746639

Verdi's Reform of the Italian Opera Orchestra
Author(s): Gregory W. Harwood

Source: 19th-Century Music, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Autumn, 1986), pp. 108-134
Published by: University of California Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/746639
Accessed: 04-07-2017 20:03 UTC
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted
digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about
JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
http://about.jstor.org/terms
University of California Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
19th-Century Music
This content downloaded from 129.234.0.68 on Tue, 04 Jul 2017 20:03:59 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Verdi's Reform of the Italian
Opera Orchestra
GREGORY W. HARWOOD
... in
In the 1860s, Verdi referred to a new style Youhis
know that there are operas with a dramatic
operas beginning with La forza del destinointent
and(even if the intent is bad) and there are operas
with duets and cavatinas, etc., etc., for which some of
Don Carlos-a style he called "operas with a
your celebrities of the moment, whom you like, can
dramatic intent" (opere a intenzioni). be
Unlike
good; but as for me, may God preserve me from
operas written in the style of the primohavingOtto-them, especially in La forza del destino.
cento, which tended to stress individual pieces,You find the demands of Ricordi unjust. You are
many written specifically to exhibit the wrong.
capa- The business of the pitch level is much more
important than what it seems. Your choruses are
bilities of a particular singer, Verdi's opere a in-
small and little good for these operas. Your orchestra
tenzioni emphasized dramatic cohesion has excellent elements, but individuals are not
through the use of an integrating musical struc-enough to make succeed that dramatic intent of
ture. For these operas, it was necessary that all which I spoke above. For this, a leader is needed; have
parts of the performance be good: not only theyou found him? And the rest? And the mise-en-
scene!!! ... You have some good things, some excel-
singers, but the orchestra, the choruses, and the
lent things at San Carlo; it also might well be that
mise-en-scene as well. The composer outlinedeverything there is the best in the world, but for these
these ideas to his close friend, Cesare De Sanc- operas, other things are needed. Everything to-
tis, in a letter dated 12 May 1869: gether [l'insieme] is needed, the whole [il tutto] is
needed. It is this that makes up operas, not the purely
musical performance of cavatinas, duets, finales,
etc., etc.'
19th-Century Music X/2 (Fall 1986). ? by the Regents of the

University of California. Notes for this article appear on pp. Verdi had been considering ways to institute
130-34. a reform of Italian opera houses since at least
108
the early 1860s, when he proposed to Cavour es- stronger, more homogeneous performances, as GREGORY W.
HARWOOD
tablishing several of the largest and most impor- well as an optimal acoustical effect; the adop- Verdi's
tant houses in the country as models for the oth- tion of a standard pitch a'= 435 Hz, equivalent Orchestra
ers.2 By the end of the decade, he began to exert to that established in France by governmental
pressure on several theaters to implement re- decree in 1859;4 and the integration of the func-
forms. Thus with his operas Don Carlo, La forza tions of orchestral conductor and maestro con-
del destino (the revised version), and Aida, certatore in one person, who was ultimately re-
Verdi insisted on excellent premieres at La sponsible for the musical production of the
Scala in Milan and San Carlo in Naples that opera.5 This article will detail Verdi's efforts in
would establish the reputation of the new opera reforming the instrumental proportions and the
and provide a paradigm for later productions at seating arrangement of the players for perfor-
smaller theaters. The composer singled out La mances of his operas.
Scala and San Carlo not only for their preemi-
nence in the theatrical world but also for practi- ORCHESTRAL SIZE AND BALANCE IN
cal reasons: the operas in his new grand style de- THE PRIMO OTTOCENTO
manded the atmosphere and spaciousness of a
grand theater. Moreover, they required a rela- The proper balance between winds and strings
tively lavish mise-en-scene, after the manner of was considered a problem in many European or-
the Paris Op6ra, and smaller theaters would face chestras throughout the early and middle nine-
greater difficulties in mounting satisfactory teenth century, and the Italian orchestras with
productions. In a letter written to De Sanctis on which Verdi was familiar as a young composer
2 October 1869, Verdi's wife, Giuseppina Strep- were no exception.6 Most repertory of the period
poni, clearly notes the importance of large the- required wind and brass instruments in pairs
aters to a proper performance of her husband's (except for trombones, which often occurred in
new operas, or as she calls them, opera-poems: sets of three), but no such convention governed
the number of string players. The greater tex-
A magnificent voice [and] a brilliant artist do not tural complexity of the music and a desire for
suffice to make an opera-poem of our times under- increasing variety in instrumental color led to a
stood in all of its aspects. It takes the totality: the significant growth in the size of the wind sec-
singing, the playing, the acting, the costuming, the tions in many ensembles. Often, however, there
scenery. Everything works together to make up this was no proportionate increase in the string sec-
totality, which (in all good faith) is missing at San
Carlo in Naples. You will say: "but do you have it in tion, the size of which depended to some extent
other theaters?" Not in all of them-but what is re- on extra-musical factors, such as the availabil-
quired in theaters like La Scala and San Carlo is not ity of players, local tradition, and budgetary
required in many others.3 constraints. In general, Italian orchestras
seemed to lack a sufficient number of strings,
The first area over which Verdi began to as- especially violas and cellos, but often had rela-
sert a tighter control was the mise-en-scene. As tively large double bass sections.7 The balance
early as 1856, Ricordi began issuing production within the string section, particularly with re-
books (disposizioni sceniche) for his operas, af- spect to cellos and basses, drew the attention of
ter the manner of similar guides published by many foreigners who travelled through the pen-
the Paris Op6ra. In 1858, the composer rear- insula, including Leopold Mozart, Charles Bur-
ranged the orchestral seating at San Carlo forney, Louis Spohr, and Hector Berlioz.8
the production of Simon Boccanegra (see pp. The double bass itself was the subject of
124-25 below), but it was not until the introduc- much debate during the nineteenth century.
tion of Don Carlo into Italy that he began con- Writing in 1823, the theorist and composer
sistently to make demands regarding the or- Bonifazio Asioli stated that Italians normally
chestra and chorus. With respect to the former, used double basses with three strings tuned to
Verdi had several modifications in mind: an in- A, D, and G, while the French preferred a three-
crease in the number of string instruments, par- string instrument tuned in fourths to G-D-A
ticularly in the lower and middle ranges; a rear- and the Germans the four-string instrument
rangement of the seating plan to provide most commonly used today, tuned E-A-D-G.9
109
19TH A decade before the publication of Asioli's trea-
ments in a ratio of 3:2 with the three-string in-
CENTURY
MUSIC strument
tise, a reporter writing for the Allgemeine musi- predominant; this compromise was
kalische Zeitung indicated that Florence was
eventually adopted by the Congress. Also de-
the only Italian city in which he foundbated four-at the Congress were methods of tuning
string double basses.10 Although the four-stringthe three-string instrument. According to
instruments became better known later in the Giulio Ricordi, the double basses at La Scala
century, many Italian musicians considered tuned their instruments to G-D-G, and the
them inferior to the three-string instrument, Congress later voted to recommend this tun-
and some players compensated for the latter's ing.'3
lack of range by tuning the lowest string to G. In I1 maestro di composizione, published ca.
The double bass virtuoso, Giovanni Bottesini, 1830, Asioli proposed ideal orchestral propor-
who directed the premiere of Aida at Cairo, be- tions for ensembles of various sizes (see table
gan his Metodo di contrabasso by stating that 1).14 He insisted on limiting woodwinds to pairs
the instrument requires only three strings and unless the number of violins reaches thirty or
that the addition of a fourth string caused it to more and openly criticized contemporary com-
lose its full and limpid sonority." As late as posers whose orchestration makes almost con-
1881, a Congress of Italian Musicians devoted a tinuous use of a full tutti of wind instruments.
major session to the type of double bass that This, he states, suffocates the string section and
should be used in Italian orchestras. During the converts the orchestra, for all practical pur-
proceedings, Giulio Ricordi testified in favor of poses, into a military band. According to Asioli,
the three-string instrument: an excess of wind instruments produces two se-
rious flaws: the sound has only a single timbre
I, Gentlemen, have heard many foreign orchestras, (colorito) dominated by the wind instruments,
and with respect to sonority, I can say that compared and the orchestra, rather than embellishing and
to our basses with three strings, they are greatly lack- supporting the vocal part, tends to stifle the
ing-especially the basses at the Paris Op6ra. Al-
though they play with the elegance of a violoncello, singer and draws the attention of the audience
they do not have that beautiful, well-nourished, in- away from the dramatic expression of the
tense sound of our basses with three strings.12 words.
Asioli's recommendations for a large orches-
Since many musicians felt that the addition of a tra correspond closely to the actual numbers of
fourth string lessened the power of the instru- players at La Scala in 1825: only the low brass,
ment, a preliminary committee recommended with three trombones and a serpent, fall out of
combining the two different types of instru- line with his ideal proportions for a large orches-
Table 1
Ideal Orchestral Size
SMALL ORCHESTRA MEDIUM ORCHESTRA LARGE ORCHESTRA
6-8 violins 12-16 violins 20-24-30 violins

2 violas 3-4 violas 6-8 violas
1 violoncello 2-3 violoncellos 5-6 violoncellos
2 double basses 5-6 double basses 8-10 double basses
1 flute 1 flute 2 flutes
2 oboes or clarinets 2 oboes 2 oboes
2 clarinets 2 clarinets
2 horns 2 horns 2 horns
1 bassoon 2 bassoons 2 bassoons
2 trumpets 2 trumpets
1 trombone
From Bonifazio Asioli, II Maestro di composizione (Milan, [ca. 18301), p. [35].
110
tra (see table 2). From 1770, when Leopold Mo- the first performance of Giovanna de Guzman, GREGORY W.
zart described what he must have considered an HARWOOD
the Italian version of Les VWpres siciliennes. In Verdi's
unusual balance of instruments at the Teatro 1845, the overall number of strings was less Orchestra
Ducale's through the first quarter of the nine-than at La Fenice, and the balance within the
teenth century, the greatest variation in num-string section was considerably different: the
ber of any instrument occurred in the violon-violas and violoncellos were in a ratio of 1:5
cello section. Numbering only two in Mozart's with the violins, while the double basses were
list and one at the turn of the century, in 1825 in the ratio of almost 1:3, approximately the
they were equal in number to the violas and in samea as in the Venetian theater.'7
ratio of 3:4 to the double basses. By mid-cen- Data from medium and small theaters, typi-
tury, however, the violas had increased by twocal of most Italian cities and towns, show that
and the cellos had decreased by one, whichorchestral balance tended to be more problem-
placed the violas and double basses in a ratio ofatic in these houses, where the budget did not
about 1:3 with the violins and the cellos in a ra- allow for hiring a large ensemble and where the
tio of only 1:5. The orchestra at mid-century size of the theater often dictated the use of a
also shows a considerable increase in the size of
smaller group. Sinigallia boasted an important
the string section. summer season, and here Verdi conducted the
Table 3 shows the performing forces in a second performance of I lombardi in 1843. An
number of other Italian theaters that mounted orchestral list for 1840, which probably reflects
important performances of Verdi's operas aboutthe kind of ensemble with which Verdi worked
the middle of the century. Although these the-three years later, shows only two violas and one
aters differ considerably in size, the number ofcello.18 In 1857, the composer supervised pro-
wind and brass players in their orchestras is re- ductions of Simon Boccanegra in Reggio and
markably consistent. La Fenice was a particu-Aroldo in Rimini, the latter being the premiere
larly important house for Verdi: here the com-performance of the work. Orchestral lists from
poser conducted performances of I lombardi in about this time show particularly weak middle
1843 and I due foscari in 1845 and the premieresstring sections, especially in Rimini. A letter to
of Ernani in 1844, Atilla in 1846, Rigoletto inTito Ricordi in the spring of 1857 reveals Verdi's
1851, La traviata in 1853, and Simon Boccane-lack of faith in the violists and cellists at Reggio
gra in 1857. Although the violins and doubleEmilia for the performance of Simon:
basses are equal in number to the orchestra at La
Scala during the same period, the violas and cel-Supposing that you have not yet sent the orchestral
los are considerably fewer, standing in a ratio toparts for Boccanegra to Reggio, I am sending you a lit-
the violins of only 1:4 and 1:8 respectively. Thetle change made in the orchestra. In the introduction
English traveller William Gardiner commented (meter 6, F# minor) at m. 68, I have changed the or-
chestral part for ten measures in order to avoid a dif-
on a lack of balance within the string section af-ficult passage for the violoncellos and violas, since
ter his visit to the theater in 1847: these instruments are almost always a pack of dogs
[razza dei cani] in our orchestras. Therefore, it is bet-
The orchestra was excellent, with a fair proportion of ter to change it outright in the score in order to avoid
violins and seven double basses; but, as I remarked some mess-up in the performance.19
before, an unaccountable deficiency of violoncel-
los,-there being only two. Why the Italians leave Orchestral size was reduced in many of the
this part so feebly supported I am quite at a loss to larger theaters for less important seasons, often
conjecture. The result must ever be an awful chasm
between the violas and the double basses. This can aggravating the problems of balance between
only be filled up by the violoncellos, as no other in- strings and winds. A list for the Teatro Apollo in
strument can possibly supply their place.16 Rome for Carnival season 1853, during which fi
trovatore had its premiere, shows only two cel-
The Teatro Regio in Turin was a relatively los and a relatively small proportion of violas
important house, located in the capital city of (see table 4). Other documents from the Archi-
the wealthy house of Savoy and the first capital vio capitolino show that the reduction of strings
of united Italy. Although not the site of any at this theater for the less important spring sea-
Verdi premieres, in 1855 this theater presented son resulted in an even less favorable balance.20
111
Table 2
to
Orchestral Disposition at La Scala.

