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Speech - Holland, 1938
Introduction
Mascagni was invited to Holland to conduct five performances of
Cavalleria Rusticana from November 7 to November 11,
1938, both in The Hague and in Amsterdam. The November 7
performance in The Hague was later released on record (see the
discography, in
particular the Bongiovanni
recording). The day before, on November 6, 1938, presumably the
day of Mascagni's arrival in Holland, the following speech was
recorded.
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Mascagni in May 1938
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Mascagni in 1939
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Mascagni had already been to Holland in October or November
1899. This is most likely the trip he talks about in the 1938
speech.
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Antonio Melandri and Lina Bruna Rasa as Turiddu and Santuzza
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Short Analysis
Several people are present, in particular three speakers:
Mascagni, a certain Maestro De Vecchi 1, whom Mascagni credits with being
the instigator of his return to Holland 2, and an unknown moderator who intervenes
only briefly. There are a few more people in the audience,
judging by the applause. It appears that De Vecchi speaks for
L'Opera Italiana d'Olanda, a Dutch organization dedicated
to producing Italian operas (it should be noted that the
orchestra and chorus that Mascagni conducted the following day
are listed as Orchestra e coro dell'Opera Italiana
d'Olanda). Mascagni speaks in Italian and the other two
speakers in French. The rest of the audience probably
understands French, since De Vecchi is asked to summarize
Mascagni's speech in French.
The speech is divided into two parts:
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In the first part, Mascagni officially tells of his
pleasure to be in Holland and thanks Maestro De Vecchi.
Maestro De Vecchi returns the compliments.
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In the second part, Mascagni recounts more informally
some anecdotes related to his first visit in Holland
forty years before, in particular a speech he had to
give in Dutch, and the story of a medal he received from
two officers from the Transvaal 3. Maestro De Vecchi
summarizes Mascagni's speech for the French-speaking
audience.
The audio source is interrupted twice:
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Between De Vecchi's speech and Mascagni's recounting
of his anecdotes
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In the middle of De Vecchi's final summary
In addition, Mascagni starts his speech expressing gratitude for
the words addressed to him. This implies that somebody spoke
before him. Therefore, there seems to be at least three gaps in
the audio document presented here, including one during which
Mascagni was the speaker. Indeed, De Vecchi's summary in French
implies that a significant part of Mascagni's speech is missing,
in particular the following elements:
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The introduction to his stories
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The compliments received from the queen of Holland
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The orchestra of La Scala and the cities visited
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The military review and celebrations 4
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The reason Mascagni does not learn another language besides Italian
The interruption in De Vecchi's summary is probably short, but
a few words or even sentences may be missing.
De Vecchi pronounces French perfectly, but his grammar is
sometimes incorrect. In particular his use of dont is
incorrect two times out of three, and he commits Italianisms
such as croire de savoir (instead of croire
savoir) and l'Hollandais (instead of le
Hollandais). This may have been due to the difficulty of
the improvisation. It is also possible that he was not a native
French speaker, in spite of his excellent pronunciation.
Why did Mascagni have to make a speech "in the language of the
Transvaal"? Had the speech been in actual Dutch, Mascagni would
probably have simply said "in Dutch", but here he makes it clear
that the language was the Dutch variant spoken in the
Transvaal.
It is very unlikely, if not impossible, that Mascagni traveled
to the Transvaal. Such a long trip would have been remembered,
and there would be traces of it in the literature. In addition,
it is difficult to see any reason why Mascagni would have gone
to such a remote and unstable place.
It is more probable that Mascagni met a delegation from the
Transvaal during his first trip to Holland. The Boer War in
South Africa between Britain and the two republics of Transvaal
and Orange Free State started in October 1899, exactly at the
time Mascagni was in Holland. The war must have been the subject
of the moment, and Holland must have had a close relationship
with the Transvaal.
Mascagni must have met the officers from the Transvaal in Rome
shortly before, or during the war. The speech hints that they
had heard about the speech Mascagni pronounced (but did he
write it?) during his visit in Holland in late 1899. This would
place the encounter between November 1899 and May 1902, date of
the end of the war.
