GOLDSMITHS' COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON THE OPERATIC MAD SCENE: ITS ORIGINS AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT UP TO C. 1700 A THESISSUBMITTEDIN PARTIAL FULFILMENTOF THE REGULATIONS FORTHE DEGREEOF DOCTOROF PHILOSOPHY BY NAOMI MATSUMOTO LONDON OCTOBER 2004 LORD1L ( ABSTRACT This thesisinvestigatesthe origins of the operaticmad scene,its developmentup to c.1700, and questionsof its definition and meaning. ChaptersI and 2 trace the traditionsbehindmusico-theatricalportrayalsof insanity from ancienttimes through to the Renaissance; Italian examplesof "mad" and in Chapter3 seventeenth-century operasare codified and examined.Chapters4-6 discussthe disseminationof the 'ýmad"operathroughFrance,England,Spain,Germanyand Austria, andthe relevant indigenousmusicalandtheatricalconventionsof eachcountryarediscussed. Having reconstructedthe surviving repertory,in Chapters7 and 8, the textual, prosodic, behaviouraland musical topoi used in associationwith such works are examined.The difficulties of attemptingto establishpurely musical signifiers for operaticinsanity are demonstrated,and other meansof approachinga definition are suggested.In Chapter8, the forms andusesof aria,recitative,recitativesoliloquy and arioso are analysed,and their contributions to the musical characterisationof the insaneexplored.In Chapter9 the insights alreadygaM'edare brought togetherin a casestudyof Iro from Monteverdi'sR ritorno di Nisse in patria. The final chapterattemptsto constructa typology of madnessin seventeenth centuryoperabasedpartly on literary criteria. It theorisesthe notion of fictive truth as a contractbetweenthe audience,the composerand librettist, and the protagoniston the stage.Next, the functions of mad characterswithin the plots are analysedin relation to the distinctive dramaturgicaleffects achievedby "fictive personalities", "roles" and "character-types".Finally, thereis an attemptto locateour understanding of madnessin operawithin wider critical horizons,and to explain the cultural work that mad scenesdo for us, as we listen to examplesfrom the historically situated traditionsof opera. 2 To my parents CONTENTS Abstract 2 Acknowledgements 6 Prologue Investigating Madness and Music: Issues, Methods and Definitions 8 Chapter1 The Presentationof Madnessin Ancient and Medieval Literary Cultures 25 Chapter2 The Renaissance Precursorsof the OperaticMad Scene 69 Chapter3 Early OperaticMad Scenesin Italy 115 Chapter4 The Disseminationof the Mad Scene and the Formation of National Styles:France 151 Chapter5 The Traditionsin England 169 Chapter6 Spain,GermanyandAustria 228 Chapter7 Textual and Behavioural. Signifiers Seventeenth-century Italian Opera Chapter8 PoeticandMusical Featuresof Mad Scenes 278 Chapter9 The "Madnessof Iro": a CaseStudy 339 Chapter10 Conclusion:Towardsan Understandingof OperaticMadness 365 4 of Madness in 247 Bibliography AppendixI TableI Table2 Table3 Table4 Table5 Table6 Table7 Table8 Table9 Table10 TableII Table12 Table13 Table14 PrimarySources Consulted WorksCited(Secondary Sources) 395 403 Mad scenesin 17'bcenturymusicaldrama French"mad" operasandsimilarmusicaldramas Mad songsin Englishtheatreup to c. 1700 Major Italiandramaswhichcontainmadscenes Madnessin thecommedia dell'arte VenetianoperaswhichcontainBail! di Pa=i 17thcenturyEnglishdramaswhichfeaturemadness Surveyof thechangingproportionsof English'ýmad"dramas A textualcomparison: "Bessof Bedlam"and"Tomof Bedlam" Mythologicalfiguresmentionedin madscenes An insanecharacter mistakesanothercharacterfor someone else Arias in madscenes Ariosi in madcharacters' scenes in 17thcenturyItalianopera Typologyof madness 429 431 432 437 439 441 442 444 445 446 449 450 453 455 Cavalli,"Ballo de'Pazzi" (PompeoMagno) Anonymous,"Io vidir6, messere"(L'Ospedale) Charpentier,"Ah, ah,ah," (Lesfousdivertissants,Act 11) Lully, "Quel gouffres'estouvert?" (Roland,Act IV, Scene6) Morgan,"Come,ye inhabitantsof Heaven!' P.A. Ziani, 'Tuggite rapide'(Lefortune di Rodopee di Damira, 11,21) L RossL"All'armi, mio core" (Orfieo,111,4) Freschi,"Risvegliatevi,pensiexf'(Dario, 11,5) Cavalli,"Sol nel Regnodi Nettuno"(PompeoMagno,1,4) Cavalli,"0 comeei vola?" (PompeoMagno,11,12) Freschi,'Tinger6 mille follie" (Helenarapita da Paride,H, 10) A. Scarlatti,"Si sveni,s'uccida"(Gli equivocinel Sembiante, H, 6) Pagliardi,'Sella dea"(Caligula delirante,111,8) Pagliardi,"CrudaCintia!' (Caligula delirante,III, 10) Albinoni, "Mirate, mirate" (Zenobia,Reginade Palmireni,H, 3) Cavalli, "0 beneficoDio" (Didone,III, 10) CavallL"Oh caremie vaghezze"(Eritrea, 1,8) Legrenzi,"Da publicolainsano"(Totila,111,15) Sacrati,"Vergatiranna.ipobiie, (Lafinta pa=a, II, 10) Freschi,"Su le ruine d'Acheronte"(Helenarapita da Paride,11,23) Cavalli,"Colti, boschiodorati" (Eritrea, H, 5) Cavalli,'Volce frode" (Eritrea, 111,3) Cavalli, "Castiti buggiarda"(Didone,H, 12) Cavalli,"CelestifulmirW'(Egisto,HI, 5) Cavalli,"Al cor belezzeestinte"(Eritrea,1,8) Cavalli, "Silentio doloroso"(Eritrea,III, 11) Volpe,"Qual destinmi condanna! ' (Gli amori di. 4pollo e Leucotoe,111,15) Sacrati,"Armi alla mano" (Lafintapa=a, H, 10) Cavalli, "Differita Pimpresa"(Eritrea, 11,7) Cavalli, "Qui, piegate"(PompeoMagno,1,20) Legrewý "Caramia spemestringimi"(Totila, 11,2) 457 460 462 463 465 467 468 469 473 474 476 477 478 480 483 487 489 491 495 496 497 500 505 510 518 519 522 524 525 526 527 Appendix H Musical Example I MusicalExample2 MusicalExample3 MusicalExample4 MusicalExample5 MusicalExample6 MusicalExample7 MusicalExample8 