The opening scene in the _foyer_ of the Comedie
Francaise is bright and lively, the handling of the score arousing
pleasant reminiscences of Verdi's 'Falstaff,' but the more dramatic
passages in the struggle of Adrienne and her rival the Princess de
Bouillon for Maurice de Saxe seem to be outside the scope of the
composer's talent, and the great moments of the piece are somewhat
frigid and unimpressive. There is a note of pathos, however, in
Adrienne's death-scene, and the character of Michonnet is elaborated
with skill and feeling. Cilea's latest opera, 'Gloria' (1907), a
blood-thirsty story of the struggle between the Guelphs and Ghibellines,
does not appear to have won much favour in Italy.
Edoardo Mascheroni's early laurels were won as a conductor, but in 1901
he sprang into fame as the composer of 'Lorenza,' an opera which has met
with much success in various cities of Spain and Spanish America as well
as in Italy. 'Lorenza' is a Calabrian version of the time-honoured story
of Judith and Holofernes, though in this case the Judith, so far from
slaying her brigand Holofernes, falls in love with him, and ends by
disguising herself in his cloak and allowing herself to be shot by the
soldiers who come to capture the bandit chief. Mascheroni's score
overflows with thoroughly Italian melody, and shows considerable
knowledge of dramatic effect, which from a conductor of his experience
was only to be expected.
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