Mascagni Conducts Nerone
Introduction
One of the rare film footage of Mascagni is an extremely important
historical document showing the 73 year-old composer conducting his last
opera, Nerone, at La Scala in Milan.
It appears that the sequence was recorded for the movie Regina della
Scala on Thursday November 5, 1936, almost two years after the
premiere of Nerone at La Scala.
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Mascagni Conducting on November 5, 1936
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The dating of the fragment is based on two letters. The first one was
sent to Anna Lolli dated October 17, 1936, and mentions the plan to
film the excerpt:
"In compenso, alla Canzone di Egloge, ho voluto
aggiungere un brano della scena del triclinio al 3°
Atto, volendo dare l'impressione della grandiosità della messa
in scena e delle masse corali della Scala: il brano è breve e
termina con la morte d'Egloge."
"In addition to the aria of Egloge, I wanted to add an
excerpt from the scene of the triclinio in Act 3 in
order to give an impression of the greatness of the setting
and of the chorus of La Scala: the excerpt is short and ends
with the death of Egloge."
A subsequent letter to Jenner Mataloni, dated October 31,
1936, mentions that the filming of the two excerpts from Nerone
will take place on November 5 at La Scala in Milan. In this letter
Mascagni tries to make sure, given his new engagements at the
Reale theater in Rome starting on November 1, that everybody
and everything will be ready upon his arrival in Milan.
Epistolary sources: Mario Morini, Roberto Iovino, Alberto Paloscia,
Pietro Mascagni, Epistolario
Volume II, Libreria Musicale Italiana, 1997. Many thanks to
Michael Wilson for pointing out to this information!
Starting December 8, the opera had a series of 6 performances in Rome,
and starting the following April, a series of 5 performances
in Milan.
More Material?
The letters mentioned above, the fact that the video is
interrupted so early and the existence of audio recordings of
the arie sung by Margherita Carosio make it very likely that
more material exists. If you have more information about
Regina della Scala or other footage showing Mascagni,
please contact Mascagni.org.
It also appears that footage showing Mascagni conducting
Cavalleria Rusticana's Intermezzo and the Barcarolle from
Silvano exists as well. Any information on the subject is
welcome!
Contents of the Excerpt
After showing the billboard for Nerone in front of the Teatro alla Scala,
the video starts with Mascagni walking to the podium, saluting the audience,
shaking the hand of the first violin, and tapping with his baton to obtain silence before
starting the music. The excerpt then jumps to a part well into Act III (Scene II) where Egloge,
sung by Margherita Carosio, sings "O mio Nerone, io muoio!...". The excerpt is soon
interrupted.
Libretto
EGLOGE (con tristezza profonda)
O mio Nerone, io muoio!...
...La tua piccola rondine
ripiega l'ali... Il sole,
il caldo sole, ahimè,
s'oscura...
Download
You can download the video in DivX format or the soundtrack only in MP3 format.
You have to get the free DivX codec from
DivX.com  in order to play the movie on Windows,
Macintosh or Linux platforms.
| Performers |
Place and Date |
Duration |
Download / Play |
Egloge: Margherita Carosio
Conductor: Pietro Mascagni
Orchestra: Orchestra Teatro alla Scala, Milan
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Milan, November 5, 1936 |
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| DivX: |
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8162 KB |
| MP3: |
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1993 KB |
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Slide Show
The following is a slide show of regularly spaced snapshots
of the 1:42 video. Click on the individual pictures to see
larger versions.
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| Nerone billboard |
Walking towards the podium |
Walking towards the podium |
Saluting the audience |
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| Tapping the baton |
Raising the baton |
Act III, Scene II |
Act III, Scene II |
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| Conducting |
Conducting |
Conducting |
Close-up on the scene |
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| Close-up on the scene |
Close-up on the scene |
Close-up on the scene |
Loggias |
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| Loggias |
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