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Â Master of Italian opera: Giacomo Puccini

Puccini is one of the major figures of the Italian opera in the 19th and 20th centuries, an artist who tried to break away from the cultural and artistic movements of his time. He was born in Lucca on December 22, 1858, and died in November 1924 in Brussels after major throat surgery. During his life, he composed a limited number of works â 12 to be exact â because his main interest was to improve his theatrical skills to create “perfect” works.
VarietÃ
(vah-ryeh-
tah
) (
variety
),
velocitÃ
(veh-loh-chee-
tah
) (
speed
)
,
and
trovate sceniche
(troh-
vah
-tehÂ
sheh
-nee-keh) (
stage tricks
) are the basic ingredients of his theater. Among Puccini's operas,
La Boheme, Tosca,
and
Madama Butterfly
are still the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire.

The public, although sometimes taken aback by his unique style, always followed and supported Puccini. Music critics, however, remained
ostili
(oh-
stee
-lee) (
hostile
) and suspicious until the last decade of the century, when his work was reevaluated and highly appreciated by the greatest authors of his time, including Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Webern, and Ravel.

Opera seria

During the 18th century,
i poeti
(ee poh-
eh
-tee) (
poets
) who were members of the Academy of Arcadia (a literary academy founded in Rome in 1690) influenced the Italian musical drama. They encouraged the simplification
delle trame
(
dehl
-leh
trah
-meh) (
of the plots
), the elimination of comic subjects, the reduction of the number of arias, and exalted the values of
fedeltÃ
(feh-dehl-
tah
) (
fidelity
),
amicizia
(ah-mee-
chee
-tsyah) (
friendship
), and
virtÃ¹
(veer-
tooh
) (
virtue
) present in the ancient
teatro tragico
(teh-
ah
-troh
trah
-jee-koh) (
tragic theater
) and in the modern French performances.

Popular Italian music

You may sometimes find that
il testo
(eel
teh
-stoh) (
the lyrics
) of many
canzoni popolari italiane
(kahn-
tsoh
-nee poh-poh-
lah
-ree ee-tah-lee-
ah
-neh) (
popular Italian songs
) sound much like
poesia
(poh-eh-
see
-ah) (
poetry
), and for good reason â many of these song lyrics were written by poets. For instance, Pasquale Panella wrote for Lucio Battisti; Roberto Roversi, for Lucio Dalla; Manlio Sgalambro, for Franco Battiato; and Alda Merini, for Milva. Many poets of the past have also inspired contemporary
cantanti
(kahn-
tahn
-tee) (
singers
) and
cantautori
(kahn-tah-ooh-
toh
-ree) (
singer-songwriters
); you can find hints of Edgar Lee Masters's and Yeats's poems, respectively, in
canzoni
(kahn-
tsoh
-nee) (
songs
) by Fabrizio De AndrÃ© and those of Angelo Branduardi.

Sanremo,
the most popular Italian song festival, has had a key role in the music world since its inception in 1951. It's a singing contest for Italian performers that serves to gauge the popular trends in Italian music. Typical
Sanremo
songs use simple and catchy
ritornelli
(ree-tohr-
nehl
-lee) (
refrains
), rich in monosyllables, as in the famous song by Domenico Modugno
“Volare . . . oh, oh! / Cantare . . . oh, oh, oh, oh!”
from
Nel blu dipinto di blu
(Nehl blooh dee-
peen
-toh dee blooh) (
In the blue, painted blue
), 1958.

Modugno's style characterized the 1950s.
I critici musicali
(ee
kree
-tee-chee mooh-see-
kah
-lee) (
music critics
) argue that this style, which had several traits in common with the language of opera, brought about musical and linguistic innovations and inspired other singers, such as Mina and Adriano Celentano. The 1960s were marked by the emergence of not one but several popular Italian singer-songwriters, mostly from Genoa (Gino Paoli, Bruno Lauzi, Luigi Tenco, and Fabrizio De AndrÃ©). They, along with Lucio Battisti, Lucio Dalla, Francesco Guccini, and Franco Battiato, bridged the '60s to the '70s, a decade characterized by songs with
temi politici
(
teh
-mee poh-
lee
-tee-chee) (
political themes
).

Since the 1980s, up to the 21st century, Italian songs have seen a gradual increase in the use of foreign languages (mainly English and Spanish), dialects, and
turpiloquio
(toohr-pee-
loh
-kwyoh) (
foul language
). In addition to the frequent use of English and informal, sometimes almost trivial, registers, in the songs of this period, you'll find references to sex, alcohol, and drugs, often presented through the
metafora
(meh-
tah
-foh-rah) (
metaphor
) of the “journey.” Cinema, television, and advertising are common themes in the works of famous
contemporanei
(kohn-tehm-poh-
rah
-nehy) (
contemporary
) Italian pop-rock singers, including Vasco Rossi, Ligabue, Gianna Nannini, and Jovanotti, who was on tour in the United States in 2012.

Inviting Fun

Getting or giving
un invito
(oohn een-
vee
-toh) (
an invitation
) is always a pleasurable experience. A party (
una festa
) (
ooh
-nah
fehs
-tah) is a good opportunity to meet new people. In Italian, the verb
invitare
(een-vee-
tah
-reh) frequently means to treat someone to something. For example, if someone says
Posso invitarti a teatro?
(
pohs
-soh een-vee-
tahr
-tee ah teh-
ah
-troh?) (
May I invite you to the theater?
), it means that the person is going to make the arrangements and pay for you.

The following expressions are other ways to suggest an activity:

Che ne pensa di andare a Roma?
(keh neh
pehn
-sah dee ahn-
dah
-reh ah
roh
-mah?) (
What do you think of going to Rome?
[formal])

Che ne dici di uscire stasera?
(keh neh
dee
-chee dee ooh-
shee
-reh stah-
seh
-rah?) (
What do you say about going out tonight?
[informal])

Andiamo in piscina!
(ahn-
dyah
-moh in pee-
shee
-nah!) (
Let's go to the swimming pool!
)

Mangiamo una pizza!
(mahn-
jah
-moh
ooh
-nah
peet
-tsah!) (
Let's eat a pizza!
)

PerchÃ© non andiamo a teatro?
(pehr-
keh
nohn ahn-
dyah
-moh ah teh-
ah
-troh?) (
Why don't we go to the theater?
)

You can see that suggesting an activity in Italian isn't so different from the way you do it in English. You can ask
PerchÃ© non . . .
(pehr-
keh
nohn . . .) (
Why don't we . . .
) or
Che ne pensi . . .
(keh neh
pehn
-see . . .) (
What do you think about . . .
).

The word
perchÃ©
is special. It's used in this chapter to ask the question
why?
However, it can also mean
because.
A dialogue can go like this:

PerchÃ© non mangi?
(pehr-
keh
nohn
mahn
-jee?) (
Why aren't you eating?
)

PerchÃ© non ho fame.
(pehr-
keh
nohn oh
fah
-meh.) (
Because I'm not hungry.
)

Nowadays, you can issue and receive invitations any number of ways. You can receive an invitation by phone or e-mail, or your
ospite
(
oh
-spee-teh) (
host
) may ask you face to face.

Talkin' the Talk

Guido will have a party at his house next Saturday. He calls Sara to invite her. (Track 19)