Nationalism and Italian Opera — Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini

What Is “Nationalism”?

In parallel with the German–Austrian music of Wagner, Brahms, and Mahler from the previous article, from the late 19th century national schools of music (nationalism) developed in various countries:

• Independence from and reaction against the German–Austrian musical dominance
• The artistic elevation of folk music, folk song, and folk dance
• Musical expression of national identity
• The musical version of 19th-century nationalism

Major national schools:

• Russia — the “Five” + Tchaikovsky
• Bohemia — Smetana, Dvořák
• Finland — Sibelius
• Norway — Grieg
• Spain — Albéniz, Granados, Falla
• Hungary — Bartók (early 20th century), Kodály

The Russian “Five” — Folk Music Made Art

Five young composers in Saint Petersburg in the 1860s:

Composer	Dates	Day job	Representative works
Mily Balakirev	1837–1910	Musician (center)	Islamey (piano virtuoso)
César Cui	1835–1918	Army officer	Operas, music criticism
Modest Mussorgsky	1839–1881	Army officer, then civil servant	Pictures at an Exhibition, opera Boris Godunov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov	1844–1908	Naval officer, then professor	Scheherazade, Flight of the Bumblebee
Alexander Borodin	1833–1887	Chemist	In the Steppes of Central Asia, opera Prince Igor

A group of “amateur composers” (all but Balakirev had other professions). They argued for “a Russian music, not imitation of the Germans.”

Mussorgsky (1839–1881)

The most original — short-lived (42), died of alcoholism:

• Pictures at an Exhibition (1874, piano) — musical setting of a friend’s memorial exhibition. Ravel’s 1922 orchestration is world-famous
• Opera Boris Godunov (1869–72) — the summit of Russian opera
• Night on Bald Mountain — a tone poem, famous in Rimsky-Korsakov’s edition

Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908)

Professor at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory; refined the Five musically:

• Scheherazade, Op. 35 (1888) — Arabian Nights, brilliant orchestration
• Flight of the Bumblebee (1899–1900) — from The Tale of Tsar Saltan, ubiquitous today
• Pupils: Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Glazunov, Myaskovsky — the majority of the great early-20th-century Russian composers

Pyotr Tchaikovsky — The Greatest Russian Nationalist

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) was born in Votkinsk, Russia and worked in Moscow. He is outside the “Five” and more Western and Classical.

Life

• 7 May 1840 — Born in Votkinsk (central Russia); his father was a mining engineer
• 1859 — Law degree; civil servant
• 1862 — Enters the Saint Petersburg Conservatory at 22 — a late start
• 1866–1878 — Professor at the Moscow Conservatory
• 1876 — Attends the premiere of Wagner’s Ring at Bayreuth
• July 1877 — Marries Antonina Milyukova → breaks down after three months; attempts suicide
• 1877–1890 — Receives a pension from Nadezhda von Meck (patroness), with whom he corresponds for 13 years without meeting (per her condition)
• October 1893 — Premiere of the Sixth Symphony “Pathétique”
• 6 November 1893 — Dies in Saint Petersburg at 53

The Mystery of His Death

Tchaikovsky’s death was officially cholera from “drinking untreated water.” Modern scholarship raises:

• Exposure of his homosexuality → aristocratic pressure to “honorable suicide”
• Simple natural death

The truth is still debated in the 21st century. The death-tinged content of the Pathétique deepens the mystery.

Main Works

• Swan Lake, Op. 20 (1875–1876) — ballet
• Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 (1874–1875) — one of the most famous piano concertos in the world; with Schumann and Grieg from the previous article, one of the three great Romantic piano concertos
• Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 (1878) — one of the three great violin concertos
• Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (1889) — ballet
• Nutcracker, Op. 71 (1892) — a Christmas staple
• Symphony No. 4, Op. 36 (1877)
• Symphony No. 5, Op. 64 (1888)
• Symphony No. 6 in B minor, “Pathétique”, Op. 74 (1893) — his last
• Eugene Onegin, Op. 24 (1877–1878) — opera
• 1812 Overture, Op. 49 (1880) — the Napoleonic invasion of Russia in music

The “Fusion of West and Russia”

Tchaikovsky’s music:

• Form is Western (symphony, concerto, ballet)
• Melody is Russian (folk-flavored, melancholy)
• Orchestration is brilliant

Where the “Five” were Russian purists, Tchaikovsky was an internationalist. Judging from his enormous global popularity today, his approach proved right.

