Gli Operai

Lyrics and midis for tenor Wagner in Italian

2011-06-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

In fernem Land
from Act III, Scene 2 of the German opera Lohengrin by Richard Wagner
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Role: Lohengrin, a knight
Voice Part: tenor Fach: dramatic tenor/heldentenor
Setting: a plain on the banks of the Schelbt, Antwerp, first half of the 10th century
Synopsis: To this point, the Knight has not been allowed to tell his name or his origin. However, he now must leave because he has killed Frederick, the Count of Brabant, and now tells his past. He is a Knight of the Grail from the island of Montsalvat and his father is Parsifal, the leader of all the Knights of Grail who strive to do good in the world as long as no one knows their secret. He finally reveals that his true name is Lohengrin. Range: Tessitura:
not entered G3 - F#/Gb4
Translations/Aria Texts:
Libretto entered by Robert Glaubitz (added 1999-02-25) Sounds:
MIDI version by Bill King
Sheet Music/Scores:
The Ultimate Tenor Aria Album (Version 2.0). Published by CD Sheet Music. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com.
Adler, Kurt. Operatic Anthology, Volume 3 - Tenor. Published by G. Schirmer. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com. Recordings:
none

Mein lieber Schwan
from Act III, Scene 2 of the German opera Lohengrin by Richard Wagner
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Role: Lohengrin, a knight
Voice Part: tenor Fach: dramatic tenor/heldentenor
Setting: a plain on the banks of the Schelbt, Antwerp, first half of the 10th century
Synopsis: As a beautiful swan floats towards them, Lohengrin says goodbye to Elsa. He tells her that her brother Gottfried who disappeared a while ago would have reappeared in a year if Lohengrin did not have to leave. However, he is now forced to leave and gives his sword, his ring, and his horn to Elsa, saying that Gottfried should be given them when he returns. Range: Tessitura:
not entered G3 - G4
Translations/Aria Texts:
Libretto entered by Robert Glaubitz (added 1999-02-25) Sounds:
MIDI version by Bill King
Sheet Music/Scores:
The Ultimate Tenor Aria Album (Version 2.0). Published by CD Sheet Music. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com. Recordings:
none

Morgenlich leuchtend im rosigen Schein (Walter's Prize Song)
from Act III, Scene 2 of the German opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Richard Wagner
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Role: Walter von Stolzing, a young knight from Franconia
Voice Part: tenor
Setting: a meadow outside of Nuremburg, Germany, mid-sixteenth century
Synopsis: Walter sings his Prize Song for the song contest. It is a beautiful and magical piece which poetically describes his love for Eva. Range: Tessitura:
not entered G3 - G4
Translations/Aria Texts:
Libretto entered by Mike Richter (added 1999-05-11) Sounds:
MIDI version by Arnold Miller
Sheet Music/Scores:
The Ultimate Tenor Aria Album (Version 2.0). Published by CD Sheet Music. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com.
Adler, Kurt. Operatic Anthology, Volume 3 - Tenor. Published by G. Schirmer. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com. Recordings:
none

Ein Schwert verhieß mir der Vater
from Act I, Scene 3 of the German opera Die Walküre by Richard Wagner
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Role: Siegmund, son of Wotan and Fricka
Voice Part: tenor Fach: dramatic tenor/heldentenor
Setting: the interior of Hunding's house, Germany, mythical times
Synopsis: Siegmund soliloquizes, mentioning that his father promised him a sword at one time. In addition, he also expresses his desire for his host's wife, Sieglinde, who is actually his long-lost twin sister. Range: Tessitura:
C3 - G4 G3 - F4
Translations/Aria Texts:
Libretto entered by Lyle Neff (added 1999-02-25) Sounds:
MIDI version by Santiago Schleh
Sheet Music/Scores:
The Ultimate Tenor Aria Album (Version 2.0). Published by CD Sheet Music. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com. Recordings:
none

Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond (Spring Song)
from Act I, Scene 3 of the German opera Die Walküre by Richard Wagner
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Role: Siegmund, son of Wotan and Fricka
Voice Part: tenor Fach: dramatic tenor/heldentenor
Setting: the interior of Hunding's house, Germany, mythical times
Synopsis: After Sieglinde offers him escape from her husband Hunding as well as a sword which is stuck in a tree outside, Siegmund compares his love for Sieglinde to the beauty of springtime. Range: Tessitura:
C3 - G4 F3 - F4
Translations/Aria Texts:
Libretto entered by Lyle Neff (added 1999-02-25) Sounds:
MIDI version by Louis Sauter
Sheet Music/Scores:
The Ultimate Tenor Aria Album (Version 2.0). Published by CD Sheet Music. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com.
Adler, Kurt. Operatic Anthology, Volume 3 - Tenor. Published by G. Schirmer. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com.

Guglielmo's other aria in "Mignon": 'Quale sguardo strano': lyrics and midi

2011-06-19T12:27:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Rec. YouTube, T. Schipa

Recit.

Ah, quale sguardo strano
piu tenero di me questo vegliardo
a consolar pervenne
l'infelice fanciulla
indovinai
di quel core l'arcan
dalle sua labbra
il nome mio sfuggia.
----

I

ah, non credevi tu nel vergin tuo candore
che l'innocente ardor
ond'era accesa in sen,
potesse un di mutarsi
nel piu fervente amore
e perturbare il corso
del viver suo seren

--- sel del fior
gli smunti colori
oggi tu brami
ravvisare ancor.
--- almo april,
dagli un bacio che l'irrori
dagli, o mio cor,
un sospiro d'amor.

II

ahi, che le chieggo invano
un detto, un solo accento
de' mali suoi l'arcan
non posso penetrar
lo guardo mio la turba
e l'empie di sgomento
la fanno i detti miei
dirotta lagrimar.

Midi and Lyrics "Addio Mignon" --

2011-06-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Addio, Mignon, fa' core
non lagrimar
ne' verd'anni tuoi
presto passa il dolore
Dio ti consolerà
su te saprà vegliar
non lagrimar
quest'atto non imputa a perfida incostanza
ne d'amorosa fiamma incolpa il folle ardor
nel congedarti, o cara, io nutro la speranza
di riverderti ancor.

Lyrics and midi: 1866 "Mignon" (Thomas) -- 'Addio, Mignon! Fa core!'

2011-06-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

rec. by T. Schipa,

Addio, Mignon, fa core,
non lagrimar,
Ah, ne' verd' anni tuoi
presto passa il dolore
Su te sempre il signore
sapra dal ciel vegliar,
sapra dal ciel vegliar,
non lagrimar.
Deh, rinvenir tu possa
la terra tua natia
Deh, possa arnica sorte arriderti in cammin.
M'e duro inver lasciarti
l'afflitta anima mia
compiange il tuo destin.

"Addio, Mignon" 1866 -- Thomas's masterpiece for tenor

2011-06-19T11:59:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

"Mignon" è una tragedia lirica in tre atti e 5 quadri di Ambroise Thomas, su libretto di Jules Barbier e Michel Carré tratta da Les Années d'apprentissage de Wilhelm Meister da Goethe, rappresentata all'Opéra-Comique di Parigi il 17 novembre 1866.

I librettisti Jules Barbier e Michel Carré furono all'origine del progetto Mignon.

Dopo aver adattato, con il successo conseguente, il Faust da Goethe, essi decisero di trarre un libretto da Wilhelm Meister dello stesso autore.

Essi proposero subito il libretto a Meyerbeer, che lo rifiutò, poi a Gounod ed infine ad Ambroise Thomas.

Quest'ultimo era conosciuto essenzialmente come compositore di opéra comique che anche se avevano avuto un certo successo non erano mai rimaste in repertorio.

Con "Mignon", all'età di oltre cinquant'anni, il compositore poté conoscere il trionfo e la fama internazionale, confermata più tardi con Hamlet.

In origine, "Mignon" fu creata con una conclusione tragica, poiché "Mignon", come nel romanzo di Goethe, moriva brutalmente in una festa di villaggio alla vista di Philine.

Questa fine urtava la convenzione allora in vigore, e che fu abbandonata solamente con Carmen di Georges Bizet nel 1875, che voleva che l'opéra comique si concludesse in maniera gioiosa.

Perciò l'opera, all'epoca delle prime rappresentazioni, fu accolta tiepidamente.

"Allora, riporta Jules Barbier, come da persone pratiche quali eravamo, ci dicemmo: ma per rispettare questa scomparsa di "Mignon", secondo quanto previsto da Goethe, dobbiamo privarci di 7-800 rapprestazioni?

Sarebbe molto meglio farli sposare come comuni borghesi e lasciare la porta aperta alla loro numerosa posterità. "

Questo fu fatto ed il lavoro conobbe allora successo travolgente.

Napoleone III assistette alla 22ª rappresentazione, ed entusiasta fece dare 15 rappresentazioni l'anno successivo per i sovrani europei riuniti a Parigi per Exposition universelle del 1867.

Dal 1868, l'opera fu rappresentata a Weimar ed a Vienna dove divenne rapidamente molto popolare.

********************************

Nel 1870 venne rappresentata anche a Londra in italiano con grande successo.

******************* tenor aria: "Addio, Mignon"

Nel 1894, "Mignon" raggiunse la millesima rappresentazione all'Opéra-Comique, divendo così la prima opera lirica a raggiungere le 1.000 rappresentazioni con il suo compositore ancora in vita.

Per rispondere al successo dell'opera, Ambroise Thomas trasformò il suo lavoro in grand opéra trasformando in recitativi i dialoghi parlati.

Ed è in questa versione che l'opera venne ulteriormente ripresa.

Thomas mise a punto anche una versione con l'epilogo tragico da destinare al pubblico tedesco che ben conosceva l'opera originale del connazionale Goethe.

Personaggi

Mignon -------------------------- mezzosoprano
Philine, attrice, --------------- soprano
Wilhelm Meister, studente ------- tenore
Lothario, cantante itinerante --- bass-baritone
Frédéric ------------------------ mezzosoprano
Laërte -------------------------- tenore
Jarno --------------------------- basso
Antonio ------------------------- basso
Abitanti del villaggio, contadini, bohémiens

Nel cortile di una locanda, Atto I, davanti agli abitanti del villaggio, un musicista itinerante, Lothario, canta il suo dolore: egli ricerca sua figlia Sperata, scomparsa da molto tempo.

Arriva una compagnia di attori diretta dal crudele Jarno, che fa la sua rappresentazione sul tema di due commedianti, la civetta Philine e lo spirituale Laërte. Jarno annuncia che la giovane Mignon eseguirà il celebre « pas des œufs » ma la giovane si rifiuta.

Nel momento in cui Jarno sta per picchiarla, un giovane e ricco studente, Wilhelm Meister, s'interpone.

Philine è molto interessata al giovane il quale spiega a Laërte che conduce un'esistenza oziosa e gioiosa e che è anche lui interessato a Philine e deciso a conquistarla.

Arriva Mignon, venuta a ringraziare Wilhelm Meister del suo aiuto.

Il giovane uomo l'interroga ma ella risponde in modo misterioso, che ignora la sua età, ha perso i suoi genitori, e si ricorda solamente di essere stata rapita in un paese soleggiato, forse l'Italia: e canta l'aria celeberrima

"Connais-tu le pays où fleurit l'oranger ? ".

Commosso per questo racconto, Wilhelm Meister riscatta da Jarno la libertà di Mignon.

Philine ritrova uno dei suoi spasimanti, Federico che è furioso per la presenza di Wilhelm. Laërte porta un invito del barone di Rosenberg, zio di Federico, a dare una rappresentazione nel suo castello.

Mignon vuole seguire Wilhelm Meister.

Questo ultimo in un primo momento rifiuta ma finisce per acconsentire a patto che lei si travesta.

Nel boudoir del castello di Rosenberg, Atto II, Philine si prepara per la rappresentazione di Songe d'une nuit d'été di William Shakespeare. Wilhelm le rende visita in compagnia di Manon travestita da paggio. Philine si burla di Manon. Questa decide di abbigliarsi con gli abiti di Philine per sedurre Wilhelm.

Quest'ultimo entrando nel camerino di Philine vede Manon nei panni di Philine e nello stesso tempo entrare Fredreric. I due uomini litigano e Manon esce dal nascondiglio per dividerli ma Wilhelm, che pensa sia solo una bambina, le chiede di andare via. Arriva Philine che vede Manon vestita con i suoi abiti. Ella glieli lascia burlandosi ma Manon se li toglie con rabbia perché è disperata di vedere che Wilhelm ama Philine. Si affida a Lothario che è appena arrivato al castello e che decide di aiutarla a vendicarsi.

Nel parco, Philine trionfa nel suo ruolo di Titania: canta la famosa aria "Je suis Titania la blonde… ". Lothario sopraggiunge come smarrito: ha dato fuoco al castello. Philine manda Manon a cercare il suo bouquet tra le fiamme e viene salvata da Wilhelm.

Nel salone di un palazzo in Italia, Atto III, Lothario ha condotto Mignon e Wilhelm nel palazzo dei Cipriani.

Wilhelm veglia sul sonno della ragazza e contemplandola comprende di esserne innamorato e vuole acquistarle il palazzo. Laërte l'avverte che Philine li ha seguiti e che è là. Manon si sveglia e Wilhelm gli dichiara il suo amore, ma la voce di Philine li interrompe e Manon sviene.

Lothario entra vestito con un abito magnifico e con un cofanetto in mano rivela loro che il palazzo gli appartiene. Wilhelm e Manon lo prendono per matto. Lothario offre alla ragazza una sciarpa ricamata, un braccialetto di corallo ed un libro di orazioni, ma Manon non ha bisogno di aprire il libro per dire la preghiera. Poco a poco, i suoi ricordi ritornano e riconosce il palazzo della sua infanzia. Lothario è suo padre e lei non è altro che Sperata. La ragazza, schiantata dall'emozione, crolla a terra.

Per la prima rappresentazione dell'opera nel 1866, "Mignon" beneficiò di una splendida compagnia di canto.

L'interpretazione di Célestine Galli-Marié nel ruolo di Mignon, contribuì in maniera notevole al successo dell'opera.

Dans le rôle-titre contribua grandement au succès de l'ouvrage.

Ella fu attorniata da Marie Cabel (Philine), Léon Achard (Wilhelm) e Charles Aimable Bataille (Lothario).

A Londra, nel 1870, Christine Nilsson, che aveva interpretato il ruolo di Ofelia in Hamlet nel 1868, trionfò nel ruolo di Mignon. Jean-Baptiste Faure interpretò il ruolo di Lothario.

Sigrid Arnoldson fu una delle più celebri Mignon della primi anni del XX secolo.

Ella aveva debuttato nel ruolo all'Opera comique nel 1887 e la cantò in tutto il mondo.

Nel 1907 celebrò a Dresda la sua 500ª rappresentazione nel ruolo di Mignon.

In quella occasione la signora Thomas le scrisse:

«voi siete sempre, per me, la Mignon prediletta dal maestro. vous êtes toujours pour moi la Mignon favorite du maître. Vi sono molto riconoscente di essere rimasta fedele a questo poetico ruolo, a questo ruolo in cui avete saputo trovare l'ideale.>>

Altri progetti[modifica] Wikimedia Commons contiene file multimediali su Mignon

"Addio, Mignon"

2011-06-19T11:52:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas (Metz, 5 agosto 1811 – Parigi, 12 febbraio 1896) è stato un compositore francese, molto famoso nel XIX secolo per le sue opere, specialmente per "Mignon".

Ragazzo prodigio, figlio di un violinista di Metz, Jean-Baptiste-Martin Thomas, e di una cantante, Ambroise Thomas apprese la musica da suo padre, imparando nel contempo a suonare il pianoforte ed il violino.

Suo padre morì nel 1823 lasciando la famiglia senza risorse.

Sua moglie, si trasferì a Parigi nel 1827 e l'anno dopo Ambroise entrò al Conservatorio di Parigi dove studiò con Zimmerman, Doulen, Jean-François Lesueur per la composizione e Kalkbrenner per il pianoforte.

Vinse il primo premio di pianoforte nel 1829, il primo premio di armonia nel 1830 e, dopo un primo tentativo infruttuoso nel 1831, il Prix de Rome nel 1832 con la cantata Herman et Ketty.

Durante un suo soggiorno in Italia a Villa Medici, egli compose essenzialmente della musica da camera e divenne amico di Hippolyte Frandin, che gli fece un ritratto, ed Ingres, allora direttore dell'Accademia di Francia.

Egli andò, in seguito, a Vienna, Monaco di Baviera e Lipsia.

Egli era a quei tempi, secondo la descrizione di Léon Escudier, « un giovane uomo di linea slanciata, dalla fisionomia espressiva, con degli occhi azzurri di una dolcezza ammaliante, dal passo noncurante e dai modi eleganti e garbati.

Questo giovane uomo ha la voce flessuosa e penetrante e non si fa pregare molto per sedersi al piano e suonare.

Egli suona bene questo strumento, non alla maniara dei virtuosi da concerto sempre in cerca di approvazione e produttori di sonorità assordanti.

Ma un poeta che sa parlare al cuore e trovare i colori per dipingere i suoi trasporti ed i suoi sogni. »

Àl suo ritorno a Parigi nel 1837, Thomas si indirizza alla composizione di opere, che saranno tutte brillanti.

Anche se le opere di questo periodo, composte in uno stile leggero e molodioso, ottengono un buon successo, nessuna riesce a rimanere in repertorio.

"La Double Échelle" del (1837), che ebbe i complimenti di Hector Berlioz.

"Le Caïd" del 1849, operetta brillante che riportò un grande successo.

"Le Songe d'une Nuit d'Été" del 1850, fantasia drammatica ben accolta, o il Falstaff da William Shakespeare.

"Raymond" del 1851, la cui ouverture rimase popolare, Le Roman d'Elvire, etc.

Grazie al successo di "Caïd", Ambroise Thomas viene eletto trionfalmente all'Académie des Beaux-Arts de l'Institut de France nel 1851, surclassando Berlioz che non ottenne alcun voto.

*********************************

Fu all'età di oltre cinquant'anni che la sua opera "Mignon" del 1866, riportò un notevole successo dopo un debutto mediocre.

Da allora Thomas, la cui fama era stata relativamente modesta, assurse al rango di grande compositore.

Nel 1894 "Mignon" era già stata rappresentata oltre 1.000 volte solamente all'Opéra-Comique ed era un successo in tutti i teatri d'Europa.

La sua opera successiva, "Hamlet" del 1868, dalla tragedia di Shakespeare, gli darà rinomanza internazionale.

La musica di Thomas non era molto calzante al soggetto ma l'opera riuscì comunque ad avere successo, anche per merito della compagnia di canto, tanto che il compositore sarà il primo compositore a ricevere l'insegna di Commendatore della Légion d'honneur direttamente dalle mani di Napoleone III.

Thomas divenne poi professore di composizione al Conservatorio di Parigi nel 1856, succedendo ad Adolphe Adam ed avendo come colleghi Massenet, Édouard Colonne, Théodore Dubois, Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray, Albert Lavignac e Francis Thomé.

Alla morte di Daniel Auber nel 1871, Thomas gli succedette nell'incarico di direttore del Conservatorio.

Egli smise allora di comporre ad eccezione della Françoise de Rimini del 1874, che non ebbe grande successo e di un balletto, La Tempête del 1889, entrambi da Shakespeare, rappresentati all'Opéra de Paris.

Durante la sua direzione del Conservatorio, si oppose alle influenze tedesche nella musica frances, assegnò la cattedra di organo a César Franck nel 1872 e combatté contro la nomina di Gabriel Fauré, che divenne direttore del Conservatorio soltanto dopo la morte di Thomas nel 1896.

All'inizio della sua carriera di compositore, Ambroise Thomas compose alcuni pezzi di musica sacra così come di musica strumentale e sinfonica.

Nel 1887, presiedette la commissione istituita dal ministro della guerra per scegliere la versione ufficiale de La Marseillaise. La version decisa dalla commissione fu adottata fino al 1974.

« Vi sono due generi di musica, la buona e la cattiva e poi c'é la musica di Ambroise Thomas », disse Emmanuel Chabrier: intendendo dire in effetti che la musica di Ambroise Thomas non era ne buona ne cattiva; léggera, facile, melodiosa, era pensata per piacere al pubblico popolare del Secondo impero.

Opere:

La Double échelle, Opéra-Comique, 1837

Le Perruquier de la Régence, 1838

Gipsy, 1839

Le comte de Carmagnola, 1842

Angélique et Médor, 1843

Le Caïd, 1849

Le Songe d'une nuit d'été, 1850

Raymond, 1851

Psyché, 1857

Le Roman d'Elvire, 1860

*******************

Mignon, tragedia lirica in 3 atti e 5 quadri, libretto di Michel Carré e Jules Barbier, rappresentata al Opéra-Comique il 17 novembre 1866

************* tenor aria: "Addio, Mignon" (Guillelmo, studente)

Hamlet, opera in 5 atti, libretto di Michel Carré e Jules Barbier, rappresentata all'Opéra de Paris il 9 marzo 1868

Françoise de Rimini, Opéra de Paris, 1874

La Tempête, balletto, 1889

Altri progetti[modifica] Wikimedia Commons contiene file multimediali su Ambroise Thomas
Collegamenti esterni[modifica]Spartiti liberi di Ambroise Thomas su International Music Score Library Project

Midi and lyrics for second melodious intervention by Tamino in "Flauto Magico" -- 'O wenn ich doch'

2011-06-19T11:43:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

O wenn ich doch imstande wäre, Oh if only I were equal,
Allmächtige, zu eurer Ehre. Almighty, to your honor.
Mit jedem Tone meinen Dank With every tone my thanks
Zu schildern, wie er hier, entsprang. Arose to be portrayed, as here.
Wie stark ist nicht dein Zauberton, How strong is indeed your magic tone,
Weil, holde Flöte, durch dein Spielen For,gracious Flute,thru your playing
Selbst wilde Tiere Freude fühlen. Even wild animals feel joy.
Doch Pamina, nur Panima bleibt davon. Still Pamina, only Pamina stays away.

Lyrics and midi: 1892, "Werther" (Massenet) -- 'Allor sta proprio qua ... O natura di grazia piena'

2011-06-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Tenor aria, "L'ebrea' (1835): 'Rachele Allor Che Iddio a Voti Miei Propri'

2011-06-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Italian lyrics and midi for tenor aria in Halevy's "L'ebrea"

2011-06-18T11:32:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Rachel, quand du Seigneur la grace tutelaire Rache, quando del ciel lam grazia tutelare
a mes tremblantes mains confia ton berceau, a mie trmanti man confidò la tua culla,
j'avais à ton bonheur voué ma vie entière a tua felicità votai la vita intera
et c'est moi qui te livre au bourreau! ed or son io che ti voto a morir!
Mais j'entends une voix qui me crie: Ma odo una voce che mi grida:
sauvez-moi de la mort qui m'attend! salvatemi dalla morte che mi attende!
Je suis jeune et je tiens à la vie, Giovane son e ci tengo alla vita,
o mon pere, épargnez votre enfant! padre mio, salvate vostra figlia!
Ah! Rachel, quand ... ecc. Ah! Rachel, quando...ecc.

D'un mot arretant la sentence Ah! Con una parola soltanto
je puis te soustraire au trépas! alla morte sottrarti saprò!
Ah! J'ajourne à jamais ma vengeance, La vendetta io lascio da canto,
Rachel, non, tu ne mourras pas! Rachel morir non lascierò!

Italian lyrics and midi for Delibes's tenor aria in "Lakme" (tenor role: Geraldo)

2011-06-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Prendre le dessin d'un bijou,
Est-ce donc aussi grave?
Ah! Frédéric est fou!
Mais d'où vient maintenant cette crainte insensée?
Quel sentiment surnaturel
A troublé ma pensée
Devant ce calme solennel!
Fille de mon caprice,
L'inconnue est devant mes yeux!
Sa voix à mon oreille glisse
Des mots mystérieux.
Non! non!

Fantaisie aux divins mensonges, tu reviens m'égarer encor.
Va, retourne au pays de songes,
O fantaisie aux ailes d'or!
Va! va! Retourne au pays des songes.
O fantaisie aux ailes d'or!

Au bras poli de la païenne
Cette annelet dut s'enlacer!
Elle tiendrait toute en la mienne,
La main qui seule y peut passer!
Ce cercle d'or
Je le suppose,
A suivi les pas voyageurs
D'un petit pied qui ne se pose
Que sur la mousse ou sur les fleurs..
Et ce collier encor parfumé d'elle,
De sa personne encor tout embaumé.
A pu sentir battre son coeur fidèle,
tout tressaillant au nom du bien aimé.
Non! Non! Fuyez!
Fuyez, chimères.
Rêves éphémères
Qui troublez ma raison.
Fantaisie aux divins mensonges,
Tu reviens m'égarer encor.
Va, retourne au pays des songes,
O fantaisie aux ailes d'or.

Didone Abbandonata -- Jommelli, 1747 -- Enea's two arias available on midi

2011-06-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

"Didone abbandonata" is an opera by Jommelli, first presented in 1747.

Niccolò Jommelli (10 September 1714 – 25 August 1774) was an Italian composer.

He was born in Aversa and died in Naples.

Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he made important changes to opera and reduced the importance of star singers.

Jommelli was born to Francesco Antonio Jommelli and Margarita Cristiano in Aversa, a town some 20 kilometres north of Naples.

He had one brother Ignazio, who became a Dominican monk and helped the composer in his old age, and three sisters. His father was a prosperous linen merchant, who entrusted Jommelli to the choir director of the cathedral, Canon Muzzillo.

As he had shown talent for music Jommelli was enrolled after in 1725 at the Conservatorio di Santo Onofrio a Capuana in Naples, where he studied under Ignazio Prota and Francesco Feo. Three years later he was transferred to the Conservatorio di Santa Maria della Pietà dei Turchini, where he was trained under Niccolò Fago, having Don Giacomo Sarcuni and Andrea Basso, as second maestri, that is, singing teachers (maestri di canto).

Jommelli studied music under Canon Muzzillo, the director of the Aversa cathedral choir. In 1725 he was sent to the Conservatorio Sant'Onofrio at Naples, and studied alongside Francesco Feo and Tommaso Prota. In 1728 he moved to the Conservatorio dei Turchini, and was taught by Nicola Fago (among others). He was greatly influenced by Johann Adolph Hasse, who was in Naples during this period. After completing his studies he began work, and wrote two opere buffe, L’errore amorosa in early 1737 and Odoardo in late 1738. His first opera seria, Ricimero re di Goti, was such a success in Rome in 1740 that work was immediately commissioned from him by Henry Benedict Stuart, the Cardinal-Duke of York.

When still studying at the conservatory, Jommelli was impressed with Hasse’s use of obbligato recitative to increase the tension at certain dramatic moments in his operas. Speaking of obbligato recitative for Ricimero, Charles de Brosses says that Jommelli’s use of obbligato recitative was better than anything he had heard in France.[1]

His first opera, the comedy L’errore amoroso, was presented, with great success, under the protection of the Marquis del Vasto, Giovanni Battista d’Avalos, the winter of 1737 in the Teatro Nuovo of Naples. It was followed in the next year by a second comic opera, Odoardo, in the Teatro dei Fiorentini. His first serious opera Ricimero rè de’ Goti, presented in the Roman Teatro Argentina in January 1740, brought him to the attention and then the protection of the Duke of York, Henry Benedict. The duke would later be raised to the rank of cardinal and procure Jommelli an appointment at the Vatican. During the 1740s Jommelli wrote operas for many Italian cities: Bologna, Venice, Turin, Padua, Ferrara, Lucca, Parma, along with Naples and Rome.

When in Bologna in 1741, for the production of his "Ezio", Jommelli (in a situation blurred with anecdotes) met Padre Martini. Saverio Mattei said that Jommelli studied with Martini, and acknowledged to have learned with him ‘the art of escaping any anguish or aridity’. Nevertheless, Jommelli’s constant travelling in order to produce his many operas seems to have prevented him from ever having any lessons on a regular basis. Moreover, Jommelli’s relationship with Martini was not without mutual criticism. The main result of his stay in Bologna and his acquaintance with Martini was to present to the Accademia Filarmonica of that city for the procedures of admission, his first known church music, a five-voice fugue a cappella, on the final words of the small doxology, the ‘Sicut Erat’. The musicologist Gustav Fellerer, who examined several such works testifies that Jommelli’s piece, though being just ‘a rigid school work’, could well rank among the best admission pieces now stored in the Bolognese Accademia Filarmonica. During the early 1740s Jommelli wrote an increasing amount of religious music, mainly oratorios, and his first liturgical piece still extant, a very simple "Lætatus sum" in F major dated 1743, is held in the Santini collection in Münster.

In 1741 Jommelli went to Bologna to compose the music for Metastasio's Ezio, studying for a time under the famous Franciscan Friar and musician, Father Giovanni Battista Martini and becoming a lifelong friend of his. He was admitted to the Accademia Filarmonica. Shortly afterwards he moved to Venice, and composed his opera Merope, which was the forerunner for the French style of opera later in the century. In the years immediately after this, he wrote operas for Venice, Turin, Bologna, Ferrara, and Padua, and two popular oratorios, Isacco figura del Redentore and Betulia liberata.

Some time around 1745, Hasse recommended Jommelli for a position as the Director of Music at the Ospedale degli Incurabili in Venice, one of that city's colleges for female musicians. This full-time employment required him to compose sacred music (mostly settings of the Mass and the Divine Office), but the financial security it gave him also allowed him to compose several other dramatic works.

The appointment of Jommelli, recommended by Hasse, as maestro di cappella to the Ospedale degl’ Incurabili in Venice is not definitively documented. However, in 1745 he did start writing religious works for women’s choir to be performed in the church of the Incurabili, San Salvatore, a duty that was—together with the tuition of the more advanced students of the institution—part of the chapel master’s obligations. There are no autographs of Jommelli’s music composed for the Incurabili, but there are many copies of different versions of several of his works that may, with some certainty, be attributed to his period as maestro there. Among the music Helmut Hochstein lists as being composed for Venice, are to be found four oratorios: "Isacco figura del Redentore", "La Betulia liberata", "Joas", "Juda proditor"; some numbers in a collection of solo motets called Modulamina Sacra; one Missa breve in F major with its Credo in D major, probably a second mass in G major,47 one Te Deum, and five psalms.

Jommelli finds a place among the composers commemorated on the Opéra Garnier, ParisThough some his earliest biographers, Mattei and Villarosa, give 1748 as the year when Jommelli gave up his employment in Venice, his last compositions for the Incurabili are from 1746. He must have left Venice at the very end of 1746 or at the beginning of the following year, because on 28 January 1747 Jommelli was staging at the Argentina theatre in Rome his first version of the "Didone abbandonata", and in May at San Carlo theatre in Naples a second version of "Eumene".

It was the need of an active chapel master for the basilica of Saint Peter’s in reaching for the Jubilee festival year that brought both Jommelli and Davide Perez to Rome in 1749. The Jubilee is a year-long commemoration which the Roman Catholic Church holds every fifty years. Therefore this was an important occasion for Roman aristocratic society to show off. Jommelli was summoned by the Cardinal Duke of York, Henry Benedict, for whom he wrote a setting of Metastasio's oratorio La passione di Gesù Cristo that continued to be played yearly in Rome, and who presented him to Cardinal Alessandro Albani, an intimate of Pope Benedict XIV.

He subsequently visited Vienna before taking a post as Kapellmeister to Duke Karl Eugen of Württemberg in Stuttgart in 1753. This period saw some of his greatest successes and the composition of what are regarded as some of his best works. Many were staged at the Duke's private theatres in the Palace of Ludwigsburg, outside Stuttgart. Mozart and his father passed through Ludwigsburg in 1763 on their "grand tour" and met the composer. Jommelli returned to Naples in 1768, by which time opera buffa was more popular than Jommelli's opera seria, and his last works were not so well received. He suffered a stroke in 1771 which partially paralysed him, but continued to work until his death three years later. He died in Naples.

Jommelli wrote cantatas, oratorios and other sacred works, but by far the most important part of his output were his operas, particularly his opere serie of which he composed around sixty examples, several with libretti by Metastasio. In his work, he tended to concentrate more on the story and drama of the opera than on flashy technical displays by the singers, as was the norm in Italian opera at that time. He wrote more ensemble numbers and choruses, and, influenced by French opera composers such as Jean-Philippe Rameau, he introduced ballets into his work. He used the orchestra (particularly the wind instruments) in a much more prominent way to illustrate the goings-on of the story, and wrote passages for the orchestra alone rather than having it purely as support for the singers. From Johann Adolph Hasse, he learnt to write recitatives accompanied by the orchestra, rather than just by a harpsichord. His reforms are sometimes regarded as equal in importance to Christoph Willibald Gluck's.

Operas

L'errore amoroso (Naples, 1737) – libretto by Antonio Palomba
Odoardo (Naples, 1738)
Ricimero re de' Goti (Rome, 1740)
Astianatte (Rome, 1741) – libretto by Antonio Salvi
Ezio (Bologna, 1741) – libretto by Metastasio
Semiramide riconosciuta (Turin, 1741) – libretto by Metastasio
Merope (Venice, 1741) – libretto by Apostolo Zeno
Don Chichibio (Rome, 1742)
Eumene (Bologna, 1742) – libretto by Apostolo Zeno
Semiramide (Venice, 1742) – libretto by Francesco Silvani
Tito Manlio (Turin, 1743) – libretto by Gaetano Roccaforte
Demofoonte (Padua, 1743) – libretto by Metastasio
Alessandro nell'Indie (Ferrara, 1744) – libretto by Metastasio
Ciro riconosciuto (Bologna, 1744) – libretto by Metastasio
Sofonisba (Venice, 1746) – libretto by Antonio Zanetti e Girolamo Zanetti
Cajo Mario (Rome, 1746) – libretto by Gaetano Roccaforte
Antigono (Lucca, 1746) – libretto by Metastasio
Tito Manlio (Venice, 1746) – libretto by Jacopo Antonio Sanvitale
******************
Didone abbandonata (Rome, 1847) – libretto by Metastasio
******************
L'amore in maschera (Naples, 1748) – libretto by Antonio Palomba
Achille in Sciro (Vienna, 1749) – libretto by Metastasio
Artaserse (Rome, 1749) – libretto by Metastasio
Ciro riconosciuto (Venice, 1749) – libretto by Metastasio
Demetrio (Parma, 1749) – libretto by Metastasio
La cantata e disfida di Don Trastullo (Rome, 1749)
Cesare in Egitto (Rome, 1751) – libretto by Giacomo Francesco Bussani
Ifigenia in Aulide (Rome, 1751) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
La villana nobile (Palermo, 1751) – libretto by Antonio Palomba
L'uccellatrice (Venice, 1751) – libretto by Carlo Goldoni
Ipermestra (Spoleto, 1751) – libretto by Metastasio
Talestri (Rome, 1751) – libretto by Gaetano Roccaforte
I rivali delusi (Rome, 1752)
Attilio Regolo (Rome, 1753)
Bajazette (Turin, 1753) – libretto by Agostino Piovene
Fetonte (Stuttgart, 1753) – libretto by Leopoldo de Villati
La clemenza di Tito (Stuttgart, 1753) – libretto by Metastasio
Il paratajo (Paris, 1753) – revision of L'uccellatrice
Don Falcone (Bologna, 1754)
Catone in Utica (Stuttgart, 1754) – libretto by Metastasio
Lucio Vero (Milan, 1754)
Il giardino incantato (Stuttgart, 1755)
Enea nel Lazio (Stuttgart, 1755) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
Penelope (Stuttgart, 1755) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
Il Creso (Rome, 1757) – libretto by Giovacchino Pizzi
Temistocle (Naples, 1757) – libretto by Metastasio
Tito Manlio (Stuttgart, 1758)
Ezio (Stuttgart, 1758)
L'asilo d'amore (Stuttgart, 1758)
Endimione (Stuttgart, 1759)
Nitteti (Stuttgart, 1759) – libretto by Metastasio
Alessandro nell'Indie (Stuttgart, 1760)
Cajo Fabrizio (Mannheim, 1760) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
L'Olimpiade (Stuttgart, 1761) – libretto by Metastasio
L'isola disabitata (Ludwigsburg, 1761) – libretto by Metastasio
Semiramide riconosciuta (Stuttgart, 1762)
Didone abbandonata (Stuttgart, 1763)
Il trionfo d'amore (Ludwigsburg, 1763) – libretto by Giampiero Tagliazucchi
Demofoonte (Stuttgart, 1764)
Il re pastore (Ludwigsburg, 1764) – libretto by Giampiero Tagliazucchi
La pastorella illustre (Stuttgart, 1764) – libretto by Giampiero Tagliazucchi
Temistocle (Ludwigsburg, 1765)
Imeneo in Atene (Ludwigsburg, 1765)
Il matrimonio per concorso (Ludwigsburg, 1766) – libretto by Gaetano Martinelli
La critica (Ludwigsburg, 1766)
Vologeso (Ludwigsburg, 1766) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
Il matrimonio per concorso (Ludwigsburg, 1766)
Il cacciatore deluso (Tübingen, 1767) – libretto by Gaetano Martinelli
Fetonte (Ludwigsburg, 1768)
L'unione coronata (Solitude, 1768)
La schiava liberata (Ludwigsburg, 1768) – libretto by Gaetano Martinelli
Armida abbandonata (Naples, 1770) – libretto by Francesco Saverio de' Rogati
Demofoonte (Naples, 1770)
Ifigenia in Tauride (Naples, 1771) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
L'amante cacciatore (Rome, 1771)
Achille in Sciro (Rome, 1771)
Le avventure di Cleomede (1771) – libretto by Gaetano Martinelli
Cerere placata (Naples, 1772)
Il trionfo di Clelia (Naples, 1774) – libretto by Metastasio
Arcadia conservata
La Griselda
La pellegrina
[edit] Recording1 concerto in Neapolitan Flute Concertos, Auser Musici, Carlo Ipata, director, Hyperion CDA67784 (2010)
[edit] References^ Charles de Brosses, L'Italie il y a cent ans, ou lettres écrites d'Italie à quelques amis en 1739 et 1740
Maurício Dottori. The Church Music of Davide Perez and Niccolò Jommelli. Curitiba: DeArtes-UFPR, 2008.
[edit] External linksFree scores by Niccolò Jommelli in the International Music Score Library Project
Istituto Internazionale per lo studio del '700 musicale napoletano
Free scores by Niccolò Jommelli in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)
Free scores by Niccolò Jommelli in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)

Lyrics and midi: "Didone" (Jommelli) -- 'A trionfar mi chiama'

2011-06-17T07:45:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Lyrics and midi: 1776 "Didone" (Jommelli) 'Son quel fiume che gonfio'

2011-06-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Lyrics and midi: "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Arsa da rai cocenti'

2011-06-17T07:37:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Bel piacer saria d'un core'

2011-06-17T07:35:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Se amarti non poss'io'

2011-06-17T07:33:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranzafor "Gli Operai"jlsperanza@aol.com

Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Se ostinata a me resisti'

2011-06-17T07:32:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Vorrei dai lacci sciogliere'

2011-06-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Lieta o Tempe'

2011-06-17T07:28:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Rete, lacci e strali adopra'

2011-06-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Rete, lacci e strali adopra

Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Al mio amore il suo risponda'

2011-06-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Saprò ben con petto forte'

2011-06-17T07:17:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Saprò ben con petto forte

Lyrics and midi: "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Gemiti e lacrime'

2011-06-17T07:14:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Dall'orrido soggiorno mi vien di mostri in torno"

2011-06-17T07:09:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'La speranza ch'in me sento'

2011-06-17T07:06:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

La speranza ch'in me sento

Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Mi lusinga il dolce affetto'

2011-06-17T06:56:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Mi lusinga il dolce affetto
con l'aspetto del mio bene.
pur chi sà temer conviene
che m'inganni amando ancor
ma se quella fosse mai
che adorai, e l'abbandono
infedel ingrato io sono
son crudele e traditor.

