歌劇入門
Essential Opera ![]()
La
Wally was premiered at a time when Italian verismo
was emerging, but this opera was not a part of that
school. Rather, it reflected its composer's interest
in the works of Wagner and other figures of the
late Romantic period. Although it is seldom performed
outside of Europe (especially in Italy), the work
is known to many opera enthusiasts through its Act
One aria for the heroine, "Ebben?...No andrò
;ontano," a haunting reverie on the theme of
traveling alone and far from home. The aria, aside
from its popularity as a concert piece among prominent
spinto and dramatic sopranos, was introduced to
viewers of the cult film Diva.
Catalani lived a short life. He was dead at the
age of 39, only a year and a half following La Wally's
premiere at Milan's La Scala on January 20, 1892.
This opera was his final stage work. Earlier, Catalani
had enjoyed some success with Elda (1880), more
so in its revised form as Loreley, first performed
in 1890. La Wally enjoyed the presence of such celebrated
singers as Emmy Destinn and Pasquale Amato when
the Metropolitan Opera presented it for the first
time in 1909. On the podium for those four performances
was Arturo Toscanini, whose advocacy was important
to such success as was enjoyed by Catalani's works.
The setting for La Wally poses some difficulties
in staging. The Swiss mountain scenes must give
a sense of both height and depth. The conclusions
of both the third and fourth acts fail if the audience
cannot believe that the ravine, in the former, and
the mountain pass, in the latter, are real and dangerous.
Still, for the company with modern stage facilities,
which can pull together a rich-voiced star soprano,
a dramatic tenor, a baritone who exudes villainy
and a conductor who can build and maintain a high
level of tension, La Wally can be a rewarding venture.
不要再做花蝴蝶 from 《費加羅的婚禮》
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