The Czech National School — Smetana and Dvořák

Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884)

The father of the Czech national school. His music is a symbol of Czech independence:

• The Bartered Bride (1866) — a Czech-language opera, folk-based
• Má vlast (1874–1879) — six symphonic poems; “The Moldau (Vltava)” is world-famous
• String Quartet No. 1 “From My Life” (1876) — autobiographical
• Late deafness, mental illness, death

Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)

Born in Prague; spent time in the US. Nine symphonies, extensive chamber and vocal works. Nationalism plus Classical refinement.

• 1892–1895 — Director of the National Conservatory in New York
• Symphony No. 9 in E minor, “From the New World”, Op. 95 (1893) — the most famous piece of Czech music in the world, written in the US
• Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104 (1894–1895) — the summit of the cello concerto
• Slavonic Dances — folk dances as art
• String Quartet No. 12 “American”, Op. 96 (1893) — a masterpiece of the American years

“Recognized by Brahms” (see the previous article) — a successor in the Brahms line.

Jean Sibelius — The Finnish National School

Jean Sibelius (1865–1957, longevity of 91) is at the center of Finnish nationalism. Symphonic poems, seven symphonies, and a violin concerto.

Life

• 8 December 1865 — Born in Hämeenlinna, Finland (then part of Russia)
• 1899 — Composes Finlandia, Op. 26, a symbol of resistance to Russia
• 1900s–1920s — Composes seven symphonies
• c. 1926 — Begins Symphony No. 8, never completes it; burns the manuscript in 1943
• 1926–1957 (31 years) — “the silence of 30 years,” no new works; dies at 91

Main Works

• Finlandia, Op. 26 (1899, 1900) — anti-Russian, a symbol of independence, effectively Finland’s second anthem
• Symphony No. 1, Op. 39 (1899) — under Tchaikovsky’s influence
• Symphony No. 2, Op. 43 (1902) — the most popular
• Symphony No. 5, Op. 82 (1919) — “the swan theme”
• Symphony No. 7, Op. 105 (1924) — single-movement, his last symphony
• Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 (1904, 1905) — a peak of the 20th-century violin concerto

The “Silence of 30 Years”

After Tapiola in 1926, no new works for 30 years. A mix of alcoholism, perfectionism, and political circumstances. The “silence” is itself an artistic choice.

Edvard Grieg — The Norwegian National School

Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) was born in Bergen, Norway. He made Norwegian folk music into art:

• Peer Gynt Suites, Op. 46, 55 — incidental music for Ibsen; “Morning,” “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” “Anitra’s Dance,” “Solveig’s Song”
• Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 (1868) — a companion to Schumann’s concerto
• Lyric Pieces — 10 books, 66 piano miniatures

The Spanish National School

• Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909) — Iberia (piano suite, 12 pieces), each region of Spain
• Enrique Granados (1867–1916) — Goyescas (piano suite) — from paintings by Goya
• Manuel de Falla (1876–1946) — The Three-Cornered Hat, El amor brujo (ballets); 20th-century Spanish music

Giuseppe Verdi — King of Italian Opera

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (1813–1901) was born near Parma in Italy and lived to 88. Twenty-six operas, the summit of Italian opera and a symbol of the Italian unification movement (Risorgimento).

Life

• 10 October 1813 — Born in Roncole, Duchy of Parma
• 1832 — Fails the Milan Conservatory entrance exam → studies privately
• 1836 — Marries; loses his wife and two children by 1840
• 1842 — Premiere of Nabucco — a great success; the “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” becomes a symbol of Italian unification
• 1859 — “VIVA VERDI” appears in graffiti on walls (in fact code for Vittorio Emanuele Re D’Italia — “King Vittorio Emanuele of Italy”)
• 1861 — Kingdom of Italy unified; Verdi becomes a senator
• 1893, age 80 — Final opera Falstaff (comic)
• 27 January 1901 — Dies in Milan; 300,000 attend his funeral

Main Operas (26 works)

