Il presente lavoro si propone di iniziare a configurare un quadro unitario e sistematico della narrativa postverghiana sia sul piano letterario sia sul piano linguistico <<per la connotazione ambivalente del verismo come scrittura artistica in cui ricerca tematica e stilistica si condizionano in un rapporto inestricabile>>. Alla ricerca delle tracce di un vero o presunto “color locale” si sono scandagliate oltre centocinquanta novelle (Nicola Misasi, “In magna Sila”; Salvatore Di Giacomo, “Novelle Napolitane”; Matilde Serao, “Dal vero”; Domenico Ciampoli, “Trecce nere”; Gabriele D'Annunzio, “Terra vergine”; Mario Pratesi, “In Provincia”; Emilio De Marchi, “Sotto gli alberi”; Remigio Zena, “Le anime semplici. Storie umili”) la cui lingua è stata misurata sia rispetto agli strumenti normativi coevi sia rispetto all’uso corrente, ricostruito attraverso i lavori di studiosi che hanno focalizzato la loro attenzione su aspetti diversi dell’italiano del XIX secolo: dalla lingua letteraria a quella giornalistica passando attraverso l’ambito colloquiale/famigliare che emerge dallo studio degli epistolari. L'introduzione letteraria che precede il quadro appena descritto propone un'analisi comparativa dei tratti caratterizzanti il verismo verghiano secondo la declinazione che ne offrono, nelle varie raccolte prese in analisi, gli autori coinvolti in questo studio. / Our work aims at building a unitary, systematic tableau of the Italian narrative after Verga. We have focused on literary and language aspects <<because of the double feature of Verismo as an artistic writing where the research of theme and style influence each other in a tangled relationship>>. Tracing a real or presumed 'local color', we have examined over one hundred and fifty short stories ( 'In magna Sila' by Nicola Misasi; 'Novelle Napolitane' by Salvatore Di Giacomo; 'Dal vero' by Matilde Serao; 'Trecce nere' by Domenico Ciampoli; 'Terra vergine' by Gabriele D'Annunzio; 'In Provincia' by Mario Pratesi; 'Sotto gli alberi' by Emilio De Marchi; 'Le anime semplici. Storie umili' by Remigio Zena). The language has been studied based on norms and everyday usage of those times. The latter has been shaped through the works of scholars who have analyzed different aspects of the Italian language from the 19th century, in literature, journalism, and also in more colloquial, familiar letters. The section about literature preceding the portrait pictured above offers a comparative survey of the specific traits of Verga's Verismo according to the variations made, in the already mentioned collections of short stories, by the authors involved in this research.

Opera fantasias have been denigrated as insufficiently intellectual or serious, as derivative, as merely popular or sentimental. However, many of the perceived flaws were, if not hallmarks, at least accepted realities of Italian opera composing. Like opera itself, the opera fantasia is a popular art form, stylistically predictable yet formally flexible, based heavily on past operatic tradition and prefabricated materials. I approach opera fantasias, instrumental works that use themes from a single opera as the body of their virtuosic and flamboyant material, both historically and theoretically, concentrating on compositions written for and by woodwind-instrument performers in Italy in the second half of the nineteenth century. Important overlapping strands in my theoretical framework include the concept of virtuosity and its gradual demonization, the strong gendered overtones of individual woodwind instruments and of virtuosity, the distinct Italian context of these fantasias, the presentation and alteration of opera narratives in opera fantasias, and the technical and social development of woodwind instruments. I have uncovered a large body of compositions and composers, many of whom have not been written about in English, through archival research in Milan, Naples, Parma, Bologna, and Palermo. This reveals trends in operas used for fantasias, temporally, spatially, and between instruments, as well as further trends in the use of specific melodies. I use contemporary reviews of performances and compositions to attest to the popularity of the opera fantasia throughout the second half of the nineteenth century in Italy, including oboist Antonio Pasculli as a case study. This often overlooked genre is intimately tied to the central canon and deeply connected to its social and musical contexts. Approaching the opera fantasia as a coherent and meaningful group of works clarifies a genre that has been consciously stifled and cultural resonances that still impact music reception and performance today.