention of its perfectly

symmetrical structure, indicated by Hans KUhner as follows:

a) four women (dialogue, then quartet)

b) joined by five men (quintet-nonet, then dialogue)

c) duet of the two lovers

d) return of four women (mostly dialogue)

e) return of the two lovers

f) return of five men, joined by four women (dialogue,

then quintet-nonet)

g) four women (dialogue, then quartet).^

The opening scene of Act I L set again in the Hall of the Garter

Inn, where Falstaff is, as usual, seated in his great choir drinking

sherry, shows the return of Bardolfo and Pistole who, singing and

striking their chests, pretend to be ’penitent and contrite'.

This scene, very closely based on Shakespeare's Act II, Scene ii,

divides itself into two main incidents; the Quickly interview and

the encounter of Falstaff and Ford,alius 'Signor Fontana'

(Shakespeare's Master Brook). Ar •'njnced by Bardolfo, Mistress

Quickly (instead of the page Robin) enters greeting Falstaff with

exaggerated humility and respect. (‘Reverenza! - Your servant).

She informs the fatuous knight that Alice Ford - 'Poor women." -

is quite upset for love of him, and will be glad to receive her

1. KUhner, Hans. Giuseppe Verdi , Hamburg, Selbstzeugnissen

und Bild dokumenten: 1961, p.139.
 187

suitor - 'Dalle due alle, tre1.(Between two and three o'clock)^**

a sentence twice repeated by Falstaff as if to make sure that he

has understood the message. Meg Page, Mistress Quickly adds, is

also hopelessly infatuated with him but, unfortunately, her husband

is rarely absent from home. No sooner has the ’She Mercury1 left

than Falstaff, excited at the prospect of his amorous rendez-vous,

congratules himself on his good fortune:

Va, vecchio John, va, va per la tua via.

Questo tua vecchio carne ancora spreme
Quolche dolcezza a te.
Tutte le donne ammutinote insieme
Si dannano per me!
Buon corpo di Sir John, ch'io nutro e sozio,
Va, ti ringrazio.

(Go, old Jock, go thy ways.

This old hide of thine still holds
some sweetness for thee.
All women are in a whirl,
To damn their souls for me!
Good body of Sir John, which I nourish to satiety,
I thank thee.)

Escorted by Pistola and Bardolfo, the disguised Ford enters,

carrying a bag of money in his hand. After presenting Falstaff

with a demijohn of wine and promising him a substantial reward,

'Signor Fontana* exposes a preposterous scheme for conquering

Alice Ford, whom he loves hopelessly and passionately. Appealing

to Falstaff's vanity and virility Ford/Fontana asks him to break

down Alice's scruples, relying on the well known fact that 'one sin

begets another'. Assuring Signor Fontana that he will satisfy his

1. Boito altered the time suggested by Shakespeare 'Between ten

and eleven1, obviously for reasons of euphony.
desire very soon - between two and three that very afternoon during

the absence of Alice's jealous fool of a husband. Falstaff goes

out to dress himself for the amorous adventure. Left alone for

a while Ford gives vent to his rage and jealousy in the semi-tragic

soliloquy 'E'sogno? o reoltrV., (it is a dream? ... Or reality?)

in which Verdi, providing a masterful rendering of Boito's words

(borrowed from Act III, Scene vi, and Act II, Scene ii of the

Merry Wives) seems to emphasize the dramatic ambiguity of Ford's

feelings. With regard to this passage, we are indeed at a loss to

understand whether Verdi expects us to take Ford seriously or not.

The prevailing comic mood is, however, unmistakably restored

when the dandified Falstaff, all dressed up for seduction, re-enters

to a most graceful musical accompaniment. After an exchange of

'courtly' ceremonies - each man requesting the other to precede

him, the two finally, and simultaneously, go off through the same

The second scene of Act II, taking place in a room of Ford's

house, is, from the point of view of action, the most effective of

all. Closely packed with incidents, it moves at a breakneck speed

- literally overflowing with vivacity and excitement. Boito drew

its basic material from Shakespeare's Merry Wives, Act III,

Scone iii. The episode of Ford's rummaging into the laundry

bosket is a survival of the omitted Mother Prat's incident found

in the same play, Act IV, Scene ii. Some of the words of

Falstaff's brief aria 'Quand'ero poggio', in which ho boasts of

his attractiveness as a young, slender boy, are reminiscent of

those uttered by Falstoff in ’Henry IV, Part 1; II, IV:

Shakespeare Boito

When I was about thy years, Hal 'Quand'ero paggio

I was not an eagle's talon in Del Duca di Norfolk ero sottile...
the waist; ... Tonto ero smilzo, fiessibile e
I could hove crept into any snello
alderman's thumb ring. Che sarei guizzato attroverso un
anello.

The episode of the loving couple's furtive flirtation and that of

the screen are Boito's own contribution. Quickly1s account of

her interview with Falstoff, with which Boito's Act II, Scene ii

begins, is followed by her announcement that the round knight will

be seen at Alice's feet 'from two o'clock u n V l three'. This

provokes the amusement of Alice and Meg who, helped by Nonnetto,

briskly set about preparing the 'scene1 (a laundry basket, a screen,

a chair and a lute) for Folstaff's arrival. The preparation being

completed, Alice leads The other three women in a lively ensemble

beginning with her sole 'Gaie couari di Windsor! 6 1'ora! (Hy

merry wives of Windsor! The hour has come!) On the approach

of Falstoff the other women retire to keep watch, whilst Alice

starts ploying the lute. Entering gaily, the gallant knight,

sings sottovoce to her accompaniment:

Alfin t'hc colto

Roggiante fiore
T'ho colto...

(At las
I pluck thee
0 radiant flower);

seizing her by the waist, he proceeds, without further ado, to

 190

seduce her. It is in the course of this wooing scene that occurs

the bright, scherzo-like passage 'Quand’ero paggio del Duca di

Norfolk1, set to the most exquisite vf accompaniments(Ex.2). Suddenly

and to the surpii se of Alice, Folstaff, and the now genuinely

agitated Meg and Mistress Quickly, the room is invaded by the

infuriated Ford who, with Caius, Fenton, Bardolfo and Pistola plus

a crowd of willing neighbours, begins searching the room. As

Folstaff hides himself behind the screen Ford, in a fit of jealousy,

empties the laundry bosket it> moke sure that nobody is hiding there.

From this moment on, the rhythm of the action speeds up tremendously.

Characters come and people go, running and milling around in a kind

of moto perpetua. Whilst Ford and his followers rush off to

search the rest of the hcuse, Alice goes to call her servants. To

Meg and Mistress Quickly is left the tosk of squeezing the terrified

Falstaff into the basket which is then hurriedly filled with the

soiled linen again. During the vertiginous pandemonium Nannetta

and Fenton conceal themselves behind the screen, at the same time

making themselves comfortable in each other's arms. Ford returns

with his men who turn the room upside down, searching even the most

impossible places, from the fireplace to the tiny drawer of a table,

1.
- *

Q u a n d 'e .ro petg.gio del Du - ca di K or . folch, e - ro s o t.

Charles Osborne has remarked 'that the accent falls wrongly on

the second syllable of "Norfolk". Boito was aware of this,
but, finding that his choice lay between a good verse with a
bad accent, or vice versa, chose the sensible course1, (op.
cit., pp.487-8.)
 191

(this lost incident was suggested to Boito by Ford’s exclamation

'He cannot creep into a halfpenny purse, nor into a pepper box;

but, lest the devil that guides him should aid him, I will search

impossible places', in the Merry Wives, Act III, Sc.v), During

a moment of silence, the sound of a kiss is heard fiom behind the

screen. The ensuing episode in which Ford, imagining himself to

have caught Falstaff and Alice in the open act imparts instructions

to his men to unmask the guilty couple, gives way to a masterful

ensemble scene in which as many as nine characters joined by the

neighbours' chorus, sing simultaneously. They are divided into two

groups: at one side of the stage Alice, Meg and Mistress Quickly,

busy pushing back Falstaff1s face appearing at regular intervals

amid the linen, in order to suffocate his ejaculations; at the

other side Ford, Caius, Bardolfo and Pistola besieging the screen

behind which Fenton and Nannetto, oblivious to the world around

them, sing, in sweeping melodic lines, of their joyful love which:

... has no ears

For thunder and storm.
It flies up to heaven
To find its blessed joys.

’Tuon rtS bufere,

Voia olle sfere
Beate e godo).
After a farcical step-by-step advance, Ford throws over the screen

to discover, to his rage and disappointment (as he wishes Nannetta

married to old Caius) his daughter with the unwanted young suitor.

Mistaking the retreating Fenton for Falstaff, Pistola and Bardolfo

incite all the men to pursue him, on the stairs, and the hunt

continues. Alice summons four servants, bidding them:

 192

Rovesciate quel cesto

Dalla finestra nell'aequo del fosse ...
La! presso alle giuncaie
Dovanti al crocchio delle lavandoie.

(Empty this basket,

out through the window, into the ditch
There near the reeds
where those washwomen are. )

All the men return and, amidst the laughter of the women (on and

off stage), Alice takes Ford by the arm leading him quickly to the

window to enjoy the spectacle of Falstaff floating in the Thames

outside.

When the curtain rises on the final act, Falstaff not unnaturally

in 'dampened spirits' calls for mulled wine, whilst reflecting on

how the world grows wicked os one ages:

lo, dunque, avrd vjssuto tanti anni, audace e destro

Cavaliere, per essore portato in un canestro
E gittato al canale co' ponnilini biechi,
Come si fa coi ga'iti e i cotellini ciechi...
Mondo reo. Non e'e pid virtd. Tutto decline.

(I, then, having lived so long as a brave and skilful

Knight, end up carried in a clothes-basket
Tossed in the river with the stinking wash
Like a kitten or a still blind pup...
Evil world,' There is no honour left, oil goes to pot.

This passage is almost literally taken from Scene v, Act III of the

Merry Wives. Falstaffs following lines:

Va, vecchio John, va, va per la tua via; commina

Finchd tu muoio. Allor scomparira la vera
Virilita dal mondo.

(Go, old jack, go thy ways; travel

until thou'rt dead. Then true manliness
Will be gone from the world.)
 193

are a ‘dark' variation of the self-encouraging soliloquy heard in

Act II, Scene a, of the opera and come from Henry IV, Part 1* II,

iv ('Go thy ways, old jack; die when thou wilt...) In Falstaff's

most brilliant monologue 'Bueno, Ber del vin dolce e sbottonarsi

al sole' (Good. To loosen one's vest in the sun and drink sweet

wine) are preserved some lines of the Fat Knight's long speech in

Henry IV Port II (IV, iii) in which Falstaff enumerates the

euphoric qualities of 'sherris1. The second part of the monologue

is very similar to the passage in 'Iram' (Act I, i) discussed at

page 121,

(II buon vino).. dal lobbro

Sale al cervel e quivi risveglia il picciol fobbro
Dei trilli, un negro trillo che vibra entro I'uom brillo
Trilla ogni fibra in cor, 1'allegro etere al trillo,
Guizza e il giocondc globo squilibra una demenza
BrillanteJ E il trillo invade il mondo.'iJ

(Good wine ,)••♦ from the lips

It rises to the brain, wakening the foiry smith
Of trills, o block cricket who sings in thu reeling brain,
Waking to trills every fibre of the heart. The joyous air
Quivers to the trill, a thrilling madness drunkens
The happy globe, the trill quivers through the entire world:).

This is Boito, the poet— musician, ot his best. It is an exceedingly .

beautiful specimen of poetry in itself and also proved to be o

stimulating source of inspiration, suggesting to Verdi the

celebrated passage in which the gradually expanding effect of the

good wine is illustrated by a trill beginning in the orchestra, at

first on a solo flute, then on some of the strings and wind, then

on more, until the whole orchestra, underlying Falstaff's line

'E il trillo invade il mondo' -(The trill quiver- through the entire
 194

world) ’bursts into something like a poean of bibulous triumph’.*

(See Ex.3.)

The remainder of the scene is a compilation of passages

culled from Shakespeare's Merry Wives Acts III, iv and Acts IV, iv.

It contains Mistress Quickly's second visit to Falstaff and his

acceptance of Alice's proposal to meet her at Herne's Oak in

Windsor Park, disguised as the Black Huntsman (Herne the Hunter),

as well as the episode in which the three Fords, Fenton and Meg

Page, plan to mock Falstaff in an impromptu mosque. Diverging

from Sahkespeore, Boito makes Alice, instead of Meg, the chief-

organizer of the second duping of the gulloble knight. As

Nannetta1s mother, Alice is party to the plot engineered by the

other woman against Ford so as to circumvent his plan to marry

Nannetta to Caius that very night, during the revel,

The final scene of Falstaff finds its prototype in

Shakespeare (Merry Wives, V, vi), many details, however, being

added, altered or elaborated by Boito. The scene opens in

Windsor Park, at night. The moon slowly rises as Fenton,

standing near the legendary Herne's Oak, sings an exquisite love

songs 'Dal labbro il canto estasiato vole', (From the lover’s

lips the lovesong flies) gently reverberating through the

eerie atmosphere of the night. Answering Fenton's love call with

the by now familiar 'Anzi rinnova come fa la luna' (one of the few

motives recurring in the opera), Nannetta enters dressed as the

1. Peyser, F.,ofr-cit., p.77,

Ex. 3
 196

Fairy Queen. She is accompanied by Alice, Quickly and Meg.

Alice instructs the bewildered Fenton to wear the black gown and

mask she has brought with her (Caius1 supposed disguise) merely

explaining that Ford's double-dealing will now turn against him.

On hearing Falstaff's steps, they all leave the stage. As the

Windsor bells ominously strike midnight Falstaff appears, properly

costumed as Herne the Hunter. Looming up in the moonlight with

great stag's antlers on his head he pauses to count the strokes

of the bell. Then, associating himself (as in Shakespeare, but

in a more condensed version) with the erotic Jupiter of pagan

antiquity, sings:

...Giove!
Tu per amor d'Europa ti trasformasti in bove;
Portasti corna. I numi c'insegnon la modestia.
L'amore metamorfosa un uomo in una bestia.

(...Jove!
Thou, for love of Europe, didst become a bull;
Thou didst wear horns. The gods teach us humility.
Love changes man into a beast.)

He expects success., at last and,when Alice enters, fervently starts

to make love to her. She informs him that they are not alone as

Meg shadows her. Falstaff's ability to generate comic myths of

himself is well portrayed in this scene in which, confronted with

the prospect of a double adventure, he triumphantly rises to the

occasion:

E doppia I'ovventura.1
Venga anche lei! Squartatemi
Come un camoscio a mensal!
Sbranatemi!!2 Cupido
Alfin mi ricompensa!
 197

(A double tryst!
Let her come! Tear me limb from limb
Both of you, like venison at table!
Tear me to shreds! Cupid,
At last, answers my prayor.)

His deflation, however, follows soon. Meg's voice is heard

crying that the fairy throng is coming. Scared out of his senses

Falstaff throws himself, face down, upon the ground. Nannetta

enters, as the Fairy Queen, with Alice and several little girls

dressed as White and Blue Fairies. They take their ploces in a

circle about their Queen as she starts singing her beautifully

ethereal song;

Sul fil d‘un soffio etesio

Scorrete, agili lorve;
Fra i rami un baglior cesio
D'alba lunare apparve.
Danzate! e il passo blando
Misuri un blando suon,
Le mogiche occoppiando
Carole alia canzon...

(Born on the freshening breeze,

Fly fleet spirits
While through the wood shines the bluish gleam
Of the rising moon.
Dance! Lot your fairy steps
Be measured by a fairy tune,
Which joins your magic dancing
To a magic song.)

There is such an amount of poetical and musical splendour

lavished upon this scene, imbued with the very essence of the

supernatural world, that we cannot bring ourselves to believe that

it should not be taken seriously. There is a dreamlike quality

in the words of Nannetta1s song, fragrant and translucent as if

impregnated with moon-drops. With rare poetry of mood Verdi

 197

(A double tryst!
Let her come! Tear me limb from limb
Both of you, like venison at table!
Tear me to shreds! Cupid,
At last, answers my prayer.)

His deflation, however, follows soon. Meg's voice is heard

crying that the fairy throng is coming. Scared out of his senses

Faistaff throws himself, face down, upon the ground. Nannetta

enters, as the Fairy Queen, with Alice and several little girls

dressed as White and Blue Fairies. They take their places in a

circle about their Queen as she starts singing her beautifully

ethereal song:

Sul fil d'un soffio etesio

Scorrete, agili lorve;
Fro i rami un baglior cesio
D 1alba .lunare apparve.
Danzate! e il passo blando
Misuri un blando suon,
Le magiche accoppiondo
Carole alia canzon...

(Born on the freshening breeze,

Fly fleet spirits
While through the wood shines the bluish gleam
Of the rising moon.
Dance! Let your fairy steps
Be measured by a fairy tune,
Which joins your magic dancing
To a magic song.)

There is such an amount of poetical and musical splendour

lavished upon this scene, imbued with the very essence of the

supernatural world, that wo cannot bring ourselves to believe that

it should not be taken seriously. There is o dreamlike quality

in the words of Nannetta's song, fragrant and translucent as if

impregnated with moon-drops. With rare poetry of mood Verdi

recaptured, in his music, the magic of the nocturnal woodland

evoked by Boito's text thus transforming the supposed farcical

climax of the play into a scene of bewitching charm. The entrance

of a horde of fantastic creatures (in fact Alice, Meg, Quickly,

Bardolfo, Pistola and a group of townsfolk in various disguises)

abruptly brings us bock to earth and the comedy resumes its nimble

pace. Pretending disgust at the sight of such a corrupt, impure

being, they all set about Falstaff pricking and pinching and

squeezing him until he begs for mercy. The scene of the gulling

of Falstaff:

Pizziea, pizzica
Pizzica, stuzzica

(Pinch, pinch
Pinch and poke.)

resolves itself into a pyrotechnical verbal display. With ease

Boito plays with the words, obtaining from them such a profusion

of sonorous and rhythmical effects that we tend to lose sight of the

fact that this amazing dexterity was the result of a lifetime of

experiment, discipline and hard work. From the dramatic point of

view, the transference of Falstaff's lines about wit:

Men of all sorts take a pride to gird at me:

the brain of this foolish compounded clay, man,
is not able to invent anything that tends to
laughter^more than I invent or is invented on me:
I am notTwitty in myself, but the cause th,;t wit
is in other men^

from Henry IV, Part II; I, ii to the end of the gulling scene, is,

in my opinion, one of Boito's most brilliant innovations. As

remorked by Granville-Barker:

It has always been a source of discomfort to lovers of

Shakespeare that his greatest comic character, cruelly
humiliated in the last act of Henry,IV, reappears in
the Merry Wives of Windsor as a feeble old man, no ,
longer capable of turning the tables on his tormentors.

When, in Boito, FaJstaff, after being shown up before all of

Windsor, regains his superb self-conceit proclaiming

Og.ii sorta di gente dozzinale

Mi beffa e se ne gloria;
Pur, senzo me, costor con tanta boria
Non avrebbero un briciulo di sale.
Son io che vi fa scaltrJ.
L'arguzia mia crea I'arguzia degli altri.

(All kind of common folk

jeer at me now, and are proud of it.
But without me, their arrogance
would be flat and flavourless,
It is I who season it for you -
My cleverness creates the cleverness of others.

he is again the shameles?., glorious, immortal hero of the Henry IV

It is to Falstaff that the last laugh falls. At the end of

a double nuptial ceremony Ford realizes that he has (as arranged

by the women) blessed the union of Fenton and Nannetta as well as

that of Caius and ... Bardolfo! (in Shakespeare,Caius is married

off to o boy of nubile age), the tables are swiftly turned on

Ford who, eventually, accepts the situation. The epilogue of the

opera is in the form of a 'vaudeville'. All the singers, lined

up at the footlights facing the audience, drop their characters and

1. Granville-Barker,o&cit., p.20.
 200

launch into an ebullient and tumultuous fugue, the words of which

stem from Jacques' 'All the world's a stage' speech in Shakespeare's

As you like it'. (Act II, vii). This,forms a most appropriate

finish to the opera:

Tutto nel mondo e burla.

L'uom A nato burlone,
La fede in cor gli ciurla,
Gli ciurla la ragione.
Tutti gabbati! Irride
L ’un I'altro ogni mortal.
Mo ride ben chi ride
La risata final.

(The whole world is but a joke

And man is born a clown.
Within his addled head
his brains are in a churn.
We all are fools! And every man
Laughs at the others' folly.
But he laughs best who sees to it
That the last lough falls to him.)

The libretto of Folstoff from the literary point of view even

excelling that of Otello, is the supreme achievement of Boito's

career as librettist, indeed the triumph of his poetical and

dramatic genius. It is a masterpiece on all grounds. Defined by

the critic Luigi Pagano as 'the masterpiece, in the comic genre, of

Italian poetry ofthe nineteenth >,entury,* Folstoff is a comedy on its

own merit, deserving to be read for its own sake. As a libretto

it has also been pror'-jed by Charles V. Stanford as 'an opera book

which only a musician could have written for a musician.^

1. Pagano, L. 'La fionda di Davide1. Bocca, Torino, 1928, p.78.

2. Stanford, C.V.pp.cit., p.171.

Lost but not least, as an adaptation, it represents a dramaturgical

er-' /it of the highest order being, in the opinion of critics such

as Toye, Marlowe and Dean, 'a better comedy than the "Merry

Wives of Windsor"',^ 'a greater work of art than Shakespeare's

.nal pli

design and :

At the earliest stage of the collaboration Boito wrote to

Verdi:

During the first few days I was in despair...

... to sketch the characters in a few strokes, to weave
the plot, to extract all the juice From that enormous
Shakespearean orange, without letting the useless pips
slip into the little gloss, to write with colour and
clarity and brevity, to delineate the musical plan of
the scene, so that there results an organic unity that
is A PIECE OF MUSIC and yet is not, to make the joyous
comedy live from beginning to end, to make it live with
a natural and communicative gaiety, is difficult,
difficult, difficult; and yet must seem simple, simple,
simple.4

It is Boito’s merit and glory to have succeeded in this most

admirably.

1. Toye, F.ep.cit., p.434.

2. Marlowe, R. Verdi, and Shakespeare. Music Review, England:

Cambridge, Ed. G. Sharp, 1968, c"'; p.231.

3. Dean, Eop.cit., p.123.

4. Walker, F ^ c i t . , p.497.
 PART IV

BOITO - THE LIBRETTIST-COMPOSER OF MEFJSTOFELE

 203

CHAPTER I

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FAUST LEGEND

With the words: 'Music is written to bring to life episodes

worthy of being remembered ... Music is the essence distilled from

history, legend, the heart of man and the mysteries of nature',*

Boito, in 1893, had tried to dissuade Puccini from setting to music

Mlirger's celebrated novel Scenes de la via de Boh^me. After the

sensational success of Mascagni's Caval.'Leria Rusticana premiSred

at Rome in 1890, the Verismo movement had triumphantly asserted

itself on the lyrical stage- but Boito was still anchored to his

own conception of the music-drama which he had described, in his

youth, as a 'high poem, tragic and epic, mimic and rhapsodic

that grand restoration o f Greek tragedy and the medieval mystery

p l a y ' H e still believed in great subjects taken from the

world of history or from the realm of legend and myth in which,

as-Wagner had taught decodes before, life can be seen in its most

purely human form.- Intending in his own operas to provide on

answer to the problem of the creation of a new form of melodramma,

Boito had chosen for himself two of the most fascinating themes

which history and legend had to offer - Foust and Nero, both

involving the idea of the struggle between Good and Evil and of

1. Arrigo Boito - Scritti e document!, p.146.

2. Boito, A., op. cit., p.1257.

 204

final spiritual regeneration. Nerone and Faust (later to become

Hefistofele) were already taking form in Boito's mind when he was

in his early twenties. We know that for some time he worked at

both of them simultoneou ,ly but finally gave precedence to the

'Faust' theme, a subject 'use jusqu’-i la corde1 (as Boito himself

admitted in the Prologue in the Theatre of his first Mefistofele)

but still open to endless varying interpretations. 'Every century,

every country, every civilisation, every artistic and historical

cycle has its own Foust' wrote Boito, and 'this theme will live

os long os the instinct for Truth, from which it sprang, will

exist1 Few characters indeed, have exerted, and still exert,

such strong fascination upon the literary, musical, religious and

philosophical mind as did, and does, that of Faust. Born from

the popular imagination, the story, as old as the world itself -

if we accept Boito's view of Adam being the first Faust - did not

have, at first, any symbolical or philosophical pretension. In

its origins it simply and crudely illustrated the conflict between

the power of Good and Evil. The Faust of one of the earliest

tales, a shadowy hero who lost his life in a demonstration of

flying, seems to hark back in tradition to the sorcerer Simon, of

The Acts, chapter VIII. Christian stories include also The legend

of Saint Theophilus; The story of Militarlus; La Legend du

Chevalier qui donna sa femme au diable and Lo pact avec le diable.

1. Boito, A., op. cit., pp. 98 and 100.

 205

It was during the sixteenth century that all the tales woven

around the legendary figures of the ancient Magi, sorcerers and

alchemists said to have associated themselves with the Devil in

order to achieve extraordinary powers, or of human characters in

thn grasp of demonic force, merged with the story of a real-life

Georg of Johannes Faustus. He was born in the late fifteenth

century and died, most scandalously, in about 1540, having gained

a reputation for eccentric scholarship and miraculous powers.

This Doctor Faustus who, according to Victor Lange was actually

'a figure of remarkable independence of thought and belief, typical

of the revolutionary spiritual climate of the sixteenth century',^

became the hero of the first German Foust-book, published by Spiess

at Frankfurt, in 1587. It was nothing more than a didactic work,

specifically lutheran in character. However, in giving a literary

status to the old legend, Spiess created a powerful and irrepressible

symbol which was to dominate Western consciousness forcenturies to

come. Christopher Marlowe, who probably knew the popular ballad

of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus or, perhaps, the English

version of Spiess1 Faust-Book (published in 1592 under the title

The historie of the damnable life, and deserved death of Doctor

John Faustus) seems to have recognized at once the extraordinary

dramatic potential of the story. He turned it into a play,

1. Lange, V. 'Introduction to "Faust". The Modern Library

College Editions, 1950, New York: p.v.
 206

giving to the legend o tragic dimension and emotional intensity

unknown to previous versions. Moreover, by adding visions of

unattainable glory and power, he made of his story the expression

of some of the Renaissance yearnings and beliefs and of his hero

the epitome of the Renaissance mind with its boundless aspirations.

