Echoes of Opera in Modern Italian Poetry : Eros, Tragedy, and National Identity

Twentieth-century Italian poetry is haunted by countless ghosts and shadows from opera. __Echoes of Opera in Modern Italian Poetry__ reveals their presence and sheds light on their role in shaping that great poetic tradition. This is the first work in English to analyze the influence of opera on modern Italian poetry, uncovering a fundamental but neglected relationship between the two art forms. A group of Italian poets, from Gabriele D’Annunzio to Giorgio Caproni, by way of Umberto Saba and Eugenio Montale, made opera a cornerstone of their artistic craft. More than an occasional stylistic influence, opera is rather analyzed as a fundamental facet of these poets’ intellectual quest to overcome the expressive limitations of lyrical poetry. This book reframes modern Italian poetry in a truly interdisciplinary perspective, broadening our understanding of its prominence within the humanities, in the twentieth century and beyond. Acknowledgments 7 Contents 9 Chapter 1: Introduction 12 1.1 A Eulogy for Italian Opera 12 1.2 Opera and Poetry 17 1.3 Modern Poet-Librettists 19 1.4 Pascoli 21 1.5 Gozzano 23 1.6 Critical Assessments 25 1.7 Chapter Summaries 27 References 40 Primary Sources 40 Secondary Sources 40 Chapter 2: From Bayreuth to Fiume: D’Annunzio, Wagner, and the Death of Italian Opera 44 2.1 D’Annunzio and Opera 44 2.2 Opera Verista 46 2.3 Music and Words 49 2.4 Wagner 52 2.5 Nietzsche and Wagner 55 2.6 D’Annunzio’s Dream: The “Teatro di Festa” and the “Total Work of Art” 57 2.7 Musical Epilogue 64 References 78 Primary Sources 78 Secondary Sources 79 Chapter 3: Umberto Saba and the Verdian Sound of Italy 81 3.1 Civic Library 81 3.2 Carmen and Verdi 85 3.3 Trieste 88 3.4 Overthrowing the Father 92 References 109 Primary Sources 109 Secondary Sources 109 Chapter 4: More Than Words: Ossi di seppia, Opera, and the Miracle of Counter-Eloquence 112 4.1 Montale the Baritone 112 4.2 Echoes of Opera 116 4.3 More Than Words 124 4.4 Music of the Heart 129 4.5 Language of Counter-Eloquence 136 References 151 Primary Sources 151 Secondary Sources 151 Chapter 5: Heart of Darkness: Saba’s Operatic Eroticism 154 5.1 Opera and the Erotic 154 5.2 Eros and Thanatos 156 5.3 Love, Libido, Don Juan 160 5.4 Preludes, Canzonettas, and Fugues 166 References 189 Primary Sources 189 Secondary Sources 190 Chapter 6: Strange Mercy: Montale, Opera, and the Death of Tragedy 192 6.1 The Storm and Other Prisons 192 6.2 The Storm of History 193 6.3 The Prison of Poetry 199 6.4 After the Storm 203 6.5 Temporary Conclusions 206 References 221 Primary sources 221 Secondary Sources 222 Chapter 7: Poetry and the Beast: Giorgio Caproni’s Simulations of Opera 224 7.1 A Musical Education 224 7.2 The Crisis of Language 226 7.3 A Desire for Theater 230 7.4 The Hunt 235 7.5 The Beast 238 References 252 Primary Sources 252 Secondary Sources 252 Chapter 8: Conclusions 254 Bibliography 256 Primary Sources 256 Secondary Sources 258 Index 274 Front Matter ....Pages i-xi Introduction (Mattia Acetoso)....Pages 1-32 From Bayreuth to Fiume: D’Annunzio, Wagner, and the Death of Italian Opera (Mattia Acetoso)....Pages 33-69 Umberto Saba and the Verdian Sound of Italy (Mattia Acetoso)....Pages 71-101 More Than Words: Ossi di seppia, Opera, and the Miracle of Counter-Eloquence (Mattia Acetoso)....Pages 103-144 Heart of Darkness: Saba’s Operatic Eroticism (Mattia Acetoso)....Pages 145-182 Strange Mercy: Montale, Opera, and the Death of Tragedy (Mattia Acetoso)....Pages 183-214 Poetry and the Beast: Giorgio Caproni’s Simulations of Opera (Mattia Acetoso)....Pages 215-244 Conclusions (Mattia Acetoso)....Pages 245-246 Back Matter ....Pages 247-276