1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Dell'aura al sussurar, dell'onda al mormorar'

2011-06-17T06:52:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Dell'aura al sussurrar
dell'onda al mormorar,
cantiamo con piacer
fra il dolce, e el goder
della nuova stagion
l'onore, e il vanto
e sia di primavera
d'ogni gioir foriera
il nostro canto
senti quell'usignolo
su la nascente fronda
come il piacer l'innonda
e qual d'amor favella
spiegando lieto il volo
ei cerca fido il nido
al bel piacer ch'attende.

Midi and lyrics: 1726"Dorila"(Vivaldi)'Dell'aura al sussurar'

2011-06-17T06:41:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

"Dorilla in Tempe" is a melodramma eroico pastorale in three acts by composer Antonio Vivaldi with an Italian libretto by Antonio Maria Lucchini.

The opera premiered at the Teatro San Angelo in Venice on 9 November 1726.

Vivaldi later revised the opera numerous times for several difference performances throughout the second half of his career.

"Dorilla in Tempe" was well received at its premiere and became one of Vivaldi's personal favorites.

The opera was the first work by Vivaldi to include in its cast the mezzo-soprano Anna Girò, who went on to form a lifelong friendship and professional partnership with the composer.

The opera was also noted for its visual aspects, boasting some of the most elaborate sets (by Antonio Mauro) in the history of opera up to that point and for its beautiful choreography by Giovanni Galletto.

In 1728 the opera was revived at the small Teatro San Margherita in Venice with an almost identical text, and again in Prague at the Sporck Theatre in the spring of 1732, this time with substantial alterations to the libretto.

During Carnival 1734 the opera was revived at the Teatro San Angelo, this time as a pastiche using recent music by other composers, including Hasse, Giacomelli and Leo.

The only surviving score of Dorilla in Tempe, located in Turin, is from this 1734 pastiche production.

Fortunately, the score includes not only the many insertions into the opera but also a number of the deletions from earlier productions.

Unusually for Vivaldi’s operatic scores, the sinfonia is clearly linked with the main opera.

It follows the title-page instead of preceding it, and the music of its final movement – a C major version of the opening of the Spring concerto– reappears in the opera’s opening chorus, appropriately in praise of spring.

"Dell'aura al sussurrar"

The opera displays a pastoral nature, particularly in its choral and ballet music, that is at times mixed with heroic elements, as in the elaborate celebrations at the end of Act 2, where a hunt is enacted to the inevitable horn accompaniment.

9 November 1726

Dorilla, daughter of Admeto, in love with Elmiro ---- soprano Angela Capuano, "la Capuanina"
Admeto, King of Thessaly ---------------------------- bass Lorenzo Moretti
Nomio/Apollo, the god Apollo disguised as a shepherd, in love with Dorilla contralto castrato Filippo Finazzi
Elmiro, a shepherd, in love with Dorilla ---- soprano (breeches role) Maria Maddalena Pieri
Eudamia, a nymph, in love with Elmiro ------ mezzo-soprano Anna Giró (?)
Filindo, in love with Eudamia -------------- contralto castrato Domenico Giuseppe Galletti

The story takes place in Tempe.

Like the music, the plot intertwines pastoral and heroic elements and centers on the shepherd Nomio, who is in fact Apollo in disguise.

Nomio falls in love with Dorilla, the daughter of Admeto, King of Thessaly, who is herself in love with the shepherd Elmiro.

Admeto is forced by the gods to save his kingdom by offering his daughter as a sacrifice to the sea-serpent Pitone, but she is rescued just in time by Nomius. Nomius claims the hand of Dorilla as his reward, but she remains reluctant and escapes with Elmiro.

The pair are captured, and Elmiro is sentenced to death. Finally, however, the intervention of Nomius, revealing his divine identity, saves the situation and Dorilla and Elmiro are reunited.

Recordings

1994 Dorilla: María Cristina Kiehr, Elmiro: John Elwes, Admeto: Philippe Cantor, Nomio/Apollo: Jean Nirouët. Ensemble Baroque de Nice, Gilbert Bezzina Opéra de Nice 1994,2008[2]

Vivaldi midi

2011-06-17T06:35:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Dorilla in Tempe:
Atto I
Aria di Dorilla (MIDI 30k)
CORO (MIDI 45k)
Dell'aura al sussurrar ... Allegro, 124 battute.
Aria di ELMIRO (MIDI 35k)
Mi lusinga il dolce affetto ... Allegro, 167 battute.
Aria di DORILLA (MIDI 46k)
La speranza che in me sento ... Vivace, 65 battute.
Aria di ADMETO (MIDI 56k)
Dall'orrido soggiorno ... Un poco Andante, 44 battute.
CORO (MIDI 40k)
Gemiti e lacrime ... Allegro, 27 battute
Aria di ELMIRO (56k)
Saprò ben con petto forte ... Allegro, 75 battute.
Aria di EUDAMIA (MIDI 43k)
Al mio amore il suo risponda ... Allegro non molto, 107 battute.
Aria di FILINDO (35k)
Rete, lacci e strali ... Allegro, 140 battute.
CORO (MIDI 44k)
Lieta o Tempe ... Allegro, 107 battute.
Atto II
Aria di DORILLA (MIDI 31k)
Saprò ben con petto forte ... Moderato, 73 battute.
Aria di ELMIRO (MIDI 38k)
Vorrei dai lacci sciogliere ... Allegro, 142 battute.
Aria di ADMETO (MIDI 45k)
Se ostinata a me resisti ... Allegro, 163 battute.
Aria di DORILLA (MIDI 49k)
Se amarti non poss'io ... Allegro moderato, 95 battute.
Aria di NOMIO (MIDI 43k)
Bel piacer saria d'un core ... Largo, 48 battute.
Aria di EUDAMIA (MIDI 54k)
Arsa dai rai cocenti ... Allegro non troppo, 118 battute.
arrangiamento di - arrangement copyright by - Luca Bianchini

MP3
Dorilla in Tempe:
Aria di FILINDO (MIDI 32k)
arrangiamento di - arrangement copyright by - Luca Bianchini

Vieni, Mallika, le liane sono fiorite (1883)"Lakme"(Delibes)

2011-06-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

LAKME

Vieni, Mallika, le liane sono fiorite

Gettano già la loro ombra

Sul sacro ruscello che scorre

Calmo e sereno

Risvegliate dagli uccelli canterini.

MALLIKA
Oh mia padrona!

È l’ora nella quale vedo il tuo volto sorridente

L’ora benedetta nella quale posso leggere

Nel cuore sempre chiuso di Lakmé!

LAKME
Duomo di gelsomino, avviluppato alla rosa
Entrambi fioriti, un fresco mattino,

ci chiamano insieme.

Ah! Scivoliamo seguendo la corrente fuggitiva:

sull’onde frementi,

con mano noncurante,

guadagniamo la riva,

dove l’uccello canta,

duomo di gelsomino, bianco gelsomino,

ci chiamano assieme.

MALLIKA

Sotto la cupola fitta di bianco gelsomino

Che alla rosa si stringe

Sulla riva fiorita che ride al mattino

Vieni, discendiamo assieme.
Scivoliamo dolcemente

Lungo i deliziosi flutti

Seguiamo la corrente fuggitiva:

Sull’onda fremente

Con mano noncurante

Vieni, guadagniamo la riva

Dove la sorgente dorme

E l’uccello, l’uccello canta.

Sotto la cupola fitta

Sotto il bianco gelsomino,

Ah! Discendiamo insieme!

LAKME

Ma, non so qual timore subito,

proviene da me,

quando mio padre da solo

volge verso la città maledetta;

Io tremo, io tremo di spavento!

MALLIKA
Perché è il dio Ganessa che lo protegge,

fino allo stagno dove sguazzano lieti

i cigni ali di neve.

Rechiamoci a cogliere il loto color del blu.

LAKME

Sì, dietro ai cigni con le ali di neve
rechiamoci a cogliere il loto color del blu.

LAKME

Cupola spessa di gelsomino,

s’avvinghia alla rosa,

riva in fiore, fresco mattino,

ci chiamano assieme.

Ah! Scivoliamo seguendo

La corrente fuggitiva:

sull’onde frementi,

con mano noncurante,

guadagniamo la riva,

dove l’uccello canta,

l’uccello, l’uccello canta.

Cupola spessa, bianco gelsomino,

ci chiamano assieme.

MALLIKA

Sotto la cupola spessa, dove il bianco gelsomino

S’avvinghia alla rosa,

sulla riva in fiore ridente al mattino,

vieni, discendiamo assieme.

Scivoliamo dolcemente

Sui suoi deliziosi flutti

Seguiamo la corrente fuggitiva:

sull’onde frementi,

con mano noncurante,

vieni, guadagniamo la riva,

donde la sorgente riposa

e l’uccello, l’uccello canta.

Sotto la cupola spessa,

sotto il bianco gelsomino,

Ah! Discendiamo insieme!

LAKME & MALLIKA

[vanno assieme lentamente verso la barca ormeggiata accanto al roseto,

salgono sulla barca e si allontanano]

Ah! Ah! Ah!

Ah! Ah! Ah!

Duetto dei fiori (Midi) -- Delibes, Lakme (1883)(Lakme-Mallika)

2011-06-16T12:48:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranzafor "Gli Operai"jlsperanza@aol.com

"Lakmé" è un'opera in tre atti del compositore francese Delibes su libretto di Edmond Gondinet e Philippe Gille, basato sulla novella del 1880 Rarahu ou Le Mariage de Loti di Pierre Loti.

Delibes scrisse la musica fra il 1881 ed il 1883.

Come molte altre opere francesi di quel periodo, anche Lakmé coglie l'atmosfera orientale in voga all'epoca.

L'opera, infatti, è ambientata in India durante il periodo della dominazione inglese.

La prima rappresentazione ebbe luogo al teatro dell'Opéra-Comique di Parigi il 14 aprile 1883.

Il duetto Lakmé-Mallika, noto come "Duetto dei fiori", è la pagina più famosa dell'opera, anche grazie al suo ripetuto impiego in pubblicità e film.

Tuttavia, l'aria "Où va la jeune Hindoue?", nota come "aria delle campanelle", del secondo atto, è da sempre considerata un eccellente pezzo per soprano leggero di coloratura (vista l'incredibile difficoltà del brano dovuta non solo ai sopracuti ma anche e soprattutto all'agilità).

Esistono diverse registrazioni di questo brano cantate in lingua italiana col titolo

"Dov'è l'indiana bruna?".

L'opera è ambientata in India sotto la dominazione inglese, durante la quale molti induisti vennero obbligati a professare la loro religione in segreto e clandestinità.

Gli indù stanno andando a svolgere i loro riti in un tempio dal sommo sacerdote Nilakantha. Lakmé, la giovane figlia di Nilakantha, e la sua serva Mallika si sono attardate per scendere al fiume a raccogliere fiori. Prima di entrare in acqua, Lakmé si toglie i gioielli e li appoggia sulla riva del fiume. Due ufficiali britannici, Frédéric e Gérald, arrivano nelle vicinanze per un pic-nic insieme a due ragazze inglesi ed alla loro governante. Le ragazze vedono i gioielli indiani e Gérald ne fa alcuni disegni a matita. Poco dopo Gérald vede Lakmé e Mallika tornare e si nasconde.

Mallika lascia Lakmé da sola per un po' e Lakmé vede Gérald. Per la paura dello straniero grida aiuto. Tuttavia è incuriosita da quell'uomo in divisa e così Lakmé rimanda via Mallika quando accorre per le urla. Lakmé e Gérald si innamorano. Gérald entra a casa di Lakmé quando il padre è via. Quando il sommo sacerdote Nilakantha rientra, Lakmé, per nasconderlo, fa fuggire Gérald, ma ormai è troppo tardi: il padre lo ha visto ed è deciso ad ucciderlo.

In un bazar (Atto II), Nilakantha costringe Lakmé a cantare l'Aria delle campanelle al fine di attirare l'attenzione di colui che è entrato nella loro casa. Gérald, poco distante, riconosce la voce dell'amata e si avvicina. Riconosciutolo, Nilakantha accoltella Gérald. Lakmé prende Gérald e lo porta in un nascondiglio segreto nella foresta per curargli la ferita.

Lakmé, mentre recupera l'acqua sacra (Atto III) per confermare i loro voti come innamorati, incontra Frédéric, un altro ufficiale inglese, il quale le ricorda che Gérald deve tornare al reggimento. Disperata per averlo perso, Lakmé si suicida avvelenandosi, mentre l'amato, indebolito dalla ferita, le spira in braccio.

La raccolta di poesie Altre stagioni di Roberto Cherubini (Phasar, 2007) è dedicata anche a questa opera.

Il duetto Lakmé-Mallika, popolarmente noto col nome di "Duetto dei fiori", è stato usato spesso come colonna sonora di pubblicità televisive.

Una riduzione per pianoforte del Duetto dei fiori è parte della colonna sonora del film Miriam si sveglia a mezzanotte di Tom Scott (1983).

Preludio

Primo atto

No. 1 Introduzione: "À l'heure accoutumée" (Nilakantha).

Preghiera: "Blanche Dourga" (Lakmé, Nilakantha).

No. 1 Bis - Scena: "Lakmé, c'est toi qui nous protégeons!" (Nilakantha, Lakmé).

No. 2 - Duetto ("Duetto dei fiori"):

"Viens, Mallika, les lianes en fleurs... Dôme épais, le jasmin"

(Lakmé, Mallika).

Scena: "Miss Rose, Miss Ellen" (Gérald).
No. 3 - Quintetto: "Quand une femme est si jolie" (Gérald).
Recitativo: "Nous commettons un sacrilège" (Gérald).
No. 4 - Aria: "Prendre le dessin d'un bijou" (Gérald).
No. 4 Bis - Scena: "Non! Je ne veux pas toucher" (Gérald, Lakmé).
No. 5 - Recitativo e strofe: "Les fleurs me paraissent plus belles" (Lakmé).
No. 5 Bis - Recitativo: "Ah! Mallika! Mallika!" (Lakmé).
No. 6 - Duo: "D'où viens-tu? Que veux-tu?" (Lakme, Gérald).
No. 6 Bis - Scena: "Viens! La! La!" (Nilakantha, Lakmé).
Entr'acte
Secondo atto[modifica]No. 7 - Coro e scena di marcia: "Allons, avant que midi sonne".
No. 7 Bis - Recitativo: "Enfin! Nous aurons du silence!".
No. 8 - Aria di danza: Introduzione.
- Terana.
- Rektah.
- Persian.
- Coda avec Choeurs.
- Sortie.
Recitativo: "Voyez donc ce vieillard".
No. 9 - Scena: "Ah! Ce vieillard encore!" (Nilakantha, Lakmé).
No. 9 Bis - Recitativo: "Ah! C'est de ta douleur" (Lakmé, Nilakantha).
No. 10 - Scena: "Ah!... Par les dieux inspires... Où va la jeune Hindoue" (Lakmé, Nilakantha).
No. 11 - Scena: "La rage me dévore" (Nilakantha, Lakmé).
No. 12 - Scena e coro: "Au milieu des chants d'allegresse" (Nilakantha, Lakmé).
No. 12 Bis - Recitativo: "Le maître ne pense qu'à sa vengeance".
No. 13 - Duo: "Lakmé! Lakmé! C'est toi!" (Lakmé, Gérald).
No. 14 - Finale: "O Dourga, toi qui renais" (Gérald).
Entr'acte.
Terzo atto[modifica]No. 15 - Barcarola: "Sous le ciel tout étoile" (Lakmé).
No. 15 Bis - Recitativo: "Quel vague souvenir alourdit ma pensée?" (Gérald, Lakmé).
No. 16 - Cantilena: "Lakmé! Lakmé! Ah! Viens dans la forêt profonde" (Gérald).
No. 17 - Scena e coro: "La, je pourrai t'entendre" (Lakmé, Gérald).
No. 18 - Scena: "Vivant!" (Gérald).
No. 19 - Duo: "Ils allaient deux à deux" (Lakmé, Gérald).
No. 20 - Finale: "C'est lui! C'est lui!" (Nilankantha, Lakmé, Gérald).
Brani famosi[modifica]Dôme épais le jasmin, detto "Duetto del Fiore" (atto I).
Où va la jeune Hindoue?, detta "Aria delle Campanelle" (atto II).
Collegamenti esterni[modifica]Il Duetto del Fiore
Estratto da "http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakm%C3%A9"
Categoria: Opere di Delibes | [altre]
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Midi Duet "Fior" 1883"Lakme"(Delibes)

2011-06-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

http://www.gpollenmusic.co.uk/midi.html

Lyrics and midi for 1850"Lohengrin"(Wagner)Bridal wedding march

2011-06-16T12:25:00.003-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

"Lohengrin" is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850.

The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself inspired by the epic of Garin le Loherain. It is part of the Knight of the Swan tradition.

The opera has proved inspirational towards other works of art. Among those deeply moved by the fairy-tale opera was the young King Ludwig II of Bavaria. 'Der Märchenkönig' ('The Fairy-tale King') as he was dubbed later built his ideal fairy-tale castle and dubbed it "New Swan Stone," or "Neuschwanstein", after the Swan Knight. It was King Ludwig's patronage that later gave Wagner the means and opportunity to compose, build a theatre for, and stage his epic cycle, the Ring of the Nibelung.

The most popular and recognizable part of the opera is the Bridal Chorus, better known as "Here Comes the Bride", once often played as a processional at weddings in the West.

Contents [hide]
1 Performance history
2 Instrumentation
3 Roles
4 Synopsis
4.1 Act 1
4.2 Act 2
4.3 Act 3
5 Notable arias and excerpts
6 Parody
7 Recordings
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Performance historyThe first production of Lohengrin was in Weimar, Germany on 28 August 1850 at the Staatskapelle Weimar under the direction of Franz Liszt, a close friend and early supporter of Wagner. Liszt chose the date in honour of Weimar's most famous citizen, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was born on 28 August 1749.[1] It was an immediate popular success.

The opera's first performance abroad was in Riga on 5 February 1855. The Austrian premiere took place at the Burgtheater on 19 August 1859 with Róza Csillag as Ortrud. The work was produced in Munich for the first time at the National Theatre on 16 June 1867 with Heinrich Vogl in the title role and Mathilde Mallinger as Elsa. Mallinger sang Elsa again for the work's premiere at the Berlin State Opera's on 6 April 1869. The Belgian premiere of the opera was given at La Monnaie on 22 March 1870 with Étienne Troy as Friedrich of Telramund and Feliciano Pons as Heinrich der Vogler.[2]

The United States premiere of Lohengrin took place at the Stadt Theater at the Bowery in New York City on 3 April 1871.[3] Conducted by Adolf Neuendorff, the cast included Theodor Habelmann as Lohengrin, Luise Garay-Lichtmay as Elsa, Marie Frederici as Ortrud, Adolf Franosch as Heinrich and Edward Vierling as Telramund.[4] The first performance in Italy took place seven months later at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna on 1 November 1871 in an Italian translation by operatic baritone Salvatore Marchesi. It was notably the first performance of any Wagner opera in Italy. Angelo Mariani conducted the performance, which starred Italo Campanini as Lohengrin, Bianca Blume as Elsa, Maria Löwe Destin as Ortrud, Pietro Silenzi as Telramund, and Giuseppe Galvani as Heinrich der Vogler.[2] The performance on 9 November was attended by Giuseppe Verdi, who annotated a copy of the vocal score with his impressions and opinions of Wagner (this was almost certainly his first exposure to Wagner's music).[5]

Lohengrin's Russian premiere took place at the Mariinsky Theatre on 5 February 1873 in a double billing with the premiere of three scenes from Modest Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov (the Inn Scene, Scene in Marina's Boudoir, and Scene in the Garden of Mniszech's Castle). Eduard Nápravník conducted the performance which featured Fyodor Petrovich Komissarzhevsky as Lohengrin, Yuliya Platonova as Elsa, Daria Leonova as Ortrud, and Osip Petrov as Heinrich der Vogler. La Scala produced the opera for the first time the following month on 30 March with Campanini as Lohengrin, Gabrielle Krauss as Elsa, Philippine von Edelsberg as Ortrud, Victor Maurel as Friedrich, and Gian Pietro Milesi as Heinrich.[2]

The United Kingdom premiere of Lohengrin took place at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 8 May 1875 using the Italian translation by Marchesi. Auguste Vianesi conducted the performance, which featured Ernesto Nicolini as Lohengrin, Emma Albani as Elsa, Anna D'Angeri as Ortruda, Maurel as Friedrich, and Wladyslaw Seideman as Heinrich. The opera's first performance in Australia took place at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Melbourne on 18 August 1877. The Metropolitan Opera mounted the opera for the first time on 7 November 1883 during the company's inaugural season. Sung in Italian, Campanini portrayed the title role with Christina Nilsson as Elsa, Emmy Fursch-Madi as Ortrud, Giuseppe Kaschmann as Telramund, Franco Novara as Heinrich, and Auguste Vianesi conducting.[2]

Ludwig II of Bavaria portrayed as Lohengrin below a moon with Wagners face. Brochure in Der Floh - 1885.Lohengrin was first publicly performed in France at the Eden-Théâtre in Paris on 30 April 1887 in a French translation by Charles-Louis-Etienne Nuitter. Conducted by Charles Lamoureux, the performance starred Ernest van Dyck as the title hero, Fidès Devriès as Elsa, Marthe Duvivier as Ortrud, Emil Blauwaert as Telramund, and Félix-Adolphe Couturier as Heinrich. There was however an 1881 French performance given as a Benefit, in the Cercle de la Méditerranée Salon at Nice, organized by Sophie Cruvelli, in which she took the role of Elsa.[6] The opera received its Canadian premiere at the opera house in Vancouver on 9 February 1891 with Emma Juch as Elsa. The Palais Garnier staged the work for the first time the following 16 September with van Dyck as Lohengrin, Rose Caron as Elsa, Caroline Fiérens-Peters as Ortrude, Maurice Renaud as Telramund, and Charles Douaillier as Heinrich.[2]

The first Chicago performance of the opera took place at the Auditorium Building of Roosevelt University on 9 November 1891. Performed in Italian, the production starred Jean de Reszke as the title hero, Emma Eames as Elsa, and Edouard de Reszke as Heinrich.[2]

[edit] InstrumentationThe instrumentation is quite extensive for an orchestra of 1850. The work calls for:

3 flutes (3rd doubling on piccolo), 3 oboes (3rd doubling on English horn), 3 clarinets in A, Bes and C (3rd doubling on bass clarinet in A, Bes), 3 bassoons
4 horns in E, D, Es, C and G, 3 trumpets in E, D, Es and C, 3 trombones (2 tenor, 1 bass), 1 tuba
Violins (1 and 2), Violas, Cellos, Double basses, Harp
2 pairs of timpani, cymbals, triangle, tambourine
There are also parts for offstage and onstage instruments. They are as follows: Act 1 – 4 trumpets in C Act 2 – Scene 1 – piccolo, 2 flutes, 3 oboes, 3 clarinets in A, 2 bassoons, 3 horns in E, F, 3 trumpets in D, 3 trombones, timpani, and cymbals 3rd scene – 4 trumpets in D 4th scene – 4 trumpets in D 5th scene – 10 trumpets in C, organ Act 3 – Scene 1 – 3 flutes, 3 oboes, 2 clarinets in B, 3 bassoons, 4 horns in B, 2 trumpets in B, triangle, harp 2nd scene – 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 3rd scene – 12 trumpets, tenor drums

[edit] RolesRole Voice type Premiere Cast, 28 August 1850
(Conductor: Franz Liszt)
Lohengrin tenor Carl Beck
Elsa of Brabant soprano Rosa von Milde-Agthe
Ortrud, Telramund's wife mezzo-soprano Josephine Fastlinger
Friedrich of Telramund, a Count of Brabant baritone Hans von Milde
Heinrich der Vogler (Henry the Fowler) bass Höfer
The King's Herald baritone August Pätsch
Four Noblemen of Brabant tenors, basses
Four Pages sopranos, altos
Duke Gottfried, Elsa's brother silent Hellstedt
Saxon, Thuringian, and Brabantian counts and nobles, ladies of honor, pages, vassals, serfs
[edit] SynopsisPlace: Antwerp, on the Scheldt.
Time: 10th century
[edit] Act 1
Illustration from the London premièreKing Henry the Fowler has arrived in Brabant where he has assembled the German tribes in order to expel the Hungarians from his dominions. He also needs to settle a dispute involving the disappearance of the child-Duke Gottfried of Brabant. The Duke's guardian, Count Friedrich von Telramund, has accused the Duke's sister, Elsa, of murdering her brother. He calls upon the King to punish Elsa and to make him, Telramund, the new Duke of Brabant.

The King calls for Elsa to answer Telramund's accusation. She enters, surrounded by her attendants. Knowing herself to be innocent, she declares that she will submit to God's judgement through ordeal by combat. Telramund, a strong and seasoned warrior, agrees enthusiastically. When the King asks who shall be her champion, Elsa describes a knight she has beheld in her dreams (Narrative: "Alone in dark days") and sinks to her knees, praying for God to send her relief.

Twice the Herald sounds the horn in summons, without response. Then Elsa herself makes the call. A boat drawn by a swan appears on the river and in it stands a knight in shining armour. He disembarks, dismisses the swan, respectfully greets the king, and asks Elsa if she will have him as her champion. Elsa kneels in front of him and places her honour in his keeping. He asks but one thing in return for his service: she is never to ask him his name or where he has come from. Elsa agrees to this.

Telramund's people advise him to withdraw because he cannot prevail against magic, but he proudly refuses and the combat area is prepared. The company prays to the one "Herr und Gott" for victory for the one whose cause is just. Telramund's wife, Ortrud, a pagan woman, does not join the prayer of the monotheists, but privately expresses confidence that Telramund will win. The combat commences. The unknown knight defeats Telramund but spares his life. Taking Elsa by the hand, he declares her innocent and asks for her hand in marriage. The crowd exits, cheering and celebrating, and Ortrud and Telramund are left to lament their defeat.

[edit] Act 2
Johanna Jachmann-Wagner as Ortrud, ca. 1860Night in the courtyard outside the cathedral

Telramund and Ortrud, banished, listen unhappily to the distant party-music. Ortrud, a pagan witch (daughter of Radbod Duke of Frisia), tries to revive Telramund's courage, assuring him that her people (and he) are destined to rule the kingdom again. She plots to induce Elsa to violate the mysterious knight's only condition.

When Elsa appears on the balcony in the twilight before dawn she hears Ortrud lamenting and pities her. While Elsa descends to open the castle door, Ortrud prays to her pagan gods, Wodan and Freia, for malice, guile, and cunning, in order to deceive Elsa and restore pagan rule to the region. When Elsa appears, Ortrud warns her that since she knows nothing about her rescuer, he could leave her any time, as suddenly as he came.

The sun rises and the people assemble. The Herald announces that Telramund is now outlawed due to the false trial, and anyone who follows Telramund is an outlaw by the law of the land. In addition, he announces that the king has offered to make the unnamed knight the Duke of Brabant; however, the Knight has declined the title, and prefers to be known only as "Leader of Brabant".[7] The Herald further announces that the Knight will lead the people to glorious new conquests, and will celebrate the marriage of him and Elsa. Behind the crowd, four knights quietly express misgivings to each other. Telramund appears, and, concealing himself from the crowd, draws these four knights aside and assures them that he will regain his position and stop the Knight, by accusing him of witchcraft.

As Elsa and her attendants are about to enter the church, Ortrud appears, clad in magnificent attire, and challenges Elsa to tell who her husband is, and to explain why anyone should follow him. After that, King Henry enters with the Knight. Elsa tells both of them that Ortrud was interrupting the ceremony. The Knight tells Ortrud to fall back to the crowd, then takes Elsa's hand to the wedding. The King leads at the front of the couple. When they are about to go inside the church (once more), Telramund also enters. He pleads to the king that his defeat in combat was invalid because the Knight did not give his name; trial by combat is traditionally open only to established citizens. The Knight refuses to reveal his identity and claims that only one person in the world has the right to know his origin – Elsa and Elsa alone. Elsa, though visibly shaken and uncertain, assures him of her confidence. The King supports him too. Ortrud and Telramund take Elsa and tries to intimidate her, and after a short while, the Knight forces both to leave the ceremony. The King, the Knight, and Elsa, together with the men and women around, go forward. Elsa takes one last look at the banished Ortrud, then they enter the church.

[edit] Act 3
Joseph O'Mara in the title role, 1894–1895Scene 1: The bridal chamber

Elsa and her new husband are ushered in with the well-known bridal chorus, and the couple express their love for each other. Ortrud's words, however, are impressed upon Elsa, and, despite his warning, she asks her husband the fatal question. Before the Knight can answer, Telramund and his four recruits rush into the room in order to attack him. The knight defeats and kills Telramund. Then, he sorrowfully turns to Elsa and asks her to follow him to the king, to whom he will now reveal the mystery.

Scene 2: On the banks of the Scheldt (as in Act 1)

The troops arrive equipped for war. Telramund's corpse is brought in, Elsa comes forward, then the Knight. He discloses his identity to the king and Elsa. He tells the story of the Holy Grail, on the Monsalvat, and reveals himself as Lohengrin, Knight of the Holy Grail and son of King Parsifal. The time for his return has arrived and he has only tarried to prove Elsa innocent.

As he sadly bids farewell to his beloved bride, the swan reappears. Lohengrin prays that Elsa may recover her lost brother, and gives her his sword, horn and ring; which allows Elsa to remember him fully. Then, when Lohengrin tries to get in the boat, Ortrud appears. She tells Elsa that the swan who drove Lohengrin to the bank was actually Gottfried, Elsa's brother; and she put a curse on him by turning him into a swan. The people considered Ortrud guilty of witchcraft. Lohengrin prays to the swan, and the swan turns into another form, a young Gottfried. He elects him as the Duke of Brabant. Ortrud sinks as she sees him (Gottfried).

A dove descends from heaven, and, taking the place of the swan at the head of the boat, leads Lohengrin to the castle of the Holy Grail. Elsa is stricken with grief, however, and falls to the ground dead, longing for her beloved.[8]

[edit] Notable arias and excerptsThe opera is full of 'hits' performed as concert set-pieces, namely:

Act I, Prelude.
Act I, 'Einsam in trüben Tage' (Elsa's Narrative)
Act I, Scene 'Wenn ich im Kampfe für dich siege'
Act II, 'Euch lüften, die mein Klagen' (Elsa)
Act II, Scene 4 opening, arranged as "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral"
Act III, Prelude
Act III, Bridal Chorus "Treulich geführt" arranged as "Here Comes the Bride"
Act III, 'Das süsse Lied verhallt' (Love duet)
Act III, 'Höchstes Vertrau'n' (Lohengrin's Declaration to Elsa)
Act III, Entry of King Henry
Act III, 'In fernem Land' (Lohengrin's Narration)
Act III, 'Mein lieber Schwan... O Elsa! Nur ein Jahr an deiner Seite' (Lohengrin's Farewell)
[edit] ParodyIn 1907, Victor Herbert produced a one-act parody of Lohengrin called The Magic Knight (q.v.)

[edit] RecordingsMain article: Lohengrin discography
[edit] References^ Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., 1954
^ a b c d e f Performance History of Lohengrin at amadeusonline.net
^ Gustav Kobbé, The Complete Opera Book (Putnam, London 1929 printing), p. 117. The first Academy performance was 23 March 1874 with Christine Nilsson, Cary, Italo Campanini and Del Puente (ibid.). See 'Wagner in the Bowery', Scribner's Monthly Magazine 1871, 214-16; New York Times, Opera at the Stadt Theater, 3 May 1871
^ New York Times, Wagner's "Lohengrin", 8 April 1871. See also Opera Gems.com, Lohengrin
^ Istituto Nazionale di Studi Verdiani
^ Elizabeth Forbes, 'Sophie Cruvelli' (short biography), Arts.jrank.org
^ The title Führer von Brabant is often altered to Schützer in performances since 1945, because the former title had acquired meanings unforeseen by either Lohengrin or Wagner. Führer formerly meant 'Leader' or 'Guide'.
^ Plot taken from The Opera Goer's Complete Guide by Leo Melitz, 1921 version.
[edit] External linksLibretto and Leitmoifs in German, Italian and English
Richard Wagner - Lohengrin. A gallery of historic postcards with motifs from Richard Wagner's operas.
Wagner's libretto (in German)
Further Lohengrin discography
Recording of "Euch Lüften" by Lotte Lehmann
Lohengrin: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
San Diego OperaTalk! with Nick Reveles: Lohengrin
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Midi for "Lohengrin"(Wagner)Wedding march

2011-06-16T12:24:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

http://www.8notes.com/scores/425.asp?ftype=midi

Midi and lyrics for Orfeo's aria -- Atto II -- 1607"Orfeo"(Monteverdi)'Ecco pur ch'a voi ritorno'

2011-06-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Ecco pur ch'à voi ritorno
care selve e piaggie amate
da quel Sol fatte beate
per cui sol
mie notti han giorno.

Midi: 1607"Orfeo"(Monteverdi)'Ecco pur ch'a voi ritorno'

2011-06-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

http://www.classicalmidiconnection.com/midiplay/playmidi.shtml?midi/n2/cmeccopu

Lyrics and midi for 1607"Orfeo"(Monteverdi)'Lasciate i monti' (chorus of 'ninfe, pastori')

2011-06-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

--- "NINFE, PASTORI"

Lasciate i monti
lasciate i fonti,
ninfe vezzose e liete
e in questi prati
a i balli usati
leggiadro il piè rendete.
Qui miri il sole
vostre carole
più vaghe assai di quelle
ond' a la Luna
a l' aria bruna
danzan in ciel le stelle.
Poi di bei fiori
per voi s' onori
di questi amanti il crine
ch' or dei martiri
de i lor desiri
godon beati al fine.

Midi for 1607"Orfeo"(Monteverdi)'Lasciate i monti'

2011-06-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranzafor "Gli Operai"jlsperanza@aol.com

http://www.classicalmidiconnection.com/midiplay/playmidi.shtml?midi/n2/cmlascia

L'Orfeo (SV 318), sometimes called L'Orfeo, favola in musica, is an early Baroque opera by Claudio Monteverdi, with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and tells the story of his descent to Hades and his fruitless attempt to bring his dead bride Eurydice back to the living world. Written in 1607 for a court performance during the annual Carnival at Mantua, L'Orfeo is one of the earliest music dramas still regularly performed.

Within the musical theatre at the beginning of the 17th century the traditional intermedio—a musical sequence between the acts of a straight play—was evolving into the form of a complete musical drama or "opera". Monteverdi's L'Orfeo moved this process out of its experimental era, and provided the first fully developed example within the new genre. After its initial performance the work was staged again in Mantua, and possibly in other Italian centres in the next few years. Its score was published by Monteverdi in 1609 and again in 1615. After the composer's death in 1643 the opera remained unperformed, and was largely forgotten until a revival of interest in the late 19th century led to a spate of modern editions and performances. At first these tended to be unstaged versions within institutes and music societies, but following the first modern dramatised performance in Paris, in 1911, the work was seen increasingly in theatres. After the Second World War most new editions sought authenticity through the use of period instruments. Many recordings were issued, and the opera was increasingly staged in opera houses. In 2007 the quatercentenary of the premiere was celebrated by performances throughout the world.

In his published score Monteverdi lists around 40 instruments to be deployed, with distinct groups of instruments used to depict particular scenes and characters. Thus strings, harpsichords and recorders represent the pastoral fields of Thrace with their nymphs and shepherds; heavy brass illustrates the underworld and its denizens. Composed at the point of transition from the Renaissance era to the Baroque, L'Orfeo employs all the resources then known within the art of music, with particularly daring use of polyphony. The work is not orchestrated as such; in the Renaissance tradition instrumentalists followed the composer's general instructions but were given considerable freedom to improvise. This separates Monteverdi's work from the later opera canon, and makes each performance of L'Orfeo a uniquely individual occasion.

