Lesser Known Cornelius and Wolf

            Wagner cast a considerable shadow over the German composers of the 19^th century, in fact; it could be said that he cast a considerable shadow over the whole of the Romantic Era. Younger composers such as Peter Cornelius and Hugo Wolf were in some ways charged with displaying individuality and independence from Wagnerian style in the same ways that composers of the early 19^th century tried to assimilate Beethoven’s style while creating an individual name for themselves. It is a curious thing that the text notes these composers working so hard to separate their works from Wagner, after all, Wagner displayed a heavy influence from Berlioz, Liszt and Beethoven (as well as others), the question must be asked, why was it so important?

            Peter Cornelius is not a particularly well known composer, trying to find any biographical information on him was somewhat difficult. Only a devoted Wikipedia article showed up on Google and my “Dictionary of Composers” was little help. From what I read, he played violin, wrote prolifically on the subject of art (like many Romantic composers) and composed Lieder early in life. As far as the text is concerned, he was a composer of some ability but felt swamped by Wagner and therefore decided to try and separate himself through means of writing comic opera. This was a short lived solution as eventually Cornelius became an assistant of Wagner and also began writing fantastical German opera sometimes based on Norse legend. All of this was to no avail, however; because he was constantly pushed aside in favor of operas such as Tristan and Parsifal.  Cornelius did in 1874 at age 50.

            While Cornelius might be somewhat obscure, Hugo Wolf is a well known individual to anyone who has studied classical voice. Wolf was a prolific composer of Leider, possibly the most well known since Franz Schubert.  Wolf was able to combine the best aspects of reoccurring motif as well as the melodic development present in Wagner but distilled into a more palatable song-form.  Hugo Wolf did in fact compose an opera close to the end of the 19^th century; the piece was titled Der Corregidor (finished in 1896) and was based off the “light hearted libretto” by Rosa Mayreder. Barry Millington detracts from the piece based on its flawed text stating that “Act 4 has an excessive amount of recapitulation of preceding events.” This was somewhat amusing to me as we need look no further for excessive recapitulation and unnecessary declamation than that of Wagner. In fact, the passing comment about Anna Russell prompted me to look up her videos where one of the big punch lines is her poking fun at Wagner’s bombastic nature. 

Reflections on “The Staging of Opera”

            I am relatively confident that this section of the Oxford text could be re-titled “The Staging of Theatre, in General” as many of the aspects discussed (often jokingly) could easily be applied to any production.  In order to really understand staging, I think it is important to understand a decisive moment in the history of theatre; that being the stepping away of Thespis from the Greek chorus (this could also be seen as an overall metaphor for the development of stagecraft). Prior to Thespis asserting himself as an “actor” the chorus was little more than an amplified story-telling group. In this respect there is little difference between the classical Greek chorus and listening around a campfire. With Thespis stepping away, there is a far different demand on the audience, no longer are we hearing a story we are witness to it. From that standpoint, nothing is more important than maintaining the illusion of seeing a reality happen, in real time, on stage and everything that cast, crew, director and stage manager must do to maintain that illusion.

           The author of chapter 10 in the Oxford text, Robert Savage, cites a number of dramaturgical works in order to explain the science of effective staging, focusing primarily on the directions for Othello and Dafne. These two operas span over 200 years between them and therefore a directional look at both of them provides some notion of the evolution of the art form.  These documents include ingenious means of getting around problems that might arise in the course of a production, such as a battle scene that is followed by an aria, where the singer might be out of breath. This could be solved by having an extra actor for the battle where the singer can wait patiently in the wings. Another example is given for the murder scene in Othello, the dramaturges recommends that Desdemona powder her face while the pillow hides her from the audience so that she can appear ghost-white when Othello retracts the suffocating device.  There are also illustrations of minor suggestions for getting an onstage choir to be able to act together and not obstruct the principal characters and for scenery to be set up and painted with continuity and realism. Of course some of these aspects change as theatre evolves, for instance, in the 20^th century avant-garde pieces, the issue of realism is not what it is for an opera such as Othello, however; I think it is safe to say that for the majority of opera’s history, the emphasis has been consistently representational of an identifiable world on stage.

  

          Perhaps the most amusing aspect of this chapter was the section that cited Benedetto Marcello, who was “a Venetian Lawyer, administrator, poet and composer who felt he was a cut above the personnel of most of the companies.” Savage quotes him at length giving ironic advice to various members of a production stating such things as:  allowing actors to gesture and make entrances wherever and whenever they like, that painters should arrange the stage with no idea of perspective or horizon, singers should sing with their mouths half-closed and muffled, and that divas should be concerned with their outfits and looking pleasing rather than acting and singing well.  Of course this is a “what not to do” type tirade, however; I myself have been to a number of productions where I could cite at least one of these theatrical fallacies.