MusicalExample9 MusicalExample10 MusicalExampleII Musical Example12 MusicalExample13 MusicalExample14 MusicalExample15 MusicalExample16 Musical Example17 MusicalExample18 Musical Example19 MusicalExample20 Musical Example21 Musical Example22 Musical Example23 Musical Example24 Musical Example25 MusicalExample26 MusicalExample27 Musical Example28 MusicalExample29 Musical Example30 MusicalExample31 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS by It may seem curious that I should wish to commencemy acknowledgements referring to someoneI was never grantedthe honour of meeting.However,without Claudio Sartori,andhis astonishingcatalogueI Libretti italiani a stampadalle origiiii its limited, have been 1800, the this thesis and range of would much more al processesof investigationimmeasurablymorelaborious. Next, I shouldlike to expressmy gratitudeto severalmentorsfor their practical in insanity help. interest in My the seventeenth-century subjectof and motivational vocal music was first kindled by the late Robert Spencer,who coachedmy singing. His invaluablesuggestions,especiallythose for interpretingthe mad songsof Henry Purcell andJohnEccles,werethe original sourceof my motivation.I shall everregret his early demiseandabsence.My currentsupervisor,Dr FrankDobbins,despitehis ill health, which led him to his early retirement, always found time for me and been have thoroughlyreadmy drafts.Without his encouragement, my studycould not interest Pryer, My Anthony transformed my vague original supervisor, completed. into an academicsubject worthy of discussion.His conceptualrigour and alert intelligencehelpedme clarify my argumentsin so many ways, and his illuminating help continuedeveninto the closingstagesfollowing the retirementof Dr Dobbins. Thanksshould also go to ProfessorLorenzo Bianconi, who very kindly granted me accessto his edition of La finta pazza,which was a very importantsourcefor my study. My gratitudeffirther extendsto ProfessorsEllen Rosandand Linda Austem. Although my correspondencewith them was brief, their interest in my study encouragedme enormously.In particular, ProfessorRosand'smagisterial study on Venetian opera provided an indispensablesource of reference seventeenth-century ideas. by to andscholarlyprovocation,aswell as a yardstick which measuremy own 6 My researchwas supportedby the organisationUniversity UK, which awarded be honoured for Overseas Scheme I Research Also, to three me an was grant years. In Graduates. Women 2002/3 National Award British Federation the the of given of additionto thesegenerousinstitutions,I owe a greatdealto the Music Departmentof Goldsmiths College, whose funding enabled me to buy microfilms and attend essentialconferences. I am also grateful to the staff of the following libraries: the British Library; the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice; the Music Library of NorthwesternUniversity; the Music Library of the University of California, Los Angeles;the Library of Cambridge University; the SenateHouse Library, University of London; and the library of Goldsmiths' College. Specialthanks should go to Ann Aldridge, the excellent and (throughmy agency)overworkedinter-library loan librarian at Goldsmiths'College. Now, I should like to extendthanks to many friends and colleagues;amongst them, especially,there is GiuseppinaMazzella,whoseexcellentknowledgenot only helped dialect but Venetian Italian the me tremendously. also of of early modem Also, I must thankmy parentsfor their long-termemotionalandfinancial support. Finally, I haveto thank a personwho did not seemy work cometo fruition: my late godfather,MasahikoSato.Extraordinarily,he taughtme the word 'ýmusicology", he just I three and was the most critical adviserthroughoutmy yearsold, when was have I His sometimes may always advicewas precious,and although musical career. receivedit in anunthankfulmanner,this thesisis a memorialto him. October,2004 N. M. 7 Prologue Investigating Madnessand Music: Issues,Methods and Definitions It is well known that the operaticmad sceneflourishedin the earlynineteenthcentury, but it is lesswidely appreciatedthat its existencewasconspicuousfrom the onsetof the history of opera,andthat it attractedconventionsat an early stageof the genre.In fact, in the seventeenthcentury,the subjectof madnessoccurredwith someregularity in songsandvariouskinds of musico-theatricalworks,whereits usereflectedthe frequent ' drama literature. in However,these early appearanceof the theme of madness and instancesof the mad scenehaveneverbeenexploredin full. Onereasonfor this is that have currentscholarS2 tendedto concentrateon the extravagantandmelodramaticearly 1For the lists of seventeenth-century Italian andFrenchoperaswhich featuremadnessandEnglishmad songs,see:Appendix1,Tables1,2 and3 respectively. 2 Seefor example:SieghartD6hring,"Die Wahnsinnsszene", in Die CouleurLocalein der Operdes19. Jahrhunderts,ed. H. Becker (Regensburg:Bfisse, 1976), 279 - 314; Jonas Barish, "Madness, Hallucination,and SleepWalking", in Verdiý Macbeth:A SourceBook, ed. David Rosenand Andrew Porter(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1984),149- 155; ScottLeslie Balthazar,"Evolving Conventionsin Italian SeriousOpera:SceneStructurein the Worksof Rossini,BellinL Donizetti, and VerdL 1810-1850"(Ph.D., diss.,University of Pennsylvania,1985);GiovanniMorelli, "La scenadi follia nella Lucia di Lammermoor-Sintomi,fra mitologia della paurae mitologia.della liberta", in La drammaturgiamusicale(Bologna:Mulino, 1986),411 - 434; CatherineClemen4"MademoiselleLe Bouc", Avant-scine opera, France xcvi (March 1987), 86-89; Stephen Ace WiRier, "Early nineteenth-century operaandthe impactof thegothie'(PhD diss.,Universityof Illinois, 1987);Stephen A. Willier, "Madness,the Gothic andBellini's 11Pirata", OperaQuarterlyVI, no. 4 (1988/9), 7- 23; CharlotteFakierPipes,"A studyof six selectedcoloraturasoprano"mad scenes"in nineteenth-century opera!' (DMA. diss., LouisianaStateUniversity, 1990);Mary Ann Smart,"The Silencingof Lucia!', CambridgeOperaJournalIV, no. 2 (July,1992),119- 141;JulianBudden,"Aspectsof thedevelopment of Donizetti's musical dramaturgy",in Lopera teatrale di GaetanoDonizetti.