I note Verdi left the Schiller play where the protagonists actually get a happy ending, ie. Wilhelm Tell, to Rossini and draw my conclusions about him being an angst addict. :) No but seriously, I found Hytner's observation about Schiller the 18th century age of the enlightnment Optimist versus Verdi the 19th century pessisimist strikingly plausible, too. And yes, Schiller's Philip is all scorched earth about Posa's plans, but like Hytner said, Schiller is writing for an audience which knows the Spanish Empire, having reached its maximal power under Philip, will fall, the Netherlands will be free, other absolute monarchies are either getting changed into parliamentary monarchies or falling entirely, religion as a state dominating influence is all but gone (note: in Western Europe; Schiller interestingly neither knew much about nor had any interest in what was going on in America, beyond regiments getting sold there, and he certainly would have been unaware of the huge Puritan streak in Colonial and post Colonial America). So if you're Schiller writing this place contemporary with the French Revolution, you don't even have to bother with a "btw, Posa's idea of the future wins in the end!" epilogue, it's taken as a given.
Incidentally, of course the Terreur and then the transformation of the French Republic into an Empire was one of several reasons why Schiller got more cautious and moderate as the years went by, but he didn't lose his optimism about historical developments in general. Wilhelm Tell is a late play and still "yay!" about the Swiss shaking off Habsburg rule and becoming an independent republic. (It also has a scene where our hero, having assassinated Geßler the tyrannical governor, meets another assassin on the run, the parricidal son of the Emperor whom said son has just killed, and Tell then makes a Schillerian observation of no, killing someone for being a bloody tyrant to liberate one's people and killing someone as part of a royal family feud and power struggle is not the same, so bye, prince.)
Though I'm not sure how much of Verdi's misery for his protagonists is due to the switch in genre and the censorship problem. I mean, his protagonists can't help being primarily motivated by their passions because they're in an opera and not allowed any political relevance, and that's bound to mean dooom more often than not. Then again, Verdi and Wagner were exact contemporaries, and so was Karl Marx; Shaw was far from the only one who matched Wagner's Ring to Marxism and a "capitalism nay!" statement.
...You know, I suddenly remembered Verdi did tackle a non-tragic play and subject - Falstaff! (Not tragic because it's Merry Wives of Windsor Falstaff, not "I know thee not old man" Falstaff.) But I only know one aria from that opera, so I don't know how that worked out for him.
Re: Lastly, links
Incidentally, of course the Terreur and then the transformation of the French Republic into an Empire was one of several reasons why Schiller got more cautious and moderate as the years went by, but he didn't lose his optimism about historical developments in general. Wilhelm Tell is a late play and still "yay!" about the Swiss shaking off Habsburg rule and becoming an independent republic. (It also has a scene where our hero, having assassinated Geßler the tyrannical governor, meets another assassin on the run, the parricidal son of the Emperor whom said son has just killed, and Tell then makes a Schillerian observation of no, killing someone for being a bloody tyrant to liberate one's people and killing someone as part of a royal family feud and power struggle is not the same, so bye, prince.)
Though I'm not sure how much of Verdi's misery for his protagonists is due to the switch in genre and the censorship problem. I mean, his protagonists can't help being primarily motivated by their passions because they're in an opera and not allowed any political relevance, and that's bound to mean dooom more often than not. Then again, Verdi and Wagner were exact contemporaries, and so was Karl Marx; Shaw was far from the only one who matched Wagner's Ring to Marxism and a "capitalism nay!" statement.
...You know, I suddenly remembered Verdi did tackle a non-tragic play and subject - Falstaff! (Not tragic because it's Merry Wives of Windsor Falstaff, not "I know thee not old man" Falstaff.) But I only know one aria from that opera, so I don't know how that worked out for him.