Desdemona’s changing voices: from the “Willow Song” to the “Canzona del Salice”
The Willow Song in Shakespeare’s Othello involves a complex intertwining of mimetic processes: a boy actor enacts the female Desdemona, who imitates a maid called Barbary singing an old ditty, while the original singer referred to herself as a singing (or sighing) lover sitting at the foot of a tree...
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Centre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte"
2013-06-01
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| Series: | Sillages Critiques |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/2847 |
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| author | Chantal Schütz |
| author_facet | Chantal Schütz |
| author_sort | Chantal Schütz |
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| description | The Willow Song in Shakespeare’s Othello involves a complex intertwining of mimetic processes: a boy actor enacts the female Desdemona, who imitates a maid called Barbary singing an old ditty, while the original singer referred to herself as a singing (or sighing) lover sitting at the foot of a tree. The boy’s performance of Desdemona’s death left a lasting impression on early modern audiences, just as Barbary’s singing death did on the character of Desdemona – a detail which enables the dying Emilia to put a finishing touch on the mimetic process by comparing herself to Desdemona, and both of them to the swan, who only sings when she is about to die.The mimetic process was carried further in the 19th century, thanks to the operatic version written by Rossini in 1816. This paper examines the evolution from a metonymical relationship between the theatrical character and its representation by the singer Maria Malibran to a metaphorical relationship that actually substituted Malibran to Desdemona. With the result that the scene, which had purely and simply been excised from the English stage-world, was gradually reintroduced under the influence of the operatic version, thus restoring an adult voice to a character that had long been reduced to a child-bride almost devoid of vocal identity. Verdi’s Desdemona then appears as a fully matured character whose emotional power is fuelled by her vocal prowess. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-69ce19173ead4b87b8c2d04c6bb88674 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1272-3819 1969-6302 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-06-01 |
| publisher | Centre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte" |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sillages Critiques |
| spelling | doaj-art-69ce19173ead4b87b8c2d04c6bb886742025-01-30T13:46:45ZengCentre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte"Sillages Critiques1272-38191969-63022013-06-011610.4000/sillagescritiques.2847Desdemona’s changing voices: from the “Willow Song” to the “Canzona del Salice”Chantal SchützThe Willow Song in Shakespeare’s Othello involves a complex intertwining of mimetic processes: a boy actor enacts the female Desdemona, who imitates a maid called Barbary singing an old ditty, while the original singer referred to herself as a singing (or sighing) lover sitting at the foot of a tree. The boy’s performance of Desdemona’s death left a lasting impression on early modern audiences, just as Barbary’s singing death did on the character of Desdemona – a detail which enables the dying Emilia to put a finishing touch on the mimetic process by comparing herself to Desdemona, and both of them to the swan, who only sings when she is about to die.The mimetic process was carried further in the 19th century, thanks to the operatic version written by Rossini in 1816. This paper examines the evolution from a metonymical relationship between the theatrical character and its representation by the singer Maria Malibran to a metaphorical relationship that actually substituted Malibran to Desdemona. With the result that the scene, which had purely and simply been excised from the English stage-world, was gradually reintroduced under the influence of the operatic version, thus restoring an adult voice to a character that had long been reduced to a child-bride almost devoid of vocal identity. Verdi’s Desdemona then appears as a fully matured character whose emotional power is fuelled by her vocal prowess.https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/2847OthelloWillow SongMaria Malibranmélancolieharpeopéra |
| spellingShingle | Chantal Schütz Desdemona’s changing voices: from the “Willow Song” to the “Canzona del Salice” Sillages Critiques Othello Willow Song Maria Malibran mélancolie harpe opéra |
| title | Desdemona’s changing voices: from the “Willow Song” to the “Canzona del Salice” |
| title_full | Desdemona’s changing voices: from the “Willow Song” to the “Canzona del Salice” |
| title_fullStr | Desdemona’s changing voices: from the “Willow Song” to the “Canzona del Salice” |
| title_full_unstemmed | Desdemona’s changing voices: from the “Willow Song” to the “Canzona del Salice” |
| title_short | Desdemona’s changing voices: from the “Willow Song” to the “Canzona del Salice” |
| title_sort | desdemona s changing voices from the willow song to the canzona del salice |
| topic | Othello Willow Song Maria Malibran mélancolie harpe opéra |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/2847 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT chantalschutz desdemonaschangingvoicesfromthewillowsongtothecanzonadelsalice |