IL PARLATORE ETERNO
(The Eternal Speaker)
Musical monologue by Mario Mariani for baritone and seven pianos
after the homonym scherzo comico by Amilcare Ponchielli (1834-1886)
libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni
Comissioned by Rassegna Lirica Torelliana
First performance: Fano (Italy), Teatro della Fortuna 28th June 2006
Produced by Teatro della Fortuna in co-production with the Urbino Art Academy
SYNOPSIS:
Lelio Cinguetta, logorrhoeic doctor, loves Susetta, Doctor Nespola's daughter. One early morning, edged on by his passion for her, Lelio visits the young girl. He first meets her maid to whom he leaves a message for Susetta. The doctor and his wife Aspasia appear, still dressed in nightgowns. Lelio asks them their daughter's hand. But, irresistibly possessed by his nature of "Eternal Speaker" and preventing any possibility of retort on behalf of Susetta's parents, Lelio gushes out a flood of words over Nespola and Aspasia fearing the non-existent intent to marry off the daughter out of interest. The situation worsens at the arrival of Egidio, another admirer of Susetta: Lelio seizes him by the tie and challenges him to a duel. It's a general chaos, and whilst Lelio continues in his invectives some neighbours and a policeman appear on the scene. Then Susetta arrives, restoring order by finally yielding to the main character's advances. Lelio is overjoyed.
But...
NOTES TO THE COMPOSITION
The main inspiration to this particular rewriting of the opera with the same name by Ponchielli came from the literal interpretation of the title. "Speaker": he who speaks. Lelio Cinguetta, a "solipsistic logorrhoeic", who speaks incessantly with total indifference of the listener, having only himself as reference. "Eternal": without time, beyond time. Here we are referring to the last survivor of mankind who, in the eternity (like in a sort of "eternal present"), tells and re-tells day after day the same story, about his lover: Susetta, created by his own mind. A film in which he is the protagonist, director and his own audience.
So how about translating these "coordinates" into music?
I left the original libretto by Ghislanzoni almost intact as well the melodic line by Ponchielli, but dropped all the harmonization, the singers, choir and orchestra too!
The result was to choose the soloist/solipsistic instrument par excellence, the piano and multiply it– like the hypertrophic ego of the protagonist - by seven.
This playful ensemble is an ideal background for the protagonist's insanity, often underlining his lack of an original thought with the use of musical quotations, that have become a very important of the composition process. For example, the leit-motiv of "Tristan und Isolde" by Wagner, shortly quoted to musical sections inserted and surprisingly overlapped for several bars; the "predodecaphonic" Sonata op.1 by Alban Berg, quoted for 10 bars and the Scherzo from IInd symphony by Mahler. The complete theme of Innocent when you dream by Tom Waits was entirely "overdubbed" on the Ponchielli original music just before the solo cadenza.
In addition to the great amount of musical timbres that seven pianos can produce, by playing "sulla tastiera", there are lots of musical trademarks often "familiar" to contemporary music audiences, like playing on the strings with plectrums, using strange objects like a cappuccino shaker, whip and many toy instruments, paying particular attention to the rhythmical and percussive elements.