Mascagni Conducts Nerone

Introduction

One of the rare film footage of Mascagni is an extremely important historical document showing the 73 year-old composer conducting his last opera, Nerone, at La Scala in Milan. It appears that the sequence was recorded for the movie Regina della Scala on Thursday November 5, 1936, almost two years after the premiere of Nerone at La Scala.

The dating of the fragment is based on two letters. The first one was sent to Anna Lolli dated October 17, 1936, and mentions the plan to film the excerpt:

"In compenso, alla Canzone di Egloge, ho voluto aggiungere un brano della scena del triclinio al 3° Atto, volendo dare l'impressione della grandiosità della messa in scena e delle masse corali della Scala: il brano è breve e termina con la morte d'Egloge."

"In addition to the aria of Egloge, I wanted to add an excerpt from the scene of the triclinio in Act 3 in order to give an impression of the greatness of the setting and of the chorus of La Scala: the excerpt is short and ends with the death of Egloge."

A subsequent letter to Jenner Mataloni, dated October 31, 1936, mentions that the filming of the two excerpts from Nerone will take place on November 5 at La Scala in Milan. In this letter Mascagni tries to make sure, given his new engagements at the Reale theater in Rome starting on November 1, that everybody and everything will be ready upon his arrival in Milan.

Epistolary sources: Mario Morini, Roberto Iovino, Alberto Paloscia, Pietro Mascagni, Epistolario Volume II, Libreria Musicale Italiana, 1997. Many thanks to Michael Wilson for pointing out to this information!

Starting December 8, the opera had a series of 6 performances in Rome, and starting the following April, a series of 5 performances in Milan.

More Material?

The letters mentioned above, the fact that the video is interrupted so early and the existence of audio recordings of the arie sung by Margherita Carosio make it very likely that more material exists. If you have more information about Regina della Scala or other footage showing Mascagni, please contact Mascagni.org.

It also appears that footage showing Mascagni conducting Cavalleria Rusticana's Intermezzo and the Barcarolle from Silvano exists as well. Any information on the subject is welcome!

Contents of the Excerpt

After showing the billboard for Nerone in front of the Teatro alla Scala, the video starts with Mascagni walking to the podium, saluting the audience, shaking the hand of the first violin, and tapping with his baton to obtain silence before starting the music. The excerpt then jumps to a part well into Act III (Scene II) where Egloge, sung by Margherita Carosio, sings "O mio Nerone, io muoio!...". The excerpt is soon interrupted.