VNI VNII VLA VC C-B FL OB CL BN HN TRP TROMB TIMP OTHER
Carnival 1770a 14 14 6 2 6 2 2 2 4 2 2 harpsichords
1802b 20 6 1 9 2 2 2 1 [4] 2
Carnival 1814C 25 6 4 8 2 2 2 4 2 1 bass trombone, drums, turkish
Carnival 1825d 27 6 6 8 2 2 2 2 [4] 2 3 1 serpentone, drums, turkish b
1854-60e 25 8 5 8 3 3 4 2 5 4 4 1 2 harpsichords, 1 harp, serpentone
drums, bass dr
cinese, triangle
aLetter of Leopold Mozart to his wife, 15 December 1770, inmusikalische
cAllgemeine Mozart: Briefe
Zeitung und
16 (1814), 251.
Aufzeichnungen, ed. Wilhelm A. Bauer & Otto Erich Deutsch, vol. I (Kassel,
dAllgemeine musikalische Zeitung 27 1962),
(1825), 131-32; Harmon
p. 408. 140.
b"Convenzione fra l'Impresa e l'Orchestra, Milano, 15 agosto 1802; Allegato B: eCapitoli d'obbligo per l'Impresa degl'Imperiali Regi T
Tabella dei prezzi che rispettivamente si accordano agli infrascritti filarmonici
Canobbiana in Milano pel sejennio dal 1? dicembre 1854 a
componenti l'Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala," in La Scala 1779-1889: Note lan, 1853), p. 37. The total number of players derived from
storiche e statistiche, 4th edn. (Milan, [18891), p. 61. than that given by the theater posters beginning in 1857.
Table 3
Orchestral Disposition at Various Italian Theaters at Mid-Nineteenth Century.
VNI VNII VLA Vc C-B FL OB CL BN HN TRP TROMB TIMP OTHER
Reggio Emilia, 1861 9 8 2 3 5 2 2 2 2 4 2 3 1 piccolo, bass drum, cymbals, s

Teatro Comunalea
Rimini, 1856 9 1 1 3 2 2 2 2 4 2 3 1 bombardon, catuba
Teatro Comunaleb
Sinigallia, 1840 15 2 1 4 2 3 2 2 4 2 3 1 bass drum
Teatro Comunalec
Turin, 1845 20 4 4 6 2 2 2 2 4 2 3 piccolo, 3 instruments for the "
Teatro Regiod band," maestro al cembalo
Venice, 1854 12 12 6 3 8 2 2 2 2 4 2 3 1 bombardon, bass drum, cymbals,
Teatro La Fenicee bells, rullo
aRegolamento per la cExcerpt from the "Capitolato generale
istituzione relativo all'Impr
della
(Reggio nell'Emilia, 1861), reproduced in Orchestre in Emilia-Roma- Comunale di Sinigallia," in Giuseppe Radiciotti, Teatro
gna nell'Ottocento e Novecento, ed. Marcello Conati and Marcello Pavarani Sinigaglia (Milan, 1893), p. 199.
(Parma, 1982), pp. 212-13. These numbers include the following players listed as dAfter Alberto Basso, II teatro della cittiz, La storia del
supernumeraries: 8 violins, 1 violoncello, 2 double basses, 1 flute, 1 oboe, 1 bas-vol. II (Turin, 1976), p. 698.
soon, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, and sistro. eAfter lists of orchestral personnel found in the Archives
bRimini, Archivio di Stato, 1855, Carteggio generale no. 804, titolo XV, repro-copies are in AIVS, Reel Doc. I-Vfen 3-5.
duced in Conati and Pavarani, p. 498.
THE INFLUENCE OF FOREIGN ORCHESTRAS the next decade, directing the premiere per-
GREGORY W.
HARWOOD
formance of Les vepres siciliennes in 1855 andVerdi's
a
In addition to his experience with Italian en- slightly revised version of II trovatore in 1857. Orchestra
sembles, Verdi worked with several foreign or- During the 1860s, the composer's activity at
chestras (see table 5), and it is clear that theseParis increased. He directed a revival of V4pres
strongly influenced his ideas of orchestral size at the Opera in 1863, revised Macbeth for the
and balance. His earliest trip outside Italian ter- Th~itre-Lyrique in 1863,26 and composed and
ritory came in spring 1843, when he supervised directed Don Carlos for the Opera in 1866-67.
the production of Nabucco at the KirntnertorVerdi cast Don Carlos in the style of a tradi-
Theater in Vienna. The instrumental propor- tional French grand opera, and it was the intro-
tions in the Viennese orchestra, like most or- duction of this work into Italy that he consid-
chestras in German-speaking lands, were not ered the beginning of his reform of Italian opera
dissimilar to those of many Italian orchestras: a theaters, and with them, the orchestras.27
relatively small string section, somewhat weak
in lower and middle string instruments.21 Verdi DON CARLO AT LA SCALA
did find the seating plan of the orchestra to be
unusual, and he commented on it in several let- As strongly as Verdi wanted to supervise all as-
ters written later in his life (see pp. 124-25 andpects of the production of his new works at the
127, below). principal theaters, he had a major personal ob-
Four years after his trip to Vienna, Verdi trav- stacle to surmount at the Teatro alla Scala. Dur-
elled to London to direct the premiere of I ing the 1844-45 season, which included a re-
masnadieri at Her Majesty's Theater. Since vival of I lombardi and the premiere of
many of the players from that orchestra had re- Giovanna d'Arco, the composer had numerous
cently followed their former conductor, Mi-disagreements with the theater management
chele Costa, to the new Italian Opera at Covent and impresario, chronicled in letters to his fa-
Garden, the orchestra for Verdi's premiere was, ther-in-law by his young student Emanuele Mu-
for the most part, a pickup ensemble.22 The or- zio. One of these disagreements concerned the
chestra did manage to preserve the same num- orchestra, for on 22 December 1844, Muzio
wrote that Verdi wanted additional violins and
ber of players per part that had been more or less
stabilized for several decades, although a con-double basses in the orchestra.28 Later in the
temporary music journal complains that theseason, Muzio reported that the impresario
string sections were particularly weak that sea- hoped to make a contract with the composer for
son as a result of poor players.23 During the the following year, but Verdi "does not want to
same season, the former players from Her Maj- write any more for La Scala, nor does he want to
esty's Theater played in a production of Ernani produce or direct any of his operas, and says that
at Covent Garden.24 Both of the London orches- he does not ever again want to set foot on that
tras had a larger proportion of middle and lower stage."29 By the late 1860s, however, the com-
strings than typical Italian orchestras. poser considered La Scala a keystone in his pro-
On his way to London in 1847, Verdi paid a ject to reform the Italian opera theater. His bar-
visit to the Paris Opera for the first time and gaining position with the opera house was now
characterized the orchestra as "slightly better very good: he was internationally renowned,
than mediocre."25 Throughout his life, the com- and since 1845, La Scala had been denied a pre-
poser generally regarded the performance of this miere of an opera by the country's foremost
orchestra as lackluster, but there can be no composer. Verdi's publisher, Ricordi, was also
doubt that his continuing association with the eager to promote productions of his most fa-
Opera had a tremendous effect on his thinkingmous client in this large and important theater,
about orchestral balance. As in the London en-
with which he had close geographical and busi-
sembles, the orchestra at the Opera boasted aness ties. Events surrounding the introduction
relatively large string section. of Don Carlos into Italy illustrate the extent to
which both Ricordi and the opera house were
After his trip to London, Verdi returned to the
Opera, where he revised I lombardi as Jdrusa-willing to accommodate the composer.
lem. He came back to Paris frequently during About six months before the premiere of the
113
Table 4
Orchestral Disposition During Selected Seasons at the Teatro Apollo in Rome.
VNI VNII VLA Vc C-B FL OB CL BN HN TRP TROMB OFf HP TIMP
Spring 1853a 18 2 2 4 2 [2] 2 2 3 2 3 1 1 1
Carnival 1853-56b 23 4 2 5 2 [2] 2 2 4 2 3 1 1 1 1
Spring 1854-56c 21 2 2 4 2 [2] 2 2 4 2 3 1 1 1 1
Carival 1862-68d 23 4 5 6 2 2 2 2 4 2 3 1 1 1 1
Verdi's Recommendation, 1885e 22 8 8 7 3 2 2 2g 4 2g 4 2 I
a"Progetto d'Impresa Teatrale per la Primavera 1853," cIbid. AIVS, Reel L-72. The list
reads in part: "di due flauti obbligati a suonare l'ottavino, ed
dCapitolato peril primo
l'Appalto anche
del Teatro il ter-
Communale di Roma, Pr
zino, di due clarini, obbligato il primo anche a suonare il corno inglese, di due fa-
Carnevale 1867-68 ([Rome, 18621), art. 23.
gotti, ..." The pairing of the English horn with the clarinet is obviously a mistake. A
comparison with the 1862-68 contract shows thateLetter oneofentire
Emanuele Muzio
line,to Giulio Ricordi, 15
which August 1885, A
reads
Muzio 602.
"obbligato il primo anche a suonare il quartino, di due oboe," was left out of the
fOf
contract. The "terzino" was probably a small Eb flute; = offlein,
the probably
quartino ananEbItalian term for ophic
clarinet.
gFour serie
bCapitolato riguardantel'Appalto privativo delle opere in grande operas.
dei balli di Roma
nelle stagioni di Carnevale e delle Opere in musica hAlso:
da darsi senza
snare drum, privativa nelle
triangle.
stagioni di primavera e autunno ([Rome], 1853), art. 29-30. See note a above.
Table 5
Orchestral Disposition at Various Foreign Houses.
VNI VNII VLA Vc C-B FL OB CL BN HN TRP TROMB HP TIMP BD
Vienna, 1841-44 9 9 4 5 5 3 3 3 3 6 4 4 [1] if