Recording
You can download or play the complete recording or the
individual parts:
| Title |
Performers |
Place and Date |
Duration |
Download / Play |
| "Complete" |
Voice: Pietro Mascagni
Voice: Maestro De Vecchi
Voice: Moderator
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The Hague, November 6, 1938 |
9: 13 |
| MP3: |
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7098 KB |
| Ogg: |
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4982 KB |
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| "Part I" |
Voice: Pietro Mascagni
Voice: Maestro De Vecchi
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The Hague, November 6, 1938 |
2: 47 |
| MP3: |
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2058 KB |
| Ogg: |
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1483 KB |
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| "Part II" |
Voice: Pietro Mascagni
Voice: Maestro De Vecchi
Voice: Moderator
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The Hague, November 6, 1938 |
4: 41 |
| MP3: |
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3686 KB |
| Ogg: |
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2597 KB |
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| "Part III" |
Voice: Maestro De Vecchi
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The Hague, November 6, 1938 |
1: 44 |
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Transcription
The following transcription tries to be as faithful to the
original speech as possible. It is accompanied with a literal
English translation.
| Speaker |
Original Language |
English Translation |
| Mascagni |
Signor direttore, io La ringrazio infinitamente per le
parole che mi ha indirizzato. Lasciamo stare quello che
ha detto della mia opera. Io sono venuto qui appunto per
far sentire l'interpretazione mia, personale, quindi, si
può immaginare che sia la più diretta della mia opera.
E ci son venuto con tutto il cuore anche perché da
troppi anni manco da questo paese così dolce com'è
l'Olanda.
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Mister director, I thank you endlessly for the words you
have just addressed to me. Let's not talk about what you
said of my opera. I have come here with the purpose of
presenting my own, personal, and therefore, one can
imagine, the most direct possible interpretation of my
opera. And I have come here with all my heart because I
have missed this sweet country that is Holland for too
many years.
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Io sono stato qui in Olanda e non ho mai dimenticato
quella mia gita per quanto sia lontana negli anni. E ne
ho riportato sempre un ricordo molto grato, molto
simpatico. Oggi, nella mia vecchiaia torno in questo
paese così dolce, e ne sono lieto, e ne sono confortato.
Io prego, a suo mezzo, di portare il mio saluto pieno di
affetto e pieno di entusiasmo a questa nobile
popolazione che saluto con tutto il cuore.
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I have been here in Holland before and I have never
forgotten my trip even after so many years. And I have
always kept a thankful and pleasant memory of it. Today,
in my old age, I come back to this sweet country, and I
am happy and comforted. I ask, by your intermediary, to
give my greetings full of affection and enthusiasm to
that noble people that I greet with all my heart.
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| De Vecchi |
Grazie mille.
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Thank you very much.
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| Audience |
Applause
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| Mascagni |
Bisogna che dica un ringraziamento al Maestro De Vecchi,
il quale è stato l'ispiratore della mia nuova venuta in
Olanda ed io sono lieto qui di salutarlo personalmente.
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I have to thank Maestro De Vecchi, who has been the
instigator of my new trip to Holland and I am now happy
to salute him personally.
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| De Vecchi |
Excellence, c'est avec une profonde fierté que nous
avons vécu les journées qui précédèrent votre arrivée en
Hollande. L'Opera Italiana 5 est comme une grande
famille, dont tout le monde concourt avec la plus grande
bonne volonté à la réalisation des opéras italiens, qui
sont dans le monde immortels. Aujourd'hui, la Hollande
se prépare à vous acclamer, la Hollande qui vous
connaît et vous aime profondément. Et moi en tout
premier, et au nom de tous mes collaborateurs: maestri,
artistes, choristes, et de toute la grande famille de
l'Opera Italiana, je suis fier et orgueilleux de vous
porter notre salut profond et dévoué.
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Excellency, it is with great pride that we have spent
the days preceding your arrival in Holland. L'Opera
Italiana is like a big family, in which everybody helps
with the greatest good will to produce the Italian
operas, which are immortal in the world. Today, Holland
is preparing to acclaim you, Holland that knows you and
loves you deeply. And I am the first, in the name of all
my colleagues: the maestri, the soloists, the chorus,
and the large family of L'Opera Italiana, to be proud
and delighted to give you our deep and devoted
salutation.
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| Audience |
Applause
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| Mascagni |
[...] Quindi io dovevo parlare in Italiano, ma però ci
fu chi rimediò a questa mia deficienza e mi prepararono
un discorso, che fu per me una commozione. Io non lo
potevo comprendere perché. Ma c'avevo quello che mi
suggeriva. Avevamo fatto le prove prima con tutte le
regole. Io ripetevo parola per parola con la stessa sua
edizione verbale quello che mi diceva. Era disteso a
terra, aveva la sua lampada, aveva le sue carte davanti,
mi diceva tutte le parole e io le ripetevo con una
precisione che tutti hanno creduto che io parlassi
nella lingua del Transvaal. Era l'epoca di
Krüger 6, signori. Era l'epoca
dolorosa per quel popolo. Ed io avevo in
tasca una medaglietta che ho anche ora perché non la
lascio mai.
