• “Un bacio”—ancora? Un altro “bacio”!

    Author(s):
    Arthur Maisel (see profile)
    Date:
    2018
    Subject(s):
    Musical analysis, Opera
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    giuseppe verdi, Music analysis
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6BN8T
    Abstract:
    It is difficult to credit the usual explanation that the mere fact of the “bacio” theme’s recapitulation in act 4 of Verdi’s Otello accounts for its powerful effect. Even the irony of dramatic circumstances radically altered from those it accompanied when introduced in act 1 seems insufficient to explain the complex impact of the theme’s return. If, however, its recurrence represents the culmination of musical processes at work throughout the opera, then the effect is understandable. This paper uses a Schenkerian approach to demonstrate that such processes, in the form of motivic transformations and musical-verbal associations, are in fact under way from the very beginning though sometimes hidden below the surface.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    6 years ago
    License:
    Attribution-NonCommercial
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