Kirntnertor Theatera
London, 1847 28 8 8 8 2 2 2 2 4 3 3 lg
Her Majesty's Theaterb
London, 1847 14 14 10 10 9 2 2 2 2 4 2 3 1g
Covent Gardenc
Paris, 1837 12 12 8 10 8 3 2 2 4 4 2 3 2 1 1h
L'Opdrad
Paris, 1855 11 11 8 10 8 3 3 3 4 5 4 4 2 1 li
L'Opdrae
aOtto Nicolais Tagebiicher, ed. Wilhelm Altmann (Regensburg, [1937]), p. 223. fAlso: triangle.
bMusical World, 20 February 1847, p. 113. gAlso: ophecleide, drums, and other percussion.
clbid., 6 February 1847, p. 78. hAlso: English horn, valve trumpet, 2 comets, ophecleide, cymb
d[Jean-] G[eorges] Kastner, Cours d'instrumentation (Paris, [18391]), p. 4. triangle, organ.
eCastil-Blaze, L'Acad*mie impiriale de musique, vol. II (Paris, 1855), p. 446. iAlso: cymbals, snare drum, triangle.
new opera in Paris, Ricordi began negotiatingof the instruments indicated in the score."33 Ri- GREGORY W.
HARWOOD
with Verdi for the publication rights outside of cordi urged that the Italian premiere of the new Verdi's
France. In November, however, Verdi received opera take place in Bologna, undoubtedly be- Orchestra
word of an unsatisfactory performance of Un cause he felt Verdi would still resist allowing an
ballo in maschera in Venice, and in a letter to important premiere at La Scala, and also since
Tito on 12 November, rebuked the publisher for he thought the composer would be content with
laxness in handling his works.30 He used this oc- Mariani as the conductor of the performance.34
casion to insist on having guarantees about con- Although the Teatro Comunale in Bologna was
trol over the performance of Don Carlos if Ri- known for its excellent orchestra, Verdi re-
cordi wished to have the rights for the opera in peated his concern about its makeup in a letter
Italy. In his answer, the publisher disclaimed re- to Giulio dated 24 June: "Take all precautions
sponsibility for the Venetian performance of for the choruses and for the increase in the or-
Ballo and asked again for the Don Carlos con- chestra. Three flutes, four trumpets, four bas-
tract. He promised to accept all Verdi's condi- soons are indispensably needed."35
tions and to follow them to the letter. He also An agreement to produce Don Carlo at La
tried to flatter the composer by writing that hisScala after it had been performed in Bologna was
new work was needed to combat the musical reached in the early weeks of 1868. A handwrit-
depravation presently threatening the coun- ten copy of the contract drawn up between Ri-
try.31 cordi and the theater management for this per-
Ricordi soon had a chance to prove his sincer- formance includes a clause not only requiring
ity. As was customary, La Scala opened its Car- the additional wind instruments mentioned in
nival-Lent season of 1866-67 on the night of St. the general contract but also specifying the
Stephen's. The performance of Meyerbeer's number of string instruments: sixteen first vio-
L'Africaine did not go well, and the theater lins, fourteen seconds, ten violas, ten violoncel-
closed down. The board of directors and impre- los, and eleven double basses.36 In a letter to
sario of the theater pressured Ricordi to release Camille Du Locle dated 14 March, the com-
one of Verdi's new operas, but the publisher poser mentions the unusually large orchestra
would not do it, on the grounds of deficient per- and chorus for the production, boasting that the
forming forces. After Ricordi refused to release opera would soon be produced with an orchestra
Ballo, which was already in preparation at the of 100 players and a chorus of 120 singers, in-
smaller Teatro Carcano, the theater took the cluding 46 basses for the final chorus.37 The
publisher to the local magistrate, claiming that number of 100 for the total size of the orchestra
he alone was the cause of the theater being is substantiated by theater posters advertising
closed. During two days of legal battle, Ricordi the season.38
stated that he would release gratis any of Verdi's This shift in orchestral balance included both
older works, but that he would not permit "the an increase in the total size of the ensemble and
desecration of art" by massacring the master- a change of proportions within the string sec-
works of Italian theater in allowing them to be tion. Although the number of strings specified
produced as last-minute substitutions with me- in the contract is somewhat larger than at the
diocre artists, insufficient rehearsals, and other beginning of the decade (see table 2), it is not
problems. Ricordi won the legal battle, and the significantly larger in proportion to the total or-
theater remained closed until 19 March 1868, chestra size. The ratio of violas to violins also
when it successfully mounted a production of 1i remains constant at about 1:3. There is, how-
trovatore.32 This incident seems to have reas- ever, a notable increase in the ratio of double
sured Verdi about the extent to which his pub- basses to violins and, especially, cellos to vio-
lisher would back him up in any difficulties lins. The latter increase was, no doubt, in-
with the management at La Scala. fluenced by the orchestra at the Op6ra, in which
Verdi sent Ricordi a draft for the Don Carlo the number of cellos reached almost half that of
contract on 18 November 1866. The document the violins. The use of four bassoons in Don Car-
includes a list of stipulations regarding the per-
los can also be traced to the Parisian orchestra,
formance of the work, one of which states that which traditionally had a large bassoon sec-
the orchestra must be increased to include "all tion.39 The larger size of the orchestral ensemble
115
19TH as a whole and the increase in the number of cessive opera from Don Carlo through Aida. In
CENTURY double basses and cellos reflects Verdi's desire a letter to Francesco Florimo (pp. 124-25 below),
for a richer and more full-bodied sonority to fill Verdi explained that his primary intent in unit-
the expanse of the very large Milanese theater ing the second violins, violas, and cellos was to
and represents the first in a series of orchestral achieve a full sonority in the string section. In
reforms over the next five years. The impor- addition to concentrating the sound of these in-
tance Verdi placed on the acoustical properties struments together, this would improve the
of a particular hall in determining the effect of players' precision and clarity in matters of artic-
the orchestral sound is shown by a letter writ- ulation, phrasing, and dynamics.
ten to Giulio Ricordi late in 1869. There had Although Verdi resisted continual pressure
been a discussion of performing a Requiem from Tito and Giulio Ricordi to supervise per-
Mass in honor of Rossini in a concert hall at the sonally the rehearsals of Don Carlo, he did write
Milan Conservatory, but Verdi objected strenu- two long letters to the conductor of the produc-
ously, stating that it would be impossible to tion, Alberto Mazzucato, giving many detailed
achieve satisfactory results: instructions for rehearsing the orchestra.42
These letters show Verdi's concern for polished
In this hall [at the Conservatory], one will never ar- orchestral performances and his careful consid-
rive at a grandiose and solemn performance. I detest eration of the composition of the ensembl
the shrill sonorities in these rooms, in which one when orchestrating the work. The first letter,
cannot obtain either soft sounds or the fullness of written on 17 March, contains a postscript that
loud sounds. Everything turns out noisy and empty.
For these halls, small orchestras are needed, with, for discusses how the double basses should be di-
example, six first violins, six seconds, six violas, five vided in a three-way divisi passage during the
violoncellos, four double basses, plus wind instru- funeral march of act 3. The composer states that
ments without trumpets and trombones. Thus, if the the largest number should be on the lowest note
composition has grandiose dimensions, these ele- (nota fondamentale), and then gives examples
ments are too thin. If the elements are adapted to the
composition, you will have thick rather than grandi- using double bass sections that are even larger
ose effects.40 than the ones specified in the contract: if there
are fourteen double basses, six should be on t
The double basses in particular occupy an lowest note; if there are twelv
important role in Verdi's reform of the orchestra still be six on the lowest note. P
at La Scala, and the composer explains their gerated the number of basses to
importance in letters regarding the seating impression; yet in the productio
arrangement of the orchestra (see pp. 126-27 La forza del destino the next y
below). These letters provide keys to Verdi's Aida three years later, Verdi wa
thinking behind changes in orchestral propor- intent on large double bass sect
tion and arrangement. One of the most impor- sufficient sonority.
tant elements for the composer was a full-bod- The composer's second letter
ied sonority, for which the deep, resonant tone dated 20 March, contains a def
of the double basses provided a secure harmonic of Don Carlo against implicit
and rhythmic foundation, while at the same too heavily orchestrated, ch
time tempering the sound quality of the wind might arise given the unusually
instruments, long regarded as one of the chief orchestra for this production
defects in a desirable orchestral balance.41 Al- that if the performers rehearsed
though for Verdi the double basses constituted used the bow well, it was possi
the most crucial element in achieving this ideal play clearly and precisely pa
sonority, the other low and middle string in- might criticize as too heavily or
struments played a contributing role: it is pre- same day, Verdi wrote to Gi
cisely the number of double basses, and to a support for the recommendatio
lesser extent violas and cellos, with which to the conductor:
Verdi continued to fine-tune the orchestral
sound at La Scala as he adjusted the number of Just today... I wrote a very long letter (six pages) to
instruments for the performances of each suc- Mazzucato, and made a pile of comments with a
116
imaginable and possible politeness. If he speaks the
to composer's criticisms to the players. He GREGORY W.
HARWOOD
you about it, tell him to show you my letter, and youthen added, "the orchestra recognizes its own Verdi's
will approve everything that I write.
faults, especially in the violas and double Orchestra
I tell him that delicate things are very difficult for
basses."s0
our orchestras and that he should hold all of the nec- At the meeting in Genoa, Verdi evi-
dently decided to augment the lower strings by
essary rehearsals without paying attention to the
three double basses and a cello; these additional
screams of the impresario and board of directors; and
in the case of opposition on their part, he should turn
instruments are mentioned in virtually every
to Ricordi, and Ricordi will make them respectletter exchanged during the next weeks.5'
his wishes. I hope that you will not make me look
foolish.. .43 In preparation for the European premiere of
Aida at La Scala, Verdi apparently inquired
again about the double basses, probably some-
THE REVISED FORZA DEL DESTINO AND time in early November 1870. Ricordi reported
AIDA AT LA SCALA that the usual nine double basses had already
been increased to ten, and there would only be
In August 1868, Verdi informed Ricordi that he two left to find.52 Several days later, the theater
intended to revise La forza del destino, perhaps management sent Ricordi a list of orchestral
in many places, and openly stated that he players, which he forwarded to Verdi with com-
wished to supervise the new production.44 Al- ments about the string section. He recom-
though he did not firmly commit himself to themended the addition of one or two good second
project for the following season, the Ricordis violins and two more violas and cellos, repeated
did everything possible to encourage him, andthat the double basses had been increased to
on 15 December, Verdi agreed to return to La ten, and added that another could easily be
Scala.45 added-making five on each side and one in the
Details concerning the forthcoming produc- center-but that it would be difficult to squeeze
tion are found in the Verdi-Ricordi correspon- twelve into the orchestral area.53
dence, and among the subjects mentioned is the As the opening of the Carnival-Lenten sea-
condition of the orchestral string section. As son of 1870-71 drew near, it became evident
early as 27 December, Giulio pointed out that that the opera would be postponed for another
unlike Don Carlo, Forza did not require aug- year due to difficulties caused by the Franco-
mented winds and wanted to know if the com- Prussian War. Meanwhile, Verdi accepted the
poser in exchange would rather have an increase nomination to preside over a commission,
in the number of strings.46 In response, Verdi meeting in Florence, to discuss a reform of con-
asked for the exact number of violins, violas, servatories in Italy. Although the commission's
cellos, and double basses, and inquired whether report deals primarily with the conservatories,
the players were all good or if there was a need Verdi took the opportunity to insert a note legis-
for improvement. He also asked if there were as lating orchestral size for La Scala and San Carlo
many strings as for the performance of Don and calling for permanent orchestras and cho-
Carlo the previous year.47 Ricordi responded: ruses at these two theaters (see table 6).54
orchestral size was the same, but some altera- The proportion listed for a "normal orches-
tion had been made by implementing standard tra" at La Scala and San Carlo varies somewhat
pitch, especially in the woodwind section, from the orchestral disposition listed in the ear-
where the players were still adjusting to their lier contract for Don Carlo: the number of vio-
new instruments.48 lins is reduced by two, the number of violas and
During the first week of 1869, Giulio visited cellos is increased by two each, and the double
Verdi in Genoa to discuss the forthcoming pro- basses are increased by one. This provides a fur-
duction.49 Concerns about the orchestra that ther strengthening of the lower and middle
Verdi raised during the visit may be deduced string register: the violas, cellos, and double
from Giulio's letter of 19 January, in which he
basses are now each in a ratio of slightly less
reports telling the orchestral members that the than 1:2 with the violins. The remainder of the
composer himself would supervise the produc- list is relatively conservative.
tion. After describing their reception as enthu- Verdi expected that La Scala would follow
siastic, he informed Verdi that he had related the report's recommendations for its production
117
19TH Table 6
CENTURY
MUSIC COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ORCHESTRA AT LA SCALA
ORCHESTRAS AT LA SCALA CARNIVAL-LENT 1870-71b
AND SAN CARLOa
Violins I 14 Violins I 15
Violins II 14 Violins II 12
Violas 12 Violas 8
Violoncellos 12 Violoncellos 7
Double Basses 12 Double Basses 10
Piccolo 1 Piccolo 1
Flutes 2 Flutes 2
Oboes 2 Oboes/English Horn 2
Clarinets 2 Clarinets/Bass Clarinets 2
Bassoons 2 Bassoons 2
Trumpets 2 Trumpets 2
Horns 4 Horns 4
Trombones 4 Trombones 3
Bombardon 1
Harps 2 Harps 2
Timpani 1 Timpani 1
Bass Drum 1 Bass Drum 1
Cymbals 1 Cymbals 1
Triangle 1
Snare Drum 1
Total 88 80
aGazzetta mus
bLetter of Giu
of Aida. Res
hearsals, Verdi reported to Bottesini that there
he wrote:
were about ninety orchestral musicians,5" and "
the regulatio
posters advertising the spectacle refer to a 100-
the great
piece orchestra.59 Both figures are above the to- t
Since tal ofI have
eighty-eight specified for the "normal" or-
mationchestra at La Scala and
of suggest that the th
adhere to th
proportions of the ensemble came close to the
composer
composer's desires. a l
previous sea
the number SEATING ARRANGEMENTS
plied that th
lished an orchestra for La Scala with fourteen In addition to modifying the orchestral propor-
tions at La Scala, Verdi also established a new
first violins, fourteen seconds, twelve violas,
twelve cellos, and twelve double basses and seating arrangement at the time of Aida that
jested, "the author of Aida could perhaps evendiffered from many plans commonly found in
admit only 10 violas, 10 violoncellos, 11 doubleItalian theaters during the nineteenth century.
basses, but the president of the commission Before considering this aspect of Verdi's reform,
must not know it."57 There do not appear to be it will be useful to summarize some descrip-
tions of orchestral arrangement from the late
any extant orchestral lists for the Milanese pre-
miere of Aida detailing the exact proportion of eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
instruments, but in the midst of final re- Late eighteenth-century descriptions typi-
118
cally show players seated in several long rows the optimum balance of harmonic parts to the GREGORY W.
HARWOOD
running parallel to the edge of the stage. In his spectator, regardless where he was sitting. In Verdi's
Elementi teorico-pratici di musica, Francesco this arrangement, the first violin, who conducts Orchestra
Galeazzi provides a diagram of the orchestra at the orchestra, sits on an elevated site in front of
the Teatro Regio in Turin as it was organized the harpsichord at stage right. F6tis describes a
under Gaetano Pugnani (see figure 1).60 He similar plan in his Manuel des compositeurs
boasts that the orchestra was unquestionably and states that it was used in France by Mes-
the best in Europe and that its seating provided trino, La Houssaie, and Grasset.61 The use of
Dj/rtibu fe -t0 ,Archftra cteltRi Teatrro&iTorin