- Atti del convegno internazionaledi studio[Proceedings of theinternationalconferenceon the operasof GaetanoDonizetti] (Bergamo,Italy: Comune di Bergamo 1993), 121-133; Mary Ann Smart, "Dalla tomba uscita: Italian opera!' (Ph.D. diss.,CornellUniversity, 1994); representations of madnessin nineteenth-century and Marta Ottlovi, "Oper und Traum: Le pardon de Ploermer', in Meyerbeerund das europdische Musiktheater(Laaber,Germany-Laaber-Verlag1998),127-133.Therearealsojust a few discussions of madnessin 18d'centuryoperas.See,for example:JamesParakilas,"Mozart'smad scene",Soundingsx (Summer,1983)3- 17 [Vitellia in La Clementodi Y11to); BruceAlan Brown, "Le Pa=ie d'Orlando, Orlando Paladino, and the Uses of Parody", Italica 1xiv no. 4 (Winter, 1987),583 605; Wiley , Feinstein,'Torinda asAriosteanNarratorin Handel'sOrlando",Italica 1xiv,no. 4 (Winter,1987),561571; Albert Gier,"Orlandogeloso:Liebeund Eifersuchtbei Ariostound GrazioBracciolisLibretto", in Opernheldund Opernheldinim 18.Jahrhundert., AspektederLibrettoforschung-EinTagungsbe7icht, ed. Klaus Hortschansky(Hamburg:Wagner1991),57 70; Silke Leopold,'Vahnsinn mit Methode:Die Wahnsinnsszenen in Hindels dramatischen Werkenund ibre Vorbilder",in Opernheldund Opernheldin 8 nineteenthcenturyinstances:hnogenin R Pirata and Elvira in I Puritani; (both by Bellini); Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor,Linda in Linda di Chamounix,andAnna in Anna Bolena(all by Donizetti); andOpheliain Hamlet (by AmbroiseThomas).These nineteenth-centuryheroines commonly display their insanity by "emphasising recitative; by breakingup the vocal line ,xith alternationsof feverish agitation and unearthlycalm; by suddenchangesof tempo ... by unforeseenchangesof key and mode; by unaccompaniedsinging, with the orchestra merely as intermittent punctuation;and by a good deal of floritura, especiallythe running up and down of 3 chromaticscales". In fact, the definition of the mad scenegiven in YheNew GroveDictionary of Opera only covers these late instances,and hardly fits at all the characteristicsof describes found in It themadsceneas: comparablescenes seventeenth-century sources. (6anoperaticscene which suppliesa brilliant vehicle for the display of a singer's ... histrionic and vocal talents. It traditionally involved elaboratecoloraturawriting's .4 Above all, thepreoccupationfoundin that articleandelsewherein the currentliterature with "the unprecedentedfocus on insanity on the operatic stageof the nineteenth century"sis quite misleadingandproblematic.Not only doesit neglectthe existenceof manymoreexamplesfrom the seventeenth andeighteenthcenturies,but it alsoignores im 18. Jahrhundert. Aspekteder Librettoforschung-Ein Tagungsbericht,ed. Klaus Hortschansky (Hamburg:Wagner1991),71 - 83; HerbertSchneider,"Hindel und die fi-anz6sische Theatermusikin ihrendramatisch-szenischen Aspekten! ', Hdndel-Jahrbuchxxxvii (1991),103 120;DavidRossHurely, "Dejaniraandthephysicians:Aspectsof hysteriain Handel'sHercules",YheMusical Quarterlylxxx, no. 3 (Fall 1996),548 - 561. And Ellen Kohlhaasdiscussesthe mad scenesin opera from Vivaldi to Stravinskyin her "Wenn die Seelesingendentgleist.Der Wahnsinnin den Opem von Vivaldi bis Strawinsky",in Musik und Medizin IV/7-8 (1978) 4145. This list does not include studiesof the performancepracticesof the madscenes. JonasBarish,"Madness,Hallucination,andSleepwalking",151. Barishconcludesthat theportrayalof Lady Macbethin Verdi'sMacbethis ratherexceptionalin theserespects. 4 StephenA. Willier, "Mad Scene",TheNew GroveDictionary Opera, ed. StanleySadie(London: of Macmillan, 1991), vol. 3,145. 5Willier, "Madness,the Gothic, andBellini's 27Pirata", 7. 9 the long literary anddramatictraditionsout of which the operaticmad sceneemerged and continuedto allude to, and draw upon, for its devicesof style, situation and characterisation. Somemore recentaccountsof nineteenth-centurymad sceneshave now begun very tentativelyto imply that such scenescannotsimply be understoodin their own terms. StephenA. Willier has given an accountof how eighteenth-centuryGothic literature prepareda basis for the constructionof early nineteenth-century"mad" 6 operas. Mary Ann Smart has pointed out that, clad in a simple white robe, with dishevelledhair, the overall visual imageof the dementedLucia is reminiscentof the 7 in King Lear. Such examples Ophelia traditional presentationof Shakespeare's suggestto us that anunderstandingof the operaticmad scene(from whatevercentury) can only be understoodby a far-reachingtradition-critique-a critique that not only but literary beyond back to them the to the earliest operatic examples, and goes dramatictraditions that the earliestopera composersand librettists saw fit to draw upon. Anotherintellectualtool, which Mary Ann Smarthasbegunto establishfor us in this arena,is feminist theory,as we can see,for example,from her