Francesco Izzo. Laughter between Two Revolutions: Opera Buffa in Italy, 1831-1848. Eastman
Studies in Music Series. Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2013. xiii + 304 pp. $90.00
(cloth), ISBN 978-1-58046-293-8.
Reviewed by Maria Christina Marchi (University of St. Andrews)
Published on H-Italy (October, 2014)
Commissioned by Niamh Cullen
Francesco Izzo’s monograph grapples with some of
the most complex and intricate issues that defined preunification Italy. Even though the multifaceted political
nature of the various Italian states and the understanding of opera from a historical perspective are delicate
themes, Izzo introduces his work with simplicity, laying
out the central aim of his book very clearly: to reestablish the role of opera buffa in mid-nineteenth-century
Italy. His reinterpretation of the post-Rossinian period
does not necessarily amount to a rewriting of the history
of opera, nor does it attempt to topple the predominant
genres from their pedestals. It mainly strives to reintegrate opera buffa into the contemporary cultural narrative. Although Izzo admits that the Romantic culture of
the time pushed writers, composers, and artists to seek
a more “elevated” purpose for art, comedy, he believes,
still had a purpose on the Italian stage.
tisti, examining works like Luigi Ricci’s Il nuovo Figaro
(1832) and Gaetano Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore (1832).
Chapters 4 and 5 discuss more closely the issue of genre
in the developing comedy of mid-nineteenth-century
Italy. The analysis of humor, characterization, and language of the librettos yields a better understanding of
Izzo’s definition of opera buffa.
It is chapter 6, however, that brings the political issues that shaped opera buffa to the forefront; it highlights
the problem of the perception of “Italianness” in the preunification period. In this chapter, Izzo finally illustrates the substantial differences that existed between the
various Italian states, although he overstates the belief
that local populations regarded the Austrian and French
rulers as foreign invaders. To explain the difference between each Italian state, kingdom, and duchy, Izzo compares the different versions of Donizetti’s La figlia del regIn his attempt to define the opera buffa of the inter- gimento (1840) that existed throughout Italy. The opera
revolutionary period, the author explores a variety of was modified and censored in different ways in each part
topics and sources, from the composers, to the librettisti, of the Italian peninsula, allowing for an interpretation of
from the performers to the impresarios who funded this how the national question was perceived by each ruling
art form. However, what is key in Izzo’s work is that faction.
he considers opera buffa not merely a musical practice.
In contrast to religious or moral censorship, as was
It is a “literary object” (p. 10), a cultural artifact that
more
common in the pre-revolutionary period, the fobrought some lightness to a serious era. His careful analcus on political censorship is an efficient tool to help
ysis and deconstruction of the genre’s librettos, translaus understand how Italian patriotism was perceived and
tion of lyrics, and reproduction of entire sheets of music
give substance to this vision and help the reader grasp to determine if it was considered a genuine threat. The
rondo “pensa alla Patria” from Donizetti’s opera, for
the musical and cultural dimensions of the opera.
instance, was frequently censored during the RisorgiThe first three chapters of Izzo’s study focus on the mento. The connotations of Patria (the fatherland), esevolution of opera buffa from the Rossinian period. He pecially in places like Milan where uprisings against the
takes into account some lesser-known operas and libret- Austrian rulers had actually occurred, made this text ap-
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pear incendiary. The same occurred with Luigi Ricci’s
Il birrajo di Preston (1847): both in Venice and Milan the
notion of Patria was censored.
meaning of nationalistic overtones apparently present
in some of the works mentioned cannot be deciphered.
There is a risk that one perceives them through the sophisticated lens of the twenty-first-century historian—
Not only does the author consider the way in which leading to a misinterpretation of the original meaning.
librettisti and composers attempted to mention the Ital- Considering the case of Verdi’s “Và Pensiero,” which was
ian national cause but his analysis of the foreign milifor a long time believed to have been deliberately nationtary characters shows the antagonism that existed bealistic in order to promote national unification and was
tween states as well. For example, Francophile operas later shown to have been interpreted as nationalistic only
were not censored in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, in retrospect, opera buffa must be handled with caution
for France was not perceived as a threat, whereas in Aus- in regard to its power to influence the public.
trian Lombardy and Venice the celebration of French militarism was much more problematic. Such lines as “cor
Izzo acknowledges the difficulties arising from this
Francese” (French heart) were replaced by “cor cortese” and instead uses the censors as “readers,” which adds a di(gentle heart) (p. 210), and in La figlia del reggimento, mension of reception, although not an all-encompassing
instead of having France invade the Austrian region of one, to the contemporary understanding of opera buffa.
Tyrol, the censors changed the opera’s location to neu- Since these figures acted on behalf of a higher authority,
tral Switzerland, making the supposedly harmless Savoy it helps to highlight some of the preoccupations that they
of Piedmont-Sardinia the invading military force.
faced. Therefore, the conclusion that Izzo unwittingly
draws is that the issues of censorship focused much more
Interestingly Izzo draws up a table showing how each
on the antagonisms between France, Austria, and the
part of the Italian peninsula adapted the play, each alterBourbons than on restricting the expression of “Italiannating between France and the Savoy as invaders, and ness.”
Tyrol, Switzerland, and “at the foot of the Alps” as the
location of the invasion (p. 216). The table effectively
Izzo’s work should be praised for moving away from
highlights the very different sensitivities that predomi- a Verdi-centric interest in Italian opera and broadening
nated in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Duchy of the understanding of how the tradition of opera buffa
Parma, and other parts. Only here does the political frag- evolved in nineteenth-century Italy. However, he hanmentation of Italy really become apparent, showing that dles the nationalistic tones of operatic tradition too cauthe Italian national cause was not the only thing that the tiously, obscuring the distinction between Italian nationgovernments felt threatened by.
alism and regional sub-nationalisms, which is a key issue of the era. Nonetheless, Izzo’s analysis of the evoluThe issue of reception is somewhat more problematic tion of opera buffa in a period when it is widely believed
because of the relatively small size of the reading and to have disappeared from the Italian stage successfully
opera-going public. Whether or not the public perceived
returns the genre to the operatic world of nineteenththe notion of Patria and whether they understood the
century Italy.
If there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the network, at:
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Citation: Maria Christina Marchi. Review of Izzo, Francesco, Laughter between Two Revolutions: Opera Buffa in Italy,
1831-1848. H-Italy, H-Net Reviews. October, 2014.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=42410
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoncommercialNo Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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