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[...] So I had to speak in Italian, but somebody fixed
this deficiency of mine and prepared a speech that was a
sensation for me. I could not understand why. But I did
as he suggested. We had rehearsed before with all the
rules. He spoke to me and I repeated word for word what
he said with his own enunciation. He was lying on the
floor, he had his lantern, he had his cards in front of
him, he told me all the words and I repeated them with
such a precision that everybody thought that I spoke the
language of the Transvaal. Those were the times of
Krüger, gentlemen. Those were painful times for this
people. And I had in my pocket a medal that I still have
with me now, because I always have it with me.
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Io mi trovavo a Roma, quando vidi entrare due ufficiali stranieri che si
misero a fare colazione nel ristorante dove ero io ch'era il ristorante
Colonna 7 in piazza
Colonna. A un certo punto questi due ufficiali cominciarono a guardarmi.
Poi chiamarono il direttore del ristorante, e domandarono se io ero il
Maestro Mascagni. "Sì sì è lui!" Allora questi due ufficiali non potettero
rimanere al loro posto. Si alzarono di scatto e vennero ad abbracciarmi. Ed
io non capivo il perché. "Siamo due ufficiali del Transvaal. Siamo qui per
comprare armi in Europa per la nostra nazione. Noi abbiamo saputo qui a
Roma che voi avete parlato di noi, del nostro esercito, del nostro
presidente, Krüger, in modo così affettoso che veniamo a compire un dovere
naturale: abbracciarvi come un fratello." "Io - disse il più anziano - non
ho nulla da darvi qui perché sono preso alla sprovvista e partiamo questa
sera per Parigi, ma c'ho una cosa che m'interessa più di tutto: Krüger
portavo una medaglina sul petto. Io compii qualche atto di valore alla
presenza del mio presidente. Egli mi chiamò e mi disse: 'Non bastano tutte
le decorazioni. Ecco che cosa vi do: vi do questa mia medaglina!' Se la
strappò dal petto e me la puntò sul mio petto. Eccola qui! Adesso io me la
strappo e la do al Maestro Mascagni!"
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I was in Rome, when I saw two foreign officers enter and start their
breakfast in the restaurant where I was, which was the restaurant Colonna,
in piazza Colonna. At some point, these two officers started to look at me.
Then they called the director of the restaurant and asked if I was Maestro
Mascagni. "Yes, yes, it's him!" Then those two officers could no longer
remain there. They immediately stood up and came to hug me. And I did not
understand why. "We are two officers from the Transvaal. We are here to buy
weapons in Europe for our country. We have learned here in Rome that you
have talked about us, of our army, of our president, Krüger, in such an
affectionate way that we come here to perform a very natural duty: hug you
like a brother." The elder said, "I have nothing to give you because I did
not expect this and we are leaving tonight for Paris, but I have something
that interests me more than anything: Krüger wore a medal on his chest. I
acted with valor in the presence of my president. He called me and said:
'It's not enough to have all the decorations. This is what I am giving you:
I give you this medal of mine.' He ripped it off his chest and pinned it on
my chest. Here it is! Now I rip it off and I give it to Maestro Mascagni!"
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Signori se permettete ve la mostro perché, vi ripeto,
l'ho sempre qui con me.
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Gentlemen if you will allow me, I will show it to you
because, I repeat it, I always have it with me.
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Più che tutto è un capolavoro di medaglia. Eccola... E
non la lascio mai.
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More than anything it is a masterpiece of a medal. Here
it is... And I always keep it with me.
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| Moderator |
Maestro De Vecchi, euh...
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Maestro De Vecchi, uh...
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| Mascagni |
Ora questa medaglina qui mi porta fortuna perché non non... Quando seppero
qui questi episodi miei, vollero appunto darmi questa festa, che fu una
festa enorme, straordinaria, fuochi di Bengala, fuochi d'artificio, insomma,
no. La festa cominciò all'una dopo mezzanotte, e terminò alle quattro dopo
mezzanotte, con tutta la popolazione per festare. Questo è il più
bell'episodio che io ricordo di tutti miei viaggi all'estero. E sono ben
lieto di riperterlo qui, in questa città ch'è la capitale dell'Olanda.