interpretationof Lucia's dementedstate as an instanceof female emancipationfrom, or "a feminist victory-8 over, the oppressivemale world. Perhapsby developingsuchperspectives, we may gain further insights into the dramatic and representationalmechanisms surrounding the portrayal of seventeenth-centurymad heroines. Such attempts, however,will raisethe questionof to what extentwe can apply our modemviews to historical instances,and here I might mention Michel Foucault'scelebratedview of 6 Ibid. 7 Smaxt,"rhe Silencing Lucia", 125 7. of - 10 9 is insanity definition Foucault the that of madnessasa variablesocialconstruct. posits dependent deviance be to on elusive, as notions of normality and as much seem cultural/socialcriteria as on scientific/medicalones,andthus,the attitudetowardsthe insanein a particular period and location is frequently a marker of the prevailing like in I Thus, to take a so-called this study, should cultural/social structures. 'historicist' approach by attempting to uncover some of the detail of seventeenth-century operaticculture,andso recoverthe meaningof operaticmadness of that time from within its own context.This will then enableus, perhaps,to assess have Foucault interest in the their argued,a might whether mad scenereflected,as large. in insane in the the society at status of significantchange Weperhapsneedto beginour taskby reviewingwhat work hasalreadybeendone it has literary, the andmusicalstudies madscene- what critical, on seventeenth-century issues lie While in the that to mad scenes ahead. clear picture of get a attracted- order have in dramas 1600 the enjoyedabundant spoken of period around andmadcharacters in importance Shakespearean (partly because the examples the of of critical attention history of the theatre,') the rangeof discussionsof madscenesin music from thattime aIbid., 120. 9Michel Foucault,Madnessand Civilization:A History ofInsanity in theAge ofReason[1967], trans. RichardHoward(London:Routledge,1971). 10JohnCharlesBucknill, TheMadFolk ofShakespeare (London:Macmillan, 1867);Henry Somerville, Ragedy (London: The RichardsPress,n.d.); Robert Rentoul Reed,Jr., Madnessin Shakespearean HarvardUniversity Press,1952);Stanley Bedlamon the JacobeanStage(Cambridge,Massachusetts: Quarterlyxii, no. 3 (Summer,1961),311Wells,"rom O'Bedlam'sSongandKing Lear",Shakespeare (Turin: 315;VannaGentili,La recita dellafollia: funzioni dell'insanianel teatrodell'eta di Shakespeare Einaudi, 1978);PaoloValesio,"The Languageof Madnessin the Renaissance",YearBook of1talian Studies(1971), 199 - 234; Maurice Charneyand HannaCharney,"The Languageof Madwomenin Shakespeare and his Fellow Dramatists",Signs:Journal of womenin Culture and SocietyiiL no. 2 (Winter, 1977), 451 - 460; Elaine Showalter,"RepresentingOphelia: women, madness,and the responsibilitiesof feministcriticism", in Shakespeare andtheQuestionofYheory,ed.PatriciaParkerand GeoffreyHarman (New York and London:Methuen,1985),77 - 94; JoanMontgomeryByles, "Ilie Problemof the Self and the Other in the languageof Ophelia,Desdemonaand Cordelia",American Imago: a PsychoanalyticJournalfor Culture,Scienceand theArts xlvi, no. I (Spring,1989),37 - 59; Duncan Salkeld, Madness and Drama in the Age of Shakespeare(Manchesterand New York: ManchesterUniversityPress,1993);andKarin S. Coddon,"The Duchessof Malfi: tyrannyandspectacle 11 is muchmorelimited. Thereare,though,a few musicologistswho havemadeimportant have the contributionsto a fuller understanding of subjectandwho providedexceptions to the rule. Paolo Fabbri's pioneeringand indispensablecomparativestudy of the plots of Italian operas,theatricalplaysandotherliterary productshas earlyseventeenth-century I' light cast much new on the origins of the mad scene. He has demonstrated,in particularinstances,that librettosof the earlyoperaticrepertoireincorporatedelements from contemporarytheatreplays as well as from literature.Ellen Rosandis another scholar who has analysedseveral mad scenesin some detail, as a part of her 12 Venetian comprehensivestudy of seventeenth operas. Shehasproposedthat century seventeenthcenturycomposersdeviseda set of musico-rhetoricalfigures in order to depict insanity on the operatic stage. Again, SusanMcClary, from her feminist 13 issue has discussed the of the musicalrepresentationof mad women. Her viewpoint, accountis of particular interestwhen one is att=pting to discoverwhy insanity on stagegainedin popularity.Shehas arguedthat it was voyeurismthat guaranteedthe 14 insanity displayed in literature, The MUSiC. paintings and popularityof madwoman - in Jacobeandramaý',in Madnessin Drama, ed. JamesRedmond,Themesin Drama 15 (Cambridge: CambridgeUniversityPress,1993),1- 17.In fact, someof the literaturearguesaboutthe dramaturgical functionsof 'mad songs':JosephT. McCullen, Jr., "rhe Functionsof Songsarousedby Madnessin ElizabethanDrama!', inA Dibute to G C. Taylor(ChapelHill: UniversityofNorth CarolinaPress,1952), 185- 196;LeslieC. Dunn,"Ophelia'ssongsin Hamlet:music,madnessandthe feminine".in Embodied Voices:representingfemale vocality in westernculture, ed. Leslie C. Dunn and Nancy A. Jones (Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1994),50 - 64. 11PaoloFabbri,"On the Originsof anOperaticTopos:The Mad Scene",in Con chesoavith:Studiesin Italian Opera,Song,andDance,1580- 1740,ed.lain FenlonandTim Carter(Oxford:ClarendonPress, 1995),157-195. 