Verdian lyric theatre. Hermeneutics of the performance and contemporary challenges

Abstract

Engaging the viewer in a dialogue with the opera of Giuseppe Verdi is an approach that involves him spiritually, culturally, morally. You can enter this universe of opera music through several gates. The wide path of science will walk through the portal of stylistics, aesthetics, philosophy or art history. On another road comes the profane, motivated by the love for the beautiful. The opera Nabucco was the first step in the evolution of Italian lyrical theatre – from melodrama to realistic drama – characterised by the unity and strength of artistic conception, the energy and simplicity of musical language. Verdi’s dramatic sense and affinity for realism propelled him over time into the role of composer- playwright, his name being closely linked to titles such as: Ernani, Luisa Miller, Macbeth, Othello, Falstaff. However, we can note in recent decades the lack or low presence of important titles among Verdian operas in the repertoire of lyrical theatres. Can the contemporary public still receive this composer’s authentic message? Can current performers wear the clothes of truthful characters and meet the composer’s requirements for the vocal approach? The mission of hermeneutics – this interdisciplinary science – is to discover, as far as possible, the mechanisms of the interpretation of a social phenomenon (as the opera of Giuseppe Verdi has been repeatedly perceived), and its reminiscences in contemporary society.