Marlowe* s The Trogicoll History of the Life and Death of Dr. Fous ms

was written around 1590. Its first German performance took place

in 1608.^ Like many of Shakespeare's plays, it was adapted to

German audiences, losing in poetry but retaining its theatricality

with enhanced spectacular effects. Its striking success produced,

in turn,in Germany itself, a multitude of literary Fausts,^ of

folk dramas, tragedies, farces, pantomimes, puppet-plays. These

eventually led to Goethe's masterpiece and after him, to Heine's,

Grabbe's, Lenau1s,and Stolte's works on the subject as well as to

the fictional composer Adrian LeverkUhn in Thomas Mann's novel

Doctor Faustus.

1. See Ferguson, J. 'Goethe and Faust*. Great Britain: The

Open University Press (Unit 12), 1972, p.63.

2. Among them: Widmon's Poustbook (1599) and Pfitzer's revised

version of it (1674) in which, for the first time, is
introduced a pretty but poor girl in love with Faust - the
embryo of Gretchen; Newmann1s Disauisitio de Fausto
published (in German) in 1702; an unfinished drama by
Lessing and two dramatic fragments by F. MUllor which can be
considered precursors of Goethe's work; Klinger's Faust1s
Life, Death and Damnation (1791) - a novel with recurrent
use of dialogue which may be considered the Sturm and Drang
answer to the optimistic rationalism of Lessing.
 207

CHAPTER II

FAUST AND COMPOSERS OTHER THAN BOITO

Goethe's interest in Faust was first aroused by a melodramatic

version of the old story performed on the stage of a puppst-theatre.

Goethe saw it, apparently, during his years of study at the

University of Strasbourg.- It was then (c. 1770) that he started

working on the subject which was to persist in his thoughts for a

period of sixty years - the whole of his working life. The first

port of Foust, in the form in which we know it, did not appear

until 1808. It had, however, been preceded by the Urfaust',^ a

dramatic sketch, partly in prose, partly in poetry, containg the

essential episodes of the story - Faust's association with

Mephistopheles, his love for Margaret and his final doom - and by'

the so-called 'Faust-frugment1 of 1790. It was Goethe's intention

that Part II should swiftly follow on Part I. As early as 1800

he had begun the 'Helen* episode (later to develop into the third

act of Part II), but only in 1825, at the age of seventy-six, did

he resume Faust. He worked on it in earnest until the poem was

completed in July of 1831, eight months -before his death. The

complete work was published in 1832, posthumously, as its author

had desired.

1. Probably completed in 1775, it was only published in 1887,

. after Professor E Schmidt's discovery of a manuscript copy
ot it. (See Vittorio Santoli. 'Per la critica dell Urfaust1
in Rivista di letterature moderne. Florence: Edizioni le
lingue estere. No.l. July 1950, p.31.
 208

It was after the publication of the first port of Goethe1s

Faust that composers, perhaps attracted by the warmth and tenderness

of Gretchen* s love episode, found in the Foust story a potent source

of inspiration. Many of them considered Goethe's masterpiece with

musical intentions at one time or another. Beethoven toyed with

the idea of writing on opera on the subject but all he actually

composed was the 'Song of the flea'; Wagner got as far as an

overture; Meyerbeer used some fragments from Faust in his opera

Lc jeunesse de Goethe; Rossini, tempted by the grandeur of the

theme, seemed to be on the verge of breaking his self-imposed

silence. Weber might have written a 'Faust' but when given the

choice of this subject or Oberon he finally, and perhaps regretfully,

chose the latter. Of the many minor composers who ventured to

approach the subject, failing however to do it justice,we may

remember: Joseph Strauss (who, with his Foust's Leben und Thaten -

1814 - seems to have been the first to introduce the immortal

story into the operatic world); Lickl (1815); Spohr (1816);

Muller (1818); Bishop (1825); Beaucourt (1827); Lindpainter and

Louise Bertin (1831); De Pellaert (1834); Hennebert, Gordigiani

and Rodziwill (1835); Rietz (1836); Pierson (1854); Roda (1872);

Valente (1875); Lassen (1876) and Ztillner (1887). In more recent

years, Lili Boulanger set to music a scene from the second part of

Goethe's Faust, calling the result a cantata (Helen and Faust).

Malher used the final Chorus Mysticus, from Goethe's Faust, for

the second part of his Eighth Symphony (1910); Busoni wrote an

interesting opera - Doctor Foust; based on an old puppet-play

(completed after its author's death by Jornach in 1924).

Prokofiev introduced the characters of Faust and Mephistopheles in

his opera The flaming Angel (1927), whilst o Communist Faust (a

rewriting of Gounod's ‘bourgeois' opera) was produced in Moscow,

in 1925, as a meansof political propaganda. Reutter is the

author of the near folk-opera Dr Johannes Faust (1936), as well as

of Don Juan and Faust (1950) in which the ageing scholar is

introduced as Don Giovanni1s unsympathetic rival. Faust III

(1964), by the Danish composer Nils Viggo Bentzon; Pousseur's

Votre Foust (1969), which its librettist Bvtor defined as 'a

changeable fantasy on the operatic genre1 and Gessner's Faust

counter Faust (1971), utilizing passages from Boito's, Gounod's

and Berlioz's works, are the avant-garde contributions to Faustian

musical literature.

Of all the composers who have essayed to give musical

expression to Goethe's Faust, Liszt, Berlioz, Schumann, Gounod

and Boito appear to have been the most successful.

In Liszt's A Faust Symphony in Three Character Sketches

(1854) the first movement, devoted to Faust, is built upon four

clearly characterized themes aimed at depicting the conflicting

sides of his personality: the philosopher, the lover, and the

strivor for lofty ideals who, 'when near to victory falls back
 210

into d a r k n e s s ' G r e t c h e n 1s delicate charm and tenderness is

evoked, in the second movement, by music of marvellous delicacy.

Her two themes (the first given to the oboe with a solo viola

accompaniment and the second, in repeated chords, appearing on the

strings alone and then on the woodwind) alternate with Faust's

themes, in a most suggestive manner. The lost movement, portraying

Mephistopheles, is particularly ingenious. It consists, for the

most part, of a parody of Faust's themes which appear here cruelly

distorted - incidentally a wonderful achievement in terms of the

composer's metamorphosis of themes technique. In fact, as Ernest

Newman has remarked

the being who exists, for the purposes of the drama,

only in antagonism to Faust, whose main activity
consists only in endeavouring to frustrate every
good impulse of Faust's soul, is really best dealt
with in music, not as o positive individuality, but
as the embodiment of negation - a malicious,
saturnine parody of all the good that has gone to
the making of Faust.2

When the various themes of the work finally appear to be fighting

for supremacy, the music rises to a tremendous climax before

eventually subsiding in representation of Mephistopheles’ defeat.

Liszt's Faust Symphony must be considered as one of the successful

treatments of the subject because of the modest intentions of its

1. Humphrey Searle - The Orchestral works, in Franz Liszt ~

The man and his music. London: Walker A. ed., 1970, p.305.

2. Carl van Vechten 'Relative Difficulties Depicting Heaven

and Hell in Music'. The Musical Quarterly - vol V.; 1919 -
p.558.
author who, wisely, simply considered his attempt as an essay in

characterization.

Berlioz's La damnation de Foust (1846), a dramatic legend

in four ports, is a more ambitious work than Liszt's. Based on

an earlier Hu.it Scenes de Faust (1829) it had characteristics of

programme music, cantata,oratorio and opera and was actually

produced in opera-guise in 1893,* twenty-four years after the

composer's death. It does not seem however, to have been very

w&ll suited to the lyrical stage. The libretto, written by

Berlioz himself and Gandonniire after Gerard de Nerval's French

version of Faust, covers only a portion of Goethe's poem, the

selection of scenes being obviously motivated by musical rather

than by dramatic reasons. The setting of the first part on the

plains of Hungary, where Faust is found meditating upon nature

and solitude, was apparently a device to allow the interpolation

of the R&koczy march which Berlioz had orchestrated in 1845.

The second part, set in Germany, opens, rather impressively, in

Faust's study. As in Goethe (Foust I; Sc i) the old scholar,

profoundly disillusioned, is contemplating suicide when a sudden

welling-up of childhood memory, inspired by the sound of the

Easter bells and religious canticles from a nearby church, restores

his faith in life. There follows the very brief and ineffective

1. It was adapted for the operatic stage by Raoul Gunsbourg

and produced by him at Montecorlo, February 18, 1893.
 212

dramatic episode in which Mfephistophelis offers Faust all possible

earthly joys and experiences. Faust accepts and they set off

together (Goethe, Faust. I;. Sc. iv, v). The ensuing scene

(Auerbach cellar) takes place in Leipzig where students and soldiers

ore revelling (Goethe, Foust, I; Sc.v). Grander's 'Song of the

rat'; the choral burlesque 'Requiescat' end fugal 'Amen' based

on it; Mephistoph&lis' 'Song of the flea', are remarkable items,

full of humour and sardonic ribaldry. The scene shifts again now

to the banks of the Elbe where Mephistopheles lulls Faust to sleep

in a stupendous aria ('Voici de roses' - Here are roses), rdmirably

conveying the impression o'" his power and complete dominion over

things. The Chorus of the Sylphs and the instrumental ballet which

follows, delightfully scored, have the magic touch of Berlioz at

his best. The final Soldiers' Chorus (Goethe, Faust I, Sc.ii)

mixed with a latin song from the students, is rather undistinguished.

The third port, containing the episode of Marguerite, represents

the core of Berlioz's work. Marguerite's ballad of the King of

Thull ('Autre fois un roi de Thul6' - Once in far Thuj.6, .Goethe,

F-m s t I, Sc.viii)) characterized by Berlioz as a'Chanson Gothique*,

is fascinating in its archaic flavour and mysterious overtones.

Oth-.r remarkable items are: Mephistoph&.Us' invocation of the

Will-o'-the-wisps; his malicious, mocking serenade, and the final

Marguerite - Faust's love duet 'Ange adorable' -(Adorable angel)

harshly broken into by Mephistopheles who urges Faust to depart

(Goethe.Faust, I; Sc.xii). Marguerite's deeply moving romance

 213

at the beginning of Part IV ('D'amour I 1ardente flarame' - Love

devouring fire) is one of the finesfcitems in the score. Here,

Berlioz used a poem of his own in substitution for Goethe's song

'Heine Ruh ist bin' (My peace is gone - Faust, I; Sc xv) famous

in Schubert's exquisitely sensitive setting. Next comes the

'Forest and Cavern' scene (Goethe, Faust I, Sc. xiv) in which Faust

invokes nature in a tremendously impressive aria ('Nature immense,

impenetrable - Nature vast, unfathomable). Learning from

MephistophelSs that Marguerite is condemned to death for the

poisoning of her mother, Faust promises his soul to the Devil in

return for Marguerite's salvation (Goethe, Faust I, Sc.xxiii).

The tempestuous 'Ride to the Abyss', with its frighteningly

accentuated horse-hoofs beating up from the orchestra, is a fine

example of illustrative music, wonderfully effective. Also

effective, although somewhat trivial, are the final Pandemonium

and Infernal orgy. The Epilogue is devoted to the scene of

Marguerite's redemption - an episode utterly spoiled by overwhelming •

musical and (when staged) theatrical effects. It is a

disappointing conclusion, for La damnation de Faust is, on the

whole, a grandiose and extraordinarily imaginative work.

Schumann's Scenes from Goethe's Foust (1844 - 1853), in

three parts, is an unequal work containing, along with unimpressive

numbers, pages of noble inspiration and of extraordinary musical

interest. Schumann, who thought of treating Goethe's text as an

oratorio, explained that his Faust 'was intended as a counterpart

 214

to the "Paradise und die Peri" theme of reaching heaven after long

wandering and striving1 Eric Sams suggests that Schumann's oim

uas to raise Foust 'the most modern manifesto of humanism, to the

status and dignity of a sacred book, by covering it with Christian

modes of musical expression, just as Goethe had converted Christian

symbolism to his own p u r p o s e s ' S c h u m a n n ' s choice of the scenes

does not seem, however, to adhere to any preconceiveu itii.-i.lnqicol

scheme, rather being indicative, as was the case with Bexlioz, of

the author's response to what he personally found most moving and

suggestive of musical treatment. He did not even attempt to

preserve continuity of action, knowing perhaps that German

audiences, familiar with Goethe's poem, would be able to relate

•each of his scenes to the background of the whole. The passages

chosen by Schumann for the first part of his work a.‘:e: a portion

of the first Scene in tl-e garden between Gretchen and Faust; the

episode of Gretchen before the picture of the Mater Dolorosa and

the Cathedral scene, corresponding to scenes xii, xviii and xx of

Goethe's Faust, Part 1. For his second part Schumann selected

another three scenes, this time from Goethe's Faust Part II: A

pleasant landscape (song of the spirits and Faust's monologue)

from Act I; the Midnight scene, with the four Grey Hags and the

1. Eric Sams 'Schumann and Foust'. The Musical Times, June

1972. London: vol. 113, pp.543-44.

2. ibid., p.544.
 215

scene of Foust's death (os for os the words '>Der Zeiger ftillt, Er

ftillt, es 1st vollbracht1) both from Goethe's Act V, Schumann's

third part consists of the final scene of Goethe's Foust and is

divided into seven numbers: A mountain gorge; Pater ecstaticus;

Pater Profundus; Chorus of the Angels; Doctor -Mcirianus ( ‘Free is

the prospect here'); Doctor Marionus ('Thou, o Purest'); and

Chorus Mysticus.

The first part, better suited to the lyrical quality of

Schumann's inspiration, is, perhaps, on the whole, superior to the

second one. Especially happy is the Garden Scene, with its open

air atmosphere and idyllic mood, suggestive of the tenderness of

Gretctien* s first, innocent love. Here Schumann successfully

attempts a flexible type of melody resembling the free declamatory

style of the dialogue. The delineation of Faust is, however, in

this scene, sadly lacking in character. The Scene of the Spirits,

at the lieginning of Part II, is delicately scored and yet manages

to sound strangely unethereal whilst Faust's monologue is laboured

and monotonous. The dramatic moment of Faust’s death is superb

- 'the summit of Schumann's achievement in dramatic m u s i c ' i n

the opinion of George Bernard Shaw who considered it the climax of

the score. The'third part contains pages of impressive choral

writing, such as the Chorus in praise of Faust's redemption, in

which each group is characterized by oth'j-- voices as well as by

1. Quoted in Eric Sams, op. cit., p.546.

 216

music of contrasted style and texture, sometimes polyphonic, at

other times homophonic; the Chorus of the Penitent women, made

poignant by the sombre splendour of its harmony; the Chorus of

the Blessed boys, and the final Chorus Mysticus in which Schumann,

inspired by the qualities of Goethe’s thought 'seems to reach out

beyond his own emotions into the highest philosophical regions

that music can penetrate1

Gounod's Faust, first performed in Paris in 1859 with mixed

success, was destined to become one of the most popular of operas.

'It does not voice the deeper verities of Goethe's poem',

Frederick Martens remarks, 'but gives the most acceptable musical

expression to a theatrically effective book'.^ It has remained

the most popular work based on Goethe's Faust, though it would

perhaps be more convenient to call the opera 'Margarethe', as the

Germans do out of reverence for Goethe's masterpiece. Tfu

librettists Barbier and CarrS, did in fact concentrate on the

sentimental Gietchon's episode, leaving the story of Faust and

his final doom unsolved. As originally presented, the opera was

in five acts but there is on increasing tendency to perform it in

a more compressed, four act form. For my comments I follow the

original five-acts version. The curtain rises (after a not very

impressive overture) on the aged Faust who, sitting alone in his

1. Chissel, Joan, 'Schumann', London: Dent, J.M. 1967, p.176.

2. Martens, F.H. 'A Thousand and One Niahts of Opera1. New

York: London: D. Appleton-Century Company, MCMXLII, p.460.
study, laments the futility of life and knowledge in the aria

'Rien! En vain j’interroge1 (Nothing! I have questioned in vain).

Inxdespair, he resolves on suicide by drinking poison; (Goethe,

Foust I; Sc i) at the moment of surrender, however, his hand is

stayed by the sound of young people singing a lively chorus

('Paressouse fille1 - Lazy girl). Tormented, he abjures all faith,

calling the devil before him. MephistophelSs appears a 'vraie

gentilhomme', as he describes himself, and offers his services.

He promises Faust gold, glory and power, but the old scholar,

rejecting them, reveals his longing for youth and pleasure ('A moi

les plaisirs, les jeune mistress' - I want pleasure, young

mistresses). To break down Faust's hesitation in signing away

his soul, Faust summons up the image of a charming young girl

sitting at a spinning wheel. This episode is, musically,

beautifully realized; under a murmuring figure of violins and

harp the horns sing the tender love theme which will be heard,

more fully developed, in the Garden Scene in Act III. By drinkr

a magic potion Foust is transformed into a handsome young man,

eager for pleasure and adventure. The second act takes place

outside the city gates (Goethe,Faust, I; Sc.ii). It is Kermesse

time and a crowd of merrymakers - students, soldiers, burghers,

young girls and matrons - ore strolling about, singing joyfully.

The chorus "Vin ou bidre" (Wine or beer) is an admirable piece of

characterization each group of people being effectively

differentiated by means of individual melodies. Accompanied by

 218

solemn, somewhat religious harmonies, Valentine, a young soldier,

brother to Marguerite, appears together with Siebel, Marguerite's

yoyng admirer, and a group of students. (in Goethe, Valentine

is only brought in in Scene xix whilst Siebel appears momentarily,

as one of the drinking students in Scene v - Auerbach's cellar).

Valentine, who is about to go to war, delivers a song of farewell,

‘Avant the quitter ces lieux (Before leaving this place), one of

the most popular of the opera's arias which was, incidentally,

added to the opera after its first hearing and to an Italian text

(‘Dio possente1). Mephisoph&lis, now on the stage, interrupts a

students' chorus with a vigorous song in praise of greed and gold

('Le veau d'or1 - The Golden Calf). With an impudent toast to

Marguerite, he infuriates Valentine, who draws his sword, finding

himself, however, powerless to use it. Recognizing the power of

evil, the men exorcise him with the crosses on their swords. The

tension is dissipated by a sweeping waltz-tune which prompts

burghers and p. smbark upon a spirited dance, accompanied

by the crowd's li. orus 'Ainsi que la brise 16g6re‘ (Even

as the gentle breeze.) It might be objected that this waltz must

have sounded somewhat anachronistic in the sixteenth century

Germany, where the action takes place. Yet, we must admit that

the effect of this scene is wholly satisfying. The entrance of

Faust is followed by that of Marguerite, on her way from church.

Faust offers to accompany her but she, modestly but charmingly

refuses (Goethe, Foust, I: Sc.vii). This short episode brings

 219

in a sudden change over the music, now graceful and captivating

in its charming simplicity. As Marguerite, Faust and

Mephistopheles depart, the waltz measures return and the dance,

going on in rousing fashion, provides an animated close to the act.

The third act, describing the episode of the seduction of Marguerite,

accomplished by Faust with the assistance of MBphistophSISs, is

laid in Marguerite's garden (Goethe Faust, I: Sc viii, x, xii,

xiii, xvi). It is built up of several scenes and contains a

wealth of attractive melodies: Siebel's gracious Flower Song

('Faites-lui mon oveaux1 - Bear her my confession of love);

Faust's popular cavatino 'CalutJ Oemeure chaste et pure' (Hail!

chaste and pure abode), tender and musically inspired; Marguerite's

ballad 'II etait un roi de Thule1 (There was a king of Thule),

interrupted by reflection's on the stranger who has spoken to her,

and the famous 'Jewel Song' ('Ah! je ris de me voir si belle' -

Ah! I smile at seeing myself so beautiful). This is a valse

brillante, 'a trifle incongruous for a girl of such simplicity as

Marguerite, until we recall that the Marguerite which the librettists

Borbier and Carre invented for Gounod is not the Gretchen of Goethe*,*

as Herbert F. Peyser rightly observes. The act contains also:

a very fine quartet growing out of the presence of Faust, Marguerite,

hor elderly neighbour, Marthe, and Mfephistoph61es; the well-known

love scene ('Loissez-moi contempler ton visage* - Let me gaze upon

your face) and Marguerite's wondrous passage 'II m'aime* (He loves me)

1. Peyser, H F. Introduction to Opera. New York: Barnes and

Noble 1961; p.85.
 220

which swells to a passionate, climactic outburst as the curtain falls.

The fourth act falls into three sections - the Room, the Cathedral ■

and the Street Scenes (Goethe, Faust, 1/ Sc. xv, xx. xix).^ In

the first scene we see the deserted Marguerite who, spinning in her

room, expresses in song the anguish of her soul.^ Siebel offers

his love but she refuses, still hoping for Faust's return. The

scene then changos to the church. Her conscience oppressed with

guilt, Marguerite prays for forgiveness. Contrasting with the

pious chanting of priests and choir boys, we hear the utterances

of MephistophSlds, reminding her of her guilt and foretelling her

doom. A choir in the church, accompanied by the orgtn, proclaims

the coming Day of Judgement. With a strong effort Marguerite

wrests her spirit from the torments of her consciencs, finally

finding release in the fervent prayer 'Seigneur accveillez la

priere1. (My Lord, accept this prayer). After the poignancy

of the Cathedral scone - a superb musical accomplishment, perhaps

the artistic climax of the work - the blatant Soldiers' Chcrus

'Gloire immortelle* (immortal glory) with which the following

scene begins, comes as an anticlimax. The be:t of the remainder

of the scene belongs to M&pbistoph&ldis with the cynical Serenade

which he sings in front of Marguerite's house ('Vous qui faites .

I'endormie' - You who are shamming sleep). Valentine's furious

1. Sometimes, the order of those is Street - Room - Cathedral.

2. This episode is very often omitted.

 221

reaction leads to a duel during which he is mortally wounded by

Faust (Goethe Faust, I, Sc.xix). Before dying, Valentine curses

his sister for oil to hear, accusing Marguerite, who starts

showing signs of insanity, of being the cause of his death. The

effective ensemble scene rising out of this situation ends

beautifully with the choral prayer 'Que le Seigneur o2t son ame'.

(May the Lord receive his soul). The final act of the opera

cc:.eists of two ports - the Walpurgis Night and the Prison Scene,

Attempting to play on Faust's sensuality, MephistophelSs offers

him the revels of the Walpurgis Night celebration. (This scene

is loosely based on Goethe's Walpurgis Night,in Faust, I, Sc.xxi

as well as on the Classical Walpurgis Night, in Foust II, Act ii).

The most beautiful women of History and legend are brought before

Faust to make him forget Marguerite. In the midst of the revels,

however, Faust has an anticipatory vision of the fate of the

hapless girl (Goethe Foust, I: Sc.xxi). He returns with the

help of Mephistoph6les, to find her in prison, condemned to death

for the murder of her illegitimate child (Goethe, Faust, I: Sc.

xxv). Mephistophelis leaves them alone. Half delirious.

Marguerite recalls the scene when thiy first met. Her words

'Attends.1 ... Voici la rue...1 (But wait: ... Hero is the Street)

are sung to a single note kept for thirty-two bars of music whilst

the waltz tune associated with the happier days steals into the

orchestra, touchingly reminiscent. The climax of the act is

however, the trio Mephistopheles - Faust - Marguerite. The devil

 222

urges them to leave whilst there is still time, Faust presses her

to fly with him and Marguerite asks the angels to transport her

to heaven. Her beautiful, ecstatic melody 'Anges pure, anges

radieux* (Pure, radiant angels) is thrice repeated, each time a

tone higher, with breathtaking effect. As MephistophelSs remarks

'Jugee' (She is damned), a voice from above has the final word

'SauvSeJ' (Saved!). An unearthly radiance transforms the cell

as Marguerite's soul rises to heaven in a somewhat oieographic

apotheosis and Faust, to quote the stage directions 1sinks to his

knees praying whilst Mephistopheles is ho±r' bent under the

luminous sword of the Archangel'. A choral outburst - the

Easter Hymn of Christ's resurrection - brings the end of the opera.

Sweet, sentimental, naive and, at times, poignant, Gounod's

music is ideally suited to the character and the story of Goethe's

tender-tragic, loving heroine - undoubtedly the most fascinating

and most vastly popular aspect of Goethe's poem. There is much

more in Foust, however, than the Gretchen episode. By placing

the familiar incidents of the story of Faust in the framework of

the scenes in Heaven, Goethe had added to it a new dimension -

the dimension of Eternity.

 223

CHAPTER III

GOETHE’S PLAY AND BOITO'S LIBRETTO

With Dcmteon oudocity Goethe started his drama of Faust - the

symbol of mankind - in radiant Heaven, where the theme of the

conflict between the creative powers of God and the destructive

forces of Mephistopheles is set forth. The wager between the

Lord of Light and the Prince of Darkness, having as an object the

soul cf Faust, is the spring from which the whole action stems.

Then, once the human adventure of striving and erring is concluded,

the last words are put into the mouths of the Celestial Beings who,

in announcing the salvation of Faust, proclaim the victory of God.

'The bearing of the "Prologue in Heaven" upon the subsequent plo"

cannot be over-emphasized - it is the key of everything that is to

come',^ Victor Lange has' remarked. Boito had realized it

decodes before. In one of the explanatory notes accompanying

the libretto of Mofistofele he wrote, perhaps thinking of Gounod:

A wager between God and the Devil-- this is the starting

point of Goethe's poem. If the action ends with the
death of Gretchen the wager is left in abeyance and
there is no denouement of the tragedy. The struggle of
the Dualism must be followed until the death of Faust,
whose soul is the object of the wager, in order to bring
about a logical conclusion.