Contents [hide]
1 Historical background
2 Creation
2.1 Libretto
2.2 Composition
2.3 Instrumentation
3 Roles
4 Synopsis
4.1 Original libretto ending
5 Reception and performance history
5.1 Premiere and early performances
5.2 20th-century revivals
6 Music
7 Recording history
8 Editions
9 Notes and references
10 Sources
11 Further reading
12 External links

[edit] Historical background
Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga, Monteverdi's employer at MantuaClaudio Monteverdi, born in Cremona in 1567, was a musical prodigy who studied under Marc'Antonio Ingegneri, the maestro di cappella (head of music) at Cremona Cathedral. After training in singing, strings playing and composition, Monteverdi worked as a musician in Verona and Milan until, in 1590 or 1591, he secured a post as suonatore di vivuola (viola player) at Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga's court at Mantua.[1] Through ability and hard work Monteverdi rose to become Gonzaga's maestro della musica in 1601.[2][3]

Vincenzo Gonzaga's particular passion for musical theatre and spectacle grew from his family connections with the court of Florence. Towards the end of the 16th century innovative Florentine musicians were developing the intermedio—a long-established form of musical interlude inserted between the acts of spoken dramas—into increasingly elaborate forms.[2] Led by Jacopo Corsi, these successors to the renowned Camerata[n 1] were responsible for the first work generally recognised as belonging to the genre of opera: Dafne, composed by Corsi and Jacopo Peri and performed in Florence in 1598. This work combined elements of madrigal singing and monody with dancing and instrumental passages to form a dramatic whole. Only fragments of its music still exist, but several other Florentine works of the same period—Rappresentatione di Anima, et di Corpo by Emilio de' Cavalieri, Peri's Euridice and Giulio Caccini's identically titled Euridice—survive complete. These last two works were the first of many musical representations of the Orpheus myth as recounted in Ovid's Metamorphoses, and as such were direct precursors of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo.[5][6]

The Gonzaga court had a long history of promoting dramatic entertainment. A century before Duke Vincenzo's time the court had staged Angelo Poliziano's lyrical drama La favola di Orfeo, at least half of which was sung rather than spoken. More recently, in 1598 Monteverdi had helped the court's musical establishment to produce Giovanni Battista Guarini's play Il pastor fido, described by theatre historian Mark Ringer as a "watershed theatrical work" which inspired the Italian craze for pastoral drama.[7] On 6 October 1600, while visiting Florence for the wedding of Maria de' Medici to King Henry IV of France, Duke Vincenzo attended a production of Peri's Euridice.[6] It is likely that his principal musicians, including Monteverdi, were also present at this performance. The Duke quickly recognised the novelty of this new form of dramatic entertainment, and its potential for bringing prestige to those prepared to sponsor it.[8]

[edit] Creation[edit] Libretto
Orpheus with his viol, by Cesare GennariAmong those present at the Euridice performance in October 1600 was a young lawyer and career diplomat from Gonzaga's court, Alessandro Striggio,[9] son of a well-known composer of the same name. The younger Striggio was himself a talented musician who in 1589, as a 16-year-old, had played the viol at the wedding festivities of Duke Ferdinando of Tuscany. Together with Duke Vincent's two young sons, Francesco and Fernandino, he was a member of Mantua's exclusive intellectual society, the Accademia degli Invaghiti, which provided the chief outlet for the city's theatrical works.[10][11] It is not clear at what point Striggio began his libretto for L'Orfeo, but work was evidently under way in January 1607. In a letter written on 5 January, Francesco Gonzago asks his brother, then attached to the Florentine court, to obtain the services of a high quality castrato from the Grand Duke's establishment, for a "play in music" being prepared for the Mantuan Carnival.[12]

Striggio's main sources for his libretto were Books 10 and 11 of Ovid's Metamorphoses and Book Four of Virgil's Georgics. These provided him with the basic material, but not the structure for a staged drama; the events of Acts 1 and 2 of the libretto are covered by a mere 13 lines in the Metamorphoses.[13] For help in creating a dramatic form, Striggio drew on other sources—Poliziano's 1480 play, Guarini's Il pastor fido, and Ottavio Rinuccini's libretto for Peri's Euridice.[14] Musicologist Gary Tomlinson remarks on the many similarities between Striggio's and Rinuccini's texts, noting that some of the speeches in L'Orfeo "correspond closely in content and even in locution to their counterparts in L'Euridice".[15] Critic Barbara Russano Hanning writes that Striggio's verses are less subtle than those of Rinuccini, although the structure of Striggio's libretto is more interesting.[10] Rinuccini, whose work had been written for the festivities accompanying a Medici wedding, was obliged to alter the myth to provide a "happy ending", suitable for this occasion. By contrast, because Striggio was not writing for a formal court celebration he could be more faithful to the spirit of the myth's conclusion, in which Orfeo is killed and dismembered by deranged maenads or "Bacchantes".[14] He chose, in fact, to write a somewhat muted version of this bloody finale, in which the Bacchantes threaten Orfeo's destruction but his actual fate is left in doubt.[16]

The libretto published in Mantua in 1607 to coincide with the premiere incorporates Striggio's ambiguous ending. However, Monteverdi's score published in Venice in 1609 by Ricciardo Amadino shows an entirely different resolution, with Orpheus transported to the heavens through the intervention of Apollo.[10] According to Ringer, Striggio's original ending was almost certainly used at the opera's premiere, but there is no doubt that Monteverdi believed the revised ending was aesthetically correct.[16] The musicologist Nino Pirrotta argues that the Apollo ending was part of the original plan for the work, but was not staged at the premiere because the small room which hosted the event could not contain the theatrical machinery that this ending required. The Bacchantes scene was a substitution; Monteverdi's intentions were restored when this constraint was removed.[17]

[edit] Composition
Front cover of the 1609 published score of L'OrfeoWhen Monteverdi wrote the music for L'Orfeo he had a thorough grounding in theatrical music. He had been employed at the Gonzaga court for 16 years, much of it as a performer or arranger of stage music, and in 1604 he had written the ballo Gli amori di Diane ed Endimone for the 1604–05 Mantua Carnival.[18] The elements from which Monteverdi constructed his first opera score—the aria, the strophic song, recitative, choruses, dances, dramatic musical interludes—were, as conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt has pointed out, not created by him, but "he blended the entire stock of newest and older possibilities into a unity that was indeed new".[19] Musicologist Robert Donington writes similarly: "[The score] contains no element which was not based on precedent, but it reaches complete maturity in that recently-developed form ... Here are words as directly expressed in music as [the pioneers of opera] wanted them expressed; here is music expressing them ... with the full inspiration of genius."[20]

Monteverdi states the orchestral requirements at the beginning of his published score, but in accordance with the practice of the day he does not specify their exact usage.[19] At that time it was usual to allow each interpreter of the work freedom to make local decisions, based on the orchestral forces at their disposal. These could differ sharply from place to place. Furthermore, as Harnoncourt points out, the instrumentalists would all have been composers and would have expected to collaborate creatively at each performance, rather than playing a set text.[19] Another practice of the time was to allow singers to embellish their arias. Monteverdi wrote plain and embellished versions of some arias, such as Orfeo's "Possente spirito",[21] but according to Harnoncourt "it is obvious that where he did not write any embellishments he did not want any sung".[22]

Each act of the opera deals with a single element of the story, and each ends with a chorus. Despite the five-act structure, with two sets of scene changes, it is likely that L'Orfeo conformed to the standard practice for court entertainments of that time and was played as a continuous entity, without intervals or curtain descents between acts. It was the contemporary custom for scene shifts to take place in sight of the audience, these changes being reflected musically by changes in instrumentation, key and style.[23]

[edit] Instrumentation
1609 score: Monteverdi's listing of instruments is shown on the right.For the purpose of analysis, music scholar Jane Glover divides Monteverdi's list of instruments into three main groups: strings, brass and continuo, with a few further items not easily classifiable.[24] The strings grouping is formed from ten members of the violin family (viole da brazzo), two double basses (contrabassi de viola), and two small violins (violini piccoli alla francese). The viole da brazzo are in two five-part ensembles, each comprising two violins, two violas and a cello.[24] The brass group contains four or five trombones (sackbuts), three trumpets and two cornetts. The continuo forces include two harpsichords (duoi gravicembani), a double harp (arpa doppia), two or three chitarroni, two pipe organs (organi di legno), three bass viola da gamba, and a regal or small reed organ. Outside of these groupings are two recorders (flautini alla vigesima secunda), and possibly one or more citterns—unlisted by Monteverdi, but included in instructions relating to the end of Act 4.[24]

Instrumentally, the two worlds represented within the opera are distinctively portrayed. The pastoral world of the fields of Thrace is represented by the strings, harpsichords, harp, organs, recorders and chitarroni. The remaining instruments, mainly brass, are associated with the Underworld, though there is not an absolute distinction; strings appear on several occasions in the Hades scenes.[22][25] Within this general ordering, specific instruments or combinations are used to accompany some of the main characters—Orpheus by harp and organ, shepherds by harpsichord and chitarrone, the Underworld gods by trombones and regal.[22] All of these musical distinctions and characterisations were in accordance with the longstanding traditions of the Renaissance orchestra, of which the large L'Orfeo ensemble is typical.[26]

Monteverdi instructs his players generally to "[play] the work as simply and correctly as possible, and not with many florid passages or runs". Those playing ornamentation instruments such as strings and flutes are advised to "play nobly, with much invention and variety", but are warned against overdoing it, whereby "nothing is heard but chaos and confusion, offensive to the listener."[27] Since at no time are all the instruments played together, the number of players needed is less than the number of instruments. Harnoncourt indicates that in Monteverdi's day the numbers of players and singers together, and the small rooms in which performances were held, often meant that the audience barely numbered more than the performers.[28]

[edit] RolesIn his personaggi listed in the 1609 score, Monteverdi unaccountably omits La messaggera (the Messenger), and indicates that the final chorus of shepherds who perform the moresca (Moorish dance) at the opera's end, are a separate group (che fecero la moresca nel fine).[29] Little information is available about who sang the various roles in the first performance. A letter published at Mantua in 1612 records that the distinguished tenor and composer Francesco Rasi took part, and it is generally assumed that he sang the title role.[5] Rasi could sing in both the tenor and bass ranges "with exquisite style ... and extraordinary feeling".[2] The involvement in the premiere of a Florentine castrato, Giovanni Gualberto Magli, is confirmed by correspondence between the Gonzaga princes. Magli sang the prologue, Proserpina and possibly one other role, either La messaggera or Speranza.[30] The musicologist and historian Hans Redlich mistakenly allocates Magli to the role of Orfeo.[31]

A clue about who played Euridice is contained in a 1608 letter to Duke Vincenzo. It refers to "that little priest who performed the role of Euridice in the Most Serene Prince's Orfeo". Possibly this priest was Padre Girolamo Bacchini, a castrato known to have had connections to the Mantuan court in the early 17th century.[5] Monteverdi scholar Tim Carter speculates that two prominent Mantuan tenors, Pandolfo Grande and Francesco Campagnola may have sung minor roles in the premiere.[32]

There are solo parts for four shepherds and three spirits. Carter calculates that through the doubling of roles that the text allows, a total of ten singers—three sopranos, two altos, three tenors and two basses—is required for a performance, with the soloists (except Orfeo) also forming the chorus. Carter's suggested role-doublings include La musica with Euridice, Ninfa with Proserpina and La messaggera with Speranza.[32]

Role Voice type[n 2] Appearances Notes
La musica (Music) soprano, originally castrato Prologue
Orfeo (Orpheus) tenor Act 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Euridice (Eurydice) soprano, originally castrato Act 1, 4
La messaggera (The Messenger) soprano Act 2 Named in the libretto as "Silvia"
Speranza (Hope) soprano Act 3
Caronte (Charon) bass Act 3
Proserpina (Proserpine) soprano Act 4
Plutone (Pluto) bass Act 4
Apollo tenor Act 5
Ninfa (Nymph) soprano Act 1
Eco (Echo) tenor Act 5
Ninfe e pastori (Nymphs and shepherds) soprano, alto, tenor, bass Act 1, 2, 5 Soloists: alto, two tenors
Spiriti infernali (Infernal spirits) tenor, bass Act 3, 4 Soloists: two tenors, one bass
[edit] SynopsisThe actions take place in two contrasting locations: the fields of Thrace (Acts 1, 2 and 5) and the Underworld (Acts 3 and 4). An instrumental toccata (English: "tucket", meaning a flourish on trumpets)[34] precedes the entrance of La musica, representing the "spirit of music", who sings a prologue of five stanzas of verse. After a gracious welcome to the audience she announces that she can, through sweet sounds, "calm every troubled heart." She sings a further paean to the power of music, before introducing the drama's main protagonist, Orfeo, who "held the wild beasts spellbound with his song".[n 3]

Act 1
After La musica's final request for silence, the curtain rises on Act 1 to reveal a pastoral scene. Orfeo and Euridice enter together with a chorus of nymphs and shepherds, who act in the manner of a Greek chorus, commenting on the action both as a group and as individuals. A shepherd announces that this is the couple's wedding day; the chorus responds, first in a stately invocation ("Come, Hymen, O come") and then in a joyful dance ("Leave the mountains, leave the fountains"). Orfeo and Euridice sing of their love for each other, before leaving with most of the group for the wedding ceremony in the temple. Those left on stage sing a brief chorus, commenting on how Orfeo has been changed by love from one "for whom sighs were food and weeping was drink" to a state of sublime happiness.
Act 2
Orfeo returns with the main chorus, and sings with them of the beauties of nature. Orfeo then muses on his former unhappiness, but proclaims: "After grief one is more content, after pain one is happier". The mood of contentment is abruptly ended when La messaggera enters, bringing the news that, while gathering flowers, Euridice has received a fatal snakebite. The chorus expresses its anguish: "Ah, bitter happening, ah, impious and cruel fate!", while the Messaggera castigates herself as the bearing of bad tidings ("For ever I will flee, and in a lonely cavern lead a life in keeping with my sorrow"). Orfeo, after venting his grief and incredulity ("Thou art dead, my life, and I am breathing?"), declares his intention of descending to the Underworld and persuading its ruler to allow Euridice to return to life. Otherwise "I shall remain with thee in the company of death". He departs, and the chorus resumes its lament.
Act 3
Orfeo is guided by Speranza to the gates of Hades. Having pointed out the words inscribed on the gate ("Abandon hope, all ye who enter here"),[n 4] Speranza leaves. Orfeo is now confronted with the ferryman Caronte, who addresses Orfeo harshly and refuses to take him across the River Styx. Orfeo attempts to persuade Caronte by singing a flattering song to him ("Mighty spirit and powerful divinity"), but the ferryman is unmoved. However, when Orfeo takes up his lyre and plays, Caronte is soothed into sleep. Seizing his chance, Orfeo steals the ferryman's boat and crosses the river, to enter the Underworld while a chorus of spirits reflects that nature cannot defend herself against man: "He has tamed the sea with fragile wood, and disdained the rage of the winds."
Act 4
In the Underworld Proserpina, Queen of Hades, who has been deeply affected by Orfeo's singing, petitions King Plutone, her husband, for Euridice's release. Moved by her pleas, Plutone agrees subject to the condition that, as he leads Euridice towards the world, Orfeo must not look back. If he does, "a single glance will condemn him to eternal loss". Orfeo enters, leading Euridice and singing confidently that on that day he will rest on his wife's white bosom. But as he sings a note of doubt creeps in: "Who will assure me that she is following?". Perhaps Plutone, driven by envy, has imposed the condition through spite? Suddenly distracted by an off-stage commotion, Orfeo looks round; immediately, the image of Euridice begins to fade. She sings, despairingly: "Losest thou me through too much love?" and disappears. Orfeo attempts to follow her but is drawn away by an unseen force. The chorus of spirits sings that Orfeo, having overcome Hades, was in turn overcome by his passions.
Act 5
Back in the fields of Thrace Orfeo, in a long soliloquy, laments his loss, praises Euridice's beauty and resolves that his heart will never again be pierced by Cupid's arrow. An off-stage echo repeats his final phrases. Suddenly, in a cloud, Apollo descends from the heavens and chastises him: "Why dost thou give thyself up as prey to rage and grief?" He invites Orfeo to leave the world and join him in the heavens, where he will recognise Euridice's likeness in the stars. Orfeo replies that it would be unworthy not to follow the counsel of such a wise father, and together they ascend. A shepherds' chorus concludes that "he who sows in suffering shall reap the fruit of every grace", before the opera ends with a vigorous moresca.
[edit] Original libretto endingIn Striggio's 1607 libretto, Orfeo's Act 5 soliloquy is interrupted, not by Apollo's appearance but by a chorus of maenads or Bacchantes—wild, drunken women—who sing of the "divine fury" of their master, the god Bacchus. The cause of their wrath is Orfeo and his renunciation of women; he will not escape their heavenly anger, and the longer he evades them the more severe his fate will be. Orfeo leaves the scene and his destiny is left uncertain, for the Bacchantes devote themselves for the rest of the opera to wild singing and dancing in praise of Bacchus.[37] Early music authority Claude Palisca believes that the two endings are not incompatible; Orfeo evades from the fury of the Bacchantes and is then rescued by Apollo.[38]

[edit] Reception and performance history[edit] Premiere and early performances
The Ducal Palace at Mantua, where L'Orfeo was premiered in 1607The date for the first performance of L'Orfeo, 24 February 1607, is evidenced by two letters, both dated 23 February. In the first, Francesco Gonzaga informs his brother that the "musical play" will be performed tomorrow; it is clear from earlier correspondence that this refers to L'Orfeo. The second letter is from a Gonzaga court official, Carlo Magno, and gives more details: "Tomorrow evening the Most Serene Lord the Prince is to sponsor a [play] in a room in the apartments which the Most Serene Lady had the use of ...it should be most unusual, as all the actors are to sing their parts."[12] The "Serene Lady" is Duke Vincenzo's widowed sister Margherita Gonzaga d'Este, who lived within the ducal palace. The room of the premiere cannot be identified with certainty; according to Ringer, it may have been the Galleria dei Fiumi, which has the dimensions to accommodate a stage and orchestra with space for a small audience.[39]

There is no detailed account of the premiere, although Francesco wrote on 1 March that the work had "been to the great satisfaction of all who heard it", and had particularly pleased the Duke.[12] The Mantuan court theologian and poet, Cherubino Ferrari wrote that: "Both poet and musician have depicted the inclinations of the heart so skilfully that it could not have been done better ... The music, observing due propriety, serves the poetry so well that nothing more beautiful is to be heard anywhere".[12] After the premiere Duke Vincenzo ordered a second performance for 1 March; a third performance was planned to coincide with a proposed state visit to Mantua by the Duke of Savoy. Francesco wrote to the Duke of Tuscany on 8 March, asking if he could retain the services of the castrato Magli for a little longer.[12] However, the visit was cancelled, as was the celebratory performance.[40]

There are suggestions that in the years following the premiere, L'Orfeo may have been staged in Florence, Cremona, Milan and Turin,[34] though firmer evidence suggests that the work attracted limited interest beyond the Mantuan court.[40] Francesco may have mounted a production in Casale Monferrato, where he was governor, for the 1609–10 Carnival, and there are indications that the work was performed on several occasions in Salzburg between 1614 and 1619, under the direction of Francesco Rasi.[41] Years later, during the first flourish of Venetian opera in 1637–43, Monteverdi chose to revive his second opera, L'Arianna there, but not L'Orfeo.[40] There is some evidence of performances shortly after Monteverdi's death: in Geneva in 1643,[34] and in Paris, at the Louvre, in 1647.[42][n 5] Although according to Carter the work was still admired across Italy in the 1650s,[34][41] it was subsequently forgotten, as largely was Monteverdi, until the revival of interest in his works in the late 19th century.[34][43]

[edit] 20th-century revivals
Vincent d'Indy, who oversaw the first 20th-century revival of L'Orfeo in 1904After years of neglect, Monteverdi's music began to attract the interest of pioneer music historians in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and from the second quarter of the 19th century onwards he is discussed increasingly in scholarly works.[41] In 1881 a truncated version of the L'Orfeo score, intended for study rather than performance, was published in Berlin by Robert Eitner.[44] In 1904 the composer Vincent d'Indy produced an edition in French, which comprised only Act 2, a shortened Act 3 and Act 4. This edition was the basis of the first public performance of the work in two-and-a-half centuries, a concert performance at d'Indy's Schola Cantorum on 25 February 1904.[45][46] The distinguished writer Romain Rolland, who was present, commended d'Indy for bringing the opera to life and returning it "to the beauty it once had, freeing it from the clumsy restorations which have disfigured it"—presumably a reference to Eitner's edition.[47][48] The d'Indy edition was also the basis of the first modern staged performance of the work, at the Théâtre Réjane, Paris, on 2 May 1911.[43]

An edition of the score by the minor Italian composer Giovanni Orefice received several concert performances in Italy and elsewhere before and after the First World War. This edition was the basis of the opera's United States debut, another concert performance at the New York Met in April 1912. The opera was introduced to London, in d'Indy's edition, when it was sung to piano accompaniment at the Institut Français on 8 March 1924.[49] The first British staged performance, with only small cuts, was given by the Oxford University Operatic Society on 7 December 1925, using an edition prepared for the event by Jack Westrup. In the London Saturday Review, music critic Dyneley Hussey called the occasion "one of the most important events of recent years"; the production had "indicated at once Monteverdi's claim to rank among the great geniuses who have written dramatic music".[50] Westrup's edition was revived in London at the Scala Theatre in December 1929, the same year in which the opera received its first US staged performance, at Smith College, Northampton, MA.[43] The three Scala performances resulted in a financial disaster, and the opera was not seen again in Britain for 35 years.[51]

Among a flurry of revivals after 1945 was Paul Hindemith's edition, a full period reconstruction of the work prepared in 1943, which was staged and recorded at the Vienna Festival in 1954. This performance had a great impact on the young Nikolaus Harnoncourt, and was hailed as a masterpiece of scholarship and integrity.[52] The first staged New York performance, by the New York City Opera under Leopold Stokowski on 29 September 1960, saw the American operatic debut of Gérard Souzay, one of several baritones who have sung the role of Orfeo. The theatre was criticised by New York Times critic Harold C. Schonberg because, to accommodate a performance of Luigi Dallapiccola's contemporary opera Il prigioniero, about a third of L'Orfeo was cut. Schonberg wrote: "Even the biggest aria in the opera, "Possente spirito", has a good-sized slash in the middle ... [L'Orfeo] is long enough, and important enough, not to mention beautiful enough, to have been the entire evening's opera."[53]

By the latter part of the 20th century the opera was being shown all over the world. In 1965, Sadler's Wells, forerunner of English National Opera (ENO), staged the first of many ENO presentations which would continue into the 21st century.[43] Among various celebrations marking the opera's 400th anniversary in 2007 were a semi-staged performance at the Teatro Bibiena in Mantua,[54] a full-scale production by the English Bach Festival (EBF) at the Whitehall Banqueting House in London on 7 February,[55] and an unconventional production by Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, New York, conducted by Antony Walker and directed by Christopher Alden.[56] On 6 May 2010 the BBC broadcast a performance of the opera from La Scala, Milan.[57] Despite the reluctance of some major opera houses to stage L'Orfeo,[n 6] it is a popular work with the leading Baroque ensembles. During the period 2008–10 the French-based Les Arts Florissants, under its director William Christie, has presented the Monteverdi trilogy of operas (L'Orfeo, Il ritorno d'Ulisse and L'incoronazione di Poppea) in a series of performances at the Teatro Real in Madrid.[60]

[edit] MusicFurther information: List of musical items in Claudio Monteverdi's L'Orfeo

A page from the 1609 score of L'OrfeoL'Orfeo is, in Redlich's analysis, the product of two musical epochs. It combines elements of the traditional madrigal style of the 16th century with those of the emerging Florentine mode, in particular the use of recitative and monodic singing as developed by the Camerata and their successors.[61] In this new style, the text dominates the music; while sinfonias and instrumental ritornelli illustrate the action, the audience's attention is always drawn primarily to the words. The singers are required to do more than produce pleasant vocal sounds; they must represent their characters in depth and convey appropriate emotions.[62]

Monterverdi's recitative style was influenced by Peri's, in Euridice, although in L'Orfeo recitative is less preponderant than was usual in dramatic music at this time. It accounts for less than a quarter of the first act's music, around a third of the second and third acts, and a little under half in the final two acts.[63]

The importance of L'Orfeo is not that it was the first work of its kind, but that it was the first attempt to apply the full resources of the art of music, as then evolved, to the nascent genre of opera.[64] In particular, Monteverdi made daring innovations in the use of polyphony, of which Palestrina had been the principal exponent. In L'Orfeo, Monteverdi extends the rules, beyond the conventions which polyphonic composers, faithful to Palestrina, had previously considered as sacrosanct.[65] Monteverdi was not in the generally understood sense an orchestrator;[66] Ringer finds that it is the element of instrumental improvisation that makes each performance of a Monteverdi opera a "unique experience, and separates his work from the later operatic canon."[62]

"Toccata" from L'Orfeo

Live recording
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The opera begins with a martial-sounding toccata for trumpets which is repeated twice. When played on period wind instruments the sound can be startling to modern audiences; Redlich calls it "shattering".[67] Such flourishes were the standard signal for the commencement of performances at the Mantuan court; the opening chorus of Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers, also composed for Gonzaga's court, employs the same fanfare.[62] The toccata acted as a salute to the Duke; according to Donington, if it had not been written, precedent would have required it to be improvised.[20] As the brass sound of the toccata fades, it is replaced by the gentler tone of the strings ritornello which introduces La musica's prologue. The ritornello is repeated in shortened form between each of the prologue's five verses, and in full after the final verse. Its function within the opera as a whole is to represents the "power of music";[34] as such it is heard at the end of Act 2, and again the beginning of Act 5, one of the earliest examples of an operatic leitmotiv.[68]

After the Prologue, Act 1 follows in the form of a pastoral idyll. Two choruses, one solemn and one jovial are repeated in reverse order around the central love-song "Rosa del ciel" ("Rose of the heavens"), followed by the shepherds' songs of praise. The buoyant mood continues into Act 2, with song and dance music influenced, according to Harnoncourt, by Monteverdi's experience of French music.[69] The sudden entrance of La messaggera with the doleful news of Euridice's death, and the confusion and grief which follow, are musically reflected by harsh dissonances and the juxtaposition of keys.[34][69] The music remains in this vein until the act ends with La musica's ritornello, a hint that the "power of music" may yet bring about a triumph over death.[70] Monteverdi's instructions as the act concludes are that the violins, the organ and harpsichord become silent and that the music is taken up by the trombones, the cornetts and the regal, as the scene changes to the Underworld.[69]

The centrepiece of Act 3, perhaps of the entire opera, is Orfeo's extended aria "Possente spirto e formidabil nume" ("Mighty spirit and powerful divinity"), by which he attempts to persuade Caronte to allow him to enter Hades. Monteverdi's vocal embellishments and virtuoso accompaniment provide what Carter describes as "one of the most compelling visual and aural representations" in early opera.[71] Instrumental colour is provided by a chitarrone, a pipe-organ, two violins, two cornetts and a double-harp. This array, according to music historian and analyst John Whenham, is intended to suggest that Orfeo is harnessing all the available forces of music to support his plea.[72] In Act 4 the impersonal coldness of the Underworld is broken by the warmth of Proserpina's singing on behalf of Orfeo, a warmth that is retained until the dramatic moment at which Orfeo "looks back". The cold sounds of the sinfonia from the beginning of Act 3 then remind us that the Underworld is, after all, entirely devoid of human feeling.[69] The brief final act, which sees Orfeo's rescue and metamorphosis, is framed by the final appearance of La musica's ritornello and the lively moresca that ends the opera. This dance, says Ringer, recalls the jigs danced at the end of Shakespeare's tragedies, and provides a means of bringing the audience back to their everyday world, "just as the toccata had led them into another realm some two hours before. The toccata and the moresca unite courtly reality with operatic illusion."[73]

[edit] Recording historyFor the complete discography, see L'Orfeo discography
The first recording of L'Orfeo was issued in 1939, a freely adapted version of Monteverdi's music by Giacomo Benvenuti,[74] given by the orchestra of La Scala Milan conducted by Ferrucio Calusio.[75][76] In 1949, for the recording of the complete opera by the Berlin Radio Orchestra under Helmut Koch, the new medium of long-playing records (LPs) was used. The advent of LP recordings was, as Harold Schonberg later wrote, an important factor in the postwar revival of interest in Renaissance and Baroque music,[77] and from the mid-1950s recordings of L'Orfeo have been issued on many labels. The 1969 recording by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Vienna Concentus Musicus, using Harnoncourt's edition based on period instruments, was praised for "making Monteverdi's music sound something like the way he imagined".[78] In 1981 Siegfried Heinrich, with the Early Music Studio of the Hesse Chamber Orchestra, recorded a version which re-created the original Striggio libretto ending, adding music from Monteverdi's 1616 ballet Tirsi e Clori for the Bacchante scenes.[79][80] Among more recent recordings, that of Emmanuelle Haim in 2004 has been praised for its dramatic effect.[81]

[edit] EditionsAfter the publication of the L'Orfeo score in 1609, the same publisher (Ricciardo Amadino of Venice) brought it out again in 1615. Facsimiles of these editions were printed in 1927 and 1972 respectively.[43] Since Eitner's first "modern" edition of L'Orfeo in 1884, and d'Indy's performing edition 20 years later—both of which were abridged and adapted versions of the 1609 score—there have been many attempts to edit and present the work, not all of them published. Most of the editions that followed d'Indy up to the time of the Second World War were arrangements, usually heavily truncated, that provided a basis for performances in the modern opera idiom. Many of these were the work of composers, including Carl Orff (1923 and1939) and Ottorino Respighi in 1935.[34] Orff's 1923 score, using a German text, included some period instrumentation, an experiment he abandoned when producing his later version.[82]

In the post-war period, editions have moved increasingly to reflect the performance conventions of Monteverdi's day. This tendency was initiated by two earlier editions, that of Jack Westrup used in the 1925 Oxford performances,[83] and Gian Francesco Malipiero's 1930 complete edition which sticks closely to Monteverdi's 1609 original.[83] After the war, Hindemith's attempted period reconstruction of the work[52] was followed in 1955 by an edition from August Wenzinger that remained in use for many years.[84] The next 30 years saw numerous editions, mostly prepared by scholar-performers rather than by composers, generally aiming towards authenticity if not always the complete re-creation of the original instrumentation. These included versions by Raymond Leppard (1965), Denis Stevens (1967), Nikolaus Harnoncourt (1969), Jane Glover (1975), Roger Norrington (1976) and John Eliot Gardiner.[34][85] Only the composers Valentino Bucchi (1967), Bruno Maderna (1967) and Luciano Berio (1984) produced editions based on the convention of a large modern orchestra.[83] In the 21st century editions continue to be produced, often for use in conjunction with a particular performance or recording.[34][43]

[edit] Notes and referencesNotes
^ The Florentine Camerata, led by Giovanni de' Bardi, was a group of scholars and musicians dedicated to the revival of Ancient Greek-style theatre, mainly active in the 1570s and 1580s. Later groups with similar aims are also loosely referred to as "Camerata".[4]
^ Monteverdi's 1609 score does not specify voice parts, but indicates the required ranges by clef.[33] In the early productions the principal "high voice" parts were sung by castrati. Modern productions have generally allocated the parts to soprano, alto, tenor and bass singers. See Carter (2002), pp. 91–97, Glover, pp. 146–48.
^ English translations quoted in the synopsis are from the version accompanying Nikolaus Harnoncourt's 1969 recording.[35]
^ The pun (Speranza means "hope") in this quotation from Inferno by Dante Alighieri can be considered, according to John Whenham, as a "learned witticism" on Striggio's part.[36]
^ There may also have been a revival in Paris in 1832.[42]
^ For example, as of 2010 the opera remains unstaged at New York Met, the Royal Opera House and Glyndebourne.[58][59]
References
^ Carter, Tim (2007). "Monteverdi, Claudio: Cremona". In Macy, Laura (ed.). Oxford Music Online. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/public/. Retrieved 4 September 2010. (subscription required) See note (1) below
^ a b c Fenlon, Iain, "The Mantuan Orfeo" pp. 5–7
^ Carter, Tim (2007). "Monteverdi, Claudio: Mantua". In Macy, Laura (ed.). Oxford Music Online. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/public/. Retrieved 4 September 2010. (subscription required) See note (1) below
^ Ringer, pp. 12–13
^ a b c Fenlon, "The Mantuan Orfeo" pp. 1–4
^ a b Sternfeld, p. 26
^ Ringer, pp. 30–31
^ Ringer, p. 16
^ Carter (2002), p. 38
^ a b c Hanning, Barbara (2007). "Striggio, Alessandro (Alessandrino)". In Macy, Laura (ed.). Oxford Music Online. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/public/. Retrieved 5 September 2010. (subscription required) See note (1) below
^ Carter (2002), p. 48
^ a b c d e Fenlon, "Correspondence" pp. 167–72
^ Sternfeld, pp. 20–25
^ a b Sternfeld, pp. 27–30
^ Tomlinson, Gary (1981). "Madrigal, Monody, and Monteverdi's "via actuale alla imitatione"". Journal of the American Musicological Society 34 (1). http://www.jstor.org/pss/831035. Retrieved 11 September 2010. (subscription required)
^ a b Ringer, pp. 39–40
^ Pirrotta, pp. 258–59
^ Carter (2002), pp. 143–44
^ a b c Harnoncourt, p. 19
^ a b Donington, p. 257
^ Robinson, p. 61
^ a b c Harnoncourt, p. 20
^ Whenham (1986), pp. 42–47
^ a b c Glover, pp. 139–41
^ Glover, p. 142
^ Beat, pp. 277–78
^ Beat, pp. 280–81
^ Harnoncourt, p. 21
^ Glover, pp. 146–48
^ Fenlon, "The Mantuan Orfeo" pp. 11–15
^ Redlich, p. 15
^ a b Carter (2002), pp. 97–98
^ Zanette, Damian H. (February 2007). "Notes to the transcription of the 1609 Venetian score of L'Orfeo". Icking Musical Archive. http://icking-music-archive.org/scores/download.php?file=monteverdi/orfeo/notas.pdf. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
^ a b c d e f g h i j Whenham, John (2007). "Orfeo (i)". In Macy, Laura (ed.). Oxford Music Online. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/public/. Retrieved 12 September 2010. (subscription required) See note (2) below
^ Harnoncourt, pp. 73–96
^ Whenham (1986), p. 66
^ Whenham (1986), pp. 35–40
^ Palisca, p. 39
^ Ringer, p. 36
^ a b c Fenlon, "The Mantuan Orfeo" pp. 17–19
^ a b c Carter (2002), pp. 3–5
^ a b "Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia". Amadeusonline. http://www.amadeusonline.net/almanacco.php?Start=0&Giorno=&Mese=&Anno=&Giornata=&Testo=L%27Orfeo&Parola=Stringa. Retrieved 26 October 2009. (Italian)
^ a b c d e f Fortune and Whenham, "Modern editions and performances" pp. 173–181
^ Fortune, "The rediscovery of Orfeo" pp. 80–81
^ Carter (2002), p. 6
^ Fortune, "The rediscovery of Orfeo" p. 84
^ Rolland, pp. 124–25
^ Whenham (1986), p. 196
^ Howes, Frank (1 June 1924). "Notes on Monteverdi's Orfeo". The Musical Times. http://www.jstor.org/pss/913262. Retrieved 16 September 2010. (subscription required)
^ Hussey, Dyneley (19 December 1925). "Monteverdi at Oxford". The Saturday Review (London): p. 735. http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/scribe/Oxford-1925.pdf. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
^ Fortune, "The rediscovery of Orfeo" p. 104
^ a b Fortune, "The rediscovery of Orfeo" p. 105
^ Schonberg, Harold C. (30 September 1960). "2 Works Sung as City Opera Starts Year". The New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30811FE3C551A7A93C2AA1782D85F448685F9&scp=13&sq=Monteverdi+Orfeo&st=p. Retrieved 14 September 2010. (subscription required)
^ Riding, Alan (2007). "400 years on, Opera Looks to the Next Act". Michigan Radio. http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/michigan/.artsmain/article/12/1083/1045382/400.Years.on..Opera.Looks.to.the.Next.Act./. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
^ Pettit, Stephen (22 March 2007). "The Power of Orfeo". Prospect (132). http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2007/03/thepoweroforfeo/. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
^ Tomassini, Anthony (7 August 2007). "Four Trips to Hell and Back at the Opera". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/07/arts/music/07glim.htm. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
^ "Monteverdi's Orfeo". British Broadcasting Corporation, Radio 3. 6 May 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s7dkc. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
^ "Operas performed 1934–2010". Glyndebourne Festival Opera. http://www.glyndebourne.com/archive/productions/glyndebourne_festival_operas_performed/. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
^ "Royal Opera House Collections". The Royal Opera House. http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/SearchResults.aspx?searchtype=workprodperf&title=L%27Orfeo. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
^ "Les Arts Florissants". Barbican.org. http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?id=8520&pg=1729. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
^ Redlich, p. 99
^ a b c Ringer, pp. 27–28
^ Palisca, pp. 40–42
^ Grout, pp. 53–55
^ Hull, Robert H. (15 September 1929). "The Development of Harmony". The School Music Review: pp. 111. http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/scribe/Monteverdi-Development-of-harmony.pdf. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
^ Westrup, Jack (1940). "Monteverdi and the Orchestra". The Musical Times 21 (3). http://ml.oxfordjournals.org/content/XXI/3/230.extract. Retrieved 17 September 2010. (subscription required)
^ Redlich, p. 97
^ Grout, p. 56
^ a b c d Harnoncourt, pp. 24–25
^ Ringer, pp. 63–64
^ Carter, Tim (1993). "Possento spirto: on taming the power of music". Early Music 21 (4). http://em.oxfordjournals.org/content/XXI/4/517.extract. Retrieved 17 September 2010. (subscription required)
^ Whenham (1986), p. 68
^ Ringer, p. 89
^ Fortune, "The rediscovery of Orfeo" p. 93
^ "Continental Record Issues". Gramophone (London: Haymarket). June 1944. http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/June%201944/17/857239/HIS+MASTERS+VOICE. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
^ "Monteverdi – L'Orfeo – Milan 1939 – Calusio". Amazon.co.uk. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Monteverdi-LOrfeo-Milan-1939-Calusio/dp/B0003021NG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1284584924&sr=1-1. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
^ Fortune, "The rediscovery of Orfeo" p. 109
^ Arnold, Denis (March 1970). "Monteverdi: L'Orfeo complete". Gramophone (London: Haymarket). http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/March%201970/80/780424/MONTEVERDI.+LOrfeo%E2%80%94complete.. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
^ Arnold, Denis (March 1982). "Monteverdi: L'Orfeo". Gramophone (London: Haymarket). http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/March%201982/89/763364/MONTEVERDI.+LORFEO.+Joachim+Seipp+%28ten%29+Orfeo+Melinda+Liebermann+%28sop%29+Euridice+Rosemarie+Biihler+%28sop%29+Music%2C+Hope+Rochelle+Travis+%28sop%29+Nymph%2C+Proserpina+Heide+BlankeRoeser+%28sop%29+Messenger+Uwe+Bliesch+%28bass%29+Charon+Cornelius+Hauptmann+%28bass%29+Pluto+Erwin+Speen+%28ten%29+Apollo%2C+Echo%2C+Shepherd%2C+Spirit+Axel+Reichardt%2C+David+Adams+%28tens%29+Shepherds%2C+Spirits+Frankfurt+Madrigal+Ensemble+Bad+Hersfeld+Festival+1980+Choir+and+Orchestra+Early+Music+Studio+of+the+Hesse+Chamber+Orchestra++Siegfried+Heinrich.+Jubilate+JU858102+%28three+records%2C+nas%2C+%C2%A314.50%29.+German+notes%2C+text+and+translation+included.. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
^ Whenham (1986), p. 204
^ Ringer, p. 311
^ Fortune, "The rediscovery of Orfeo" pp. 90–91
^ a b c Fortune, "The rediscovery of Orfeo" pp. 96–102
^ Fortune, "The rediscovery of Orfeo" p. 107
^ Fortune, "The rediscovery of Orfeo" pp. 110–18
(1) A printed version of this source is available in Sadie, Stanley, and Tyrrell, John (eds) (2001). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (Second edition). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 1-56159-239-0.
(2) A printed version of this source is available in Sadie, Stanley (ed.) (2004). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-522186-2.
[edit] SourcesBeat, Janet E. (1968). "Monteverdi and the Opera Orchestra of his Time" in Arnold, Denis and Fortune, Nigel (eds): The Monteverdi Companion. London: Faber and Faber.
Carter, Tim (2002). Monteverdi's Musical Theatre. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09676-3.
Donington, Robert (1968). "Monteverdi's First Opera" in Arnold, Denis and Fortune, Nigel (eds): The Monteverdi Companion. London: Faber and Faber.
Fenlon, Ian (1986). "The Mantuan Orfeo" in Whenham, John (ed.): Claudio Monteverdi: Orfeo. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24148-0.
Fenlon, Ian (1986). "Correspondence relating to the early Mantuan performances" in Whenham, John (ed.): Claudio Monteverdi: Orfeo. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24148-0.
Fortune, Nigel (1986). "The rediscovery of Orfeo" in Whenham, John (ed.): Claudio Monteverdi: Orfeo. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24148-0.
Fortune, Nigel; Whenham, John (1986). "Modern editions and performances" in Whenham, John (ed.): Claudio Monteverdi: Orfeo. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24148-0.
Glover, Jane (1986). "Solving the musical problem" in Whenham, John (ed.): Claudio Monteverdi: Orfeo. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24148-0.
Grout, Donald Jay (1971). A Short History of Opera. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-08978-3.
Harnoncourt, Nikolaus (1969). "Claudio Monteverdi's L'Orfeo: An Introduction" (in notes accompanying TELDEC recording 8.35020 ZA). Hamburg: Teldec Schallplatten GmbH.
Palisca, Claude V. (1981). Baroque Music. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-055947-4.
Pirrotta, Nino (1984). Music and Culture in Italy from the Middle Ages to the Baroque. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-59108-9.
Redlich, Hans (1952). Claudio Monteverdi: Life and Works. London: Oxford University Press.
Ringer, Mark (2006). Opera's First Master: The Musical Dramas of Claudio Monteverdi. Newark, N.J.: Amadeus Press. ISBN 1-57467-110-3.
Robinson, Michael F. (1972). Opera before Mozart. London: Hutchinson & Co. ISBN 0-09-080421-X.
Rolland, Romain; Perkins, Wendy (tr.) (1986). "A review of Vincent d'Indy's performance (Paris 1904)" in Whenham, John (ed.): Claudio Monteverdi: Orfeo. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24148-0.
Sternfeld, F.W. (1986). "The Orpheus myth and the libretto of Orfeo" in Whenham, John (ed.): Claudio Monteverdi: Orfeo. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24148-0.
Whenham, John (1986). "Five acts, one action" in Claudio Monteverdi: Orfeo. London: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24148-0.
[edit] Further readingFabbri, Paolo (1994). Monteverdi. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-35133-2.
Newby, Elizabeth (1987). A Portrait of the Artist: The Legends of Orpheus and Their Use in Medieval and Renaissance Aesthetics. New York: Garland. ISBN 978-0-8240-8431-8.
Neef, Sigrid (ed.) (2000). Opera: Composers, Works, Performers (English edition). Cologne: Könemann. ISBN 3-8290-3571-3.
Sadie, Stanley (ed.) (2004). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Opera. London: Flame Tree Publishing. ISBN 1-84451-026-3.
[edit] External linksL'Orfeo libretto in English translation
"Ars Polemica: Monteverdi’s Orfeo as artistic creed" by Uri Golomb, Goldberg: Early Music Magazine 45 (April 2007): 44–57
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Orfeo"
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Lyrics and midi for 1644"Ormindo"(Cavalli)'Se mi cinge'

2011-06-16T11:51:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Se mi cinge
se mi stringe
doppio laccio e doppio nodo
il contento
doppio sento
doppia gioia io provo e godo.
Luci amate
che brillate
nella fronte de' miei cieli
voi voi siete
che struggete
di mia sorte i crudi geli.