            I believe I mentioned this a long time ago, but I grew up doing community theatre which involved mostly musicals. Except for the music director (who was also my private piano teacher) all the cast and crew were volunteers, some were students hoping to learn necessary skills for a professional career after graduation, others were working adults who enjoyed acting/singing as a way of spending their free time and all manner of  people in-between these two extremes. I was particularly amused while reading this chapter because I tended to flash back to all of the back-stage antics and ill-prepared performers, the set that wasn’t completed until 3 hours before dress rehearsal, the director who shouted constantly and the number late-entrances, forgotten lyrics and out-of-tune orchestral cues.  I started to think to myself that I am so glad there were no on-stage fires (the type of which discussed in the text) because I can’t say for certain that the whole theatre wouldn’t have burned down. What’s amazing, is that through all of its potential faults, involving stage and crew, that incredible performances can and frequently do happen on stage, which I suppose wraps back around to my initial point about Thespis, things do go wrong in the staging of theatre, but those are not the things the audience is privy to, what the audience sees is a real-time story, and when it works, it is an incredible thing to see.   

Wagner's Politics and Polemics

            The Romantic Era saw many individuals who were not only of music, but also wrote a great deal on the subject of music and sometimes general philosophy. This was true of Berlioz, Liszt and of course Richard Wagner. Wagner, the composer who is known infamously as the author of the anti-Semitic tirade; Das Judenthum in der Musik (Jewish Influence in Music) written in 1850, also wrote several other, more tame polemical works including; Die Kunst und die Revolution (Art and Revolution), Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft (Art of the Future) and Oper und Drama (Opera and Drama). All of these essays provide a textural foundation for understanding what Richard Wagner was hoping to accomplish.

            While it might be considered to be an overly-discussed topic in the subject of Wagner’s legacy, his essay ‘Jewishness in Music’ has come to be part and parcel to his historical identity. In the essay, Wagner not only attacks Jewish composers but also those who are simply citizens, Wagner writes “Although the peculiarities of the Jewish mode of speaking and singing come out the most glaringly in the commoner class of Jew, who has remained faithful to his fathers' stock, and though the cultured son of Jewry takes untold pains to strip them off, nevertheless they shew an impertinent obstinacy in cleaving to him.” (Quote as it appears on Wikipedia) Statements like these form the foundation for the unofficial ban on Wagner’s music in the state of Israel and fuel the debate between academics and conservatives on the appropriateness of playing works by Wagner.

            It is very interesting that in the essay ‘Art and Revolution’ that Wagner has joined the 19^th century bandwagon on labeling capitalism something of a social retardant. Barry Millington writes: “[it was written] in the wake of the Dresden uprising of 1848-1849, Wagner insisted that art be taken out of the realm of capitalist speculation and profit making.” Millington goes on to note that Wagner, like so many of his predecessors looked to the idealized, lost Eden of ancient Greece for artistic integrity. Wagner proposed bringing back this integrity by uniting all aspects of arts into a single work for stage.

            Wagner later elaborated on the idea of artistic unification in his later essays; ‘Art of the Future’ and ‘Opera and Drama.’ This is where we see, for the first time the term Gesamtkunstwert (a total work of art), Millington writes; “…combining music, poetry and dance on a basis of equality, and simultaneously allowing architecture, sculpture, and painting to regain their authentic classical status.” It was in these writings that the stage was set for Wagner to attempt something like The Ring, to compose a “musical drama” which was a term coined by the composer and later rejected.

Middle Wagner

            With respects to the three operas Der Fliegnde Hollander (1843), Tannhauser (1845), and Lohengrin (1848) by Richard Wagner, Barry Millington writes: “All three operas are transitional within Wagner’s oeuvre, forming a kind of Rainbow Bridge to Valhalla of the fully through composed music drama.”  Millington also notes that while these operas represented a quintessential apex of German romantic opera, there were several aspects of foreign (Italian and French) influence. It was clear though, that Wagner was venturing with these pieces towards his fully mature style that would manifest itself in The Ring cycle.