And further: Goethe, the great worshipper of form, ended his poem

as he started it, reconnecting with Heaven the last words of F a ust:

1. Lange, V.q^cit., p.xi.

 224

Le motif glorieux - writes Mr Blaze de Bury -

que les immortel phalanges chontent dons I ’introduction
de la premiere portie de Foust, revient a le fin,
enveloppe d’harmonie et de vapeurs mistique. Goethe
a fait certe fois comme les musiciens, comme Mozart,
qui raraSne a lo derniire scene de Don Juan la phrase
imposunt de I'ouverture.l

In order to adhere to Goethe's intention as much os possible,

Boito attempted the severe task of preserving in the limited space

allowed by a libretto, the unconventional dramatic structure, the

integral, problematic, units and the essence of a vast and intricate

work, sustained throughout by the strong poetic personality of its

author who, as to his own purpose, said:

They come and ask what idea I meant to embody ir nfy

'Faust'; as if I knew myself, and could inform them.
From heaven, through the world, to hell, would indeed
be something; but this is no idea, only a coujse of
action. And further: that the devil loses the wager,
and that a man continually struggling from difficult
errors towards something better, should be redeemed,
is on effective - and, to many, a good enlightening -
thought; but it is no idea at the foundation of the
whole, or of every individual scene. It would have
been a fine thing indeed if I had strung so rich,
varies, and highly diversified a life as I have brought
to view in 'Foust' upon the slender string of one
pervading idea.2

1. Blaze de Bury, a French critic, author of a famous 'Essai

sur Goethe1. The translation of this passage, quoted by
Boito in French, is: 'The glorious motive song by the
immortal phalanges in the introduction to the first part
of Foust are heard at the end wrapped in mystic harmonies
and vapours. Goethe has sometimes done what musicians do,
such as Mozart, who recalls in the last scene of Don Juan
the imposing phrase of the Overture1. Boito's notes are
found in the Preface of the vocal score of Mefistofele, ed,
Ricordi - Milan - Copyrighted 1875.

2. This extract of a conversation with Eckermann is quoted by

Victor Lange in his Introduction to Faust, ed. cit., p.x.
 223

If we add to this the foci that Goethe's Faust is not a drama,'*"

but a poem cast in dramatic form, full of speeches providing

absorbing interest for the reader rather than for the stage and

with a poetry which not even a verbal translation can completely

reproduce, we will fully realize the difficulty of the task facing

Boito when he, as a boy of twenty, decided to condense it into

a music-drama, one of the most complex and most enigmatic works

of poetic literature. Stelios Galatopoulos1 criticism of

Mefistofele that 'although the verses are very good and the drama

itself is for the most part vividly presented as a fight within

the human soul between good and evil, the overall impression that

the work leaves is that of a lengthy drama reduced to many

disconnected short scenes',^ refers, of course, to the present

version of Mefistofele. As originally conceived, however, Boito’s

libretto was a superb achievement, in terms of poetic and dramatic

technique. It would be absurd to claim that in it survives the

uvinue beauty of Goethe's masterpiece or that Boito succeeded in

recapturing the elusive spirit vhjch is so much a part of the

perennial fascination Faust, but he followed Goethe's drama

1. It is interesting to note 'that no public performance of the

great Part One was given until the poet's eightieth year. A
further performance in Vieimor, for his eightieth birthday,
had a striking success, due in no small measure to concentrated
coaching by Goethe himself. ( See Introduction to Faust,
Part One, by Philip Waine. The Penguin Classics, 1972, p.18.)

2. Stelios Galatopoulos 'Triegie sings Mephistopheles' in

Music and Musicians, March 1974, p.8.
 226

far more closely and more successfully than did other librettists

or musicians, retaining not only all the scenes necessary to the

development of the action, but the framework of scenes in heaven

giving to the drama an all-embracing ethical and ’physical1

background.

In his first libretto Boito even preserved Goethe's idea of

prefacing the work with a 'Prologue in the Theatre', in spoken

dialogue. In Goethe's 'Prologue in the Theatre*, a Poet, a

Theatre Director and a Comedian support the purity of artirtic

ideals, the practical necessity to please the public and the wise

in-between choice of a compromising attitude, respectively. In

the 'Prologue in the Theatre1 of Boito, a Critic, an Author and a

spectator embark on a long, scholarly dissertation on the origin

and development of the old legend as well as on its suitability to

literary and artistic treatment. In both Goethe and Boito, this

preliminary play is followed by the 'Prologue in Heaven'. In it

Goethe presents the Archangels Raphael, Gabriel and Michael

■singing*the praise of the Lord and of his creation. In passages

of magnificent poetry, the German poet conjures up the vision of

a grandiose, incontaminate Universe, as 'bright as on the earliest

days'^ and resounding with the harmony o^"rotating world and the

1. English version of Goethe's Faust by Bayard Taylor. (Modern

Library College Edition). New York, 1970.
 227

rival music of the unruled elements. Boito gives these opening

hymns to the Celestial Host. Some of the splendour of the music

of Goethe's verse, if not the daring of his imagination, survives

in Boito's adaptation. Regretfully, only one of the three stanzas

of the original libretto remains in the final version. It is,

however, very beautiful:

Ave, Signor degli angej-i e del santi,

e dei volanti cherubini d'or
Dall'eterno armonio
dell' Universe
nel glauco spazia immerso
emano un verso di supremo amor
e s'erge a Te
per 1'oure azzurre e cave
in suon soave
Ave! Ave! Ave! Ave!

(Hail, Lord of the angels and saints

and of the flying cherubim of gold
From the eternal harmony
of the Universe
immersed in the grey immensity of space
a chant of supreme love emanates
and rises to thee
through the blue and empty air
in a sweet concourse of sound.
Hail! Hail! Hail! Hail!)

The flexibility of the metrical scheme, the suppleness of the lines,

the contrast of vocal sounds, combined with the skillful choice

of the words, evoke a sensation of the blue of the heaven,of space,

of darting light and fluctuating harmonies. Appearing among the

C' ttiol Host (in both Goethe end Boito) the Prince of Darkness

addresses the Lord with mocking courtesy. The cynical wit and

1. English version of Boito's Hefistofele by Peggy Cochrane

(Ricordi). Libretto issued by Decca Ace of Diamonds,
GOS 591-3.
 228

rocy irony of his first speech is not lost in Boito's clever and

nearly literal translation (Ave, Signor! - Hail, Lord). Goethe's

exchanges between God and the Devil are reduced by Boito to a

series of short passages given exclusively to Mefistofelfc who,

since his first appearance, has established himself as the true

protagonist of Boito's drama. Unlike Goethe, Boito employs a

Mystic Choir to answer instead of the Lord in the dialogue about

the wager concerning Faust's soul, limiting the divine intervention

to the question 'T'& noto Faust?1 (Is Faust known to you?) and

his acceptance of his antagonist's challenge, ('E sia!' - So be

it). In Goethe, the 'Prologue in Heaven' ends with Mephistophele*s

scoffing lines;

Von Zeit zu Zeit seh ich den Alton ge m ,

Und hiite mich, mit ,ihm zu brechen
Es ist gar hlihsh v:i einem grossen Hernn,
So menschlich mit dem Teufel selbst zu jrechen.

(I like, at times, to hear the Ancient's word

And hove o core to be most civil:
It's really kind of such a noble Lord
So humanly to gossip with the Devil.)

which are retained by the librettist. Then, by drawing passages

(freely translated and freely arranged) from the final section of

Goethe's Foust, Boito impressively rounds off the scene, as follows.

Irritated by the singing of a Host of Cherubim, Mefistofele vanishes.

The Chorus of the Young Angels creates, by means of sonorous and

rhythmical effects, the 'visual' impression of flight in varied

motion. The very short, airy and tumultuous opening lines:

 229

Siam nimbi
Vo.lanti
Dai limbi
Nei santi
Splendor! vaganti
Siam cori
di bimbi
d'amori ....

(We are flying clouds

from limbo
wandering
among sacred splendours
We are choirs
of children
of cupids..),

contrast with the majestic movement of the undulating nine-syllable

lines of the middle section:

Fratelli, teniamci por mono;

fin I'ultimo cielo lontano
noi sempre dobbiamo danzar....

(Lot us hold, one another by the hand, brothers;

to the farthest heights of far-off heaven
we must keep on dancing.)

The dance-like, extremely dynamic rhythm of the last pa r t :

La danza in angelica spira

Si giro, si giro, si giro

(in an angelic spiral the dance

twists, turns and spins.)

reinforces the idea of eternal wandering in celestial spirals.

A doleful invocation (’Chorus of the Penitent Women1) heard

from earth, establishes the relationship between the Divine and

the Human, ringing the theme of sin and grief and of possible

eventual divine reconciliation. This is an important detail

preparing us for the drama which, originating in heaven, is to

have the world as its stage, creatures of flesh and blood at the
 229

Siam nimbi
Volcmti
Dai limbi
Nei santi
Splendori voganti
Siam cori
di bimbi
d'ciraori ....

(We ore flying clouds

from limbo
wandering
among sacred splendours
We are choirs
of children
of cupids.,),

contrast with the majestic movement of the undulating nine-syllable

linos of the middle section:

Fratelli, teniamci par mono;

fin 1'ultimo cielo lontano
noi sompre dobbiomo danzar....

(Lot us hold, one another by the hand, brothers;

to the farthest heights of far-off heaven
we must keep on dancing.)

The danco-like, extremely dynamic rhythm of the last parti

La danza in angelica spira

Si giro, ei gira, si giro

(in an angelic spiral the dance

twists, turns and spins.)

reinforces the idea of starnol wandering in celestial spirals.

A doleful invocation ('Chorus of the Penitent Women1) heard

from earth, establishes the relationship between the Divine and

the Human, ringing the theme of sin and grief and of possible

eventual divine reconciliation. This is an imp'-rtant detail

preparing us for the drama wh;ch, originating in heaven, is to

have the world as its stage, creatures of flesh and blood at the
 230

mercy of human instincts and passions, as its protagonists.

There follows an ecstatic chorus in which the voices of the

earthly and heavenly creatures merge in a kind of mystical

communion to sing the praise of the Lord of Supreme Love. In a

splendid tumult nf sound and light the Heavens close.and the

stage is set for the earthly drama to commence.

The first act of Mefistofoie is divided into two parts (The

Easter Sunday and the Pact) corresponding to scenes ii and iii of

Goethe's drama (Goethe's first scone being entirely omitted).

The scene opens in medieval Frankfurt-on-Main, the city which

some topographical details at the beginning of Goethe's second

scene, seem to indicate.^ Bells ring out festively as crowds of

people from all walks of life stroll on the bastion of the city

joining in the merriment 'of the Easter Festival. Among them,

there appears a groy friar (instead of Goethe's black poodle)^

the object of both reverence and fear in those around him. The

uneasiness of the crowd is, however, soon to be dispelled:

preceded by tumblers, falconers, and flogthrowers, the Elector

1, See:Ferguson, J., op. cit., p.67.

2. A change justified by scenlcal reasons, as Boito himself

admitted, as well as by the fact that ancient legends and
illustrations usually indicoia - o grey friar.1 Besides
this, Boito thought that the religious disguise would have
added strength to the anti-catholic character of Goethe's
poem. Soe: Boito's note at p » H 8 of the first libretto
of Mefistofoie in 'Tutti gli scritti'.
 231

and his suite oapear heading a cavalcade - a scene interpolated

by Boito, and carrying a magnificent visual effect. The

cavalcade passes on its way occasioning excited comments from the

merrymakers. No sooner has the prqcession passed, followed by

many of the crowd, than the aged Doctor Faust enters upon the

scene . ,accompanied by his disciple, Wagner. Boito's Faufeb does

not appear to have known that either desperation resulting from

being secluded from the rest of humanity or tha weariness of life

which led Goethe’s Faust near to suicide. After learning from

Mefistofele's account, in the Prologue, that an ‘inassopita

bramosia di sopere 11 fa topinc ed anolonto1 ('an unassuagoablo

desire to know makes him a poor panting wretch*), we meet Faust

for the first time in the context of humanity, among ordinary

people and feeling kinship with them, perhaps to remind us that

Faust is a man like us, ’the manifestation and synthesis of

mankind'^ as Antonio Borriollo remarks. Inspired by the beauty

of nature, Faust gives vont to his feeling in a beautiful speech

'A1 soave roggiar di primavera...‘ (in the soft light of spring)

- a clever adaptation of Goethe's similarly placed, magnificent

monologue 'Released from ico are brook and river'. A throng of

merrymakers bursting on the scene provokes Wagner's acid remarks

about the coarseness of the 'vulgar hard', now joyously singing in

the boisterous chorus 'II bol giovanotto sen vion alia festa'

1. Borriello, A. '.Mito, poasia <s musica nal Mefistofele di

Arrigo Boito' Napoli: A. Guida ed. 1950; p.104.
 232

(The fine young fellow has come to the fSte), the words of which

are remarkably close to those of Goethe's Dance and Song Scene

under the linden-tree. Some couples begin to dance the Obertas,

a vigorous dance, very popular according to Boito's own

annotations,* in Poland and Northern Germany. The dance goes

round and round in a vortex of animation. As the lively episode

comes to an end, and the crowd quickly disperses, Faust and

Wagner sit on a stone looking at the hou-es glittering in the

evening light. Their very short, unimpressive colloquy seems,

as it is, o very poor substitute for the important deeply

philosophical and intensely lyrical passages characterizing the

conversation between Foust and Wagner in the original source.

(Boito does, however, in the first libretto, superbly translate

Faust1 speech about his transcendental longing ;'Q doss kein Fugel

mich vom Baden hebt' - Ah'that no wing can lift me from the soil-

as well as the one in which, speaking of the two souls inhabiting

his breast, the old doctor reveals the dualism which torments his

,iost being). The main action in the opera scene centres,

however, about Faust's observation of the Grey Friar, again

appearing in the fields and now, mysteriously, drawing closer to

him in tortuous spirals. In spite of Faust's apprehension,

Wagner, the rationalist mind who, as in Goethe, acts as a foil to

Faust, foils to see anything supernatural about him, in spite of

1. Boito, A. op. ait., p.115-6.

‘fiery imprints in the ground* beneath his feet. They leave the

place, shadowed by the friar whilst the fading sounds of the 'II

bel giovanetto1 chorus, heard in the distance, announce the end

of the festive day. The scene changes to Faust's study. It is

night. In the sombre, nearly claustrol atmosphere of his room,

Foust, feeling calm anC relaxed, meditates upon the love of man

and God('Dai campi, doi prati1). Again, legretfully, the second

part of Faust's soliloquy, that in which, as in Goethe, he

speculates on the meaning of o quotation from the Gospel: ’Im

Anfang war das Wort." (in the beginning was the word), does not

appear in the second libretto. Hardly has Faust started

translating the sacred book than the howling of the Grey Friar,

rushing out from the alcove in which he wos concealed, startles

him. Confronting him with a book of magic and making the all-

powerful sign of Solomon over him, Foust compels the Friar to

throw off his disguise: in the attire of n 1squire of high degree1

Mefistofele appears. In answer to Faust's question as to his name

he characterizes himself as 'The spirit that denies', and then

embarks on an intellectual disquisition of his own entity

and powers (adapted from Goethe, Sc.iii):

 234

Porto son cl'una latebro

del gran Tutto: Oscurita.
son figliuol de.Ha Tenebrc
che Tenobra tornerd.
S'or la luce usurpa e afferra
il mio soettro a rebellion
poco f.ndrd l.a sue tenzon;
v*6 sul SpJ, v'd sul Sol,
e sully Terra
DistruzionJ
Rido o avvonto questa sillobo;
W .
Mordo, invischio,
Struggo, tento, ruggo, sibilo
Fischio, fiscluo, fischio, fischio
fischio, eh! •*-

(I am o part of tho innormoat darkness

of the great All? Obscurity.
I am the child of Darkness
who will return to Darkness.
If light now usurps and seizes
nty sceptre in rebellion
its resistance will not go far
over the sun and over thr>
Earth their hongs
Destruction!
I laugh and spit out this word:
"No".
I bite, I entico
1 destroy, I tempt, I roar, 1 kiss
I whistle, whistle, whistle, whistle
whistle, oh!...)

This passage, highly original and effective, serves to illustrate

not only Boito's infatuation with tho musical and expressive

aspect of the versos, but his concern with their powers of

characterization,, It is perhaps not going too far to say that

in the hissing, jarring, dissonant sounds of Mofistofele*s speech,

os well os in tho sharp interruptions of the established metrical

scheme, Boito has managed to convey much of the destructive power

of the 'spirit that denies1. Mefistofelo's vorse con only ,b.v

his, and nobody else's. This characterization is no mean

achievement if compared with the approximative poetic delineation

of character af the majority of Italian librettists. 7he

remainder of this scene derives from Goethe, Scene iv, where the

Devil offers to serve Faust in this world if Faust will serve him

in the next. The episode of the pact is, in Boito, reduced to

the bore essentials. The Chorus of the Spirits and the long

conversation between Mefistofele and the Student - not really

r-.-levant to the dramatic action - have been omitted. Faust

declares himself only concerned with this world and makes his own

Se tu mi doni
un'ora di riposo
in cui s'acqueti I'alma:
se sveli
al inio buio pensier
me stesso e il mondo:
se avvien ch'io dica
cll'attimo fugente:
arrestati, sei belloi
Allor ch'io muoial
e m'inghiotta I'civerno!

(If you will grant me

on hour's respite
in which to compose my soul;
if you can reveal
to my confused thoughts
myself and the world:
if I might once say
to the fleeting moment;
stay, thou art lovely! -
Then let me die
and let hell swallow me up!)

Mefistofele accepts. The contract completed, Mefistofele spreads

on the ground his cloak and, after inviting Faust to follow him,
he directs their 'courses' through the air. With the Devil's

help, Faust abandons himself to 'universal human experience,

whishing personally to sample what is allotted to the whole of

mankind'

Boito's second act, again divided into two well contrasted scenes,

opens with the Garden episode, based on Scenes xii and xvi of

Goethe's Faust. The librettist made practically no alteration

in the passages he selected but dramatically, the Gretchen's

episode, to which Goethe dedicates a number of scenes, appears, in

Boito, too synthesized.^

A rejuvenated Foust, under the alias of Enrico (in Goethe,

Heinrich) is seen wooing Margherita whilst Mefistofels courts the

elderly Marta. The suggestive remarks passed between Mefistofele

and Marta are a parody of the tender, and at the same time

passionate, duet between Faust and Margherita, who are genuinely

attracted by each other. In Boito's version of Goethe's drama

Margherita represents Faust's first human experience, the most

important and unforgettable to which he will return even in . .

1. Waldeck, M.L. 'The Open University Press' (Unite 12) -

Great Britain, 1972, p.87.

2. The episode of Valentine, fully developed in Gounod's Faust i

not found in Boito's work. We must, however, remember that
Marguerite's brother is only brought in, in Goethe, in the
last but sevei^scene of Part I, a scene criticized by some
scholars as irrelevant on the ground that 'it brings in an
additional character merely to kill him'. (Ferguson, J. op.
ait., p . 80.)
 237

the satanic frenzy of the Walpurgis night, during his descent into

the realm of purest beauty (Classical Sabbath) and at the moment

he reaches 'the final verge of life's extremest limit'.

Defenseless under the force of Faust's passion, Margherita agrees

to his coming to her 'to spend one hour of love', and accepts a

sleeping potion for her mother. The scene ends with the Farewell

episode, an entrancing quartet culminating in a burst of laughter

- an entirely operatic number, however full of zest and vivacity.

The basic material of the second scene of the second act of

Mefistofele is drown from Goethe's Walpurgis Night (Scsne xxi).

The Devil's cynical considerations on the 'empty and round' wicked

world, comes from the Witches' Kitchen Scene vi, the He-ape passage

'The world's the ball'which Boito freely elaborates. The Festival

of witches and spirits upon the Broken Peak in the Hartz Mountains,

to.which Mefistofele takes Faust is, both musically and dramatically,

a conception 'of magnificent vitality, a work of shining

inspiration, diabolical, satanic, stupendously r e a l i z e d ' A

rising, red moon casts a lurid glare over the wild, sinister

landscape. The voice of Mefistofele, urging Faust on as he

climbs the steep slope, is heard above the rage of the wind. A

thousand voices, howling from all the trees, the clefts, the peaks

and the abysses of the cursed world, accompany Faust's and

Mefistofele's difficult ascent. ;>.ded by the darting lights of

1. Brindle, R.S. Mefistofele Musical Times 95 - March 1954,

p.151.
 238

the Will-o'-the-wisp, they reach a rocky rampart where they are

finally revealed, isolated and motionless, silhouetted against

the dark sky. To the Devil's delight, a wild, magic chant

heralding the infernal congregation, is heard coming nearer and

nearer. A throng of witches and sorcerers burst on to the

rampart singing, in a frenzied chorus, of their terrible night of

pandemonium. Seating himself on a rock shaped like athrone,

Mefistofele, interrupts their tremendous 'Saboe' shouts, bidding

them to prostrate themselves oefore their Lord. Recognized by

the sorcerers as the king of 'heo'en, earth and sea1, he is

offered a gloss globe, inspiring in him the defiant, scornful

'bolloto'

Eeco il mondo
vuoto e tondo,
s'alza, scende,
balza e splende,
fa carole
intorno al sole,
trema, rugge,
dd e distrvgge;
ora sterile, or fecondo,
ecco il mondo.

.Sul suo grjsso

antico dosso
v'-e una schiatta
e sozza e motto,
fiera, vile,
ria, sottile,
che ad ogn'ora
so divora
dalla cima
sino al fondo
del reo mondo.
 239

( Here is the world

empty and round
it goes up and down
glitters and bounces
it dances
around the sun
trembles and roars
gives and destroys
now barren, now fertile
this is the world.

,0n its huge

old back
there is a race
both profligate and mad
haughty, cowardly
subtle and wicked
whose members devour
one another ceaselessly
from the topmost peak
to the bottomost depths
of the wicked world.)

At the end of his song the Lord of Destruction hurls the globe

to the ("-ound smashing it to smithereens. Young witches and

sorcerers,taking Foust among them, dance an erotic dance 'on the

dead fragments of the ill-fated globe*. They dance frenetically

until a vision of Margherita - sod and wan, a necklace encircling

her troath with a bloody line ~ appears in the distant, cloud­

laden sky. Memories evoked by the gentle music associated with the Garden

Scene, resounding doicissimo - so strange and poignant - in the

now silent world of discord, seem to free Foust from the satanic

spell. In a paroxysm of rage Mefistofele bids Faust to avert

his eyes from the seductive spectre - a Medusa's head -'that rots

the heart of him who gazes on it'. With an imperious gesture

he dispels the vision; the wild dances are resumed and the act
 240

ends in on orgy of sounds, of flames and moving shapes.*

The third act, relatively brief but intensely dramatic, follows

the last scene of Goethe's Faust I very closely, also incorporating

a few lines concerning the rescue of Hargherita, from Scene xxii-i.

The setting is 'a prison coll lit by the faint glimmer of a

lantern hanging from the wall1. Lying on a straw bed, Margherita,

mentally wandering, sings to herself the lament 'L'altra notte in

fondo al mare*. She remembers as in a trance, the horrible crimes

of which she has been accused, without, however, realiziig her

guilt. The image of a free bird flying in the woods, to which

she compares her restless soul, seems to provide a momentary peace.

Suddenly realizing, in a flash of consciousness, the helpless

misery of her present state, she breaks into the desperate, twice

repeated, cry 'Ah, di me pisi a' (Oh! have mercy on me) then

collapses.., exhausted. Faust appears outside the gratirg with

Mefistofele. There follows a brief exchange during which Faust

begs for Margherita's life. After reminding Faust cf who it was

who brought ruin upon her, Mefistofele, finally, consents to help.

Faust enters the prison. On recognizing his voice, Margherita is

overcome with violent emotion. Her incoherent thoughts wander

back to happier days - the street, Marta's garden ... tender

1. Boito has this very impressive finale in substitution for

Goethe's Walpurgis Night Dream (Oberon and Titania's Golden
Wedding) - a queer Masque-like Inte.'ozzo, obviously
serving no dramatic purpose.
 241

memories of their brief, intense love .... The dreadful reality,

again breaks upon her like a sinister shadow. She tells Faust

what followed his desertion of her, asking him, in a passage

charged with nearly unbearable pathos, to lay her in death under

the greenest turf, beside her loved ones: her mother, whom she is

accused efhssrine poisoned and her drowned bobe, who will rest upon

her breast. Foust implores her to fly with him but all she

desires is to be relieved from the agony of life. Under the

torrential power of Foust's passion, she seems, finally, however

to surrender and in a wondrous duet they start drearairy, together,

of a still possible, future happiness:

Lontano, lontano, lontano,

sui flutti d'un ampio oceano,
fra x roridi effluvi del mar,
fra I ’alghe, fra i fior,
fra le polme,
il porto dell'intime calme,
1'azzvrra isoletta m'appar.
M'appare sul cielo sereno
ricinta d'un orcobnleno
specchianto 11 sorriso del sol....

(Far, for away

on the waves of p b&d,.ocean
amid the dewy exhalations of the sea
among the sea plants and the flowers
and the palm-trees
a haven of intimate quietude
the tiny blye islet appears to me.
I see it on the serene horizon
encircled by a rainbow
reflecting the smile of the sun.)

This duet is Boito's own creation.

With its fluctuating rhythm as of the ocean and the almost

hypnotic effect produced by the sound patterns, this passage

 242

provides a welcome relief between the emotional tension of the

preceding scene and the horror and agony of what follows.

Distraught by the presence of Mefistofele in the 'holy refuge' -

the prison being her place of atonement - Margherita, abruptly

brought back to reality, chooses to submit herself to the

judgement of God rather than to salvation with the Devil's aid.

