Work and Disease in Italian Operas

Operas may provide valuable information on the society of that time. In particular, they could unexpectedly give information on the evolution of meaning of the work, on the workers’ health conditions and on the progressive acknowledgment of work-related diseases in medical and popular opinion. Most of the Italian greatest opera composers had studied and worked in Milan. Hence, they had certainly been influenced by the frenetic and industrial activities of that city, one of the world major financial and business centres and the industrial capital of Italy. So, sounds and noises from the occupational environment could be surprisingly found in the melodies and music of their compositions. In this chapter, a selected anthology of five tracks from Italian operas is presented, testifying working conditions in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and disclosing some classical occupational diseases. The ‘Anvil Chorus’ in ‘Il Trovatore’ by Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) allows us to analyse the relationship between singing, music and work. The final scene of Act 1 of ‘Il Barbiere di Siviglia’ by Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) musically depicts the noisy work at the forge. ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’ by Pietro Mascagni (1863–1945) contains praises of work, allowing us to reflect on the meaning of work in the nineteenth century. ‘La Fanciulla del West’ by Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) refers to some health problems among gold miners. At the beginnings of the twentieth century, occupational physicians started to study silicosis and ancylostomiasis in these workers. Homesickness is also reported in the opera by Puccini. Finally, ‘Pagliacci’ by Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857–1919) addresses the issue of psychological problems in professional performers on the stage.