La ricezione dell’opera russa tra Ottocento e Novecento in Francia e Italia

The thesis examines the impact of the early dissemination of Russian operas in the cultural life and the musical thought of Italy and France between the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. During this period, both in Italy and France, debates about musical theatre were deeply shaped by the influence of Russian music, especially its opera. After the first performance of A Life for the Tsar in Prague (1866), which is the first opera by a Russian composer to have been performed abroad, Italy and France were the first countries to show a lively interest for Russian music. The decision to limit the field of research to Italy and France is due to the special connections, both from the political and cultural point of view, between the two. Considered, in the second half of the 19th century, as the leading lights of opera culture, Italy and France were the first countries to stage works such as A Life for the Tsar, Boris Godunov and Yevgeny Onegin. Moreover, from a theoretical point of view, many Italian and French critics saw Russia and the Russian opera as a source of renewal for Western musical theatre, as well as an “alternative” canon to that of Wagner’s Musikdrama. Musical debates on the future of the opera in this period are indeed more orientated towards a revaluation of the Russian opera, which was no longer considered “barbarian”, “wild” or “exotic” but rather the starting point for new cultural attitudes. One of the key points of the thesis is also the very close relationship between musical thought and political interest in the relationships of Italy and France with Russia. After the Alliance franco-russe in 1893 and the Racconigi Agreement between Italy and Russia in 1909, Russian opera’s dissemination becomes the cultural path “par excellence” by which to cement political alliances and strategies before World War I. This thesis will be the first detailed treatment of the reception of the Russian Opera in Italy and France, and will offer some vital new information about the impact of Russian music on Western culture

“Una storia che non è mai accaduta ed è certissima”: raccontando Pantelleria dei Masbedo

In an interview with Nicolò Massazza and Iacopo Bedogni (Masbedo) “Una storia che non è mai accaduta ed è certissima”, Vincenzina C. Ottomano focuses on the role of sound in the video installation “Pantelleria” and how the two artists managed to recreate the memory of the bombing of the Sicilian island during the Second World War.In an interview with Nicolò Massazza and Iacopo Bedogni (Masbedo) “Una storia che non è mai accaduta ed è certissima”, Vincenzina Ottomano focuses on the role of sound in the video installation “Pantelleria” and how the two artists managed to recreate the memory of the bombing of the Sicilian island during the Second World War.In an interview with Nicolò Massazza and Iacopo Bedogni (Masbedo) “Una storia che non è mai accaduta ed è certissima”, Vincenzina C. Ottomano focuses on the role of sound in the video installation “Pantelleria” and how the two artists managed to recreate the memory of the bombing of the Sicilian island during the Second World War.In an interview with Nicolò Massazza and Iacopo Bedogni (Masbedo) “Una storia che non è mai accaduta ed è certissima”, Vincenzina C. Ottomano focuses on the role of sound in the video installation “Pantelleria” and how the two artists managed to recreate the memory of the bombing of the Sicilian island during the Second World War

Building on an oasis in Garamantian times: geoarchaeological investigation on mud architectural elements from the excavation of Fewet (Central Sahara, SW Libya)

The paper describes the micromorphological and mineralogical properties of earthen architectural elements from the excavation of the Garamantian compound of Fewet (Central Sahara, SW Libya), settled between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD, and compares this evidence with a set of samples from historical to modern context of Saharan and Sub-Saharan Africa. At Fewet, the production of mud bricks, plasters, and mortars employed in the building of the compound required raw materials available near the settlement. The earthen elements lack almost completely clay and organic temper, and their main components are quartz grains (sandy to silty) and a calcareous and slightly organic mud, available beside former springs. Only plaster and mortars show the addition (in limited quantity) of finely subdivided vegetal remains to the mixture. The technology for earthen elements used in Garamantian times resembles those today applied at many localities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, our analyses showed that in the last millennia archaeological sediments underwent limited postdepositional weathering, mostly related to solute redistribution after occasional rainfalls. Today, the same process affects traditional mud brick buildings

Prefazione

Vorwort Schweizer Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft, Neue Folge 39Preface Swiss Journal of Musicology, New Series 39Préface Annales Suisses de Musicologie, Nouvelle Série 39Prefazione Annuario Svizzero di Musicologia, Nuova Serie 3

Monocyte Distribution Width (MDW) as novel inflammatory marker with prognostic significance in COVID-19 patients