S! it-
Rate
pip .[ ' '
:f.
A. Sito del Direttore dell'

orchestra piii elevato
degli altri Num. 1
b. Violini primi 20
c. Violini secondi 16
d. Oboe 4
e. Clarinetti 2
f. Comi da caccia 2
g. Viole 6
h. Fagotti 3
I. Violoncelli primi 2
L. Controbassi primi 2
m. Bassi; cioe Violoncelli
e Controbassi 9
n. Altri comi da caccia 2
o. Timpano 1
p. Trombe 2
q. Primo Violino de'Balli 1
r. Cembali 2
Totale 75
Figure 1
Arrangement of the Orchestra at the Teatro Regio, Turin, in the Late Eighteenth Century.
From Francesco Galeazzi, Elementi teorico-pratici di musica, vol. I (Rome, 1791), p. 223, and table IV, fig. 5.
119
19TH this arrangement in Turin is not surprising, chords, reflecting, no doubt, the frequent use of
CENTURY
MUSIC
since there were close geographical, economic,
violas to double the bass part.62
and cultural ties between the house Published of Savoy shortly after Galeazzi's Elementi,
and France. Giuseppe Scaramelli's Saggio sopra i doveri
Galeazzi describes other orchestral arrange- d'un violino principale states that the practice
ments common in his day, stating that the of using two harpsichords in the orchestra is
greatest variance occurs in the location of the outdated and rarely found.6 Scaramelli's ideal
conductor and other violins. In Rome, where orchestral arrangement, which probably de-
Galeazzi was the first violinist at the Teatro scribes the plan at the Teatro San Pietro in Tri-
este,64 resembles that of the Dresden orchestra
Valle, the first violin was placed in the middle of
the orchestra, with the first violins to his left in the eighteenth century, a diagram of which
and the seconds to his right. Galeazzi consid- was published in Rousseau's Dictionnaire de
ered this arrangement defective because of the musique and reproduced by Galeazzi in his vol-
great distance between the first violin and theume.65 A similar seating plan at the Teatro Re-
low strings at stage left and remarked that hegio in Turin at mid-century placed the strings
had always detected a vacillation between the entirely to the right of the conductor and the
violins and basses in orchestras that were ar- winds entirely to his left.66 This division ap-
ranged in this manner. Other orchestras, ac-pears to have been typical of German opera or-
cording to Galeazzi, placed the director in thechestras through at least the middle of the cen-
middle but arranged the violins in the sametury.67
manner as the orchestra in Turin. A diagram published in the Allgemeine mu-
A diagram of the orchestral plan for San Carlo sikalische Zeitung shows the arrangement of
in the late eighteenth century (figure 2) shows a the orchestra at San Carlo in 1818 (see figure
variation on Galeazzi's description of Roman 3).68 In comparison to the 1786 diagram, there is
orchestras: the violas were situated on both now only one harpsichord, situated in the cen-
sides of the ensemble, near the two harpsi- ter of the orchestra in front of the first violin;
Splegazione delle cifre

a - primi violini f,- viole prime I - flauti
b- secondi violini f, -viole seconde m - trombe
c - contrabassi g - fagotti M - maestro di cappella
d - clarinetti h - violoncelli T - timpaniere
a - corni di concerto I - oboi C - cembalista
-1786 -
,.4 Ica
Figure 2
Plan for the Orchestra at the Teatro San Carlo (1786).
From Ulisse Prota-Giurleo, La grande orchestra del R. Teatro San Carlo nel settecento (Naples, 1928), p. 50.
Figures 2, 5, and 6 courtesy of the New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations.
120
the violins are grouped in two rows near the au- the English diagram, they are found on both
GREGORY W.
HARWOOD
dience, the firsts in the outer row and the sec- ends of the ensemble, one group on the left nearVerdi's
onds in the inner; the violas, cellos, and double the continuo, and the other at the extreme right,
Orchestra
basses are placed on both sides of the orchestra, near a group of cellos and double basses. Since
as is the percussion section, with the bass drum regrouping the violas together was a more mod-
and timpani on the left and the other percussion ern approach, it is possible that this was a last-
on the right; and the winds and brass are situ- minute change made in the plan after the dia-
ated along the back row next to the stage. gram had already been submitted to
A brief description from the same journal Harmonicon.
four years earlier states that the orchestra at La
With the exception of the orchestra at Turin
Scala was arranged in two rows: the strings in during the late eighteenth century, all of these
one and the winds and percussion in the other, descriptions agree on the position of the direc-
with cellos and double basses on both sides.69 tor, who sits at the center of the orchestra near
Diagrams for this orchestra were printed by the the spectators, the position universally adopted
Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung and the Eng- in modern times. In this practice, Italian orches-
lish periodical Harmonicon in 1825 (see figures tras of the nineteenth century differed from
4a and 4b).70 The Allgemeine musikalische most French, English, and German ensembles,
Zeitung notes: "Our orchestra was increased at which typically placed the conductor near the
the beginning of this season with two violins stage behind the prompter's box.71 This arrange-
and two violoncellos (the latter were very nec-ment may be seen in a diagram of the orchestra
essary), in the course of which it was arrangedat the Paris Opera dating from ca. 1890 (see fig-
somewhat differently. The wind and percussion ure 5). The frequency of the more "modern" ar-
instruments now form a single row, which is rangement in Italy during the nineteenth cen-
next to the stage." In this arrangement, the tury is confirmed by a report appearing in the
harpsichord remains at the left side of the or-Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung in 1813. The
chestral area, the first violins are arranged in
author, who had visited the cities of Milan, Na-
one row near the audience on both sides of the ples, Rome, Florence, Bologna, Venice, Turin,
conductor, and the second violins in another Genoa, Verona, Brescia, Bergamo, Piacenza, and
row parallel to them. The diagrams in the two Parma, commented:
magazines show different arrangements for the
violas: in the German diagram, the violas are Each opera was directed by the first violinist, who oc-
grouped together at the right of the orchestra, in cupied a somewhat elevated position in the middle of
So
E -800 due
:0 C9 (
-00
"o --- $ Viole EseVoie--Drco e rhses-E~eVie

it* =K - ---~ Vole
Zweyte Violinciw Zweyte Violiill5e

3 Violen Erste Violinei - Dir'ccor des Orcliestcrs Ersie Violinel V
0)
Figure 3
Seating Arrangement at San Carlo (1818).
From Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung 20 (1818), 495.
121
19TH a. .
CENTURY
MUSIC - bad
tjo CS 1-3 "
0-%
0" de1 Scoe r

- 4 "-.
*...
0
000 4n0-
old or
o3
A=,=
b- i u
de" Sccond ioi VI V
0U
-,4
b.1
~cc
0 B0
0 r)
CIS
J',
0
0---q
"0-1 0
> Tu1-40
d d .ruTpoA.A
"1 9 odTvot Id *TU:lO LI 9 !Ot.A ]A
0-3, c "-1A Al
O 3Z3
b.
6 bW.
Viol ini Secondi. Primo Violino. 6 Violioi Secondi.
S Violas. Secondo Violino.
Ituid u IIA A
00.
luepapop od3
ud ! A 9 on wujud 1A 9 "1A
Figure 4
Seating Arrangement at La Scala (1825).
a. From Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung 27 (1825), 131.
b. From Harmonicon 3 (1825), 140.
the orchestra. The Kapellmeister am Klavier, practi- vated position in front of the harpsichord [Klavier]
cally in a corner between the first double bass and and directed the opera by beating time.72
violoncello, is hardly visible with his score and plays a
very minor role, which is not rarely limited to merely
That this position for the conductor was still
turning pages. Only in Florence did I find an orches-
tral arrangement entirely after the German fashion. preferred in Italy later in the century is attested
Here, Hr. Kapellmeister Bondi sat in a somewhat ele- by a letter to Verdi from Carlo Romani, who had
122
GREGORY W.
HARWOOD
Plan der Atfstellung des Orchesters der grossen Oper in Paris. Verdi's
Orchestra
Ds gu8 Ig 7(e
?, i,,o O o o 0 O0 o,. ,
0
On 0 o oo o no
10
V io lo nep*JI aO te &&
Diesen Plan schickte mir der ehemalige Dirigent des Orchesters der grossen Oper in Paris, Herr Al
hiermit meinen besten Dank fur seine freundliche Bemfihung ansspreche. Das Orchester ist mit 12 eraten
Violinen,
Violinen,88Bractschen,
Bratschen, 10
10Violoncelli
Violoncelliund
und8 K~ontrabameen,
8 Kontrablasen, im
imStrelchorchester,
Streichorchester,besetzte
besetzt
Figure 5
Seating Arrangement at the Paris Opera (c. 1890).
From Henri Kling, Der vollkommene Musik-Dirigent (Hannover, [18901), p. 273.
been appointed as the conductor at the Teatro opinion, the arrangement of French orchestras is
alla Pergola in Florence in 1871. Romani states faulty, and in this it would be well if they were to
take the Italian orchestras as an example. Firstly,
that he and the co-conductor, Mabellini, had
among us the conductor (Verdi calls the chef d'or-
considered changing the seating arrangement at chestre a conductor) does not stand directly behind
La Pergola and wanted to know if the composer the prompter's box, but in front of his orchestra and
thought it better to place the conductor directly near the first row of spectators. This, then, allows
behind the prompter "as was practiced outside him to watch over the instrumentalists, who-in
Italy yet even more than here-are often very undis-
of Italy" or near the retaining wall between the
ciplined. The instruments comprising the woodwind
orchestral area and the public, "as was practiced section [harmonie]-flutes, clarinets, oboes-and
in Italy.-"73 which are called by us li concerte, are grouped to-
Although Verdi's response to Romani is not gether in front of the conductor. The horns, trum-
known, in an 1894 interview published in the pets, and the trombones are arrayed in back, and then
from the other side, making a circle in such a manner
Parisian Journal des Dbbats, the composer indi- as to surround the other instruments, come the first
cated that he strongly favored the Italian system violins, the violas, the violoncellos, and the double
and considered the location of the conductor in basses. In this manner, the brass instruments never
French orchestras a disadvantage. He then pro- smother the gentler sonorities of the other instru-
ceeded to describe the way in which he thought ments and an ensemble is reached that is at the same
time better balanced and clearer. About the rest, I
the instruments should be arranged: must say that each time I have had the chance to hear
the orchestra of the Op6ra-Comique, I have been
satisfied with the finesse of its performance, with its
"Today I will listen to the men [male leads in the Pa- delicate and sensitive [spirituelle] way of interpret-
risian production of Falstaffl," continued the master. ing the works of the repertory."
"Then tomorrow the orchestra. Boito complained As we returned to [talking about] the position oc-
that he was not able to obtain enough sonority. In my cupied by the chef d'orchestre in the theaters of Italy:
123
19TH for the Neapolitan premieres of Ballo in mas-
"It is true," added the master, "that this arrangement
CENTURY ought hardly to enrapture the singers, but they
MUSIC chera are
in 1862 and Faust in 1867. For these per-
supposed to learn their roles, are they not? Re-
formances, he assembled a group of the best
hearsals are done so that they have time to work at
their leisure, and it is up to them to listen tostring players in the middle of the orchestra
the or-
chestra."74 near the keyboard: four violas, four cellos, and
the two first double basses that were normally
SAN CARLO, 1858-69 located in this position.78 This arrangement,
however, scattered the middle strings through-
out the
Verdi's first recorded attempt at rearranging orchestra even more and was therefore
or-
unacceptable to Verdi. In a letter to Francesco
chestral seating occurred in 1858 for a perfor-
mance of Simon Boccanegra at San Carlo. He Verdi outlined the problems he saw in
Florimo,
moved the violas and cellos into single the
groups
Neapolitan arrangement:
rather than splitting them up on both sides of
the ensemble, as mentioned in a letter to Giuliospeaking of the company, which is poorly
Without
Ricordi dated 4 April 1869, written atsuited,
a time I wish that your theater (I speak to the artist,
not
when San Carlo had expressed an interest into the Neapolitan) would adopt some changes,
made indispensable by modem score, both in the
producing the revised Forza and Don mise-en-scene,
Carlo. as well as in the choruses and perhaps
Verdi's earlier reforms, however, were not
in the orchestra itself. To mention one, how can you
adopted by the theater on a permanent basis,
tolerate that the violas and violoncellos are still not
united
and one of the composer's first objections together? How can there then be attack of the
to the
intended production of his new opera was bow, dynamic shading [colorito], accent, etc.? Be-
that
the violas and cellos had been relocated to their sides that, the group of string instruments will lack
fullness. This is a vestige of former times, when vio-
old positions: las and violoncellos played in unison with the double
basses. Wretched customs! And in reference to cus-
For La forza del destino, I didn't like Lotti, or Co- toms, I want to tell you about one. When I went to
lonessi, or Angiolini, but if you have a good Pre- Vienna, seeing all the double basses united together
ziosilla, a good Melitone, very good secondary parts right in the middle of the orchestra, I (who had been
with a good chorus and the orchestra reorganized the accustomed to seeing them scattered here and there)
way I wanted, I would have gone to Naples. But to all made a great gesture of surprise and a certain little
of the modifications that I proposed, or to almost all, smile, which was meant to say, "these German to-
they always responded Non possumus. deri, etc." But when I descended into the orchestra
Just imagine, to tell you one of them, that in the and found myself in front of these double basses so
orchestra there are still violas and violoncellos scat- that I heard their powerful attack, their precision,
tered one here, another there, etc., etc. This is a ves- their clarity, their softs, their louds, etc., I was aware
tige of olden times, when violas and violoncellos that I was the todero and I laughed no longer. From
were always in unison with the basses, and it has not this you will understand how I would think about
yet been eliminated, despite the demands of modem how the violas and violoncellos, which play indepen-
works, where the violas and violoncellos play inde- dent parts [concertato] so often in modem works,
pendent parts [concertano] like all of the other in- ought to be arranged. They would have all laughed
struments. What is even stranger is that ten years ago there when I grouped these instruments together for
I had these instruments united together as a group for Simon Boccanegra!! So much the worse for they who
Simon Boccanegra. It seems that the innovation was laughed.79
found to be absurd. Am I a blockhead, yes or no! !7
San Carlo did not budge; nor did the com-
In June, De Sanctis visited Verdi at St. Agata poser. The result was a stalemate. By late spring
on behalf of the impresario at San Carlo to try to of 1869, Verdi had already been pessimistic
persuade him to release the opera. It was likely about the possibilities at Naples and confided to
his report that prompted two letters written by Giulio Ricordi, "This opera [Don Carlo] is too
the orchestral directors to the composer.76 young to take a risk with it at such an important
The first, dated 12 July, came from Nicola De theater."'8 As a result, Don Carlo was not seen
Giosa and addressed some of Verdi's queries at San Carlo until 1871, when, over the com-
about singers and the orchestra. De Giosa, who poser's objections, it was produced under the di-
became co-conductor with Giuseppe Puzone for rection of Puzone, who had worked with Verdi
the 1860-61 season at San Carlo,77 had already for the theater's production of Simon Boccane-
tried his own hand at rearranging the orchestra gra in 1858. Through De Sanctis, Puzone had
124
GREGORY W.
asked Verdi for suggestions regarding the pro-including the removal of the spectator's boxes HARWOOD
duction. But the composer, fearful that the op- from the stage, bringing the curtain to the foot-
Verdi's
era could not be performed successfully with- light, and making the orchestra invisible, Orchestra
as
out major reforms that the theater still refusedproposed by Wagner.88
to make, declined any part in it.81 After the first Ricordi evidently proposed these radical
performance, the composer received a series ofchanges to the mayor and city council, possibly
negative reports and felt justified in his pessi-overstating his request in order to strengthen
mistic predictions.82 his chances of winning approval for the changes
he considered most crucial. He wrote Verdi on 6
LA SCALA, 1871-92 September:
It is not certain when Verdi first conceived of re- I think the proposal we submitted contained great
arranging the orchestra at La Scala. The topic is modifications, which I would call "a la Wagner" and
first mentioned in a letter from Giulio Ricordi which you have already mentioned to me. Actually
to the composer dated 15 January 1871: "For thethese operations must be very expensive, and this
year the council has absolutely no money available.
next year, the arrangement of the orchestra will What concerns us now, however, is that the or-
be changed according to your suggestions, and chestra be well arranged; the rest will follow.89
the city government will consider permanently
providing the theater with a good timpani and
bass drum."83 Verdi replied the next day: "With Verdi wrote to the mayor on 13 October 1871
regard to the arrangement of the orchestra, I will that his new orchestral arrangement would
write when I have more time, because I need to"make the orchestra more compact, in order to
show you some of my ideas, which perhaps will have fuller sonority and to avoid weak and un-
seem crazy."84 even performances."90 The actual modifica-
On 19 January, Ricordi travelled to Genoations involved a major shift in the position of
the music stands, since the floor of the orches-
with a current seating plan, and it is during this
visit that many details of the reorganization tral area had to be taken up and the gas pipes re-
were worked out.85 On 11 March, Giulio re- laid.91
ported to the composer that the city engineer A diagram of the orchestra at La Scala ap-
peared in Henri Kling's Der vollkommene Mu-
was studying his sketch for the reseating.86 Sev-
eral months later, he informed Verdi that thesik-Dirigent, published ca. 1890 (see figure 6).92
city council supported the project but had post-
Kling notes that he obtained the diagram from
poned it for another year. He asked the com- Faccio, and it is likely that this diagram, with
the exception of an obvious printing error,
poser to intercede by writing to the mayor, stat-
ing that the reform is absolutely necessary forwhich placed the stage on the wrong side of the
the performance of Aida, as the orchestra is "so
diagram, represents Verdi's rearrangement of
very poorly arranged and does not make half thethe orchestra for the Milanese premiere of
possible effect."87 Two days later, Verdi wroteAida.93 If the stage is placed at the opposite side
Ricordi asking to know the name of the conduc-of the diagram, then the conductor stands near
tor for the forthcoming performance, if the or-the audience with the players in front of him.
chestra would be constituted as he wished, if
The woodwinds are arranged together in the
there would be a larger timpani and bass drum,very center of the orchestra, as described by
if the standard pitch would be maintained in the Verdi to the Journal des Debats in 1894. At the
orchestra and extended to the stage band, and ifrear, to the conductor's right, are the brass and
the arrangement of the instruments would be as percussion instruments; the remainder of the
he had sketched the previous winter in Genoa. area is occupied by the first violins. To the con-
He then added that the seating plan was "ofductor's left are the second violins, violas, and
much greater importance than is commonly be- cellos. Only the double basses are divided on
lieved-for the blending of the instruments, for both ends of the orchestral area.
the sonority, and for the effect" and that this re- Verdi explicitly states the reasons behind his
arrangement would be the first step in a moreseating plan in a series of letters from the 1880s.
radical transformation of the physical facilities,In August 1888, Faccio wanted to place the dou-
125
19TH
CENTURY Plan der Aufstellung des Orchesters im Theater der Scala in Mailand.
MUSIC
Bfih ne.
rste violinen. Dirgent. Brtschea.

