tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post1268473077709731807..comments2023-12-24T17:41:42.989-08:00Comments on seraillon: "To convince you, and you alone, is all that I wish to strive for" - Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furiososeraillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-6371034017527862892015-04-12T11:42:11.700-07:002015-04-12T11:42:11.700-07:00Absolutely. Vivaldi also based at least one of his...Absolutely. Vivaldi also based at least one of his operas--also called Orlando furioso--on Ariosto. And when a woman (mezzo or contralto) is cast as Orlando, it's a kid-in-a-candy-shop type of thing for me. All gender busting madness, all the time. Some directors cast countertenors in these once-castrato roles, but it just doesn't compare.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-57091406209192047952015-04-12T09:43:52.175-07:002015-04-12T09:43:52.175-07:00The Alcina episode - or episodes perhaps, since a...The Alcina episode - or episodes perhaps, since at least half the primary cast of the poem ends up on her island - takes place mostly in chapters 6-8, and is really one of the great sections of the poem. I can imagine it as outstanding material for an opera, though I don't know the Handel work. I did just look it up, though, and it appears he based three of his operas on <i>Orlando furioso</i>. Thanks for alerting me to that. seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-65321176213027906102015-04-11T13:47:01.559-07:002015-04-11T13:47:01.559-07:00Does the Alcina episode appear in it somewhere? It...Does the Alcina episode appear in it somewhere? It's one of my favourite operas, Handel's Alcina, and it's seen some extraordinary productions around the world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-59157315645262414522015-04-04T15:58:18.982-07:002015-04-04T15:58:18.982-07:00Thanks, Brian. I think it actually is quite famous...Thanks, Brian. I think it actually is quite famous, but I too am curious as to why it does not seem as well-known as, for example, <i>Don Quixote</i> or even <i>The Song of Roland</i>, from which it borrows heavily. Perhaps it's because it's one of many works from the period (and before the period) retelling the tales of Orlando et al. I do love that it showed up as a paperback in a 1970's fantasy series!seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-49709540143133599682015-04-02T01:56:40.321-07:002015-04-02T01:56:40.321-07:00Great commentary on this one.
I had never heard o...Great commentary on this one.<br /><br />I had never heard of this work but it sounds as is it should be more famous.<br /><br />There are so many elements of interest that you allude to. The emphasis on individuals over the political, social and ideological backgrounds is an idea that seems to have resounding down the ages and now is apparent in our own popular culture.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-4962986306415217052015-04-01T15:18:34.740-07:002015-04-01T15:18:34.740-07:00I got a lot out of switching between the Reynolds ...I got a lot out of switching between the Reynolds and Waldman translations. The Waldman translation, in prose, is beautifully done, and doesn't have the restraints under which Reynolds had to operate. But it was irresistible at times to see how a certain passage might appear in rhyme. How she managed that for 39,000 lines I'll never be able to comprehend. And yes, the ways Ariosto's narrator moves fluidly from one tale to another are nearly more exciting than the tales themselves. <br /><br />Eleanor Clark has a thing in her Rome book about statues being melted down for weapons - perhaps the Julius II figure, I can't recall. <br /><br />And Miguel, a 16,000 word chapter on the creation of the Sistine Chapel? I am <i>really</i> going to have to start studying Portuguese...seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-65421316378583981242015-04-01T14:46:22.566-07:002015-04-01T14:46:22.566-07:00They were all called Ercole and Alfonso, anyway:
...They were all called Ercole and Alfonso, anyway:<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_of_Ferrara_and_of_Modena<br /><br />I think it's funny that the son inherited his mania for building cannons from dad.LMRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08538873868140070018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-35832068181388994662015-04-01T14:34:38.650-07:002015-04-01T14:34:38.650-07:00I guess I am just invoking Leonardo as evidence of...I guess I am just invoking Leonardo as evidence of the importance of the Ferrara cannon-works. They are right there <i>in the castle</i>. It's the second one you mention who was Ariosto's patron and is in the Titian at the link.<br /><br />I think.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-20426917413997780752015-04-01T14:00:18.294-07:002015-04-01T14:00:18.294-07:00Tom, we need to sort out the Dukes.