Lyrics and midi for 1644"Ormindo"(Cavalli)'Mai volsi ch'il mio core'

2011-06-16T11:50:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Mai volsi, ch'il mio core
mi volasse dal petto
né feci mai ricetto
per tema d'abbruciarlo il cor d'ardore
nell'incostanza mia sempre costante
amai solo il diletto
e non l'amante.

Midi and lyrics for 1644"Ormindo"(Cavalli)'Se nel sen di giovanetti'

2011-06-16T11:44:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Se nel sen di giovanetti
l'alma mia
sol desia di trar diletti
vecchio re
per marito il ciel mi diè.
Famelica, e digiuna
di dolcezze veraci
con sospiri interrotti
passo le tristi notti
sazia di freddi, e di sciapiti baci
pasco sol di desio l'avide brame
ed a mensa real moro di fame.

Midi: 1644"Ormindo"(Cavalli)'Se nel sen di giovinetti'

2011-06-16T11:39:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

http://www.classicalmidiconnection.com/midiplay/playmidi.shtml?midi/n1/pfcsenel

Midi for 1644-"Ormindo"(Cavalli)--'Mai voli ch'il mio core'

2011-06-16T11:36:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

http://www.classicalmidiconnection.com/midiplay/playmidi.shtml?midi/n1/pfcmaivo

Midi for 1644 "Ormindo" (Cavalli)---'Miracolo d'amore'

2011-06-16T11:34:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

http://www.classicalmidiconnection.com/midiplay/playmidi.shtml?midi/n1/pfcmirac

4 midis from 1644, "Ormindo" (Cavalli)--tenor aria

2011-06-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

"Ormindo: is an opera in three acts and a prologue by Francesco Cavalli to an original Italian libretto by Giovanni Faustini.

The manuscript score and libretto, which describes the work as a favola dramatica musicale, are held at the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice.

The opera has set numbers with recitative, and is set in Fez in the ancient Kingdom of Mauretania.

"Ormindo" was first performed at the Teatro San Cassiano, Venice, 1644.

It is now rarely staged.

It was arranged by Raymond Leppard for performance at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1967, and this was probably the first time "Ormindo" had been performed since 1644.

The work received its American premiere in 1968 in a performance at the Juilliard School supervised by Leppard.

A recent performance was by the Pittsburgh Opera in February, 2007, using a new performing edition by Peter Foster.

It was conducted by Bernard McDonald and directed by Chas Rader-Shieber.

Peter Foster's edition was also used by The Harvard Early Music Society in its November, 2008 performance of the work, conducted by Matthew Hall and directed by Roy Kimmey.

The Baylor University School of Music performed the work in English on November 21-22, 2008 under the direction of Dr. Michael Johnson with conductor Dr. Andrew Hudson.

It was performed by Pinchgut Opera of Sydney in December 2009.

Amida, Prince of Tremisene ------ tenor
Amore --------------------------- soprano
Custode ------------------------- tenor
Erice, Sicle's nurse ------------ tenor
Erisbe, the wife of Hariadeno --- soprano
Hariadeno, King of Mauretania --- bass
Destino ------------------------- tenor
Armonia ------------------------- soprano
Fortuna ------------------------- mezzo-soprano
Melide, Sicle's lady-in-waiting - soprano
Mirinda, Erisbe's confidante ---- soprano
Nerillo, Amida's page ----------- mezzo-soprano
Ormindo, Prince of Tunis -------- alto
Osman, King Hariadeno's captain - tenor
Sicle, Princess of Susio (Scotland) -- soprano
Messo (Messenger) -------------------- mezzo-soprano
The Winds, Ormindo's soldiers, Amida's soldiers, Mauritanian soldiers, Erisbe's ladies-in-waiting

Fez in the ancient Kingdom of Mauretania.

The foreign princes, Amida and Ormindo, who are assisting in the defense of Mauretania, are both in love with Erisbe who is unhappily married to Hariadeno, Mauretania's elderly king. The princes agree to remain friends while they test her love. During the course of the opera, there is much plotting by Amore, Princess Sicle (Amida's abandoned lover) and Erice (Sicle's nurse) to interfere with the contest. Erice stages a séance to communicate with the 'dead' Sicle who reproaches Amida for his inconstancy which had driven her to suicide. Amida, overcome with remorse, realizes that he still loves Princess Sicle and is overjoyed when it is revealed that she is actually alive and not a ghost. Meanwhile, Erisbe and Ormindo decide to elope to Tunis, where Ormindo must defend his homeland from attack. When King Hariadeno discovers their adultery, he orders his captain, Osmano, to have them poisoned. However, Osmano substitutes a sleeping potion for the poison at the urging of Mirinda (Erisbe's confidante) who has promised to marry him if he spares the lovers. All ends more or less happily when the King learns that Ormindo is actually his son from a youthful liaison. He forgives everyone and cedes his kingdom to Ormindo.

Recordings

Complete

Cavalli: L'Ormindo (John Wakefield, tenor; Peter-Christoph Runge, baritone; Hanneke van Bork, soprano; Anne Howells, mezzo-soprano; Federico Davia, bass; London Philharmonic Orchestra; Raymond Leppard, conductor). Recorded at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera House. Label: Decca.
Cavalli: L'Ormindo (Howard Crook, tenor; Dominique Visse, countertenor; Sandrine Piau, soprano; Martin Oro, countertenor; Les Paladins, ensemble; Jerome Correas, harpsichord and conductor). Label: Pan Classics.
Excerpts

Cavalli: Arias and Duets from Didone, Egisto, Ormindo, Giasone and Callisto (Mario Cecchetti, tenor; Rosita Frisani, soprano; Gloria Banditelli, mezzo-soprano; Mediterraneo Concento, ensemble; Sergio Vartolo, conductor). Label: Naxos.

References

Glynias, Marissa A., "Hargis Broaches Baroque Opera", The Harvard Crimson, November 7, 2008. Accessed 12 November 2008.

Henahan, Donal, "Opera: L'Ormindo", New York Times, August 20, 1982. Accessed 12 November 2008.

Pittsburgh Opera, Program notes for the company's 2007 performance. Accessed 12 November 2008.

Vartolo, Sergio, Liner notes for Cavalli: Arias and Duets from Didone, Egisto,
Ormindo, Giasone and Callisto, Naxos Records. Accessed 12 November 2008.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ormindo"

Categories: Italian-language operas | 1640s operas | Operas by Francesco Cavalli | Operas | 1644 operas
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Parole -- "In quegli anni" -- tenor aria (Basilio) in Mozart's "Nozze di Figaro"

2011-06-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranzafor "Gli Operai"jlsperanza@aol.com

In quegl'anni, in cui val poco
la mal pratica ragion
ebbi anch'io lo stesso foco
fui quel pazzo ch'or non son.
Che col tempo e coi perigli
donna flemma capitò
e i capricci, ed i puntigli
della testa mi cavò.
Presso un piccolo abituro
seco lei mi trasse un giorno
e togliendo giù dal muro
del pacifico soggiorno
una pella di somaro
prendi disse, oh figlio caro
poi disparve, e mi lasciò.
Mentre ancor tacito
guardo quel dono
il ciel s'annuvola
rimbomba il tuono
mista alla grandine
scroscia la piova
ecco le membra
coprir mi giova
col manto d'asino
che mi donò.
Finisce il turbine
nè fo due passi
che fiera orribile
dianzi a me fassi
già già mi tocca
l'ingorda bocca
già di difendermi
speme non ho.
Ma il finto ignobile
del mio vestito
tolse alla belva
sì l'appetito
che disprezzandomi
si rinselvò.
Così conoscere
mi fè la sorte
ch'onte, pericoli
vergogna, e morte
col cuoio d'asino
fuggir si può.

1786--"In quegli anni" (tenor aria)--Mozart's "Nozze di Figaro" --- midi

2011-06-15T17:43:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata (The Marriage of Figaro, or The Day of Madness), K. 492, is an opera buffa (comic opera) composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro (1784).

Although the play by Beaumarchais was at first banned in Vienna because of its satire of the aristocracy, considered dangerous in the decade before the French Revolution, the opera became one of Mozart's most successful works. The overture is especially famous and is often played as a concert piece. The musical material of the overture is not used later in the work, aside from two brief phrases during the Count's part in the terzetto Cosa sento! in act 1.[1]

Contents [hide]
1 Composition
2 Performance history
2.1 Other early performances
2.2 Contemporary reputation
3 Roles
4 Synopsis
4.1 Act 1
4.2 Act 2
4.3 Act 3
4.4 Act 4
5 Instrumentation
6 Frequently omitted numbers
7 Musical style
8 Critical discussion
9 Other uses of the melodies
10 Recordings
11 See also
12 Notes and references
13 Sources
14 External links

[edit] CompositionThe opera was the first of three collaborations between Mozart and Da Ponte; their later collaborations were Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte. It was Mozart who originally selected Beaumarchais' play and brought it to Da Ponte, who turned it into a libretto in six weeks, rewriting it in poetic Italian and removing all of the original's political references. In particular, Da Ponte replaced Figaro's climactic speech against inherited nobility with an equally angry aria against unfaithful wives. Contrary to the popular myth, the libretto was approved by the Emperor, Joseph II, before any music was written by Mozart.[2]

The Imperial Italian opera company paid Mozart 450 florins for the work;[3] this was three times his (low) salary for a year, when he had worked as a court musician in Salzburg (Solomon 1995). Da Ponte was paid 200 florins.[3]

[edit] Performance historyFigaro premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 1 May 1786, the cast for which is included in the "Roles" section below. Mozart himself directed the first two performances, conducting seated at the keyboard, the custom of the day. Later performances were by Joseph Weigl.[4] The first production was given eight further performances, all in 1786.[5]

Although the total of nine performances was nothing like the frequency of performance of Mozart's later success The Magic Flute, which for months was performed roughly every other day (Solomon 1995), the premiere is generally judged to have been a success. The applause of the audience on the first night resulted in five numbers being encored, seven on 8 May (Deutsch 1965, p. 272). Joseph II, who, in addition to his empire, was in charge of the Burgtheater, was concerned by the length of the performance and directed his aide Count Rosenberg as follows:

"To prevent the excessive duration of operas, without however prejudicing the fame often sought by opera singers from the repetition of vocal pieces, I deem the enclosed notice to the public (that no piece for more than a single voice is to be repeated) to be the most reasonable expedient. You will therefore cause some posters to this effect to be printed."[6]
The requested posters were printed up and posted in the Burgtheater in time for the third performance on 24 May (Deutsch 1965, p. 275).

The newspaper Wiener Realzeitung carried a review of the opera in its issue of 11 July 1786. It alludes to interference probably produced by paid hecklers, but praises the work warmly:

"Mozart's music was generally admired by connoisseurs already at the first performance, if I except only those whose self-love and conceit will not allow them to find merit in anything not written by themselves.
The public, however … did not really know on the first day where it stood. It heard many a bravo from unbiassed connoisseurs, but obstreperous louts in the uppermost storey exerted their hired lungs with all their might to deafen singers and audience alike with their St! and Pst; and consequently opinions were divided at the end of the piece.
Apart from that, it is true that the first performance was none of the best, owing to the difficulties of the composition.
But now, after several performances, one would be subscribing either to the cabal or to tastelessness if one were to maintain that Herr Mozart's music is anything but a masterpiece of art.
It contains so many beauties, and such a wealth of ideas, as can be drawn only from the source of innate genius."[7]
The Hungarian poet Ferenc Kazinczy was in the audience for a May performance, and later remembered the powerful impression the work made on him:

"[Nancy] Storace [see below], the beautiful singer, enchanted eye, ear, and soul. – Mozart directed the orchestra, playing his fortepiano; the joy which this music causes is so far removed from all sensuality that one cannot speak of it. Where could words be found that are worthy to describe such joy?"[8]
Joseph Haydn appreciated the opera greatly, writing to a friend that he heard it in his dreams.[9] In summer 1790 Haydn attempted to produce the work with his own company at Eszterháza, but was prevented from doing so by the death of his patron, Nikolaus Esterházy (Landon & Jones 1988, p. 174).

[edit] Other early performancesThe Emperor requested a special performance at his palace theater in Laxenburg, which took place in June 1786 (Deutsch 1965).

The opera was produced in Prague starting in December 1786 by the Pasquale Bondini company. This production was a tremendous success; the newspaper Prager Oberpostamtszeitung called the work "a masterpiece" (Deutsch 1965, p. 281), and said "no piece (for everyone here asserts) has ever caused such a sensation." (Deutsch 1965, p. 280) Local music lovers paid for Mozart to visit Prague and hear the production; he listened on 17 January 1787, and conducted it himself on the 22nd (Deutsch 1965, p. 285). The success of the Prague production led to the commissioning of the next Mozart/Da Ponte opera, Don Giovanni, premiered in Prague in 1787; see Mozart and Prague.

The work was not performed in Vienna during 1787 or 1788, but starting in 1789 there was a revival production.[10] For this occasion Mozart replaced both arias of Susanna with new compositions, better suited to the voice of Adriana Ferrarese del Bene who took the role. For Deh, vieni he wrote Al desio di chi t'adora – "[come and fly] To the desire of who adores you" (K. 577) in July 1789, and for Venite, inginocchiatevi! he wrote Un moto di gioia – "A joyous emotion", (K. 579), probably in mid-1790.[11]

[edit] Contemporary reputationThe Marriage of Figaro is now regarded as a cornerstone of the standard operatic repertoire, and it appears as number five on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide.[12]

[edit] RolesThe voice types which appear in this table are those listed in the original libretto. In modern performance practice, Cherubino is usually assigned to a mezzo-soprano (sometimes also Marcellina), Count Almaviva to a baritone, and Figaro to a bass-baritone.[13] Mozart (and his contemporaries) never used the terms "mezzo-soprano" or "baritone". Women's roles were listed as either "soprano" or "contralto", while men's roles were listed as either "tenor" or "bass". Many of Mozart's baritone and bass-baritone roles derive from the basso buffo tradition, where no clear distinction was drawn between bass and baritone, a practice that continued well into the 19th century. Similarly, mezzo-soprano as a distinct voice type was a 19th century development.[14] Modern re-classifications of the voice types for Mozartian roles have been based on analysis of contemporary descriptions of the singers who created those roles and their other repertoire, and on the role's tessitura in the score. Changes in role assignment can also result from modern preferences for contrasts in vocal timbre between two major characters, e.g. Fiordiligi and Dorabella in Così fan tutte. Both roles were written for sopranos, although the slightly more low-lying role of Dorabella is now often sung by a mezzo.[15]

Role Voice type Premiere cast, 1 May 1786
(Conductor: W.A. Mozart)
Count Almaviva bass Stefano Mandini
Countess Rosina Almaviva soprano Luisa Laschi
Susanna, the countess's maid soprano Ann Storace
Figaro, personal valet to the count bass Francesco Benucci
Cherubino, the Count's page soprano Dorotea Bussani
Marcellina soprano Maria Mandini
Bartolo, doctor from Seville, also a practising lawyer bass Francesco Bussani
Basilio, music master tenor Michael Kelly
Don Curzio, judge tenor Michael Kelly
Barbarina, Antonio's daughter soprano Anna Gottlieb
Antonio, the Count's gardener, Susanna's uncle bass Francesco Bussani
Chorus of peasants, villagers, and servants
[edit] SynopsisThe Marriage of Figaro is a continuation of the plot of The Barber of Seville several years later, and recounts a single "day of madness" (la folle giornata) in the palace of the Count Almaviva near Seville, Spain. Rosina is now the Countess; Dr. Bartolo is seeking revenge against Figaro for thwarting his plans to marry Rosina himself; and Count Almaviva has degenerated from the romantic youth of Barber into a scheming, bullying, skirt-chasing baritone. Having gratefully given Figaro a job as head of his servant-staff, he is now persistently trying to obtain the favors of Figaro's bride-to-be, Susanna. He keeps finding excuses to delay the civil part of the wedding of his two servants, which is arranged for this very day. Figaro, Susanna, and the Countess conspire to embarrass the Count and expose his scheming. He responds by trying to legally compel Figaro to marry a woman old enough to be his mother, but it turns out at the last minute that she really is his mother. Through Figaro's and Susanna's clever manipulations, the Count's love for his Countess is finally restored.

Place: Count Almaviva's estate, Aguas-Frescas, three leagues outside Seville, Spain.[16]
[edit] Act 1
Act 1: Cherubino hides behind Susanna's chair as the Count arrives.A partly furnished room, with a chair in the centre.

Figaro is happily measuring the space where the bridal bed will fit while Susanna is trying on her wedding bonnet in front of the mirror (in the present day, a more traditional French floral wreath or a modern veil are often substituted, often in combination with a bonnet, so as to accommodate what Susanna happily describes as her wedding "capellino"). (Duet: Cinque, dieci, venti, trenta – "Five, ten, twenty, thirty"). Figaro is quite pleased with their new room; Susanna far less so. She is bothered by its proximity to the Count's chambers: it seems he has been making advances toward her and plans on exercising his "droit de seigneur", the purported feudal right of a lord to bed a servant girl on her wedding night before her husband can sleep with her. The Count had the right abolished when he married Rosina, but he now wants to reinstate it. Figaro is livid and plans to outwit the Count (Cavatina: Se vuol ballare, signor contino – "If you want to dance, sir Count").

Figaro departs, and Dr. Bartolo arrives with Marcellina, his old housekeeper. Marcellina has hired Bartolo as her counsel, since Figaro had once promised to marry her if he should default on a loan she had made to him, and she intends to enforce that promise. Bartolo, still irked at Figaro for having facilitated the union of the Count and Rosina (in The Barber of Seville), promises, in comical lawyer-speak, to help Marcellina (aria: La vendetta – "Vengeance").

Bartolo departs, Susanna returns, and Marcellina and Susanna share an exchange of very politely delivered sarcastic insults (duet: Via, resti servita, madama brillante – "After you, brilliant madam"). Susanna triumphs in the exchange by congratulating her rival on her impressive age. The older woman departs in a fury.

Cherubino then arrives and, after describing his emerging infatuation with all women and particularly with his "beautiful godmother" the Countess (aria: Non so più cosa son – "I don't know anymore what I am"), asks for Susanna's aid with the Count. It seems the Count is angry with Cherubino's amorous ways, having discovered him with the gardener's daughter, Barbarina, and plans to punish him. Cherubino wants Susanna to ask the Countess to intercede on his behalf. When the Count appears, Cherubino hides behind a chair, not wanting to be seen alone with Susanna. The Count uses the opportunity of finding Susanna alone to personally step up his demands for favours from her, including financial inducements to sell herself to him. As Basilio, the slimy music teacher, arrives, the Count, not wanting to be caught alone with Susanna, hides behind the chair. Cherubino leaves that hiding place just in time, and jumps onto the chair while Susanna scrambles to cover him with a dress.

When Basilio starts to gossip about Cherubino's obvious attraction to the Countess, the Count angrily leaps from his hiding place. Lifting the dress from the chair he finds Cherubino. The young man is only saved from punishment by the entrance of the peasants of the Count's estate, this entrance being a preemptive attempt by Figaro to commit the Count to a formal gesture symbolizing the promise of Susanna's entering into the marriage unsullied. The Count evades Figaro's plan by postponing the gesture. The Count says that he forgives Cherubino, but he dispatches him to Seville for army duty. Figaro gives Cherubino advice about his new, harsh, military life from which women will be totally excluded (aria: Non più andrai – "No more gallivanting").[17]

[edit] Act 2A handsome room with an alcove, a dressing room on the left, a door in the background (leading to the servants' quarters) and a window at the side.

The Countess laments her husband's infidelity. (aria: Porgi, amor, qualche ristoro – "Grant, love, some comfort"). Susanna comes in to prepare the Countess for the day. She responds to the Countess's questions by telling her that the Count is not trying to "seduce" her, he is merely offering her a monetary contract in return for her affection. Figaro enters and explains his plan to distract the Count with anonymous letters warning him of adulterers. He has already sent one to the Count (via Basilio) that indicates the Countess has a rendezvous that evening of her own. They hope that the Count will be too busy looking for imaginary adulterers to interfere with Figaro's and Susanna's wedding. Figaro additionally advises the Countess to keep Cherubino around by dressing him as a girl. Figaro leaves.

Cherubino arrives, eager to be dressed up by the Countess and Susanna. Susanna urges him to sing the song he wrote for the Countess (aria: Voi che sapete che cosa è amor – "You ladies who know what love is, is it what I'm suffering from?"). After the song, they proceed to attire him in women's clothes (aria of Susanna: Venite, inginocchiatevi! – "Come, kneel down before me"). At this time, the Countess sees Cherubino's military commission, and notes that the Count was in such a hurry that he forgot to seal it with his signet ring (which was necessary to make it an official document). Susanna returns to her room for some clothing in which to dress Cherubino. While the Countess and Cherubino are waiting for Susanna to come back, they suddenly hear the Count arriving. Cherubino hides in the closet. The Count demands to be allowed into the room and the Countess reluctantly unlocks the door. The Count enters and hears a noise from the closet. He tries to open it, but it is locked. The Countess tells him it is only Susanna, trying on her wedding dress. The Count shouts for her to identify herself by her voice, but the Countess orders her to be silent. At this moment, Susanna re-enters unobserved, quickly realises what's going on, and hides behind a couch (Trio: Susanna, or via sortite! – "Susanna, come out!"). Furious and suspicious, the Count leaves, with the Countess, in search of tools to force the closet door open. As they leave, he locks all the bedroom doors to prevent the intruder from escaping. Cherubino and Susanna emerge from their hiding places, and Cherubino escapes by jumping through the window into the garden. Susanna then takes his place in the closet, vowing to make the Count look foolish. (duet: Aprite, presto, aprite – "Open the door, quickly!").

The Count and Countess return. The Countess desperately admits that Cherubino is hidden in the closet. The raging Count draws his sword, promising to kill Cherubino on the spot, but when the door is opened, they both find to their astonishment only Susanna. The Count demands an explanation; the Countess tells him it is a practical joke, to test his trust in her. Shamed by his jealousy, the Count begs for forgiveness. When the Count presses about the anonymous letter, Susanna and the Countess reveal that the letter was written by Figaro, and then delivered through Basilio. Figaro then arrives and tries to start the wedding festivities, but the Count berates him with questions about the anonymous note. Just as the Count is starting to run out of questions, Antonio the gardener arrives, complaining that a man has jumped out of the window and broken his flowerpots. The Count immediately realizes that the jumping fugitive was Cherubino, but Figaro claims it was he himself who jumped out the window, and fakes a foot-injury. Antonio brings forward a paper which, he says, was dropped by the escaping man. The Count orders Figaro to prove he was the jumper by identifying the paper (which is, in fact, Cherubino's appointment to the army). Figaro is able to do this because of the cunning teamwork of the two women. His victory is, however, short-lived; Marcellina, Bartolo, and Basilio enter, bringing charges against Figaro and demanding that he honor his contract to marry Marcellina. The Count happily postpones the wedding in order to investigate the charge.

[edit] Act 3A rich hall, with two thrones, prepared for the wedding ceremony.

The Count mulls over the confusing situation. At the urging of the Countess, Susanna enters and gives a false promise to meet the Count later that night in the garden (duet: Crudel, perché finora – "Cruel girl, why did you make me wait so long"). As Susanna leaves, the Count overhears her telling Figaro that he has already won the case. Realizing that he is being tricked (aria: Hai già vinta la causa ... Vedrò mentr'io sospiro – "You've already won the case?" ... "Shall I, while sighing, see"), he resolves to make Figaro pay by forcing him to marry Marcellina.

Figaro's trial follows, and the judgment is that Figaro must marry Marcellina. Figaro argues that he cannot get married without his parents' permission, and that he does not know who his parents are, because he was stolen from them when he was a baby. The ensuing discussion reveals that Figaro is Rafaello, the long-lost illegitimate son of Bartolo and Marcellina. A touching scene of reconciliation occurs. During the celebrations, Susanna enters with a payment to release Figaro from his debt to Marcellina. Seeing Figaro and Marcellina in celebration together, Susanna mistakenly believes that Figaro now prefers Marcellina over her. She has a tantrum and slaps Figaro's face. Figaro explains, and Susanna, realizing her mistake, joins the celebration. Bartolo, overcome with emotion, agrees to marry Marcellina that evening in a double wedding (sextet: Riconosci in questo amplesso una madre – "Recognize a mother in this hug").

All leave, and the Countess, alone, ponders the loss of her happiness (aria: Dove sono i bei momenti – "Where are they, the beautiful moments"). Susanna enters and updates her regarding the plan to trap the Count. The Countess dictates a love letter for Susanna to give to the Count, which suggests that he meet her that night, "under the pines". The letter instructs the Count to return the pin which fastens the letter. (duet: Sull'aria...che soave zeffiretto – "On the breeze… What a gentle little Zephyr").

A chorus of young peasants, among them Cherubino disguised as a girl, arrives to serenade the Countess. The Count arrives with Antonio, and, discovering the page, is enraged. His anger is quickly dispelled by Barbarina (a peasant girl, Antonio's daughter), who publicly recalls that he had once offered to give her anything she wants, and asks for Cherubino's hand in marriage. Thoroughly embarrassed, the Count allows Cherubino to stay.

The act closes with the double wedding, during the course of which Susanna delivers her letter to the Count. Figaro watches the Count prick his finger on the pin, and laughs, unaware that the love-note is from Susanna herself. As the curtain drops, the two newlywed couples rejoice.

[edit] Act 4The garden, with two pavilions. Night.

Following the directions in the letter, the Count has sent the pin back to Susanna, giving it to Barbarina. Unfortunately, Barbarina has lost it (aria: L'ho perduta, me meschina – "I lost it, poor me"). Figaro and Marcellina see Barbarina, and Figaro asks her what she is doing. When he hears the pin is Susanna's, he is overcome with jealousy, especially as he recognises the pin to be the one that fastened the letter to the Count. Thinking that Susanna is meeting the Count behind his back, Figaro complains to his mother, and swears to be avenged on the Count and Susanna, and on all unfaithful wives. Marcellina urges caution, but Figaro will not listen. Figaro rushes off, and Marcellina resolves to inform Susanna of Figaro's intentions. Marcellina sings of how the wild beasts get along with each other, but rational humans can't. (aria: Il capro e la capretta – "The billy-goat and the she-goat"). (This aria and Basilio's ensuing aria are usually omitted from performances due to their relative unimportance, both musically and dramatically; however some recordings include them.)

Actuated by jealousy, Figaro tells Bartolo and Basilio to come to his aid when he gives the signal. Basilio comments on Figaro's foolishness and claims he was once as frivoulous as Figaro was. He tells a tale of how he was given common sense by "Donna Flemma" and ever since he has been aware of the wiles of women (aria: In quegli anni – "In youthful years"). They exit, leaving Figaro alone. Figaro muses on the inconstancy of women (aria: Aprite un po' quegli occhi – "Open your eyes"). Susanna and the Countess arrive, dressed in each other's clothes. Marcellina is with them, having informed Susanna of Figaro's suspicions and plans. After they discuss the plan, Marcellina and the Countess leave, and Susanna teases Figaro by singing a love song to her beloved within Figaro's hearing (aria: Deh, vieni, non tardar – "Oh come, don't delay"). Figaro is hiding behind a bush and, thinking the song is for the Count, becomes increasingly jealous.

The Countess arrives in Susanna's dress. Cherubino shows up and starts teasing "Susanna" (really the Countess), endangering the plan. Fortunately, the Count gets rid of him by striking out in the dark. His punch actually ends up hitting Figaro, but the point is made and Cherubino runs off.

The Count now begins making earnest love to "Susanna" (really the Countess), and gives her a jewelled ring. They go offstage together, where the Countess dodges him, hiding in the dark. Onstage, meanwhile, the real Susanna enters, wearing the Countess' clothes. Figaro mistakes her for the Countess, and starts to tell her of the Count's intentions, but he suddenly recognizes his bride in disguise. He plays along with the joke by pretending to be in love with "my lady", and inviting her to make love right then and there. Susanna, fooled, loses her temper and slaps him many times. Figaro finally lets on that he has recognized Susanna's voice, and they make peace, resolving to conclude the comedy together.

The Count, unable to find "Susanna", enters frustrated. Figaro gets his attention by loudly declaring his love for "the Countess" (really Susanna). The enraged Count calls for his people and for weapons: his servant is seducing his wife. Bartolo, Basilio and Antonio enter with torches as, one by one, the Count drags out Cherubino, Barbarina, Marcellina and the "Countess" from behind the pavilion.

All beg him to forgive Figaro and the "Countess", but he loudly refuses, repeating "no" at the top of his voice, until finally the real Countess re-enters and reveals her true identity. The Count, seeing the ring he had given her, realizes that the supposed Susanna he was trying to seduce, was actually his wife. Ashamed and remorseful, he kneels and pleads for forgiveness himself (Contessa, perdono – "Countess, forgive me"). The Countess, more kind than he (Piú docile io sono – "I am more kind"), forgives her husband and all are contented. The opera ends in a night-long celebration.

[edit] Instrumentation
Libretto 1786The Marriage of Figaro is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings; the recitativi are accompanied by a keyboard instrument, usually a fortepiano or a harpsichord, often joined by a cello. The instrumentation of the recitativi is not given in the score, so it is up to the conductor and the performers. A typical performance usually lasts around 3 hours.

[edit] Frequently omitted numbersTwo arias from act 4 are usually omitted: one in which Marcellina regrets that people (unlike animals) abuse their mates (Il capro e la capretta), and one in which Don Basilio tells how he saved himself from several dangers in his youth, by using the skin of an ass for shelter and camouflage (In quegli anni).

[edit] Musical styleIn spite of all the sorrow, anxiety, and anger the characters experience, only one number is in a minor key: Barbarina's brief aria L'ho perduta at the beginning of act 4, where she mourns the loss of the pin and worries about what her master will say when she fails to deliver it, is written in F minor. Other than this the entire opera is set in major keys.
Mozart uses the sound of two horns playing together to represent cuckoldry, in the act 4 aria Aprite un po quelli'ochi. Verdi later used the same device in Ford's aria in Falstaff.
[edit] Critical discussionLorenzo Da Ponte wrote a preface to the first published version of the libretto, in which he boldly claimed that he and Mozart had created a new form of music drama:

"In spite … of every effort … to be brief, the opera will not be one of the shortest to have appeared on our stage, for which we hope sufficient excuse will be found in the variety of threads from which the action of this play [i.e. Beaumarchais's] is woven, the vastness and grandeur of the same, the multiplicity of the musical numbers that had to be made in order not to leave the actors too long unemployed, to diminish the vexation and monotony of long recitatives, and to express with varied colours the various emotions that occur, but above all in our desire to offer as it were a new kind of spectacle to a public of so refined a taste and understanding."[18]
Charles Rosen (in The Classical Style) proposes to take Da Ponte's words quite seriously, noting the "richness of the ensemble writing",[19] which carries forward the action in a far more dramatic way than recitatives would. Rosen also suggests that the musical language of the classical style was adapted by Mozart to convey the drama: many sections of the opera musically resemble sonata form; by movement through a sequence of keys, they build up and resolve musical tension, providing a natural musical reflection of the drama. As Rosen says:

"The synthesis of accelerating complexity and symmetrical resolution which was at the heart of Mozart's style enabled him to find a musical equivalent for the great stage works which were his dramatic models. The Marriage of Figaro in Mozart's version is the dramatic equal, and in many respects the superior, of Beaumarchais's work."[20]
This is demonstrated in the closing numbers of all four acts: as the drama escalates, Mozart eschews recitativi altogether and opts for increasingly sophisticated writing, bringing his characters on stage, revelling in a complex weave of solo and ensemble singing in multiple combinations, and climaxing in seven- and eight-voice tutti for acts 2 and 4.

[edit] Other uses of the melodies Overture to The Marriage of Figaro

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The Marriage of Figaro
No. 11 Cavatina "Porgi, amor"

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Problems listening to these files? See media help.
A phrase from The Marriage of Figaro, with the words Così fan tutte le belle, was later reused in the overture to Così fan tutte. Figaro's aria Non più andrai is used as the regimental slow march of the Coldstream Guards of the British Army and is quoted in the second act of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. Mozart "recycled" the music of the Agnus Dei of his Krönungsmesse (Coronation Mass) for the Countess' Dove sono, in C major instead of the original F major. The same motif was used in his early bassoon concerto. Franz Liszt quoted the opera in his Fantasy on Themes from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni.

