‘Aus Italien’ rides the rails of an unlikely source — the song ‘Funiculì, Funiculà’

It could be a category on “Jeopardy!” — let’s say, Astral Connections for $1,000: What connects “Seinfeld,” “The Ren & Stimpy Show” and “The Family Guy” to Richard Strauss? 

That would be the Neapolitan standard “Funiculì, Funiculà,” sung by countless American cartoon characters, including, along with the ones cited above, Mickey Mouse, “The Muppets” and Topo Gigio, to evoke boundless merriment. But the song was composed in 1880 by Luigi Denza to serve a more utilitarian function: the launch of a new funicular (a type of cable transport) railway on Mount Vesuvius, near Naples, Italy.

As it happened, Mount Vesuvius blew off some steam the day that German composer Richard Strauss chanced to visit the site in 1886. Impressed by the natural spectacle, Strauss later recalled hearing what he thought was a folk song floating along in the background: “Funiculì, Funiculà.”

While working on his tone poem Aus Italien, Strauss incorporated “Funiculì, Funiculà” into the fourth movement, which he later described as “a hilarious jumble of themes,” meant to depict “the colorful bustle of Naples.”

However, Denza failed to see the hilarity, sued Strauss for artistic infringement and eventually won. 

What would Denza think of the myriad uses of his song, now in public domain, in American pop culture? Probably not much, but he might marvel at how the song is more closely associated with American hijinks than Neapolitan wonders.