吉安·卡洛·梅诺蒂

生平

梅诺蒂出生于意大利北部瓦雷泽省的卡德利安诺-维康纳戈，他从小就有极高的音乐天赋，11岁便写出了自己第一部歌剧的台本和音乐，年岁稍大之后便到米兰接受正规音乐教育。1928年赴美国，在柯蒂斯音乐学院学习，曾与伦纳德·伯恩斯坦，还有塞缪尔·巴伯做同学，梅诺蒂与后者的深入交往从学生时代就开始了。此后，巴伯长期作为梅诺蒂的同性恋情人以及艺术合作者，两人曾一度同居一室。梅诺蒂后来在柯蒂斯音乐学院任教，并创作了大量作品，主要是歌剧，曾两度获得普利策奖。1958年他在意大利斯波莱托创办了“两个世界音乐节”。1984年获肯尼迪中心荣誉奖。晚年他曾一度居住于苏格兰。2007年在摩纳哥逝世。

梅诺蒂虽然一般自我定义为美国作曲家，但他也一直拥有意大利公民身份。

音乐

梅诺蒂是20世纪主要的歌剧作曲家之一，所作歌剧基本上都是自己创作台本，他甚至自己导演自己的作品。梅诺蒂在20世纪先锋派音乐的大潮中，一方面坚守意大利歌剧的传统，如他的早期作品《阿梅利亚赴舞会》中体现的；一方面则力求歌剧更接近百老汇的风格，以满足美国观众的大众趣味。故其歌剧作品虽然看起来显得风格保守，但深受欢迎。梅诺蒂的成功也与他的戏剧和旋律天赋分不开。他的《老处女与小偷》是世界最早的广播歌剧之一，他的《阿马尔与夜来客》则是第一部为电视而作的歌剧，后者后来成为美国圣诞节音乐的经典之一。他的其他名作还有歌剧《神巫》《电话》《领事》《布利克街的圣者》《救命！救命！外星人来了》《戈雅》（多明戈主演）、芭蕾《塞巴斯蒂安》以及几部协奏曲等。

梅诺蒂还为巴伯的几部歌剧创作了台本，包括著名的《伐奈莎》。

Gian Carlo Menotti (; Italian: [ˈdʒaŋ ˈkarlo meˈnɔtti]; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian composer, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship and never officially became an American citizen. One of the most frequently performed opera composers of the 20th century, he wrote his most successful works in the 1940s and 1950s. Highly influenced by Giacomo Puccini and Modest Mussorgsky, Menotti further developed the verismo tradition of opera in the post-World War II era. Rejecting atonality and the aesthetic of the Second Viennese School, Menotti's music is characterized by expressive lyricism which carefully sets language to natural rhythms in ways that highlight textual meaning and underscore dramatic intent.

Like Wagner, Menotti wrote the libretti of all his operas. He wrote the classic Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors (1951), along with over two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular taste. Many of Menotti's operas enjoyed successful runs on Broadway, including two Pulitzer Prize winning works, The Consul (1950) and The Saint of Bleecker Street (1955). While all of his works used English language libretti, three of his operas also had Italian language libretti penned by the composer: Amelia Goes to the Ball (1937), The Island God (1942), and The Last Savage (1963). He founded the Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of the Two Worlds) in Spoleto in 1958 and its American counterpart, Spoleto Festival USA, in 1977. In 1986 he commenced a Melbourne Spoleto Festival in Australia, but he withdrew after three years.

Early life and education: 1911–1933

Born in Cadegliano-Viconago, Italy, near Lake Lugano and the Swiss border, Menotti was the sixth of ten children of Alfonso and Ines Menotti. His father was a businessman and his mother a talented amateur musician. The family was financially prosperous with his father and uncle jointly operating a coffee exporting firm in Colombia.……

Early career: 1933–1949

After graduating from the Curtis Institute in the spring of 1933, Menotti and Barber spent the following summer in Austria where Menotti began writing the libretto for his first mature opera, Amelia Goes to the Ball (Amelia al Ballo), to his own Italian text while staying in a small village on Lake Wolfgang.……

Middle career: 1950–1969

The 1950s marked the pinnacle of Menotti's critical acclaim, beginning with his first full-length opera, The Consul, which premiered on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in 1950. The work won both the Pulitzer Prize for Music and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Musical Play of the Year (the latter in 1954).……

Later career: 1970–2007

In 1970 Menotti made the difficult decision to end his lengthy romantic relationship with Samuel Barber.……

Musical style and critical assessment

Menotti's style was particularly influenced by Giacomo Puccini and Modest Mussorgsky, and he further developed the verismo tradition of opera in the post-World War II era.……

List of Menotti's operas

Sources:

Honors

In 1984 Menotti was awarded a Kennedy Center Honor for achievement in the arts, and in 1991 he was chosen as Musical America's' "Musician of the Year".

In 1997, he was awarded the Brock Commission from the American Choral Directors Association.

Publications

Vocal scores of his compositions:

Mass for the Contemporary English Liturgy. G. Schirmer Inc., 1990.