In 1819, Henry R. Bishop wrote an adaptation of the opera in English, translating from Beaumarchais's play and re-using some of Mozart's music, while adding some of his own.[21]

[edit] RecordingsMain article: The Marriage of Figaro discography
[edit] See alsoList of operas by Mozart
[edit] Notes and references^ Andrew Steptoe: The Mozart–Da Ponte operas: the cultural and musical background to Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte, p. 170. Oxford University Press 1990. ISBN 9780198162216 (A motif from the overture appears to the Count's words Parta, parta il damerino! in bars 101–103 and 105–107 of the terzetto Cosa sento! in act 1.)
^ Nathan Broder. Essay on the Opera in the Schirmer edition
^ a b Deutsch 1965, p. 274
^ Deutsch 1965, p. 272 Deutsch says Mozart played a harpsichord; for conflicting testimony, see below.
^ These were: 3, 8, 24 May; 4 July, 28 August, 22 (perhaps 23) of September, 15 November, 18 December (Deutsch 1965, p. 272)
^ 9 May 1786, quoted from Deutsch 1965, p. 272
^ Quoted in Deutsch 1965, p. 278
^ From Kazinczy's 1828 autobiography; quoted in Deutsch 1965
^ The letter, to Marianne von Genzinger, is printed in Geiringer 1982, pp. 90–92
^ Performance dates: 29 and 31 August; 2, 11, 19 September; 3, 9, 24 October; 5, 13, 27 November; 8 January 1790; 1 February; 1, 7, 9, 19, 30 May; 22 June; 24, 26 July; 22 August; 3, 25 September; 11 October; 4, 20 January 1791; 9 February; from Deutsch 1965, p. 272
^ Dexter Edge, "Mozart's Viennese Copyists" (PhD diss., University of Southern California, 2001), 1718–34.
^ "Opera Statistics for the five seasons 2005/06 to 2009/10". Operabase. http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en#opera. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
^ Robinson (1986) p. 173; Chanan (1999) p. 63; Singher and Singher (2003) p. 150
^ Jander, Steane, Forbes, Harris, and Waldman (2001)
^ See Jackson (2005) pp. 458–459; Gutman (2001) p. 704
^ Thomas, Hugh (2006). "Ten – Leaving Madrid.". Beaumarchais in Seville: an intermezzo.. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 143. ISBN 9780300121032. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=r5o4oTlIoHsC&pg=PA143&lpg=PA143&source=web&ots=9uMnfYVXo5&sig=qHxumt3AVqzVz7YXutt9dZc2vhk&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA143,M1. Retrieved 27 August 2008. Synopsis based on Melitz (1921).
^ This piece became so popular that Mozart himself, in the final act of his next opera Don Giovanni, transformed the aria into table music played by a woodwind ensemble, and alluded to by Leporello as "rather well-known sounds".
^ English translation taken from Deutsch 1965, 273–274
^ Rosen 1997, 182
^ Rosen 1997, 183
^ Henry R. Bishop (1819). The Marriage of Figaro: a comic opera in three acts. http://books.google.com/books?id=LR0CAAAAYAAJ. Full text online.
[edit] SourcesChanan, Michael (1999). From Handel to Hendrix: the composer in the public sphere. Verso. ISBN 1859847064
Deutsch, Otto Erich. Mozart: A Documentary Biography. Stanford University Press.
Geiringer, Karl; Irene Geiringer (1982). Haydn: A Creative Life in Music (3rd ed. ed.). University of California Press. xii, 403. ISBN 0520043162.
Gutman, Robert W. (2001). Mozart: A Cultural Biography. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 0156011719
Jackson, Roland John (2005). Performance practice: a dictionary-guide for musicians. Routledge. ISBN 0415941393
Jander, Owen; Steane, J.B.; Forbes, Elizabeth; Harris, Ellen T.; and Waldman, Gerald (2001). "Baritone" and "Mezzo-soprano [mezzo]", in Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (eds.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition. Macmillan. ISBN 0333608003.
Landon, H. C. Robbins; David Wyn Jones (1988). Haydn: His Life and Music. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253372659.
Melitz, Leo (1921). The Opera Goer's Complete Guide (translated by Richard Sanger. Dodd, Mead and Co.
Robinson, Paul A. (1986). Opera & ideas: from Mozart to Strauss. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801494281
Rosen, Charles (1997). The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (2nd ed. ed.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-31712-9.
Singher, Martial and Singher, Eta (2003). An Interpretive Guide to Operatic Arias: A Handbook for Singers, Coaches, Teachers, and Students. Penn State Press. ISBN 0271023546
[edit] External links Italian Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Le nozze di Figaro
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Le nozze di Figaro
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro: Score and critical report (German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
Complete libretto
Full orchestral score (German/Italian)
English Translation
Italian/English side by side translation
The Marriage of Figaro: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
Complete recording at Mozart Archiv
Teaching material & analysis from the Metropolitan Opera
Mozart's house in Vienna where he composed The Marriage of Figaro (+ video)
Synopsis of The Marriage of Figaro from the English Touring Opera
Photos of 21st century productions of The Marriage of Figaro in Germany and Switzerland (German)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marriage_of_Figaro"
Categories: Operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Italian-language operas | Opera buffa | Operas | Operas set in Iberia | 1786 operas | Burgtheater world premieres
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1770 -- Parole -- "Se di lauri il crine adorno" (Mitridate -- tenor title role). aria

2011-06-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Se di lauri il crine adorno
fide spiaggie, a voi non torno.
Tinto almen non porto il volto
di vergogna e di rossor.
Anche vinto e anche oppresso
io mi serbo ognor l'istesso
e vi reco in petto accolto
sempre eguale il mio gran cor.

Parole: tenor aria, "Se di regnar" 1770. Mozart, "Mitridate" -- midi

2011-06-15T17:33:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Se di regnar sei vago
già pago è il tuo desìo
e se vendetta vuoi
di tutti i torti tuoi
da te dipenderà.
di chi ti volle oppresso
già la superbia è doma
mercè il valor di Roma
mercè quel fatto istesso
che ognor ti seguirà.

1770.Se di regnar (tenor aria) Mozart "Re Mitridate"

2011-06-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Mitridate, re di Ponto (Mithridates, King of Pontus), K. 87 (74a), is an early opera seria in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The libretto is by Vittorio Amadeo Cigna-Santi after Giuseppe Parini's Italian translation of Jean Racine.

Mozart wrote Mitridate while touring Italy in 1770. The musicologist Daniel E. Freeman has recently demonstrated that it was composed with close reference to the opera La Nitteti by Josef Mysliveček.[1] The latter was the opera being prepared for production in Bologna when Mozart met Mysliveček for the first time with his father in March of 1770. Mysliveček visited the Mozarts frequently in Bologna during the summer of 1770 while Wolfgang was working on Mitridate. Mozart gained expertise in composition from his older friend and also incorporated some of his musical motives into his own operatic setting. The opera was first performed at the Regio Ducal Teatro, Milan, on 26 December 1770 (at the Milan Carnival). It was a success, having been performed twenty-one times despite doubts because of Mozart’s extreme youth — he was 14 at the time. No revival took place until the 20th century. This opera features virtuoso arias for the principal roles, but only two ensemble numbers: the Act II ending duet between Aspasia and Sifare (Se viver non degg’io), and the brief quintet that ends the opera, very characteristic of standard baroque opera seria where the opera ends with a short coro or tutti number.

Contents [hide]
1 Roles
2 Synopsis
2.1 Prologue
2.2 Act 1
2.3 Act 2
2.4 Act 3
3 Noted arias
4 Recordings
5 See also
6 References
7 Bibliography
8 External links

[edit] RolesRole Voice type Premiere Cast, 26 December 1770
(Conductor: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
Arbate, Governor of Nymphæa soprano castrato Pietro Muschietti
Sifare or Xiphares,
Mitridate's son soprano castrato Pietro Benedetti (Sartorino)
Aspasia, pledged in marriage
to Mitridate, the Queen soprano Antonia Bernasconi
Farnace or Pharnaces,
Mitridate's eldest son alto castrato Giuseppe Cicognani
Marzio or Marcius, Roman
legionary officer tenor Gasparo Bassano
Mitridate, King of Pontus tenor Guglielmo d'Ettore
Ismene, Parthian Princess soprano Anna Francesca Varese
[edit] SynopsisPlace: around the Crimean port of Nymphæum
Time: 63BC during the conflict between Rome and Pontus
[edit] PrologueMitridate, having suffered a heavy defeat at a battle, is presumed dead. This false news is passed by Arbate, the Governor, to his fiancee Aspasia and his sons, Farnace and Sifare.

[edit] Act 1Scene 1

Arbate, the governor of Nymphæum, welcomes Sifare. We learn that Sifare resents his brother, Farnace, because of his brother’s strong ties with their enemies, the Romans. Arbate pledges his loyalty to Sifare. Aspasia pleas for Sifare to help her against advances by Farnace. He accepts her plea and reveals his love for her.

Scene 2

Farnace makes his advances on Aspasia. Aspasia refuses with support from Sifare who protects her from his forceful brother. News arrives that Mitridate is alive and is approaching the city. Arbate urges brothers to conceal their differences and greet their father. Brothers agree to hide their feelings for Aspasia. Farnace conspires with Marzio, Roman legionary officer, against Mitridate.

Scene 3

Mitridate arrives on the shores of Nymphæaum with princess Ismene, daughter of his ally the King of Parthia. Mitridate wants Farnace to marry Ismene, his promised bride. Ismene is in love with Farnace but senses problems and is worried about her future. Arbate tells Mitridate that Farnace is pursuing Aspasia not mentioning Sifare. Jealous Mitridate swears revenge on Farnace.

[edit] Act 2Scene 1

Farnace scorns and threatens Ismene. She tells Mitridate who suggests that she should marry Sifare. Mitridate asks Aspasia for immediate marriage but she hesitates proving to him she is unfaithful. Aspasia confesses love to Sifare but they both agree to part to save their honour. Sifare plans to leave and Aspasia is troubled with the conflict between love and duty.

Scene 2

Mitridate is aware of Farnaces plot against him with the Romans and plans his revenge despite Marzio’s offer of peace. He arrests Farnace to execute him. Ismene rescues the prince who admits treachery but implicates Sifare. Mitridate tricks Aspasia into admitting her love for Sifare and swears revenge. Aspasia and Sifare wish to die together in fear of Mitridate’s threats.

[edit] Act 3Scene 1

Ismene, still in love with Farnace, tries to convince Mitridate to forgive Aspasia. Romans attack and Mitridate leaves for battle. Aspasia contemplates suicide by poison. Sifare also wants to die and joins his father in the battle.

Scene 2

Marzio liberates Farnace and promises the rule of Nymphæum to him. Farnace changes his mind deciding to side with Mitridate.

Scene 3

Mitridate commits suicide avoiding defeat. Before he dies he gives his blessing to Sifare and Aspasia and forgives Farnace who now agrees to marry Ismene. All four pledge to free the world from Rome.

[edit] Noted ariasAct 1

"Nel sen mi palpita" - Aspasia
"Parto : nel gran cimento" - Sifare
"Quel ribelle" - Mitridate
"Se di lauri" - Mitridate
"In faccia all'oggetto" - Ismene
"L'odio nel cor" - Arbate
"Al destin che la minaccia" - Aspasia
"Soffre il mio cor" - Sifare
"Venga pur, minacci" - Farnace
Act 2

"Già di pietà mi spoglio" - Mitridate
"Lungi da te" - Sifare
"Nel grave tormento" - Aspasia
"So quanto a te" - Ismene
"Son reo; l'error confesso" - Farnace
"Tu che fedel" - Mitridate
"Va, l'error mio palesa" - Farnace
Act 3

"Ah ben ne fui presaga…Pallid' ombre" - Aspasia
"Già dagli occhi" - Farnace
"Se di regnar" - Marzio
"Se il rigor d'ingrata sorte" - Sifare
"Tu sai per che m'accese" - Ismene
"Vado incontro" - Mitridate

[edit] RecordingsM22: Mitridate, re di Ponto (DVD), Salzburg Festival 2006 (Minkowski/R Croft,B Mehta, Persson)
Mitridate, re di Ponto (DVD) JP Ponnelle film (Harnoncourt/Winbergh, Kenny, Murray)
Mitridate, re di Ponto (DVD) ROH 1993 (P Daniel/Ford, Kowalski, Murray, Orgonasova)
Mitridate, re di Ponto (CD), Salzburg Mozart Week 1997 (Norrington/Ford, Kasarova, Sieden, Oelze)
Mitridate, re di Ponto (CD), 1999 (Rousset/Sabbatini, Asawa, Bartoli, Dessay)
[edit] See alsoList of Mozart's operas

[edit] References^ See especially Daniel E. Freeman, Josef Mysliveček, "Il Boemo" (Sterling Heights, Mich.: Harmonie Park Press, 2009), pp. 229-35.
[edit] BibliographyAlison Latham, ed (2002). "Mitridate, re di Ponto". The Oxford Companion to Music. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198662122. OCLC 59376677.
"Mitridate, re di Ponto" The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera. John Warrack and Ewan West. Oxford University Press, 1996.
"Mitridate, re di Ponto" Who's Who in Opera. Joyce Bourne. Oxford University Press, 1998.
"Mitridate, King" Who's Who in Opera. Joyce Bourne. Oxford University Press, 1998.
[edit] External linksMitridate, re di Ponto: Score and critical report (German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
Opera on DVD: Mitridate Rè di Ponto by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, 22 August 2006]
Mozart-Tower mp3 clips from this opera
Mitridate, re di Ponto: Libretto
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitridate,_re_di_Ponto"
Categories: Operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Italian-language operas | Opera seria | 1770 operas | Operas

A more frivolous aria from "Don Giovanni" -- for 'karaoke' -- midi

2011-06-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Il mio tesoro intanto
andate a consolar,
E del bel ciglio il pianto
cercate di asciugar.
Ditele che i suoi torti
a vendicar io vado;
Che sol di stragi e morti
nunzio vogl'io tornar.

1730--Ombra mai fu (Handel, Serse, 1738) -- midi

2011-06-15T17:18:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Serse (Xerxes, HWV 40) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel.

It was first performed in London on 15 April 1738. The Italian libretto was adapted by an unknown hand from that by Silvio Stampiglia for an earlier opera of the same name by Giovanni Bononcini in 1694. Stampiglia's libretto was itself based on one by Nicolò Minato that was set by Francesco Cavalli in 1654. The opera is set in Persia in 480 BC and is very loosely based upon Xerxes I of Persia, though there is little in either the libretto or music that is relevant to that setting. Xerxes, originally sung by a castrato, is now generally performed by a mezzo-soprano, contralto or countertenor. Although the English title Xerxes is widely used, the original Italian title was Serse.

The opening aria, "Ombra mai fù", sung by Xerxes to a tree (Platanus orientalis), is set to one of Handel's best-known melodies, and is often played in an orchestral arrangement, known as Handel's "largo" (despite being marked "larghetto" in the score).

Contents [hide]
1 Composition history
2 Performance history
3 Roles
4 Synopsis
5 Media
6 Recordings
7 Notes
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Composition historyIn late 1737 the King's Theatre, London commissioned Handel to write two new operas. The first, Faramondo, was premiered on 3 January 1738. By this time, Handel had already begun work on Serse. The first act was composed between 26 December 1737 and 9 January 1738, the second was ready by 25 January, the third by 6 February, and Handel put the finishing touches to the score on 14 February. Serse was first performed at the King's Theatre, Haymarket on 15 April 1738.[1]

The first production was a complete failure.[2] The audience may have been confused by the innovative nature of the work. Unlike his other operas for London, Handel included comic (buffo) elements in Serse. Although this had been typical for 17th-century Venetian works such as Cavalli's original setting of the libretto, by the 1730s an opera seria was expected to be wholly serious, with no mixing of the genres of tragedy and comedy or high and low class characters. The musicologist Charles Burney later took Serse to task for violating decorum in this way, writing: "I have not been able to discover the author of the words of this drama: but it is one of the worst Handel ever set to Music: for besides feeble writing, there is a mixture of tragic-comedy and buffoonery in it, which Apostolo Zeno and Metastasio had banished from serious opera."[3] Another unusual aspect of Serse is the number of short, one-movement arias, when a typical opera seria of Handel's time was almost wholly made up of long, three-movement da capo arias. This feature particularly struck the Earl of Shaftesbury, who attended the premiere and admired the opera. He noted "the airs too, for brevity's sake, as the opera would otherwise be too long [,] fall without any recitativ' intervening from one into another[,] that tis difficult to understand till it comes by frequent hearing to be well known. My own judgment is that it is a capital opera notwithstanding tis called a ballad one."[3]

[edit] Performance historySerse disappeared from the stage for almost two hundred years. It enjoyed its first modern revival in Göttingen on 5 July 1924 in a version by Oscar Hagen. By 1926 this version had been staged at least 90 times in 15 German cities. Serse's success has continued.[4] According to Winton Dean, Serse is Handel's most popular opera with modern audiences after Giulio Cesare.[5] The very features which 18th-century listeners found so disconcerting - the shortness of the arias and the admixture of comedy - may account for its appeal to the 20th and the 21st centuries.[6]

Serse was produced for the stage at the La Scala Theater in Milan, Italy in January 1962. The production was conducted by Piero Bellugi, and an all-star cast featuring Mirella Freni, Rolando Panerai, Fiorenza Cossotto, Irene Companez, Leonardo Monreale, Franco Calabrese, and Luigi Alva in the title role. Because Handel operas were still in a relatively early stage of their return to the stage, musicians had not yet thought to ornament the da capo sections (repetition of the A section) of the arias and thus, they were not ornamented. There is a live recording from January 19, 1962 available on the Opera D'oro label.

A complete recording was made in 1979. A particularly highly acclaimed production, sung in English, was staged by the English National Opera in 1985, to mark the 300th anniversary of the composer's birth. Conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras, it was directed by Nicholas Hytner, who also translated the libretto, and starred Ann Murray in the title role, with Valerie Masterson as Romilda, Christopher Robson as Arsamene, and Lesley Garrett as Atalanta.

The opera was produced for the stage in November 2010 at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), directed by Cleveland Opera's founder and artistic director David Bamberger and conducted by Harry Davidson. The production received favorable reviews from The Plain Dealer and ClassicalCleveland.com.

[edit] RolesRole Voice type Premiere Cast, 15 April 1738
(Conductor: - )
Serse soprano castrato, now done by a mezzo-soprano, contralto or countertenor Gaetano Majorano (Caffarelli)
Arsamene soprano, actually mezzo, described by Handel as a "dark soprano" Maria Antonia Marchesini (La Lucchesina)
Amastre contralto Antonia Merighi
Romilda soprano Elisabeth Duparc (La Francesina)
Atalanta soprano Margherita Chimenti (La Droghierina)
Ariodate bass Antonio Montagnana
Elviro bass Antonio Lottini
[edit] SynopsisKing Xerxes, looking up from contemplation of his beloved plane tree, sees Romilda, the daughter of his vassal Ariodate, and makes up his mind to marry her. However Romilda and Xerxes' brother, Arsamene, love each other while Romilda's sister, Atalanta, is also determined to make Arsamene hers. Amastre, Xerxes' fiancée, forsaken by him for Romilda, disguises herself as a man and observes Xerxes.

Xerxes banishes Arsamene, who sends a note to Romilda through his servant Elviro, disguised as a flower vendor, pledging his eternal fidelity; he gives it to Atalanta to pass on, who promptly hatches a plot. She tells Elviro that Romilda has given up on Arsamene and decided to be queen, and shows the note to Xerxes, claiming that it was addressed to herself. Xerxes determines to marry Arsamene off to Atalanta and shows the note to Romilda, who nevertheless decides to stay true to the man she loves.

The scene changes to the bridge over the Hellespont. Xerxes tells Ariodate that his daughter Romilda must wed, by the king's command, a member of Xerxes' family, equal in blood to himself. Xerxes pursues Romilda until Amastre-in-disguise starts a fight as a distraction. Romilda persuades Xerxes to let her deal with the problem, and is pleased and gratified to learn that Amastre started it to rescue her. Arsamene and Romilda meet again and fight until Elviro drags Atalanta on to explain matters, and she declares that she'll find someone else. Elviro remarks on a storm threatening the bridge, then sings a ditty to Bacchus. Romilda and Arsamene are joyfully reunited, although she then has to hide him while his brother presses his suit. Romilda tells Xerxes that he must have her father's consent before she can obey the king's command; Arsamene is displeased.

Xerxes reiterates to Ariodate that Romilda must wed a member of Xerxes' family, equal in blood to himself, who will appear at his home; Ariodate mistakenly thinks he is referring to his brother Arsamene rather than himself, and happily goes home to prepare the wedding. Xerxes then tells Romilda that she will marry him. Romilda reveals that Arsamene has kissed her; Xerxes declares that he will kill his own brother, and Romilda agrees to marry Xerxes to spare Arsamene's life.

Arsamene and Romilda arrive at Ariodate's place, where he happily announces that they are to marry by King Xerxes' command. Disbelieving, they joyfully do so. After Arsamene and Romilda wed, Xerxes arrives, ready for his wedding and not at all happy to learn that his vassal has just married his bride off to his brother. When Amastre-in-disguise appears, Xerxes is calling out for someone to avenge him and wants to know what Amastre-in-disguise has been doing popping in and out of the entire opera; Amastre asks whether he wants her to kill the traitor, the one who, having been so dearly loved, went off chasing another. When he demands that she do so, she reveals herself to Xerxes, who becomes ashamed of his faithlessness and tells her to go ahead and kill him. Amastre, still in love with him, refuses, and Xerxes offers her his queen's crown once more.

[edit] Media"Ombra mai fù"

"Ombra mai fù" (and the introductory recitative) as performed by Enrico Caruso in 1920.

Problems listening to the files? See media help.
[edit] RecordingsA DVD recording of the 1985 stage production was made in 1995, when a revival of this production was staged with the same conductor and cast, and issued by Arthaus Musik.
EMI recording: in 2003 in Italian with Anne Sofie von Otter and Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz with William Christie conducting the "Les Arts Florissants". This was issued by Virgin Veritas in 2004. (Texts & translations at emiclassics.com)
BMG recording: Recorded in 1998, performed by Jennifer Smith, Lisa Milne, Susan Bickley, Brian Asawa, David Thomas, et al. The recording was conducted by Nicholas McGegan accompanied by The Hanover Band and Chorus (75605 51312 2)
[edit] Notes^ Best p.14
^ Dean in Opera and the Enlightenment, p.135
^ a b Best p.15
^ Opera and the Enlightenment p.166. Dean calls Hagen's vocal score of Serse "a grinning parody".
^ Opera and the Enlightenment p.135
^ Best p.18
[edit] ReferencesDean, Winton (2006), Handel's Operas, 1726-1741, Boydell Press, ISBN 1843832682 The second of the two volume definitive reference on the operas of Handel
Winton Dean, "Handel's Serse" in Opera and the Enlightenment ed. Thomas Bauman (Cambridge University Press, 1995)
Terence Best's booklet notes to the Virgin recording by Christie
[edit] External linksSerse: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
Libretto in Italian (PDF file)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serse"
Categories: Operas by George Frideric Handel | Italian-language operas | Opera seria | 1738 operas | Operas

"Di speranza un bel raggio ritorna a consolar l'alma smarrita" (Handel, "Rinaldo", 1711)

2011-06-15T17:15:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Di speranza un bel raggio
Ritorna a consolar l'alma smarrita;
Sì adorata mia vita!
Corro veloce a discoprir gl'inganni;
Amor, sol per pietà, dammi i tuoi vanni!
Venti, turbini, prestate
Le vostre ali a questo piè!
Cieli, numi, il braccio armate
Contro chi pena mi diè!

Parole for 1711--Rinaldo (Handel). Cara sposa, amante cara.

2011-06-15T17:13:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranzafor "Gli Operai"jlsperanza@aol.com

Cara sposa, amante cara,
Dove sei?
Deh! Ritorna a' pianti miei!

Del vostro Erebo sull'ara,
Colla face dello sdegno
Io vi sfido, o spirti rei!

Midis for Rinaldo (1711). Handel, "Cara sposa" et al

2011-06-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranzafor "Gli Operai"jlsperanza@aol.com

"Rinaldo"(HWV 7) is an opera by George Frideric Handel composed in 1711.

It was the first Italian language opera written specifically for the London stage.

The libretto was prepared by Giacomo Rossi from a scenario provided by Aaron Hill, and the work was first performed at the Queen's Theatre in London's Haymarket on 24 February 1711.

The story of love, battle and redemption set at the time of the First Crusade is loosely based on Torquato Tasso's epic poem Gerusalemme liberata ("Jerusalem Delivered"), and its staging involved many original and vivid effects.

It was a great success with the public, despite negative reactions from literary critics hostile to the contemporary trend towards Italian entertainment in English theatres.

Handel went on to dominate opera in England for several decades.

"Rinaldo" was revived in London regularly up to 1717, and a revised version was presented in 1731.

The opera was also shown in several European cities.

Of all Handel's musical dramas, Rinaldo was the most frequently performed during his lifetime.

However, after 1731 the opera was not staged for more than 200 years, until a renewed interest in baroque opera during the 20th century led to the first professional modern production in Handel's birthplace, Halle, Germany, in 1954.

The opera was mounted sporadically over the following thirty years, but after a successful run at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1984, performances and recordings of the work have become more frequent worldwide.

The music for "Rinaldo" was composed very quickly.

Much of it is made up of borrowings and adaptations from the operas and other works that Handel had composed during his long stay in Italy in 1706–10.

In the years following the premiere, Handel frequently introduced new numbers, discarded others, and transposed parts to different voice ranges.

Despite the lack of a standard edition, with its spectacular vocal and orchestral passages Rinaldo has been cited as one of Handel's greatest operas.

Of its individual numbers the soprano aria

"Lascia ch'io pianga"

has become a particular favourite and is a popular concert piece.

Handel began to compose operas in Hamburg, where he spent the years 1703–06.

His principal influences were Johann Mattheson and Reinhard Keiser.

At that time, German opera as a genre was still not clearly defined; in Hamburg the term Singspiel ("song-play") rather than opera described music dramas that combined elements of French and Italian opera, often with passages of spoken German dialogue.

The music was, in the words of historian Donald Jay Grout, "tinged with the serious, heavy formality of Lutheran Germany".

The first of Handel's early works in the German style was Almira, a considerable success when it was premiered on 8 January 1705.

Over the next three years Handel composed three more operas in the German style, but all of these are now lost.

However, fragments of the music from these works have been identified in later operas.

Georg Ludwig, Elector of Hanover and later George I of Great Britain, appointed Handel to the Hanover court in 1710.

In autumn 1706 Handel went to Italy. He stayed for long periods in Florence, Rome, Naples and Venice, making frequent visits to the opera houses and concert halls.

He obtained introductions to leading musicians, among them Arcangelo Corelli, Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti, and Agostino Steffani,[6] and met numerous singers and performers.

From these acquaintances Handel learned the essential characteristics of Italian music, in particular (according to Dean and Knapp) "fluency in the treatment of Italian verse, accurate declamation and flexible harmonic rhythm in recitative, ... drawing the necessary distinction between vocal and instrumental material and, above all, the release of [his] wonderful melodic gift".

Handel's first Italian opera, "Rodrigo", showed an incomplete grasp of Italian style, with much of Keiser's Hamburg influence still evident.

It was not a success when premiered in Florence, in late November or early December 1707.

He followed this by a lengthy visit to Rome, where opera performances were then forbidden by papal decree, and honed his skills through the composition of cantatas and oratorios.

In Rome, Handel met Cardinal Vincenzo Grimani, a diplomat and spare-time librettist;[9] the result of this meeting was a collaboration which produced Handel's second Italian opera, Agrippina. After this work's triumphant premiere at the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo in Venice, on 26 December 1709, Handel became, says biographer P. H. Lang, "world famous and the idol of a spoiled and knowledgeable audience".[10]

This sudden recognition led to eager competition for Handel's services.[11] Among those most keen to employ him was Prince Georg Ludwig, the Elector of Hanover and future King George I of Great Britain. In June 1710 Handel accepted the appointment of Kapellmeister to Georg's Hanover court, under terms that gave him considerable scope to pursue his own interests. On the basis of this freedom, in late 1710 Handel left Hanover for London, possibly in response to an earlier invitation from members of the English nobility.[12] By 1711, informed London audiences had become familiar with the nature of Italian opera through the numerous pastiches and adaptations that had been staged. The former Royal Academy of Music Principal, Curtis Price, writes that the popularity of these pieces was the result of a deliberate strategy aimed at the suppression of English opera.[13] Handel's music was relatively unknown in England, though his reputation from Agrippina was considerable elsewhere. A short "Italian Dialogue" he had written in honour of Queen Anne's birthday was well received when performed at St James's Palace on 6 February 1711.[14]

In London, by means which are not documented, Handel secured a commission to write an Italian opera for the Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket (it became the "King's Theatre" after King George I's accession in 1714).[15] This theatre, designed and built by Sir John Vanbrugh, had become London's main opera house; its manager, Aaron Hill, intended to mount the first Italian opera written specifically for London and had engaged an all-Italian company for the 1710–11 opera season.[14] Hill employed an Italian poet and language teacher, Giacomo Rossi, to write a libretto based on a scenario that Hill prepared himself.[16] As his subject Hill chose Gerusalemme liberata, an epic of the First Crusade by the 16th-century Italian poet Torquato Tasso; the opera was called Rinaldo, after the main protagonist.[14] Hill was determined to exploit to the full the opportunities for lavish spectacle afforded by the theatre's machinery; his aim, according to Dean and Knapp, was "to combine the virtuosity of Italian singing with the extravagance of the 17th century masque".[17]

(1711)[11] Notes Premiere cast, 24 February 1711
Conductor:[18] Ref.
Goffredo: leader of the First Crusade. 1096–99 contralto Tenor after 1731 revision
Francesca Vanini-Boschi [19]

Rinaldo: a nobleman of the House of Este alto castrato Now often sung by a mezzo-soprano or countertenor Nicolo Grimaldi ("Nicolini") [19]

Almirena: daughter of Goffredo soprano Isabella Girardeau [19]

Eustazio: brother to Goffredo alto castrato This part was eliminated before the 1717 revival, and is often omitted from modern productions Valentino Urbani [19][20]

A herald tenor Bass in 1731 revival "Lawrence" [19]

Argante: Saracen king of Jerusalem bass Contralto in 1731 revival, now usually bass Giuseppe Boschi [19]

Armida: Queen of Damascus, Argante's mistress soprano Contralto in 1731 revival, now usually soprano Elisabetta Pilotti-Schiavonetti [19][21]
Two mermaids sopranos Not recorded [19]
A woman soprano In some productions the woman's lines are sung by a mermaid Not recorded [19]
A Christian magician alto castrato Bass from 1731 revival Giuseppe Cassani [19]
Mermaids, spirits, fairies, officers, guards, attendants Non-singing parts
[edit] SynopsisPlace: in and around the city of Jerusalem during the First Crusade
Time: 1099
Act 1
The Crusader army under Goffredo is laying siege to Jerusalem, where the Saracen king Argante is confined with his troops. With Goffredo are his brother Eustazio, his daughter Almirena, and the knight Rinaldo. As Goffredo sings of the coming victory, Rinaldo declares his love for Almirena, and Goffredo confirms that she will be Rinaldo's bride when Jerusalem falls. Almirena urges Rinaldo to fight boldly and assure victory. As she departs, a herald announces the approach of Argante from the city. Eustazio surmises that the king fears defeat; this seems to be confirmed when Argante, after a grandiose entrance, requests a three-day truce to which Goffredo graciously assents. After Goffredo leaves, Argante ponders his love for Armida, the Queen of Damascus who is also a powerful sorceress, and considers the help her powers might bring him. As he muses, Armida arrives from the sky in a fiery chariot. She has divined that the Saracens' only chance of victory lies in vanquishing Rinaldo, and has the power, she claims, to achieve this.

The scene changes to a garden, with fountains and birds, where Rinaldo and Almirena are celebrating their love. They are interrupted as Armida appears, and wrests Almirena from Rinaldo's embrace. Rinaldo draws his sword to defend his lover, but a black cloud descends to envelop Armida and Almirena, and they are borne away. Rinaldo mourns the loss of his loved one. When Goffredo and Eustazio arrive they comfort Rinaldo, and propose they visit a Christian magician who may have the power to save Almirena. Rinaldo, left alone, prays for strength.

Act 2

Armida falls in love with Rinaldo. 1616 painting by Nicolas Poussin.A sea shore. As Goffredo, Eustazio and Rinaldo near the magician's lair, a beautiful woman calls from her boat, promising Rinaldo that she can take him to Almirena. Two mermaids sing of love's delights, and urge Rinaldo to go in the boat. He hesitates, unsure what to do, and his companions attempt to restrain him. Angry at the abduction of his loved one, Rinaldo enters the boat, which immediately sails off. Goffredo and Eustazio are shocked at Rinaldo's impulsiveness and believe that he has deserted their cause.

In Armida's palace garden, Almirena mourns her captivity. Argante joins her and, overcome by her beauty, confesses that he now loves her. He promises that as proof of his feelings he will defy Armida's wrath and secure Almirena's freedom. Meanwhile Rinaldo is brought before the triumphant Armida. As he demands that Almirena be set free, Armida finds herself drawn to his noble spirit, and declares her love. When he angrily rejects her she uses her powers to assume Almirena's form, but Rinaldo suspects trickery, and departs. Armida, resuming her own appearance, is furious at her rejection yet retains feelings of tender love. She decides on another attempt to ensnare Rinaldo, and transforms herself back into Almirena's shape, but then encounters Argante. Believing her to be Almirena, Argante repeats his earlier promises of love and freedom. Swiftly resuming her own form, Armida denounces his infidelity. and vows vengeance. Defiantly, Argante confirms his love for Almirena and declares that he needs Armida's help no longer. She departs in a fury.

Act 3
A mountainside, at the magician's cavern. Goffredo and Eustazio are told by the Magician that Almirena is being held captive in Armida's palace at the mountain-top. Ignoring the magician's warning that they will need special powers, the pair set off for the palace but are quickly driven back by Armida's monsters. The magician then gives them magic wands that transcend Armida's power, and they set off again. This time they overcome the monsters, but as they reach the gates of the palace it disappears, leaving them clinging to a rock in the midst of a stormy sea. They climb the rock and descend out of sight.

In the palace garden Armida prepares to kill Almirena. Rinaldo draws his sword, but Armida is protected from his wrath by spirits. Suddenly Goffredo and Eustazio arrive, but as they touch the garden with their wands it disappears, leaving them all on an empty plain with the city of Jerusalem visible in the distance. Armida, after a last attempt to kill Almirena, also disappears as Rinaldo strikes her with his sword. The remaining four celebrate their reunion, while Goffredo announces that the attack on Jerusalem will begin the next day.

In the city, Argante and Armida, in danger from a common enemy, become reconciled and prepare their troops for battle. Goffredo's army advances, and battle finally commences. After a struggle for supremacy, Jerusalem falls to Goffredo; Argante is overcome and captured by Rinaldo, while Armida is taken by Eustazio. Rinaldo and Almirena celebrate their love and forthcoming marriage. Armida, accepting her defeat, breaks the wand which is the source of her evil power and together with Argante embraces Christianity. Goffredo expresses his forgiveness to his beaten foes and sets them free, before victors and vanquished join in a chorus of reconciliation.