12See: Ellen Rosand,"Iro and the Interpretationof 17 ritorno d'Wisse in Patria", The Journal of Musicologyvii (Spring,1989),141- 164;Operain Seventeenth-Century Venice:TheCreationofGenre (Berkeley,Los Angeles:University of California Press, 1991), especially346 60; and "Operatic Madness:a Challengeto Convention7,in Music and Text. CKtical inquiries, ed. StevenPaul Scher (Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1992),241 272. 13SusanMcClary,FeminineEndings(MineapolisandLondon:University MinnesotaPress,1991),80 of -90. 14 Ibid., 85. 12 is a compellingobjectof displayowing to her potentialfor sexualtitillation asreason andmorality ceaseto controlherbehaviour.McClary's argumentmayhavesomeforce sincea contemporaryFrenchspectatorof an early seventeenthcenturyplay confirms that mad sceneswere popularbecausethey gave actressesan excusefor ripping off their clothesandshowingoff their breasts.15 Very recently,just as this study was nearingcompletion,it was announcedthat AndrewHughesis aboutto publishabook which will explore"how themoon,madness 16 lunacy fit and all together". Apparently,Hugheswill treatoperaticmadnessasa Und of documentof the changingmedicalandlegal culturesof the pastandasevidencethat "the moon is closelyassociatedwith lunacy" in the minds of thosewho havecreated operas.This is a ratherdifferent approachfrom the presentstudywhich considersmad scenesas fictive embodimentsof dramaturgicaltraditionsand character-types, and as vehiclesfor musical expressionand representation.The two approachesneednot be seenasbeing in conflict, however;thereis not one "correct''interpretationof the mad scene,thereis only an obligationto distinguishbetweencorrectlyor falselyunderstood inference and consistent or contradictory andargament. evidence, Useful as thesemany studiesmight be in developingour understandingof the operatic mad scene, they still leave some important issues to be explored and understood.Part of the reasonfor this is becausesomeof them tend to be relatively isolatedinvestigations,which suffer from a lack of a comprehensiveoverview of the phenomenonof themusicalrepresentation of madness.Again, the typologyof madness employedcantend to be rathermonolithic andundifferentiated- the term 'ýmadness" frequently covers everything from slightly silly behaviour through jealous rage to 15LouiseGeorgeClubb,Italian Dramain Shakespeare ý 27me(NewHavenandLondon:YaleUniversity Press,1989),264. 13 completelossof reality. For example,SusanMcClary hasusedthe term "madness"in her discussionof the fictive characterbehindMonteverdi'sLamentodella ninfa,17and Ellen Rosandhas reinterpretedthe "parte ridicolo" of Iro in Monteverdi'sII ritorno 18 d'Wisse in patria (1640),asa telling exampleof seventeenth-century stagemadness. It is, however,far from clear that the Ninfa and Iro charactersare literally insane, thoughthe formeris clearly distraughtandthe latter is besidehimself with self-pity.A detailedanalysisof the characterof Iro appearsin Chapter9 below. Suchconfusionsarealsoseenin the critical literatureon the spokendramasof the period. For example, when discussingthe theatrical functions of mad songs in ElizabethanDrama,JosephT. McCullenjuxtaposes,without anyclearexplanation,two rather different casesfrom John Lyly's dramas:the duet by Accius and Silena (two imbeciles)in Mother Bombie,andthe songof Pandora(who is mad with love) in The Womanin the Moon.19All this really demonstratesis that, in certaincases,the mad sceneusessimilar devicesto, andcarriessimilar theatricaleffectsto, that of the farcical scene,aswe will seelater. Evenin thosecaseswherewe canagreethat a certaintheatricalcharacteris'ýnad", we soondiscoverthat very differenttypesof madnessnot only havedifferent musical andtheatricalorigins,but alsodifferent dramaturgicalmechanismsandconsequences. Also, asidefrom the tendencyto discusssuchscenesin isolation,andto treatmadness it is as a monolithic state, sometimestemptingto assumethat we can easily unravel what madnessmeant in seventeenth-century society, or that we can link historical attitudesto the "insane" simply and directly to genderissuesand other matters of 16AndrewHughes,BentMelodies:Representations ofMadness(forthcoming). 17McClary,FeminineEndings,80 90. 18See: EUenRosand,"Iro and the Interpretationof Il ritorno dUisse in patria", ne Journal of Musicologyvii (Spring,1989),141- 164. 14 characterisation without complication.For theseand other reasons,the presentstudy has attempteda more systematicapproachwhich might be summarisedunder the following four aims: 1. To constructa completecatalogueof instancesof madnesson the seventeenth century musical stage,and as far as possible,on the theatrical stage and in literature.The list arising from suchinvestigationscan be seenin Appendix 1, Tables1,2,3,4,5,7, and8. In orderto know whetherparticularworks did have mad scenesand thereforeshouldbe includedin suchlists, it was necessaryto readthroughmanyoperalibretti andplays.The works that found their way onto the lists aregivenin my catalogueof primary sources- somefifty itemsin all. 2. To trace the exact traditions behind those portrayals.This has meant, first, uncoveringliterary and musical representations,and also discussionsof mad far back scenesand character-types as as the Ancient Greeks.This has been necessary,since so many librettists and playwrights (whether consciouslyor unconsciously)built their depictionson normsestablishedin the Ancient world, in ChapterI andelsewhere.Second,to explorethe exact aswill be demonstrated routes by which the immediateprecursorsof the operatic mad scenein the commediadell'arte andothertraditionswere adaptedand employed.The fruits of this researchcan be seenespeciallyin Chapters2 and 3. Third, to set the changinguseof the mad scenewithin the wider contextof the history of opera. Evidencefor this interrelationis to be foundthroughoutthe study. 