The power of'this superbly dramatic scene is intensified by the

conflicting, simultaneously expressed, gools of the protagonists:

Mefistofele, who does not care for Margherita but must serve

Faust, according to their pact, impatiently urges them to hurry;

Faust begs her to fly with him, but Margherita, now only intent

on her spiritual salvation, prays the Heavenly Beings to protect

her, at the same time asking the Lord for mercy. Her stupendous

soliloquy 'Spunta I'qurora pallida* (The pale down is breaking),

a kind of lyrical catharsis, is sealed by Mefistofele's

triumphant utterance 'She is condemned*. The chorus of the

Celestial Host conveys the final message of the Lord 'She is

saved'. In contrast to Goethe's Gretchen who, in dying, calls

lc\,.-igly 'Heinrich* twice, thus foreshadowing the role she is to

ploy in the redemption of Foust when appearing os a penitent in the

final scene, Boito's Margherita, who does not re-appeor in his

Epilogue, shrinks away from him, feeling only aversion. As

Mefistofele bids Faust to follow him, the executioner stands

revealed in the background surrounded by his henchmen. Faust's

destiny is not yet settled. He must run through o whole range

 243

of experiences - riches, political power, the love of a Goddess,

military glory - before accomplishing it.

Whilst the first part of Goethe's Foust is divided into twenty-five

freely arranged scones, the second port, on which the second part

of Boito's Mefistofele is based, falls into five, lengthy and

rather complex acts. In spite of its more traditional structure

'Part II' is dramatically impossible, not only because of the

incredible number of more or less symbolical or fantastic

characters and minor incidents, but also because of tho wealth of

philosophical disquisitions, metaphysical thoughts one discursiveness

continually distracting the attention from the main plot concerning

the fate of Faust. Throughout the five acts of the Second Part,

the hero more than ever dependent on Mephistowphele$, is seen

striving for the attainment of the highest form of life in a

somewhat incoherent and capricious way. In Act I we find him at

the Court of a pleasure-loving but needy Emperor, of whom he

becomes the benefactor by giving him money produced magically by

Mephisto^pheles who is disguised as a court-jester. At the

Emperor's request, Faust evokes, an a magic sta-a, Helen of

immortal beauty and her lover Paris, after a descent into the

spaceless, placeless and timeless realm of the 'Mothers’, where

Helen dwells. Faust falls in love with the image of Helen and,

guided by Homunculus, an artificial man created by Wagner (Act II),

reaches the Pharsalian Fields of Greece, where, together with

 244

Mephistopheles, he ossists at the 'Classical Wclpurgis Night'

a gathering of the spirits of the classical world intended as a

counterpart to the satanic phantasy of the Witches' Sabbath.

His union with Helen (Act III) is no human love-affair - it

symbolizes Goethe's much advocated fusion between the Romantic

Medievalism of the Germans and the classical genius of the Greeks,

their son Euphorion, who loses his life in an attempt to fly,

representing Goethe's tribute to the English poet Byron. After

the death of Euphorion and the loss of Helen,Foust returns to

reality. He realizes that the episode with Helen was nothing but

a deceptive dream but his encounter with her, in a superhuman and

immortal world, has made him impatient for heroic deeds. He

returns to the Emperor (Act IV) and with the help of Mephistopheles

wins a crucial war and is given, os a reward, a strip of barren,

unhealthy land. Ruthlessly, he orders Mephistopheles to remove

a couple of loyal tenants, Philemon and Baucis (Act V) but when

the Devil returns to report their destruction, Foust turns away

from him. In on impressive scene (V, v) we find him confronted

by four Gray Women; Want, Guilt, Care and Necessity . He rids

himself of them but no sooner has he recognized the futility of

his association with supernatural powers than Care returns to

tell him of the approach of death. She blinds him by breathing

in his face and in this very moment Faust, surrounded by

physical darkness, regains his spiritual sight. He sees, at

lost, the opportunity of using the power still in his hands for
the benefit of mankind; by draining the marshy plain in his

possession he will provide green, fertile fields for o race of

industrious men, living and working together peacefully. This i

the first assertion of his own will, his first ’creative1 desire.

Rejoicing in action, Faust 'almost' pronounces the words that in

his initial compact with Mephistopheles were to be his doom;

Werd ich zum Augenbliche sagen:

Verweile dochl du bist so schdni
Bonn magst du mich in Fesseln schlagen
Dann will ich gern zu Grunde gehn.

(When thus I hail the Moment flying

Ah! still delay - thou art so fair!
Then bind me in thy bonds undying
My final ruin then declare.)

Lost in the vision of a throng of free people on free soil he

declares himself prepared to say to this 'highest moment';

Verweile doch! du bist so schtin!

(Ah, still delay - thou art so fair.)

Faust's last words are, however, hypothetical and Mephistopheles

is defeated by the, now, intervening powers of Heaven. Bearing

the immortal soul of Foust the Angels soar in the higher atmosphe

singing;

tier immer strebend sich bemuth,

Dor ktinnen wir erltisen

(Whoe'er aspires unweariedly

Is not beyond redeeming...)

In Goethe's own words Faust is saved by means of the 'activity

mounting ever higher and purer to the end', which is in himself

 246

one! by the 'eternal love which helps him in his needj^" from above.

Gretchen who, like Dante's Beatrice is the spirit of Eternal,

Redeeming Womanhood, „is among those who welcome Faust to heaven

because, as the Chorus Mysticus finally asserts:

... Das Unzulongliche

Hier wirds Ereignis
Das Unbeschreibliche
Hies ists getan;
Das Ewig-Weibliche
Zieth uns hinan.

(... Earth’s insufficiency

Here grows to Event:
The Indescribable
Here it is done:
The Woman-soul leadeth us
Upward and on!)

Thus, with a message of Love and Mercy, ends the second and

conclusive part of the epic of Faust.

The complexity of the material contained in Part Two obviously

put Boito's determination to respect Goethe's work into serious

doubt. Although limiting himself to the external mechanism of

the story, he made, at least in his first libretto, on admirable

synthesis of even this second port, undoubtedly, as John Ferguson

remarks,'much more abstruse even than the mast difficult passages

in Part 1'.^ With assured dramatic touch Boito chose, out of the

maze of Goethe's symbolical and philosophical allegories, all

those episodes most apt to throw a new light upon the character

1. Wayne, Philip: Introduction to Foust. (Part Two). The

Penguin Classics. Great Britain: Baldick, R., 1973, p.11.
2. Ferguson, J., op. cit., p.82.
 247

of Foust, at the same time illustrating the course of his difficult

and restless ascent from darkness to clarity. The fourth act of

Mefistofele was, in fact, originally divided into two parts. The

first port, devoted to the Emperor's Court Scene, included, besides

the incident of the devil producing gold, that of the apparition of

Helen (Elena) and Paris (Paride) on the stage of the magic theatre.

This lost incident was of particular importance because it

explained the origin of Foust's passion for Elena, his longing

and consequent search for her culminating in the love sc.'.-ne placed

by Boito in the context of the Classical Walpurgis Night, to which

the second part of the act was dedicated. The Intermezzo

Sinfonico before the last act, describing the bottle between the

Catholic armies of the Emperor allied, paradoxically, to

Mefisiofele and Faust, and those of the anti-imperialists was,

also, dramatically important. Not only doos it seem to prepare

and give meaning to the last episode of Faust's life, but it

completes tne gamut of emotions experienced by Faust during his

never-ceasing, and always deluded, search for the 'highest,

blissful moment1. The excision of the scene at the Emperor's

Court and that of the Intermezzo Sinfonico, did, indeed, alter in

a negative way, the dramatic structure of the libretto, producing

gaps detrimental to the logical development of the action and

partly justifying the often repeated asserv^on that Mefistofele

is two operas in one.*

1. Stellas Galatapoulos,o)*cit. p.8.

 248

At the beginning of the fourth act - The Classical Sabbath - of

the final redaction of the libretto we find Faust on the banks of

the river Peneus *flooded by the enchanted light of a moon

eternally at the full'. Before the actual appearance of the hero

on the scene Boito, resorting to all the resources of the lyrical

stage , produced a stupendous re-creation of the luminously

vibrant atmosphere of the world of immortal beauty. Elena and

her companion, Pantolis, are reclining in a boat of mother-of-

pearl and silver, surrounded by sirens and other mythological

beings. In splendidly evocative lines they sing of the magic

spell of the night whilst, in the distance, the voice of Faust is

heard, passionately and repeatedly invoking 'Elena!'

In Goethe Helen is seen, more dramatically, among the Chorus of

Captive Trojan women before the palace of Menelous in Sparta, and

a large portion of the third act is occupied by her lengthy

speeches and the comments of the Chorus. Preceded by a long

procession of boys and squires Faust, now the Lord of a neighbouring

castle, appears at the head of the staircase, in knightly Court

costume of the Middle Ages, then descending slowly and with great

dignity. In Boito, Foust enters less impressively, whilst the

boot with Elena and Pantalis disappears from view. He is

accompanied by Mefistofele who, feeling ill at ease in the crystal-

clear atmosphere of the Attic land, decides to withdraw.* After

1. The detail of the devil's reaction to this Second Sabbath is

found in Goethe's Faust, II; Act II, Sc.iii.
 249

a stylized Chorea danced by a group of Choretides, Dorides and

sirens, Elena re-enters to the comments of the Chorus singing,

‘in lydian mood', praises of her beauty. ('Trionfi ad Elena,

carmini corone' - Acclamations to Helen, songs, laurel wreaths.)

Lost in a tragic vision, she starts recounting the story of the

fatal night of Troy's destruction in splendidly incisive,

classical hexameter:^"

Notte cupa, truce, senza fine funfebre!

Orrida notte d'lllio! implacato rimorso!
Nugoli d'arsa polvere ol vento surgono e fanno
Piu cieca la tenebra. Di cozzontisi scudi,
Di carri stroscianti, di cabapulte sonanti
L'etere d scossa! Si. muta il suol in volutabro
Di Sangue. I Numi tnrribili gid ruggono, I'ire
Inferocendo della pugno; I'ispide torri
Ergonsi trogiche, negre, fra la caligin dense.
L'incendio gio lambe le cose. Veggonsi 1'ombre
Degli Achei proiette (bui profili giganti)
Vagolar le pareti...2

(Nightdark and atrocious, endlessly funereal!

Dreadful night of Troy! Oh, implacable remorse!
Clouds of burnt dust rise in the wind and make
the darkness more blinding still. By clashing shields
hurtling chariots, and twanging catapults
the air is rent! The ground turns to quagmires
of blood. The terrible gods now rage
making the fury of the fight more fierce;
bristling towers rear up, tragic and black, in the dense smoke.
The flames already lick the houses. The shadows of the Archaeans
projected (gigantic dark silhouettes) can be seen roaming the walls..

1. In this 'Classical' act Boito did, most successfully, essay

to reproduce in the Italian language the meters of classical
poetry. He adopted the Asclepiadean verse (one spondee, two
choriambs, one spondee) in the Choretid's hymn: ... CTrconj
fusa di s5l| II magrco| volto ...; the hesameters (four
spondees, one dactyl, one spondee) in the passage of Elena's
vision; Notts/ c0p5| trtJcej senza! fine fu| nebro; the
Sapphic hendecasyclable in the Choretids* lines announcing
the arrival of Faust, and so on.
2. This passage is adapted from Goethe's Chorus 'Much my
experience....', (Faust, Part ii; Act III)
 250

Faust, followed by Mefistofele, Nereo, Pantalis and a group of

small fauns and sirens, approaches Elena and kneeling before her,

addressed her as the 'perfect and ideal form of beauty* ('Forma

ideal purissima). She responds to his adoration but, for o moment,

Faust is distracted t>y the vision of a mild, gentle maid appearing

among the midsts of a distant land. The love of the Goddess

does, however, conquer him. After this, os in Goethe, Faust

teaches Elena to speak in rhymed verse - o liavice unknown in

Greek poetry. Gazing into each other's face they sing in praise

of love ('Amore( misteroL' - Oh! love; mystery) whilst the

Chorus hails the birth of a new, ideal and powerful poetry

('Poesia libera t'alza pe cieli!' - Poetry, rise free to the

skies) resulting from the combined sensitivies of the Germans

end the Greeks. Pledging their love and devotion to each other

th6y move together towards the peaceful valley in Arcadia where

they will have 'the grottoes of the nymphs' os a love-nest.

Faust's quest seems to have reached its glorious goal.

Boito's Epilogue is built upon a few passages selected from the

fifth act of Goethe's Faust, Part II (Sc. v, vii). The beautiful

monologue which Goethe gives to Faust 'Vier sah ich kommen, drei

nur gehn' (Four sow I come, but those that went were three),

referring to the four Gray Women and retained by Boito in the

first libretto, is not found in the finol version. The setting

of the scene is, again, Faust's study at night. A lone lamp

sheds a faint light. Unable to concentrate his thoughts on the

 251

holy book open before him, the now aged Faust wearily muses on the

empty illusions of life. Mefistofele stands behind him as a

sinister bird of prey. His impatient exhortation 'Cammina,

eammina1, echoing that of the Witches Sabbath, when he was urging

Faust to go on and on, seems to be aimed at counteracting Faust's

temptation to resort to something beyond his control. The old

philosopher's following speech acknowledges, as in Goethe, 'the

tragic, ultimately ambiguous nature of all human effort'

Ogni mortal
mister gustai
il Real, 1'Ideale,
I'omore della vergine, I'amore
della dea ... Si ...
ma il Real fu dolore
e 1'Ideal fu sogno.

(Every mortal,
mystery have I tasted,
the Real, the Ideal,
a virgin's love and
A Goddess's ... Yes ...
but Reality was suffering
and the Ideal proved a dream.)

In the beautiful soliloquy 'Giunto sul passo estremo' (Having

reached the final verge of life’s extremist limit) Faust, shaking

off his spiritual torpor, starts conceiving the 1supreme and

ultimate' dream capable of giving a meaning to his present quest

on earth: to be the ruler of a peaceful world of infinite

breadth, a world inhabited by a new race of mortals, free from

all greed, and lust and selfish passions. Lost in an ecstatic

1. Victor Lange,o|Wcit,, p.xxi.

 252

vision, he sees this community of people to which he wishes to

give his Life, slowly rising to Heaven and assuming, in o kind of

mystical transfiguration, the features of Heavenly beings.

Fearing that Faust can escape him, Mefistofele spreads out his

cloak on the ground (as in his first scene with Foust), inviting

Foust to fly through the a'r. Whilst the Hymn of the Celestial

Host is heard in the distance, Mefistofele, in a last desperate

effort, conjures up a vision of the Syrens associated with the

’divine’ ecstasies of the Classical Sabbath night. As in a

medieval mystery play the powers of Good and Evil dramatically

clash for the possession of a soul. Falling on his knees before

the Bible, Faust fervently invokes the mercy of God. He murmurs

'Dio elements, m'allontana dal demonio mio beffardo1 (Merciful

God, rescue me from the toils of my jeering demon) against the

voices of the Celestial Host which, growing louder and more

assured, sing:

Dall’eterna armonia
Dell1 Universe
nel glauco spazio immense
emana un verso - di supremo Amor....
(From the everlasting harmony
of the Universe
in the grey immensity of space
Emanates a hyirn - of supreme love,,,)

On these last words the voice of Faust, passionately crying to

the blessed fleeting moment 'Arrestati sei bello', merge with the

Angels' in a, now, indissoluble synthesis. The Cherubim appears

singing the prayer announcing the salvation of the soul of Faust,

 253

at the same time scattering a shower of 'sweet-scented petals' of

roses over Foust's body. Blinded by the dazzling light from

Heaven and tormented by the red-hot rain of flowers corroding his

flesh, Mefistofele sinks deeper and deeper into the ground,

whistling and cursing, whilst the Celestial choir expands to a

majestically impressive climax. On the imperious coll of the

Divine trumpets, exploding 'con tutta forza* to proclaim the victory

of the Lord of Power and Love, the drama ends - a perfect conclusion,

highlighting the inner logic of the human and cosmic drona of

A modern scholar, Professor L A Willoughby, wri res that

'Faust is nothing less than the vindication of God's creation and

the osseverance of the divine in the face of evil'^ - This is

Boito's exact interpretation of Goethe's poem.

1. Willoughby, L.A. quoted in Goethe and Faust, op. cit., p.65

 BOITO'S OPERA

Ths first libretto of Mefistofele is, dramaticolly speaking,

superior to the version presently used. We must however admit

that, in spite of oil its cuts, this second version is still an

excellent achievement, limiting, but not drastically altering,

the Goethean intention and admirably serving the purpose of

nusical elaboration. The scenes are neatly constructed and

expertly contrasted. Thus, after the opening Prologue in Heaven

we have, in the first act, the colourful Easter Sunday episode

followed by the tense, sombre scene of the Pact. The second

act contains the delightfully fresh and tender Garden Scene end

the satanic phantasmagoria of the Witches' Sobbath. Act Three

- the gloomy Prison scene - describes the death of Margherita

with accents of unbearable poignancy whilst, in the fourth act

we are transported to the serene moonlight-flooded landscape of

the world of classical antiquity. The end of the Epilogue takes

us again into the illimitable region of spaces - the last words

of Faust being reconnected with Heaven as wished by Goethe, the

“great worshipper of Form'. The problem of form was obviously

also Boito’s concern. He structured his music-drama symmetrically

by the use of parallel scenes at different points, the Witches'

1. See page 223.

 255

Sabbath being the counterpart of both the Prologue in Heaven and

the Classical Sabbath. He strengthened the sense of architectural

balance by recalling musical elements from the 'Prologue in Heaven'

in the final scene of Act III end at the end of the Epilogue.

Furthermore, he/who had recommended to all musicians wishing to

embark on the composition of opera the study of forms, had

chosen the form which he considered the most perfect ~ the

symphony - as a mould for the Prologue in Heaven, which is, in

fact, divided into four movements: Preludio q coro; scherzo

strumentale; Scherzo vocale; Salmodia finale, linked by an

Intermezzo drammatico.

Having once settled the external structure, he devoted himself

to the solution of the difficult problem of the relationship

between the poetical and the verbal texts in a work destined for

the lyrical stage, at a time when the towering figures of Verdi

and Wagner employed two completely different, and yet both

acceptable, approaches. An analysis of Mefistofele shows the

extent to which Boito succeeded in the realization of his ideals

of opera reform.

The ’Prolugue in Heaven’, of oil sections of Mefistofele

is, in my opinion, the one in which words, music, vocol sound,

emotion and ideology, fuse most completely, into a perfectly

harmonious whole. It is a wonderfully sonorous 'scenogrophy1,

well described by Ildebrando Pizzetti as 'a vast fresco in which

 256

we do not know whether one has to admire the movement of the

celestial figures or the c o l o u r s T h e plastic values of music

not only translate the images with which the three Archangels of

Goethe's Prologue in Heaven exhalt the power of the Creator but

enlarge the vision suggesting 'pithagorean, apocalyptic, biblical

and catholic recollections'.^ The initial direction 'Nebuloso -

Lo squillo delie sette trombe' I sette t u o n i . i s preceded, in

Boito's first libretto, by a mention from the Book of the

Revelation VIII - xz 'Et septem Angeli, qui habebant septem

tubas, praeporaverunt se ve tubo canerent, Et primus Angelas tuba

cecinit... Et secundus Angelas tuba cecinit... Et tertius Angelas

tuba cecinit, etc... Et cum locuta fuissent septem tonitrua voces

suas*. The first movement - Prelude and chorus - suggests

conflogrant turmoils of a world in evolution, conflicts of

primeval forces movsd by a superior will - as it were a comment

on the first paragraphs of Genesis. The opening tonic note of

E major, held for two bars and a crotchet - is very intense in

the fusion of all the orchestral timbres. It appears to be the

generating element of the first trumpet call symbolizing the

Power of the will of God (Ex. 1A).^ this 'trumpet-call',

played by backstage trumpets and t'dmbones come first from a

1. Pizzetti, Ildebrando. Musicisti contemporanei. Milan.:

Fratelli Treves, 1914; p.4-3.

2. Borriello, Antonio op. cit., p.31.

3. The musical examples are token from: Mefistofele. vocal
score, Milan, Ricordi. Copyright. 1875 ^undoted); and
Mefistofele. orchestral score, Milan: Ricordi, 1919,
 257

Prolog'o in oielo
I. TEM PO
rKELOniO E CORO

Kebulosit.-I,o squllio di ju .- I ReLlc tuonl.-LE PALAKQ! CH'LKSTl dlelru lunebulosa in.

la rg a m c n tr ritm a to .
x e n sa r ig u m d i tempo tem p o

' «a,

(equillo n destradli-li'n I) fltiKrlo)

squiltantu s c n tu rn/vurr: d i foftipo

Ex. J.A and IB

 258

central position, obscured and without a rigorously defined

rhythm (according to Boito’s instruction), and seem to resound

from heov.nly distances and lie in the persisting vibrations of

the matrix sound. This trumpet motive appears seven times in

oil during the instrumental prelude: it undergoes changes of

figuiotion, key and instrumentation but is always of four bars

length. Given t" the woodwind and the harps, in chords

arpeggiati, the first thematic fragment of the invocation of the

Penitent women (Ex. IB) introduces the motive of earth with its

load of sin and grldf. In the following bars the 'gruppetti*

of the piccolo can be likoned to the flame which sparks off the

dramatic explosion of the seven thunders of the Apocalyptic

vision. One hears again the trumpet motive this time from the

right wing backstage and with a different musical figuration

rotating around the thrice repeated A. An enharmonic

passage, simple but effective (G^ becomes A(g), leads to the

second fragment of the phrase of the Penitents (Ex. 2 ) ,

accompanied by semiquaver broken chords on the harps and blending

with the 'pizzicato* of the strings and then with the whole

orchestra in a sonorous crescendo ending,, in fine 'stereophonic’

 259

effect, in the fortissimo tutti tonic of A flat supported by a

percussion roll and off-stage trumpets. As in the beginning,on

the vibrations of the new tonic, the trumpet calls, in simple

tonic-dominant alternation and de-rhythmisized, sound this time

from the left wing. The lost fragment of the Penitents' invocation,

is interrupted by a violent explosion perhaps the

assertion of an imperious Will capable of being inflexible or,

more probably, the revelation of a Creative power causing beings

to emerge from nothing end then ordaining them according to

mysterious and eternal laws. This explosion, alternating the

Bj, major and minor chords in different positions, is made more

incandescent by the sonority of tho brass opposed to the woodwind

and strings supported by the thunder of the bass-drum. With

this exaltation of the Creative Power, the brief cycle of themes

of the prelude is concluded. As in a symphonic form, we have a

re-statement of the thematic motives so far presented, this time

in the different keys of B flat and then D major, eventually

leading to the original key of E, major. Supported by a strings

tremolo, the initial fanfare returns authoritatively in contrary

motion no longer isolated but sustained by the other instruments

- with sonorous and ideological intensification. As the climax

 260

fades away, the upper strings take over the last vibratic

whilst the lower strings perform a slow, descending scale,

supported in the latter part by shifting string chords in the

upper structure. Like a last, cosmic echo, the Penitents' theme

is heard, pianissimo, in the woodwind. With the soft tonic on

the harp, the instrumental prelude ends.

In the meantime the curtain has risen to reveal a region of

dense clouds (Nebulosa). In the first Chorus, the Celestial

host, singing in praise of the Lord of all Created things,

suggest the motive of Universal harmony, from which will develop

the earthly dissonance represented by the drama of Faust,, the

result and symbol of Divine Love. From the depths of the

'nebulosa' the words 'AVE' Signor degli angeli e del sonti* are

heard pianissimo, an unaccompanied hieratic declamation on the

chord of E major, almost tentative as if the Heavenly Beings,

perhaps in their newly created form, struggle to take shape in

melody (Ex. 4A). Then, sustained by simple chords given to the

strings and punctuated by the tonic of each chord plucked in

octaves by lower strings and harps, a majestically beautiful hymn.

(Ex.4B), sung alternately by the first and the second phalange,

starts soaring higher and higher in chromatic progression. The

unexpected downward jumps of an octave retard the explosion on

the high A flat, on which the voices climactically merge before

falling down in a descending parabolic curve.A cadenza

ingannata* (Ex. 5) occurs in the last measures of this first

 261

Ex 4A end 4B
 d ’or,

ti c h e r u .

els an . ge

K g e li e del

Ex 5
 263

choral section producing a sense of tonal ambiguity apt to convey

the essence of the celestial life which, in the opinion of Martin

Roeder 'has neither tonic nor dominant and is a perennial

fluctuation between the known and the u n k n o w n ' T h i s cadence

is repeated immediately, an augmented fifth higher,and occurs

again at the end of Act III and before the end of the opera. At

the words 'Dall'eterna armonio dell1Universe1 the ecstatic melody

starts again its irresistible flight, sustained this time, by

repeated, continually modulating chords in the strings, then

reinforced by the rest of the orchestra in increasingly dynamic

rhythmical figuration (quavers, triplets, semiquavers).

Musically translating and intensifying the meaning and sound

effect of the words 'E s'erge a te per 1'aure ozzurre e cove in

suon soave, AVE' the melody seems to hover in space ( the six

measures in which it is cost being made more spacious by the

•allargando1), whilst the tremolo of the upper strings and the

furious 'glissondi1 of harps and lower strings and the rolls of

the kettle drum create a terrific impression of vastness,

grandeur, of soaring heights and illimitable, resounding depths.

On the repeated word 'AVE' the solemn melody slowly subsides and

fades away. The imperious trumpet call which we heard at the

beginning (Ex. l) sounds once more from behind the stage, now

1. Roeder, E: 'Dal toccuino d'un direttore d'orchestra1 -

Milan; Ottino, 1881, p.202
 264

clothed in a richer harmony. This brings the first movement to

an end.

Introduced by an instrumental scherzo, Mefistofele appears

on the stage, mockingly repeating the words of the Heavenly 1

Beings 'Ave signor’ ovsr a sinister chord of the diminished

seventh held by the brass for four measures. Mefistofele is

variously portrayed by means of themes conveying the essence of

his nature - grotesque as Thersites, devilish as Satan and

Epicurean as Falstaff - as Boito, referring to Goethe's character

wrote in the 'Prologue in the Theatre' of his first libretto.^

Some of the highly characteristic rhythmo-melodic figures which

are nearly always associated with him, are anticipated in the

first section of the Scherzo. The first, and main theme,

characterized by accioccatura,and chromatic, (Ex. 6)

appears, in the very first measures, in the piccolo and flutes,

the 'staccato' empty fifths being given out by horns and bassoons.