Monocyte Distribution Width (MDW), a new cytometric parameter correlating with cytomorphologic changes occurring upon massive monocyte activation, has recently emerged as promising early biomarker of sepsis. Similar to sepsis, monocyte/macrophage subsets are considered key mediators of the life-threatening hyper-inflammatory disorder characterizing severe COVID-19. In this study, we longitudinally analyzed MDW values in a cohort of 87 COVID-19 patients consecutively admitted to our hospital, showing significant correlations between MDW and common inflammatory markers, namely CRP (p < 0.001), fibrinogen (p < 0.001) and ferritin (p < 0.01). Moreover, high MDW values resulted to be prognostically associated with fatal outcome in COVID-19 patients (AUC = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.66\u20130.87, sensitivity 0.75, specificity 0.70, MDW threshold 26.4; RR = 4.91, 95% CI: 1.73\u201313.96; OR = 7.14, 95% CI: 2.06\u201324.71). This pilot study shows that MDW can be useful in the monitoring of COVID-19 patients, as this innovative hematologic biomarker is: (1) easy to obtain, (2) directly related to the activation state of a fundamental inflammatory cell subset (i.e. monocytes, pivotal in both cytokine storm and sepsis immunopathogenesis), (3) well correlated with clinical severity of COVID-19-associated inflammatory disorder, and, in turn, (4) endowed with relevant prognostic significance. Additional studies are needed to define further the clinical impact of MDW testing in the management of COVID-19 patients

Theatre as problem: modern drama and its influence in Ligeti, Pousseur and Berio

My contribution aims at exploring the interest showed by avant-garde composers such as Ligeti, Pousseur and Berio for the most innovative notions of theatre and dramatic theories. Driven by sometimes diametrically opposed motivations, these three composers have turned to spoken theatre in an attempt to rethink the approach to the problem of dramaturgy and stage space. Therefore, this article will track the influence these ideas had in defining the new musical dramaturgies in the second half of the twentieth centur

verdiperspektiven 5

Il quinto numero di verdiperspektiven offre ancora una volta un forum per gli ultimi risultati della ricerca, la discussione di nuove pubblicazioni rilevanti e nuovi sviluppi nella percezione dell'opera italiana (e non solo) dell'Ottocento. Questo volume presenta anche musiche verdiane del tutto sconosciute, soprattutto in relazione al suo quartetto d'archi, la cui prima versione, eseguita molto probabilmente a Napoli nel 1873, è stata ritrovata tra le carte di Verdi ora disponibili presso l'Archivio di stato di Parma. Questo numero si sofferma anche sul contesto dei libretti e sulla ricezione di Verdi nel Novecento

verdiperspektiven volume 2

Neue Perspektiven auf das Werk Giuseppe Verdis und seine Person sind überfällig. Über wenige herausragende Komponisten der Musikgeschichte sind so viele Pauschalurteile und Halbwahrheiten im Umlauf. Immer noch wissen wir viel zu wenig über einen der erfolgreichsten Komponisten der Musikgeschichte, über dessen Kompositionstechniken, über dessen weitgehend im Dunkeln liegende frühe Biographie, über die zeitgenössische Rezeption seiner Opern und vieles andere mehr. Es gab also gute Gründe dafür, im Jahr 2016 mit verdiperspektiven ein Forum für neueste Forschungen, die Diskussion über einschlägige Neuerscheinungen und den internationalen Austausch über neue Entwicklungen in der Wahrnehmung (nicht nur) italienischer Oper des 19. Jahrhunderts zur Verfügung zu stellen. Dabei zielt die Zeitschrift nicht nur auf Fragen, die das Werk des Komponisten Verdi aufwirft, sondern auch auf die vielfältigen Kontexte des europäischen Musiktheaters im 19. Jahrhundert, dessen Verankerung in älteren Traditionen und dessen Einflüsse auf die Musik der folgenden Jahrhunderte. Als „peer-reviewed journal“ versammelt die neue Zeitschrift Beiträge von herausragender wissenschaftlicher Qualität. Neben der ,klassischen‘ Form des Aufsatzes werden auch im 2. Jahrgang unter der Rubrik Dokumente schwer zugängliche oder bislang unbeachtete Quellen aus Verdis Zeit in kommentierter Form vorgestellt. Ein besonderes Anliegen ist überdies eine möglichst umfassende Berücksichtigung der Neuerscheinungen