In honour of All Souls Day, here is the great Kiri Te Kanawa and Sir George Solti performing Allerseelen by Richard Strauss with poetry by Hermann von Gilm zu Rosenegg.
Translation:
Place on the table the fragrant mignonettes,
Bring inside the last red asters, and let us speak again of love,
as once we did in May.
Give me your hand, so that I can press it secretly;
and if someone sees us, it's all the same to me.
Just give me your sweet gaze,
as once you did in May.
Flowers adorn today each grave, sending off their fragrances;
one day in the year are the dead free.
Come close to my heart, so that I can have you again,
The soprano aria "Deh vieni, non tardar" is truly one of the the most sung aria in auditions for YAPS and beyond...which makes it required learning (in my books) for young sopranos wishing to have a career in opera!
Sung by Susanna in Act IV of Mozart's opera Le Nozze di Figaro, Suzanna is disguised as her mistress the Countess in order to trick the Count (who is acting like a bad, bad man!) and get back at him for wanting to be unfaithful to his wife the Countess. While Susanna is singing this aria, Figaro is hiding because he suspects Susanna to be unfaithful to him. Susanna knows that Figaro is there because his mother, Marcellina, tipped her off that he was raging mad over her lack of fidelity. So....Susanna decides to let him suffer a bit longer by singing "this at last is the moment...I have longingly awaited...soon he will come here and embrace me..." Of course at the end of the aria Cherubino enters looking for Barbarina and mistakes the Countess for Susanna and all hell breaks loose! Read the whole synopsis to see what happens!
Phew!
To pull this aria off is no small task! The recitative needs attention to phrasing and diction of course but, you also have to decide how far to take the "hoax". Is Susanna really singing sincerely to Figaro or is there more needling going on? I always like to say to my singers that regardless of how you want to play this, this is the first time Susanna has had her own moment in the whole opera and is just so darned relieved to be alone with Figaro (albeit dressed as her mistress) that she takes this opportunity to really relax and just BE.
The aria itself dips into the low register for a soprano (E3) which needs some chest voice but it also ascends to a high A5 by the last page after sitting around the passaggio so one needs flexibility and real spin to keep the sound going.
Have a listen to a few examples:
Lucia Popp from the 1980 production at the Palais Garnier with Sir George Solti conducting. Listen to how slow Solti takes the tempo (the aria is almost 6 minutes long!) and how Popp just SPINS out those lines!
Now fast forward to 1991 in Salzburg with Dawn Upshaw...a little faster, a singer with a totally different colour of voice and vibrato...and check out the Figaro - totally crushed!
And finally the 2006 Salzburg production with Anna Netrebko...obviously a "concept" production that one needs to see the whole thing to get it (not sure about the dancing angel). Whatever you think of Netrebko, she sang sing anything...and check out the change of tempos over the generations of singers and conductors!
The aria Lasciach'iopianga sung by Almirana in Act II of Handel's opera Rinaldo is one of the loveliest and most frequently sung pieces in the literature.
The translation: A section: Let me weep my cruel fate, and let me breath freedom! B section: Let sorrow break these chains of my sufferings, for pity's sake.
While the tune is quite simple (and why you hear so many crossover artists are doing it), the range only a 9th and a standard ABA structure, it is the rests that make it sublime. Imagine trying to sob while singing. That seems to be the point Handel was trying to make in the A section. In the B section the vocal line ascends to the 9th as if to imitate the breaking out of the octave of the A section.
If you listen to the other "crying" aria Cara sposa sung by Rinaldo you hear a different type of lament - more controlled with almost a hopefulness or wistfulness that Almirana will return in the A section then a defiance and refusal to accept that she is gone. The plot of Rinaldo
The basics: Libretto by Giacomo Rossi, based on the story of Rinaldo and Armida from Tasso'sGerusalemmeLiberata
ClassicalTV program notes detail:
Composed in just two weeks and premiered at the theatre in the Haymarket on 24thFebruary 1711, Rinaldo - Handel's first opera for London - was a triumph. The title role was penned for the great castrato Nicolini, who had recently arrived in England, and Handel aimed to test his range to the full. The piece includes some of his most perfect melodies, including the tender 'Cara sposa' and the bravura 'Venti, turbini'.
The original production was, by all accounts, spectacular in the tradition of the English masque. "Rinaldo is filled with Thunder and Lightning, Illuminations and Fireworks," wrote The Spectator of the day. David Alden's production for the Bavarian State Opera, designed by Paul Steinberg and BukiShiff, took up the gauntlet thrown down by Handel with the razzle-dazzle of his London coup and this creative team succeeded magnificently in inventing a similarly explosive staging. There are myriad arresting images and special effects.
Because Handel falls into the category of "early music" there can be some discussion on how one sings this aria. I have linked two very different voices singing. Canadian soprano and early music singer Suzie LeBlancand American soprano Renee Fleming. Two sopranos, two very different sounds and very different ornaments! (please note that they are both appear to be singing at A=415 in original key of F+)
The goal of this section is to discuss repertoire that is currently being worked on in my studio and in studios across the country. Each week I will highlight an aria or art song with links to plot synopsis and/or poet information, composer information, translations, video and audio clips and any other relevant information that a singer might find informative.
It is easy as a singer to become complacent about the amount of information s/he can access when the Internet is so handy. Unfortunately what I am noticing is that there is not more research but even less. We can get things in quick bites but don't take the time to sit and read through a collection of criticism or discussion on the oeuvre of the composer in question or really spend the time looking up the word-for-word translation! We aren't looking at political and social impacts at the time of composition or how they reflect current culture. No one is asking the questions so students don't feel the need to answer them.
Why am I doing your homework for you? I'm not...I am pointing you in the direction of information and showing how much more there is to the 2 or 3 page song you are singing then just the notes and words.
If you have repertoire suggestions or if you have sung the song/aria being discussed and have information or opinions, please leave a note. The more discussion the better informed we will all become!
…is a place for inspiration. All posts will aim to be positive and helpful, even if it just makes you laugh!
…is a place for information. Posts will include information on competitions, concerts, debuts, new music and Canadian singers!
…is a place for discussion. All readers are encourage to comment, correct and formulate new ideas on everything from pedagogy and repertoire choices to why we sing.
…is Canadian. All information will be FOR Canadians BY Canadians.
The soprano aria "Deh vieni, non tardar" is truly one of the the most sung aria in auditions for YAPS and beyond...which makes it required learning (in my books) for young sopranos wishing to have a career in opera!
The aria Lascia ch'io pianga sung by Almirana in Act II of Handel's opera Rinaldo is one of the loveliest and most frequently sung pieces in the literature.
Welcome to Spotlight on Repertoire!