The passage is immediately repeated in the sub-dominant. After

a short staccato section it reappears, in A minor, in the dark >

1. It is worthy of note that Liszt, in his character portrayal

of Mephistopheles ('Faust Symphony1 - 3rd movement) also
emphasizes the grotesque.
2. Boito, A. op cit. p.101.
 265

timbre of the bassoons and then, in the lost four bars of the

Scherzo stromentale, reinforced by violas, 'cellos and double

bosses.

The Scherzo's skittish middle section of plucked strings

returns as the accompaniment of the first part of the speech

which Mefistofele, with ironic courtesy, addresses to the Lord

('Perdona se il. mio gergo'). In the ensuing Trio, Mefistofele

sarcastically comments on the proud and tenacious fatuity of

the 'teeny god of the weeny earth*. Scorning, in human values,

the creation of God, he mocks the previous hymn of praise of the

Celestial Host, His words, set forth in o heavy recitotivo-

like form, ore underlined by o sweeping line on the 'cellos and

double bosses breaking up, ot the passage 'al par di grille

saltellante ... fa il suo trillo nell'erba1, in an onomatopoeic

rendering of the words. A chord of the seventh rf B flat, uttered

by clarinets and bassoons, heralds o series of eerie, sinister,

chromatic chords (Ex. 7A)

kffnUeslmo

depicting the shifty, malignant nature of the Spirit of negation,

so for seen in his grotesque, bizarre and cynical aspect. Over

 266

these chords, Mefistofele, hypocritically declares:

tii! Si! Maestro divino

in buio fondo
crollo il padron del mondo:
e non mi da piu il cuor
tanto 4 fiaccato
di tentarlo al mal

(Ah, yes, divine Master

in deepest darkness
the master of the world is going to pieces fast,
And I no longer hove the heart
so cast down is he,
to tem;:t him to do evil.)

This disquieting mood is soon dispelled by the ripresa of two

lively, skipping measures from the middle section of the instrumental

Scherzo (Ex. 7B).

jC o m e p r im a

Given to the whole orchestra, they bring the second movement to

its conclusion.

The Intermezzo drammatico, embodying the challenge, is a

clash of powerful, antithetical forces. The enemy of Darkness,

and the enemy of Light, face each other, contending for the soul

of Faust. Over the tremolo of the strings, reinforced by the

harp, the Chorus Mysticus utters the question ’‘T'd noto Faust1.

The trombones, reverberating through the ether, proclaim the

 267

motive heard at Ex. 1. Again, in dark lines of recitative

punctuated by simple string chord and isolated notes on the

bassoons, Mefistofele challenges the Lord. When, with the

words 'El mordera nel dolce porno de'vizi1 (He will bite the

sweet apple of vice) he lustfully alludes to the sensual

temptations to which Faust will soon, inevitably succumb, it is

the Epicurean aspect of Mefistofele's character which is

presented to us by Boito. Arrogantly, the devil announces,

amidst the sound of his own, infernal fanfare, his assumed victory

over man and God, The Celestial Host intervenes1 affirming the

invincibility of the Lord by singing a reiterated anc, impressively

resounding 'Sanctus'. Sustained by a descending scale in octaves

on the harps, the last words finally merge with Mefistofele's

consideration that it is pleasant to hear the Almighty addressing

him in so human a manner, and there is a strange Veeling of

sadness in his last words - something akin to human emotion,

perhaps a touch of nostalgia for the lost love of God. The dewy

freshness of the Scherzo vocale, defined by Luigi Pagano 'as pure

as a sky at dawn',^ is a vivid contrast to the dramatic atmosphere

of the preceding episode. It is one of the simplest and yet most

noteworthy pages of the work, the music wondrously matching the

fluidity, the nimbleness and the finesse of the verbal text. The

Scherzo begins with the airy chorus 'Siam nimbi volanti',

1, Pagano, L. La fionda di Davide (Arrigo Boito: I'Artista).

Torino: Frateili Bocca, 1928 - p.41.
 268

murmured very rapidly on the simple interval ^ and repeated for

thirty-three bars over an extremely rarefied harmony provided by

the muted strings with the harmonics of the harps, the 'cellos

beneath them fluctuating in a slow, ostinato-like figure. Here

the interest lies in the curious, and fascinating, effect

produced by the sonorous, swiftly alternating sounds of the

vowels A - i - o, dominating the musical text, and by the wealth

of dynamic contrasts (exactly indicated by the author) aimed at

suggesting the visual and acoustic illusion of a restless, now

near now far, motion. As the Cherubim disperse (the echo of

their voices persisting in the scanty chords of the opening for

another twelve bars) Mefistofele, expressing disgust and annoyance,

disappears. The return of the Host of the young angels is

announced by a beautiful song 'Un giorno nel fango mortals' which

has the moving and intense simplicity of a chant. In triple

rhythm, they sing, in a canon at the unison, of their lapse from

grace and of their return to God, in words which are the forecast

of o final, divine reconciliation.^ It is to them that, at the

end of the drama, the soul of Faust will be entrusted to receive

the mercy of God. As they start dancing in celestial spirals

'La danza in angelica spiro', music and words 'twist, turn and

spin', the speed of the rhythm increasing restlessly before

subsiding at the beginning of the second choral section -

'Fratelli teniamci per mono', still in slow triple rhythm, with

a very effective quadruplet alteration on the words 'dobbiamo

1. This section appears in the Vocal score (Ricordi,copyright

1875) but not in the full score (Ricordi, 1919.)
 269

dunzar* and 'Santissimo altar1 suggesting a change in the

direction of flight (£•<. 8). An snharmonic passage (F^./ Gj?)

prepares- a ripresa of the whirling dance followed by the nimble

initial chorus which gradually fades away. The vast emptiness

of Heaven is suggested by softly sounding chords given to flutes,

clarinets and the harmonics of the harp over the slowly

fluctuating, tranquil line of the’cellos.

The last movement, termed by Boito Saltnodia finale, begins

with the Uhorus of the Penitent Women ('Salve, Regina1). The

thematic material has already appeared in fragments in the

Orchestra (Ex. IB, 2, 3) at the beginning of the "Prologue in

Heaven". It now takes the shape of a broad melody, accompanied

by the organ and modulating from one key to another (£ flat, G

major, A major, D flat). The words "Col nostro canto, col nostro

pianto domiom I'intenso foco del senso"(With our singing and our

tears let us subdue the sharp fire of the senses) presage the

living drama of Margherita and her redemption through grief and

remorse. The voices of the Cherubim join in introducing a

beautiful passage "Su gli dstri, sui vinti, sui mdndi" which,

with its triple rhythm follows exactly the cadence of the

symmetrically accentuated monosyllabic lines, rendering the

solemn motion'of the wirged creatures floating up and down.in the

air (Ex. 9 ) . The stately grandeur of the Celestial Host's prayer

"Oriam per quei morienti", contrasts with the nervous rhythm of

the Cherubim's dance, now assuming a slightly different, but much

270
 271

Ex. 9
IMl PtKITEKTI

Da pocopla
more dynomic, figure, reinforced by the light staccato of the

violins. The organ supports the Penitents' passionate invocation

to the Virgin 'Ave Maria, gratia plena' whilst clarinets and lower

strings double the grave voices of the Celestial Host interceding

for the dying. All the voices entwine and expand in lines of

soaring energy and grandeur, making up a rich, wonderfully

sonorous and yet terse fabric into which the Chorus of the

Cherubim introduces a shimmering, silver thread. The different

groups of voices and all the orchestral sections merge in a

tremendously impressive unison - fortissimo passage to the words

'Odi la pia prece serena' (unexpectedly ending on o C natural),

climaxed by the blasting of trumpets and trombones. Storting

very softly and then crescendbingf the Penitents and the Celestial

Host, repeatedly utter the word 'Ave', in c.hromatic progression,

sustained by spacious orchestral chords, reinforced by the back-

, stage trumpets. The voices reverberate in the vastness of space,

the word 'Ave' being eventually reduced to the vowel 'Ah', as if,

in the burning passion of the mystical ecstasy, everything is

reduced to pure feeling. This outburst leads to a ripresa of

the hymn 'Ave 0 Signor1 (Ex. 4B) sung by the combined groups to

a fuller orchestral accompaniment in which broken chords are

sounded by clarinets and 'cellos over the treaelos of violins and

violas and harp arpeggios. From the words 'Doll' eterno

armonia dell'Universo*, the hymn grows irresistibly, gaining

impetus and pace by means of shorter note values (from triplets,

 273

to quadruplets grouping, to sextuplets grouping) combined with an

impressive crescendo, and continually accelerating tempo. The

brass blazes out massive chords against the tremolo of the strings

ond the rolling sound of the percus.sion instruments. Flutes,

piccolo, harps and lower strings sonorously rush up the scale and

the whole orchestra, reinforced by the backstage fanfare, attains

a mighty pinnacle of sound as the chorus reaches its climax on

the fortissimo, vastly resounding AVE. The curtain falls on the

orchestra triumphantly proclaiming the initial motive (Ex.l)

epitomizing the power of the Will of the God of all created beings.

With admirable power of synthesis Boito succeeded in conveying,

musically and ideologically, already in the 'Prologue in Heaven1,

the most important elements of the whole drama: the relationship

between the Divine and the Human and the contrast between the

'principle' of earthly grief and of celestial exultant joy (i

movement); the appearance, in the well-ordered universe of God,

of the power of Evil emoodied in Mefistofele, God's antagonist,

and yet serving him in his own peculiar way (ii movement); the

clash between the Lord of Light and Creation and that of Darkness

and Destruction for the possession of the soul of Faust; the

idea of sin and of possible return to the grace of God (iii

movement) and, finally, the forecast of Horgherita*s redemption,

and that of the resolution of the earthly dissonance represented

by the drama of Faust into the supreme harmony of the Divine

world (iv movement).

 In the first port of Act I, the festive atmosphere of the

Easter Sunday is instantly established by a sonorous peal of bell

- an historical and happy touch of local colour being the

tradition of the 'compone accordate* very popular in Germany

since early times. 'Senza rigore di tempo', the bells sound

a short motive, which will be heard over again throughout

the scene, on the notes G F D E C. The last note provides the

tonic to the martial theme thundered out by the orchestra in

vigorous chords, characterized by rapid alternation, frequent

changes in time signature (3/4 - 2/4), and by the final, curious

effect produced by the oscillation of the cymbals, rendering the

din of the excited crowd (Ex. 10). The merrymakers deport

themselves to the sound of very rapid ascending and descending

five notes scales. A group of students, burghers and hunters

intone o lively chorus (’PerchS di Id'), in the middle of which

occurs a charming tune in praise of April sung by eight young

girls crossing the stage. With a repetitive little theme in D

flat, a trumpet on the stage signals the arrival of a town-crier

accompanied by a herald. Port of the crowd is attracted by them

port by o quack who now enters followed by a Merry Andrew, whilst

a group of mounted soldiery and townsfolk surround a vendor of

beer, breaking in a vigorous tons'! to 'wild affairs' and'careless

beauty1. As a grey friar appears among the crowd, greeted by

some, shunned by others, the initial martial theme (Ex. 10) is

heard in a slower tempo and darkened version, as if enwrapped in

 275

FRIMA PARTS
A T T O P R IM O

Marzlalo J-

fll.e IV.InpB
Trdmbe lo Fa
Tromboal

Ofloloido
Timpani luSol-Do

6 Oempane
Cnmpaoolll
Tamburi loSol«
Trombo In Fa
Tromboal

WAONER
MBFISTOFBLS
 276

cn evil mist. The tonal progression, from B flat to G flat, to

D flat, to A major, to E ma)or and, eventually, to the carefree

basic key of C major, is both original and effective. The

cavalcade of the Elector and bis suite, accompanied by the

excited comments of the crowd (together and variously, the voices

overlapping and merging) is a brilliant piece of descriptive

music, beside being tremendously effective from a visual and

theatrical point of view. This scene slowly dissolves in the

triplets of the strings, then on an orchestral chord in tremolo

enlivened by. the ringing bells and eventually ending on the tonic

note of C major. After a brief transition, Faust appears on the

scene followed by Wagner. Supported by a tremolo on the strings,

musically vonveying the image evoked by the words *A1 soave raggiar

di primavera1 (in the soft light of spring the ice is melting),

the old doctor comments on the beauty of spring, in a recitativo

vary Wagnerian i- " vour. (Ex. 11)

PP tranquil
Moderate <^44?

I
 277

The martial motive (Ex. 10) occurs again, suggestively altered in

rhythm and tempi (alternation 6/8 - 3/4). It engenders an

atmosphere of wild excitement, corresponding to the bursting on

the stage of a throng of merrymakers. There follows (after

Wagner's brief recitativo punctuated by the strings) the chorus

'II bel giovinetto1, sustained by a strong, dance-like triple

rhythm; begun in G major, it ends on the dominant chord of E

minor. The ensuing Obertos, started off by o very rhythmic

theme struck up by the doublo-basses, is irresistible in its

impetuous dash and wild whirl. With its vigorous, harmonic

dynamic, and rhythmical features and its br-.ght colours, it

provides a great contrast to the following episode beginning with

the dialogue between Faust and Wagner. Daylight is fading and

the crowd melts away. With a few touches, which could not be

simpler and yet more suggestive, Boito conjures up the atmosphere

of the night, full of disturbing shadows and sinister forebodings.

Remarkable is the effect produced by the harmonics of violins,

violas and ‘cellos combined with the notes held by the piccolo

and the flutes, at the words 'Fulgoreggian a vespro', and the

passage from D M a j o r to 0 flat in the boss, underlying the words

‘Declina 11 giorno1, Accompanied by a shuddering tremolo on

the kettle drums (lower strings, horns and bassoons sounding a

long, sustained chord), Wagner exhorts Faust to leave, as 'the

horizon is full of fog'. In the passage preceding Wagner's

words 'A notte bruna torna dolce la casa', uttered over the
 277

The martial motive (Ex. 10) occurs again, suggestively altered in

rhythm and tempi (alternation 6/8 - 3/4). It engenders an

atmosphere of wild excitement, corresponding to the bursting on

the stage of a throng of merrymakers. There follows (after

Wagner's brief recitative punctuated by the strings) the chorus

'II bel giovinetto', sustained by a strong, dance-like triple

rhythm; begun in G major, it ends on the dominant chord of E

minor. The ensuing Obertos, started off by o very rhythmic

theme struck up by the double-basses, is irresistible in its

impetuous dash and wild whirl. With its vigorous, harmonic

dynamic, and rhythmical features and its bright colours, it

provides a great contrast to the following episode beginning with

the dialogue between Faust and Wagner. Daylight is fading and

the crowd melts away. With a few touches, which could not be

simpler and yet more suggestive, Boito conjures up the atmosphere

of the night, full of disturbing shadows and sinister forebodings.

Remarkable is the effect produced by the harmonics of violins,

violas and 'cellos combined with the notes held by the piccolo

and the flutes, at the words 'Fulgoreggian a vespro', and the

passage from D major to D flat in the bass, underlying the words

'Decline il giorno'. Accompanied by a shuddering tremolo on

the kettle drums (lower strings, horns and bassoons sounding a

long, sustained chord), Wagner exhorts Faust to leave, as 'the

horizon is full of fog1. In the passage preceding Wagner's

words 'A notte bruna torna dolce la casa', uttered over the
 'Ah' sung off-stage (on the interval by the tenors and held

for four measures, the eeriness of the atmosphere is enhanced by

the modulation from C major to C flat, to 8 flat minor, to B flat

in the alternating thirds and fifths given out, in mysterious

pianissimo, by clarinets and bassoons. The theme of Mefistofele

(Ex. 6) seem: to spring forth quite naturally at this moment, as

if it were the incarnation of the supernatural essences

impregnating the air. It tells us about the true nature of the

Grey Friar who, to a serpentine, chromatic line in the bass

interrupted by a sinister trillo on violas and 'cellos, moves in

tortuous spiral toward the terrified Faust. Wagner's reassuring

. words 'No, fantasima quest'd del tuo cervello' take the form of

an Allegretto Scherzoso,'sounding a trifle incongruous in this

particular context. Within the following three bars tension

is, however, rapidly built up, reaching explosion point on Foust's

frenzied cry. It persists in the series of very slow, perfect

chords in different keys 'cupomente religiose', as given by the

instruction, interspersing Wagner's calm remark that the mysterious

figure is a grey friar, no spectre. (Each group of three chords

ends with a pause retarding the resolution on the chord of B flat.)

As Faust and Wagner leave, followed by the Grey Friar, a fragment

of the chorus 'II bel giovinetto' is heard, repeated by the sopranos

and then vocalized by tenors, in the distance. The tenors' phrase

is almost inaudible, and occurs in the middle of a very interesting

heavy-moving fourth-relationship enharmonic passage leading,

 279

through downward and upward jumps of fourths, from B flat, to E

flat, to A flat, to D flat, to G flat and then, from B natural

(held for seven measures) to E, to A, to D, to G, to C. In the

meantime, the change of scene has taken us into the study of

Faust who, unaware of the presence of the Grey Friar, sings his

first aria 'Dai compi, dai proti', (Ex.12)

almost Beethovenian* in the terseness of the melodic contour, the

classical restraint of the accompaniment given to violins and

woodwind and the perfect balance of its ternary form. In the

bright key of F major and strongly diatonic, it aptly conveys the

sense of restored peace, of profound calm felt by the old doctor

now in the familiar atmosphere of his study inducive of meditation.

A more anxious note is introduced at the words 'Le torve passion!

del cuore' in the darker key of D minor. Then, through a

passage in B flat and a diminished chord, the initial melvdy in

F major is resumed, and the aria ends peacefully with a tonic-

dominant tremolo pedal. An abrupt change in mood is brought

1. Its similarity with a theme of Beethoven's 'Kreutzersonate1

(ii movement', has been repeatedly pointed out.
 280

in by chromatic scales storming in the orchestra and leading to

Mefistofele's theme (Ex. 6) to which he reveals himself. During

his excited dialogue'with Faust, Mefistofele enigmatically

describes himself as 'Una parte vivente di quello forza ehe

perpetuamente pensa il Male e fa il Bene' (A living particle of

that force that perpetually thinks Evil and does Good), to a

sequence of eerie chords, (Ex 7A). He then embarks on the

ballad: 'Son lo spirito che nego', (Ex.13)

Son loSpi.rLto che ne - gasem-pre.tut-to-i'a _ stro.ii fiar.

Un poco piii trattenuto______________ | "

PP assai Ic

impressive in its 'weird suggestion of diabolical malevolence'

incidentally, an obvious model for Jago's ’Credo'. Mefistofole

has no 'melodic face1,^ as befits the Lord of Destruction,

shrieking defiance at all that is good, great and harmonious; his

music is intentionally unbeautiful, set in harsh sounds and abrupt

rhythms merely emphasizing the qualities of the poetical text.

The prevailing imagery of ruin and destruction is well translated

in music by the thunder clap on the words 'Fior', 'Creator1,

1. Klein, J.W, 'Boito and his two operas. .Music and letters;
1926, p.76.
2. I borrow this expression from Mosco Corner (referring
to Scorpio) op. cit., p.346.
 281

'Mai' ot the end of each musical period, by the repeated, defiant

'No', and by the ooracjsive sixteenth-note • broken chords crashing

down like a sonorous avalanche. The ballad, twice repeated (the

second time to a new text and with some alterations in ihe

accompaniment of the first section) is composed of three parts:

in the first chromatic pert (modulating from F minor, to G minor,

to B flat minor), Mefistofele asserts himself as the Spirit of

Denial, the enemy of the Creator/ the second part, in an

Animated staccato form, is an exaltation of his own destructive

power; the third part, ending with a shrill whistle, mingled

with a furious ascending chromatic figure, is characterized by

fiery, repeated diminished fifths on the trombones and by the

contrast between the diabolically powerful phrases of scorn and

derision 'Rido e avvento questa sillaba..,' and the dark, sinister

'No*, on the surprising chord of C major in first inversion.

The sequence of chords characterizing Mefistofele’s shifty nature

(Ex. 7) is heard again in the following episode of the Pact; when

he, declaring himself Faust's slave and servant says 'lo qui mi

lego ai tuoi servigi'. Faust's answer is set forth in a

beautiful contobile, 'Se tv mi doni un'ora di riposo1, beginning

in D flat, modulating to A major at the words 'bv'-jo pensier me

stesso e il mondo' and then,momentarily, through an enharmonic

passage (F^ / G*»), to G flat on Fausts outburst MRRESTATI SEI

BELLO!' The pact is concluded to an upward- continually

accelerating passage leading to G major. Alluding to the

 282

sensual pleasures they are about to experience, Mefistofele sings

a lively tune 'Fin da stanotte1 (upward leaps reinforced by

triangle and piccolo) over his characteristic theme appearing,

this time, in a more vigorous, almost dance-like, rhythmic form.

Faust joins him, as though, in renouncing to his own individuality,

he were surrendering to the devil's now dominating will.

Mefistofele invites the old doctor to follow him on his mantle

in a broad phrase 'Pur ... cSVio diatenda questo mantel*, taken

over by the trombones and then, the dynamic volume gradually

increasing, by the whole orchestra emphasized by resounding tam­

tam beats. As the curtain falls, Mefistofele and Faust disappear,

their flight through the air being accompanied by the orchestra,

almost 'tangibly' reproducing (through the profusion of stringendo,

allargando and other special markings) the movement of the mantle

on the wings of the wind.

The first part of Act II, describing, in intensely lyrical

terms, Koust* first experience of life, falls into three sections:

the first contains the delightfully fresh urnd spontaneous duet

between Foust (rejuvenated and under th- ..ome of Enrico) and

Margherita followed by the cynical one of the more experienced

couple Marta - Mefistofele (the latter, here seen in his Falstoffeon

aspect). The second section, beginning with Margherita questioning

Faust about his conception of religion, is devoted to their

passionate love duet and ends with the girl’s acceptance of the

sleeping potion for her mother. The last part shows the four
 283

characters engaged in an exhilarating and scenically exciting

quartet. The act commences with a brief introduction suggesting

the homely, charming simplicity of the scene and the purity and

innocence of Horgherita. The string orchestra plays o gentle

motive (strongly reminiscent of the second theme of the andante

of Mozart’s 'Prague1 Symphony) over the undulating line provided

by violas and 'cellos alternating the tonic and dominant of the

key of F major (then, C major and G minor). On the soft

pizzicato of the violins answered by the flutes, the curtain

rises to reveal Faust strolling up and down with Margherita.

The strings sound, tentatively, an entrancing little tune out of

which eventually develops Margherita's fresh, almost naive,.

melody 'Cavoliero illustre e saggio* upon which the first duet is

built. The Mefistofele-Marta duet, intended as a foil to the

preceding one, is accompanied by a grotesque succession of

rhythmic intervals on the bassoons punctuated by violas and lower

strings, ruvido and staccatissimo. (Mefistofele*s theme- Ex.6 -

is heard under his words 'Purtroppo e trepido vedo quell'ora1).

With a ripresa of the gentle, initial motive in F major (to be

heard once more during this second section when Faust asks

Margherita 'Dimmi, in casa sei sola sovente?’) begins the dialogue

about religion leading to Foust' simple, yet passionate, cantabile

in the predominant key of C major 'Colma il tuo cuor d'un palpito

(Ex.14);
 284

Ex. 14

il tuo cor d 'u n p a l . p i.to

And!" sostenuto

, rri

(which will later acquire a bitterly poignant meaning)

culminating on the high B natural on the word 'Amor'.

In the passage which follows the ascending chromatic

melodic lines set against a pulsing accompaniment on the cellos,

convey Faust's tumult of passion and the conflicting emotions of

the hesitating - and firally surrendering - Morgherita. As

Mefistofele and Marta return the music assumes a syncopated,

extremely dynamic rhythmical form (semiquavers and quavers in the

bass against chords held by the orchestic). The two couples

join in the irresistible quartet in the first port of which the

different feelings of the four characters are rendered by

individually suitable themes: the square melodic lines of plain

Marta contrast with those, more sophisticated, of Mefistofele.

Morgherita's and F vt's reciprocal attraction is conveyed by an

almost identical, syncopated motive, culminating in

Morgherita's sweeping phrase ’Ahl sento un* aura arcana e cara',

(Ex. 15) ;

'i
 i

285

Ex. 15
MaBC. f . Modernto

. tra net cor, ahl sen-to, ahlscntoun’a .u - r a a r . ca-nae e a - r a .

A?-, /- y
i i
_ d e.stean .co r? ahl
_ si.
-Sa-/- f'
- con passions

d’a-m or, si! Ahl sen . toun'

U-

token over by Foust. The episode moves with increased speed

and reaches its highest momentum in the 'presto* which follows

the roar of laughter on which the curtain falls.

From the experience of love, to the experience of evil.

For the second part of Act II the action shifts to the Shirk

Valley - the legendary region of darkness, chaos and turmoil of

which Mefistofele is the sovereign lord. Double-basses, 'cellos

and bassoons enter with grisly chromatic scales over a double C

tremolo in the bass; a restless rustling in the strings,

interrupted by ominous sounds in the orchestra most effectively

evoke the nightmare quality of the atmosphere. In the distance

'lurtga e sotteronea*, the voice of Mefistofele is heard,

repeatedly inciting Faust to go onward. His words, tinged with

A new solemnity, are uttered against his characteristic theme

(Ex. 6) here appearing in a darker, fuller vesture over the

pizzicato of the violins. The light and darting motive of the

will-o'-the wisp, 'flashing' in the piccolo, clarinets and

flutes, casts a phosphorescent glow over the sombreness of the

I
 286

scene. Again, Mefistofele repeats his exhortation, echoed, this

time, by unearthly voices resounding from the depths of the

mountains. Faust's not too impressive invocation of the Will-o'

-the wisp, contrasting with the devil's heavy ten times repeated

‘Cammina, cammina...1, is followed by Mefistofele* s passage

'Ascoltai S'agita il bosco*, a stupendous page of descriptive

music, vaguely reminiscent of the Wolfschlucht scene in Weber's

Per FreischUtz. It is beautifully scored and full of well

devised effects (as, for instance v „• wails of the invisible

infernal host over the chord of the diminished seventh supported

by a tremolando pedal on F in strings and kettle drum). The

core of the second scene of Act II is, however, represented by

Mefistofele's assertion of power over the world of Evil and

Destruction - the dark counterpart of the 'Prologue in Heaven'.