3. To constructa detailedaccountof the transmissionof the operaticmad scene c.1600 - 1700. This task has been undertakenby country, and the relevant 19McCullen, "Songs arousedby Madness", 192. 15 investigationsaresetout in the chapterson Italy, France,andEngland,andin the overviewof developmentsin Spain,Austria andGermany. 4. To establishsomeparametersby which we canbegin to constructa typology of madnessin musical theatre.This has entailed a careful analysisof the exact terminologyemployedto describemad characters,the textual and behavioural topoi usedto signaltheir presence,themusicaldevicesusedto presentthem,and a considerationof contemporarydiscussionsof theatricalrepresentation.These kinds of evidencearediscussedprincipally in Chapters7,8,9, and 10. At the heartof theseissueslies the major challengeof how to definemadnesson the stage.In a sense,the full complexityof this mattercanonly emergeasa resultof the investigationsandargumentspresentedthroughoutthis study,but it may be wise at this few issue in the to taken to the this point saya guiding words about generalapproach courseof this research. The first point to make is that it quickly becameclear that there were not any simple musical signals or conventionsthat applied absolutelyexclusively to mad For this reason,the studyis centrallyconcernedwith how fictive characters, characters. alreadydesignatedasmad in the libretto or by someothermeans,draw upon the more general musical and literary conventionsof the seventeenthcentury, to achieve dramatic convictionand effect.Hence,thereis investigationnot only of musicalstyle, but also of the kinds of function that mad charactersfulfil within the plots, and what traditions (of poetic form, verbal reference,and of the display of symptoms)are invoked to make their character-type obvious and effectively functional in dramaturgicalterms.Of course,therewere somecommonlyusedmusicalfeaturesin the presentationof mad characters(frequentlyoverlappingwith thoseemployedfor the 16 portrayalof other protagonists),but they formed a small part of the meansby which madnessas a theatricaltoposwasableto servedramatic,literary,andsometimeseven ethicalandphilosophicalpurposes.It is a major argumentof this thesisthat the musical portrayalof madnessfits into, andcanonly be understoodin the contextof, thesewider concerns. From the dramaturgicalpoint of view, it is necessaryto distinguishbetweenthe functionof madnesswithin a plot, andthe namedcharacterdisplayingor carryingthat is briefly few In operasand plays a particular character role whether or constantly. a describe it to themasa mad sense and makes permanently,or nearlypermanently,mad, 20 character. Moreover,in suchcasesit is usuallysafeto construeeverythingthey sing, insane innocuous, how "sane"or agenda carrying an aspotentially apparently no matter is 'ýmad ' in instances, interpretation. We that to these say music! usually able are, or feelings "mad directly the the of and accompanyingor expressing activities anything do features be it if that the not seem of music surface noted, character"- even, particularly"mad". In the majority of cases,however,charactersare only temporarilymad, and the questionsof definition and/orrecognitionof this statebecomemoreproblematic,since the devices used to depict the named characterare not coterminouswith those employedfor the representationof "the mad". Here,cluesareusually given within the detailsof the narrative,mostly in termsof suddentraumaticevents(suchasthe tragic death of a lover, or a forced parting between lovers)and temporary but extreme behavioural symptoms (weeping, rage, and the like). The problem here is that do to symptomsandeventsalone,which may give rise extrememusicalexpression, not 20See,for example,Atrea.in Cavalli/Minato'sPompeoMagno(1666). 17 guaranteethat the characterreally is mad. Suchextrememomentsareoften described fact literature, in into "mad the that there the taking as critical without scenes" account may be sucha thing ashealthyhumangrief or justifiable anger.Herethe term "mad" in distracted", little "annoyed7' "temporarily than and termsof this oftenmeans or more study,that is a ratherunhelpfulconfusion- andfor two main reasons. First, it placesan emphasison behaviouralsymptomsrather than on character intellectual deeper the and motivations,or manifestationof role-conventions,or on any In be the that through most cases,extreme character. cultural notions may acting behaviour accompaniedby some signs of musical extravagance,is not enoughto be impression Any the the must madness of confirm madnessof singing character. judged againstan understandingof the use of conventionsfor the portrayal of "the disruption, for typical verse-typesemployingrhythmic andmetrical mad" example, (seeChapter8) - andalsoagainstthe intellectualmilieu in which the work waswritten, function. The or rhetorical which may give certaincharactersan allegorical,symbolic discussionof the motivationsof Iro from Monteverdi'sII ritorno di Wissein patHa (Chapter9) illustratessomeof theseaspects.It should also be rememberedthat any functions dramaturgical two at the sametime: or more particularcharactermight actout King Lear,after all, wasa king, a father,anda madman. The secondissuearising from a too-inclusivedefinition of "the mad" in operais that it thenmakesit hard,if not impossible,to