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100 Stories Behind Classical Music
Rossini: Othello
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Nothing inspires more than an urgent need. The scribe waited, and the manager rushed to pull his hair, which was the greatest help for creation
- Rossini
One of Shakespeare's four great tragedies, Othello, was written in 1601. Judging from the plot alone, it is definitely a rare good drama: it perfectly blends the themes of love and jealousy, cronies and betrayal, and interracial marriage. Coupled with the handwriting of famous artists, when it premiered in London on November 1, 1604, it was crowded.
The success of the play and the good reputation accumulated over the years led the theater to germinate the idea of converting it into an opera. To this end, the relevant person in charge approached the Italian composer Rossini and invited him to complete this difficult task.
Rossini was one of the three masters of Italian opera in the first half of the 19th century, and most of his operas were widely praised by the music industry and audiences. It was wise for the theater to invite him, and of course Rossini himself expressed a strong enthusiasm for the work.
The adaptation of Shakespeare's famous Othello was his long-standing wish, but Rossini lived in an era of feudal restoration throughout Europe, and in order to survive he had to cater to the tastes of the ruling class and the nobility, writing a large number of operas full of court art, but rarely had the opportunity to create according to his own wishes. Now that the opportunity is knocking automatically, is there any reason to give up?
Of course, the talented composer also has his own faults, Rossini's shortcoming is that he has severe procrastination, and he will never bury his head in hard work until the end, and he even says that the composer must be "in a hurry".
The same is true of the creation of "Othello", the day before the opera is about to be performed, the overture has not yet been created! The manager of the theater was anxious to burn his eyebrows, and he could not do this: he locked up Rossini and said that the overture was not written, and he was not allowed to leave...
Fortunately, before the performance, Rossini completed the overture of "Othello" as promised, which made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
Later, a Newspaper in Naples published an open letter from Rossini replying to the audience, in which a gentleman asked, "I have a nephew who wants to be a real musician, but he does not know how to write a prelude to his opera." Mr. Rossini, what is your construction? ”
The startling reply came: "When I was performing my opera, all the Italian managers were bald in their thirties, and they all rushed themselves into this picture because they were too tightly urged. When I was writing the Othello overture, I was locked in a hotel hut by the theater owner, giving me only a plate of macaroni every day, not even a vegetable on it. This was the baldest, most ruthless boss, and he even threatened me: Don't come up with this house if you don't finish the last note of the overture.
He also found someone to stare at me, and whenever I finished writing a page, he threw the manuscript out of the window and handed it to the scribe; if I couldn't finish it, he threw me out of the window. So, let your nephew try this too: shut him up, let him smell the tempting taste of foie gras pie but don't give him to eat..."
Text/Tea Tea Spotted Bamboo
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Othello
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