ABSTRACT
During his last six years of creative activity Malipiero wisely did not attempt any further works of the size or complexity of Le metamorfosi di Bonaventura: the one apparent exception, Gli eroi di Bonaventura (1968), is in fact (as we have had many occasions to notel ) a very special case, constructed almost entirely of extracts from earlier operas ranging from Giulio Cesare (1934-5) right up to Le metamorfosi (1963-5). The remainder of Malipiero's very last stage works are all relatively small and unambitious; moreover II marescalco (1960-68), which many would regard as the most richly rewarding of them, only apparently belongs to the later 1960s, since nearly all its music had already been written before the Rappresentazione e festa di Carnasciale e della Quaresima. Nor is it likely to be a coincidence that the success of the three operas which were composed entirely after 1965 varies in inverse proportion to their dimensions: Don Tartufo bacchettone (1966), which is comparable in length to Don Giovanni} also shares most of that work's defects; whereas Uno dei Dieci and L'Iscariota (both 1970), each of which is almost exactly as long as the Rappresentazione e festa,3 are truly amazing achievements considering the composer's age, and Uno dei Dieci may be regarded, in its small way, as his last real masterpiece.