Revisions, 1717 and 1731
The opera was frequently revised, most particularly in 1717 and in 1731; modern performances are usually a conflation of the versions available. Up to and including 1717, these changes had no significant effect on the plot. In the 1731 version, however, in Act 2 Armida imitates Almirena's voice rather than assuming her appearance, and Argante declares his love to Almirena's portrait rather than to her face. In Act 3 the marches and the battle scene are cut; Armida and Argante remain unrepentant and vanish in a chariot drawn by dragons before the conclusion.[22]

[edit] Compositional history
Pages from the 1711 libretto; Italian on the left, English translation on the rightIn a letter dedicating the new opera to Queen Anne, Hill wrote of his choice of story: "I could not chuse a finer Subject than the celebrated story of Rinaldo and Armida". He had, however, exercised "a Poet's Privilege", to render Tasso's work suitable for the stage. This "privilege" moved the opera's story a long way from Tasso's original. Hill invented a new heroine, Almirena, to provide the main love interest with the hero Rinaldo, and the relationship between Rinaldo and Armida scarcely figures in the opera. Likewise, the affair between Argante and Armida is Hill's creation, as are the conversions to Christianity, the latter possibly a sop to English susceptibilities.[17] Rossi was required to turn the elaborate scenario into verses, a relatively light task which, he said, was "the delivery of a few evenings".[16] Nevertheless, Rossi complained that Handel hardly gave him time to write: "To my great wonder I saw an entire Opera set to music by that surprising genius, with the greatest degree of perfection, in two weeks".[17] Price argues that Rossi's role was beyond that of a mere versifier, quoting Hill's words of praise for Rossi in the preface to the libretto, which suggest that Rossi was the senior partner in the birth of the libretto. Price also points to the likely influences on the structure of Rinaldo from two British semi-operas—George Granville's The British Enchanters, and Purcell's King Arthur. The transformations of characters to others' shapes, Price contends, is likely derived from John Dryden's play Amphitryon.[23]

Handel's speed of composition was assisted by his inclusion of arias and other numbers from his earlier Italian works, among them "Bel piacere" and "Basta che sol" from Agrippina, "Sibillar gli angui" from the dramatic cantata Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, and the mermaids' song "Il vostro maggio" from the cantata Arresta il passo.[17] Almirena's aria "Lascia ch'io pianga" had appeared in the oratorio Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno.[22] The suitability of some of these insertions has been questioned by later commentators; Dean and Knapp cite Argante's "Sibillar gli angui", with its references to the hissing snakes of Alecto and the howls of Scylla, as "ludicrously inappropriate" to accompany the king's grand Act 1 entrance. Many other numbers—Dean and Knapp estimate two-thirds of the arias—were adapted and partly recomposed from earlier sources.[17]

In the years between the 1711 premiere and the 1717 revival, Handel made various adjustments to the score and the vocal parts, often to accommodate the requirements of new singers. Details of these changes are difficult to establish since the performing librettos and scores for these years no longer exist. For 1717, more significant revisions were made; the role of Eustazio was merged with that of Goffredo, and Argante's part was rewritten to accommodate an alto voice. Thus in this revival all the principal parts were sung in high voice ranges.[20] Handel's revisions for the 1731 revival were even more radical, since they not only affected individual musical numbers but involved alterations in the plot. The production was advertised "With New Scenes and Cloathes", but many of the changes involved reducing or eliminating the pyrotechnics and special effects that had characterised the original production. The only significant new music in the 1731 production is a long accompanied recitative for Rinaldo, though other numbers are changed or cut. Goffredo becomes a tenor, Armida a contralto, the Herald and the Magician become basses. Dean and Knapp summarise the 1731 revisions as "a striking illustration of the seeming vandalism with which Handel could treat his works in revival".[24]

[edit] Performance history and reception[edit] Early performances
The opera house in the Haymarket – first known as the Queen's Theatre and then later as the King's Theatre – where many of Handel's works, including Rinaldo, were first performedThe 19th-century music critic George Hogarth wrote of Rinaldo that "[t]he romantic interest of the subject, the charms of the music, and the splendour of the spectacle, made it an object of general attraction".[25] Its premiere at the Queen's Theatre on 24 February 1711, possibly under Handel's direction, was a triumphant success. A further 12 performances were immediately scheduled; at the end of the run, popular demand was such that two more were added.[26] Notwithstanding this enthusiasm, the financial strains of such a grand production led to legal actions against Hill from unpaid craftsmen. Nine days after the premiere the Lord Chamberlain's Office revoked the impresario's licence.[27] Under Hill's successors the opera was played at the theatre in most seasons until 1716–17, by which time it had totalled 47 performances, far more than any other opera at the Queen's.[28]

The public's general enthusiasm for the opera was not shared by the writers Joseph Addison and Richard Steele, who used the pages of their new journal, The Spectator, to pour scorn and ridicule on the work.[29] Addison may have been motivated by his own failure, a few years previously, to establish a school of English opera with Rosamund, on which he had collaborated with the composer Thomas Clayton.[30] It was absurd, he wrote, that theatre audiences should be exposed to entire evenings of entertainment in a foreign tongue: "We no longer understand the language of our own stage".[29] Addison did, however, praise the singing of Nicolo Grimaldi, the celebrated alto castrato known as "Nicolini", in the title role. Steele compared the production unfavourably to a Punch and Judy show, particularly criticising certain bungled scene changes and the poor quality of effects such as thunder and lightning.[26] Hogarth made light of such comments: "Notwithstanding the influence which the Spectator influenced over the taste and manners of the age, its attacks ... seem to have had little effect in turning people from the entertainment".[25]

Some sources have suggested that the opera was performed in Dublin in March or April 1711,[31][32] though according to Dean and Knapp there is no record of such an occasion.[26] In November 1715 a version mainly in German was performed in Hamburg. This production, based on a translation by the playwright Barthold Feind, proved to be very popular and was revived in the city on numerous occasions during the 1720s. A pastiche of the opera, with additional numbers by Leonardo Leo, was presented by Leo at the Royal Court in Naples in 1718, with Nicolini singing his original role.[24]

After 1716–17, Rinaldo was not seen on the London stage until 1731, when it was revived in its revised form at the King's Theatre. During these years Handel's industry was such that he was producing a new opera for this theatre every nine months.[33] The 1731 production of Rinaldo received six performances, bringing the London total for the work to 53 in Handel's lifetime, the most for any of his operas.[26] After 1731 Handel had fewer stage successes, and performances of his operas became rarer. Changes in taste and style combined, as Grout concludes, to "thrust [the operas] into ill-deserved oblivion",[2] as a result of which Rinaldo was not staged anywhere for two hundred years.[22]

[edit] Modern revivalsThe first 20th-century production of Rinaldo which can be specifically verified was a performance in London, in February 1933, by pupils of the Hammersmith Day Continuation School,[22] though Dean and Knapp mention a shortened version, in Czech, at the Prague Conservatory in 1923.[24] The first modern professional performance was at the Halle Opera House in June 1954, under Horst-Tanu Margraf, as part of the Handel Festival. On 17 May 1961 the Handel Opera Society, directed by Charles Farncombe, staged the work at London's Sadler's Wells Theatre, a production that was revived four years later.[22][34] The first American performance was a concert version at Carnegie Hall on 27 March 1972, given by the Handel Society of New York, with Stephen Simon conducting and Beverly Wolff as Rinaldo.[35] The first staging of the opera in America was at the Houston Grand Opera under Lawrence Foster, in October 1975, with Marilyn Horne in the title role, a part with which she would become particularly associated.[36]

In July 1982 Horne sang the part alongside John Alexander's Goffredo and Samuel Ramey's Argante, in a National Arts Centre (NAC) production in Ottawa designed by Frank Corsaro. The performance, with Mario Bernardi conducting the NAC Orchestra, was applauded by Montreal Gazette critic Eric McLean for its fine music making and its displays of "architectural and sartorial splendour".[37] Eighteen months later, on 19 January 1984 Bernardi and Corsaro, with Horne, Ramey and Benita Valente from the Ottawa cast, brought the production to New York for the work's debut at the Metropolitan Opera. The production was loaned to the Met for its centennial season by the National Arts Centre of Canada "in deep appreciation of the many years during which Canadians have enjoyed opera from the Met – on tour, on radio and in New York".[38] Donal Henahan in The New York Times praised all the singers in turn, with a special mention for Valente's "plaintive and affecting" rendering of the popular aria "Lascia ch'io pianga". But, says Henahan, "the loudest cheers of the night went at last to the choreographer, Eugene Collins, and an incredibly nimble corps of tumbling warriors".[39] After ten performances at the Metropolitan Opera House the production was taken in May to Washington, D.C., and toured in the US before returning to New York in June for several outdoors performances.[38]

From the mid-1980s onwards, performances of Rinaldo became more frequent worldwide. In June 1989 it was staged at La Fenice in Venice, under John Fisher, again with Marilyn Horne. This production was criticised by critic and music scholar Stanley Sadie, in his review of the live recording, for straying too far from the composer's original intentions, particularly in the rearrangement of material and the extent of cuts. Singers were, Sadie says, allowed too much freedom to ornament their vocal lines; some of the cadenzas were "preposterous".[40] The opera reached Australia in 1999, at the Sydney Opera House under Patrick Summers,[41] and was performed there again in July–August 2005 under Trevor Pinnock, with Michael Chance as Rinaldo.[42] The new century saw a number of performances across Europe, including an appearance at the Göttingen International Handel Festival in 2004, with Nicholas McGegan conducting Concerto Köln. This production was well received by the public, but was criticised by Jochen Breiholz of Opera News for poor staging, indifferent singing and a substandard performance from the orchestra.[43]

Zurich Opera's 2008 production, directed by Jens-Daniel Herzog and conducted by William Christie, threw aside all convention by representing the action in a 21st-century airport lounge and conference centre, with Rinaldo dressed in a double-breasted navy blazer and needing a drink. "Characters go up and down on-stage escalators, and the set spins to show various areas of the lounge and terminal. There is a dissection of a small, white furry animal, a large snake, some allusions to Bond girls and character transformations. The Christians pull guns on the Muslims at a signing ceremony". It was, wrote Associated Press critic Ronald Blum, "outrageous – and entertaining".[44] A concert version of Rinaldo was given at the 2009 Edinburgh Festival, by the Bach Collegium Japan conducted by Masaaki Suzuki, with the Japanese soprano Maki Mori as Almirena.[42] In 2011 the opera is scheduled for its first staging at the Glyndebourne Festival, in a new production directed by Robert Carsen.[45]

[edit] Music
Detail from Marco Ricci's 1709 painting Rehearsal for an Opera. Ricci was a stage painter at the Queen's Theatre, and this singer is assumed to depict Nicolini, the house's principal alto castrato.The amount of recycled music in Rinaldo is such that Dean and Knapp call it an "anthology" of the best works from Handel's Italian period.[17] Sadie raises the question of whether the opera's dramaturgy is affected by the small amount of music written for its particular situations. He also comments on the problems raised for scholars by the extensive revisions to the music that took place during Handel's lifetime, but suggests that the available admixture creates interesting opportunities in the preparation of modern performing versions.[40] The initial popular success of Rinaldo was assisted by the employment of virtuoso singers, in particular Nicolini in the title role.[11] This part has remained in its original pitch, though in his various revisions Handel transposed the music of other leading roles to different voice types. Thus Goffredo had originally been an alto part, but in the 1717 revisions became a tenor; the Magician was transposed from alto castrato to bass, and Armida from soprano to contralto.[24]

The music, Lang says, flows "beguilingly" from the spacious overture; the quieter, emotional passages are illustrated evocatively, while in the more spectacular moments Handel's innovative use of brass is exciting and inspiring.[46] The sudden blast of trumpets which announces the Act 3 March provides, say Dean and Knapp, "an effect of splendour and exhilaration that time has not dimmed".[47] The harpsichord solos which decorate "Vo' far guerra" in Act 2 were originally improvised on the keyboard by Handel during performances, and were extremely popular. They were remembered and written down by William Babell, and published later as separate pieces. Lang believes that in spite of the borrowings, and the hasty manner in which the work was put together, Rinaldo is one of Handel's great operas.[46] According to Dean and Knapp, no Italian opera heard in London to that point had been supported by such "majestic" orchestral forces.[47] Critic Anthony Hicks describes the music, overall, as both "varied and excellent".[22] Dean and Knapp's verdict is more equivocal. The music for the war and pageantry scenes, they say, is "brilliantly successful", but in depicting the scenes concerned with magic, Handel misses the mark; they suggest it was not until 1719, with Alceste and Orlando, that he was able to represent the supernatural convincingly in music.[17]

The opera begins in the key of F, and switches to G at the inception of the grove scene in Act 1. Act 2 starts in E minor and ends in G. The final act begins and ends in B minor.[19] According to Hicks the dominant character musically, except in Act 3 in which she barely sings, is Armida. Her entry cavatina "Furie terribili" gives, says Hicks, "an immediate impression of fiery passion", an energy and intensity demonstrated in her Act 2 "Ah crudel", and in her later vengeance aria which is the occasion of Handel's harpsichord cadenzas.[22] Armida's Act 3 duet with Argante was the last duet with bass part that Handel wrote for 30 years. Of the other set pieces, Dean and Knapp highlight Rinaldo's "Cara sposa" as an example of Handel's growing confidence with aria forms. "Or la tromba" is praised for the brilliance of its orchestration: 4 trumpets, drums, strings & oboes—the only aria Handel ever wrote for this combination. The melody for Almirena's "Lascia ch'io pianga" began its life as an Asian dance in Almira before appearing as an aria in the oratorio Il trionfo. From this simple tune and plain accompaniment Handel achieves an "intensely moving effect" in this, the best-known of all the arias.[48]

[edit] Arias and other musical numbers[edit] 1717 libretto and subsequent amendmentsThe main musical numbers from the 1711 libretto are listed, together with changes and replacements from the two major revisions of 1717 and 1731. Minor changes, transpositions, and alterations to recitative sections are not shown. New numbers introduced in 1717 and 1731 are listed separately. Other arias not listed may have been sung in Rinaldo during the years 1711–17, but in the absence of contemporary evidence from scores or librettos the extent of such changes cannot be accurately ascertained.[20][24]

Act 1
Sinfonia (overture)
"Sovra balze scoscesi e pungenti" (Goffredo)
"Combatti da forte" (Almirena) (1731: replaced with "Quel cor che mi donasti")
"Ogni indugio d'un amante" (Rinaldo)
"Sulla ruota di fortuna" (Eustazio) (1717: cut; 1731: revived, amended and allocated to Argante)
"Sibillar gli angui d'Aletto" (Argante) (1717: replaced with "Sorte amor vuol che quest'alma", which was cut in 1731)
"No, no, che quest'alma" (Goffredo) (1731: replaced with "D'instabile fortuna")
"Vieni o cara, a consolarmi" (Argante) (1731: replaced with amended "Sulla ruota di fortuna")
"Furie terribili!" (Armida)
"Molto voglio, molto spero" (Armida) (1731: replaced with a modified version of "Combatti da forte")
"Augelletti, che cantate" (Almirena)
"Scherzano sul tuo volto" (Duet: Almirena and Rinaldo)
Sinfonia
"Cara sposa, amante cara" (Rinaldo)
"Cor ingrato, ti rammembri" (Rinaldo)
"Col valor, colla virtù" (Eustazio) (1717: cut)
Venti, turbini, prestate (Rinaldo)
Act 2
"Siam prossimi al porto" (Eustazio) (1717: cut; 1731: partly restored, sung by Goffredo)
"Il vostro maggio" (Sirene)
"Il tricerbero umiliato" (Rinaldo)
"Mio cor, che mi sai dir?" (Goffredo)
"Lascia ch'io pianga" (Almirena)
"Basta che sol tu chieda" (Argante) (1717: replaced with "Ogni tua bella stilla" and in 1731 with "Per salvarti, idolo mio")
"Fermati!/No, crudel!" (Duet, Armida and Rinaldo)
"Abbrugio, avampo e fremo" (Rinaldo)
"Dunque i lacci d'un volto" (Accompanied recitative, Armida)
"Ah! crudel, Il pianto mio" (Armida)
"Vo' far guerra, e vincer voglio" (Armida)
Act 3
Sinfonia
"Andate, o forti" (Mago) (1717: cut; 1731: altered and restored)
"Sorge nel petto" (Goffredo) (1717: cut)
"È un incendio fra due venti" (Rinaldo)
Marcia (Pagan march) (1731: cut)
"Al trionfo del nostro furore" (Duet, Armida and Argante) (1731: repositioned, and sung by Goffredo and Almirena)
"Bel piacere e godere" (Almirena)
"Di Sion nell'alta sede" (Eustazio) (1717: sung by Goffredo; 1731: sung by Argante)
Marcia (Christian march) (1731: cut)
"Or la tromba in suon festante" (Rinaldo) (1731: cut)
Battaglia (battle) (1731: cut)
"Solo dal brando" (Goffredo) (1731; cut)
Vinto è sol della virtù (Coro)

[edit] Additions and replacements, 1717Act 1: "Sorte amor vuol che quest'alma" (Argante)
Act 2: "Veni, O caro, che senza il suo core" (Almira)
Act 2: "Ogni tua bella stilla" (Argante)
Act 3: "Pregio è sol d'un alma forte" (Argante) (1731: cut)
Act 3: "Si t'amo" (Almirena)
[edit] Additions and replacements, 1731Act 1: "Quel cor che mi donasti" (Almirena)
Act 1: "D'instabile fortuna" (Goffredo)
Act 2: "Arma lo sguardo" (Armida)
Act 2: "Per salvarti, idolo mio" (Argante)
Act 3: "Orrori menzogneri" (accompanied recitative, Rinaldo)
[edit] Editions
Almirena's recitative, and four bars of "Lascia ch'io pianga", from Handel's 1711 autograph scoreNo complete autograph score exists; fragments representing about three-quarters of the 1711 score are held by the Royal Music Library (a subdivision of the British Library in London) and the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. The oldest complete score, dating from about 1716, is an error-strewn manuscript that may be a copy from one or more of the performing scores from that period. The manuscript bears numerous notes and corrections in Handel's hand, and was possibly the basis for the substantial revisions which he effected in 1731. It was also used by the copyist John Christopher Smith to produce two performing scores for the 1720s Hamburg performances. Further complete manuscript copies were produced by Smith and others in 1725–28 (the "Malmesbury" score), 1740 ("Lennard") and 1745 ("Granville"). These provide many variations of individual numbers.[49]

During the initial run at the Queen's Theatre the publisher John Walsh printed Songs in the Opera of Rinaldo, in mainly short score form. Apart from the overture, instrumental numbers were omitted, as were the recitatives. In June 1711 Walsh published a fuller version, which included instrumental parts; he continued to publish versions of individual numbers, with a variety of orchestrations, until the 1730s. In 1717 William Babell issued an arrangement for harpsichord of the overture and seven of the arias. Friedrich Chrysander published editions of the whole opera in 1874 and in 1894, based on a study of the existing published and manuscript material. In 1993 David Kimbell, for the Hallische Händel-Ausgabe (HHA), produced a full score of the 1711 version, together with rejected draft material and the additional numbers introduced in revivals up to 1717. HHA has also produced a complete score of the 1731 version.[50]

The libretto was published in London by the Queen's Theatre in February 1711, to coincide with the premiere, with Hill's English translation. Revised versions followed in 1717 and 1731 to reflect the changes introduced in those years; Rossi is believed to have prepared the Italian additions and revisions, with the 1731 English credited to "Mr. Humphreys". Feind's German versions of the libretto were published in Hamburg in 1715, 1723 and 1727.[51]

[edit] RecordingsMain article: Rinaldo discography
The first full recording of Rinaldo (an "excerpts" disc had preceded it by two years) was made in 1977 by CBS, with Carolyn Watkinson in the title role, Ileana Cotrubaş as Almirena, and Jean-Claude Malgoire conducting La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy.[52] The work, recorded in a Paris church, was based on the 1711 score; Alan Blyth in Gramophone praised the standard of the singing, and despite reservations about the sound quality, called it one of the most enjoyable of available Handel opera recordings.[53] There was no further recording of Rinaldo available until 1990, when John Fisher's heavily cut version from La Fenice was issued.[40] Another decade passed before the appearance of Christopher Hogwood's 1999 Decca recording, again based on the original score, with the countertenor David Daniels as Rinaldo, Cecilia Bartoli as Almirena and Catherine Bott in the small part of First Mermaid. Gramophone's reviewer called this issue "a treat for Handel lovers - a rare recording of one of the composer's richest operas, with a strong and starry cast".[54] Since then several more versions have been made available: Harry Bicket's 2001 recording for Arthaus, which was later issued as a DVD;[55][56] René Jacobs with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra for Harmonia Mundi in 2001;[57] and a performance by the Aradia Ensemble under Kevin Mallon, recorded in 2004 and issued under the Naxos label in 2005.[58]

[edit] Notes and references^ Grout and Weigel, pp. 184–85
^ a b Grout, p. 157
^ Grout, pp. 112-14 and pp. 116–20
^ Dean and Knapp, pp. 64–65
^ Dean and Knapp, pp. 69–77
^ a b Boyden et al., p. 56
^ Dean and Knapp, p. 84
^ Dean, p. 86
^ Lang, p. 91
^ Lang, p. 106
^ a b c Dean and Knapp, p. 181
^ Lang, p. 110
^ Price, p. 121
^ a b c Hicks, Anthony. "Handel, George Frideric: 4. Hanover, Düsseldorf and London". Oxford Music Online. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/public/. Retrieved 30 January 2011. (subscription required)
^ Lang, pp. 117–18
^ a b Dean, Winton. Rossi, Giacomo. Oxford Music Online. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/public/. Retrieved 30 January 2011. (subscription required)
^ a b c d e f g Dean and Knapp, pp. 171–74
^ It is suggested by Robert Hume in a biographical sketch of Aaron Hill that Handel conducted the orchestra. See Hume, Robert D. "Hill, Aaron". Oxford Music Online. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/public/. Retrieved 6 February 2011. (subscription required)
^ a b c d e f g h i j k Dean and Knapp, pp. 180–81
^ a b c Dean and Knapp, pp. 184–85
^ Dean and Knapp, p. 168
^ a b c d e f g Hicks, Anthony. "Rinaldo". Oxford Music Online. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/public/. Retrieved 28 January 2011. (subscription required)
^ Price, p. 125
^ a b c d e Dean and Knapp, pp. 186–91
^ a b Hogarth, p. 272
^ a b c d Dean and Knapp, pp. 182–83
^ Hicks, Anthony. "Handel’s Rinaldo – Character descriptions translated from the Italian version of the libretto". Academy of Ancient Music. http://www.aam.co.uk/features/9901.htm. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
^ Dean and Knapp, p. 156
^ a b Schonberg, Harold C. (26 September 1975). "Opera in English? No, Thanks". The New York Times: p. 133. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F10B10FC395E16738DDDA10A94D1405B858BF1D3. (subscription required)
^ Lang, pp. 120–21
^ Lang, p. 120
^ See, for example, Anna Menichetti in the line notes to Nuova Era recording 6813/14, 1991
^ Steen, p. 47
^ Arts Council of Great Britain, Annual Report 1965–66. Arts Council of Great Britain. 1966. p. 59.
^ Henahan, Donal (29 March 1972). "Rinaldo Has Everything a Baroque Opera Needs". The New York Times: p. 37. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50F10FC3C5A137A93CBAB1788D85F468785F9&scp=1&sq=%22Rinaldo%22+%22handel%22&st=p. (subscription required)
^ "Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia". AmadeusOnline. http://www.amadeusonline.net/almanacco.php?Start=0&Giorno=&Mese=&Anno=&Giornata=&Testo=Rinaldo&Parola=Stringa. Retrieved 28 January 2010. (in Italian)
^ McLean, Eric (5 July 1982). "Festival Opera Gives Fine Account of Handel's Rinaldo". The Gazette (Montreal): p. D-3. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3gsvAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-qQFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1035,1436862&dq=rinaldo+handel&hl=en.
^ a b "Metropolitan Opera database". Metropolitan Opera. http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/frame.htm. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
^ Henahan, Donal (20 January 1984). "A Triumph for Handel". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/20/arts/a-triumph-for-handel.html. (subscription required)
^ a b c Sadie, Stanley (April 1990). "Handel: Rinaldo". Gramophone: p. 126. http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/April%201990/126/734303/HANDEL.+RINALDO.+Marilyn+Home+%28mez%29+Rinaldo+Cecilia+Goodie+%28sop%29+Almirena+Ernesto+Palaclo+%28ten%29+Goffredo+Christine+Weidinger+%28sop%29+Armida+Natale+de+Carolis+%28bassbar%29+Argante+Carlo+Colombara+%28bass%29+Christian+Magician+Catarina+Calvi+%28sop%29+Siren+I+CosettaTosetti+%28sop%29+Siren+II+FabioTartari+%28bass%29+Araldo+Orchestra+of+the+Teatro+Is+Fenice%2C+VeniceJohn+Fisher.+Nuova+EraPinnacle+%C2%AE+ff1+68134+%28two+discs%2C+nas%3A+130+minutes%3A+ODD%29.+Recorded+at+performances+in+the+Teatro+La+Fenice%2C+Venice+during+June+1989.+Notes%2C+text+and+translation+included..
^ "Rinaldo". Opera: p. 55. January 2000.
^ a b "Rinaldo: Représentations". Opéra Baroque. http://operabaroque.fr/HAENDEL_RINALDO.htm. Retrieved 6 February 2011. (in French)
^ Breiholz, Jochen (September 2004). "Rinaldo: Göttingen Internationale Händel-Festspiele". Opera News 69 (3). http://www.operanews.com/operanews/templates/content.aspx?id=10078&terms=Rinaldo.
^ Blum, Ronald (20 June 2008). "Handel with care: Zurich `Rinaldo' set in airport". Associated Press. http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jun20/0,4670,OperaRinaldo,00.html.
^ "Rinaldo: Glyndebourne Festival 2011". Glyndebourne. http://glyndebourne.com/production/rinaldo. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
^ a b Lang, pp. 119–20
^ a b Dean and Knapp, p. 179
^ Dean and Knapp, pp. 176–78
^ Dean and Knapp, pp. 191–94
^ Dean and Knapp, pp. 197–205
^ Dean and Knapp, pp. 194–96
^ Thomas, Christopher J (1985). "Rinaldo and Rinaldo highlights". Opera Quarterly 3 (3): pp. 183–88. doi:10.1093/oq/3.3.183.
^ Blyth, Alan (February 1978). "Handel: Rinaldo". Gramophone: p. 125. http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/February%201978/125/767481/HANDEL.+Rinaldo.+Cotrubas%2C+Scovotti+%28sops.%29%2C+Watkinson+%28sont.%29%2C+Esswood%2C+Brett+%28c.tens.%29%2C+Cold+%28bass%29%2C+Grande+Ecurie+et+la+Chambre+du+RoyMalgoire.+CBS+Masterworks+4079308+%28three+cassettes%2C+nas%2C+%C2%A312.99%29.+Discs+reviewed+1177..
^ "Handel: Rinaldo". Gramophone: p. 96. January 2000. http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/January%202001/96/839428/Handel+0#header-logo.
^ Rohan, Michael Scott (May 2003). "Handel: Rinaldo". Gramophone: p. 85. http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/May%202003/85/807986/+MEV+ALERT+AND+REWARDING%2C+BUT+THE+STAGING+RISKS+RENDERING+THIS+RINALDO+INCOMPREHENSIBLE#header-logo.
^ "Handel: Rinaldo. List of recordings". Presto Classical. http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/w/59387. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
^ Sadie, Stanley (May 2003). "Handel: Rinaldo". Gramophone: p. 78. http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/May%202003/78/807973/HANDEL#header-logo.
^ Quinn, Michael (September 2004). "Session Report: The Aradia Ensemble's Rinaldo". Gramophone: p. 11. http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/September%202004/11/811332/SESSION+REPORT%3A+THE+ARADIA+ENSEMBLES+RINALDO#header-logo.
[edit] BibliographyBoyden, Matthew, Kimberley, Nick and Staines, Joseph (2007). The Rough Guide to Opera. London: Rough Guides. ISBN 1-84353-538-6.
Dean, Winton (1980). "George Frideric Handel" in New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Vol. 8, ed. Sadie, Stanley. London: Macmillan. pp. 85–138. ISBN 0-3333-23111.
Dean, Winton; Knapp, J Merrill (1995). Handel's operas: 1704–1726. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-81644-8. Originally published in 1987
Grout, Donald Jay; Weigel, Hermione (1947). A Short History of Opera, Vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press.
Grout, Donald Jay (1965). A Short History of Opera (One-volume ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.
Hogarth, George (1835). Memoirs of the Musical Drama, Vol. 1. London: Richard Bentley.
Lang, Paul Henry (1994). George Frideric Handel. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-29227-4.
Price, Curtis (1987). "English Traditions in Handel's Rinaldo". In Sadie, Stanley and Hicks, Anthony. Handel: Tercentenary collection. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-8357-1833-6.
Steen, Michael (2009). The Lives and Times of the Great Composers. London: Icon books. p. 47. ISBN 978-1840466-79-9.
[edit] External links1711 libretto in Italian, prepared by Haendel.it
Chrysander's 1874 version of the 1711 score: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
Chrysander's 1894 version of the 1731 score: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.

1722--"Per la gloria" (Ernesto's aria) -- Bononcini, "Griselda"

2011-06-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

"Griselda" is an opera -- dramma per musica -- in three acts that was composed by Giovanni Battista Bononcini (of Tweedledum fame).

The opera uses a revised version of the 1701 Italian libretto by Apostolo Zeno that was based on Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron (X, 10, "The Patient Griselda").

The Italian poet Paolo Antonio Rolli was hired to revise the text.

Bononcini's opera premiered in London at the King’s Theatre on 22 February 1722.

Bononcini's brother, Antonio Maria Bononcini, also composed his own opera to Zeno's libretto four years earlier.

Paolo Antonio Rolli (1687 -1765)

The plot of Zeno’s libretto was for the most part retained in Bononcini's opera but the text was almost entirely rewritten by Paolo Antonio Rolli.

The character "Corrado"was eliminated entirely and three of the main characters were renamed: Ottone became Rambaldo, Costanza became Almirena, and Roberto became Ernesto.

The work was received well at its premiere and was successively performed numerous times over the next four months.

One of the major reasons for this success was the prodigous acting and singing talent of Anastasia Robinson, who portrayed the title role, "Griselda".

The opera was later revived by Handel and Heidegger’s company on 22 May 1733 under the urging of Francesco Bernardi, called Senesino, who portrayed Gualtiero in the original production.

"Griselda" is one of ONLY TWO London operas for which Bononcini published the overture and all the arias.

Charles Burney owned a score of "Griselda", but neither it nor any other score including recitatives is extant.

Bononcini's music, although well crafted, is at times strangely juxtaposed to the opera's plot and text.

**************************************
The opera is filled with dulcet arias
which are reminiscent of a pastoral opera
rather than a story about a vindictive tyrant.
***************************************

Regardless, the music is enchanting and is largely responsible for the success of the work.

Richard Steele wrote in The Conscious Lovers (1722), this about the opera's music,

"something in that Rural Cottage of Griselda, her forlorn Condition, her Poverty, her Solitude, her Resignation, her Innocent Slumbers, and that lulling Dolce Sogno that’s sung over her; it had an Effect upon me, that – in short I never was so well deceiv’d at any [other Opera]."

Probably the most famous song from the opera is

Ernesto's aria, "Per la gloria d’adorarvi",
which remains to this day a popular selection
for concert and recital performance.

Other notable pieces include "Dolce sogno, deh le porta" and "Volgendo, a me lo sguardo" for Gualtiero.

These three arias were very popular and were reprinted, for example in Richard Neale’s A Pocket Companion for Gentlemen and Ladies (London, 1724) and in The British Musical Miscellany (London, 1735).

22 February 1722

Griselda, wife of Gualtiero ------ contralto ----- Anastasia Robinson
Gualtiero, re di Tessalia ----- contralto (originally a castrato) Senesino
Ernesto, lover of Almirena --------soprano (originally castrato)
Almirena, missing daughter of Griselda and Gualtiero ---- soprano
Rambaldo, a Sicilian nobleman --------------------------- bass

Place: Near Palermo in Sicily.

Detail from The Story of Patient Griselda, painted circa 1500

King Gualtiero has married Griselda, a peasant woman and his longtime mistress, and fears that she will not be accepted among the nobility.

Concerned that a rebellion might arise, the king decides he must prove that Griselda is worthy to be their queen and the mother of their future king.

He tests her virtue and steadfastness with a series of cruel ordeals, including telling her a lie that their long-lost daughter was killed on his orders.

Gualtiero banishes Griselda from the court and announces that he intends to take another wife, the young woman Almirena, who is, unknown to all, their missing daughter.

Almirena is highly upset over the king's proposal as she is in love with Ernesto.

Meanwhile, Griselda has returned to the humble cottage where she once lived.

A beautiful woman, she has caught the attention of Rambaldo, a Sicilian nobleman, who attempts to woo her.

After refusing him, Rambaldo threatens to kill her infant son, Everardo, unless she agrees to marry him.

Griselda refuses and flees to the palcace where she is permitted to stay as a servant to Almirena.

Gualtiero, as a final test, orders Griselda to marry Rambaldo, which she refuses to his satisfaction.

The king reveals his true motive for tormenting her and accepts her again as his queen to the satisfaction of Almirena and Ernesto who can now be reunited.

Rambaldo, who confesses to have stirred up the nobles in the hope of winning Griselda, is forgiven.

Parole, "Per la gloria" (Bononcini, "Griselda")

2011-06-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Per la gloria d’adorarvi
voglio amarvi, o luci care.
Amando penero,
ma sempre v’amerò,
sì, sì, nel mio penare,
penerò, v’amerò, luci care.

Senza speme di diletto
vano affetto è sospirare,
ma i vostri dolci rai
chi vagheggiar può mai
e non, e non v’amare?
penerò, v’amerò, luci care!

Midi for "Per la gloria" (Bononcini, "Griselda")

2011-06-15T16:48:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

http://icking-music-archive.org/ByComposer/Bononcini.php

1688--"Nel cor più non mi sento" (Paisiello, "L'amor contrastato, ossia La Molinara")

2011-06-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai"jlsperanza@aol.com

"La molinara" è una commedia per
musica in tre atti del compositore
Giovanni Paisiello su libretto
di Giuseppe Palomba.

Ebbe il suo primo allestimento come "L'amor contrastato, ossia La Molinara" al Teatro dei Fiorentini di Napoli nell'autunno del 1788.

Il successo dell'opera fu subito felicissimo e, come avviene tutt'oggi, sia in Italia che nei paesi d'oltralpe fu rappresentata soprattutto sotto un titolo alternativo: "La molinara".

Tra le opere più note di Paisiello, narra le vicende amorose di una bella molinara.

Ancora più popolare è l'aria

"Nel cor più non mi sento"

presente nel 2° atto, che fu ripresa successivamente nel XIX secolo da altri compositori, come Ludwig van Beethoven (6 variazioni), che ebbe occasione di ascoltarla il 1795 al Burgtheater di Vienna, e Niccolò Paganini (capriccio in sol maggiore):

Nel cor più non mi sento
brillar la gioventù
cagion del mio tormento
amor sei colpa tu.
Mi pizzichi, mi stuzzichi
mi pungichi, mi mastichi
che cosa è questo ahimè
Pietà, pietà, pietà
Amore è un certo che
che disperar mi fa.

Rappresentazioni in tempi moderni

La prima messa in scena del XX secolo e registrazione assoluta de "L'amore contrastato, ossia La molinara" si ebbe al Teatro di Corte del Palazzo Reale di Napoli con la direzione di Franco Caracciolo e l'esecuzione dell' Orchestra da Camera "Alessandro Scarlatti".

Altre rappresentazioni so spmp tenute nel

1962 a Firenze, nel
1987 a Palermo e nel
1996 e nel 2000 a Bologna; quest'ultima fu diretta da Ivor Bolton ed eseguita dall' Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna.

Trattazione su La molinara in Del Teatro

Arie antiche

2011-06-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai"jlsperanza@aol.com

vol. 1

Carissimi Vittoria, mio core!

Cesti Intorno all’idol mio

Legrenzi --- Che fiero costume. 1680. Eteocle.

Bononcini Deh più a me non v’ascondete

Alessandro Scarlatti O cessate di piagarmi. 1683. "Pompeo".

---- Se Florindo è fedele

---- Son tutta duolo

---- Spesso vibra per suo gioco

---- Se tu della mia morte

Vivaldi Un certo non so che

Lotti Pur dicesti, o bocca bella

Caldara Sebben, crudele

---- Selve amiche, ombrose piante
---- Come raggio di sol

Domenico Scarlatti Consolati e spera!

Handel Affanni del pensier

----- Ah! mio cor

Marcello Il mio bel foco

Pergolesi Ogni pena più spietata

----- Stizzoso, mio stizzoso
----- Se tu m’ami, se sospiri

Gluck O del mio dolce ardor

Jommelli Chi vuol comprar la bella calandrina

Traetta Ombra cara, amorosa

Piccinni O notte, o dea del mistero

---- Chi vuol la zingarella

Paisiello Nel cor più non mi sento

----- Il mio ben quando verrà

Martini Plaisir d’amour

Volume 2

Del Leuto Dimmi, amor

De Luca Non posso disperar

Falconieri Vezzosette e care

Rontani Se bel rio

Caccini Amarilli, mia bella

Monteverdi Lasciatemi morire! 1608. Arianna.

Cavalli Delizie contente, che l’alma beate

Tenaglia E quando ve n’andate

---- Quando sarà quel dì

Cesti Tu mancavi a tormentarmi

Stradella Ragion sempre addita

---- Se amor m’annoda il piède

Fasolo Cangia, cangia tue voglie

Alessandro Scarlatti Sento nel core
---- Su, venite a consiglio
---- Già sole dal Gange. 1680. "L'honesta negli amori"
---- All’acquisto di gloria PDF

Bassani Dormi, bella, dormi tu? PDF
---- Posate, dormite Posate, dormite
---- Seguita a piangere PDF

Gasparini Caro laccio, dolce nodo PDF
--- Lasciar d’amarti PDF

Bononcini Per la gloria d’adorarvi

Sarri Sen corre l’agnelletta PDF

Durante Vergin, tutto amor
--- Danza, danza, fanciulla gentile

Marcello Non m’è grave morir per amore

Paradies M’ha preso alla sua ragna PDF

Giordani Caro mio ben

Piccinni Se il ciel mi divide

"While in all art a loving investigation of ancient forms is an unfailing bourn whence flow the most fitting resources for the purification of taste, this applies most fully to opera, which, eluding plastic realism, can readily derive from grand models whatever it may need for the improvement and development of its productions."

This assertion appears like, and in fact is, a paraphrase of the well-known saying of our great modern melodramatist, the sense of which may perhaps be more directly and forcibly felt in the original general form."

"And since the new is no-a-days growing scarcer and scarcer, its place may fortunately be filled by the resurrection of the ancient."

"The more, because it has appeared for some time as if such a resurrection would interest patrons of art far more than current novelties.

For these two reasons, then, the time seemed to be ripe for the present publication; and it cannot fail to be a source of real benefit to our beloved art of song, to point out a means for certain improvement both on the aesthetic and practical side.

These arias were gleaned from old manuscripts and ancient editions, where they lay in unmerited oblivion.

In undertaking this work of exhumation, such an abundance of material was unearthed that the task of rejection, necessitated by the modest proportions of this volume, became difficult and grievous.

[Since the above was penned, the very favorable reception accorded to this first volume has encouraged the preparation and publication of a second.]

In transcribing the melodies the utmost care was taken to alter nothing in the originals, and often various manuscripts were consulted to ascertain the most elegant and correct form.

Obsolete abbreviations were written out in full, and the melodies so selected that none overstep the range of an ordinary voice, thus making them accessible to all.

Further, in adding the accompaniments and harmonizing the bassi continui, care was taken to insert nothing out of keeping with the words or character of the compositions, or with the style of the author and his period.

During this work constant reference was made to the models left by the greatest masters in this style of chamber-music, placed in centuries past at the lofty elevation which is theirs of right.

Having explained the scope of this publication, a few observations on the correct mode of interpreting the music will be offered.

The main characteristics peculiar to the composers of the 17th and 18th centuries are clearness and simplicity of form, depth of feeling, and a suave serenity whose grateful influence permeates their entire style.

The music of to-day on the contrary, is neurotic, full of startling effects and violent contrasts.

In the interpretation of these ancient songs, therefore, a prime requisite is the avoidance of any exaggeration of coloris, of all strained delivery.

The singing must be simple, unaffected, tranquil, legato; the tempi quiet, without any precipitation whatever; the embellishments executed with studious attention, to insure clearness and accuracy; words and tones welded to form one indissoluble whole, so that the hearer cannot fail to comprehend their meaning.

The whole delivery; in short, should show delicacy of intuition and a thorough understanding of the laws of the good Italian style.

It should be at once calm, elegant, correct, and expressive, yet without coldness or heaviness.

No unusual powers are required for singing these ancient songs, though they demand an exact observance of the notes and directions.

A modicum of good taste, and a genuine love of study, will do the rest.

Roma, November, 1885

-----

This is the source of most of the songs in the popular “24 Italian Songs and Arias” collection that is used by voice teachers around the world.

While in many cases, the songs have been given over romanticized accompaniments, these are the versions most familar to modern singers. They were also part of the larger Arie Antiche collection by Parisotti published by Ricordi. The first volume of which is available on Google Books.

Songs from these volumes have been uploaded, though some still need song posts to be created for them.

If you would like me to give priority to a song that is not yet posted, please let me know via the contact page.

I find it somewhat funny that Parisotti goes out of his way to say how faithful he intended to be to the style of the composers. Of course, for the period when he wrote this, this was probably as faithful as it got.

I wonder at some of the differences between his views on appropriate Baroque style and what is currently considered “Historically Informed Performance”.

But I shall presume that his insistence on a calm delivery and lack of “violent contrasts” are in reaction to excesses of his contemporaries.

Another thing worth noting about this 2 volume set… These 59 songs were further refined into the 24 song set that became wildly popular in vocal pedagogy, but they were derived from the larger, 100 song, 3 volume set “Arie Antiche” which was published by Ricordi.

I don’t have a copy of the Ricordi set, and the closest library copy is 90 minutes away; nor do I consider it a major priority to add it here.

However, I’ll eventually want to scan at least the 41 songs not already represented.

Alessandro Scarlatti: Se tu della mia morte (If you of my death…) « An art song a day says:
March 15, 2009 at 11:59 pm
[...] Sometimes, though, teachers and students alike weary of these tried-and-true friends. The Anthology of Italian Song of the 17th and 18th Centuries includes not only all of the 24 Italian Songs and Arias, they include many less-familiar gems, as [...]

Giovanni Maria Bononcini: Deh piu a me non v’ascondete (Hide from me no more) « An art song a day says:
September 17, 2009 at 10:50 am
[...] teaching, I’ve got the 24 Italian Songs and Arias down, but there are quite a few out of the Anthology of Italian Song of the 17th & 18th Centuries that I’m not as familiar with. Playing them through at the piano is one thing, but hearing is [...]

