corner view: music

I created an operatic itinerary for myself in Italy this summer.

PUCCINI! I've always loved Lucca, Puccini's hometown, so I knew that it wouldn't disappoint, but Lago di Massaciuccoli, Puccini's later home, was a revelation. The decorations in his home had all the flair and style of the art nouveau posters that advertised his operas. And having the audioguide recorded by the Maestro's granddaughter was just icing on the cake (just like the icing on the cake in the competition for the best Puccini-inspired store window in Lucca). The lake, itself, was a serene jewel. I wish that I had had time to go to its nature reserve.

ROSSINI! Thanks, Rossini, for "forcing" me to go to Pesaro. There, I discovered the beach (for some reason I didn't think Pesaro was right on the beach); the lovely late 19th-century Italianate houses (at least we call them Italianate. I guess Italians just call them houses?); and the life al mare. Rossini's museum was .... well, underwelming. Most appalling, two rooms of his house were dedicated to an exhibition called "L'ingrassamento di Rossini."  It showed a series of portraits of how he had gained weight throughout his life. I have made all my close relatives swear to me that, should I ever create world-famous works of art, they never let my museum put my weight gain on display. Poor Gioacchino. (My family, by the way, thought it was a pretty safe bet to agree to my conditions.)

VERDI! Dear, beloved Giuseppe, until I have access to a car in Italy (and the nerve to drive one), I'm afraid that I won't be able to visit your homes. One day, we shall meet. Ti prometto.

GALILEI? The idea for opera--Hey! rather than a whole chorus singing about something, how about having one person sing at a time?--was developed among the Camerata de' Bardi in the late 1500s. (In an interesting side note, one of the members of the camerata was Vincenzo Galilei, Galileo's father.) Even knowing the address where the camerata met, I walked by this tiny, faded sign a few times in Florence before I located it. When you have a city as loaded with history and significant artistic events as Florence is, I guess poor opera gets second billing. [My town, in contrast, was briefly home to a young Langston Hughes (a poet in the Harlem Renaissance). We have two plaques marking where he lived and have named an elementary school after him. When you don't have a lot of history in your town, you have to exploit it with all you have.]

Puccini on opera: I will feel it as an Italian, with desperate passion. I think it's time to put on some Butterfly...

Corner View's theme this week is music. To experience a taste a note of music around the world, please visit Francesca's site and scroll through the comments.