O-O O O O O 0
oOiolin en. O P O o,
r- t
(D ;a C
1to Bratschen.
11 Violoueel lo.
11 Kontrab~sse.
1l 'en Plan verdank, ich der freudullichel (iefdlligkeit des b.,t'ihmnten Katllm'I t t-rt d
Herrn
Hernilarrio inFarc~cio
sailand. woft0r ichin
ihmSjiland.
hiermit meinen woftir
wrm.te.,tn Iank ich
darhrin).ilim Iiiennit mecinen
Figure 6
Seating Arrangement at La Scala (c. 1890).
From Henri Kling, Der vollkommene Musik-Dirigent (Hannover, [18901), p. 277. Note that the positions of the
audience and the stage have mistakenly been reversed.
ble basses in one group at stage left. He wrote to to the left of the public, the first violins and the vio-
Verdi: loncellos also on the left, the two harps close to the
center double basses, the woodwinds in their usual
place, the second violins and violas to the right of the
It would be more or less like the concerts at which
public, and behind them, the brass, the timpani and
you gave us the honor of attending. Namely, the dou- other percussion instruments. It seems to me that
ble basses united together like so: Giulio Ricordi is favorable to these modifications,
Stage but I can't make up my mind because although you
thought it proper to unite the double basses together
Dl El El Dl E and bring the first violins to the left, which would
turn the sound boxes of their instruments toward the
public, I nonetheless remember that you disliked to
F- separate the violas from the violoncellos and, in
short, that you were not entirely persuaded about the
new arrangement. You would do me a great favor if
you wrote to me your definitive opinion about this.94
Verdi, in fact, disapproved of the proposed

change in his seating plan. He wrote Faccio:
126
That constant, deep, dark sound always from one it better, because the performance here is so dreadful GREGORY W.
HARWOOD
side must not produce a good effect. If the double in total, in all, and in everything that a proper opinion Verdi's
basses could be arranged facing forward in a single of it cannot be made.96 Orchestra
row as in Vienna, very well; but not being able to do
so, it is better to leave half of them on one side, half Several days later, Giulio reassured Verdi
on the other.... Neither do I approve of the separa-
that "except for a change in the arrangement of
tion of the violas, violoncellos, and [second] violins.
These three groups of instruments are precisely the orchestra, it is in the identical condition as
those that bind the harmony together and always ac- before. The change affects only the first violins,
company together. As for the first violins, it matters and it seems to me that it has produced a reason-
little if they be to one side or another-it is enough able result. All of the other instruments, the
that they play well.95
woodwinds, double basses, etc. are in their
usual place."97
Several months later, Verdi witnessed a per- Greater precision in playing was the primary
formance at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, at reason offered for uniting the double basses into
which the double basses were arranged in pre- one group in Genoa and for attempting such an
cisely the manner that Faccio had proposed. arrangement in Milan. This continued to be a
This performance only strengthened his convic- particular concern for Otello, where the double
tion that the arrangement was faulty, and in a bass section plays alone at the beginning of the
letter to Ricordi dated 9 January 1889, the com- murder scene. On 5 February 1892, Ricordi
poser further explained the reasons why he wrote the composer that the conductor at La
wanted the double basses on both sides of the Scala, Mascheroni, had come by that morning
ensemble: to ask an opinion. In order to obtain a solid per-
formance during that scene, he had always
I would like to point out to you a very serious draw- grouped the double basses together. Observing
back that I noticed yesterday evening at the perfor- that the distance between the basses was espe-
mance of Asrael at the Carlo Felice. Here in the or-
chestra they have placed all the double basses in one
cially great at La Scala, Mascheroni wanted to
mass, like sheep; and the result is deplorable beyond know if he might regroup the instruments at the
belief. I will put it this way: when the double basses Milanese theater.98 Verdi's response to this sug-
encircle the entire orchestra, with their dark sound gestion is not known, but he clearly maintained
they cover, or at least smother in part, the piercing his general position against dividing the basses
sonority of the brass and the bad intonation of the
in his statement to the Journal des Debats two
woodwinds. And the sonority in the loud [passages]
comes out full and imposing. Like this, it is piercing years later (see pp. 123-24 above). For Verdi, any
and empty. Further, in the passages where the string advantage gained in precision could not out-
section alone dominates, half of the spectators hear weigh the importance of enveloping the orches-
only an indistinct buzzing, and the other half hear tral sound on all sides by the rich resonance of
too much.
All this, I believe, was done only in view of Otello,
the double basses, and he suggested in his letter
to Faccio that the difficulties encountered in
but long ago; the double basses played out of tune just
the same. The placement or arrangement of the or- this section of Otello were due to a lack of
chestra here, as in Milan, was made, I believe, for skilled players and an energetic section leader.99
Aida. It went well. But these dear orchestral conduc-
tors are always doing something and their vanity is
not repaid if they do not undo what perhaps is going VERDI'S INFLUENCE ON OTHER ITALIAN
well. It is not enough for them to collect applause on THEATERS, 1872-93
the stage like the other prime donne, or to thank the
public from the bench, if they applaud four measures
of prelude as if they themselves had written it. All
During the years following the premiere of
this is ridiculous! And I speak about it now because I Aida, Verdi's orchestral reform at La Scala had a
have nothing to do with it anymore, and am but a substantial effect on other opera houses in the
simple amateur. country. His original plan had called for the es-
I know that Faccio had intentions to make modi-
tablishment of three model theaters: in the cap-
fications in the orchestra. I take the liberty to say that
it would be the greatest possible error to follow the
ital, Naples, and Milan.100 A model theater in
example of Genoa for the double basses. I will speak the capital would have been an important show-
to you about Asrael personally when I will have read case, but for some reason, Verdi seems not to
127
19TH have pursued this plan. At Naples, theFaccio
com-to make a sketch of the arrangement,
CENTURY
MUSIC poser had encountered stiff oppositionwhich
to re-had been forwarded to Naples.107 Giulio
travelled
form; only in Milan did he have a more or less to Naples to make the arrangement
andpre-
free hand to make his reforms. After the by 23 October could report to the composer
that
miere of Aida, therefore, the Teatro alla a commission appointed to supervise the
Scala
orchestral
became Verdi's model, which he held up as an reorganization had already com-
menced its work.108
example in his dealings with other theaters.
Caught up in the excitement generated After
by Don Carlo was produced, Verdi wrote
the rehearsals for Aida at La Scala, theDucom-
Locle that the orchestra was "excellent."109
Describing the performances of Aida, he wrote
poser's thoughts began to turn toward mount-
ing supervised productions elsewhere,Arrivabene
speci- that the orchestra at Naples was su-
perior
fically at San Carlo. After a long discussion withto those at the early performances of the
her husband one night, Giuseppina took work in Milan and Parma.110 Before departing
up her
pen at almost midnight and confided from to DeNaples, Verdi attempted to ensure that his
reforms were retained. This was an important
Sanctis that the time would be right to persuade
point for the composer, who had been disap-
the composer to come to Naples. She reported
pointed
that they had talked at length about "Aida and that his orchestral reorganization of
1858
Don Carlo, and of La Scala and Naples," andfor Simon Boccanegra had been quickly
discarded. To the mayor, he stressed the need
that Verdi would be willing to supervise produc-
tions of the operas at San Carlo if the to "revitalize the theater ... with worthy and
theater
complete
would only acquiesce to his conditions.101 She performances" and asked his assis-
tance "to bring about the reforms at San Carlo
specified later that her husband would demand
thatthe
reforms of pitch level, the orchestra, and modem art demands."111
Smaller theaters also felt the effect of Verdi's
chorus: "in other words, to transform San Carlo
reform.
to an equivalent of the present conditions at La From the composer's letter to Ricordi
Scala. "102 dated 9 January 1889 (cited above), it appears
that the
This offer stirred up considerable activity in orchestra was also rearranged during
Naples, and in February the impresario, the Mu-
1875-76 season at the Carlo Felice for the
sella, travelled to Milan to come to terms Genoese
of an premiere of Aida.112 Much of the pres-
agreement for the productions. Things did not sure on theaters to reform came from Ricordi
proceed smoothly, as witnessed by the corre- during the process of establishing contracts for
spondence between Verdi and De Sanctis,a the operas.113 In some cases, however, Verdi
03but
a contract was finally signed with Ricordi himself
for played a major role. In correspondence
the works. Verdi had difficulties with Musella with Roman officials, who wanted to mount a
over many matters and threatened to withdraw production of Aida, he replied:
the score and close the production at the last
moment if each of the conditions stipulated in With the orchestra and with the choruses, etc. that
the contract were not met. 104 you presently have in Rome, a good performance
With respect to the orchestra at San Carlo, a would not be possible, but make up an orchestra
more or less like that of Milan, the same for the cho-
rearrangement of the seating was made, using rus, singers like Stolz, Waldmann, Pandolfini, etc., a
La Scala as a pattern. After the publisher met mise-en-sc ne like that of La Scala, and there will be
with Musella, Tomaghi reported to Verdi thatno obstacles."4
the orchestra would employ the standard pitch
and that the impresario had been informed that One well documented instance of the com-
the composer himself would supervise the ar- poser's direct influence involved Parma, where
rangement of the orchestra after his arrival in negotiations for Aida were underway well be-
Naples.10s Verdi, however, decided not to wait fore the Milanese premiere.11" Among other
and asked Tito to end a diagram of the Scala or- things, Verdi had heard reports that the orches-
chestra to Musella immediately, as he did not tra contained many inexperienced young play-
want difficulties once he had arrived in Na- ers, and he instructed Ricordi to see that the en-
ples.106 Tornaghi replied that he had instructed semble was composed not of youths, but of
128
experienced players, and that they had a least a Another indication of
GREGORY W. V
HARWOOD
partial rehearsal with instruments tuned at orchestral proportions
Verdi's
standard pitch before his arrival.116 comes from Rome. The
Orchestra
Ricordi's contract with the management of to mount a production o

