What is the meaning of the Italian word, "slancio" as applied to
the verismo ?
When I used the term one day, an older
gentleman who was watching tv with
a group of us
turned to me with a dreamy look on
his face, and said, "Slancio!!! I have
not heard that expression in years !!!
I assume it is a term that has much more
meaning than what I attributed to it ~ not just 'dash and style' which
is the way I was using it. It is a vocal term,
is that not it?
If you have any insight you would care to
share, I would be very appreciative....
thank you in advance according to my Cambridge Italian/English dictionary, slancio is just what you have said- dash.
according to the Oxford Dictionary of Music it means impetus or outburst.
I have always assumed it was that extra "something" that sets an excellent, inspired performance apart from a good, routine one. With respect to the verismo style, I think you'll find it used when someone has crossed that infintesimal boundary line between a well-trained vocal performance and a really heart-felt outpouring, where the "tenor sob" in Vesti la giubba is not just a special effect but an intense moment for the singer himself. Or where you start to get worried about the soprano and the knife in the second act of Tosca.
sometimes we get so obsessed with always producing a beautiful correct tone, that we forget about the cathartic effect our work has ( or can have) on the audience. Allowing yourself to let go of the carefully schooled approach and just fling yourself at the moment is of necessity a risk that you can take if you know your voice can hold up to it. This is what we often love about our favorite singers.- they do allow themselves those moments of risk. Not everyone can.
slanciare is also a term "to launch oneself at". Makes sense that way, doesn't it?
Best wishes and keep on singing My Greek husband thinks he may have said "silancio" telling you to be quiet! Which sounds a lot better than the Greek way!
Im not going to let my husband see any more questions! Nothing to add to the etymology of 'slancio'. In daily usage, this term has come to mean a number of things, thus becoming very generical:
- with impetus
- with energy
- with agility
- with a positive mind-set
- with facility
- with passion
- with an overpowering will.
In view of that, verism, representing a more direct and genuine attitude towards real life, should put a lot of 'slancio' all over the place. Instead, in the operas quoted, the term appears once in the libretto of 'Tosca', when in Act I she joins the painter in the church, accuses him to have an affaire with the blonde lady depicted in the chapel and after, 'con subitaneo slancio', asks him to forgive her jealousy.
The term never appears in 'Pagliacci'. It never appears in 'La Boh猫me', never in 'Madama Butterfly', never in 'Andrea Ch猫nier' (strange, Ch猫nier is a poet and 'slancio poetico' is a common idiom), never in 'Cavalleria Rusticana'.
So, probably singers should be careful in charging their declamato with 'slancio': verists look very parsimonious with it. It doesn't seem to be very noble: in fact, the non-verist Verdi has Monterone say to the Duke and Rigoletto, before cursing them: 'Slanciare il cane a leon morente 猫 vile, o Duca' (unleashing the dog to the dying lion is vile, o Duke) |