This episode, framed between the Witches' and sorcerers' chirus

and the 'Ridda e fuga infernale' begins, with the off-stage song

of the Witches (’Rompiamo, rampiomo'), declaimed very rapidly,

on a single note, a semitone higher every four measures, and set

against a series of descending, dissonant, empty chords of sixth.

Very impressive is the effect produced by the Witches' explosion

on the loud 'Su, su', echoed by the sorcerers, over a chord of

the diminished seventh in its second inversion, reinforced by a

stroke on the cymbals. Amidst the rush of the orchestra,

turbulently sounding ascending and descending five notes scales,

witches and sorcerers burst on to the scene intoning a mock-

 287

psalmody, solemnly treated in canon, (basses, tenors, contraltos

and sopranos entering at the interval of^perfect fifth) on the

words 'Siam sulvi per tutta I'eternitd.1 Directly after this

comes Mefistofele's majestic appearance among his subjects. His

contemptuous address to them 'Largo,, largo a Mefistofele* is

answered by an unaccompanied, parodistically liturgical formula

of adoration on the reiterated simple interval of a fifth.

There follows the dance of the young witches, marked by a sharply

defined rhythm and a bold, abrupt change from E major to A flat.

It is interrupted by Mefistofele's imperious recitativo starting

with o chord of D flat in the brass and emphasized by alternating

repetitions in the orchestra, first imitating, then together with and

finally anticipating the singer. A riprese of the dance of the

witches leads to Mefistofele's famous 'Ballad of the world', in

which the nature of the destructive power represented by him, is

focused. The ballad which Mefistofele sings holding a gloss

glob) is made up of three parts, connected by a descending

diatoiuc scale which serves as an orchestral ritornello. In

the first part, in B flat, the Lord of Darkness asserts his

presumed power over the whole world. Strokes on the triangle,

kettle-drum rolls and the pizzicato of the double-bosses,

interspersed with empty measures, precede Mefistofele's

considerations of the world 'vuoto e tondo* (Ex. 16);

 P Icg-itUsimo

do, vuo to o to n _ d o , is’a l

which goes up ond down, glitters end bounces, the music

graphically mirroring the movement implied in the words. A

vigorously incisive rhythm sustains the middle section (Ex. 17)

in which Mefistofele scorns the race, 'both profligate and mad,

haughty, cowardly, subtle and wicked', unceasingly devouring

themselves 'from the topmost peak to the bottommost depths of

the wicked world*. The characteristic rhythm of Mefistofele*s

 289

theme (Ex. 6} stressed by clarinets, bassoons and kettle-drums in

a chord of the seventh, sustains the beginning of the last section

of the ballad, inspired by the cynical attitude of foolish mankind

towards both Paradise ond Hell (Ex. 18).

F o J a v a n a e .a le i S r.ta .

Q u a si A ndV

Enjoying his triumph, Mefistofele eventually, hurls the globe to

the grrjnd, laughing and oursting into the exultant 'Ecco il mondo’

(There goes the world.1), climaxed by the violent, dotted figure

rung out by the brass. The donee of vhe Infernal throng - a

riotous allegro focoso accompanied by the chorus 'Riddiamo,

riddiamo1 - ends with a piercing trill on the piccolo,

unexpectedly taken over by the gentle tone of the flute. In

strong contrast tj the preceding pandemonium comes the episode of

the apparition of Margherita. Poignantly, the music recalls on

flutes delicately supported by clarinets, oboes and violas,

Faust's tender and passionate motive 'Colma il tuo cuor d'un

palpito (Ex. 14) from the Garden Scene. Against it, Faust utters

his wondrously expressive, recitotivo-like passage *La nel

lontano, nel nebuloso ciel', thrice interrupted by Mefistofele's

furious command ‘Torci il guardo* supported by violent distortions

 290

of his theme in •'he orchestra. Heralded by a series of chords

in rapidly changing rhythm, witches and sorcerers resume their

wild dancing and singing out of which grows the tumultuous 'Fuga

infernole1 - a tremendously exciting visual and sonorous

phantasmagory, both picturesque and dramatically to the point,

reproducing the infernal atmosphere of firelit darkness, of

speeding shapes, of chaos and of wild erotic excitement. The

fugue, vocal and instrumental, starts off boldly with a robust

theme (Ex. 19)

- d ia m o , r id f la m o , rid . d ia m , rid d ia m .
 291

marked by a square-cut rhythm, announced by the soprano voices

and answered first by the basses and then by the tenors. The

development is expert in elaboration and neatly designed. After

the section in which a fragment of tne fugal theme passes through

the various registers of the voices (from the second to the first

basses, then from the second to the first tenors, then from the

second to the first sopranos)- the orchestra, supporting with

tremendous vigour.-reappears the ’Riddiamo, riddiamo1 chorus

climaxed by frenzied shouts of ’Sabba, Sabba, Sab!os1. A very

fast passage of ascending quadruplet chromatic notes leads to

the stretto, in which the theme of the fugue gives way to the

’Saboe’ shout, furiously syllabified, higher and higher and

backed by the higher woodwind dominated by the piccolo.

Noteworthy is the sudden shift from B flat to the fortissimo 2

major chord, followed by a series of wild ascending chromatic

quadruplets on the strings,cutting their way through the

impressive instrumental pedal of E major, and the SaboS theme

held by all the voices in long, sustained notes. The pedal of

E is token over by all the voices whilst a series of violent

diminished chords storm in the orchestra. Voices and orchestra

and dancing shapes on the stage combine in on overwhelming ,

example of vocal, instrumental and 'visual* counterpoint.

Flashing and flaming, the fugo pushes on to its riotous

coda.strumentale - a uroken chord of A major disrupted in its

logical order by the introduction of the foreign notes, B and F.

 292

An extended, fortissimo orchestral tremolo provides on exciting

conclusion to the oct.

The third act, intense in its music no less then in its drama,

begins with o dork, orchestral introduction portraying the gloomy

atmostpher'e of the prison. Out of the Vviry slow, somb-t, four-

notes motive first introduced by the double-basses, then doubled

on the cellos and again repeated over ascending and descending

chromatic fragments, develops a chromatic upward-moving figure

enriched,in chords, by the tones of violas, violins and flutes.

Over a shuddering tremolo bass, o gentle, infinitely sad little

theme (the first measures of Margherita’s 'Nenia* soon to be

heard) stecls"in G minor on the horns; it is then repeated on

oboes and violins, in G major, after an interruption from the

clarinets. With a brief, embellished cadence, the clarinets

prepare the tonality of D minor, in which the Nenia is written.

The aria 'L'altra notte in fondo al more1 begins in 0 minor over

very simple broken chords in the viola, and shifts to D major after

the first five measures.' Semiquaver staccato chords sounded

pianissimo by violins, flutes and piccolo to the words ’L'auro

& fredda seem to convey the shivering of Margherita's agonized

body whilst the twittering on the piccolo in the following bars

enhances the image of the flying bird after which her distraught

mind is wandering. The cadenza on the word ’Vola1 (dramatically

motivated, Margherita's aria being the equivalent of Goethe's

Gretchen's mad song), ends impressively with a shift from D major

 293

to a crushing D minor chord over which she gasps out 'Ah! di me

pieto'. (Original score: 'Ah! pietd di me!) The aria is

repeated identically, with the exception of the cadenza which is

more florid and with the addition of a high A in the last measure

but one. The reappearance of the musical phrase associated with

Faust's love motive (Ex. 14) heralds his arrival. He is, in fact,

seen outside the grating with Mefistofele who withdraws after a

brief, exchange with him. A passage in ascending semiquavers,

accompanying Faust's entrance into the prison, leads to Margherita's

anguished 'Dio di pietd!', at once chilling and pathetic with its

abrupt and very effective octave jumps. In contrast to this

outburst is the succeeding passage in which Margherita addresses

Faust, in recitativo secco, without however recognizing him.

Her almost whispered words are punctuated by a few isolated notes

on the oboe. After a suspense-creating 'lunga, vuota' measure,

Faust passionately calls 'Margherita1, his voice merging with

the explosion of the orchestra, now recoiling the phrase heard in

the Garden Scene (Ex. IS). Memories of happier days flash

through Margherita's delirious mind, whilst the syncopated rhythm

in the accompaniment evokes the gallant skirmish in Marta's sunny

garden. The ensuing episode is the most emotionally devastating

scene in the opera. Nowhere else does Boito reach a more

poignant note than in Margherita's description of 'II tetro ordin

di tombe' (The melancholy order of the graves), which Faust 'must

dig tomorrow1. The declamation in which her words are conveyed

broken utterances in melodious recitative punctuated by merely

indicated intervallic motives on the English horn and the flute

alternately - is almost impressionistic and seems to presage

the Debussy of Pelleas et Helisonde. as observed by Vittorio

Gui.'^ Notice should be taken of the 'expressive' quality of the

continuous modulations to unrelated keys (from C major to D major,

to A flat, to E major, to B flat), mirroring the unbearable

emotion and anxiety which increases as Margherita passes from one

fragment of related thought to the next. On the last note of

her declamato the strings enter with an impetuous figuration

providing the background to her frenzied expressions of fear

which conclude with the desolation of the words 'Che far sulla

terra? Mendicare 11 mio pane a frusta a frusto dovro colla

coscienza paurosa dei miei delitti*. (What is there for me to

do on earth? I shall have to beg my bread, morsel by morsel, in

the fearful consciousness of my crimes). As if unwilling to

prolong further the terrible pathos and tension of the scene,

Boito introduces at this stage the languorous duet 'Lontono,

lontano', delightfully scored. It is preceded by a Lento mo non

troppo,-Faust - Margherita recitative sustained by a descending

1. See: Cesare Orselli 'Arrigo Boito: un riesame'. Chigiana.

Rassegna Annua-le di studi musicologici. Leo S. Olshki ed.
Firenza, MCMLXVIII, p.206. (Debussy, who met Boito in 1885
during his sojourn in Italy as the winner of the Grand Prix
de Rome, was greatly impressed by 'Mefistofele'. See:
Raffaello De Rensis Canitoii biografici.' Firenze, Sansoni,
1942, p.199.)
melodic progression over a pedal point on A flat. Dreaming of

a far, far away 'heaven of peace* the lovers sing a quiet,

hypnotic declamation, the melodic interest of which is provided

by the change of note from phrase to phrase. The vocal line is

coloured with the most delicate orchestral tints: ethereal chords

sounded first by the strings and then enriched by the tones of

clarinets, oboes and flutes above a tonic pedal of D flat (for

the first eight measures) o n harps and double-basses. The

rhythmical figure, shapeless as regards melodic contours, is

repeated over and over (the main feature lying in the continually

varying relationship between the two voices) until the eleventh

measure where, at the words 'spdranti, migrant!, raggidnti' the

vocal movement (quavers grouped in threes - ^ time) suggests the

vague fluctuation of the wo 'es. This illusion is enhanced by

the change in the time signature ( ^ / g ) * With a ripresa of the

quietly whispered 'lontano, lontano', in its original rhythm, the

music fades to its serene end. The appearance of Mefistofele

outside the grill abruptly dispells the vision of peace.

Confronted with the agonizing reality Margherita invokes the help

of God; the voices of Mefistofele and Faust join hers, combining

in an agitated terzetto beginning with words rapidly uttered in

quavers and semiquavers (in ^) and ending with Faust's dramatic

cry 'Ah, non fossi mai nato!1 A brief orchestral transition,

portraying the dim glow of daybrea.: J.eads to Margherita's

swansong 'Spunto 1'aurora pallida', a brief, but very moving aria

tinged with sadness. This is, in my opinion, the most inspired

piece of vocal writing of the entire score. It begins very

simply, in an almost subdued manner, in E minor, eventually landing

by way of continually modulating sequences, in the key of E major.

The orchestra enters immediately with the material of the Chorus

of the Celestial Host (Ex. 4B). Against it Margherica utters her

last prayer, her final rejection of Faust - the quasi-porloto

’Enrico, mi fai ribrezzo' - revealing in the most impressive way

the change in her nature, from the tender and simple girl of her

first meeting with Faust to the woman accused of the most

atrocious crimes, now repudiating her illusory and tragic experience

of love.

On the repetition of the cadence heard at Ex.5, the

Celestial Host, counteracting Mefistofele's assertion ’E giudicatai

proclaim Margherita’s salvation. A concise orchestral postlude

brings to its end what can be considered the most intensely human

and dramatically compelling act of Boito's work.

Act IV, although not over-impressive from a dramatic point of

view, is.magnifies' its perfect blending of music, poetry,

scenography, and phic effects. To the ethereal sound

of strings and woodwind, the curtain rises to reveal the moonlit

wooded banks of the rivor Peneus where immortal Elena is shown,

with her companion Pantalis, surrounded by plastically grouped

personages of the mythological world. Much of the archaic

colour achieved in this orchestral prelude derives from the use

 297

of major and minor triads over the transposed pentachord of the

Lydian mode. The opening duet 'La luna immobile1, sung

alternately by Elena and Pontalis, is remarkable for the way in

which poetic and musical structure reinforce each other, both

contributing to the creation of a vaguely archaic, extremely

suggestive, atmosphere. Noteworthy is also the imaginative use

of instruments, the flutes making their graceful appearance over

the glittering background provided by arpeggio chords on the

harp, the lower strings reinforcing the dominant tonic figure

with which each melodic phrase is sealed. A disturbance of this

serene atmosphere occurs when Mefistofele enters with Faust. He

expresses his uneasiness at being among the ’strange phantoms* of

the classical world, illustrated in the orchestra by the grisly

chromatic figure previously heard at the opening of the Witches'

Sabbath act. Serenity is, however, restored as soon as the

Choretides1 ring-dance begins. Gracious, delicately scored and

almost Gluckean in manner, the Chorea falls into three perfectly

balanced sections (each "comprising sixteen bars and each,with its

own theme). The music enhances the sense of delicate enchantment;

it is, however, the visual action that here takes the upper hand.

The composed movements of the dancers continually creating new

forms in space, traco an exquisite arabesque against the moon-

flooded, silvery landscape. A repitition of the first section

of the Chorea leads, through a shift from D flat to D major, to

the majestic chorus "Trionfi ad Elena' sustained by broken chords

 298

and arpeggios in the harps- This is followed by Elena* s

narration of the destruction of Troy, cast in a fitting '

declamatory style. It opens in a recitative manner •growing

visionary and powerfully dramatic from the words "Nugoli d ’arsa

polvere*. Very effective is the musical representation of the

clouds of burnt dust, of the clashing shields, hurtling chariots

and twanging catapults accompanied by furious syncopated

passages starting in the violas and then passing to the 'cellos

as the violins move in implacable propulsion (Ex. 20).

Impressive too is the intervention of the Choretides, imploring

peace and invoking the gods. Also remarkable is the passage in

sextuplet-grouping given to the violins (the first violins

playing the interval ^ double stopping, whilst the seconds

•flutter* in the alternation F sharp - F natural), frequently

repeated in the accompaniment of the second part of the narration

which ends on a fortissimo seventh chord, hammered out by the

orchestra. The episode of Elena's narration ends with the

words 'Alto silenzio regno poscia dove fu Troia', cast in

melologue form, as in the beginning. In Sapphic hendecusyllobles,

the rhythmical scansion of which is preserved in the music, the

Choretides announce the arrival of Faust, who enters followed by

Mefistofele. Harps and strings introduce Faust's andante, amoroso

'Forma ideal purissima1, again almost Bee khovenian in its design

and classical simplicity. His tribute to the image of enduring

beauty gives way to a superb concertato in which Elena's broad,

I
i
giBeaeww®BamtiBBSBbg4*H*

B ti^ i
 300

sweeping melody- 'Dal tuo respiro1- (Ex. 21),

% r — ------- '___ r~
D ai tuo r e . spi _ ro p en-doem echiam o be _ a - ~ ta ~

soars above the lines given to Faust, Pantolis, Nereo. Mefistofele

end the comments of the Chorus. After the episode' in which Faust

teaches Elena to speak the 'idioma soave', comes the duet 'Amore!

mistero', one of the most lyrical sections of the work.

Introduced by the reiterated word 'T'amo', sung alternately by

Faust and Elena, the duet begins with the voices singing in

unison, but later develops into a type of free echoing imitation.

Worthy of note is the passage 'Cantiamo I'amore' in which Elena

and Faust are supported by string chords in groups of three

quavers. The repetition of the first part of the duet is

climoctically reinforced by chorus and orchestra. After reaching

an impressive fortissimo, the music suddenly sinks to a pianissimo

A flat chord 'sighed1 by the Choretides and held in long

sustained, changing chords over the tremolo of violas, 'cellos

and double basses. Above this structure, Faust and Elena

viisp-- their words 'Giaco in Arcadia...', as if intoxicated with

bliss. The ethereal theme with which the act opened is heard

on the woodwind, then on the solo strings supported by a very

soft timpany roll. Over the lost, pianissimo ‘Ah2 of

Choretides and Choriphaci the curtain, very slowly, falls.

In the Epilogue - The Death of Faust - the stage is set

 301

for the final chapter in the struggle between Hell and Heaven;

it is a very short act, most of its themes and melodies being ]

derived from earlier episodes. Faust is seen in his study once j

more. An old man, with death fast approaching, he appears lost

in meditation. 'Goethe put, at the beginning of this scene, ,

four hogs; surrounding Faust they murmur sinister and obscure I

words. What Goethe put on the stage we put in the orchestra,

■ using sounds instead of words so as to render more incorporeal |

and extra-human the hallucinations perturbing Foust on the edge '

of the g r a v e ' w r o t e Boito in a footnote of his first libretto.

Titis explains and comments on the short orchestral introduction

with which the Epilogue begins. Mysterious, almost disconnected ,

sounds based on falling diminished fifths and seeming to adhere

to no key-centre, pass through many of the instruments of the

orchestra (oboes, clarinets, double basses, bassoons, 'cellos).

These impressionistic passages translate the 'magic voices floating

in the air' into an orchestral medium and, at the same time, convey

the restlessness of Faust's thought. Then, Elena's theme (Ex.21)

appears, almost doleful in this context,on the mellow tones of the

viola. Into this theme suddenly sounds the voice of Mefistofele

exhorting Faust's 'arrogant thought' to go on and on. Against

Mefistofele's descending scales ('0 canti, o memorie') Faust

pensively declaims his melancholy words 'Corsi attraverso il

1. Boito, A. op. cit., p.176.

 302

mondo e i' suoi miraggi' (l hove passed through the length and

breadth of the world and all its vain illusions), out of which

grows his fine, and appropriately restrained, aria ’Giunto sul

passo estremo*. Hard upon this follows the scene of Faust's

visionary, dream 'Ecco la nuova turbo' which provokes Mefistofele's

alarmed reaction. The two voices follow each other in imitation

over a most interesting harmonic sequence moving through

continually changing keys, portraying the instability of the

vision which gradually assumes mystical connotations (from E

major to B major; then, enharmonicallyzto G flat and, changing

at every bar, from D flat to A flat, to E flat, to B Flat, to F

major, finally ending in the bright key of C major). It is to

the broken chords of harp, violas and 'cellos that Faust rejoices

himself in the ^august beam of the coming, eternal down. The

motive of the Celestial fanfare (Ex. l),in a richer and much more

extended figuration, asserts itself over the misty background of

droning percussions and lower strings. What follows is

magnificent theatre. Mefistofele's tempting of Faust (first by

inviting him, as in Act I, ii, to follow him on i,_ mantle and

then by evoking a vision from the Classical Sabbath act) is

countered by the intervention of the Celestial Host, who announce

themselves with the Chorus 'Ave o Signor' (Ex. 4B), heard first u n ­

accompanied, then ever louder, the dynamic volume gradually

increasing until, towards the end, the full orchestra is engaged.

On the first cadence of the Prologue (Ex. 5) Faust, with a heartfelt

 303

cry, pronounces the words 'Arrestoti sei hello'. Foiled in his

efforts but still trying to win Faust's soul, the enraged

Mefisto^ele orders once more 'Torci il guordo' (an echo from the

Witches' Sabbath) whilst the music of the angelic chorus

relentlessly pushes the action forward. Carried away in ecstasy

before the vision which becomes more and more clearly defined,

Faust, finally experiencing the moment of perfect bliss, explodes

in the vehement outburst 'SACRO ATTIMO FUGGENTE, ARREST ATI SEI

BELLO'. Into it the voices of the Cherubim enter - a felicitous

touch, children being the most natural symbol of new life and

hop As a shower of roses descends over Faust's body, all the

voice* impressively combine contributing to the tremendous

expansion of the ensemble. The defiant whistle of Mefistofele,

heard at each climax of grandeur, is eventually overwhelmed by

the Celestial trumpet-call (Ex. i), returning with overpowering

majesty and vigour over the E held fortissimo for the last five

bars by the chorus, the orchestra vibrating with the tremolo of

the strings, the sonorities of the woodwind, the rolls of the

timpani and the thunder of the tam-tam. This E has been

the generating note of the entire music drama and it sounds,as

the curtain falls, as it sounded in the beginning, the dazzling

splendour of heaven remaining the last image of the story of Faust.

Mefistofele is not, perhaps, the masterpiece, which Antonio

Borriello - one of the most eminent Boitian scholars - claims it

to be,in the conclusion of his exhaustive essay 'Mito poesio e

 304

musica nel "Mefistofele" di Arrigo Boito'."*' It is, however, a

powerful, inspired and original work, skilfully conceived,

brilliantly constructed and beautifully realized - a work so

different from the average I kalian opera of the mid-nineteenth

century as to justify Abraham's description of it as 'a landmark

' in the history of Italian opera1,^ The historical importance of

Mefistofele has hardly been questioned. It is sufficient to

remember the conditions prevailing in the unimaginative and

unenterprising operatic Italy of the eighteen-sixties in order to

feel for Boito's youthful work the greatest admiration.^ Calling

attention to the 'beauty, the grandiosity, the meaning and the

importance of Mefistofele1 Pizeetti,after pointing out the

deplorable customs of the Italian lyrical stage/ appears to

confirm that Boito had achieved his aims of opera reforin/when he

writes of him:

It was given to a men in his early twenties to be the

first in Italy to understand that ARIA and RECITATIVO
are useless words and formulae; that the musical
expression of the drama should not be constituted by
oasis of melody ariiidst the sand-desert of the
recitative. He felt that the forms of the melody
must not be determined by pre-conceived harmonic schemes;
that the chords have their own, invaluable, expressive
power; that the field of rhythmical possibility is much
more extended than thought by his contemporaries,...
the twenty-five years old composer sought and
experimented with new melodic, rhythmical, harmonic
and instrumental means of expression. As a result,

1. Antonio Borriello*cit., p.350.

2. G. Abraham. *A hundred years of music11. University

paperbacks, Methuen; London, 1964, p.182.
3. See Appendix H. p.408.

. I
 305

he conceived and wrote the Prologue of Mefistofele, -

a vast fresco, of which we do not i<now whether one has
to admire the movement of the celestial figures or the
colours; he discovered the rhythmical richness of the
foster Sunday and the Classical Sabbath Night, and
achieved the rare exquisiteness and depth of expression
which mark the harmonic sequences found (to quote some
example) in the two short colloquies between Faust and
Wagner and in Margherita's mad-scerte.^

It may perhaps be objected that by the time of the first

performance of Mefistofele, Verdi had produced no less than

twenty three operas (from Oberto Conte di San Bonifacio to Don

Carlos), some of them quite successful. But it is true that

Verdi, content to work within the confines of the traditional}

had never shown the slightest concern for the changes which were

revolutionizing music, both vocal and instrumental, during his

time. It was only with Ofccllo and Falstaff that Verdi took

'his place beside Wagner as a musiccl d r a m a t i s t * W e should

not, however, overlook FaustoTorrefranca's observation that, in

spite of the diversity of tttyls and of emotive and communicative

force, an examination of the scores of Mefistofele (1868) and

Aida (1871) reveals obvious resemblances to be seen, not only

'in the easy inflection or even breaking up of the melody always

ready to follow the yielding or changing of the verbal rhythm;

the poetic use of instrumental colouring unusual at that time,

and a tendency broadly ''cl fresco" in the ensemble scenes'. Lit

.also, and above all, 'in •'ha desire common to the two operas, to

1. Ildebrando Pizzetti;cn*.cit., pp. 42-43.

2. G, Abraham/^.cit., p.185.
 306

overcome the limitations of a musical conscience strictly national

and to attain to a larger one which might justly be called

European*

As to the intrinsic value of Mefistofele, its most salient

features may be summed up as follows: first, and foremost,

Boito's work recommends itself for the interest and beauty

produced by the coalescence of fine music and fine poetry - the

two elements being so indissolubly fused as to make a distinction

between idea and musical expression impossible. We thon admire

the richness of musical colours, the rhythmical originality, the

free and imaginative handling of the orchestra (an o n h e s t r a of

•full symphonic complexity, although not used with a really

symphonic technique) which is dominant and yet subordinate to the

vocal element. It is perhaps possible to question the quality of

Boito's melody, if we expect a vocol line to have the suppleness

or the sensuous warmth of the melodic lines of a Bellini or a

Verdi; Boito's typical lyrical phrases, marked by leaps and

dropping intervals look' forward to the melod. technique of the

early twentieth century and are full of dramatic vigour and

tension. The melody is not always strictly dependent on the

accent of the words, but it develops directly from the very words

and spirit of the text. There are, of course, instances of more

traditional melodic writing, the most remarkable items being

1. Fausto Torrefranca/ofiicit., p.544.

 307

Margherita1s two arias in Act III ('L'altra notte1 and 'Spunta

I'aurora pallida') and the Faust - Elena duet in Act IV ('Amore,

mistenb1). Harmonically Boito does not strike us to-day as

being excessively original: chromatic alterations, enharmonic

passages, sequences of empty fifths and octaves, constant

modulations from one key to another, sudden shifts from major to

minor or vice versa, have long been commonplaces; they were,

however, found to be almost revolutionary in the Italy of 1868,

and os such, harshly criticized.^ What should surely be

reckoned among Boito's most valuable achievements is the effectiveness

of his declamatory style - a kind of musical prose unadorned and

yet tremendously eloquent. The subtlety of the composer's use

of this device for dramatic truth, can hardly be exaggerated:

Margherita's mad-scene is the inevitable example but we must not

forget Elena's vision-narration in Act IV, her simple melologue

accompanied by essential chords emphasizing, without interfering,

however, the expressive quality of the words. Such a dramatic

conciseness is to be found in the works of Pizzetti, Malipiero

and the other composers of the generation of the eighties.