            Der Fliegnde Hollander was composed in 1843 and performed the year it was finished. Like he would for The Ring Cycle, Wagner also wrote the libretto for this work. It is essentially a ghost-story that contains a redemptive element, to summarize; a ship captain meets with a cursed boat filled with a ghost-crew, unless the ghost captain is able to find a faithful wife he will be doomed to sail forever. The living captain on the ship plans to set up the dead captain with his daughter, after a few scenes and acts strangeness ensues when the girl throws herself into the sea (she was supposed to be true to the ghost-captain until her death) which breaks the curse and the spirits are allowed to ascend into heaven.  It is very interesting how many operas we have seen in Romantic Germany that requires the sacrifice or steadfastness of a woman in order to enact supernatural scenarios.

            Tannhauser was composed and performed in 1845; it was a successful opera in part due to its more uplifting story line. The legends of the roaming knight Tannhauser existed as separate stories but Wagner combined them into one piece. Tannhauser is notable for its use of tonal center representing characters, Millington writes; “That polarity is reflected directly in the music, for the key of E major is identified with the Venusberg, while E flat major is associated with the pilgrims, holy love and salvation.  There are also novel takes on standard ideas such as the “Venus music” which “breaks free from the constraints of traditional word-setting.”

            Lohengrin was begun by Wagner in 1845 and completed in 1848; it was first performed in 1850 and is seen by the author in the Oxford text to be an advancement in Wagnerian style.  The work is somewhat traditional for its use of recitative as well as “minster, organ, fanfares and bridal processions.”  It is from this opera that the traditional bridal chorus comes.  Wagner capitalizes on what has now become mainstream in German Romantic opera; a knight, the need of a virtuous woman and some kind of hidden identity which cannot be discovered and is “the forbidden question.” All of which are aspects that we have seen from previous works for the stage.

            Though successful and masterful works for the stage, these operas do not represent the Wagner that contributed so fruitfully to the modern music landscape, that Wagner would come in the form of the composer of The Ring Cycle (to be discussed next). Millington writes that: “The technique of the leitmotif is neither prominent nor pervasive in these three Romantic operas.” The leitmotif being one of the hallmarks of Wagnerian composition and an expected aspect of his mature style. 

Wagner's Early Important Works

            There were three early operas of Richard Wagner that display a diversity of style and influence as well as hints of what was to come with the composer’s later compositions, especially in terms of the musical-drama. Evidently, the operas from early in the 19^th century were beginning to wan on the public and German opera was falling out of fashion. According to Barry Millington: “by the time Wagner secured his first professional appointment in 1833, the genre of German Romantic opera… had already begun to decline” Millington then goes on to say that “saving” German opera was something of a quest for the young Wagner.

            Wagner’s first opera; Die Feen (1834) is in the tradition of Weber and Marschner; it follows the pattern of aria, recitative, ensembles… ect, are all present and dealt with in a skillful manner.  Die Feen is another story of the supernatural and man’s dealings with it, essentially it is the story of a man who travels to the underworld to see his beloved who is a half-fairy, the two are permitted to marry so long as the main character not ask a forbidden question for eight years. As is often the case with these kinds of stories, the mortal gives in to impatience and his beloved disappears along with her magical world.  It is pointed out in the book that this is pretty-much another retelling of the Orpheus myth, except including local folklore instead of Greek models.

  

          The second opera written by Wagner was Das Liebesverbot (1836) and was the result of a contemplative period during which Wagner wrote the essay “German Opera” in 1834. In this essay he praises the Italian lyricism in their operatic works. Das Liebesverbot is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure and features very Italian-style long finales as well as having a military band on stage. Perhaps the most significant thing about Das Liebesverbot is the fact that for first time there is “sustained use of what was later to be called the ‘leitmotif.’” A leitmotif is a melody, motif, timbre or even a complete piece can be associated with a character or situation. The modern example I always hear from music teachers is the Darth Vader theme from star wars. This is among aspects of Wagner’s compositional style that were most quintessential and innovative in his works.

           The third opera was Rienzi (1842) which had aims at being a profound commercial success by appealing to Parisian ideals of large showy numbers with dramatic stage effects in the style of Meyerbeer and Spontini. Rienzi was significant for the role of the orchestra being something of an extra voice that could convey emotions and situations outside of spoken language.  The completion of this piece, in some ways, represents the beginning of Wagner’s mature period of writing operas where it seems as though he was able to slough off some of the expectations for stage. It is interesting that Meyerbeer was once someone admired by Wagner and later disdained for his “Jewishness and cosmopolitan” approach to music. 