Midi for "Che fiero costume" (1680--Eteocle, by Lagranzi)

2011-06-15T16:17:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranzafor "Gli Operai"jlsperanza@aol.com

http://www.opera-karaoke.com/arias/che_fiero_costume_A.html

Arie antiche

2011-06-15T16:10:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Bononcini: Deh piu a me non v’ascondete

Caldara: Come raggio di sol

------- Sebben crudele

------- Selve amiche

Carissimi: Vittoria, vittoria!

Cesti: Intorno all’idol mio

Gluck: O del mio dolce ardor

Handel: Affanni del pensier

------ Ah! mio cor

Jomelli: Chi vuol comprar

Legrenzi: Che fiero costume (1680 -- "Eteocle")

Lotti: Pur dicesti, bocca bella

Marcello: Quella fiamma che m’accende

Martini: Piacer d’amor

Paisiello: Chi vuol la zingarella

----- Il mio ben quando verra

----- Nel cor piu non me sento

Pergolesi: Ogni pena piu spietata

----- Se tu m’ami, se sospiri

----- Stizzoso, mio stizzoso

Piccini: O notte, Dea

A. Scarlatti: O cessate di piagarmi (midi). 1683. "Il Pompeo". Tenor role: "Pompeo"

---- Se Florindo e fedele

---- Se tu della mia morte

---- Son tutta duolo

---- Spesso vibra per suo gioco

D. Scarlatti: Consolati e spera

Traetta: Ombra cara, amorosa

Vivaldi: Un certo non so che.

Parole, "Che fiero costume" (Legrenzi, 1680, Eteocle)

2011-06-15T16:06:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Che fiero costume
D’aligero nume,
Che a forza di pene si faccia adorar!
E pur nell’ ardore
Il dio traditore
Un vago sembiante mi fe’ idolatrar.

Che crudo destino
Che un cieco bambino
Con bocca di latte si faccia stimar!
Ma questo tiranno
Con barbaro inganno,
Entrando per gli occhi, mi fe’ sospirar!

1680."Eteocle e Polinice"(Legranzi)--Che fiero costume

2011-06-15T16:05:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranzafor "Gli Operai"jlsperanza@aol.com

By far the most frequently recorded item by Legrenzi is

"Che fiero costume"

from the opera, "Eteocle e Polinice" (1680).

It was made famous by opera singers including bass Ezio Pinza and tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

Midi for 1683.Pompeo (Scarlatti)--O cessate di piagarmi

2011-06-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

http://www.angelfire.com/nv/StillOrbiting/sounds.html

1680. "Gia il sole dal Gange" (Scarlatti, "L'honesta negli amori")

2011-06-15T15:43:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

The sparkling piece,"Gia il sole dal Gange", made world-famous by Pavarotti, is one of Scarlatti's most popular vocal compositions and a frequent recital piece.

Its highly accented rhythms and crisp pacing provide a striking contrast to the typically more languidly amorous or flirtatious "arie antiche" (the name Parisotti gave to his collection of excerpts from early Italian operas.)

Like most sources of arie antiche, the original opera, "L'honesta negli amori", which premiered at the Teatro Capanica -- revived Palazzo Bernini, Roma, in 1680 -- is almost completely forgotten except as the source for this piece.

The song describes the sun rising over the Ganges river, brightening and enlivening the landscape with its rays.

Scarlatti brilliantly captured this mood with a vigorous major-key setting with a brisk pace, steadily ascending lines in each verse, and a sharply accented ornamentation.

In one striking arrangement, Gamley heightened this effect by adding a trumpet obbligato.

The pace fractionally slows as the text describes the sun drying the tears of the weeping dawn, but it soon returns to the original tempo, returning the emphasis to the sun's brightness.

1680. "L'honesta negli amori" (Scarlatti). Aria: Gia il sole dal Gange (midi)

2011-06-15T15:41:00.001-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

"L'honestà negli amori" is a dramma per musica in 3 acts by composer Alessandro Scarlatti.

Written in 1679-1680 when Scarlatti was 19 years old, it was his second opera.

The opera uses an Italian language libretto that was written by either D F Bernini or Domenico Filippo Contini.

The work premiered at the Teatro di Palazzo Bernini in Rome on 3 February 1680.

The opera's aria 'Già il sole dal Gange', as recorded by Luciano Pavarotti and others, has achieved some popularity.

1680 -- Gia il sole dal Gange (Scarlatti, "L'honesta negli amori")

2011-06-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai"jlsperanza@aol.com

"O cessate di piagarmi" (from "Il Pompeo", Scarlatti, 1683)

2011-06-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai"jlsperanza@aol.com

"Il Pompeo" is a dramma per musica in 3 acts by composer Alessandro Scarlatti.

Written in 1682 when Scarlatti was 22 years old, it was his fourth opera and first dramatic work on a serious and grand subject.

The opera uses an Italian language libretto by Nicolò Minato which had previously been used by Francesco Cavalli for his 1666 opera Pompeo Magno.

The work premiered at the Teatro di Palazzo Colonna in Rome on 25 January 1683.

25 January 1683

Pompeo ----------------------------- tenor
Giulio Cesare ---------------------- bass
Giulia, daughter of Giulio Cesare -- contralto
Scipione Servilio, loved by Giulia - soprano
Mitridate -------------------------- tenor
Issicratea, Mitridate's wife ------- soprano
Sesto, son of Pompeo --------------- alto castrato
Claudio, son of Giulio Cesare ------ soprano
Harpalia, Issicratea's slave ------- tenor
Farnace, son of Mitridate ---------- soprano castrato

1683. "Il Pompeo" (Scarlatti) -- O cessate di piagarmi

2011-06-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

Midi "Sole dal Gange"

2011-06-15T15:29:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com

http://electrofresh.com/midi-24664-download-a_scarlatti-gi_il_sole_dal_gange.html

1608 -- "Arianna" (Monteverdi). "Lasciatemi morir"

2011-06-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai"jlsperanza@aol.com

L'Arianna (English: Ariadne) (SV 291) was the second opera written by Monteverdi, and one of the most influential and famous specimens of early Baroque opera.

"Arianna" was first performed in Mantova on 28 May 1608.

The libretto is by Ottavio Rinuccini, who took the classical myth of Ariadne and Theseus from Ovid's Heroides.

All of the music to the opera has been lost with the exception of Il lamento d'Arianna ("Ariadne's Lament").

Monteverdi wrote "Arianna" for the festivities to mark the wedding of Francesco Gonzaga (the son of the composer's patron Duke Vincenzo of Mantua) and Margaret of Savoy.

In October 1607 Monteverdi asked Francesco Gonzaga to let him compose the music for a dramatic piece for the wedding celebrations.

Monteverdi was wary of his rival composer, Marco da Gagliano, who had already been commissioned to write an opera, "Dafne", for the occasion.

In the event, the wedding was postponed until May 1608 for political reasons and Gagliano's opera was performed as part of the carnival festivities in February instead.

The stage works now planned for the marriage were Giovanni Battista Guarini's comedy "L'idropica" with intermedi by Gabriello Chiabrera, and Monteverdi and Rinuccini's L'Arianna.

Another work, the dramatic ballet "Il ballo delle ingrate" was later added to Monteverdi's commission.

Monteverdi probably finished the music for L'Arianna in the last two months of 1607 because, in a letter of 9 January 1620, he refers to the "five months of strenuous rehearsal" the opera took.

In other letters from long after 1608, Monteverdi mentions the "great suffering I underwent with Arianna" and claims "lack of time was the great reason I almost killed myself when writing [the opera]."

The title role was due to be sung by
Caterina Martinelli (nicknamed "La Romanina"),
who had played "Dafne" in Gagliano's opera in February,
but by the end of the same month she
was suffering from smallpox and she
died on 7 March.

Fortunately for the production, Giovan Battista Andreini and his acting company had come to Mantova to rehearse L'idropica and Andreini's wife, Virginia Ramponi (nicknamed "La Florinda"), proved an ideal substitute for the role of Arianna.

The bride, Margaret of Savoy, finally arrived in Mantova on 24 May 1608 and the celebrations began immediately.

"Arianna" was staged on Wednesday 28 May.

Federico Follino, a Mantuan courtier, published an account of the wedding celebrations (Compendio delle suntuose faste..., 1608).

He described the performance taking place in a specially built theatre in front of a large, aristocratic audience and commended the work as "very beautiful in itself", writing that Monteverdi had "excelled himself".

The festivities continued with a naval battle on the lagoon on 31 May, a performance of "L'idropica" (with the music for the prologue by Monteverdi) on 2 June, and Monteverdi's Il ballo delle ingrate on 4 June.

The heavy work load of writing the music for the three pieces for the wedding took its toll on Monteverdi's health.

As soon as the festivities were over, Monteverdi went back to his native Cremona for his annual summer holiday but he continued to compose for the Gonzagas.

In November 1608, Monteverdi's father Baldassare wrote to the Duchess of Mantua:

"My son came to Cremona seriously ill, with debts, poorly clothed and without the salary of Signora Claudia [the composer's late wife], with two poor little sons thus left on his shoulders after her death, having nothing but the usual 20 scudi per month, all of which I consider as being caused by the Mantuan air, which by its nature is harmful, and by the great tasks he has carried out and will continue carrying out if he stays in service, and by the bad fortune which has persecuted him for the nineteen years in which he has found himself in the service of the Most Serene Lord Duke of Mantua."

Baldassare, who was a doctor by profession, thought the state of his son's health was so bad that he begged the duchess to persuade her husband to release the composer from his service.

The Duke refused and on 30 November ordered Monteverdi to return to Mantua to resume his duties.

Monteverdi revived the opera in Venice in 1640.

He did this to inaugurate the Teatro San Moisè.

He revised the score, cutting the choruses and references to the Mantuan wedding, to adapt the music to the tastes of the audience, which had changed over the three decades since the premiere.

Rinuccini's libretto was printed in 1608.

But Monteverdi's music for the opera has been lost except for a single famous piece, Il lamento d'Arianna (Ariadne's Complaint), also known by its first words, "Lasciatemi morire" ("Let me die").

It is a solo aria, illustrating Ariadne's desperation after being forsaken by Theseus on the island of Nasso.

It was already famous in its own time as a prime example of the then-revolutionary new musical style of operatic monody, the so-called seconda pratica.

It was discussed as such by the contemporary music theorist Giovanni Battista Doni in 1640.

Other composers soon began to imitate Il lamento d'Arianna and write their own music to Rinuccini's text (there were versions by Severo Bonini in 1613 and Francesco Costa in 1626) or compose monodic laments for other characters ("Olimpia", "Erminia", "Dido" and the Virgin Mary, for example).

The lament became a popular feature in Italian opera for almost the next 50 years.

More than a simple aria, it usually comprised a whole dramatic scene.

Monteverdi himself returned to the form when he wrote a lament for Ottava in
L'incoronazione di Poppea and his disciple Francesco Cavalli included three laments in his first opera "Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo" (1639).

The Lamento d'Arianna was preserved because Monteverdi later published it as a stand-alone piece in 1623.

He also wrote two re-arrangements: one as a five-voice madrigal, published as part of his Sixth Book of Madrigals in 1614, and one with a new religious text in Latin, "Pianto della Madonna", published in his collection Selva morale e spirituale in 1640.

Premiere, 28 May 1608

Arianna/Amore -------- soprano Virginia Ramponi-Andreini ("La Florinda")
Venere/Apollo -------- soprano Settimia Caccini
Dorilla -------------- soprano -- Sabina Rossi
Teseo ---------------- tenor Antonio Brandi ("Il Brandino")
Bacco ---------------- tenor Francesco Rasi
Giove ---------------- tenor Bassano Casola
Tirsi ---------------- tenor Sante Orlandi
Consigliere/Messaggero tenor Francesco Campagnolo

Sources

Paolo Fabbri Monteverdi, translated by Tim Carter (Cambridge University Press, 1994)

Donald Grout A Short History of Opera

Ellen Rosand, "Opera in Seventeenth-Century Venice"

Amadeus Online (for roles and cast)

External links
Free scores of Lamento d'Arianna in the Choral Public Domain

Arno and Firenze (Fluentia): a note on "Gianni" (Forzano/Puccini).

2011-06-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

The second stanza of Rinuccio's stornello toscano, in "Gianni Schicchi" is all about the Arno and its affluents. The echo must be Bruni and his interesting idea -- after Pliny -- that "Firenze" derives from "Fluentia", not "Florentia".

brennusgll@legranus writes:

Brennus amicis, praecipue italis, s.p.d.

In alio grege disputantur de illo, quod scripsit Bruni Arretino in libro
c.t. 'Historiarum Florentinarum libri xii'

-- I Tatti ISBN 9780674005068 et
http://www.archive.org/details/leonardiaretinih00brun)

'Firenze' derivari de 'Fluentia', non 'Florentia'.

In fabula cantata c.t. 'Trittico' Puccini -- vel textus scriptor, Forzano -- longum scripsit metaphoron de flumine hodie Arno vocato et de originibus eius (si mihi licet verba citare italica), quod subiicit originem flumen fuisse:

"Firenze è come un albero fiorito
che in piazza dei Signori ha tronco e fronde,
ma le radici forze nuove apportano
dalle convalli limpide e feconde!
E Firenze germoglia ed alle stelle
salgon palagi saldi e torri snelle!"

Praeterea Plinius scripsit (Loeb Classical Library, vol. 2.246-6):

flventini praeflventi arno adpositi.

Aliquis dixit nomen illius urbe romanum fuisse 'Florentia'.

Quid censent gregales doctissimi?

Quid dicunt documenta ecclesiastica et chartae officiales?

Valete

---- Exactly

Firenze e come un albero fiorito -- l'Arno, etc.

2011-06-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

Bruni's etymology for "Firenze": "Fluentia", not
(really) "Florentia"

In his History of Florence (I Tatti, Latin), Bruni argues that "Firenze" comes from "Fluentia", not "Florentia".

One wonders if there a serious etymological discussion of this?

Rinuccio's aria in Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi" opens with the line

"Firenze is like a flowering tree'

Firenze e come un albero fiorito

and given that librettist Forzano spends some time (a full 6-line stanza) on the river metaphor (the Arno and its _afFLUENTs) I would like to think Bruni is right, in part?

Dennis M. McHenry II comments:

There's a tradition that "Florentia" (Firenze) was _once_ called "Fluentia", on the
dubious authority of a brief line in Pliny, whose manuscripts say that the
"Fluentini" live by the 'flowing' Arno.

flventini praeflventi arno adpositi

-- the usual explanation, by those who do accept this equivalence, is that the town
of these Fluentini -- presumably "Fluentia" -- did 'flower', and so changed its
name -- hence "Florentia".

Many regard, however, Pliny's "fluentini" as a corruption for "florentini" -- Poliziano, for example, mentions the possibility of corruption.

Macchiavelli's brief discussion in his "History of Florence" is sound and sensible.

But beyond that, there's no linguistic basis for a derivation from one to
the other.

There is, however, an easy source for the corruption: the proximity of "Florentini" and "praefluenti".

But it doesn't need to be true to be rooted in a real tradition, and the
question has been a lively one among many and varied writers.

Bruni is wrong, but it doesn't matter because librettist Forzano is responding to a
tradition not of etymology but of *origins*: the idea (if not the reality)
that "Florentia" was _once_ called "Fluentia".

Mark Keith adds: "Off the top of my head, I can say that the Romans did call the town on that site "Florentia" and the old Italian name, based on the Latin, was
"Fiorenza". Both seem to derive from the Latin "florere", to flower, to bloom; to prosper. The notion that it is related to "fluere" is an interesting one, but I
need to be convinced."

Crimi

2011-06-08T23:04:00.001-07:00

Intorno al 1920(1), si allestì pure, in Piazza S. Francesco di Paola, un locale estivo, per spettacoli di vario genere. Ne furono promotori i Signori Luigi Marino e Barbaro Puglisi.

Per l'incremento culturale dei Cittadini, vennero a Paternò varie Compagnie.

Ma la rappresentazione più gradita, quella che entusiasmò i Paternesi, fu senza dubbio quella del 20 agosto 1922. In quella occasione il Teatro fu adornato con fiori e vari addobbi, fu cioè vestito a festa per il suo nuovo nome di battesimo «Eden Crimi».

Tra un tripudio di folla, vi debuttò il nostro illustre Concittadino Giulio Crimi quando Egli era sulla cresta dell'onda, quando cioè se lo contendevano i migliori Teatri del Mondo, dall'Europa alle Americhe.

Il ricordo di tale avvenimento viene tramandato da padre in figlio con quell'entusiasmo che può destare un Concittadino, che si fa onore, conquistando le più alte cime delle affermazioni dello spirito umano.

Questo scritto per i Cittadini vuole essere stimolo alle Autorità preposte per far rinascere, più bello e più fortunato, l'«Eden Crimi».

Crimi

2011-06-08T23:01:00.000-07:00

Ero un ragazzo e sulla scrivania di mio Papà vedevo incorniciata e con preziosa cura rispettata la bella d'un Cantor fotografia.

Leggevo la sua firma: «Giulio Crimi».

Seppi più tardi ch'era un gran tenore, pieno di Fama, Gloria e grande Onore, che si esibiva nei teatri primi.

Fu presto grande Attore e grande Artista per mimica espressiva e per passione, per l'incisivo canto e la dizione, lo smalto di colore e di verista.

Serrato nel fraseggio e d'ogni dramma scandito e misurato nell'accento, il Crimi fu passione e sentimento, conobbe della recita ogni gamma.

Fu conteso da Roma e da Torino, da Genova, Palermo e da «La Scala», da Bologna e da Spagna in grande gala, da C,hicago e dal «Metro» oltremarino.

Cantò in 'Francesca' ed in 'Cavalleria', il primo Luigi in "Tabarro" di Puccini. Il primo Rinuccio in "Gianni Schicchi" di Puccini. E 'Forza del Destino', nello 'Chénier' e in 'Battaglia di Legnano', in 'Don Carlos', 'Zazà', 'Marta' e 'Lucia', in 'Pagliacci', 'Gioconda' e 'Rigoletto', nella 'Madama' ed 'Elisir d'Amore', nella 'Wally', 'Bohéme' e 'Trovatore', nella 'Fanciulla' e pur nell' 'Ugonotto'.

Fu pur tenore nella 'Favorita', nella 'Manon' e, ancor, nell' 'Africana', nell' 'Isabeau,' nell' 'Aida' egiziana, in 'Carmen', in 'Tabarro' ed in 'Traviata.

Preparò molti allievi pure a Roma, tra i quali si ricorda Gobbi Tito, famoso pur per tono e colorito nel gioco di un bemolle o di una croma.

Illustre Figlio, la Città natale Ti è grata per l'Allor che hai conquistato e Ti onora, di Mirto inghirlandato, dei Viri Illustri nel suo bel viale.

Ai Posteri così Tu passerai. Nel ricordo del Canto e dell'Amore, delle Tue Glorie \e di Virtù canore, nella Storia e in Eterno Tu vivrai.

On Crimi

2011-06-08T22:58:00.001-07:00

Giulio Crimi nacque a Paternò il 10 Maggio del 1885.

A Catania, studiò canto col Maestro Matteo Adernò.

Nel 1912 esordì al teatro Sociale di Treviso con la Wally di Catalani. Continuò la sua attività di cantante lirico al Filarmonico di Verona e al Massimo di Palermo, ove eseguì la Fanciulla del West e la Manon Lescaut.

Intanto la gamma delle sue molteplici capacità canore e musicali, continuò ad arricchirsi di mimica espressiva e di passionalità tali che gli fecero guadagnare grandi applausi nei maggiori teatri lirici d'Italia e d'Europa. Fu a Milano sempre nel 1913 con Isabeau e la Carmen al Teatro dal Verme, a Madrid al Teatro Reale con la Cavalleria, continuò al Comunale di Bologna con l'Amore dei tre re e la Francesca da Rimini in prima esecuzione al Teatro Refio di Torino, ripetuta nel 1914 al Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova e poi ancora al Teatro Costanzi di Roma nel 1916. Partecipò anche alla prima rappresentazione di Fillandia di Fracassi al Teatro Regio di Torino, e al Tabarro e Gianni Schicchi di Puccini.

Come può facilmente vedersi il nostro Crimi adottò lo stesso repertorio musicale di De Muro cioè Isabeau. Cavalleria e Carmen. Dopo, con l'irrobustimento delle corde vocali che aumentarono di timbro e di tono, affrontò anche la Francesca da Rimini di Zandonai e l'Amore dei tre re di Montemezzi opere queste che gli fecero accrescere la notorietà in Italia. La sua tempra si fece via via più eccezionale mentre l'estensione vocalica aumentò fino a farle affrontare il repertorio romantico.

Nel 1916 esordì con l'Aida e La Battaglia di Legnano alla Scala di Milano.

Tra il 1916 e il 1924 fece spola tra il Metropolitan di New York e l'auditorium di Chicago, con un repertorio che andava dagli Ugonotti e Lucia di Lamermoor al Don Carlos e Traviata.

Nel 1920 partecipò alla prima esecuzione di New York di Zazà di Leoncavallo. Del repertorio romantico predilesse in modo particolare l'Africana ed il Trovatore ove toccò accenti altamente sentiti nel «Miserere».

Crimi appartenne alla corrente dei tenori veristi ed anche egli si rifece a Caruso sia per tendenza personale sia perché verso di lui si sentì particolarmente portato per le stesse affinità di smalto e di colori.

Fatto questo che lo danneggiò parecchio, così come lo rovinò prematuramente lo sciupio eccessivo con cui prodigò la sua voce. Infatti già nel 1928 si ritirò a Roma ove visse fino alla fine dei suoi giorni dandosi all'insegnamento e quivi la morte lo colse il 28 ottobre 1939. Tra i suoi allievi degno di nota è il baritono Tito Gobbi.

Della riproduzione discografica della voce di Crimi resta poco, questo perché le sue registrazioni fatte dalla «Vocalion», casa discografica canadese, hanno avuto un pessimo risultato e non rendono giustizia alle grandi capacità canore del nostro con cittadino. Fu lo stesso Crimi ad offrire ad amici e simpatizzanti, come dischi ricordo, tali scadenti registrazioni le quali pertanto oggi arricchiscono il patrimonio di collezionisti privati.

Crimi, nel periodo in cui visse in America, 1918-1929, ha regi. strato per la «Vocalion» brani celebri delle seguenti opere: Marta, Tosca, Carmen, Trovatore, Boheme, di Leoncavallo, Boheme di Puccini, Gioconda, Aida, Elisir d'amore, Andrea Chénier, Forza del destino, Cavalleria rusticana, Manon Lescaut, Pagliacci, Zazà, Rigoletto, Favorita, Butterly e Africana. Crimi diviene quindi un emulo di De Muro, del quale però muterà il repertorio musicale.

Il personaggio dell'Isabeau creato dal De Muro rivelava piglio scenico ardito e nervoso, fraseggio rovente ed incisivo; mentre in Crimi assumeva una tendenza fortemente drammatica.

Crimi quindi assieme ad altri tenori contemporanei come Paoli, Zenatello Martinelli, costituiscono il nucleo dei tenori drammatici la cui mira principale fu di rivaleggiare il grande Caruso.

De Muro fa parte a sè per le sue esibizioni portentose d'atletismo vocalico e per i suoi accenti squillanti che tanto affascinarono le platee d'Italia e d'America, mentre Crimi e il suo gruppo di tenori drammatici usarono una dizione più scandita e un fraseggio più serrato. Però né De Muro né il gruppo dei tenori drammatici riuscì mai ad offuscare ne a rivaleggiare il grande Caruso dopo la sua prematura morte.

I dirigenti del Met s'erano posti il problema della successione per il Metropolitan di New York.

Molti furono quelli che aspirarono all'ambìta meta tra cui Martinelli, Chamlee, Pertile ed il nostro Crimi.

Ma il direttore Gatti-Casazza non ritenne alcuno degno di sostituire Caruso, sicché iniziò la nuova stagione lirica del 1921 con la Traviata, opera per soprano che doveva servire a lanciare la nuova stella, la Galli-Curci, la quale non ebbe fortuna perché indisposta, e gli onori andarono tutti a Beniamino Gigli a cui era stata affidata la parte di Alfredo.

E fu così che a furor di popolo Gigli fu riconosciuto il legittimo erede di Caruso al Metropolitan di New York.

Su Crimi resta da fare un'ulteriore precisazione sull'opera lirica che raggiunge la maggiore potenza drammatica, nell'epoca del tardo romanticismo con la trasformazione del primitivo stile architettonico barocco, in cui l'ordine delle arie doveva avere regole precise nel senso che al protagonista si dovevano assegnare un determinato numero di arie di stile diverso, mentre al cantante secondario, dovevano esserne affidate non più di due. Inoltre i vari protagonisti si esibivano in assolo accampandosi in tutta la scena senza che si producessero mai in duetto.

Ma quando col Romanticismo si ricorse a testi desunti dalla vita reale, si finì coll'unificare tutto il dramma con azioni talora complicate di libretti che richiedevano l'unione di più voci per realizzare meglio l'azione scenica. Si crearono degli assiemi vocalici che ebbero grande effetto, i finali di ogni scena divennero più drammatici onde raggiungere l'acme della drammaticità nell'esperienza operistico-teatrale.

Assiemi vocalici, in particolari i duetti, dipesero, riguardo al loro esito positivo dalla necessità di reprimere la propria manìa di grandezza per creare uniti quella sintesi musicale e drammatica delle varie scene componenti il dramma operistico.

Tra i cantanti che sperimentarono questo nuovo repertorio fatto di opere drammatiche reali dell'epoca d'oro, primeggiarono accanto a Titta Ruffo e Amedeo Bassi, che si esibirono in brani della Bohéme di Puccini, Rosa Ponselle e Charles Harchett in brani dell'Aida di Verdi e tante altre coppie famose tra cui il nostro tenore Giulio Crimi, con Rosa Raisa nel famoso duetto «La fatal pietra» dell'Aida di Verdi.

Gobbi on Crimi

2011-06-08T22:55:00.000-07:00

Giulio Crimi, nato a Paternò, in Sicilia, il l0 maggio 1885, è morto a Roma il 28 ottobre 1939.

Il suo primo debutto risale al 1913 con la Wally a Treviso.

La sua carriera fu di breve durata, seppure molto intensa.

Si dovette ritirare per ragioni di salute verso il 1928.

Ho incontrato Giulio Crimi nel 1931, nella sua bella villa a Roma in via Michele Mercati.

Quel primo Maggio è stato certamente uno dei giorni più importanti e decisivi della mia vita.

Giovane provinciale, tutto tirato a lustro per l'occasione e molto timido, fui conquistato dalla straordinaria vivacità degli occhi, dal sorriso e da tutta la personalità di questo Artista che sarebbe stato il mio primo e vero Maestro di canto.

Quel giorno ha fatto scendere da un albero di frutta una ragazza, amica della figlia, perché mi accompagnasse al pianoforte.

E così conobbi mia moglie.

Ho studiato con Lui tutti i giorni per cinque anni.

Mi faceva a volte piangere con la sua infiammata severità e commuovere per la generosità e l'affetto paterno.

Mi prese ospite a casa sua, con i suoi figli in momenti per me finanziariamente difficili, e mi chiedeva sempre notizie della mia famiglia lontana.

Mi spinse a tentare il concorso di Vienna, che vinsi, e, più tardi, condusse personalmente le trattative del mio primo contratto per il film «I condottieri».

Assistette al mio primo debutto in «Traviata», invitandovi il Maestro Serafini, e così fece audizione al teatro dell'Opera di Roma nel 1937.

Mi tenne sotto la sua grande ala con l'affetto di un padre e la severità di un vero Maestro.

La sua voce autenticamente carusiana, la ricchezza, la dolcezza e la forza della sua espressione, unite alla profondità della interpretazione, sono state la essenza di questo appassionato insegnamento.

Potrei parlare di Lui e della sua grandezza d'animo, della profonda umanità, dei suoi scatti, delle impennate e dei mutamenti, tutti siciliani, per un tempo infinito, senza riuscire a dare la esatta misura dell'Uomo e del Maestro e senza soprattutto riuscire ad esprimere la grande stima e devozione e gratitudine, che io porto radicate in cuore, alla sua memoria.

Crimi è stato una splendente meteora, che ha attraversato troppo rapidamente il cielo della notorietà e del successo.

In soli quindici anni ha cantato in tutti i più importanti teatri del mondo con i più famosi ed illustri Maestri e Colleghi, amato e stimato per le sue qualità artistiche ed umane.

TITO GOBBI, da: Presentazione del disco di Giulio Crimi, della Tima Club - Roma 1977)

Crimi's career

2011-06-08T22:48:00.002-07:00

Il 3 marzo 1980 nel Ridotto del Teatro Massimo Bellini di Catania ha avuto luogo la cerimonia per l'attribuzione del Premio «Applauso d'oro», che in questa sua terza edizione è stato patrocinato dall'Amministrazione comunale di Catania e dall'Ente provinciale per il turismo etneo con la parte organizzativa affidata a «Il nostro giornale» organo degli artisti lirici italiani. Per decisione della Commissione giudicatrice, della quale facevano parte i cantanti lirici Ferruccio Tagliavini e Gino Bechi, Mario Del Monaco e Giuseppe Di Stefano, Ivo Mantovani e Gianni Savio, il baritono Giuseppe Zecchillo nella sua qualità di Segretario nazionale del Sindacato artisti lirici italiani, i registi Beppe De Tommasi e Paolo Zennaro, il Premio «Applauso d'oro» è stato attribuito alla memoria al tenore paternese Giulio Crimi.

Questa la scheda-ricordo compilata per quell'occasione dal giornalista e docente di Storia dello spettacolo al Corso biennale di avviamento scenico del Teatro Stabile di Catania Giuliano Consoli.

La motivazione del Premio «Applauso d'oro 1980» alla memoria di Giulio Crimi delinea chiaramente la validità dell'incidenza che quest'artista ha avuto nel teatro musicale. Volendo però, sia pure nei limiti di una semplice scheda di ricordo, ampliare il panorama della sua biografia e delle sue presenze canore sui più prestigiosi palcoscenici del mondo, richiameremo alla nostra memoria che Giulio Crimi, nato a Paternò, nella provincia etnea, il 10 maggio del 1885, studiò canto a Catania sotto la guida del maestro Matteo Adernò, ricevendo quindi il suo battesimo d'arte, ventisettenne, nel 1912, al Teatro Sociale di Treviso nella «Wally» di Catalani, passando subito dopo al Filarmonico veronese ed al Teatro Massimo di Palermo dove venne particolarmente applaudito nella «Fanciulla del West» e nella «Manon Lescaut».

Si comincia così a delineare quella che sarà la caratteristica più interessante della sua personalità artistica: la molteplicità espressiva — potremmo anche dire la polivalenza — di una capacità canora che va sempre più arricchendosi attraverso il costante studio musicale. Appena un anno dopo il suo debutto egli venne infatti chiamato a Milano per l'«Isabeau» di Mascagni nell'edizione diretta da Panizza, per la «Carmen» e per «L'amore dei tre Re» di Montemezzi. A proposito di quest'ultima opera ci pare sintomatico che dopo il ritiro dalle scene di Giulio Crimi sia del tutto scomparsa dai cartelloni lirici, così come significativo in senso positivo è il fatto che fu proprio quest'opera di Montemezzi a portare il nostro tenore nel 1914 al Covent Gardner di Londra e poi a Parigi.

Due anni dopo, mentre l'Europa avvampava per le cannonate della prima guerra mondiale, la Scala lo volle sul suo palcoscenico per «La battaglia di Legnano» diretta da Marinuzzi con Rosa Raisa interprete femminile. Si trattò, vale la pena ricordare, di un successo particolarmente significativo non solo per la sua significazione cronologica ma soprattutto per il fatto che Crimi era appena tornato dal Teatro Real di Madrid dove aveva trionfato in opere tanto diverse come la «Cavalleria rusticana» ed il "Mefistofele", le prime due opere liriche di una triade che ben presto egli avrebbe completata con l'interpretazione della novità, in prima esecuzione assoluta, della «Paolo e Francesca» del compositore orvietano Luigi Mancinelli che precedette di poco la «Francesca da Rimini» di Riccardo Zandonai della quale Giulio Crimi fu il primo interprete acclamato ed apprezzato non solo per lo sfoggio di smalto vocale ma anche per l'istintiva eleganza scenica.

Assieme a Rosa Raisa egli venne quindi chiamato dal Colon di Buenos Aires per un'«Aida» alla quale seguirono «Andrea Chenier» e «Pagliacci», mentre Chicago lo volle per «Traviata» nella quale fu in scena con la Galli Curci.

Proseguendo nel suo itinerario artistico troviamo quindi il nome di Crimi nel cartellone della stessa Chicago per «Gli Ugolotti» e per la «Lucia di Lammer-moor», così come nel 1918 egli arriva al Metropolitan di New York per una stagione nel corso della quale alternò la «Tosca» con l'«Aida» e la «Boheme» con la «Carmen», opere alle quali fecero seguito, sulla scena dello stesso Metropolitan, il "Tabarro" ed il "Gianni Schicchi" nella prima rappresentazione assoluta con la Muzio e Montesanto.

Nel suo già vasto repertorio entrò quindi il «Trovatore» e — siamo al 1920 — la prima rappresentazione della «Zazà» di Mascagni. L'anno successivo, restituendosi alla musica pucciniana, Giulio Crimi sarà quindi in scena per «Madama Butterly» e, tornato in Argentina, per «La forza del destino». Due stagioni dopo arriveranno inoltre la «Loreley» ed, al Teatro Costanzi di Roma (non ancora Reale dell'Opera) «L'Africana» di Meyer-beer.

Troppo evidente per avere bisogno di specifiche sottolineature che l'apertura angolare del repertorio di Giulio Crimi fu eccezionalmente ampia. Merita però, riteniamo, un richiamo alle sue interpretazioni così come venne rilevato dai resoconti giornalistici del suo tempo. Oltre ad essere un cantante mai stanco di scavare ed approfondire lo studio musicale delle opere da lui portate sulla scena, Giulio Crimi curò sempre di dotare ogni personaggio interpretato di un'impronta singolare che non ricalcò mai il già percorso.

Il che egli fece ripudiando evidentemente convenzioni ed orpellame, sovrastrutture e comode staticità. Ritenne insomma che l'importante era essere un interprete che si esprime con il canto più che un cantante puro e semplice esecutore d'opere. Il suo verismo e la sua vena istintivamente naturalistica, nell'epoca in cui Mascagni e Leoncavallo si affacciavano al successo, fu comunque sempre rapportato ad una ricerca interiorizzata che gli consentì di dominare sulla scena anche con la passionalità ma non solamente sul filo dell'emotività epidermica.

Ecco perché egli usò spesso come mezzo di transfert espressivo la mimica ed il gesto sempre calibrato in funzione dell'azione particolare che il momento scenico richiedeva. Ai suoi personaggi, insomma, Giulio Crimi non impose mai né il lacrimevole né il trionfalismo falso-eroico ad ogni costo. L'esempio più tipico di questa sua interpretazione intelligente e sensibile i critici ritennero di doversi rintracciare; per esempio, nel Miserere del «Trovatore».

A quanto ci è dato sapere, i catanesi, applaudirono senza riserve e con entusiasmo Giulio Crimi in una stagione lirica allo aperto, ovviamente estiva, per dieci recite di «Carmen» nel 1922. La sua ultima presenza scenica è stata registrata nel 1926 con un «Andrea Chenier» al San Carlo di Napoli. Fu un brusco arresto di carriera proprio nel pieno della sua maturità artistica.

A provocarlo fu forse la stessa eccessiva generosità con la quale aveva prodigata la sua voce, la prodigalità che l'aveva portato ai più clamorosi successi. La causa fisica fu però certamente un'emorragia, provocata da ipertensione, all'orecchio sinistro. Stabilitosi a Roma, Crimi iniziò così un'attività didattica nella quale riversò il meglio e quanto di più valido potè ricavare dalla sua notevole esperienza. Trasferì insomma ad altri la sua capacità di comunicare le emozioni e di usare sapientemente ogni forza intellettiva per meglio calibrare e vivificare quelle vocali. Fra i suoi allievi si ricordano peraltro cantanti che fecero carriera avendo precisi e riconoscibili caratteristiche fra i quali Gino Del Signore e Tito Gobbi. Scomparve nell'ottobre del 1939 a soli cinquantaquattro anni lasciandosi alle spalle il ricordo di un prestigio e di un'eleganza scenica veramente eccezionali, così come indiscussi furono la sua serietà professionale e la sua passione. Avendo all'attivo un'attività artistica ricca di vampate d'entusiasmo, Giulio Crimi a buon diritto può essere considerato l'antesignano di una generazione artistica che, dopo di lui, avrebbe sviluppato certi suoi modi «d'essere artista» per i quali egli merita oggi d'essere ricordato ed onorato anche volendo prescindere dal naturale orgoglio di campanile che potrebbe animare queste nostre parole.

On Crimi

2011-06-08T22:48:00.001-07:00

«APPLAUSO D'ORO 1980» ALLA MEMORIA DI GIULIO CRIMI

Una delle più belle voci tenorili del mondo lirico che dalla generazione contemporanea venne spesso correlata con quella di Caruso. Primo interprete della «Francesca da Rimini» di Zandonai, onorò con il suo nome questa sua terra natale etnea oltre che attraverso le sue generose qualità vocali anche per quel filtro culturale che egli aveva istintivamente coltivato per meglio esaltare i significati delle impegnative interpretazioni. Estensione vocale, mimica espressiva e calda passionalità sempre controllata e mai esente da raffinatezza gli consentirono di ripudiare certe artificiosità caratteristiche degli ultimi brandelli del sorpassato romanticismo. Contribuì invece a valorizzare quel tipo di teatro che privilegia la semplicità dell'autentico rispetto ad una convenzionalità spesso sclerotizzata.

Dopo avere dominate le scene nell'arco degli anni che vanno dal 1913 al 1924 si ritirò dall'attività canora per dedicarsi con pari successo a quella didattica. Fra i suoi allievi Tito Gobbi e Gino Del Signore. Ancora oggi il suo nome figura negli albi d'oro del Metropolitan di New York e del Teatro reale di Madrid, nonché a Parigi e Rio de Janeiro, Londra e Buenos Aires, della Scala e dell'allora Costanzi di Roma, del Carlo Felice genovese e del San Carlo napoletano.

