Erik Bruchez
Fri, 20 Sep 2002 20:07:40 -0700
Very interesting, John. I didn't know (or forgot) that Curci was
online. Their email address did bounce though. I just sent them a fax
to inquire about some items. If I can get that Rantzau facsimile, I
will definitely let the list know about it.
I actually like I Rantzau a lot. As some of you may know, the idea of
doing I Rantzau after Cavalleria came before L'amico Fritz. Then for a
reason that I forget, Fritz was completed and premiered first. I've
read several times that I Rantzau does not add anything over
Cavalleria and Fritz, but I am starting to think that this assertion
should be reevaluated. Maybe this was due also to the fact that until
a few years ago, almost no recorded music of I Rantzau was available,
and nobody alive had ever seen a performance.
I think the opera sounds very different from Fritz. The overture and
intermezzo are quite original. The ending is beautiful and if you
managed to get into the story and feel the hatred between the two
brothers, you may even find it moving. The music is a little coarse
sometimes, but it is never dull. It even has a pretty nice
demonstration of counterpoint (a technique Mascagni seemed to like a
lot) in the Cicaleccio at the beginning of act 3. I am not a big fan
of the libretto, but being what it is, the music supports it very
well. This shows the musical genius of Mascagni I think. For those
that have the music, take for example, in act 3:
- Sono Rantzau! Non si faranno queste nozze, intendete?
- Oh! di grazia, e perche?
- Perche Luisa non v'ama!
- Ah! n'ama un'altro?
- E se cio fosse? Ella niente vi deve, ed ha gentile l'animo
troppo per vendersi ad un Lebel!
- Oh! signore, volete provocarmi, e vero?
- E vero.
- Ci batteremo dunque.
- A domatina!
- A domatina!
Any of us could have written this dialog, right? But when you listen
to the music (in the fone edition), the scene comes out perfectly.
-Erik
John Mucci wrote:
> I don't know if any of you share my interest in finding scores for
> Mascagni's works, but although P. Ostali/Sonzogno is the official
> publisher of most of it, his scores are distributed by others.
>
> In the U.S., Silvano and Gugliemo Ratcliff can be had through
> Theodore Presser in Bryn Mawr, PA.
>
> Many of the others can be found through Edizione Curci, at:
>
> http://www.edizionicurci.it/
>
> I think it interesting that they have the full orchestral score
> to I RANTZAU in a manuscript facsimile for about $115. Personally I
> can't wait to afford this one!
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