the Teatro Regio in Parma for Aida contained a 1885-86 season, and Ve
clause (undoubtedly with Verdi's approval, as that the orchestra was to
he directed the performances) specifying that Although the Apollo was
the orchestra include twelve first violins, Scala or San Carlo, it was
twelve seconds, eight violas, eight cellos, and rated a first-rank thea
nine double basses, with the number of other in- 1874.120 A letter to Ricordi from Verdi's close
struments to be specified later.1' The reduction friend and student, Emanuele Muzio, reveals
in the size of the string section for Parma gives what the composer considered the ideal orches-
an idea of the proportions Verdi expected for tral size for the performance of his grand opera
theaters that were not as spacious as La Scala or at the Apollo:
San Carlo. Compared with the recommenda-
tions for the two large theaters, there is a
Our master, who wrote Il trovatore and Ballo in mas-
smaller string section with a reduction in the
chera for the [Teatro] Apollo in Rome, also finds that
proportion of middle and lower instruments.the orchestra of that theater is too numerous, and
that it must certainly damage the vocal part of the op-
The playbill advertising these performanceseras. He is not able to write and perhaps run the risk
lists the number of orchestral members as of a refusal if he asked for a reduction in the number,
eighty;118 its makeup was probably somewhatbut you and Lamperti can state that the opinion of
the master is such that he believes the following or-
similar to the orchestra of eighty-three mem-
bers conducted by Faccio for a performance chestra
of would be more than sufficient for the Apollo:
Verdi's Requiem at the theater in 1876 (see table
First violins 12
7).119 This ensemble boasted a slightly larger
Second violins 10
string section than that listed in the contract for
Violas 8
Aida, and also included eight trumpets, the Violoncellos 8
bulk of which would have been added especially Double Basses 7
for the performance of the Requiem. Flute and piccolo 3
Oboe 2 English horn when
necessary
Clarinets 2 Bass clarinet when
necessary
Table 7 Bassoons 2 For grand operas: 4
Orchestral Disposition at the Teatro Regio di Horns 4
Parma for a Performance of Verdi's Requiem in Trumpets 2 For grand operas: 4

Trombones 4
1876. After Gustavo Marchesi, Giuseppe Verdi
Harps 2
e il Conservatorio di Parma (1836-1901) Bass drum & cymbals
(Parma, 1976), pp. 73-74. Snare drum, triangle 1
Violins I 14 69
Violins II 13
Violas 8 You told me that Lucca stated the orchestra was ex-
Violoncellos 9 cessively strong last year. Now it is up to you, to him,
Double Basses 10 to Manicelli, and again to you for Verdi's sake to con-
Flutes 3 vince the management at the Teatro Apollo that the
Oboes 2 number of players must be reduced to that indicated
Clarinets 2 by Verdi, who says that it is more than sufficient for
Bassoons 4 Don Carlo, and who furthermore desires that this be
Horns 4 the organization of the orchestra if it is performed on
Trumpets 8 St. Stephen's.'2
Trombones 3
Cimbasso 1
Bass Drum 1
A number of documents indicate that Verdi was
Timpani 1 pleased with the results of his attempt to reform
129
19TH the orchestra. Anxious to know the effect ofAthis
nority. times, this sonority degenerated into an
CENTURY uproar, and this is perhaps the fault of Verdi, who has
MUSIC
changes, Verdi asked Giulio shortly before the
opening of the 1871-72 season to write spared his
nothing with the trumpets, the trombones,
the bass drum, and the bombastic stage band. In the
opinion about whether the orchestra atdelicate
La Scalaaccompaniments, in the particular subtle-
was producing a fuller sound.22 Ricordi's re-the score abounds, the orchestra, and
ties in which
sponse is not known, but shortly after he especially
had be- the violins, play ravishingly, as if painting
gun rehearsals in Milan, Verdi himself miniatures.
wrote to 124
Bottesini, who had conducted the world pre-

miere of Aida in Cairo: "This year we Three years
have a earlier, describing the perfor-
mances of the revised Forza at La Scala to Ar-
good orchestra and good chorus members--
about 120 of the latter and 90 orchestral rivabene,
musi- Verdi wrote: "The masses, chorus,
cians. One hears a large, round sonority, andwith-
orchestra, performed with an indescribable
out the screaming trombones."23 A review precisionofand vigor, as if they were possessed by
the opening performances in Milan the that devil."'12
ap-
peared in Il mondo artistico, while not sharing Verdi had sensed the potential of Italian or-
Verdi's feeling toward the trombones, did takeand it was undoubtedly this potential,
chestras,
special notice of the orchestral sound and coupled with thorough rehearsal, carefully bal-
of its
anced
precision during soft passages. This latter point, orchestral proportions, and a seating ar-
in particular, was a compliment to Verdi, who rangement designed to promote blend and pre-
had coached Mazzucato on this aspect for the cision in playing while minimizing the defects
of the wind instruments that he had in mind
performance of Don Carlo nearly four years ear-
lier. when he wrote to the French publisher, L6on Es-
cudier, "You French, no doubt, perform more
The orchestra and the choruses are marvelous; the correctly, but you will never be able to produce
ensemble pieces and finales are performed with ut- the effects of our choruses and orchestras ,".
most precision and with very powerful effects of so- when they are well conducted."'126
NOTES
7The article "Schreiben eines in Italiens reisenden Deut-