link reliably the portrayalof the majority of such characterson the stageto socialviews of madness,or to theoriesaboutwhat "the mad" may representfor any given society.Sinceit is part of the purposeof this thesis to consider what such theories might tell us about fictive meaning and in centurytheatre,it is importantto be surethat we are representation the seventeenth discussingtruly mad characters.Again, since this study is primarily an attemptto 18 is how in fictive this the anotherreasonwhy explain meaningsare constructed world, "real" medicaldcfinitions of "the mad", andcontemporaryattitudesto their treatment, haveplayedonly a secondaryrole in this study.What seemedto be important,first, was to uncoverthosetopoi and conventionswhich scvcntecnth-century playwrights and musiciansthemselvesthoughtrepresentedmadness,andthen,oncethey were clearly interacted developments if devices their to with or reflected established, see and changesin the real world. Giventhat charactersin anoperatendonly temporarilyto takeon the functionof a it has insane, be seemed that as mad person,and extremeemotionsmay saneas well importantto make a distinctionbetweenmusical and dramaticfeaturesthat may, in for their be that those sufficient on are and madness, appropriate certaincircumstances, its taken its Interestingly on own, to almost nothing, enough, own confirm portrayal. falls into the "sufficient!'categoryhere,andthat is why it hasseemedimportantto seek in but dramatic in the the the also of music, setting general only corroborationnot implied intentionalitiesof its theatrical conventions,and its backgroundintellectual discussions been it has Indeed, of operatic perhaps a weaknessof someearlier agendas. be features have "appropriate' to taken the they that of a character's music madness, in 'ones "sufficient' to relationto the confirmationof madness. equivalent A related issue concernsthe overlap of the functions of character-typeswithin theatricaltraditions.Thereis a smallgalaxyof stockfigureswhoseattributesareshared to somedegreewith thoseof 'the mad'. Theyincludethe simpleton,the fool, the drunk, benignly deluded in love. The sameproblem applies that and vast array of characters hereof the confusionbetweenbehaviourappropriateto madnessandthat which, on its own, confirms it. Moreover, in relation to these character-types,not only their behaviourbut alsotheir functionswithin the plot might overlap.For example,both the 19 madmanandthe fool might providecomic relief, or fearlesslyspeakthe truth, or point up anethicaldilemma,or providethe opportunityfor musicalanddramaticincongruity or contrast.Onceagainit is the detailedcorroborationof traditionsandintentionsthat mustbe soughtin orderto maketelling dramaturgicaldistinctions. So far we havediscussedmadmusic andmad charactersasthey are encountered within the contextof a completedramaticsetting.Problematicthoughthesecasesmight be, they at least provide a very tangible context through which to enrich our understandingof their behaviourandmotivations.This enablesus, to someextent to " into: "JAen is theatrical transform the question: "What is theatrical madness? " - that is, into a considerationof the conditions under which we are madness? reasonablyentitledto construethe behaviourandmusic of certainfictive charactersas of "the mad". And again,it may be a flaw of earlierdiscussionsof this representations topic thatsomeaccountsof whenanauthorperceivesa characteror a particularpieceof music to be mad, have beenpresentedas if they amountto definitions or assertions about what theatrical and musical madnessis "in essence".Examplesshowing this 21 include in discussion Isifile Cavalli's Giasone, Rosand's tendency where she about arguesparticularly on musical grounds that the characterfits into the role of a madwoman.This issuewill be discussedfurther in Chapter8. More problematic,however,arethosepiecesof apparently'ýmad musid" thathave becomedetachedin someway from their original dramaticand narrative context,or which wereconceivedasindependentworks from the outset.The most acuteexamples of this kind, from the seventeenth century,occurin the songtradition, andparticularly 22 in England This is because,in England,operatictraditionswerenot fully established, . 21Rosand, Opera in 12"* century Venice,358 - 9. 22See: Chapter 5. 20 andthe complexballad and songtraditionsinteractedwith themin complexways,and notjust in onedirection.For example,singer-actors,suchasMrs Bracegirdle,who had become famous for portraying mad characterson the stage, might prompt the publicationof ditties entitled'ýnadsongs"apparentlyfor no betterreasonthanthatthey could be advertisedas having been"Sung by Mrs Bracegirdld".On the other hand, songsabout"Tom of Bedlam" or "Bessof Bedlam" or "Mad Maudlin!', which clearly in had have fictive their the to origins the portray singing, subjectasmad,seemednot theatre,thoughsnatchesof their melodiesmight be sungin stageworks asa signalthat it is In had to temporarily cases usuallynecessary a particularcharacter gonemad. such be able to recognizethe quotationand the tradition from which its original comes. In general,a further distinctionneedsto be madebetweenthosesongsthat simply refer to madness(usually the "folly" or "madness"of love), and those that clearly by the singing, attemptto expressor representa stateof madnessaspresentlypossessed fictive subject.Even in theselatter cases,however,the word "clearly" is important, since the usual theatrical rules apply about not confusing reasonablegrief and justifiable