Leonardo work...Tom, we need to sort out the Dukes.<br /><br />Leonardo worked for Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara between 1471 and 1505, during which period the inventor planend a huge bronze statue that he never completed because they used the bronze for cannons.<br /><br />The Battle of Ravenna took place during the reign of Alfonso d'Este, his son. This Duke <i>did</i> melt a famous artist's statue, Michelangelo's statue of Pope Julius II, to make cannons. Coincidentally I also learned this from a Ross King book. <br /><br />(I stole so much from him for my one-sentence, 16,000-words long chapter on the Sistine Chapel's creation.)LMRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08538873868140070018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-49882274178786267722015-04-01T13:06:33.841-07:002015-04-01T13:06:33.841-07:00The Reynolds version is a great accomplishment, bu...The Reynolds version is a great accomplishment, but it can be kind of numbing. Luckily the froth and foam Ariosto generates keeps things moving. The transitions are the most amazing things.<br /><br />The meaning of the anti-artillery section is complicated by the fact that Ariosto's patron, the Duke of Ferrara, was an innovator in the manufacture and use of artillery. See his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_I_d'Este,_Duke_of_Ferrara" rel="nofollow">Titian portrait</a>. Leonardo's planned colossal bronze horse got <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=pE_CAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14&dq=duke+ferrara+cannons&source=bl&ots=MIW--Tic_A&sig=evtCEnXpPuppJ3YR0kQiUOGeUaM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fE4cVabuKoOrogSFkYDwDQ&ved=0CGQQ6AEwDg#v=onepage&q&f=false" rel="nofollow">turned into Ferrara cannons</a>, in the Duke's own foundry, if that source is right.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-37265046917194277712015-04-01T11:01:23.853-07:002015-04-01T11:01:23.853-07:00I've know about that David Johnston cover for ...I've know about that David Johnston cover for a long time, but stupidly never sought out a copy (they're available, but pricey). The Ballantine fantasy series (into which some witty, astute, editor decided to throw <i>Orlando furioso</i>!) features many other marvelous covers. This one actually does a nice job, I think, of conveying the aesthetic texture of the poem. <br /><br />I hope I can pull together a post on <i>Transit</i> - it really is quite a stunning book.seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-3049302848871564282015-04-01T10:35:10.349-07:002015-04-01T10:35:10.349-07:00Wonderful. It's great when you find a rich and...Wonderful. It's great when you find a rich and rewarding work, one that you want to return to again and again. I meant to say this earlier, but what a fabulous cover on the 1973 Ballantine Books edition! It would be worth tracking down if still available anywhere. <br /><br />I'm so relieved to hear that Transit landed well with you. It shows a very a different aspect of WWII, one that I had no real feel for before reading Seghers. I hope you will write about it - I for one would love to read your review. <br />JacquiWinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16220597283351925721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-18100144912348392852015-04-01T06:54:56.401-07:002015-04-01T06:54:56.401-07:00Thanks, Miguel! I was not aware of the Battle of R...Thanks, Miguel! I was not aware of the Battle of Ravenna connection, but that would certainly explain the fierceness of Ariosto's indignation in the firearms passage (and in some related passages I did not highlight). I was so struck by the "rant" - particularly in the context of the low level of discourse about firearms currently gripping the gun-crazy U.S. This refreshing angle is simply not part of those arguments.seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-55565792829591042332015-04-01T06:46:42.754-07:002015-04-01T06:46:42.754-07:00Thanks, Jacqui - quite a ride indeed, and certainl...Thanks, Jacqui - quite a ride indeed, and certainly a work I will return to again and again. <br /><br />I may post about <i>Transit</i> soon, but in short I thought it was terrific, another work to add to a growing library of works of fiction about WWII that have struck me as essential. Many thanks for the recommendation! seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-31514105147843511282015-04-01T06:24:43.743-07:002015-04-01T06:24:43.743-07:00What a lovely review, Scott!
Apropos of the firea...What a lovely review, Scott!<br /><br />Apropos of the firearms rant, Ariosto, an ambassador, was a witness of the Battle of Ravenna (1512), part of the war between the Pope Julius II and Louis XII of France; in that battle the French unleashed the greatest cannonade recorded up to that time, killing thousands. It is believed the carnage he saw firsthand influenced his horror and condemnation of firearms and artillery.LMRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08538873868140070018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-9425646420981622872015-04-01T01:50:14.514-07:002015-04-01T01:50:14.514-07:00This sounds like quite a ride! Broad in scope but ...This sounds like quite a ride! Broad in scope but with a sense of intimacy in the style and detail, that's quite a feat to pull off. I really like all the references you've pulled into your review. The gender-masking and disparity elements are interesting, too - I can see why you were reminded of Twelfth Night (it's probably my favourite of Shakespeare's plays). <br /><br />Moving on to another book, how did you get on with Transit? I noticed it on your reading list sidebar...JacquiWinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16220597283351925721noreply@blogger.com