'Carteggi verdiani, ed. Alessandro Luzio (Rome, 1935-47),
I, 111. schen, vom Ende Februar," Allgemeine musikalische
2See Verdi's letters to Piroli, ca. February 1871, cited in Lu- Zeitung 15 (1813), 282-83, comments that the double bass
zio III, 79, and to Opprandino Arrivabene, 15 March 1876, players in Italy were often so poor that even a large section of
quoted in Verdi intimo: Carteggio di Giuseppe Verdi con il 8 to 10 sounded feeble in a large theater. Although Verdi
Conte Opprandino Arrivabene, ed. Annibale Alberti, (n.p. wrote for a five-part divisi cello section as early as 1842 in
[1931]), p. 188. In a letter to Piroli dated 29 November 1871 Nabucco, many orchestras of this period would not have
(Luzio III, 87), Verdi stressed the importance of organizing at had the number of cellos to perform it. This unusual use of
least the "two grand theaters," meaning La Scala and San the cellos was undoubtedly modelled on a similar passage in
Carlo. Rossini's Guillaume Tell. Verdi did not write such elaborate
3Giuseppina Verdi to Cesare De Sanctis, 2 October 1869, divisi cello parts again until Aida, for which he was certain
quoted in Luzio I, 116. of having enough instruments.
4See Ugo Leone and Pietro Righini, Il diapason: Storia e vi- 8Letter from Leopold Mozart to his wife, 15 December 1770,
cenda della sua normalizzazione ([Turin], 1969), pp. 31, in Mozart: Briefe und Aufzeichnungen, ed. Wilhelm A.
103-04. Bauer and Otto Erich Deutsch, vol. I (Kassel, 1962), p. 408;
5The primo violino and maestro concertatore shared Charles
the re-Burney, The Present State of Music in France and
sponsibility for directing in many Italian theaters well
Italy,into
2nd edn. (London, 1773), p. 353; Louis Spohr, Lebens-
the second half of the century. See, for example, the descrip-
erinnerungen, ed. Folker G6thel, (Tutzing, 1968), I, 227;
tion of this practice at La Scala during the 1865-66 season de Hector Berlioz (Paris, 1870; rpt. Farnborough,
Memoires
in Student and Singer: The Reminiscences of Charles 1969), p. 165.
Santley (New York, 1892), pp. 67, 102, 258. 9Bonifazio Asioli, Elementi per il Contrabasso (Milan,
6In addition to the examples cited below, Neal Zaslaw [1823]),dis-
p. 3.
cusses this problem from the standpoint of the late eigh- musikalische Zeitung 15 (1813), 267.
'0Allgemeine
teenth century in "Toward the Revival of the Classical Or- Bottesini, Metodo di contrabasso (Milan, n.d.),
"Giovanni
chestra," Proceedings of the Royal Musical Associationp. 6. 103
(1976-77), 180-84. As late as 1869, Wagner made a'2Atti similar
del Congresso di musicisti italiani riunito in Milano
complaint about German ensembles in "Uber das dal Diri-
16 al 22 giugno 1881 ([Milan], 1881), p.33.
giren." See his Gesammelte Schriften und Dichtungen, 3rd
3 Ibid., pp. 19, 27-35. It is significant that the arguments in
edn., vol. VIII (Leipzig, 1900), pp. 263-64. favor of the slightly smaller three-string instruments rested
130
primarily on the question of sonority, although not every- sources during previous years. See Adam Carse, The Or-GREGORY W.
one agreed that they produced a more resonant sound. One chestra from Beethoven to Berlioz (Cambridge, 1948), p. 51.HARWOOD
of these was Cesare Dominicheti, who during the Congress 23Carse, pp. 186-87. Verdi's
condemned the practice found in some orchestras of replac- 24Ibid., p. 187; Abbiati I, 714-15. Orchestra
ing "true violas" with "slightly larger violins," which were 25Letter to Clara Maffei, 9 June 1847 (Abbiati I, 711).
easier to hold in the player's arm. He complained that the 26Verdi's reworking of Macbeth occupied a significant role
use of these instruments, as well as the slightly smaller in his development of the opera a intenzioni. He had always
three-string basses, damaged the bass sonorities in the or- considered this opera to be apart from his other works, one
chestra (ibid., p. 29). which abandoned routine formulas and procedures of the
14Asioli, 1 maestro di composizione (Milan, n.d.[c. 18301), Primo Ottocento for dramatic reasons. See, for example, his
pp. [35]-36. letter to Varesi ca. 23-30 January 1847 in Verdi's Macbeth:
'5The Teatro Ducale burned down in 1776 and was replaced A Sourcebook, ed. David Rosen and Andrew Porter (New
by the Teatro alla Scala, completed in 1778. York, 1984), pp. 36-37, and a letter to Barbieri-Nini dated
'6William Gardiner, Sights in Italy, with Some Account of 31 January 1847 in the same volume, pp. 39-40.
the Present State of Music and the Sister Arts in That Coun- 27Verdi specifically mentioned Don Carlos as the starting
try (London, [1847]), pp. 377- 78. point for his reform of Italian theaters in a letter to Eugenio
17Problems of balance were greater in the smaller Turinese Tornaghi, 8 September 1874; see I copialettere di Giuseppe
theaters, the Teatro Carignano and the Teatro d'Agnennes, Verdi, ed. Gaetano Cesari and Alessandro Luzio (Milan,
which maintained the same number of woodwind and brass 1913; repr. Bologna, [1968]), pp. 294-95. Note also his letter
players as the Teatro Regio, but with fewer string players. to Clara Maffei, 1 July 1876 (Abbiati IV, 9-10).
See Luigi Rossi, "Sullo stato attuale della musica in 28Luigi Agostino Garibaldi, Giuseppe Verdi nelle lettere di
Torino," Gazetta musicale di Milano 4 (1845), 16, reprinted Emanuele Muzio ad Antonio Barezzi (Milan, 1931), p. 178.
by Alberto Basso in 11 teatro della cittai: La storia del Teatro 29Letter of 27 February 1845 (ibid., p. 184).
Regio di Torino, vol. II (Turin, 1976), p. 707. Charles Santley 30Abbiati III, 109.
(p. 77) reported a similar situation in Milan, stating that the 31Tito Ricordi to Verdi, 15 November 1866 (AIVS Reel S.A.
orchestra of La Scala also played at the Teatro della Canob- 8).
biana, but with a slightly reduced number of strings. 32The situation is explained by Tito in a letter to Verdi dated
'8A poster advertising the performance of Ilombardi in 1843 7 January 1867 and in a letter to Giuseppina Strepponi dated
is reproduced by Marcello De Angelis in the plates to his Le 20 March 1867 (AIVS Reel S.A. 8).
carte dell'impresario: Melodrama e costume teatrale nell'- "Cited with some omissions in Abbiati III, 109-11.
Ottocento (Florence, 1982). It lists the total ensemble as 34See Tito Ricordi to Verdi, 22 June 1867 (AIVS Reel S.A. 8);
forty-five players, twenty-two of which are listed by name also Mariani's letter to Tito from April 1867 in Abbiati III,
as principal players. 133.
'19Franco Abbiati, Giuseppe Verdi (Milan, 1959), II, 413. 35Partly quoted by Abbiati III, 137, who, however, omits the
Manuscript copies of most correspondence cited in this crucial words "l'aumento d'orchestra." Tito replied on 29
study have been consulted on microfilm in the archives of June that he had already spoken with Mariani about the in-
the American Institute for Verdi Studies at New York Uni- crease in size for the chorus and orchestra (AIVS Reel, S.A.
versity, permitting the correction of errors in the published 8).
correspondence. All unpublished correspondence is cited by 36"Contratta di nolo Don Carlos per la Scala" (n.d.), AIVS
AIVS Reel number. I am grateful to the director of the ar- Reel S.A. 14. It requires the theater to hire, if possible, Prof.
chive, Prof. Martin Chusid, for his assistance. Brizzi as first trumpet, that the stage band be increased by a
20A more unusual case is Bologna, where a piano organico few instruments, to be indicated later by Ricordi, and that
from 1821 established the size of the civic orchestra at the the chorus be increased in size. It also allows Ricordi to
Teatro Comunale. It distinguished between three types of specify further increases in the orchestra.
spectacles: heroic operas and serious and comic operas 37Abbiati III, 158-59.
without a ballet. Although the number of strings is greatly 38Pompeo Cambiasi, La Scala 1778-1906: Note storiche e
reduced for the operas without ballets, enough winds are statistiche, 5th edn. (Milan, [1906]), pp. 168, 170.
also eliminated to actually increase the total proportion of 39Castil-Blaze, L'Academie Impiriale de Musique, vol. II
strings in the ensemble. The tables from the piano organico (Paris, 1855), p. 354, lists four bassoons in the orchestra as
are reproduced by Piero Mioli, "Bologna: II Teatro Comu- early as 1763 and states that this number was increased at
nale," in Orchestre in Emilia-Romagna nell'Ottocento e times to six or eight to reinforce the bass part.
Novecento, ed. Marcello Conati and Marcello Pavarani 4?Letter to Giulio Ricordi, 27 December 1865 (Abbiati III,
(Parma, 1892), pp. 332-33. 310).
21Compare, for example, the orchestra at Vienna in table 541In a letter to Mascheroni dated 8 December 1893, Verdi
with the orchestra at the Teatro Regio in Turin in table 3. emphasizes this important role of the double basses: ".... I
Wagner (p. 264) criticizes German orchestras as typicallyalso believe that the orchestra is both well arranged and well
lacking sufficient strings to match the number of wind in-organized such as it is (and I don't say this because I was the
struments and points to the French orchestras as models,guilty party who established it so when I produced Aida, but
particularly with respect to excellent violin and cello play- because the instruments blend well), and the strings encir-
ers. The orchestral proportions of several major Germancle and enclose in their middle the wind instruments--espe-
theater orchestras listed by Jean Georges Kastner in hiscially the brass. It would not be so if you placed all of the
Cours d'instrumentation (Paris, [1837]), p. 4, would sub- double basses in one single row near the stage: the brass
stantiate Wagner's criticism. would remain too exposed and there would be, so to speak, a
22The size of the orchestra was reported by the Musical reflection of sound from the walls of the theater" (Abbiati
World, 20 February 1847, p. 113. It listed the number of theIV, 521).
various string instruments and stated that there were the42Published in Frank V. de Bellis and Federico Ghisi,
usual number of winds and percussion instruments; their"Alcune lettere inedite sul Don Carlos dal carteggio Verdi-
exact number may be deduced from reports from variousMazzucato," in Atti dei Congressi Internazionali di Studi
131
19TH Verdi's
Verdiani, vol. II (Parma, 1972), pp. 539-41. They are Aida: The History of an Opera in Letters and Docu-
trans-
CENTURY lated by Martin Chusid in his article, "Verdi's Ownments
Words:(Minneapolis, 1978), p. 96.
MUSIC His Thoughts on Performance, With Special Reference53Letter of to7 November 1870 (AIVS Reel S.A. 9). The letter is
partially quoted in Busch, pp. 96-97, but this section is
Don Carlos, Otello, and Falstaff," in The Verdi Companion,
ed. William Weaver and Martin Chusid (New York, omitted.
1979),
pp. 151-56. 54"Sulla riforn. a degli Istituti musicale relazione al Ministro
43Abbiati III, 168 (with several omissions). The newdella pubblica istruzione," Gazzetta musicale di Milano, 4
conduc-
June 1871,
tor hired for the 1868-69 season at La Scala, Eugenio Ter-supplement. The report is dated 20 March 1871.
55Letter of 11 April 1871 (I Copialettere, p. 257, and Busch, p.
ziani, complained that the greatest defect of the orchestra
was always playing too loudly; see Giulio Ricordi's 151).
letter to
Verdi, 18 December 1868 (AIVS Reel S.A. 9). 56Letter of 23 May 1871 (Busch, pp. 160-61).
4Letter to Tito Ricordi, 26 August 1868 (partially 57Letter
quotedto in Giulio Ricordi, 24 May 1871 (Busch, p. 162). In
Abbiati III, 219). The Operas of Verdi, vol. III (New York, 1981), Julian Bud-
45Letter to Tito Ricordi (Abbiati III, 235). den's statement that the orchestra used at La Scala for Aida
46Giulio Ricordi to Verdi, 27 December 1868 (AIVS"was Reela compromise
S.A. between Verdi's own requirements and
9). the recommendations of the Florence committee," un-
47Verdi to Giulio Ricordi, 31 December 1868 (Abbiati III, doubtedly refers to a list of orchestral players who had al-
240-41). ready been hired, sent to the composer by Ricordi on 4 Sep-
48Giulio Ricordi to Verdi, 1 January 1869 (AIVS Reel S.A. 9). tember 1871 (see Busch, pp. 213-14). Theater posters and
The letter is misdated 1868, evidently a slip on the first day Verdi's report to Bottesini cited below suggest that addi-
of the new year. The 1868-69 season at La Scala had opened tional players were hired later.
with Don Carlo, which had so successfully closed the pre- 58Letter of 13 January 1872 (Busch, p. 277).
vious season. For the first time, the theater was under the 59Cambiasi, p. 174. According to the libretto for the Cairo
direction of the city government. The orchestra had a new premiere, the orchestra consisted of 7 first violins, 7 sec-
director, Eugenio Terziani, who quickly became a contro- onds, 4 violas, 4 cellos, 5 double basses, 2 flutes, piccolo, 2
versial figure. The music critics for La perseveranza and II oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 hornms, 3 trumpets, 3 trom-
mondo artistico took a dislike both to the orchestra's play- bones, ophecleide, 2 harps, timpani, bass drum, snare drum,
ing and to Terziani's leadership. The review published in and military band.
Mondo artistico of the Don Carlo performance on St. 60Francesco Galeazzi, Elementi teorico-pratici di musica,
Stephen's criticized the change of pitch level, stating that it vol. I (Rome, 1790), table IV, figure 5. See also p. 222 and
was undertaken with such haste that it did not allow the Basso, p. 27. Biographical details regarding Galeazzi are pre-
performers time to adjust to their new instruments. Verdi sented in my thesis, "Francesco Galeazzi's Elementi
became alarmed at these reports of the orchestra's perform- teorico-pratici di musica, Part 4, Section 2: An Annotated
ance, and Giulio tried to assuage the composer's fears, claim- Translation and Commentary" (M.A. thesis, Brigham
ing that the orchestra had gained over the previous year in Young University, 1980).
blend, fullness, and grandness, but stated that he could not 61Nicolas Mestrino conducted at the Th6atre de Monsieur,
tell that the change in pitch level had made any difference. Pierre La Houssaie at the Com6die italienne and the Th6atre
Several days later, he wrote that the woodwinds had not yet de Monsieur, and Jean-Jacques Grasset at the Com6die ita-
mastered their new instruments but were improving night lienne.
by night. 62Ulisse Prota-Giurleo, La grande orchestre del R. Teatro
49Giulio Ricordi to Verdi, 2 January 1869 (AIVS Reel S.A. 9). San Carlo nel Settecento (Naples, 1928), p. 50. On the fre-
50AIVS Reel S.A. 9. It was commonly asserted during the quent use of the violas to play "col basso," see Allgemeine
nineteenth century that violists were often old or disabled musikalische Zeitung 15 (1813), 280; and Gottfried Weber,
violinists, who could no longer keep up with the more de- "Uber Instrumentalbisse bey vollstimmigen Tonstiicken,"
manding violin part (see, for example, Gazzetta musicale di AMZ 18 (1816), 712.
Milano 3 [1844],94-95, and Wagner, p. 263). A documented 63Scaramelli, Saggio sopra i doveri di un violino principale,
example at La Scala concerns Eugenio Cavallini, director of direttore d'orchestra (Trieste, 1811), pp. 13-15.
the orchestra since the 1830s, who was retired to the viola "See the detailed biography of Scaramelli in Carlo Curiel, Il
section during the 1866-67 season. Tito Ricordi wrote teatro S. Pietro di Trieste (Milan, 1937), pp. 389-99.
Verdi on 7 January 1867 (AIVS Reel S.A. 9) that Cavallini 65Galeazzi, table IV; Jean Jacques Rousseau, Dictionnaire de
was removed from his position because he had become hard musique, vol. II (Amsterdam, 1772), plate G, figure 1. Ga-
of hearing. Cavallini remained in the orchestra as first vio- leazzi does not mention that he borrowed this from Rous-
list until at least 1879 (Cambiasi, pp. 392-96). seau.
S'See Ricordi's letters to Verdi dated 12, 19, 20, 21, and 23 66Basso, pp. 707-8.
January and Verdi's letters from [20], [22], and 23 January. If 67See Carse, pp. 472- 73.
these instruments were added to the number present for the 68Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung 20 (1818), 495.
Don Carlo performance the previous year, there would have 69AMZ 16 (1814), 251.
been 11 cellos and 14 double basses-the same number of 70AMZ 27 (1825), 131-32; Harmonicon 3 (1825), 140
double basses that Verdi presented in his hypothetical case 71See diagrams of several German orchestras in the
to Mazzucato. Other evidence suggests that the total num- the end of F[erdinand] S[imon] Gassner, Dirigent
ber of double basses with augmentation may not have ex- pienist fir angehende Musikdirigenten, Musiker, u
ceeded 11. See Giulio's letter to Verdi, 7 November 1870, sikfreunde (Karlsriihe, 1844). F6tis (p. 113) comme
cited below, which discusses the difficulty of fitting any this arrangement, used in French opera houses
more than 11 double basses into the space allotted for the former times, was still found in "all lyric theaters" in
orchestra. By 23 January, Ricordi assured Verdi that he had as well as in many foreign towns. See also Castil-B
secured all three double basses, one of them capable of play- 361. Kastner (p. 28) notes that in some orchestras, t
ing low G, as well as the violoncello. ductor stood near the audience facing the orchestra
52Giulio Ricordi to Verdi, 5 November 1870, in Hans Busch, preferred that the conductor be next to the stage.
132
72AMZ 15 (1813), 267. GREGORY W.
86AIVS Reel S.A. 9. Verdi's sketch of the proposed orchestral
73Letter of 28 August 1872 (AIVS Reel S.A. 10). The letter is setting does not appear to have been preserved. HARWOOD
Verdi's
interfiled with correspondence from Ricordi. 87The location of Verdi's letter to the mayor is unknown.
Orchestra
74Courrier des Theitres: "Une entrevue avec M. Verdi," in 88Letter of 10 July 1871, quoted in Abbiati III, 461-62; I Co-
Journal des D'bats, 5 April 1894 (evening), p. 4. pialettere; p. 264, and Busch, pp. 182-83. Tornaghi re-
75Abbiati III, 262. In Verdi's dealings with San Carlo during sponded four days later that the orchestra would be arranged
1868-73, there is no mention of increasing the size of the "precisely according to your indications and as well as pos-
orchestra, which was a major issue at La Scala. Evidently, sible," that the normal pitch is and always would be used for
Verdi felt that the orchestra was already large enough and the stage band as well as the orchestra, and that a better bass
well balanced. There is little information available about drum and timpani would be found. Two days after this let-
the composition of this orchestra during the late nineteenth ter, Giulio reassured Verdi that everything would proceed
century. In The Italian Romantic Libretto: A Studyexactly of according to his wishes (AIVS Reel S.A. 9).
Salvatore Cammarano (Edinburgh, 1984), p. 11, John Black 89Busch, p. 218. By 4 October, the music stands were provi-
states that the orchestra at San Carlo during the 1830s and sionally in their new locations, and Ricordi requested Verdi
-40s was typically composed of 80 regular players, including to make suggestions before the new gas pipes were laid and
26 violins, 8 violas, 8 cellos, 10 basses, 4 flutes, 4 oboes, the4 floor replaced (Busch, p. 228). Verdi went to Milan the
clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, first
1 week in October and found that the double basses
cimbasso, and 4 percussion instruments. In addition, there would impede the view of the spectators sitting at the front
were 13 supernumeraries not under regular contract. of the platea. In a letter to the mayor dated 13 October
76AIVS Reel S.A. 60. (Busch, p. 237), Verdi proposed that the floor of the platea be
77F. de Filippis and R. Amese, Cronache del Teatro di San rebuilt, creating a steeper slope. Meanwhile, the city engi-
Carlo (1767-1960), vol. 1 (Naples, 1961), pp. 86-87. neer pointed out that although the steeper slope would im-
78De Giosa also informed Verdi that the management was prove the sight for spectators sitting in the rear of the the-
working on introducing standard pitch and that they had ater, it would actually make it worse for those in the front.
met with the orchestral players and instrument makers to He proposed using a less steep slope for the floor of the pla-
discuss the problem. In another letter written four days tea, creating a shallow pit for the orchestra, and situating
later, De Giosa and Puzone explained that it had been the double basses in a straight line parallel to the stage (see
deemed impossible to lower the pitch on the instruments Ricordi's letter to Verdi dated 15 October in Busch, pp. 239-
presently used in the orchestra. Since the theater was sched- 41 [Busch translates Ricordi's term orchestra as "orchestral
uled to open on 14 October, it was also thought impossible stalls" and platea as "orchestra," creating some confusion
to order new instruments and have the players accustomed for readers not having access to the original Italian]). Ricordi
to them in time. Moreover, the orchestral members were asked Verdi to come to Milan to help straighten out the
against the adoption of new instruments, since many had to problem. The exact extent of the reconstruction work done
play in the local military band, for other theaters, and for at this time is not known as no further comments about the
churches, all of which were still using the older pitch level. project appear in the correspondence. The decision to con-
De Giosa and Puzone therefore proposed the compromise of struct a lowered orchestra pit at La Scala was not made until
lowering the pitch a quarter tone, the maximum alteration 1906; the construction work was begun the following year.
that the old orchestral instruments could undergo. 90Busch, p. 237.
79Letter of 23 June 1869, published by Frank Walker in 9'Letters of Giulio Ricordi to Verdi dated 6 September and 4
"Verdi e Vienna," in S.A.M. Bottenheim, et al., Giuseppe October 1871, Busch, pp. 218, 229.
Verdi (Siena, 1951), p. 50. In the Dizionario milanese-ita- 92Henri Kling, Der Vollkommene Musik-Dirigent (Hanno-
liano, ed. Cletto Arrighi, (Milan, 1896; rpt. Milan, 1978), ver, [1890]), p. 227.
"toder" is defined as "tedesco" (German) or "straniero" 93It is clear from the shape of the diagram that the stage
(foreigner). should be at the narrower rather than the wider side of the
80Verdi to Giulio Ricordi [19 May 1869]. In the letter, Verdi trapezoid. This could be a mechanical error in printing, or
stated that Naples had an orchestra "that could go very well, Kling may have confused the position of the stage, since the
but they don't know how to make it go." Nearly two years diagram as printed places the conductor against the stage
later, he referred to the opposition raised by the two direc- with his back to the orchestral ensemble, similar to the ar-
tors and the orchestral members to his proposal to adopt the rangement used at Paris and many other places on the conti-
standard pitch and stated that he considered their half-way nent. The comments of Carlo Romani in 1872 and Verdi in
solution "the most absurd thing in the world. We did not 1894 leave no doubt that most Italian orchestras were not
agree then and we would not agree now." Letter to Cesare arranged in this manner, and an exception in such an impor-
De Sanctis of 1 January 1871 (Luzio I, 125). tant house as La Scala would surely have been known to
'8Letter of De Sanctis to Verdi of 27 December 1870 (Luzio I, Verdi. Moreover, correspondence between Verdi, Faccio,
124) and Verdi's response of 13 January (Luzio I, 129). and Giulio Ricordi reveals that the orchestral arrangement
82See the reports by De Sanctis in Luzio I, 134-37 and Ver- set by Verdi at the time of Aida remained intact through
di's reply of 22 March, on pp. 137-38. Faccio's tenure as conductor, with the exception of a reposi-
83Busch, p. 133. In letters dated 7 and 8 January (Abbiati III, tioning of the first violins, probably in 1888. See Verdi's let-
419-20, and AIVS Reel S.A. 9, respectively), Giulio had in- ters of 8 December 1893 to Mascheroni (Abbiati IV, 521) and
formed Verdi that the city govemrnment was considering the of 9 January 1889 to Ricordi (cited on p. 127).
establishment of a permanent orchestra for the theater. Ri- 94Raffaelo de Rensis, Franco Faccio e Verdi: Carteggi e docu-
cordi believed that the change would not be made for at least menti inedite (Milan, 1934), pp. 252-53.
three or four years. In the meantime, Verdi pressed for a 95Ibid., pp. 253-54; also published in Abbiati IV, 254-55.
strong orchestra director but did not want Mariani in the po- 96Abbiati IV, 368. A section of the translation is based on
sition. Chusid, p. 153.
84Busch, p. 133. 97Letter of 12 January 1889 (AIVS Reel S.A. 12).
85Giulio Ricordi to Verdi, 15 January (ibid.) and 17 January 98AIVS Reel S.A. 12.
1871 (AIVS Reel S.A. 9). 99De Rensis, pp. 253-54; also published in Abbiati IV, 354-
55.
133
19TH 'o0See fn. 2 above. It is not clear whether Verdi had Florence S9In a letter to Arrivabene dated 22 March 1873 (see Abbiati
CENTURY or Rome in mind when he referred to the capital. III, 621, and Busch, p. 338), Verdi hints that the orchestra
MUSIC '0oLetter of 21 January 1872 (Luzio I, 140-41). had been augmented by players from both Milan and Bolo-
'02Letter of 30 January (Luzio I, 141-42). gna. This letter also refers to the orchestra as being largely
'03Luzio I, 142-44. composed of older players; on 15 April 1872, he complained
'"Letter to De Sanctis of 11 August 1872 (Luzio I, 155-56). to Piroli that the orchestra was composed both of players
'05Letter of 17 September 1872 (AIVS Reel S.A. 10). who were too old and others who were too young (Marchesi,
'06See letter of Verdi to Tito Ricordi, 4 October 1872 (Busch, p. 63.
p. 323), and to Giulio Ricordi, 10 October 1872 (AIVS Reel 120See Tito Ricordi's letter to Verdi of 20 December 1875
S.A. 10). (AIVS Reel S.A. 14).
'07Letter of 11 October 1872 (AIVS Reel S.A. 10). '2'Unpublished letter from Muzio to Giulio Ricordi, 15 Au-
'08Letter of 23 October 1872 (AIVS Reel S.A. 10). gust 1885 (AIVS Reel I-Mric Muzio #602). I am indebted to
109Letter of 20 March 1873 (Abbiati III, 622). Mr. Luke Jensen, who encountered the letter while doing re-
"1Letter of 16 April 1873 (Busch, p. 340). search at the Archivio Storico Ricordi in Milan, for drawing
"'Letter dated 9 April 1873 (Busch, p. 340). this document to my attention and furnishing me with a
"2G. B. Vallebona, Il teatro Carlo Felice: Cronistoria di un transcription. Several years later, Verdi evidently decided
secolo 1828-1928 (Genoa, 1928), p. 176. that these proportions might be increased. As plans were be-
"3See, for example, Ricordi's letter to Verdi dated 27 August ing made for a performance of Falstaff in Rome using mem-
1873 (Busch, p. 344). bers of the premiere company from Milan, an orchestral list
"4Letter to Vincenzo Luccardi, summer 1872 (Abbiati III, showing these exact proportions was sent to Verdi, who re-
594). plied that "65 players were rather few." See Verdi's letter to
"SSee Verdi's letters to Ricordi written during November Giulio Ricordi of 29 March 1893 (Abbiati IV, 502).
1871 in Busch, pp. 251-54. '22Letter of 10 December 1871 (Busch, p. 262).
"6Letter dated 9 March 1872 (Abbiati III, 564, and Busch, p. '"Letter of 13 January 1872 (Busch, p. 277). Verdi's com-
289). Busch mistakenly translated corista (pitch level) as ment about the trombones is further explained by a letter
"chorus master" in this passage, which should read: "2. that written to Giulio Ricordi on 24 December 1871, in which he
the orchestra be composed not of youths but of [experi- asks for a bass trombone to complement the trombone trio
enced] players and that it has tried out the new pitch level in instead of the bombardone that was usually employed. Ac-
a partial rehearsal before 3 April." cording to Verdi, the bombardone did not blend well with
17The contract, reproduced in Gustavo Marchesi, Giuseppe the trombones, and he instructs Ricordi that if a bass trom-
Verdi e il Conservatorio di Parma (1836-1901) (Parma, bone were too tiring or difficult to play, he would settle for
1976), p. 57, also states that both the orchestra and the stage an ophecleide that could reach low B. See Abbiati III, 525-
band must adopt the standard pitch, that the management 26; Busch, pp. 266-67.
must take responsibility for the quantity and quality of or- 124Mondo artistico, 16 February 1872, p. 2.
chestral players, and that the stage band must be composed 125Letter of 1 March 1869 in Alberti, pp. 99-100.
of the best players in the number specified by Ricordi. 126J. G. Prod'homme, "Verdi's Letters to Leon Escudier,"
118Ibid., p. 61. Music & Letters 4 (1923), 376-77.
134

