Amilcare Ponchielli was born in Paderno Fasolaro, Italy, on August 31,
1834. For nine years he attended the Milan Conservatory where he wrote
an operetta in collaboration with three other students. Following the
termination of his studies, he became organist in Cremona, and after
that a bandmaster in Piacenza. His first opera, _I Promessi sposi_, was
introduced in Cremona in 1856, but it did not become successful until
sixteen years later when a revised version helped to open the Teatro dal
Verme in Milan. World renown came to Ponchielli with _La Gioconda_,
first given at La Scala in Milan in 1876. Though Ponchielli wrote many
other operas after that he never again managed to reach the high
artistic level of this masterwork, nor to repeat its world success. From
1883 until his death he was professor of composition at the Milan
Conservatory. He died in Milan, Italy, on January 16, 1886.
What is undoubtedly Ponchielli’s most famous orchestral composition,
“The Dance of the Hours” (“_Danza della ore_”) comes from his
masterwork, the opera _La Gioconda_. This opera—first performed in Milan
on April 8, 1876—was based on Victor Hugo’s drama, _Angelo, tyran de
Padoue_, adapted by Arrigo Boïto. The setting is 17th century Venice,
and the principal action involves the tragic love triangle of Alvise,
his wife Laura, and her beloved, Enzo.
“The Dance of the Hours” comes in the second scene of the third act.
Alvise is entertaining his guests at a sumptuous ball in his palace, the
highlight of which is a magnificent ballet, intended to symbolize the
victory of right over wrong. The dancers in groups of six come out
impersonating the hours of dawn, day, evening, and night. The music
begins with a slight murmur, shimmering sounds passing through the
violins and woodwind. Dawn appears. The music is carried to a dramatic
climax with a strong rhythmic pulse as the day unfolds. When the music
achieves mellowness and tenderness, the softness of evening touches the
stage; and with the coming of night the music acquires a somber
character. At midnight, the music is reduced to a sigh. The harp
presents some arpeggios, and a broad melody unfolds. The mood then
becomes excitable as all the twenty-four hours plunge into a spirited
dance, as light conquers darkness.
The most familiar vocal excerpts from this opera are La Cieca’s romanza
from the first act, “_A te questo rosario_”; Barnaba’s fisherman’s
barcarolle (“_Pescator, affonda l’esca_”) and Enzo’s idyll to the beauty
of the night (“_Cielo e mar_”) from the second act; and La Gioconda’s
dramatic narrative in which she plans to destroy herself (“_Suicidio_”).