Ridotto del Teatro Massimo Vincenzo Bellini Catania, 3 marzo 1980

per la Commissione d'indicazione valutativa firmato

(Ferruccio Tagliavini)

On Crimi

2011-06-08T22:47:00.001-07:00

Il Nostro Crimi, come si può desumere, gradì molto le espressioni di affetto e ricambiò, accettando addirittura di venire a Paternò.

E ancor dopo la sua venuta, proprio dopo pochi giorni, il No. stro Crimi veniva festeggiato al «Lido Else» di Catania, alla presenza del rappresentante del Sindaco Barbagallo, dell'On.le Macchi, di Angelo Musco e di altri. Qui l'omaggio più gradito fu il te. legramma che il Crimi ricevette da parte dei suoi Concittadini. Ne riportiamo integralmente il testo: « Comm. Crimi. Lido Else. Catania.

Plaudendo nobile iniziativa coteste autorità e come cittadini e quali amministratori questo Albergo poveri generosamente beneficato Vostra Signoria partecipiamo col pensiero lieto simposia che gentile Catania offre al grande patornese trionfatore dell'arte.

Decano Impallomeni, cav. Strano».

Per dimostrare la sua gioia, il Crimi si premurò a rispondere con quest'altro telegramma al Sindaco di Paternò: «Sindaco Paternò Mai come oggi deploro mia parola, ìmpari alla effusione dei miei sentimenti per significare riconoscenza alle solenni indimenticabili manifestazioni della Città che mi dà orgoglio avermi dato natali. Pregola rendersi interprete miei ringraziamenti infondendo efficacia che mi manca. Baciando lei quale primo magistrato sento stringere mio cuore tutti miei buoni concittadini. Ossequi affettuosi. Giulio Crimi».

Traspare quindi nitidamente come Giulio Crimi fu Uomo di spiccata sensibilità, guardando con un occhio al successo e con l'altro alla Città natale.

Oggi, a sessanta anni di distanza dalla sua venuta a Paternò, noi ci adoperiamo per eternare la memoria di Crimi, sicuri di soddisfare il suo Spirito aleggiante sui luoghi della sua fanciullezza. Paternò Gli ha quindi intitolato una via (la congiungente Via Monastero con Via Milici), e una discoteca comunale Noi gli intitolammo l'Associazione Amatori e Cultori di Storia Patria, nel 1977, prescegliendoLo a Maestro di insegnamento di nobili ideali.

Ora abbiamo sciolto il nostro voto con la collocazione del Suo mezzobusto nel viale degli Uomini Illustri nel Giardino Comunale «Moncada».

Possano i Posteri ricordare quanti hanno onorato la Città Natale!

On Crimi

2011-06-08T22:46:00.000-07:00

Negli anni Venti molti erano i tenori impegnati nella nobile gara di superamento a vicenda per succedere al grande Enrico Caruso. Tra tanti era il Nostro Giulio Crimi, come è testimoniato tra l'altro da Bruno Slawits, che testualmente scrive. «... I tenori che, nel 192O, si contesero la successione dell'insostituibile, turo. no Beniamino Gigli, Giovanni Martinelli, Giulio Crimi, Mario Chamlee ed Aureliano Pertile... ».

Lo stesso tono tocca Angelo Squerzi, che, in «Le stirpi canore» (Bongiovanni editore - Bologna - 1978 - pag. 140), così scrive: «... Quando Lauri-Volpe debuttò, sotto gli anni venti del secolo, di contendenti ne aveva parecchi, e anche tralasciando Caruso ormai alla fine, i nomi di Martinelli, Gigli, Merli, De Muro, Bani, Di Giovanni, Schipa, Fertile, Lazzaro, Fleta, Crimi, e altri potevano indurre alla prudenza...».

In questo contesto senza dubbio il Nostro Crimi primeggia, come si può desumere dalle cronache giornalistiche, specie in quelle dell'anno 1922, che più dettagliatamente abbiamo potuto esaminare.

Questo fu forse l'anno in cui Crimi tornò ad essere trionfatore al Metropolitan di New York e contemporaneamente nella sua terra di Sicilia, ove venne accolto entusiasticamente da folle enormi. Debuttò anche a Catania da dove poi si spostò alla natia Paternò, meta assai ambita per lui, come testimoniano le cronache riportate nelle altre pagine.

Certamente, quando si è circondati dalle molte ovazioni, si vorrebbe ascrivere tra esse anche quelle dei propri concittadini. Così Giulio Crimi, non disdegnando gli applausi in tutto il mondo. ha gradito maggiormente quelli di «casa sua».

Dai carteggi si rileva un telegramma del Cav. Uff. Natale Strano (sindaco di Paternò dal 26 settembre 1920 al 26 maggio 1921), che riportiamo integralmente: Cav. Uff. Giulio Crimi, Teatro Metropolitan - New York. La nativa Paternò esulta del suo meritato trionfo, ed io ascrivo a mio particolare onore esprimere alla S.V., nel nome di questa Cittadinanza, che l'ha con fervido affetto seguito per tutte le tappe del vittorioso cammino, i sensi di alta ammirazione e di tenero orgoglio per il suo eletto figliuolo.

Voglia accogliere tali sentimenti, nella loro sincera e profonda essenza, che la mia disadorna parola non sa e non può rendere nella sua vera e viva intensità.

On Crimi -- Zangara 1922

2011-06-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

Il frasario che la cronaca suole usare in simili circostanze dovrebbe arricchirsi, per l'occasione della visita di Giulio Crimi a Paternò, di nuove parole adatte a rendere tutto il fervore entusiastico, con cui i patornesi vollero ieri tributare la loro ammirazione e il loro affetto per il concittadino illustre.

Partimmo da Catania verso le ore 15 e giungemmo a Paternò, la incantevole cittadina etnea, alle 19 circa.

L'automobile della stampa precedeva di qualche minuto quella di Crimi, al cui arrivo l'enorme folla che attendeva all'ingresso del paese scattava in un fragoroso, prolungato applauso mentre la musica comunale intonava l'inno reale.

Sceso dall'automobile Giulio Crimi circondato e seguito dal popolo plaudente percorre a piedi la via Vittorio Emanuele fino al Municipio.

Lungo tutto il tragitto Egli fu fatto segno a continuo getto di fiori e di migliaia di manifestini volanti su cui era scritto: «Viva il nostro Crimi», «Viva l'artista dall'ugola d'oro».

Un forte gruppo di fascisti si fa notare per la vivacità delle acclamazioni.

Al Municipio Crimi fu ricevuto dal funzionante Sindaco avv. Angelo Caruso, dall'Amministrazione Comunale e dai rappresentanti di tutte le associazioni di Paternò.

Fra gli intervenuti: il cav. Ferdinando Sparpaglia per il Circolo Artistico, l'avv. Pulvirenti per il Circolo dei Civili Buoni Amici, Gioacchino Giuffrida per l'Unione Operaia, cav. Luigi Marino per il Circolo Defelice, Antonino Costa per il Circolo Operai, Giuseppe Ventimiglia e il Direttore avv. Aiello per la lega sociale, l'avv. Impallomeni per la Casa del Popolo, Barbaro Morema per la lega degli arbitrianti, l'avv. D'Angelo per la Società dei Combattenti, Calcaterra per la società mutilati ed invalidi, il direttore ing. Impallomeni per la società Cooperativa murifabbri, Salvatore Mazzamuto per il fascio di combattimento, il medico condotto dott. Nicosia, il Pretore del mandamento, il Commissario di P.S., il Ricevitore del Demanio e il Tesoriere Comunale.

Fu servita una ricca table-à-the.

Arrendendosi al desiderio della folla Crimi si fece al balcone de] palazzo Comunale e ringraziò il popolo per le affettuose e calorose manifestazioni di affetto.

Prese quindi la parola l'avv. Caruso che ringraziò il grande artista per la visita fatta a Paternò, orgogliosa di avergli dato i natali.

Quindi Giulio Crimi si recò all'Ospedale dei poveri ove fu ricevuto dal decano Giuseppe Impallomeni.

Dopo una visita ai locali dell'ospedale Egli regalò L. 1000 all'ospedale stesso promettendo che eguale somma egli farà pervenire ogni anno.

Il munifico atto, espressione dell'animo generoso, suscitò favorevolissima impressione in tutti i presenti e il presidente dello ospedale e l'avv. Strano, dell'amministrazione dell'ospedale stesso ringraziarono commossi a nome anche di tutti i ricoverati.

Dall'Ospedale... al teatro.

Giulio Crimi canterà e l'«Eden Crimi» gremito in ogni ordine di posti presenta un aspetto imponente.

Siede al piano il maestro Adernò. Crimi si fa al proscenio, spentosi il nutrito applauso che lo accoglie, egli canta alcune romanze della «Manon», di «Carmen», della «Fanciulla del West» e insieme con Giuseppina Zinetti il duetto della «Cavalleria».

Da ultimo, cedendo alle generali richieste, una delle spettatrici, la signora Morabito, canta una romanza dell'«Amico Fritz».

E' superfuo dire, con quale deliziosa finezza, con quale sensibilità, abbia cantato Giulio Crimi.

Le lunghe, deliranti acclamazioni della folla commossa, espressero l'entusiasmo vivo e sincero che la Sua voce sa destare.

Festeggiatissimi furono anche la Zinetti in «ròle» di Santuzza, la Morabito. Alcune signore offrono a Crimi ricchissimi mazzi di fiori. All'uscita del teatro una grandiosa fiaccolata attende Crimi e lo accompagna fino a casa del notaro Raspagliesi ove Egli sosta qualche minuto.

Nella piazza intanto la musica suona e la folla applaude sempre insistentemente.

Numerosi gli episodi gentili: Al Municipio si avvicina a Giulio Crimi un vecchietto, il suo primo maestro, Angelo Chiara, quello che gl'insegnò le vocali come dice. E' vivamente commosso.

All'Ospedale dei poveri una bambina di cinque anni, Rosina Urso, che dice con graziosa vivacità infantile versi di occasione. Crimi la bacia e le regala cinquanta lire.

Alle 22,30 circa si risale sulle automobili e si ritorna a Catania. Abbiamo tutti la impressione che Paternò ha vissuto una giornata indimenticabile.

VINCENZO ZANGARA

(Il Giornale dell'Isola, 20-8-1922)

Crimi, da Paterno -- Ignazio Garra, 1922.

2011-06-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

Giulio Crimi non è atteso solamente a Paternò.

Per i borghi e i paesi sparsi lungo la strada Catania-Paternò la notizia s'è sparsa rapidamente.

Così al passaggio delle automobili che portano artisti, inviati e stampa, sono scoppiettii di dimostrazioni di simpatia improvvisate con quella spontaneità e franchezza che sono le caratteristiche più simpatiche delle nostre popolazioni.

L'anima buona della folla anonima, il sentimento di ammirazione di questi modesti e laboriosi lavoratori, si manifestano con tutti i piccoli segni di un'ingenuità quasi primitiva.

L'eco dei successi di Crimi, è arrivata anche ai loro cuori che ieri hanno vibrato d'intima commozione.

E sono stati, lungo il viaggio, incontri di visi protesi a guardare, a vedere da vicino il «grande tenore»; sono stati sussurrii a fior di labbro che volevano dire tante cose, che esprimevano un'infinita ammirazione col trillo delle sillabe scandite quasi con paura di arrecare molestia all'artista. E l'artista, chiuso nella sua automobile, nella cerchia degli affetti famigliari, sorridea, modesto e buono...

E sorride anche d'attorno la natura, in una festa di colori e di canti, nel tramonto calmo e sereno.

Che letizia in cuore! E come il pensiero corre lontano perseguendo i fantasmi di un sogno di pura poesia... tra uno sbalzo e l'altro della veloce 24 cavalli che la mano di un giovane guida con encomiabile valentia.

A Paternò

E siamo già a Paternò. Imbrunisce. Partiti da Catania alle ore 18, sono le 19 e minuti quando, precedendo — com'è... diritto di stampa — di poco le altre automobili, facciamo il... trionfale ingresso in paese, — «Cca è, cca è ».

La notizia passa di bocca in bocca, la gente si fa ai balconi e alle finestre, con canestri di fiori, scoppiano applausi, la folla che attende alle prime case del paese dà in un evviva, la musica; attacca le prime note della marcia reale.

Siamo... commossi di tanto onore, ma dobbiamo dichiarare... per debito di lealtà, che non mancò a noi di far comprendere l'equivoco cui avevamo dato luogo involontariamente.

Crimi non tarda ad arrivare. Ecco già la sua automobile spuntare lontano tra un nugolo di polvere.

E allora avviene l'indescrivibile, quello che affidiamo alla immaginazione dei lettori. Noi non possiamo raccontare quello che non si racconta. Siamo rimasti storditi, confusi, travolti dalla fiumana di popolo plaudente accanto a Giulio Crimi — cui era vivo alla mente il ricordo di tante e tante dimostrazioni di ammirazione, ma nessuna delle quali riusciva al suo cuore più cara ed affettuosa di quella che lo attorniava.

Sono centinaia di braccia che applaudono, centinaia di bocche che gridano il suo nome, centinaia di cuori che palpitano di ammirazione, centinaia di cesti che vuotano sul suo cammino fiori freschi ed olezzanti.

Tutta Paternò è accanto al suo figliuolo, nell'ora ch'Egli ritorna ad essa colmo di onori e di successi, artista magnifico e superbo.

E Giulio Crimi ne è vivamente commosso, e risponde con cenni del capo, col sorriso che sempre fiorisce sulle sue labbra.

Dire in che condizioni si svolge il tragitto che ci porta al Municipio è impossibile. Come pure a stento si è riusciti a sottrarre il cantante illustre... al soffocamento cui voleva sottoporlo nella effusione del suo entusiasmo la folla.

Il ricevimento al Municipio

Al Municipio viene offerto, dalla gentilezza dell'Amministrazione Comunale, un ricevimento. Qui riusciamo a notare qualche nome... Segniamo così gli assessori Lojacono, Pulvirenti, Caruso, Sparpaglia, il segretario comunale Sinatra, l'avv. Impallomeni per la Casa del Popolo, l'avv. Ajello per la Lega Sociale, l'avv. D'Angelo per i Combattenti, l'avv. Mario Vacca, il Giudice cav. Ernesto Velis, il Ricevitore del Registro, il Ricevitore del Demanio, il sig. Luigi Marino per il Circolo Riformista, il dott. Impallomeni, il dott. Rosario Nicosia per l'Unione Operaia, Giuffrida Gioacchino per il Casino Civile, il rappresentante de Mutilati, tutti gli impiegati del Comune.

Notiamo numerosi altri intervenuti di cui ci sfuggono i nomi e parecchie signore e signorine, fra le quali la madre del tenore, la signora Crimi Gabriella e figlia, la cognata signora Melina Migliando, la famiglia del cav. Giulio Raspagliesi, i nipoti sig. Arcuri Orazio e signora, la signora del comm. Vonini, la famiglia del cav. Raspagliesi notar Gaetano.

E' assente il sindaco Guido Pietro che ha mandato un telegramma di affettuosa adesione.

Mentre avvengono le presentazioni, fuori la folla, raccolta inverosimilmente numerosa nella larga piazza, chiama il tenore e Giulio Crimi è costretto ad affacciarsi, a... subire un breve discorsetto di presentazione fatto con affettuose parole dal funzionante sindaco avv. Angelo Caruso, e a... improvvisare, con voce commossa un ringraziamento.

Nel frattempo vengono serviti dolci, rinfreschi e liquori.

All'albergo dei poveri

Dal Municipio, sempre tra due ali di popolo, una breve corsa all'Albergo dei poveri, dove ad attendere Giulio Crimi, si trovano il Vicario Canonico Impallomeni con i consiglieri d'amministrazione cav. Filippo Strano, avv. Cutore Gaetano, cav. Giuseppe Ardizzone e prof. Bellia Biagio.

Una bambina recita dei versi d'omaggio ricevendone in cambio un bel bacio e... un biglietto da 50 lire. Ma non è questo il solo denaro che Giulio Crimi lascia al pio Istituto. Il suo grande cuore s'è aperto alla pietà, il suo pensiero è ricorso a tanti vecchietti cui la miseria ha ridotto senza una casa e un pane, il suo occhio s'è posato a contemplare tanta tristezza... e la sua borsa, infine s'è aperta. S'è aperta per un atto di grande bontà che altamente onora e l'uomo e l'artista: poiché Giulio Crimi ha donato all'Albergo dei poveri mille lire e gli ha inoltre costituito un assegno annuo di mille lire.

Interprete del nobile gesto è stato il cav. Giulio Raspagliesi, cognato del Crimi, che ha avuto brevi parole ispirate ai più alti sentimenti di bontà e di riconoscenza.

Eden Crimi

E parliamo dello spettacolo all'Eden Crimi. Un teatro all'aperto: teatro per modo di dire, ma che l'amore, le cure, l'intenso vivo desiderio di ascoltare Giulio Crimi, cantante celebre in Italia e all'Estero, hanno trasformato in una serra di fiori. Parecchie centinaia di persone attendono da ore e quando Giulio Crimi fa il suo ingresso è un applauso caloroso e prolungato cui risponde dalla strada un altro applauso della gente rimasta fuori e che si pigia, s'urta, fa ressa attorno all'impalcatura... primitiva del teatro per ascoltare il «tenore dall'ugola d'oro». E l'applauso va anche a Giuseppina Zinetti, l'eletta artista che ha voluto con squisito pensiero esser compagna, anche in questa occasione, a Giulio Crimi.

E Giulio Crimi e Giuseppina Zinetti hanno cantato sul minuscolo palcoscenico; e forse mai il loro canto è stato più sentito, più spontaneo, più sincero... e forse mai d'emozione più viva ha palpitato il loro cuore d'artisti...

Al piano sedeva il Maestro Matteo Adernò, cui fioriva in mente il ricordo lontano dei primi giorni che Giulio provava la

voce e si iniziava ai misteri dell'arte scenica.

Così i buoni patornesi sono stati appagati nel loro legittimo desiderio di veder cantare il loro illustre e grande concittadino che, veramente, non s'è risparmiato.

I pezzi cantati con quella bravura di cui... ci rifiutiamo di fare l'elogio, poiché l'elogio più bello fu quello dell'accoglienza fatta dal pubblico e accompagnati al piano con senso e misura dal Maestro Adernò; furono il duetto della «Cavalleria», la romanza del fiore della «Carmen» e un brano della «Fanciulla del West» per il solo Crimi e la romanza della «Cavalleria» per la sola Zinetti.

Insistentemente chiamata cantò pure un brano dell'«Amico Fritz», la gentile signora Murabito.

Del successo... della serata abbiamo detto. Aggiungiamo solo che anche essa — fra le tante fatte dal Crimi — fu dedicata alla beneficenza, cioè all'Istituto dei poveri.

E aggiungiamo pure che prima... dello spettacolo, l'avv. Caruso pronunziò un breve discorso, che fu tutto un inno alle virtù morali e canore di Giulio Crimi, chiudendo coll'offerta, a nome del Comune, di una medaglia ricordo della città nativa assai caro al cuore dell'artista e dell'uomo.

Il ritorno

E si inizia il ritorno.

Sono le 10,30. C'è per l'aria una freschezza di primavera che incanta. S'espandono lente e sonore le ultime note dell'inno reale, salgono al cielo gli evviva e i battimano, il nome di Giulio Crimi risuona per la vasta piazza gridato da mille petti, una fiaccolata attornia per un bel pezzo le automobili... che presto però... allungono il passo sulla via del ritorno, lasciandosi dietro il ricordo di una grande festa...

Dimenticavamo di notare che dopo la recita, in casa del notar cav. Gaetano Raspagliesi, vennero offerti agli intimi dolci e rinfreschi e che il quarto potere era rappresentato dal Grand Uff. Baldassare Zangara, da Vincenzo Zangara per il «Giornale dell'Isola» e dall'umile sottoscritto per il «Corriere di Sicilia».

IGNAZIO GARRA

(Il Corriere di Sicilia, Domenica 20 Agosto 1922)

More on Crimi

2011-06-08T22:40:00.000-07:00

Il primo di questi è quello realizzato dalla TIMA CLUB di Roma mpv 2, con la collaborazione di Maurizio Tiberi è una presentazione del baritono Tito Gobbi che ricorda Giulio Crimi, e quindi rievoca con poche parole la figura prestigiosa ed artistica del Cantore di matrice di ogni disco 78 cosicchè nel caso di varie esecuzioni dello stesso brano in epoche diverse, riesce difficile a stabilire quale di essi è stato scelto e riportato in microsolco; vi si comprendono dunque brani dell'Africana, Manon Lescaut, Boheme,Tosca, Zazà, Favorita, Rigoletto e Trovatore; in aggiunta «Ninna nanna» di Tirindelli, e la celebre canzone napoletana «O sole mio».

L’ascolto di questo disco è molto precario anche se di più lo erano le antiche matrici e i relativi 78 giri; qui la voce del nostro Crimi risalta poco a causa del persistente fruscio e delle distorsioni che si manifestano in quasi tutta la gamma vocale cosicché l'unico elemento valido resta il timbro morbido e squillante, nonché la robustezza del fraseggio, soprattutto l'interpretazione molto ragguardevole che riesce spesso a commuovere l'ascoltatore; il numero dei suoni armonici degli acuti viene notevolmente ridotto così togliendo molto al colore della voce.

Il secondo disco, invece, GV 521, realizzato in Inghilterra. sembra più felice nel risultato.

Anzitutto vengono pubblicate alcune note biografiche di Eric Rees e inoltre il numero di ogni matrice del disco pubblicato e non solo di brani di opere ma anche di una romanza di Tosti.

Più o meno tutte le romanze spiccano in maniera quasi sufficiente, specialmente quelle dell'Aida, Cavalleria rusticana, Marta, Zazà, Madama Butterfly, Trovatore.. Boheme; precario invece l'ascolto del “Vesti la giubba” dei Pagliacci dove Crimi riesce ad esprimere molto di più che non altrove.

Particolarmente felice è stata «L'ultima canzone» di Tosti.

A titolo orientativo apponiamo un asterisco ai riversamenti in microsolco del disco TIMA CLUB Roma, due asterischi al secondo microsolco inglese, mentre infine quelli senza asterisco si intendono non riversati in microsolco, fino a questo momento.

Pare che esiste un 78 giri di «Santa Lucia lontana», cantata dall'indimenticabile tenore, che col suo canto ha onorato la sua patria in tutto il mondo.

A livello discografico auguriamo altre registrazioni vengano fuori e nuove tecniche possano darci di più di quel tanto, tanto che ci è stato tolto.

Discografia di Crimi

2011-06-08T22:37:00.000-07:00

Si contano 47 registrazioni raccolte in due gruppi tutte appartenenti al sistema acustico dei 78 giri
della casa discografica Vocalion U.S.A.
A) 1918 - 19
B) 1920 - 24

30013 Marta - M'apparì
30119 Manon Lescaut - Donna non vidi mai
30015 Tosca - E lucevan le stelle 30137 Tosca - Recondita armonia
30019 Carmen - La fleure que tu m'avais Jetée 30151 Pagliacci - Vesti la giubba
30024 Carmen - Ma fiere, je la vois (con Sundelius) 30154 Tosca - E lucean le stelle
30031 Trovatore - Ah sì, ben mio 30158 Zazà - Canzone del Milio: e un riso gentil
30033 Boheme (Leoncavallo) - Testa adorata
30170 Rigoletto - La donna è mobile
30036 Trovatore - Deserto sulla terra 30174 Marta - M'apparì
50000 Pagliacci - Vesti la giubba 30176 Manon - Il sogno
50004 Boheme - O soave fanciulla (con Easton)
52004 Favorita - Spirto gentil
50006 Gioconda - O grida di quest'anima (con Rimini)
52011 Trovatore - Ai nostri monti (con d'Aivarcz)
51007 Boheme - Ah, Mimì, tu più (con Rimini) 52014 Butterfly - O quant'occhi Fissi (con Sundelius)
54009 Boheme - Che gelida manina 52023 Aida - La fatal pietra (con Raisa)
54012 Aida - Celeste Aida 52032 Aida - Celeste Aida
54013 Gioconda - Cielo e mar 52042 Cavalleria Rusticana - Addìo alla madre
54016 Elisir d'amore - Una furtiva lacrima 52043 Aida - O terra addio (con Raisa)
54019 Andrea Chenier - Un dì all'azzurro spazio 52044 Africana - O paradiso
54020 Forza del destino - Solenne in quest'ora (con Rimini) 52045 Boheme - Che gelida manina
54022 Forza del destino - La vita è inferno all'infelice 55005 Africana - O paradiso (diverso dal 52044)
74000 Cavalleria Rusticana - Addio alla madre. 55006 Zazà - O mio piccolo tavolo
55007 Trovatore - Miserere (con Raisa)
60044 Marta - M'appari
60049 Trovatore - Ah, sì ben mio
- - - 60049 Trovatore - Di quella pira
- - - 70026 Boheme - Che gelida manina
- - - 70026 Africana - O paradiso
-
In questo elenco discografico mancano quelle esecuzioni riguardanti le romanze da camera e canzoni. Fino a questo momento sono stati riversati in microsolco 33 giri molti brani di opere tratti da dischi 78 giri, mentre delle relative matrici, passate dalla Vocalion ad altre case minori, non né restano traccia, perchè in parte distrutte. Disponibili attualmente due dischi 33 giri il cui risultato non è del tutto soddisfacente.

Lauri Volpi on Crimi

2011-06-08T22:35:00.000-07:00

UN'OPINIONE FIRMATA

.. Giulio Crimi, voce pregna di tutti gli aromi della sua Isola, rimase varie stagioni al Metropolitan, in adorazione dell'astro maggiore, finché lasciò questo teatro l'anno successivo alla morte di Caruso, e passò in Italia per cantare alla Scala "Carmen", e altrove "Africana" e "Aida".

La voce di Crimi suggerisce l'immagine di una leggiadra fanciulla, che, ignara della propria bellezza, si assume a modello la figura muliebre che più ha colpito la sua fantasia e a somiglianza di quella si acconcia, si abbiglia, e ne imita i gesti, il portamento, l'accento, dimentica di se e della propria personalità.

Lauri Volpi on Crimi

"Tito Gobbi stava per seguire le orme di Titta Ruffo e Gino Bechi e divenire un pedissequo imitatore dei predecessori."

"Oggi sembra aver trovato se stesso, la sua personalità, la sua tecnica, che da una esigua voce ha tratto impensate sonorità e risoluzioni temerarie ma conquistatrici dell'applauso e della popolarità. E di ciò si compiacerà l'ombra del suo maestro Giulio Crimi."

GIACOMO LAURI – VOLPI, Le voci parallele, Garzanti, 1960, pagg. 166 e 196.

Crimi

2011-06-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

Crimi, Giulio - Tenore italiano, nato a Paternò (Catania) il 10 magio 1885, morto a Roma il 28 ottobre 1939.

Crimi studiò a Catania col Maestro Adernò e debuttò nel 1912 al Sociale di Treviso, nella Wally.

Cantò subito dopo al Filarmonico di Verona e nel febbraio e marzo 1913 fu al Massimo di Palermo, in "Fanciulla del West" e "Manon Lescaut".

Dava già la misura delle sue possibilità, sfoggiando passione e incisività di Canto, maturità d'accento e di mimica; il suo ingresso nei maggiori teatri italiani suscitò perciò un interesse simile a quello destato poco prima da De Muro, del quale Crimi seguì agli inizi il repertorio, cantando Isabeau, Carmen e Cavalleria.

Il suo ampio e robusto fraseggio emerse anche nell'Amore dei tre re di Montemuzzi e nella Francesca da Rimini di Zandonai.

La bellissima tempra, l'estensione e il possente squillo della voce consentirono presto a Crimi di affrontare anche il. repertorio romantico.

Nel 1916 esordì alla Scala con l'Aida e la Battaglia di Leghano.

Nel 1916-24 cantò alternativamente all'Auditorium di Chicago e al Metropolitan di New York in un repertorio che comprendeva (a parte "Il Tabarro" e "Gianni Schicchi" presentate in prima esecuzione) Ugonotti e Lucia, Don Carlos e Traviata. Delle opere del periodo romantico predilesse l'Africana e il Trovatore, dove giungeva ad accenti commoventi nel "Miserere".

In lui tuttavia prevalse il tenore verista, sia per il temperamento, sia perché una certa affinità di calore e di smalto lo portò sovente a rifarsi a un tipo di canto carusiano; il che a volte gli nocque, così come gli nocquero l'emissione non sempre ortodossa e la generosità con cui prodigò la voce.

Ritiratosi intorno al 1928, si stabilì a Roma, dove si dedicò all'insegnamento.

Tra i suoi allievi fu Tito Gobbi.

Il processo «Vocalion» con cui incise i suoi dischi non rende piena giustizia alle sue doti vocali.

Dittico della masculinita: il primo Luigi, il primo Rinuccio: Giulio Crimi

2011-06-08T22:24:00.000-07:00

Il tenore Giulio Crìmi, nato a Paternò, nella provincia etnea, il 10 maggio del 1885, studiò canto a Catania sotto la guida del maestro Matteo Adernò ricevendo quindi il suo battesimo d'arte il 30 nov. 1911 al "Bellini" di Catania in Cavalleria rusticana in una serata promossa dal Circolo Artistico catanese a favore della Croce Rossa Italiana prò feriti della guerra di Libia.

L'anno dopo, nel 1912, è al Sociale dì Treviso nella Wally di Catalani, passando subito dopo al "Filarmonico" veronese e al Massimo di Palermo dove venne particolarmente applaudito nella Fanciulla del West e nella Manon Lescaut.

Si comincia cosi a delineare quella che sarà la caratteristica più interessante della sua personalità artistica: la molteplicità espressiva, potremmo anche dire la polivalenza, di una capacità canora che va sempre più arricchendosi attraverso il costante studio musicale.

Appena un anno dopo il suo debutto egli venne infatti chiamato a Milano per l'Isabeau di Mascagni nell'edizione diretta da Panizza, per la Carmen e per L'amore dei tre Re di Montemezzi.

A proposito di quest'ultima opera ci pare sintomatico che dopo il ritiro dalle scene di Giulio Crimi sia del tutto scomparsa dai cartelloni lirici, così come significativo in senso positivo è il fatto che fu proprio quest'opera di Montemezzi a portare il nostro tenore nel 1914 al Covent Garden di Londra e poi a Parigi.

Due anni dopo, mentre l'Europa avvampava per le cannonate della prima guerra mondiale, la Scala lo volle sul suo palcoscenico per La battaglia di Legnano diretta da Marinuzzi con Rosa Raisa interprete femminile.

Si trattò, vale la pena ricordare, di un successo particolarmente significativo non solo per la sua significazione cronologica ma soprattutto per il fatto che Crimi era appena tornato dal Teatro Real di Madrid dove aveva trionfato in opere tanto diverse come la Cavalleria rusticana ed il Mefistofele, le prime due opere liriche di una triade che ben presto egli avrebbe completata con l'interpretazione della novità, in prima esecuzione assoluta, della Paolo e Francesco del compositore orvietano Luigi Mancinelli che precedette di poco la Francesco da Rimini di Riccardo Zandonai della quale Giulio Crimi fu il primo interprete acclamato ed apprezzato non solo per lo sfoggio di smalto vocale ma anche per l'istintiva eleganza scenica.

Assieme a Rosa Raisa egli venne quindi chiamato dal Teatro Colon di Buenos Aires per un'Aida alla quale seguirono Andrea Chenier e Pagliacci, mentre Chicago lo volle per Traviata nella quale fu in scena con la Galli Curci.

Proseguendo nel suo itinerario artistico troviamo quindi il nome di Crimi nel cartellone della stessa Chicago per Gli Ugonotti e per la Lucia di Lammermoor, cosi come nel 1918 egli arriva al Metropolitan di New York per una stagione nel corso della quale alternò la Tosca con l'Aida e la Boheme con la Carmen, opere alle quali fecero seguito, sulla scena dello stesso Metropolitan, il "Tabbaro" ed il "Gianni Schicchi" nella prima rappresentazione assoluta con la Muzio e Montesanto.

Nel suo già vasto repertorio entrò quindi il Trovatore e, siamo al 1920, la prima rappresentazione della Zazà di Leoncavallo.

L'anno successivo, restituendosi alla musica pucciniana, Giulio Crimi sarà quindi in scena per Madama Butterfly e, tornato in Argentina, per La forza del destino.

Due stagioni dopo arriveranno inoltre la «Loreley» ed, al Teatro Costanzì di Roma (non ancora Reale dell'Opera) «L'Africana» di Meyerbeer.

Troppo evidente per avere bisogno di specifiche sottolineature che l'apertura angolare del repertorio di Crimi fu eccezionalmente ampia.

Merita però, riteniamo, un richiamo alle sue interpretazioni così come venne rilevato dai resoconti giornalistici del suo tempo.

Oltre ad essere un cantante mai stanco di scavare ed approfondire lo studio musicale delle opere da lui portate sulla scena, Crimi curò sempre di dotare ogni personaggio interpretato di un'impronta singolare che non ricalcò mai il già percorso.

Il che egli fece ripudiando evidentemente convenzioni ed orpellame, sovrastrutture e comode staticità.

Ritenne insomma che l'importante era essere un interprete che si esprime con il canto più che un cantante puro e semplice esecutore d'opere. 11 suo verismo e la sua vena istintivamente naturalistica, nell'epoca in cui Mascagni e Leoncavallo si affacciavano al successo, fu comunque sempre rapportato ad una ricerca interiorizzata che gli consentì di dominare sulla scena anche con la passionalità ma non solamente sul filo dell'emotività epidermica.

Ecco perché egli usò spesso come mezzo di transfert espressivo la mimica ed il gesto sempre calibrato in funzione dell'azione particolare che il momento scenico richiedeva.

Ai suoi personaggi, insomma, Crimi non impose mai né il lacrimevole né il trionfalismo falso-eroico ad ogni costo.

L'esempio più tipico di questa sua interpretazione intelligente e sensibile i critici ritennero di doversi rintracciare, per esempio, nel Miserere del «Trovatore».

I catanesi applaudirono senza riserve e con entusiasmo Crimi all'anfiteatro Gangi in una stagione lirica all'aperto, ovviamente estiva, per dieci recite di Carmen (protagonista Giuseppina Zinetti) nel 1922.

La sua ultima presenza scenica è stata registrata alla fine del 1927 (tra l'altro un ritorno a Francesca da Rimini al «Carlo Felice» di Genova, con la quale conclude proprio l'anno il 31 dicembre a fianco del soprano Lina Scavizzi, del baritono Carmelo Maugeri, con quale aveva debuttato nel 1911, e con la direzione dell'autore Riccardo Zandonai).

Fu un brusco arresto di carriera proprio nel pieno della sua maturità artistica.

A provocarlo fu forse la stessa eccessiva generosità con la quale aveva prodigata la sua voce, la prodigalità che l'aveva portato ai più clamorosi successi.

La causa fisica fu però certamente un'emorragia, provocata da ipertensione, all'occhio sinistro.

Stabilitosi a Roma, Crimi iniziò così un'attività didattica nella quale riversò il meglio e quanto di più valido potè ricavare dalla sua notevole esperienza.

Trasferì ad altri insomma la sua capacità di comunicare le emozioni e di usare sapientemente ogni forza intellettiva per meglio calibrare e vivificare quelle vocali.

Fra i suoi allievi si ricordano peraltro cantanti che fecero carriera avendo precisi e riconoscibili caratteristiche fra i quali Gino del Signore e Tito Gobbi.

Scomparve il 28 ottobre del 1939 a soli cinquantaquattro anni lasciandosi alle spalle il ricordo di un prestigio e di un'eleganza scenica veramente eccezionali, così come indiscussi furono la sua serietà professionale e la sua passione...

Giuliano Consoli

Teatro Massimo Bellini di Catania il 3 marzo 1980 in occasione del conferimento del premio «Applauso d'oro» alla memoria di Giulio Crimi.

Nel corso della sua collaborazione col teatro Metropolitan, registrò la sua voce negli Stati Uniti su dischi Vocalion, realizzando tra il 1918 e il 1924 almeno 45 incisioni finora solo parzialmente ripubblicate in microsolco per le etichette RUBINI inglese e TIMA Club italiana.

Maurizio Tiberi:

"Gulio Crimi", in

"Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani", vol. XXX, Roma dic. 1984.

Besides Gobbi (baritone), Crimi taught Gino del Signore, another tenor.

2011-06-08T22:22:00.000-07:00

Crimi iniziò quindi l'attività di insegnante di canto. Tra i suoi allievi si ricordano Gino Del Signore e Tito Gobbi.

The Crimi Recordings

2011-06-08T22:20:00.000-07:00

Nel corso della sua collaborazione col teatro Metropolitan, registrò la sua voce negli Stati Uniti su dischi Vocalion, realizzando tra il 1918 e il 1924 almeno 45 incisioni finora solo parzialmente ripubblicate in microsolco per le etichette RUBINI inglese e TIMA Club italiana.

Dual tenor role: Crimi (MET, 1918), Johnson (Rome, 1919, Firenze, 1919), Burke (Covent Garden, 1920)

2011-06-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

He would be singing again the roles of Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi and Luigi in // Tabarro, which he had created at the Italian premiere in Rome. With Puccini a national figure now, it was a great honour for Florence to have the second ...

Crimi's birthplace in Paterno, inland from Catania, Sicily

2011-06-08T21:52:00.000-07:00

Crimi

2011-06-08T21:51:00.000-07:00

Giulio Crimi, si no fue, por su parte, uno de los grandes tenores del momento, ocupó un lugar apreciable en la lírica ... en varias temporadas con éxito significativo en tiempos de Caruso, a quien el tenor siciliano tomó como modelo.

Tenor teaches baritone

2011-06-08T21:36:00.001-07:00

Gobbi, the baritone, recalls:

"I went one day to Sicily, and I visited a small city which was the place where my maestro Giulio Crimi was born : Paterno, near Catania. And there was a very severe building with iron in the windows."

Crimi, 'grande pucciniano'

2011-06-08T21:34:00.001-07:00

Le stelle della lirica: i grandi cantanti della storia dell'opera - Page 43
Enrico Stinchelli - 2002
tenori • I tenori drammatici nei primi trent'anni del Novecento Tra i tenori drammatici e lirico-spinti del primo trentennio del Novecento dobbiamo ricordare ancora Giulio Crimi (Paternò, Catania 1885 - Roma 1939), grande pucciniano, ...