746639

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

746639

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Verdi's Reform of the Italian Opera Orchestra

Author(s): Gregory W. Harwood

19th-Century Music X/2 (Fall 1986). ? by the Regents of the

SMALL ORCHESTRA MEDIUM ORCHESTRA LARGE ORCHESTRA

6-8 violins 12-16 violins 20-24-30 violins

From Bonifazio Asioli, II Maestro di composizione (Milan, [ca. 18301), p. [35].

Orchestral Disposition at La Scala.

Reggio Emilia, 1861 9 8 2 3 5 2 2 2 2 4 2 3 1 piccolo, bass drum, cymbals, s

Vienna, 1841-44 9 9 4 5 5 3 3 3 3 6 4 4 [1] if

Dj/rtibu fe -t0 ,Archftra cteltRi Teatrro&iTorin

A. Sito del Direttore dell'

Splegazione delle cifre

"o --- $ Viole EseVoie--Drco e rhses-E~eVie

Zweyte Violinciw Zweyte Violiill5e

0" de1 Scoe r

rste violinen. Dirgent. Brtschea.

Verdi, in fact, disapproved of the proposed

Ricordi's contract with the management of to mount a production o

Parma for a Performance of Verdi's Requiem in Trumpets 2 For grand operas: 4

Timpani 1 pleased with the results of his attempt to reform

Bottesini, who had conducted the world pre-

7The article "Schreiben eines in Italiens reisenden Deut-

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen