Adriano Bassi

Manzoni and Music Music in the “Promessi Sposi”

First of all, it should be underlined that this novel inspired many operas, since this subject was particularly fit for theatre transposition.
This is a sort of irony, as Manzoni himself did not think at all that his masterpiece could be used in this way. The proof of his lack of interest is found in the letters the novelist wrote to the composer Gambarana, who wished to set the novel to music.
Coming back to the various operas played, we can only mention the most important ones, since there is a number of musical versions of “Promessi Sposi”.
Who were the composers who set to music this novel that has all the elements that can be used by the musical theatre? There were many composers, among whom it is worth mentioning Bordese, Bresciani, Gervasi, Ponchielli, Petrella and Hazon.
Everybody of them tried to propose an original interpretation that could outrun the work of the other “colleagues”. But let us try to see these attempts in order.
The “Promessi Sposi” by Luigi Bordese was performed at the Teatro Nuovo in 1830 with a good audience success. This first example of a theatre play of Manzoni's masterpiece was positively judged also by critics, who waited for this event with curiosity.
Bordesi's experiment was soon followed by the work of Pietro Bresciani, a young composer who wanted to set the novel to music.
His work also met with a good success in Padua in 1833, three years after Bordese's composition.
Gervasi, too, was fascinated by the novel and a year later, on 19th January 1834, another version of the “Promessi Sposi”, written by the young composer, was staged at the Teatro Valle of Rome; yet this time the work turned out to be a complete fiasco.
And now let's talk about another young man, Amilcare Ponchielli, who decided to try his luck with Manzoni's novel. His readaptation, played on 30th August 1856 at the Teatro della Concordia of Rome, recorded an unprecedented success, even though the libretto was not one of the best.
In this case, music was the protagonist, improving the plot and at the same time concealing its defects.
Ponchielli was undoubtedly the right man in the right moment, having chosen a light music that made a great effect on the audience.
And what about Petrella? This composer from Lecco staged his version of the “Promessi Sposi” on 2nd October 1869 in Lecco at the Teatro Sociale, achieving a good success among both the public and critics.
In our century, another refined composer who carefully considers culture in its different aspects has been able to transpose the novel into a ballet of great visual effect.
We are talking about Roberto Hazon, a Milanese musician, who this year is going to play his new work he has been planning for years.
Finally the new work will have an original aspect that will give a new boots to this now historical novel.
After this purely informative digression, it is now time to talk about the use of music inside the novel and here there are a number of examples, mainly with regard to historical aspects.
The first element that offers the occasion for this sort of analysis is the uncle Earl, who with his undecided behaviour allows critics to create a similitude that relates not with music at the executive level, but rather with the image of the concert that is more acceptable to the poet.
Moreover, it should also be noted that Manzoni plays a very important role inside the novel through the continuous use of similitude.
There are also other aspects that stand out after a more careful analysis of the novel; for example, the song of the Bravi shows a folkloric character that has its roots into the history and tradition of the 17th century.
The piece sung by the “monatto” (the person who transports plague victims) (Chap. XXXIV) has also the same characteristics of the motif sung by the Bravi, which creates a stylistic continuity that finalizes in the chorus of priests in the church of Chiuso, a chant that is played on the occasion of the visit of Cardinale Borromeo.
As a result, it is possible to say that there are some connections between Manzoni' s novel and life, since music has a minimum importance for the poet, and is only used in some mundane occasions.