Although still retaining elements of the old melodramma Mefistofele,

obviously moving from the traditional form towards a greater

flexibility of structure, looks toward the future. It is not

1. Referring to the 'Prologue in Heaven* Verdi, in a letter to

his friend Arrivabene wrote1... and I, listening to the
harmonies of that piece, based almost always on dissonances,
seemed to be ... not in HEAVEN, certainly1. In Frank
Walker,-eli.cit., p.473.
 308

surprising that the conservatively orientated Milanese audience

should have found Mefistofele disturbingly revolutionary, and

reacted with a scene comparable to that of the Paris premiere of

Tannhauser, seven years before. It is even less surprising that

the charge of Wagnerism was levelled against Boito, the composer

being repeatedly accused of seeking to destroy the traditional

characteristic of Italian opera, of striving too much after

originality, of giving undue importance to the symphonic element

(in spite of Verdi’s warning that 'opera was opera and a symphony

a symphony1)^" and, most of all, of following too closely in the

footstep of the German composer. This change of Wagnerism need

hardly be answered. Apart from the nobility of its conception

there is nothing Wagnerian either in the structure or in the music

of Mefistofele. A few passages (Faust's 'Dai campi, dai proti',

'Forma ideal purissimo'1, the duet 'Lontano, lontcno') betray the

influence of Beethoven,whom Boito venerated, whilst in others, we

can feel the shadow of Schumann, Chopin, Weber, of those romantic

composers who had enriched music with their restless sensitivity

and with new means of expression. As already said, Boito accepted

from Wagner nothing more than some basic principles of aesthetics,

mainly concerning the Gesamtkunstwerk theory of the equal

importance and combination of all the arts in the theatre.

Boito could not have remained insensitive to the strength of

1. Toye, F., op. cit., p.468.

Wagner's personality and probably gained from him the example of

the militant artist devoted to the realization of the highest

ideals. This devotion to the cause of Art, always identified

with an ever-expanding Ideal, was to accompany him throughout

his life. It was to assist him during his endless striving for

the unattained perfection which he sought in Nerone.

 PART V

BOITO, THE LIBKETTIST-COMPOSER OF NERONE

 311

CHAPTER 1

THE LIBRETTO OF NERQNE

In 1876, with joyous excitement, Boito wrote to Count Solinou

’I live immersed in the blood and perfumes of Roman decadence,

amidst the whirling life of Nero's c o u r t I n 1901, the year

of the publication of Nerone as a tragedy, referring to the

polishing of the libretto (derived from his own tragedy) and to

the composition of the music, he confessed to Antonio Fogozzaro:

'I have forged with my own hands, with infinite love and pain,

the instrument of my t o r t u r e s ' I n d e e d there are few instances

of such painstaking work of preparation, involving historical

research, meditation, patient and prolonged studies, as that

accompanying the creation of Boito's gigantic roman epic. As to

the various literary sources of Nerone. Romualdo Giani, in his

authoritative and most scholarly essay II Nerone di Arriqo Boito,

after mentioning Octavio (for a long time wrongly attributed to

Seneca), Racine's Britannicus. Alfieri's Ottavia, Gazzoietti's

Paolo. Cossa's Nerone, Hamerling's Ahasuerus in Rome, wrote:

1. See p. 30.

2. Nardi, P., op. cit., p.638.

 312

Unlike Hamerling, not satisfi id with the more familiar

aspects, (Boito) grasped at every reminiscence and
every hint giving a clue to the secret of the soul;
and sought for realism, not among the second-hand
rendition of the historians - the Annoles of Tacitus,
the portrayals of Suetonius, the Decades of Dion Cassius,
the Judean anthology of Flavius - but rather in the
emotional tales of the poets, the ingenuous testimony
of the unscholarly, the ardent lyricism of legendary
lore; in the pages of Seneca, of Lucanus., of
Petronius, of Persius, of Juvenal, of Martial; in the
writings of Clemens Romanus, of Irenews, of Hippolytus,
of Epiphanius, in the Epistles of the Apostles, and in
the Apocalypse.1

It goes without saying that such on amount of research led to an

opera quite different both in scope and historical accuracy from

those on the same subject which had proceeded Boito1s. Among

these were: Monteverdi's L incoronazione di Poppea (Venice, 1624),

to a most beautiful libretto by Giovanni, F. Busene.’.lo; Perti's

Nerone (1693); Kunst's The Cruelty of Nero (Moscow, 1703);

Handel's Nero, or love attained through blood and murder

(Hamburg, 1705); Keiser’s Nero and Octavio (Hamb , 1705);

Duni's Nerone (Rome, 1735); Torchi’s La Morteidi Nerone (Venice,

1792) and Rubinstein's Nero (Hamburg, 1 8 7 9 ) Boito had attended

j performance of Rubinstein's work in Dresden and had come to the

..conclusion that the librettist Carrier was by no means a great

dramatic genius and that the music was rather disappointing..

On both the dramatic and the lyrical stage the figure of the

Roman Emperor associated with deeds so terrible as to become

1. Giani, R. 'II Nerone di Arrigo Boito' Turin: Bocca ed.

1924, p .55.

2. Other Neronian scores, appeared after Boito*s Nerone, are

Giovonnetti’s Petronio (Rome 1924) and Mascagni's Nerone
(Milan, 1935), the latter on libretto by Targioni-Tozzetti
founded on the'comody'by Pietro Cossa.
legendary, had always appeared in the 'crystallized' pattern of

a type symbolising crime, folly and infamous tyranny. Boito

was not, however, concerned with abstractions. With a critical

and psychological approach nearer to the twentieth century's idea

of historical reconstruction than to that of his own time, he

conceived a 'study' aimed at explaining not only the complex

personality of Nero, but also the cause of his bloody, destructive

folly. Relying on a few passages found in Tacitus and Suetonius

who, referring to the murder of Agrippina related that 'Nero only

understood the horror of his crime when it was done'* and that

'he was never thereafter able to free his conscience from the

guilt of this crime,^ Boito made the action of his drama pivot

around Nero's remorse for having had his mother killed. This

remorse was to become both the source and the unquenchable

expiation of his endless cruelties and destructive delirium •

Historical and legendary traditions, enlivened by the power of a

glowing imagination, contributed to the re-creation of the

background - the imperial Rome of the first century of the

Christian era, the new Babylon, as she was referred to by the

Fathers of the Church, splendid and corrupt as a courtesan

1. Tacitus, The Annals of Imperial Rome. XIV.10. 'The Fall of

Agrippina'. Great Britain - 1974:‘ Penguin Classics, p.317.

2. Suetonius The Twelve Caesars - 'Nero': Great Britain:

Penguin Classics, 1972, p.223.
 314

contaminated by all the vices, extravagances and excesses of the

Orient and impregnated with blood, luxury and folly. Among the

servile patrician and plebian crowd and the mob of mimes, histrions,

dancers and ephebes, eager for pleasure and strong emotions,

excited with lust ai.d violence, ready to hail their Coesar and to

condemn the new Lord's disciples, stand out the figures of Simon

Mago, Asteria and Tigellino. Simon Mago is the false doctor and

false prophet of the Acts^ associated, according to the tradition,

with Nero and thought to be the promoter of the first persecution

of the Christians. The character of Asteria, the snake .

charmer, is founded on Helen, the harlot, bought by Simon

Mago with the money stolen from the Apostles. Tigellino is

commander of the Guard and Nero's favourite. Opposed to them

ore FanuSl, the mariner of Palestine, who sums up in himself the

gentle ardour of the apostle Paul and the inflexibility of Peter;

Rubric, the Vestal virgin raped by Nero (according to Suetonius^

and not for 'purposes of the opera1’* as suggested by Patrick

Smith) and then converted to Christianity, and the crowd of early

Christians, singing and praying in the serene atmosphere of the

1. 'Simon had been astonishing the Samaritan nation by the

practice of magic, claiming that he was o remarkable
person'. (Acts; VII, 9).

2. Suetonius, op. cit., p.223 ('Nero raped the vestal virgin

Rubric')

3. Smith, P., op. cit.., p.348.

Orchord whilst waiting for their martyrdom and glory.

The first act of Nerone - The Appian way - stems from Tacitus' Annals

(XIV, 10 and 13):

For the rest of the night, witless and speechless,

he alternately lay paralysed and leapt to his
feet in terror, waiting for the down which he
thought would be his last^- ... Nero lingered in
the cities of Campania. His return to Rome was
a worrying problem. Would the Senate be obedient?
Would the public cheer him? Every bad character ...
•reassured him that Agrippina was detested. .. They
urged him to enter boldly and see for himself
how he was revered ... they found even greater
enthusiasm than they had promised. The people
marshalled in their tribes were out to meet him,
the senators were in their fine clothes, wives and
children drawn up in lines by sex and age.2

From Suetonius' Nero comes the detail:

He often admitted that the Furies were pursuing

him with whips and burning torches; and set
Persian mages (Simon Mago, in Boito's drama) at
work to conjure up the ghost and moke her stop
haunting him.3

Thefirst scene is set in a field 'situated at the sixth mile-stone

of the Appian Way. The night is misty; the moon is obscured by

dense clouds. The darkness which envelops the Appian Way and the

adjoining tombs is scarcely broken by the dying gleam of a funerary

lamp'. Amidst the fragments of distant love-songs, carried and

dispersed by the wind into the vast stillness of the campagno, the

dreadful cry 'Nerone-Oreste, il Matricida', is heard. Two men ,

-2 Tacitus, op. cit., p.3l7(l) and 319(2).

 316

hardly perceivable in the darkness, are waiting for Nerone; they

ore Simon Mogo, intent on digging o grave and Tige.Uino who stands

motionless, on guard, gazing in the direction of Albano. Shrieking

in terror the Emperor rushes in, enveloped in a funeral toga and

hugging to him the urn containing the ashes of Agrippina. Fearful

and trembling he reveals that he is being haunted by the vision of

a hideous woman, carrying'a torch, with snakes around her neck,

seordng to his distracted mind on avenging fury. 'Dolce, ridente

Lolage1 (My sweet, smiling La.\age), sings a voice in the distance

answered by another voice recalling, in Petronius1 sensuous verse,

memrries of erotic pleasures1.'Trasfendeva col bacio 51. lofaro ol

labro I'anima errante1 (From lip to lip, the errant soul, transfused

upon a kiss.) As the songs melt away there resounds the

apocalyptic prophecy of the son of Honan 'Voce dall'Oriente!

Voce doll'Occidentel Gvai a Roma!' (Voice from the Orient!

Voice from the Occident! Woe to Rome!1) immediately followed by

the cry 'Ner ie. Oreste! II Matricida*. With the words 'Lava i '

mio matricidio! Orrendo vita vivo' (Clean me from the taint of

matricide! I live a life of horror), Nerone implores Simon Mago

to save him from the threatening ghost df his mother. Whilst

preparing himself for the expiatory rites, he delivers a high-

sounding funeral oration'Queste ad un lido fatal, insepolte ceneri

tolsi* (From a foreign shore I took these unburied ashes), built

on the principal of classical rhetoric and strongly echoing

Aeschylus' Oresteia. A few moments of sincere emotion are

 317

overcome by the thought of kinship with Orestes, the hero chosen

by the Fate os the cccomplisher of a similar deed transcending

every human law. His crime, thinks Nerone, will also be th*

cause of his grandeur and the funeral oration, began as a prayer,

ends with the outburst 'lo sono Oreste, e mia Tauride e Romo1 (I

am Orestes and Rome is my Tauris), expressing his tragic megalomania.

Interspersed with the rites of the lengthy burial ceremony - and

providing contrast to it - ore the episodes of the marching

gladiators crossing the stage at the rear, and of the pleasure-

loving passer-by singing and ploying the oboe in the sleepless

Roman night. The sudden and frightening apparition of the snake-

uncircled Asteria amidst the tombs provokes the flight of Nerone,

followed by Tigellino, To Simon Mago, who boldly remains to challenge

her, she reveals her morbid and yet burning passion for Nerone, the

'cruel angel1 whom she follows everywhere,as a supernatural creature,

not daring to appear to him as a real woman. Asteria, an ambivalent

figure, is intended to be the living symbol of Nerone's remorse

but she is the woman-demon as well, beautiful and perverse,

fascinating and even touching because of her hopeless burden of

love and pain. Realizing that she may be of use to him Simon

Mago promises to bring her to Nerone if she is prepared to do his

bidding. She tells him that a sepulchre nearby is the Christians'

place of meeting. The magician, leaving her weary on the ground,

goes inside to investigate. As the first gleam of dawn begins to

dispel the darkness, Rubric, clad in a white robe, appears to lay

 318

flowers on a grave recently built. Kneeling down in prayer, she

recites the 'Padre itio' (The Lord's Prayer), one of those fine

paraphrases of prayers often recurring in Boito's libretti and

assuming different emotional connotations according to the dramatic

context.* Her voice, pure and passionate, rises high in the

silence surrounding her. Attracted by the tenderness of these

new words telling of hope and forgiveness, Asterio discloses

herself. As in a trance she accepts some flowers from Rubric's

hoods - a gentle token of love destined to act as a link between

the woman who seeks her God in the pure world of the spirit and

the one who seeks hers in the passion of the senses. Finally

overcome by the demons in her,Asterio tears herself away from

Rubria, rushing in the direction of Albana. Fanuel now enters

dressed as a mariner. His dialogue with Rubria is interrupted

by Simon Mago's return. The following episode ; the Temptation

scene, based on the 'Acts' VII, 18^ is a crucial one:

Fcnuel's refusal to reveal the secret of his power of performing

miracles in exchange for gold ond power mokes of Simon Mago his

deadly enemy. From here comes the Thaumaturge's hatred of the

Christians, resulting in the persecution which is to occupy the

final part of the drama, Simon Mago's speech, delivered whilst

1. It suffices to compare Rubria1s Lord's Prayer with that of

Claudio in the libretto of Amleto, Act II, i. h'e may also
remember the Angelus in Un tramonto; the prayer in La Falce;
The Angelas Domini in La Gioconda; The Ave Moria in Qtello.

2. 'Acts VII, 18'.'Now, when Simon observed that through the

laying on of the Apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was
conferred, he offered them money and said 'Give me this power...'
 319

showing to Fanuel the spectacle of the corruption of the Roman

world and against the sound of voices and trumpet blasts

announcing the triumphal return of the Emperor to Rome, is a

superb example of Boito’s imaginative and evocative power.

Simon's lines are grandiloquent, sparkling with sumptuous imagery,

rich in rhymes and assonances and irresistible in their impetuous

movement:

S'ovanzo una gran nube

Di turbe, Echeggian trionfali tube.
E il Matricida, ei vien col suo corteo
D'istrioni e d'Eumenidi all'assalto
Del mondo reo.

Guarda quaggiO: Pel sangue che I'inonda

L'arca d'oro di Cesare sprofcnda,
Furibonda ruino e precipizio;
Piebi nefande confuse nel vizio
Ploudono a Roma ch& canto e che crolla.
Tremano tutti: Cesare la folio,
Le coo.rti. Fischid dogli ongiporti
Gia il greculo rubel. Codono i morti
Nel Circo e codon nel triclinio i vivi
E in Numi in cieli Ha tu su quei coptivi
Del fango e della porpora distendi
Le tue mani, la tua virtij mi vendi;
Due Soviaumani vedro il mondo allorl
Vendi il miracolo t'offro dell'or.

(A great crowd is advancing

in a large cloud. Triumphal trumpets echo.
It is the matricide; he is coming with his train
of histrions and Furies to assault the guilty world...
Look over there, the golden world of Caesar
sinks in the blood that floods over it -
furious ruin and headlong fall;
an evil populace confused in vice
Applauds Rome which sings and crumbles.
Everyone trembles: Caesar, the crowd, the cohorts.
The Greek rebels have already hissed
from the narrow lanes. The dead fall in the Circus,
the living in the Triclinium
and the Gods in Heaven. But you
 320

extend your hands over those captives

of mud and purple! Sell me your virtue
The world will then see two supermen.
Sell me your prodigy , I offer you gold.

In the meantime the news of Nerone's return nas reached Rome and

o great procession (for which the most detailed and historically

precise stage directions ore given) moves to meet him. Inspired

by Tacitus and Suetonius,* the vision of the triumph, intimately

connected with the action, envelops the end of the act in a blaze

of colours and in a burst of images. Directed, from the height

of'a mound by Tigellino (returned to the Appion Way in company

with Nerone) the procession begins to file past. All Imperial

Rome marches towards the still doubtful and distraught Emperor;

the Mauritians horsemen, adorned with jingling bracelets and

phalerae,open the defilade at a gallop, followed by the buccinators;

the singing 'ambuboie' and the dancing throng of the maidens of

Gades; the 'phalongarii'; the colourful mob from the distant

provinces; the German warriors, the Lictors, Centurions and

Praetorians, carrying Lictor's fasces, eagles and banners; the

patricians, the populace and the car with the Dionysiac actors

singing Nerone's hexameters 'L'ebra Mimallone gid die fiato alia

bacchica tromba....1 (The drunken Mimalloners did already blow

the Bacchic trumpet....) 'On hearing his own song Nerone's pride

is aroused, and stepping forth upon the Appian way, he shows

1. Tacitus; XV, 15;o^cit. 319 and Suetonius; XXV - XXXwcit.,

pp. 222 and 224.
himself to the exultant mob. He is now splendidly dressed in

'hyoncinthine and gold', the living reflection of the sun .which,

now breaking forth, floods over the scene lighting the

picturesque multitude intoxicated with joy end excitement. The

enthusiasm reaches delirium as the imperial litter embedded with

sparkling gems advances, carried by Ethiopian slaves and

surrounded by Asiatic ephebes and all the voices merge in the

single cry 1Evionl Gioia! Almo sol! Alma Roma! Ave, Neron!1

Amidst the shouts of the crowd and the blasts of the triumphal

trumpets the curtain falls, whilst a shower of flowers, ribbons,

fronds of palm and wreaths seals the apotheosis of the Caesar.

The second act - 'The temple of Simon Mogo' - is laid in a

subterranean hall which is divided into two parts. A curtain

separates the 'cello1, where the faithful worship and pray, from

the socrarium, where Simon and his adepts perform their mysterious

rites. Mystical lights, strategically placed, envelop the

figures of the.priests, and especially that of the thaumaturge,

in a mysterious glow. Simon, in a sumptuous robe, ornamented

with gems and precious stones, stands at the altar. From the

chalice which he raises with a hieratic gesture, a jet of blood

gushes out, falling into a golden basin below. At the same

moment, a dense cloud of smoke and incense, rising from the

braziers supported by two hierodules, pervades the socrarium,

hiding Simon Mago from the eyes of the astonished believers.

When the curtain closes, the deceptive rite being accomplished,

 322

the worshippers intone the theurgicol formula 'Proorche, Bythos,

Sigeh, Lagos, Anthropos, Zoe, Nous Ecclesia, eccelsa Ogddade

The priests Gobrias, Cerinto and Dositeo, mockingly join in

improvising a burlesque. This lively little scene is interrupted

by Simon Mago bidding them to dismiss the congregation. Wishing

' to take advantage of Nerone's superstitions and fears, the charlatan

has planned another deception, intending to use Asteria, now

brought into the 'cella', as a bait. He induces her to ascend

the altar with the words:

Egli la dec ti erode

Che sulla notte e sui terrori ha regno ...
Tu, schiava mia,
Rovviva in lui la speme o la paura g
E tuo schiavo sord chi ha schiavo il mondo. .

(He will think you to be the Goddess

reigning over darkness and terror....
You, my slave,
keep alive in him hope or fear,
and the one who has enslaved the world will be your slave.)

Meanwhile, announced by a buccina sounding the 'classicum', Nerone

appears in the.'cella' and demands admittance to the 'sacrarium'.

Simon Mago conducts the frightened Nerone to the magic mirror in

which 'the infinite Abyss reflects its astral light'. As soon

as the magician is gone, an iridescent ray of light falls from

1. The theurgical idea convoyed by this brief hymn belongs to

Valentine's gnostic theory on which Simon Mago's doctrine was
partly based. For details, see Romuoldo Giani^ceit. pp. 102,
103.
 323

the height of the antrum lighting up Asteria, whose ghostly image

appears in the mirror. Recognizing in her the horrible spectre

pursuing him, Nerone implores her to relieve him of his guilty

conscience; 'A1 par d ’Oreste non senza ragion la madre uccisi'

(Like Orestes, it was not without a reason that I killed my mother,)

he explains, attributing his crime to the Fate's will. With a

fixed and languid gaze, Asteria, perhaps involuntarily echoing

the first words addressed to her by Rubrio on the Appian Way,

replies *Sorgi e spera1. (Rise and hope.) Passing from fits of

hysterical fear to fits of hysterical remorse,Nerone performs acts

of devotion to secure the favour of the Goddess whose ambiguous

and distent beauty starts inflaming him. Calling her with divine

names, and imploring her iove:

.... Selene, Ecate, Asteria!

Vage Edne lunar! Magico Iddia
Dai mille nomi, scendi! Ognun
Di quelli sera un nome d'amore!

(.... Selene, Hecate, Asteria!

Shadowy lunar being! You, magic Goddess
of the thousand names, come down!
Each of your thousand names,
will be a name of love!)
he works himself into a frenzy. Finally overcome with desire he

mounts the stair clasping her in his arms. In vain the priests,

instructed by Simon Mogo, try to turn him back with crash of

clashing bronze blending with the voices of the false oracles

intoning the curse 'Nerone Oreste* and then warning him 'Fuggi

Nerone (Nerone, flee!) Trembling with passion, Asteria answers

to Nerone's delirious utterances and a strange love-duet, shivering '

 324

with the accents of pleasure and agony, develops against the dark

background and the ominous atmosphere of the temple. As the kiss

in which Nerone and Asteria are united ot the end of the duet

reveals to Nerone the woman, his erotic infatuation disappears at

once. Rejecting Asteria, who collapses on the altar, Nerone, in

an excess of fury, smashes the temple idols with an iron hammer

and throws a burning torch into the open mouth of the oracle idol,

hiding Dositeo. Then, calling his Praetorian guards into the

temple, he reveals the fraud and orders them to arrest Simon Mago

and his followers. His destructive frenzy suddenly turns, through

one of those contrasts characterizing his bizarre nature, to

amusement. He grants pardon to Gobrias, comically creeping out

from the oltar-stoir, because his witty replies please him. With

subtle cruelty, he mockingly condemns Simon Mago, who had long

boasted of his prodigious ability to fly, to perform 'the flight

of Icarus' in the circus, in the next festival. Shortly

afterwards he decrees that the snake-charmer Asteria shall

be thrown into the serpent's pit. In spite of Nerone's sentence,

Asteria reaffirms her adoration for 'her God* asking him the grace

of being killed by his own hand. If this favour is n . granted,

she will eternally haunt him as she is immune to the snake's poison.

Scornfully, Nerone answers 'We will see', as the guards drag her

away. Looking ot the smashed idols surrounding him, Nerone,

enjoying his victory over the Gods, solemnly ascends the altar.

He crowns himself with a laurel wreath offered him by Gobrias;

 325

then, striking the attitude of Apollo Musagetes, he tries the

tuning of a cetra proudly announcing to the courtiers 'lo canto1

(2 sing),

Ths third act - The Orchard - takes us into the fresh and peaceful

world of Fonu&l and his Christian brethren - o welcome contrast

to the excitement, the hysteria, the deceptions and the dark

passions of the preceding ccts. The orchard, surrounded by an

olive-grove, is suffused with the mild light of the dying day.

Under a pergola, on the left aide of the stage, there are two

tables. One carries the remains of o simple meal. Around the

other table, full of fronds and flowers, are sitting women and

children, weaving garlands, On the opposite side of the stage

Fanudl, leaning against the edge of a rustic fountain, expounds

the Beatitudes to on attentive crowd. ’Over these humble folk

and the entire orchard there radiates an atmosphere of profound

calm. Every soul is filled with a sense of immense expectation'

say the stage directions. And indeed Fanuel’s words (almost

literally drawn from the Gospel according to St. Matthew - Ch. V,

1 - ll) sounding softly and clearly in this oasis of calm, have

the hypnotic flow and the relieving effect of the sound of'

rippling waters:
 326

E vedendo le turbe ad udir pronte

Sail sul monte,
Le benedisse

- Beati i mansueti,
PerchS saranno della terra i Re.

Beati quelli che hanno puro il cuore,

Perche vedran la gloria del Signore
E beati, fra I'anime fedeli,
Tutti gli afflitti, i poveri, gli oppress!,
PerchS per essi
E il Recme del ciel.

(When he saw the crowds, eager to listen to him,

He went up into the mountain,
He blessed them
And said:
Blessed are the meek
Because they will inherit the world....
Blessed ore the pure in heart
For they will see the glory of God
Blessed, among the faithful,
the afflicted, the poor, the persecuted
For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.)

