Alfredo Catalani, Composer of Loreley and La Wally, Died Aug. 7, 1893

Summary: Alfredo Catalani, composer of Loreley and La Wally, died Aug. 7, 1893, and was remembered in Arturo Toscanini’s oldest children’s names, Walter and Wally.

1880-1885 oil on canvas portrait of Alfredo Catalani by Italian painter Daniele Ranzoni (Dec. 3, 1843-Oct. 20, 1889); Accadema Carrara, Bergamo, Italy: LA SCAPIGLIATURA MILANESE, via Facebook May 8, 2018

Alfredo Catalani, composer of Loreley and La Wally, died Aug. 7, 1893, and was remembered by his friend, Arturo Toscanini (March 25, 1867-Jan. 16, 1957), in the Italian orchestra conductor’s oldest children’s names, Walter and Wally, after the principal roles in Catalani’s final opera.

Alfredo Catalani was born Monday, June 19, 1854, in Lucca. The Tuscan city in Central Italy was the birthplace, about four and one-half years later, of Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

His parents were Eugenio Catalani and Giuseppina Picconi Catalani. Alfredo was the son, nephew and grandson of musicians on his father’s side. Italian music critic and musicologist Sergio Martinotti (1931-2012) describes Alfredo’s father, Eugenio, as primarily a music teacher and his grandfather, Domenico, as a music teacher and piano tuner. Italian opera and instrumental composer Giovanni Pacini (Feb. 17, 1796-Dec. 6, 1867) mentioned Alfredo’s uncle, Felice, teacher at Lucca’s Seminario di San Michele as one of the city’s “bravi maestri” in his 1865 memoirs, Le Mie Memorie Artistiche (pages 90-91).

Alfredo Catalani’s first opera, La Falce, was composed as his graduation piece from the Milan Conservatory and was staged July 19, 1875. La Falce was set to an Italian libretto by Italian composer and librettist Arrigo Boito (Feb. 24, 1842-June 10, 1918). The opera’s time frame is after the Battle of Badr (March 13, 624 CE).

Catalani set his second opera, Elda, to an Italian libretto by Italian librettist, music critic and playwright Carlo d’Ormeville (April 24, 1840-July 26, 1924). As a reworking of Germany’s sirenic legend of the Rhine River’s Loreley rock, Elda’s setting is the Baltic Sea. Elda premiered Jan. 31, 1880, at Teatro Regio in Turin, Piedmont region, northwestern Italy. The premiere presented a version that was greatly abbreviated by Italian conductor Carlo Pedrotti (Nov. 12, 1817-Oct. 16, 1893).

Catalani’s third opera, Dejanice, premiered March 17, 1883, at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Lombardy region, northwestern Italy. The historical drama, set to an Italian libretto by Italian librettist Angelo Zanardini (April 9, 1820-March 7, 1893), unfolds ca. 400 BCE in Siracusa, Sicily, and Ithaca, Greece.

Edmea premiered Feb. 27, 1886, at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala. The opera’s Italian libretto was written by Antonio Ghislanzoni (Nov. 25, 1824-July 16, 1893), who was librettist for Verdi’s Forza del destino (1862), Don Carolos (1867) and Aida (1871). Edmea’s plot takes place during the 17th century in a feudal Bohemian castle on the Elbe. Arturo Toscanini made his Italian conducting debut Nov. 4, 1886, in Turin in Teatro Regio’s staging of Edmea.

Catalani’s musical creativity led him to explore not only opera but also chamber music, choral music, piano pieces and symphonies. Yet, he is mainly remembered for his last two operas, Loreley and La Wally.

Catalani revisited his second opera, Elda, which he transformed, through extensive revision, into Loreley. Angelo Zanardini, who wrote the libretto for Catalani’s Dejanice, and Carlo D’Ormeville, Elda’s librettist, are credited with the finessed libretto. The opera’s setting is the banks of the Rhine in 1500. Loreley premiered Feb. 16, 1890, at Turin’s Teatro Regio.

Catalani’s final opera was La Wally. The Italian libretto was written by Italian librettist Luigi Illica (May 9, 1857-Dec. 16, 1919), later librettist for Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème (1896), Tosca (1900) and Madama Butterfly (1904). The literary source for the Italian libretto is Die Geier-Wally, Eine Geschichte aus den Tyroler Alpen (The Vulture Wally: A Story From the Tyrolean Alps), published in 1875 by German writer Wilhelmine von Hillern (March 11, 1836-Dec. 15, 1916). La Wally premiered Jan. 20, 1892, at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala.

Alfredo Catalani passed away Monday, Aug. 7, 1893, at the age of 39, in Milan. He had sought recovery from chronic tuberculosis through a tour of mountainous Switzerland in the summer. But his deteriorating condition while visiting Chiasso, at the Swiss border, necessitated his return to Italy.

The Metropolitan Opera has staged both of Alfredo Catalani’s last two operas. On Jan. 6, 1909, Met Opera hosted the United States premiere of La Wally. Met Opera has not performed La Wally since the four performances of the 1908-1909 season.

An aria from La Wally, “Ebben! Ne Andro Lontana,” however, has passed into popular culture via the media of films. The plot of Diva, a 1981 thriller by French cinéma du look director Jean-Jacques Beineix (born Oct. 8, 1946), centers on the singing of the aria by an American soprano opera singer, Cynthia Hawkins, portrayed by American soprano Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez (born January 1949). The soundtrack for fashion designer Thomas “Tom” Carlyle Ford’s (born Aug. 27, 1961) film directorial debut, A Single Man (2009), features a recording of the aria by Maltese operatic soprano Miriam Gauci (born April 3, 1957). The soundtrack for Yves Saint Laurent, a French biopic (2014) by French actor, director and screenwriter Jalil Lespert (born May 11, 1976), includes American-born Greek soprano Maria Callas’ (Dec. 2, 1923-Sept. 16, 1977) interpretation of the aria.

The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Loreley took place March 4, 1922. Loreley received six performances during the 1921-1922 season. Met Opera’s staging of Loreley ended after four performances offered during the 1922-1923 season.

The takeaway for Alfredo Catalani, composer of Loreley and La Wally, who died Aug. 7, 1893, is that, although the Metropolitan Opera has not performed Loreley since Jan. 8, 1923, nor La Wally since Feb. 4, 1909, La Wally’s “Ebben! Ne Andro Lontana” has entered popular culture via a French film plot and via film soundtracks.

Alfredo Catalani modeled as the male figure for L’edera (The Ivy), 1878 oil on canvas by 19th century Italian painter Tranquillo Cremona (April 10, 1837-June 10, 1878); L’edera is in the collection of the Galleria Civica di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Torino: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

1880-1885 oil on canvas portrait of Alfredo Catalani by Italian painter Daniele Ranzoni (Dec. 3, 1843-Oct. 20, 1889); Accadema Carrara, Bergamo, Italy: LA SCAPIGLIATURA MILANESE, via Facebook May 8, 2018, @ https://www.facebook.com/520926451274481/photos/a.524310517602741/1925625654137880/

Alfredo Catalani modeled as the male figure for L’edera (The Ivy), 1878 oil on canvas by 19th century Italian painter Tranquillo Cremona (April 10, 1837-June 10, 1878); L’edera is in the collection of the Galleria Civica di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Torino: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:L'edera_by_Tranquillo_Cremona,_1878.jpg

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