Rendering Voices Independent: Dramaturgy and Text-Music Relationship in Fausto Razzi’s «Smorfie» and «Sogni»

Abstract

The article examines the refinement of Fausto Razzi’s subtle yet radical approach to music theatre, in which he repeatedly drew inspiration from texts by Italian avant-garde poet Edoardo Sanguineti, comparing «Smorfie» (1997) with the late composer’s revision «Sogni» (2022). Following logics reminiscent of oneiric enigmas in Sanguineti’s text, Razzi concentrates the drama in a flow of sound cores, in which the interacting voices of actors, singers, and instrumentalists have equal weight. He dispenses with the representation of characters and actions on stage while showcasing impressive performative interferences between early and new vocal music and music theatre. In «Sogni», Razzi refines the relationships between word, sound, rhythm, and space, moving from more complex, ambiguous structures to greater autonomy for vocal and instrumental voices, simplifying and distilling the musical material and allowing more interpretive freedom. He emphasizes discrete attitudes of independence of vocal and instrumental voices as concealed characters. The article highlights how the shift from «Smorfie» to «Sogni» reflects a move towards enhanced essentiality, clarity, and dramaturgical coherence that culminates in a meditative conclusion conveying stillness, desolateness, and interpretive openness.