rage with their mad, disproportionateor inappropriatecounterparts.Such distinctionscanbe very difficult to makein the caseof independentsongs,sincethereis not enoughcontextualinformation to judge the motivationsor conventionsinvolved. Similarly,somesongsrefer to conventional"indicators"of madnesssuchasthetearing of clothesor constantweeping,without mentioningmadnessor its clearsignifiers(such as "Bedlam", "lunacy", and so on) at all. The temptation,as always,is to treat those songswhich aresimply appropriateto a mad state,or which refer in the third personto madness, ascentralexamples of the "madsong"genre-a temptationwhichhasnot been studiously avoided in the literature, and which has sometimesconfusedour attemptsto understandthe genreandits traditions.For example,in his edition,Airfeen 21 23 Mad Songsby Purcell and his contemporaries, Timothy Roberts includes John Weldon's"Reason,what art thou!'.24However,Weldon'ssongbearsno sign of being a in despite the to the mad song, promisingattempt question natureof reason the title. Rather,the songdealswith sorrowcausedby unrequitedlove. Another categoryof charactersandcontextsthat, in somesense,overlapwith the portrayalof madness,is that concernedwith "enchanted"or "spell-bound"protagonists Ruggiero for in Odyssey, Ulysses Island Circe Homer's the under or example, on of 25 the spell of Alcina in Ariosto's Orlandofurloso. In mostof thesecases,however,the i. behave their the of environment narrowconfines characters quiterationallywithin - e. in limited. They the their are, a sense,cocooned actionsarevery of when consequences from a wider reality, ratherthan divorced from reality altogether,and thereforesuch 26 in ftuther is discussed 'operas "enchantmenf here. The subjectof casesare excluded Chapter6. * ** ** This attempt to survey the problems of defining and recognizing "the mad" in This, to to conclusions. negative seem point merely musical representation may however, would create a false view of the current enterprisewhich is a positive attempt to understandthe intricate conditions and mechanismsthough which operatic madness identify it is hoped Moreover, to that this and negotiate those attempt acquiresmeaning. 23Timothy Roberts(ed.), YhirteenMad Songsby Purcell and his contemporariesPndon: Voicebox, 1999),11,29-33. 24The sheetis containedin: GB-Lbl: G304 (130). 2s Seventeenth-century operas featuring the story of Ruggiero and Alcina include: R Caccini, La Liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isold d'Alcina (1625), L. Rossi, 17Pala=o incantato (1642), Sacrati, L'isola di Alcina (1648), S. Martinelli, Alcina (1649), and Sabadini, 17Ruggiero (1699). There is no la de Balet Ulysses Circe, but Le the story of comique and seventeenth-centuryopera as such concerning Royne (15 8 1) deals with the character Circe and an unnamed captive. The music was written mainly by Baltasar de Beaujoyeux. 26Amongstthe works listed in foot note29, Le Balet comiquede la Royne(1581) will be discussedin Chapter4, sincethe characterCirceshowssomesignsof madness. 22 conditions-of-meaningwill perhapslead to a much richer understandingof past theatricalexperiences than couldbe achievedby any one-offdefinition or verdict. As the discussionsabovehaveimplied, it is perhapsmost importantto graspthat themadnesswe will be concernedwith hereis of the fictive End. We cannottreatsuch fictive madnessas simply a mirror of madnessin the real world, whetherunderpast definitions or presentones. We should rememberthat Foucault's theories seek to explainmadnessasconstruedby real societies,andhe is not providing a semiologyof madnesswithin theoriesof dramaturgy.Thus, if we are to assessthe relevanceof his theoriesfor this study,thenour taskmust includethe issueof to what extentwe should be temptedto treatmusicalworks associo-culturalmarkers. Most of the works discussedin the course of this study would have been experiencedby an audiencevia their presentationin the theatre.Finally, therefore,we needto takeinto accounttheexactnatureof the fictive contractbetweentheaudience and the protagoniston the stage.Perhapsone way into this conundrummight be to explore the mechanisms of "masking7' that take place in the artistic and 27 musico-theatricalsituation. Thereis the 'ýnask!' that is placedbetweenthe persona that eachactor/singerpresentson the stagein contrastto his real nature;thereis the 'ýmasldng7'of actual motivations behind apparent motivations (of real dramatic situationsbehind"pretended"dramaticsituations)in the plots and characterisations of theatricalworks; andthereis therepresentational andmimetic function of the works of art as a whole, which the critical theorist,TheodorAdomo has discussedin his 27W. A. Sheppardhasdiscussedsomemodemists'musico-theatrical works in termsof "masking"- the actual practice of wearing masks. See: Idem., RevealingMasks: Exotic Inj7uenceand Ritualized Perfiormancesin Modernist Music Theatre(Berkeley,Los Angeles:University of Caffornia Press, 2001). 23 AestheticTheory.28In turn, asrevealingasthis "theory of masking7mightturn out to be, it would still be only onepart of a moregeneralsemioticsof portrayalon the stage,that would be neededto understandthe cultural and theatricalwork that mad scenesand charactersdo for us, aswe listento examplesfrom the historicallysituatedtraditionsof deeper issues Some in terms. these them may returnto opera,andreconstrue of modem hauntus in the concludingchapter. 28TheodorAdorno,AestheticTheory[1970], tmns. C. Lenhardt(London: Routledge& KeganPaul, 1984). 24