1911-2007
Gian Carlo Menotti
Leading Italian American Composer
Perhaps the most renowned composer
of our time Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007)
was born in Cadegliano, Italy, one of ten children
of a well to do family. Learning the basics of music
from his mother, he actually wrote his first opera at
age eleven. He then studied at the prestigious
Milan Conservatory
of our time Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007)
was born in Cadegliano, Italy, one of ten children
of a well to do family. Learning the basics of music
from his mother, he actually wrote his first opera at
age eleven. He then studied at the prestigious
Milan Conservatory
in Philadelphia upon arriving in the
United States in 1927. Menotti attained
enormous success with his 1937 opera
"Amelia Goes to the Ball,"
AMELIA GOES
TO THE BALL
Overture
Nino Sanzogno, Conductor
a witty satire on society manners
that was performed at the
Metropolitan Opera House in
1938. In 1939 Menotti composed
a couple of radio operas such as
"The Old Maid and the Thief"
THE OLD MAID
AND THE THIEF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHgCFpgUIQk
It was one of the earliest operas composed
specifically for performance on the radio.
The opera was premiered on NBC on April
22, 1939, and was first staged in
Philadelphia on February 11, 1941.
and "The Island God."
THE ISLAND GOD
Interludes from the opera
Leopold Stokowski, Conductor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWnG8XZ2qXo
Interludes from the opera
Leopold Stokowski, Conductor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWnG8XZ2qXo
This was followed in 1941
with "The Medium,"
THE MEDIUM
(Studio One, 1948)
with "The Medium,"
THE MEDIUM
(Studio One, 1948)
https://archive.org/details/StudioOneTheMedium1948
https://archive.org/details/StudioOneTheMedium1948
a chamber opera (one requiring
fewer singers and a smaller
orchestra) that is a tragedy about
a medium. Menotti also wrote the
libretto for famed composer
Samuel Barber's
fewer singers and a smaller
orchestra) that is a tragedy about
a medium. Menotti also wrote the
libretto for famed composer
Samuel Barber's
opera "Vanessa."
Vanessa
San Diego Opera Spotlight
San Diego Opera Spotlight
Based on a novel by Isak Dinesen
(Out of Africa) this 1958 opera was
an instant hit and won the Pulitzer
Prize for Music
"Amahl and the Night Visitors,"
AMAHL AND THE
NIGHT VISITORS
With an Introduction
Given By Menotti Himself
composed by Menotti in 1951and the first opera written
for television, is one of his most enduring works. This
opera which features a lame shepherd boy who gives
his crutch to the three Wise men as a gift for the Christ
Child, has become a Christmas favorite. Of more
substantial nature are Menotti's "The Consul"
THE CONSUL
and "The Saint of Bleeker Street," both of which won
the Pulitzer Prize. These and other works he
composed demonstrate the variety of structural styles
he employs as well as his acquaintance with the
Puccini sense of tragedy and popular appeal. A
promoter of serious music in 1958 Menotti established
the Festival for Two Worlds, for opera, music and
drama, in Spoleto, Italy.
Gian Carlo Menotti
In His Own Words:
"What will the critics write when I die? I really
don't know. And I hope I'll have better things
to do than read the newspapers, then. When
I was alive, they wrote all kinds of things.
Better yet, the Italian critics mostly wrote that
I am not a contemporary composer. Because
most critics want to be the ones who decide
everything about art, about time, about life
itself. Success doesn't count; no, it even
makes you suspect."
"What is fame? Years ago I had to drive
from Spoleto to my hometown, Cadegliano,
in the North. We were driving too fast, and
close to Varese we were stopped by the
police. I didn't have my driving license. I'm
Gian Carlo Menotti, I said. Who? I was
finally recognized by the lady who ran a
bakery in my home town. She didn't know
my work, she just remembered me as my
momma's son."
"My secret? How to age gracefully? Never
commit dates to memory, especially
historical ones. I don't know when
Cristoforo Colombo discovered America,
but I know America very well -- it's way
more important. Second: I love flowers,
their colors and scents; but I don't know
their names. Third: call the doctor only
in cases of real emergency."
"I have to walk with a cane now: when
I was young, the upper part of my body
didn't work that well, the lower part
instead worked great. Now that I'm 90,
it's the other way around."
"I've always felt guilty, that I wasn't
doing enough for others. And I've felt a
constant terror, the terror to be useless...
If I had Verdi's gift, the abilty to inspire
the masses with music, I'd be satisfied.
But I don't have that gift, I am aware of
my own limitations, and I try to do
something different. See, art nowadays
is an exotic plant that humanity does
not recognize, and does not understand.
The artist, an ornament to society, not
an essential part of it. One writes,
but for whom?"
don't know. And I hope I'll have better things
to do than read the newspapers, then. When
I was alive, they wrote all kinds of things.
Better yet, the Italian critics mostly wrote that
I am not a contemporary composer. Because
most critics want to be the ones who decide
everything about art, about time, about life
itself. Success doesn't count; no, it even
makes you suspect."
"What is fame? Years ago I had to drive
from Spoleto to my hometown, Cadegliano,
in the North. We were driving too fast, and
close to Varese we were stopped by the
police. I didn't have my driving license. I'm
Gian Carlo Menotti, I said. Who? I was
finally recognized by the lady who ran a
bakery in my home town. She didn't know
my work, she just remembered me as my
momma's son."
"My secret? How to age gracefully? Never
commit dates to memory, especially
historical ones. I don't know when
Cristoforo Colombo discovered America,
but I know America very well -- it's way
more important. Second: I love flowers,
their colors and scents; but I don't know
their names. Third: call the doctor only
in cases of real emergency."
"I have to walk with a cane now: when
I was young, the upper part of my body
didn't work that well, the lower part
instead worked great. Now that I'm 90,
it's the other way around."
"I've always felt guilty, that I wasn't
doing enough for others. And I've felt a
constant terror, the terror to be useless...
If I had Verdi's gift, the abilty to inspire
the masses with music, I'd be satisfied.
But I don't have that gift, I am aware of
my own limitations, and I try to do
something different. See, art nowadays
is an exotic plant that humanity does
not recognize, and does not understand.
The artist, an ornament to society, not
an essential part of it. One writes,
but for whom?"
GIAN CARLO MENOTTI:
LINKS
THE TELEPHONE
Part 1
Rebecca Caine, David Barrell
BBC Concert Orchestra
THE TELEPHONE
Part 2
Rebecca Caine, David Barrell
BBC Concert Orchestra
LINKS
