Cultural stereotypes and the reception of Verdi’s operas in Victorian London

3. Donizetti’s Operas

“…It served its purpose and it has had its day; therefore requiescat in pace. 4 Although not every critic shared with this author the same strong aversion to a tradition that many considered outmoded, a tension emerges from the folds of the contemporary critical discussion not only between old and new, but also between what was to be understood as a genuine form of art and what, instead, was musical entertainment devoid of any artistic value. In the background lay the figure of Richard Wagner and the recent achievements of a new generation of operatic composers.…”

“…As we have already seen, in How to Sing she raises the question of stylistic appropriateness and suggests that every singer 'must be familiar also with the varying needs of the different schools of music, with the historical traditions associated with them'. 4 Since every repertoire has its own different requirements, in terms of both vocal technique and style, it is unlikely, if not impossible, for an artist to excel in all of them. The consequence is that every singer should confine herself to the class of work more particularly suited to her talent.…”

“…3 In composers like Bellini, Verdi, and to a limited extent Donizetti, this was accompanied by a gradually stronger preference for declamatory singing at the expense of florid vocalisation. 4 Many sources suggest how much concern Bellini's preference for declamatory singing generated among contemporary critics and commentators, some of whom mourned the passing of the bel canto. On 16 February 1829 the critic of the Milanese journal L'eco thus commented on the new turn taken by Bellini:…”

“…3 In 1854 Carlo Lorenzini referred to two claques then operating in Italy, Verdists and anti-Verdists, and suggested that, according to the second, Verdi had killed Italian singing, the most distinctive feature of Italian music ever. 4 Abramo Basevi, who wrote the first extensive critical account of Verdi's life and operas as early as 1859, also objected to the treatment Verdi reserved for the voice: 'Considering the human larynx as an instrument, for such it is, Bellini treated it like a wind instrument while Verdi, one may occasionally say, like percussion'. 5 Basevi was among those contemporary commentators who first detected an evolution in Verdi's compositional style, with Luisa Miller (1849) and La traviata (1853) representing two fundamental turning points in his compositional trajectory.…”

“…3 Although 'so imperfect a musical instrument', Tetrazzini became already familiar with this new technology at the outset of its development, having her voice recorded as early as 1904 for the American Zon-O-Phone. 4 However, it was on the occasion of her 1 Luisa Tetrazzini, How to Sing (New York: Doran, 1923), pp. 111-14.…”