TRINITY OF GENIUS

Radio Record, 5 August 1938, Page 19

TRINITY OF GENIUS

"OTELLO" BROUGHT NEW: LAURELS TO 74-YEAR-OLD COMPOSER.

oe BY the time the great composer, Guiseppe Verdi, had reached the age of 62, he was: tired and. very pessimistic about political °

affairs in Italy. It seemed he woiild : never write much more music, so | With greater assiduity than. ever che devoted himself tc his agricultural interests, attending the weekly. : stock market at Cremona, schooling his ° horses, and trying to induce:-the peas- . ants to cultivate their vines preperly. Then, in 1879, a, benevolent. conspir- .

acy: was hetched between Ricordi, Verdi's 'publisher; Faccio; & conductor, and Boito, 8 composer-librettist of bril- lant quality, wbo longed to provide Verdi with a worthy opera libretto_ Years passed, but eventually in: 1886; 'the Joint-masterpiece Tt "Otelio" wa9 fnished. In; the: following February when "it was-_ produced at 'La Scala, Milan;" It was & musical 'sensation__All agreed that here Was & new Verdi: The blending 6f Woras 'and music 6S wi? 28 intimate a8; Wagner 8, yet guite differ: ente The vitality of this work by 8 man_ 'of,.74 staggered" tbe critics;" ana ola Verdi; was the hero *of the houf Certainly, puch of 'fbe success of SOtello" was due to Boito's exceed- ingly skilful; work of" adaptation; Music requires: more-foQm to: spread; icself than does speech for_ tbe very essence of music' is the' elaporation and Intensi- fcationi of emotion; Where the poet can say: S6I Jove;- Jou": ir three wordg; the musician will peed_anything: fron-*10 bars: to 10 pages to, say the game thing in his way: A full-Sized dfata ofter cails for drastic concentiation before 1t can be itted for: opera' X; I0 this Work 'Boito w83 brihiant and Verdi found in jim-at ~fong Qast bis 'Gideal librettist::- 47 4he: happy; resalts, '62 the collaboration are_to be foupd_ wot oply in Zotelio;' 80 but ais0 in "66 Eaisten; PP one of Verai S "greatest" 'operas It is n0 #ccidelt "thit both are @bustructed from 'plays of: Shakzespeare-*8 frinity of. genius bag un]imited possibilicies: 3YA listeners ivjll hear ~207 complete recorded yersicn of ~otelio,; P9 8 lyrical drama by Verdi; O Sunday; 'August 7&