Wagner and 19th Century Drama

            Wagner truly dominates the 19^th century as far as German opera is concerned. Indeed, a very logical argument could be made that he dominated 19^th century music in general.  Wagner, however; did not spring out of thin air – devising his system of Lietmotifs and theories of Gesamtkunstwerk without any artistic forerunners.  Some of these composers include Beethoven (of course), Weber, Louis Spohr, E.T.A. Hoffman and Heinrich Marschner. All of these composers contributed to the theatrical landscape that Wagner would eventually take over as well as plant seeds of compositional styles that would profoundly impact later music making.

            In the early 19^th century Germany, there was a proliferation of what might be called “horror operas,” these dealt with the supernatural world in a way that usually led to death and torment of the human characters. One such piece is Undine (1816) by Hoffman and Fouque, in which a water spirit is given a human soul when she is married to a knight Huldbrand. Undine warns that Huldbrand must always be faithful to her or she will have to kill her, the knight ignores her and goes astray which leads to his final death by water in the final scene of the opera. Another is the opera Der Vampyr (1828) by Marschner. Evidently there were many plays, books and stories about Vampires as a craze was sweeping German-speaking lands, and I could not help myself but laugh about the current craze of teenage girls with their face nose deep in Twilight books.  Der Vampyr is not so romantic though, it is the story of a vampire let go of hell to find Satan three virgins to extend his stay, sadly (or happily, depending on one’s outlook) there are not that many virgins around which provides for some comic moments.

           Barry Millington, contributor to the Oxford text, states that Carl Maria von Weber was “not quite the first to write a through-composed opera” in a discussion on the piece; Euryanthe (1823). This work did not use spoken dialogue and therefore was taken out of the Singspiel genre. Also musically dramatic, traces of the sound are found in Lohengrin and Siegfried. Another through-composed opera of the same time was Spohr’s Jessonda (1823) which told the story of a widow of a rajah, set to perform an act of self-immolation to join her husband in the afterlife. She is saved by the “civilized” forces of the west, anthropomorphized in the Portuguese general Tristan. I imagine that this type of production played well to the audiences who had been told of Europe’s responsibility to civilize the rest of the world as the French, British and Spanish military continued to march all over the globe stamping out individual cultures in the name of profit and religion. 

Casting a Great Shadow in Opera; Giuseppe Verdi

            Giuseppe Verdi was born in Le Roncole in 1813; he was the son of an inn-keeper in the small village near Parma. Like Donizetti and Bellini he displayed a talent for music at an early age and was sent by his family to study music in Busseto where the young Giuseppe stayed with a merchant and worked for his business. During this time Verdi began composing marches and short instrumental pieces for the town philharmonic society. He had hopes of studying at the conservatory in Milan but as he was four years older than the maximum age allowed for entrance he was denied a place at the conservatory. Instead he studied music privately with Vincenzo Lavigna who was a conductor at La Scala.

            Verdi’s first two works for the stage were Oberto (1939) which was a mildly successful piece, and Un Giorno di Regno (1840) which saw only one performance. Like Bellini Verdi’s true success would come with his third opera; Nabucco (1842). Nabucco is a religious story of Bible-age conflicts involving the Jew’s longing for freedom and a homeland in Israel.  The opera is notable for the chorus “Va, Pensiero” (although it was not much mentioned in early reviews) and the soprano-baritone duet in Act 3.

            Verdi exists as a monolith in the history of opera composition and it is something of a task to narrow down his most important works.  Certainly the piece Rigoletto (1851) deserves praise for its large array of very memorable songs contained within. His setting of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is also worthy of a permanent place in the opera repertoire as should all his Shakespearian settings such as Falstaff and Othello. Finally Il Trovatore (1853) is a work that is very frequently seen surfacing in opera houses around the world, popular for its “finely crafted melodies” and the originality of the characterization of an old “gypsy” woman.

           If I had to narrow down Verdi’s most important opera (a task that I usually wouldn’t attempt to do) I would have to say that La Traviata (1853) is the work that stands out the most. La Traviata contains the famous baritone solo “Di Provenza il Mar” as well as “Alfredo’s Aria” which is a spectacular showing of frantic declamation and elegant melodicism. Essentially, the opera is about a fickle society and social morals.  One shocking aspect of the work is that it shows lovers’ living together out of wedlock, the father is a character who is constantly intervening in the affairs of the two lovers making for something of a forbidden love affair, always successful with theater audiences.  The main character is Violetta, a woman who is ill for the vast majority of the opera, eventually she dies in the final scene immediately after being reunited with her love interest Alfredo.  The music in La Traviata is very engaging and there are very few moments of dullness in sound which goes some way to showing why this has been such an enduring piece.