Luigi Illica, a multi tasking personality
Gian Giacomo Schiavi, a Corriere della Sera journalist, defines himself as a “stowaway on board” of the Festival. On the evening of 18 July, in the gardens of the Giuseppe Cortesi Geological Museum in Castell’Arquato, he will mediate a conversation with the musicologist Mariateresa Dellaborra on the figure of Illica the writer. “I was called to try to read something unusual about Illica. Mariateressa Della Borra is certainly more competent than me: I will take a look at Illica, the eclectic bohemian journalist and writer. A variegated and multifaceted man, today we would say multi tasking.
Does he give us a preview?
"There is an aspect that is not well known about Illica in her role as a journalist for Corriere della Sera and founder of Don Quixote, a Bolognese newspaper. In this capacity, Illica interprets what were the characteristics of Risorgimento journalism, vigorous, of denunciation, of criticism. He is a prelude to the versatility of Puccini's librettos, which are the most popular works. Then there is another element of discovery, which is Andrea Chénier's solitary writing, a tale akin to the Renaissance period: a world that cultivated a libertarian and egalitarian spirit. One fine day we'll see… it's a push for ideals to be rediscovered. The work at that time was something extraordinary, a social representation with values and inspiring contents ".
Which audience is opera aimed at today?
“Perhaps it is interesting to re-read and rediscover something beyond conventional definitions. The idea is not to stop at the ritual image of the librettist with a starched collar and top hat, but to go and see these characters and their particular stories. Illica who works as a ship boy and then becomes an intellectual, a writer, a journalist. He gives an idea of the complexity of life and the stubbornness that leads to the fulfillment of the will. The work seems like something for initiates, which excludes young people. But it should be explained and told anew. If you interpret the musical construction alongside the narrative one, you will find sections of an era to be explored because it is exciting, the foundation of our country. A moment in which an Italian identity is built linked to a history, culture and heroism that is sometimes tragic, but also liberal, unconventional, loving. So much so that we still use adjectives that come down to us intact, like bohème. When the new succeeds in making a jewel of the past, then the miracle of updating the past and making it alive again takes place ”.
What will you talk about with Mariateresa Dellaborra?
"We will talk about the figure of the librettists in the nineteenth century, how they contributed to making the country less provincial. Manon Lescaut, Tosca, La Bohème. These are all works that immediately bring Italy to international dimensions. Mariateresa Dellaborra will tell all this. And the difficult relationship between librettists and composers, the need to change codes and language. The people followed the opera, identified themselves. The language then united the bel canto to the music, to the plot. There was a contagious passion, which related the different social classes. The people entered the gallery and had a weight in criticism, they were feared. Opera was a meeting point open to all. Perhaps it could go back to that if it opened up to a small revolution ”.
What did your research work in the archives of Corriere della Sera reveal about Luigi Illica?
I found many articles written for the Corriere Teatrale, the pages dedicated to the shows. But above all I found his crocodile, the farewell of 1919 written by Renato Simoni, the father of Italian theater criticism. He makes an extraordinary portrait of him, he speaks of Illica as a musketeer. And he confirms my impression of a Gascon character, rebellious. This way of presenting him, picturesque, with great stories. A swashbuckling man: even Simoni tells of a duel whose godfather was Giosuè Carducci. We can imagine a singular battle for some heated discussion. A character of the Lombard bohème, who lives and works in the same journalistic vein as Felice Cavallotti.
An intellectual capable of challenging the antagonists to a duel. His biography seems adventurous ...
He had arrived in Milan in the early 1880s to seek his fortune. He is part of that legion of dreamers who moved to Milan challenging their origins, in search of the big city. Illica is completely penniless, despite the fact that he comes from a family that is not poor after all. He is like a fictional hero. He stayed at a cobbler's house and in winter he burned the wooden models of his shoes to keep warm. At a time when bills of exchange were also signed for two cigars, Illica was the king of gimmicks and stories at Caffè Manzoni. Lively, controversial, exuberant. Simoni describes him as "the writer with a whirlwind fantasy, a blue eye and an irritated eyebrow".
Can we define Luigi Illica as a writer?
He is a failed writer, he missed the work of literature. He was a fruitful author, with a feverish activity. He started making opera librettos almost like a second choice, perhaps he was more attracted to comedy, fiction. Yet he wrote masterpieces. He was looking for real melodrama, in life and in the novel. Before dying he sent letters to friends in which he told of a new work inspired by the Aeneid, on the origins of Italy. He was a true man of his time, free when freedom meant above all to get involved with the lively and belligerent minds of the time, committed to laying the foundations of modernity.
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