The "Drigo" Serenade

[Joseph Fagan]

It sems to me that this work is seldom mentioned or discussed. I like
it a lot but I realize it is a "coke" performance. Nevertheless, I
love the way it flows . How does this work stand up critically ( in
spite of being a Coke performance )??

[leeann]

Not a critical review here, but I like this piece a great deal as
well, and after spending way more time than I probably should have
right now finding out more about it, I'm inclined to say I wish Mario
Lanza had recorded a third version blending the musicality of the RCA
version with the expressiveness of the Coke recording.

This evening I've listened to the RCA version, the Coke version (this
one from Khankonchak on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i5Aw9TWvs0&feature=response_watch),
Richard Tauber's English rendition (also YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5bQQin4Fxo&feature=related), snippets
of Gigli's Notturno d'Amour, and (thankfully only snippets) of Glenn
Miller and Nelson Eddy.

A this point, my totally untutored point of view is that the RCA
version is musically a cut above--lyrical, the phrases flow and blend,
and Mario Lanza and the orchestra seem to carry each other along,
perhaps balletically and Drigo would be pleased.

The Coke version seems headed toward a unique Lanza interpretation,
but at least after the first orchestral interlude (around 2:25) seems
choppier, the phrasing less integrated. more strained.

The best of Lanza, as the discussion on Lamento di Federico
emphasizes, always seems to combine interpretation and technique. I'd
like to have heard this from the perspective of the 1958-59 voice as
well.

That said, I'd look forward to a critical view from one who actually
knows what he's talking about. :-) Best, Lee Ann

[Derek McGovern]

That's a great post, Lee Ann. I love the fact that you've taken the
trouble to compare Lanza's two versions, and I found your comments
very interesting. I'll chime in with my thoughts after a few more
members have posted their comments.

Here are the lyrics that Mario sings, by the way -- kindly transcribed
by Armando a while back in response to an inquiry from the Mario Lanza
Institute:

Serenata ( Drigo)

Chiara la luna in ciel la riflete il mare,
uno sfilo legger laggiu’ nell’ombra appare,
l’onda con tremula brezza,
la mia gondola dolce carrezza,
la notte nel suo mister,
sommessa chiama,
e dice ama ama,
vien lascia la buia laguna
vien allo splendor della luna
vien, al richiamo d’amor
che attendi per luogo di labor.

Vien non tardar mio tesor
vien, al mio grido d’amor
ah vien, il mio desio ti vuole portar
con se lontan, lontan.

L’onda con tremula brezza
la mia gondola dolce carrezza
la notte nel suo mister
sommessa chiama
e dice ama ama
vien non tardar mio tesor
vien al mio grido d’amor
ah vien, il mio desio ti vuole portar
con se lontan lontan.

Ah ah vien, vieni al mio grido, d’amor

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Shirley

 

The best I can offer you is this link to the Italian/English libretto of Martha, as mentioned in this post:

 

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/mariolanza/v6HBayteDtQ/BP_44UViMKkJ

 

Cheers

Derek

 

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Joshua

"D'Amour" may be a French word, but "Notturno" is definitely Italian! In any event, my understanding is that the original name of the song, which Drigo created for Italian tenor Beniamino Gigli (drawing from music from his ballet Les Millions d'Arlequin), was the purely Italian Notturno d'Amore. Wikipedia has it wrong :)

It's probably been recorded in a number of languages, but I'm certain the original lyrics are in Italian. Sorry I can't help you with the French lyrics!

Cheers

Derek

[Steff]

Hi Joshua,

 

You can find the French lyrics on:

 

http://www.lyricsmania.com/les_millions_d_arlequin_lyrics_andr%C3%A9_dassary.html

 

"Les Millions D'Arléquin"

 

Not sure though, if the lyrics are an exact translation from Italian to French.

 

Steff

 

 

 

[Steff]

Speaking of the „Drigo Serenade, “ here‘s  a little story, from

The Augusta Chronicle, November 15, 1965

 

„Something for Ike - a Serenade”

Former President Eisenhower’s aides requested a recording of the “Drigo Serenade” Sunday after a stereophonic record player was moved into the suite at Fort Gordon’s hospital.

It posed a problem to Ft. Gordon momentarily. Officers weren’t quite sure how to pronounce the serenade – a ballet- much less find a record of it.

But they called Warren Hites, public relations officer for a local bank, because they knew he likes music and – sure enough- he had not one, but two records of it, by different orchestras.

He and his wife quickly drove out to the Fort and left he copies with a post information officer.   Said his wife, “I am glad we could do SOMETHING for him (Eisenhower).”

 

Steff

 

 

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Steff

Those French lyrics are definitely not a translation of the Italian! :)

Cheers

Derek

[leeann]

The lyrics for Drigo's "Serenade" are definitely perplexing! To say nothing of the fact that languages are even mixed and matched in titles.

And it's difficult to find information about it--I suppose partly because it originated as a part of a ballet (actually considered Drigo's masterpiece). And when Balanchine actually revived it in 1965 he stuck with the original mandolin accompaniment with the New York City Ballet. I'd bet it's actually more frequently recorded instrumentally than with vocals, but "Serenade" was simply the most popular number from the ballet and took off from there.

Richard Tauber's English-language version is definitely not translated from the Italian version shared in an earlier post above.  Mario del Monaco sings lyrics in Italian which are different from the Lanza version. And the French version Steff linked us to is sung here by Fred Bouin in a 1922 recording! Different lyrics again.

The Los Angeles Times announced Gigli's recording of it in 1924, entitling it "Love's Nocturne." Martinelli sang it during a radio broadcast in 1927, as did other prominent opera singers. And the list goes on.

Regardless of the lyrics, though, it seems to be the music that endures and it's  fascinating how it speaks to us forever over time.  Best, Lee Ann

[leeann]

And as a P.S. and an aside, there's even a syndicated newspaper story from 1919 that's part of a series called "The Long Arm of Uncle Sam" that tells behind the scenes events of World War I.  Recounted almost like a short story, the magazine article tells how a recording of Drigo's "Serenade" by Austrian violinist Fritz Kreisler led  to the capture of a Weimar spy  in New York City! 

[Derek McGovern]

Fascinating stuff from Lee Ann about Drigo's Serenade! And what an interesting, long life Drigo led---even falling foul of the Bolsheviks at one point (and reduced to living in squalor) when he returned to Moscow after the Russian Revolution.

Joshua: The song seems to have exploded internationally in 1922, when Gigli's first (acoustically recorded) version was released, with recordings in other languages presumably following soon after. While it had long existed as a popular instrumental piece---titled Serenade--Gigli's version was the first time it had bern turned into a song. That's according to Theatre Magazine, vols. 35-36 (1922), which wrote on the release of the recording in May 1922, "It's astonishing what a love song it makes, pealing forth in flexible clear syllables....".

The Wikipedia entry (French and English versions) for the original Drigo ballet, for what it's worth, also mentions that Drigo adapted the melody for Gigli. Makes sense: after all, Gigli was at that time the world's pre-eminent tenor.

Sorry I can't provide links~~I'm writing this on a cellphone.

Cheers
Derek

On Saturday, September 22, 2012,  <johnnyb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Indeed, there are LOTS of French singers using the French lyrics. I've found more recordings of the French version than in Italian! If you don't mind, can you cite your sources that show that it was written FOR Gigli?

[Derek McGovern]

Make that quote "flexible clear ITALIAN syllables...". And apologies for the typos ("bern" for "been"!) in my previous post.