L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano Y ou may have read t h a t o p e r a lirica has recent- ly become a can- d i d a t e t o e n t e r t h e U N E S C O i n t a n g i b l e world heritage: another great achievement for our beautiful country and for the world of music. Y e s , f o r o u r c o u n t r y , because opera as we know it t o d a y w a s b o r n i n I t a l y ! When you think of it, it's not that surprising and it's also quite evident: most operas, even those composed by non- Italian artists, are in Italian. In fact, the link was – and remains – so strong, that m a n y p r o f e s s i o n a l o p e r a s i n g e r s l e a r n l a b e l l a lingua to excel in every per- formance. To discover why Italy is considered the cradle of oper- atic music, we need to travel in time to the end of the 16th c e n t u r y a n d s e t o u r e y e s on Florence. Not a difficult thing to do: Florence was, back then, just as beautiful as it is today. You see, there was a man then, a count, called Giovan- ni Bardi. A man of the arts, one of those enlightened indi- viduals who loved to enter- tain other like-minded intel- l e c t u a l s a n d a r t i s t s i n his salotto, to discuss poetry, music, literature, and fine a r t s w h i l e , w e c a n g u e s s , enjoying some deliciously inebriating Tuscan red wine. His group became so famous in town that it was known as t h e C a m e r a t a F i o r e n t i n a or Camerata dei Bardi, tak- ing inspiration from the name of its patron and of the palace – P a l a z z o d e i B a r d i – where the meetings would take place. In this lively and creative atmosphere, an idea took soon center stage: reviving the ancient and beloved art of G r e e k t r a g e d y , w h e r e a l l forms of performing art – music, dancing, singing, and acting – merged together to create theatrical perfection. Or so Bardi and his friends thought, of course. Recitar cantando, "acting through singing" was their mantra, an i d e a t h a t s t o o d s t a r k l y against the singing tradition of those years, polyphony. The idea, inspired as said by ancient Greek theatre, was simple: one voice singing v e r s e s , a c c o m p a n i e d b y music. At least initially, the settings were those popular in Classical poetry, which also enjoyed a certain revival in those decades, but filtered through the aesthetics and ideals of the Renaissance. Very importantly, singing was seen as a powerful way to deliver emotions more than anything else. In the beginning, these favole pastorali, or "pastoral tales," were a private affair, something the wealthy and cultivated friends of Bardi and his group would repre- sent in the tranquility and glitz of their homes, for the eyes and ears of very selected few. It is, however, from these early pastoral tales that opera comes. And, according to musicologists, it didn't take too long for the trend to leave the privacy of aristocratic homes and reach theaters. J a c o p o P e r i ' s D a f n e w a s probably first represented in 1 5 9 8 , w i t h a l i b r e t t o b y Ottavio Rinuccini; of this early example of opera, how- e v e r , w e o n l y h a v e s o m e music left. In 1600, the same authors presented Euridice: we know it was represented at Palazzo Pitti, in Florence. Shortly after, the new style became popular in Rome. It is 1607, however, to be remembered as the official birth year of opera: it was then that Claudio Mon- teverdi's Orfeo was repre- sented for the first time, in Mantova. Orfeo, and even more so Monteverdi's last work, the Incoronazione di Poppea (1643), set the stan- dards and structure of the new genre and that's why they are considered seminal in the history of opera. In them, for instance, we find t h e a l t e r n a t i n g b e t w e e n recitativo and aria, the first more narrative, albeit sung, the other more properly lyri- cal and musical. To give you an idea, those catchy opera tunes you know, like Nessun Dorma or Vissi d'Arte, are all arias. Opera became popular in the peninsula in the 17th c e n t u r y , f r o m N o r t h t o South. We mentioned Flo- rence, Mantova, and Rome, b u t w e m u s t t a l k a b o u t V e n i c e , t o o : i n 1 6 3 7 , t h e Serenissima became home to the first public theater for opera, which enabled every- one, from the aristocracy to commoners, to enjoy this new theatrical and musical genre. This, in turn, meant that composers and libret- tists had to take into account w h a t p e o p l e l i k e d a n d enjoyed, what was... well… t r e n d y . A n d s o , o f f w e n t ancient Greek themes and tragedy, and in came histori- c a l c h a r a c t e r s , l o v e , a n d comedy. Great attention was also given to costumes and staging: opera as we know it today was finally here. From our beloved penin- sula, opera conquered the t h e a t e r s o f E u r o p e , w i t h g r e a t i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m - posers, including Handel and Mozart, creating beauti- ful and unforgettable operat- ic works. Still today, Italy remains the cradle and the mother of bel canto. A m o n g a l l t h e w o r d s o f t h e day we have had s o f a r , i n s o - lente (een-so- lehn-tai) is probably the one with the most interesting etymology. In Italian, we say some- o n e i s " i n s o l e n t e " w h e n they are very outspoken, to the point of lacking man- ners. Insolente means inso- lent, cheeky, sassy, but also defiant, which has a slight- l y l e s s n e g a t i v e c o n n o t a - tion in English. W e u s e i t i n s e n t e n c e s like ha risposto malamente a l p r o f e s s o r e , è s t a t o u n vero insolente ("he talked back to his professor. He's b e e n r e a l l y c h e e k y " ) o r , especially when your teen child is having words with you, non ti permettere di parlarmi così ! Non essere insolente! ("don't you dare t a l k i n g t o m e l i k e t h a t ! Don't be so rude!"). But, as we said, it's the e t y m o l o g y o f t h e w o r d that's interesting. You see, "insolente" comes from the L a t i n i n s o l e n s , w h i c h t r a n s l a t e s a s " u n u s u a l . " Now, when we say "unusu- al" we mean something out of the ordinary, something we don't see often, maybe e v e n c r e a t i v e . B u t , i f y o u extend its meaning further, i t m a y a l s o m e a n s o m e - thing – or someone – that fails to comply with com- mon rules or manners. And t h a t ' s e x a c t l y w h e r e o u r " i n s o l e n t e " c o m e s f r o m . Insolente means unusual, i n t h e s e n s e o f l a c k i n g manners, a common sense o f d e c o r u m , a n d g o o d behavior. - Quell'insolente di tuo f r a t e l l o n o n m i h a n e m - meno salutato! - You brother is so arro- g a n t , h e d i d n ' t e v e n s a y hello! - L e p i a c e p r o v o c a r e l a gente, è un'insolente - She likes to trigger peo- ple, she can be quite insult- ing - N o n u s a r e p a r o l a c c e ! Non essere insolente! - D o n ' t s w e a r , d o n ' t b e rude! LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Word of the day: insolente – when you are too full of yourself! Italian curiosities: why is Italy the birthplace of opera? The interior of La Fenice opera house in Venice. Venice was one of the first capitals of Italian opera (Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons agreement. Author: Wikicommons. License: Public Domain) Photo 188403402 © Andrii Biletskyi | Dreamstime.com

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