EVOLVING CONVENTIONS IN ITALIAN SERIOUS OPERA: SCENE STRUCTURE IN THE WORKS OF ROSSINI, BELLINI, DONIZETTI, AND VERDI, 1810-1850

Abstract

Study of arias, duets, and central finales from 37 operas of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi suggests that in the past we may have overestimated the conventionality of scene structures in Italian operas from the period 1810-1850. While Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi clearly retained the outlines of Rossini's layouts for these types of scenes, they made fundamental changes within those outlines. They moved away from the relative stasis of Rossini's archetypes by segmenting their lyric numbers more decisively at lower structural levels and by connecting those sections in stronger musical and dramatic motions. They enlivened the drama of the lyric number by revising the dramatic functions of the different movements and, more generally, by intensifying dramatic conflict and interaction. To accommodate these novel dramatic relationships, they developed new organizational formats for individual movements. They also took liberties--particularly in the duet and finale--in the overall organization of the number. Finally, as the lyric number became more dynamic and gained a role in the plot commensurate with that of the scena, composers and librettists increased the musical and poetic continuity of those two sections, creating a more cohesive style of opera. Thus innovation involved not only music but also drama and poetry: both composers and librettists experimented with structural conventions during this period. Moreover, these three central aspects of operatic design moved in parallel directions and reinforced one another. Changes were manifested forcefully in all three of the most important types of conventional scenes--the aria, duet, and central finale--though to different degrees and at different rates in each case. The trends under consideration were widespread, and appear at least to a degree in all of the operas examined for this study. Finally, we see that Rossini himself led the way in many of these changes by experimenting in his late operas with new variations on formats he had popularized. In short, operatic structure did not stagnate during the period 1820 to 1850. Those years saw Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, and even Rossini moving toward a freer, more active musical drama.

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