Alfredo Catalani was born in Lucca, Italy, on June 19, 1854. After
receiving preliminary instruction in music from his father he was
allowed to enter the Paris Conservatory without examinations. He
concluded his music study at the Milan Conservatory, where in 1886 he
succeeded Ponchielli as professor of composition. In 1880 he had his
first opera, _Elda_, produced in Turin. He continued to confine himself
to the stage, his most successful operas being _Loreley_ in 1890, and
_La Wally_ in 1892. In his own time, and shortly thereafter, his operas
were outstandingly successful in Italy. Today they are remembered almost
exclusively because of some orchestral excerpts. Catalani died in Milan
on August 7, 1893.
The most popular episodes from Catalini’s two most famous operas are
dances often performed by salon orchestras. “The Dance of the Waves”
(_Danza delle ondine_) and “The Waltz of the Flowers” (_Valzer_ _dei
fiori_) appear in _Loreley_, an opera introduced in Turin in 1890. In
this opera the action takes place on the banks of the Rhine. Walter,
about to marry Anna, is loved by the orphan girl, Loreley. When Loreley
learns she is about to lose her beloved, she calls upon the nymphs and
the sprites of the Rhine to help her; throwing herself into the river,
she becomes one of them. During the wedding ceremonies, Loreley appears
and entices Walter away from his bride. Anna dies of grief; and Walter
meets his doom in the Rhine, to which he is helplessly drawn through
enticements by the sprites and by Loreley.
“The Dance of the Waves” takes place in the last act. After Anna’s
funeral procession passes by, Walter comes to the edge of the Rhine,
grief-stricken. Out of the waters come the sprites to dance seductively
before Walter and to beckon him on into the river. “The Waltz of the
Flowers” is a graceful, even gentle, dance performed in the second act,
during the wedding ceremonies of Walter and Anna.
“The Waltz of the Kiss” (_Valzer del bacio_) is a segment from _La
Wally_, Catalani’s most famous opera, which was such a particular
favorite of Arturo Toscanini that not only did he conduct it frequently
in Italy but he also named his son after its heroine. _La Wally_ was
introduced at La Scala in Milan in 1892. The text, by Luigi Illica, was
based on a novel by Wilhelmine von Hillern. The setting is 19th century
Switzerland where Wally and Hagenbach are in love, and meet their death
in an avalanche; all the while Wally is being sought after by Gellner,
whom she detests. The “Waltz of the Kiss” is a caressing piece of music
from the second act which accompanies a dance by Wally and Hagenbach, in
which they first discover they are in love and yield to passionate
kissing while the hateful Gellner watches.