Again from Matthew's Gospel (from the parable of the wise and of

the foolish virgins XXV. 1-14) is derived the allegory of 'the

bridegroom who is coming but no one knows when' alluding to the

peaceful death,of the righteous. It is a very fine,lyrical

passage, murmured by Rubric as she appears on the stage, as light

as a shadow, carrying a burning lamp. Gently, she takes her

place among the women and children, twining garlands and singing

with them songs for the living and the dead, for the pains of love

and grief, for martyrdom and prayer ('Fiori sui vivi! Fiori sui

morti'!). To their final invocations 'Amore ... Fede ... Amore

... Speranzo!' (Love ... Faith ... Love ... Hope!) a faint voice

far back in the Orchard answers 'Pace:' (Peace). A rustling

noise reveals the presence of Asteria, bleeding and lacerated,

among the olive trees. Escaped from the snake-pit, she tells in

broken words that Simon Mago has tried to purchase his freedom by

betraying the Christians to Nerone. Before bending her lips to

the cup of water offered by Rubric, Asteria, smiling, shows her

the flower which sealed their friendship in the clear, Appian dawn.

Then, after quenching her thirst, Asteria, seized by a sudden

convulsion, rushes wiJdly from the stage. Remaining alone with

FonvSl, Rubria urges him to fly but, neglecting her exhortation,

he, in his turn, asks her to confess the sin which she is trying

to hide. Their dialogue is interrupted by the arrival of Simon

Mago and Gobrias, who appear disguised os beggars in the quest of

alms. ’ Fanuil, however, immediately recognizes the impostors.

Throwing himself at the apostle's feet, Simon asks him once again

to reveal the secret of his magic power so that he may fly and

escape death. Enraged by Fanuel's refusal, Simon Mago gives him

over to the praetorian guards who hove been following him. As

the Christian brethren attempt to liberate him, Fonuel, echoing

the words of Christ 'Non resistete al malvagio' (Do not oppose the

wicked one) orders them to submit. The last part of the act is

entirely devoted to Fanuel's touching farewell to his followers,

now silent, as if oppressed by the thought of a painful uncertainty.

With immense tenderness and the utmost simplicity, he tells them

that his journey is ended:

 328

La giornota 0 compita
Pel fratel vostro e il suo carco depone.
Voi comminote in novita di vita
Ed in pienezzo di ben6dizione.
Quondo torna la sera
Col mestti incanto delle rimembiranze,
Unite anchs il mio nome alia preghiera,
Unite anche il mio nome alls speranze.

(For your brother the day is over

And he lays down his burden.
You are now walking in a new path of life
And in the abundant blessing of God.
When evening falls, in the sad hour of remembrances,
Add my name to your prayers
Join my name with your hopes.

Growing more and more serene, he kisses his brothers in God

invoking on them the blessing of the Lord. He seems to ovoid

Rubric,, the loving woman who, all humility and tears, approaches

him begging for a last word of farewell. Fonuel slowly walks

away, his last words being 'Cantate a Dio1 (Sing to the Lord).

As the Christian women, led by Rubric, strew a path of flowers

before him, resounds the song 'Fiori sui vivi, fieri siui morti....

Lieto 5 chi muore nel Dio verace* (Flowers on the living, flowers

on the dead .... Happy is the one who dies in Cod'). All the

Christians follow Fanudl except for Rubric who, left alone with

her unbearable pain, listens with almost spasmodic concentration

to the receding song. A few words, borne back by the wind, are

still audible 'Amore ... Fede ... Amore1 (Love ... Faith ... Love).

But, this time, there is no voice answering 'Pace' (Peace:).

The fourth act - The Circus Maximus - is divided into two scenes.

The first scene, spectacular and full of movement, is set in the

 329

Oppidum - the atrium - where the crowd attending the gameb gather

and through which pass the gladiatorial troops, the charioteers,

all the people attached to the circus entertainment, as well as

the train of the Christians doomed to torture. The second scene

is laid in the Spoliarium, the crypt of the Colosseum, where the

corpses of the dead are thrown. When the act opens, a crowd is

seen struggling around the winner of the quadriga race, the

contending factions either applauding the victor or raising

threatening cries. The peals of off-stage trumpets mingle with

the shouts and the burst of laughter of the excited mob. Marginal

episodes - os that of the dance of the 'puella gaditana* - are

skilfully introduced to evoke the life of Rome in one of its most

characteristic aspects. Simon Mogo enters, closely followed by a

guard and exchanges a few rapid words with Gobrias. We learn

that he has arranged for his followers to set fire to Rome so that

he may escape the punishment awaiting him. We learn also that

the torture of Laureolus, who has been put on the cross and torn

to pieces by wild bears, is planned for Fanuel. The conspiracy

to burn Rome, is made known to Nerone by Tigellino, but he refuses

to interfere, scornfully declaring:

II mondo e mio! Pria di Nerone

Nessun sapea quont'osar pud chi regno.

(The world is mine! Before Nerone

No one knew how much one who reigns could darej

The savage crowd has already cried for the promised torture of the

Dirci - their favourite spectacle - and Nerone, determined to please

 330

the mob, inquires whether the bulls (to which the Christian virgins

are to be bound), the ropes, the torches, the harriers, the

Sagittarii are all in readiness. Amidst the insults of the

crowd, slowly and solemnly advances the throng of the Christians

doomed to martyrdom. Led by Fanudl, they sing in fui! voice

'Credo in un Dio solo ed eterno1. (I believe in or., u d eternal

God.) The thrice repeated sound of the bucainoe brings a sudden

silence. A white robed vestal, her head covered with the sacred

infula, appears at the top of the podium stair, preceded by a

lictor. By virtue of privilege accorded by law to the sacred

virgins, she demands the release of the victims. Angrily, Nerone

orders the veil to be torn from her and the pale face of Rubric is

revealed to the crowd. By Nerone*s command, she is condemned to

the torture of the Dirci. She faints and is carried by two

bestiaries into the amp'’itheotre. In o ..c .o->"f-n of luxury and

sanguinary folly, the ' inoreGzbilium* noiicipates the

pleasure of the spectaci. vf t^e agonized virgins riddled with

the Sagittarii's arrows, 'bsov-.i ft 1 and naked under the sun', in

the pulsant passage 'Tuvte un Ei.e ..enudator le abbranchi*. (Be

all of them seized by a b^ic who will $1 rip them.) Soon after

Simon Mago's 'performance' of the flight of Icarus,^ Gobri's'

voice is heard announcing the first outburst of the flames. The

1. A case which happened to an actor in the Circus (he died

whilst performing a flight in the Daedalus and Icarus ballet),
recorded by Suetonius (cit., XII) gave origin to the legend
of the death of Simon Mago.
 331

Oppidum is enveloped in flame a;id smoke whilst the crowd, in a

babel of cries, rushes towards all the exits of the Circus.

Gradually the deafening din calms down and the chaotic vision of

maddened shapes seems to dissolve into thin air. The curtain

falls rapidly on this vision to rise again without interruption to

show the Spoliarium, the asylum of the deod,' lit by the sinister glow

of the flames which are consuming Rome. Two livid shadows,

.lighted by a torch, descend cautiously to thecrypt, stumbling over

th*i corpses. They are Asteria and FanuSl who hove escaped alive

thanks to the fire, and now search for ffcibria. They discover her,

still olive, near the body of Simon Mago, shattered in his flight.

The arrow of a Sogittario has mortally wounded her but, as in a

dream, she recognizes Fanuel, the mystical lover who thought her

•quella gran dolcezza di sorrider nel pionto'. (The great

consolation to smile amidst the tears.) Before dying, she wishes

to confess her secret sin, explaining, with touching simplicity:

Tentai confonder neila stesso vampa

L'ara ardente di Vesta e la pia Lompa
Della vergine saggia. Ecco il peccato.

(I hove tried to mingle in the same flame

The ardent fire of Vesta and the pious glow
Of the lamp of the < rse virgin.,. This is my sin.)

With infinite tenderness, Fonuel pronounces absolution, calling on

her the blessing of God. As Rubria feels life ebbing she asks him

to tell her once more the tole of Jesus, of his mission of peace

in the distant land of Galilee:

 332

Narromi ancoro, mentre m 1oddormento

Del mar di Tiberiede, tronquillo
Onda che varca i.n Galileo....

(Tell me once more, os I fall asleep,

Of the sea of Tiberias, of its tranquil
Waves lapping on the shore of Galilee....)

With the softest voice, as if timorous to disturb her sleep,

• Fanu^l summons up o vision of enchanting peace:

Fra i giunchi di Genesareth, oscilla

Ancor la barca ove prego GesG.
Quelle cadenza languido di cuna
Invita a stormi i bimbi sullo prora....

(There, amidst the rushes in Genesareth still floats the boat.

Where Jesus prayed.
That gentle cadence, like a rocking cradle,
Invites swarms of children on its prow,...)

'Again .... Again' implores Rubria in a thin voice and Fanuel,

almost lulling her, continues the gentle story, insisting on those

little details which make of an image the shadow of a dream:

. Lento salia dal Libano la luna

Era quell'oro in cui sorgon gli incanti....
Escian le turbe oranti per la lunare aurora...

(Slowly, did rise from Lebanon the moon

It was the time when all enchantments spring...
the praying crowds walked under the lunar beam.)

On this last, vision Rubria falls asleep in death. With Astoria's

cry we ore jolted from the purest peace back into the hideous

reality of bhe crypt. The flames are approaching and the vaults

start collapsing. A small door, discovered by Asteria, offers on

escape from the burning bolgio. Crossing the threshold, Fanvdl

turns to Rubric bidding her the lost farewell. 'Rubric! Addio!'.

On hearing this name, Asteria is seized by a sposm: she realizes

that Rubric was the virgin outraged by Nero within the sacred

precincts! Rushing to Rubric's side, she clutches the lifeless

body of Rubric asking her, with savage rage how could she win

Nero's cruel heart. Then, overwhelmed by a sudden pity, she

takes Rubric’s flower from her breast and, letting it fall over

the martyr's body, she kneels near her, invoking 'Pace!1 She

finally escapes whilst the walls crumble and the Spoliarium sinks

into the flame.

Here ends the tragedy destined for the lyric stage, a trifle

incongruously, when we remember that Nerone's remorse was the

motivation, and intended to be the fulcrum, of the action.

Boito's drama has, however, a fifth act, logically concluding the

story and which in the author’s original plan, was to be retained

in the libretto (see Fig,3 ). A summary runs as follows. In

his private theatre, Nerone, surrounded by a crowd of courtiers,

is celebrating the unexpected spectacle offered by the burning

city.^ After the banquet, enlivened by lascivious dances and the

orgiastic music of crotalia, cymbals, sistra and tymbals, Nerone,

to the grandiose and terrible background of the collapse of Rome,

begins to recite a scene from Aeschylus' 'Eumenides. Wearing a

dark tragedian's costume, the cothurni and a tragic mask, he

repeats Orestes' lines (l did expiate my crime) in cleverly

1. An historical detail, found in Suetonius: 'Nero watched the

conflagration from the tower of Maecenas, enraptured by what
he called 'the beauty of the flames'; then put on his
tragedian's costume and sang 'The Fall of Ilium' (XXXVIII,
clt., p.231). See also Tacitus XV/^cit. p.363.
 334

Fig.3 This fragment of the introduction of the fifth Act of

Nerone is from the original manuscript.
 335

stressed, rhythmical cadences. At first the representation

faithfully follows the Greek text; but when- the chorus of Furies,

after recalling in details the scene of the murder, breaks in with

the cry 'Matricide', terror seizes him. In vain Gobrias tries to

bring him back to the 'reality' of the scenic fiction. In the

arch of the portal, he thinks he sees the accusing ghost of

Aggripina. With growing terror, he strips off his mask and tears

the theatrical garb into pieces. From this moment the action

fluctuates between two realities: the one which he is reviving

on the stage (perhaps, the only one which is true) and the one

actually visualized by him- As Asteria appears, carrying in her

hand a bunch of live snakes, everyone, except the Emperor, flees.

Motionless, Nerone looks at her with the fixedness of madness,

inquiring:

5ei tu? v la tua larva?

0 una scenica larva? 0 un sogno, o un'ombra
Del mio rimorso?....

(Is it you? or your ghost?

Or a scenic spectre? A dream, perhaps, or the
••h dow of my remorse?)

Now the • ^s of smoke which cover the sky of Rome have become

thicker and more coruscating. In the semi-darkness of the scene

shines the gilded inscription Nero Caesar. Again, in the distance

resounds the apocalyptic cry 'Voce dall'Oriente.' Voce dall'OccidenteJ

... Guoi a Roma', heard at the beginning of the drama. A horrible

vision slowly takes shape before ovr eyes: the figures of the

mosaics adorning the proscenium take on life, transmuting themselves

 336

into the corpses of the Dirci, martyr.ed. in the Circus, of the

women and children, victims of Nerone's folly. Terrified and

inebriated by the vision, he clasps Asteria in a voluptuous agony;

she yields ecstatically, then kills herself with a small dagger.

Nerone is left alone amidst thousands of voices calling down

malediction upon him and his empire. The flames reach the walls

of the theatre which starts crumbling around him. He seeks

escape but all the doors are obstructed by the ghosts of his

victims. In the background are seen the 'luminorie degli orti

di Nerone1 - the Christians burning at the stake. He throws

himself at the feet of a statue representing Pallas, asking for

protection, then, proudly rising, he strikes twice the shield of

the Goddess with tremendovs vigour. At the third attempt, his

hand is as if paralysed by the maledictions of the spectres closing

in on him. He falls in a swoon whilst the scene darkens almost

completely and the terrible crash of thunder is heard.

The suppression of this essential and most original act

could not be more regrettable. It has, in fact, altered the

balance of the dramatic structure of the work, doing capital

damage to what could have been, otherwise, considered to be Boito’s

finest libretto. From a poetical point of view, Nerone is beyond

praise. In it, the formal and aesthetic problems which were

Boito’s life-long preoccupation, seem to have found their solution

in the perfection of a style tremendously elaborate and yet

rendered with marvellous freshness. A comparison of the Nerone

 337

libretto with some of Boito's youthful works* in this some field,

cleorly evidences the extent to which the poet hod worked upon,

and matured, an already outstanding initial gift in order to

achieve the command of a most perfect instrumen'" of expression.

Worthy of note is the way in which metres and rhythms shape

themselves, not only according to the nature of the characters but,

within the characters themselves, according to the prevailing

emotion: Jthe long, high-sounding, arrogant, pompous or rhetorical

lines of Simon Mago and Nerone contrasting with the simply

structured and clearly scanned lines of Fonuesl and Rubric?

Asteria's verses, throbbing and full of dynamic energy, shiver

under the wave of passion or break down under the weight of anguish

but they can also assume a cadential, almost trance-like rhythm as,

for instance, in those scenes in which she seems to be redeemed

by the pure presence of Rubric.

When confronted wi-1r the outstanding qualities of the

literary text, the question which inevitably arises is:, how could

music be expected to add to a work possessing, both from the

poetical and dramatic points of view, the characteristics of a

finished work of art? Only an analysis of th» score provides the

answer.

1. Mefistofele. born in a period of exceptional youthful creativity,

must be considered as a case apart.
 338

CHAPTER 2

' THE OPERA

Of the four octs of Nerone, the first, the one from which the

entire musical and dramatic action stems, is the longest and most

. carefully articulated. It consists of six distinct sections,

each with its own atmosphere and emotional character. The opening

section, devoted to the evocation of the Roman night against which

are projected the figures of Simon Mago, Tigellino and Nerone,

ends with the spectral apparition of Asteria amidst the tombs.

The second section contains the duologue between Simon Mago and

Asteria. This is followed by the episode of the encounter of

the demon-possessed woman with Rubric, the gentlest of maidens.

Sections four and five are dedicated to the brief exchange between

Rubria and Fonuel and to the clash of the antagonistic characters

Fanudl and Simon Mago, respectively. Finally, we hove the e e-

c(itching scene of Nerone1s triumphal return to Rome.

The curtain rises, without prelude, on the nocturnal via

Appio scene. The silence of the night is broken by gay snatches

of Ft ngs.(off-stage solo voices) coming from different points and

distances. Against this diaphanous musical background are heard

the short exchanges between Simon Mago and Tigellino, preparing us

for Nerone1s arrival. The orchestra enters with a tremendous

outburst over a dissonant chord, os Nerone appears in a state of

frenzied terror (Ex. l). He is calmed down by Tigellino, and the

 339

Ex,I
 340

orchestral tumult, accordingly, subsides, giving way to the brief

interlude containing the episode of the two lovers singing in the

distance ('Dolce, ridente Lalage1) and that of the procession of

the merry-fellows, crossing the stage whilst singing the epigram

'Citarizzando scordo I'impero'. Again, resounds in the darkness,

the lugubrious voice announcing woe to Rome and to its guilty

Emperor. Soon after this a dark, slow motive steals into the

double bosses, echoed by violins and bassoons- Over it Nerone

anxiously asks for Simon Mago, hidden by the darkness. At the

words 'Orrenda vita io vivo...' a strongly rhythmical, stormy

theme, depicting Nerone1s perturbed conscience, is heard in the

clarinets over a pedal point on E. (Ex. 2) Prone upon the grave,

the Emperor recites the funeral oration, which evolves from an

octave motive anticipated by the orchestra. His first words,

'which seems to have been studiously prepared beforehand*,^ are

uttered, over broad chords, supported by nervous chromatic figures.

They sound, at first, rhetorical and insincere but, after the

invocation 'il mio contempla madre, interne orror1, the music

becomes charged with tension (Ex. 3 ).

1. Boito’s stage direction.

 dolente, meditabondo, tetro

p , p , ; r

This emotion does not however last and the threnody ends with the

strongly emphatic utterance 'lo sono Oreste*. Follo\/ing the

episode of the gladiators marching in heavy rhythm, comet, the

ceremony of burial, accompanied by the unquiet motive quoted

afcove (Ex. 3). The cinerary urn is finally committed to the

groui.J to a descending octave theme whilst a small, reiterated

figure in the boss, zapr&sc-.nts Simon Mago's throwing earth on the

urn. Boito here indulges his penchant for musical depiction of

scenic details. Very effective, by way of contr is the

attractive, vaguely archaic tune, played by an approaching oboe

over a long sustained pedal point on C, agoinst which is heard the

sensuous love-song ('Eros vibra da 1'umide ciglio') sung by a

lonely passer-by (Ex. 4).

I

343

Larghetto

During the ensuing passage, the orchestra becomes increasingly

agitated until a climax is reached in the gust of sounds, throbbing

rhythms and frenzied cries, accompanying the apparition of Asteria.

This highly emotional incident leads to the scene between Simon

Mago and Asteria. A dark, creeping theme, mirroring the tortuous

nature of the thaumaturge, insinuates itself in the orchestra.

p Icgatissim-a
The opening motive of this theme reappears against the scanty

instrumental background supporting Simon's questioning of Asteria.

In the woman's narration 'A notte cupa', the orchestra plays an

important part in building up the nervous tension and the

atmosphere of unreality surrounding her, by means of the restless,

chromatic weaving in the clarinets, the tugging syncopated rhythms

and the extremely dynamic contrary motion figurations in the

strings. Asteria's melodic lines, tense and charged with emotional

incandescences, have a febrile quality superbly characterizing the

pathological traits of her nature. (Ex. 6 ) She confesses that

the contact with the snakes twining round her body makes her dream

of the embrace of the cruel God whom she adores and who fearfully

avoids her, the orchestra supporting pianissimo with a sinous,

allusive motive. The theme of Simon Mago (Ex. 5) returns during

the ensuing duologue, pointing the fact that, from this moment,

the destiny of Asteria will be dominated by his will. She

remains alone, lost in the pains and languors of her voluptuous

longing whilst the music, so galvanic during her crazed outburst

'Amor che non uccide, no, Amor non S' dies down in descending •

octave figure in the bass,symbolically accompanying Simon Mago's

descent into the crypt. The appearance of Rubric, clad in a white

robe and carrying flowers in *r hand, serves to introduce a needed

moment of repose and of lyrical contemplation. Her 'Padre nostro"

is preceded by a passage in which "the minor chord is expanded,

to a chromatic chord of the 7th on A in a moment of the most

 345

tn

poco rit.

atempo

il mio dual. lo i n .

Ex. 6
 346

marvellous delicacy, depicting the gleams of dawn beginning to

disperse the darkness, and the pristine peace and freshness of the

newborn day. (Ex. 7.)

(Oompe.rleoe Rubrla (a!<ment*.U laoipadu (PrUal bagllorl
velata-Siferm a al. fuin'rarla.) dell’alba) ,
lo tomliaci'lstlana) Vt.fi>. . > , i J-

Rubric's prayer develops in touchingly expressive lines of

recitative underlined by harmonies growing more and more assertive

during the course of the modulatory sequences. Above these

transparent, ascending chords of third and sixth, the violins

weave melodic lines charged with the most tender inflections. At

the words perdona ... Fa ch' io riveda quel che m ’abbondona',

the. orchestra swells Lo a forte appassionato, then suddenly subsides

into a pianissimo dolcissimo as Rubric, in a murmur, asks the Lord

'Liberaci dal male' (Deliver us from evil). The beauty of the

message conveyed by the maiden's simple words seems to provoke

a soothing sensation in Astoria's conscience. In the brief scene

following Rubric’s gentle bidding 'Sorgi e spera' (Ex. 8.) f

espresi.

I
 347

'(this scanty theme is to be heard in Act II in a widely different

emotional context)\ Asteria's music assumes on unexpected tone

of mildness and relaxation. After the fierce allegro section

accompanying her sudden flight, the music becomes again clear and

luminous, ulmost imperceptibly shivering in the subtle play of

•enharmonic modulations. Into this highly sensitive atmosphere

enters Fanudl. His <short dialogue with Rubric is not memorable,

the most interesting aspect being the appearance in the orchestra

of the rhythmo-melodic theme, recurring throughout the opera and

standing for Rubric's sucre* sin, (Ex. 9)

and the return of the motive underlying her words 'Fa ch1 io riveda

quel che m 1abbandona', giving away the secret of her love for the

apostle. This momentary episode is followed by the all-important

confrontation scene between Simon Mago and Fanuel, regretfully, one

of the most anticlimactic numbers of the music-drama. The

Thaumaturge's rehearsal of the corruption of Rome is musically

realized in a lengthy passage which, in spite of the variety in

the declamation and of the saturated colours in the orchestra,

fails to match the glow, the intensity and the evocative power of
 348

the verses. Fanuel* s outbursts ore melodramatic rather than

impressive. The same can be said of the ensuing duet concluding

with the declaration of war between the two adversaries, now

leaving in opposite directions over a tumult of upward and

downward moving, heavy accented, passages. A concise instrumental

•interlude representing, by means of transparent sonorities, the

light of the day growing more intense, leads into the last

section of the Act. Nerone's and Tigellino's reappearance on the

scene is heralded by a slightly modified version of the notif

heard-at the beginning of the opera, during their first exchange.

(!»-:■ M »

The theme associated with Nerone's guilty conscience (Ex. 2) also

recurs in this scene. Nerone is, in fact, still overcome by

dread, haunted by the thought of the spectral figure interposing

herself'between him and Rome - perhaps a phantom of his imagination

or, perhaps, the living image of his remorse, certainly q bad omen.

In tho midst of this almost electric tension we hear the festive

calls of buccinae and litui announcing the approach of the jubilant

crowd, coming to pay tribute to their Coesar. The triumphal

scene is superb pageantry, and, at the same time, a fine example

of how the spectacular effects of Grand Opera can be soundly

 349

harnessed to dramatic purposes - in the case of Boito, the evocation

of Rome in all the splendour of its grandeur before moving to

destruction. The music effectively portrays the movement and

the 'physical' excitement of the crowd by way of surging and

tremolando figures, heavy reiterated chords, rhythmical motives in

.the off- and on- stage trumpets, the trombones in the orchestra

providing an almost continuous background. The episodes press

one on another giving way to many exciting moments, for instance:

thu choruses of the 'Ambubaje1, the f i r s t A p o l l o torna'j

introduced by a delicate arpeggio passage and sustained almost

throughout by ascending and descending octaves in the bass; the

second, 'A1 colie, gioia!', sung to a most graceful march rhythm.

Worthy of note is the section 'Sostenuto con animo' accompanying

the slow march of the throng from the distant provinces. The

homophonic, unaccompanied chorus 'Ave, Neron! tua lieta stella

splende' resounds impressively in the momentary pause of silence

preceding Nerone's appearance to the crowd. The climax, so

skilfully prepared, is reached as the mob, inebriated with joy at

the sight of the Emperor bathed in the radiant light of the sun,

bursts forth in the jubilant shouts 'Evion, gioia'. The full

orchestra is engaged in providing support. Imperiously, buccinae

and litui cut their way through the thick wall of brass and wood­

wind tones, impressively accompanied by an extended tremolo in

timpu-U and strings. On the last, long sustained orchestral

chorr' . • ialing the day of Nerone's apotheosis the curtain slowly

falls.
 350

The Second act commences, again without prelude, with the

stupefied exclamations of the worshippers attending Simon Mago's

rites in the mysterious precincts sacred to his cvlt. The

peculiar colour which envelops this get in an atmosphere of magic

enchantment is at once established by the pianissimo A, climbing

up by octave intervals in the most tenuous sounds of strings,

harp and upper woodwind and diaphanous background created by the

harps glissando over the soft rustle in the violas and 'cellos

(Ex. 11). The faithful's hymn ’Proarche, Bythos, Sigeh, Logos

..." sung by the first and second basses, is set forth in the

form of a Passacoglia. Whilst the hymn develops, smoothly and

softly, the voices of Simen Maga, Gobrios, Cerinto and Dositeo,

enter gradually with mocking remarks, their restless lines, continually

broken by leaps, providing a sharp and effective contrast. A short

’fugato* passage with the theme proposed by Gobrios ('Ah! no, senza

riso non posson gli auguri*) and answered by Dositeo, leads to a

section in which -he increasing merriment of the priests is

mirrored in the brilliantly conceived contrapuntal quartet of

Cerinto, Dobrias, Sim -ositso. With the exit of the

worshippers ends tho first section of the Act. An off stage

buccina announces the arrival of Nerone, who enters the cello

followed by Terpnos, Tigellino and a group of his Praetorian guards.

Simultaneously, Simon Mago is seen entering the Antrum, leading

Asteria by the hand whilst talking to her. Accompanied on the

cetra by Teipncs, the Emperor sings pleadingly for admittance to

Author Duse Yucci Maria Orsini
Name of thesis Arrigo Boito, librettist and musician. 1976

PUBLISHER:
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
©2013

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