Grazie tante.
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Now this medal here brings me luck because... When they heard here these
stories of mine, they immediately wanted to give me a party, which was a
huge, extraordinary party, "Bengal fires", fireworks... The party started at
one in the morning, and ended at four in the morning, with all the
population partying. This is the most beautiful episode that I remember of
all my trips to foreign countries. And I am happy to repeat it here, in this
city, which is the capital of Holland. Many thanks.
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| Moderator |
Monsieur De Vecchi, voulez-vous, très court, traduire
les choses les plus importantes que monsieur Mascagni a
dites?
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Mister De Vecchi, would you like, shortly, to translate the
most important things that mister Mascagni said?
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| De Vecchi |
Oui monsieur avec plaisir. Son Excellence Mascagni
d'abord se déclare très heureux de son retour en
Hollande et se déclare aussi bien heureux de pouvoir
vous raconter quelques épisodes de son voyage il y a 40
ans et de sa visite ici en Hollande. Il dit que la chose
qui l'a le plus touché et qui est pour lui un souvenir
vraiment inoubliable de sa vie, c'est la visite et
c'est les compliments reçus par la gracieuse reine Sa
Majesté alors en Hollande. Ce souvenir est parmi les
plus chers qu'il a de sa longue carrière artistique.
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Absolutely, with pleasure. His Excellency Mascagni
first says that he is very happy to come back to Holland
and to be able to tell you a few stories of his trip 40
years ago and of his visit here in Holland. He says that
the thing that touched him the most and that is for him
a memory that he will never forget, is the visit and the
compliments received from the gracious queen Her Majesty
then in Holland. This memory is among the dearest he has
in all his artistic career.
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[...] il a été en Hollande à la tête de l'orchestre de
La Scala où il était pour diriger une série de concerts
à la Haye, à Amsterdam et à Rotterdam. Il se rappelle
également des grandes fêtes qui ont été faites en cet
honneur et il a eu l'occasion d'assister à une grande
fête, une grande revue militaire dont toutes les rues et
tout était orné de bannières et de drapeaux et de
lampions.
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[...] he was in Holland with the Orchestra of La Scala,
where he was to conduct a series of concerts in the
Hague, Amesterdam and Rotterdam. He also remembers the
celebrations given in this honor, and he had the
opportunity to attend a great celebration, a military
review, with all the streets decorated with banners,
flags and Chinese lanterns.
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Après une petite interruption, Son Excellence raconte
qu'il parle en italien parce que, pour une raison très
simple: il ne croit pas encore savoir assez la langue
italienne et il n'étudie aucune autre langue pour se
dédier complètement a l'étude de l'italien. Il dit que
si, comme nous espérons, sa vie sera très longue, quand
il aura fini, quand il croira de savoir bien la langue
italienne, il commencera par étudier une autre langue
qui sera l'hollandais. Puis, il raconte un épisode, une
médaille qui lui a été donnée par des officiers dans le
Transvaal 8 quand il a fait un discours
justement dans une langue étrangère et qui était soufflé
et dont il ne savait pas la signification. Il a fait une
répétition générale. Il termine en se disant très
heureux et très content de sa visite et de son retour en
Hollande.
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After a short interruption, His Excellency explains
that he speaks in Italian because, for a very simple
reason: he does not believe that he knows Italian well
enough and he does not study any other language, so that
he can dedicate himself entirely to the study of
Italian. He says that if, as we hope, his life is very
long, when he is done, when he believes he knows
Italian well enough, he will start studying another
language, which will be Dutch. Then, he tells a story
about a medal that was given to him by officers in the
Transvaal when he gave a speech in a foreign language,
with a prompter and without knowing its meaning. He did
a rehearsal. He concludes saying that he is very happy
of his visit and his coming back to Holland.
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- The spelling
may be incorrect
- Guido
Tartoni, in his liner notes for the Bongiovanni recording,
credits the invitation to the widow of a certain Cav. De Hondt,
a man who had worked to import Italian opera to Holland every
winter.
- Former
province of South Africa
- De Vecchi
may have mixed this with the celebrations Mascagni mentions
at the end
- L'Opera Italiana
d'Olanda, a Dutch organization dedicated to producing
Italian operas
- Stephanus Johannes Paulus Krüger,
president of the Transvaal, South Africa
(1883-1902)
- The spelling may be incorrect
- See the discussion above regarding
the improbability that Mascagni went to the
Transvaal.
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