"SOLITA FORMA" DEL DUETTO O DEL NUMERO?: L'aria in quattro tempi nel melodramma del primo Ottocento

Formal classifications that are now commonplace in scholarship on early nineteenth-century Italian opera distinguish between "numbers" for more than one voice (duets, trios, etc.), which are usually in four parts (tempo d'attacco - adagio - tempo di mezzo - cabaletta) and arias, usual...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Il saggiatore musicale 1999-01, Vol.6 (1/2), p.119-144
Main Author: Lamacchia, Saverio
Format: Article
Language:Italian
Subjects:
19th century
Arias
Italian Opera
Music Drama
Musical Analysis
Rossini, Gioachino
Structural Analysis
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Summary:Formal classifications that are now commonplace in scholarship on early nineteenth-century Italian opera distinguish between "numbers" for more than one voice (duets, trios, etc.), which are usually in four parts (tempo d'attacco - adagio - tempo di mezzo - cabaletta) and arias, usually tripartite (adagio - tempo di mezzo - cabaletta). This classification ignores the existence of four-part arias, which are fairly common in the operas of Rossini and his contemporaries. Musically, the first section of the quadripartite aria is usually a tempo d'attacco, analogous to that of the duets. The tempo d'attacco in the arias replaces the confrontation or dispute between the characters and conveys a forceful emotion, which contrasts with the sentimental adagio that follows. This is a musico-dramatic formula, already present in the libretto, that seems to be found only in "serious" contexts, and appears to be used primarily for a specific type of singer: one of the male voices, the so-called tenore baritonale di forza. The quadripartite aria fades around mid-century; there are, however, four-part arias in La forza del destino and in Don Carlo. The article finally reflects on the nature of the tempo d'attacco itself, which does not always show "kinetic" characteristics; in other words, it is not always a preparation for the lyrical oasis of the adagio. The tempo d'attacco can also provide for free expression of feeling, just as in the adagio and in the cabaletta. This trait holds not only for quadripartite arias, but sometimes also for duets with the same structure.
ISSN:1123-8615
2035-6706