• Nabucco (1842) — Jews in Babylonian captivity; “Va, pensiero”
• Ernani (1844), Macbeth (1847), Luisa Miller (1849)
• Rigoletto (1851) — famous for “La donna è mobile”
• Il trovatore (1853) — “Anvil Chorus”
• La traviata (1853) — after Dumas fils, one of the most-performed operas in the world
• La forza del destino (1862) — commissioned and premiered in Saint Petersburg
• Don Carlos (1867)
• Aida (1871) — commissioned for the opening of the Suez Canal; premiered in Cairo
• Otello (1887) — after Shakespeare, at 74
• Falstaff (1893) — at 80, his only fully comic opera

“Va, pensiero” and Italian Unification

Act 3 of Nabucco, “Va, pensiero, sull’ali dorate” (“Fly, thought, on golden wings”), depicts the exiled Jews longing for their homeland in Babylonian captivity. Italians under Austrian imperial rule heard their own desire for independence in it — the spirit-song of the unification movement.

Modern Italy hears it as a “second national anthem” at football matches and political rallies.

“Verdi Baritones”

Verdi’s operas famously feature great baritone (male mid-low voice) roles. Rigoletto, Macbeth, Germont (Traviata), Iago (Otello), Falstaff — the category “Verdi baritone” was established.

Giacomo Puccini — “Verdi’s Successor”

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) was born in Lucca, Italy — the post-Verdi peak of Italian opera. Twelve operas.

Life

• 22 December 1858 — Born in Lucca (fifth generation of a family of musicians)
• 1884 — Operatic debut with Le Villi
• 1893 — Fame with Manon Lescaut
• c. 1900 — Worldwide fame
• 29 November 1924 — Dies of throat cancer in Brussels at 65. Turandot left unfinished

Main Operas

• Manon Lescaut (1893)
• La Bohème (1896) — the love of poor young Parisians, with “Sì, mi chiamano Mimì”
• Tosca (1900) — set in Rome, “E lucevan le stelle,” “Vissi d’arte”
• Madama Butterfly (1904) — the Butterfly of Nagasaki, Japan; shaped the world’s image of Japan
• La fanciulla del West (1910) — the American West
• Turandot (1924, unfinished, completed by Alfano) — Beijing; “Nessun dorma” is world-famous (from Pavarotti)

“The Big Three”

Puccini’s La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly are among the most performed operas in the world today. Melodic appeal and direct emotion.

Madama Butterfly and Japan

Premiered at La Scala in 1904. Puccini studied Japanese music (folk songs and national anthem) and quotes Kimigayo, Sakura Sakura, Echigo Jishi, and others.

The prototype “Japan as seen from the West” for Japanese listeners. Still performed everywhere; a work of ambivalent feeling for Japanese opera lovers.

Other Opera Composers — Verismo

Verismo (“realism”) opera (from the 1890s):

• Pietro Mascagni — Cavalleria rusticana (1890)
• Ruggero Leoncavallo — Pagliacci (1892)

A new style depicting the poor, passion, and violence. A direct influence on Puccini.

French Opera (Late 19th Century)

• Charles Gounod (1818–1893) — Faust (1859)
• Georges Bizet (1838–1875) — Carmen (1875) — Spain, one of the most popular operas in the world
• Jules Massenet (1842–1912) — Manon (1884), Werther (1892)

Modern Impact

The Staple of Opera Houses

• The overwhelming majority of the repertoire at La Scala, the Metropolitan, Vienna, and Covent Garden is Verdi and Puccini

Continuation of Nationalism

• 20th-century Bartók (Hungary), Janáček (Bohemia), Kodály (Hungary) — developments of nationalism
• Latin America — Villa-Lobos (Brazil), Ginastera (Argentina)
• USA — Ives, Copland, Bernstein

The Development of Folksong Research

• The fieldwork of Bartók and Kodály — the beginning of ethnomusicology
• The distant ancestor of modern world music

From This Article to the Next

We have surveyed nationalism and Italian opera. The next article turns to the three great revolutions of the early 20th century:

• Impressionism — Debussy (1862–1918), Ravel (1875–1937) — “musical painting” in France
• Second Viennese School — Schoenberg (1874–1951), Berg (1885–1935), Webern (1883–1945) — atonality and the twelve-tone technique
• Ballets Russes — Stravinsky (1882–1971) and The Rite of Spring (1913) — “29 May 1913, Paris, the great event in music history”

Thirty years of “the dissolution of tonality” and “the invention of a new musical language.” Runs in parallel with article 08 (Debussy and Ravel) of the sister [Lineage of the Piano] series.