Amleto
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Amleto
For the given name, see Amleto (given name).
Amleto is an opera in four acts by Franco Faccio, with libretto by Arrigo Boito. It premiered on May 30, 1865 at the Teatro Carlo Felice of Genova. It was revised for a La Scala production given on February 12, 1871.
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Composition and premiere
The history of Amleto is very brief and derives from two sources both by the same author. The only thing known about pre-compositional decisions has to do with the libretto which DeRensis said was written specifically for Faccio by Boito. The two schoolmates had already collaborated on a Cantata patria in 1860, and Boito's infamous ode saffica col bicchiere alla mano which so infuriated Verdi, was written and read at banquet in tribute to Faccio.[1]
It is unclear how the choice of Hamlet came about, but Boito began work even before the premiere of Faccio's first opera I profughi fiamminghi (La Scala 1863), and completed the libretto on July 2, 1862 in Poland.[2]
The opera was premiered on May 30, 1865 at Genoa's Teatro Carlo Felice. The cast included some of the finest singers of the day: Mario Tiberini – Amleto, Angiolina Ortolani-Tiberini – Ofelia, Elena Corani – Regina, Antonio Cotogni – Re, Baragiolo – lo Spettro. The conductor was Angelo Mariani. According to DeRensis the work was accepted at Carlo Felice because of the personal intervention of Boito's Conservatory professor Alberto Mazzucato, who was friends with Mariani.
The critics were unanimous in their praise, if not of the work itself, then of the promise shown in the young composer.
Interim and La Scala production
After the premiere, Amleto lay dormant for nearly six years while its authors embarked on a number of musical and extra-musical adventures. In 1866 both Boito and Faccio joined the Italian army to fight alongside Garibaldi. In addition to his purely militaristic excursions, Faccio used the opportunity to travel extensively throughout Europe, perusing Beethoven's autograph of Fidelio in Berlin in addition to getting to know Tannhäuser and Lohengrin. As his European travels came to an end in 1867, he traveled to Copenhagen on a steamship named Hamlet, and was amused to see other ships named after Shakespeare's tragedy. While in Denmark, he made a special trip to Elsinore and visited the Royal Castle where he had the feeling that at any moment one could imagine seeing the "wandering and troubled shade of the assassinated king."[3]
It was also during these years that Faccio began conducting, which would prove to be his true calling. Amleto, though, was never far from his thoughts, and his friends and family continued to urge him to seek another production. In a letter written on February 27, 1867, his friend the Countess Maffei chided him for missing the opportunity to present Amleto to the Queen of Prussia when he had the chance.[4]
Faccio also continued to compose after the premiere of Amleto, writing among other things, a sinfonia in fa and a quartetto. Sometime in 1870 Giovanni Ricordi commissioned him to write a third opera, Patria, based on a play by Sardou. Verdi himself intervened on Faccio's behalf to try to secure the rights to the play, but Sardou, hoping that Verdi himself would set the drama to music, refused.
The disastrous premiere of Boito's Mefistofele at La Scala in 1868 added to the growing necessity of a compositional success by Boito and Faccio, self-appointed representatives of the "art of the future" in Italy. In early 1870 we hear from the Gazzetta Musicale of a possibility (eventually unrealized) of staging Amleto in Florence.[5]
The long awaited revival was eventually slated for the 1870-1871 season at La Scala. According to DeRensis, the performance was made possible for one reason: the Hamlet libretto by Carré and Barbier (written for Thomas) was unanimously judged a profanation.
For the La Scala production Mario Tiberini returned to interpret the role of Amleto. He was again joined by some of the most famous singers of the time: Virginia Pozzi-Branzutti – Ofelia, Bulli-Paoli – La Regina, Bertolasi – Il Re, De Giuli Angeli – lo Spettro. La Scala's conductor, Eugenio Terziani, yielded the baton to Faccio.[6]
According to DeRensis the rehearsals began smoothly and the dress rehearsal was set for January 16, 1871. The very next day, Tiberini got sick and the opera was postponed for more than 2 weeks. Eventually rehearsals began again, and Tiberini got sick again. A second dress rehearsal was given and the La Scala Theater Commission judged Tiberini fit to sing, despite Faccio's protestations. February 12 saw the opening night, and what was to be the last performance of Amleto in history.
Despite good intentions, Tiberini was completely voiceless that night. After the performance, Faccio, so disturbed by this fiasco, immediately withdrew the piece, and refused to have it performed again.
Although Amleto was never produced again in his lifetime, his student Antonio Smareglia noted that it was always very dear to his heart.
Notes
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Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (July 2010) |
- ^ See Weaver, William, The Verdi-Boito correspondence (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1994), Introduction p. xvii
- ^ Nardi, Piero. Arrigo Boito, tutti gli scritti. A. Mondadori, 1942, p. 1531.
- ^ Ibid., p. 72. From a letter of June 30, 1867 to Countess Maffei: "Il Castello Reale splendido, grandioso, antichissimo monumento, ricco di baluardi e di piattaforme, sulle quali, ad ogni istante, si crederebbe di scorgere l'ombra errante ed affanosa del vecchio Re assassinato..."
- ^ Ibid., p. 59. "...M'ha assai divertita la vostra resistenza all Regina di Prussia, ma perchè non offrivi di suonare invece di cantare? e far sentire a S. M. la vostra Marcia Funebre? Avreste così avuto l'opportunità di presentare L'Amleto."
- ^ Ibid., p. 112.
- ^ Ibid., p. 114.
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