Verismo in Classical Music

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Discussion
Conclusion
References List

Introduction

Over time, there have been changes in the way performance art is presented. Classical music has not been an exception since it advances as different composers use different modes to express themselves.

Verismo is a unique style of music which expresses every day happenings in society. It makes use of ordinary settings to communicate to the audience. This paper is going to look at Verismo in relation to classical music and with reference to various composers.

Discussion

Verismo refers to the composition of classical music based on natural elements and it was introduced to Italy in the late 19^th Century. This genre of opera was related to both truth and realism in performance. Composers of this genre focused more on reality rather than on sentimental subjects and portrayed real life issues.

This was made possible by the use people in simple contemporary dresses. Verismo also used the rural and impoverished society as opposed to the aristocrats. Composers used ordinary people to communicate and the themes were some times violent. This made it possible to bring out the humility of people in the plots. It is a genre that shows every day life (Samson, 2001).

There are two different types of verismo. The first one is the nationalism of cavalleria which is both lyrical and choral and it is more popular. It depicts brutality, passion and poverty. The other type of verismo is bourgeois nationalism by Trisri Amore. Poor people are used by composers to clearly bring out the unique features of verismo by depicting the real life of ordinary people rather than noble figures in society.

This makes verismo a genre that was in touch with reality. Verismo is able to show the bad side of life with most unfortunate incidents that life has to offer (Samson, 2001).

Unlike in verismo, the verdian genre which proceeded verismo placed more emphasis on the human voice. The singing was much heavier than in verismo and was sometimes more lyrical. The vocal requirements in Verdi and verismo were different. Verismo requires a much stronger produced tone with little emphasis on vocal niceties.

The role of verismo in classical music can be best illustrated through the works of different classical music composers like Ruggero Leoncavallo. Verismo composers do not only perform classical music for it to appeal to the audience vocally but to portray the feelings of a character. The whole set of performance has to reflect a certain action and the opera has to be continuous.

It would therefore not be possible to select parts of the opera and perform them separately. There is however an exception of a few operas such as Cavalleria Rustiana and Tosca which have choruses and duets that can be easily excerpted and performed in concerts (Boyden, 2002).

Verismo was largely influenced by the works of Richard Wagner although there was a difference in the use of orchestra by Wagner and Verismo composers. The orchestra in Wagner did not have to follow what was being presented by the singer. After Verdi, verismo incorporated real life situations into classical music.

Ruggero Leoncavallo was the main contributor to verismo and he emphasized on every person’s role in society. He was interested in real life scenarios and insisted that every individual should take responsibility over their life as well as the lives of those around them. He did not base his music on noble themes but rather on the stories of ordinary people.

His most famous composition was the pagliacci which was based on a murder that had occurred. His compositions were different from the Romantic Italian Opera and he was able to make use of theatrical effects in opera. Ruggero’s compositions were based on real cases that his father presided over.

I Pagliacci which was his best opera was based on the relationships of performers and the jealousy that existed among them. Verdi paved way for verismo since it was after he had stopped composing that Puccini and other composer’s embraced verismo and incorporated realism in their classical music (Boyden, 2002).

Francesco Cilea was another composer who significantly contributed to verismo. In his verismo composition L’arlesiana, he brought out the idea of French naturalism in music. There was gradual advancement of negative emotion in the lyrical conversation that eventually led to the death of Federico who was a young protagonist.

This was a classical example of verismo with the performance embracing natural occurrences of every day life. In his other composition Adriana Levouveur there was a lot of emotion expressed and realism as well and it is the composition that made him famous in the world of verismo. Umberto Giordano used international political situations that were happening in real life. His compositions were based on a modern historical setting which helped to bring out the idea of verismo (Pistone, 1995).

In contrast to Verdi, verismo did not accept mythological and historical subjects. Verismo usually had violent plots that led to murder caused by sexual violence. It was at the same time melodramatic and very realistic. It was able to bring together the sensational and the sordid aspects common people. The music devices that were used in verismo to bring out realism were melodies and that were depicted emotion. Solo voices were also used to make passionate declamations (Scherer, 2007).

There were composers such as Giacomo Puccini who did not entirely follow the verist opera. Some of his works were however perfectly verist for instance in La Bohème which depicted four poor artists living in Paris and a more impoverished girl earning a living from doing embroidery.

Although controversial, Giacomo Puccini was the initial composer of verismo to join opera after Verdi. Most of his compositions revolved around suicide or death caused by the betrayal of a loved one. La Bohème revolved around Rodolfo and Mimi who were lovers and their feted love affair. The performers were able to charm and at the same time inform viewers.

The song sung by Rodolfo at the end of the first Act to Mimi was able to bring out a lot of emotion in the way Rodolfo described himself. In this song, Puccini was able to incorporate the correct theme, tone and characters that made the performance to be verist. He was expected to have very high quality work since he had succeeded the very influential and famous Giuseppe Verdi.

He was able to comfortably tackle any subject that would bring out verismo. The subjects mainly revolved around revenge, seduction, sex, betrayal, revenge, death and murder. He was able to incorporate sadistic passions and dramatic actions into his classical music.

Madame Butterfly is composed in a very interesting setting which was based on the way a Japanese bride was viewed by her groom who was an American Sailor. It ends with a girl committing suicide on stage. This was a clear indication of realism that is embraced in verismo (Scherer, 2007).

Most of the classical verismo songs were in an anti-legito and vociferous way. They would strain their vocals of singers while performing by forcing their high tones. Because of this strain, they would not be able to perform for long periods of time. Some of the verismo singers included Adelaide Saraceni and Rosina Storchio.

Pietro Mascagni also composed verismo. In his Cavalleria Rusticana, he was able to deliver a good example of verismo which showed the bad side that life had to offer as was the case in most verismo compositions. It depicted love and jealousy that were present in a village.

Ave Maria was an interlude in the opera which show cased true verist style and emotion. This led it to become a stand alone piece. The opera ends with death which was as a result of romantic betrayal. Pietro’s role as a composer of verismo was only evident in Cavalleria Rusticana as his other works did not meet the standards he had set in his first composition (Boyden, 2002).

Conclusion

Verismo was a unique kind of classical music that used simple people and material to communicate. It was very real and reflected the lives and issues facing ordinary people. The performers therefore had to be able to effectively express emotion.

Most of the verismo compositions only lasted a few minutes within which they would communicate about real life situations in a melodramatic manner. Most of the composers of this genre of music were Italian since it was often tied to Italy’s culture and language.

References List

Boyden, M. (2002). The Rough Guide to Opera. City: Rough Guides Limited.

Pistone, D. (1995). Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera from Rossini to Puccini. Portland: Amadeus Press. Samson, J. (2001). The Cambridge History of Nineteenth-Century Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Scherer, B. (2007). A History of American Classical Music:. City: Naxos Books.

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Verismo in Classical Music

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