Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale

Rivista | Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale
Fascicolo monografico | 54 | Supplemento | 2018
Articolo | The Italian Opera Culture in Constantinople During the Nineteenth Century

The Italian Opera Culture in Constantinople During the Nineteenth Century

New Data and Some Ideological Issues

Abstract

Among the Turkish lyrics of Giuseppe Donizetti there are texts of singular modernity that exalt the Christians and Muslims’ brotherhood and accurately manifest the Tanzimat ideological value. Donizetti and other Italian composers took part in a metissage project also involving the Levantine community but above all the Constantinopolitan Armenians who managed the theatres and edited noteworthy translations of dramma per musica. The Italian composers, moreover, in writing Ottoman lyrics with Latin letters, apparently only to simplify the singer’s reading, actually paved the way to the literacy process of modern Turkey. This essay aims to re-evaluate Italian opera’s role in the Westernist aspiration context of 19th century Turkey.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Presentato: 06 Luglio 2018 | Accettato: 02 Ottobre 2018 | Pubblicato 06 Dicembre 2018 | Lingua: en

Keywords Multi-confessionalismArmenian-TurkishTanzimatItalian OperaConstantinople


Leggi questo articolo