Fausta, atto III, Preghiera "Tu che voli, gia spirto beato"
Parisina, atto II, Romanza "Sogno talor di correre"
Lucrezia Borgia, Prologo, Romanza "Com'e bello! Quale incanto"
Maria Stuarda, atto I, Aria e Cabaletta
"Oh nube! che lieve" "Nella pace del mesto riposo"
Roberto Devereux, atto III, Scena e Aria di Elisabetta "E Sara in questi orribili momenti pote lasciarmi?"
"Vivi, ingrato, a lei d'accanto"
Poliuto, atto I, Cavatina di Paolina "Di quai soavi lagrime"
Maria di Rohan, atto III, Preghiera "Havvi un Dio che in sua clemenza"
Caterina Cornaro, Prologo, Romanza "Vieni o tu, che ognor io chiamo"
PREFACE
This collection of soprano arias from serious operas by Gaetano Donizetti could be described as a of portraits depicting female characters who meet a tragic destiny in almost every case. These characters set in motion Palmost always involuntarily the events recounted in the romantic dramas written by composer in the fourteen years which separate Anna Bolena (1830) from Caterina Cornaro (1844). the
The motivations, the expectations and the anxieties, the secrets of the heart, the effusions and the prayers of royal or noble women, almost all of whom stepped out of the pages of history but who were freely remodelled as sorrowful creatures of the 19th century, coagulated in accordance with the immutable convention which rules operatic structure in the scenes, arias, cavatinas, romanzas and cabalettas to which the composer entrusted the task of laying bare the most deeply concealed part of their souls. Amongst Donizetti's theatrical works - amounting to more thaoteventy ideand the operas which revolve around heroines destined to be victims form a nucleus that is both compactravel varied at the same time.
The place of honour is occupied, needless to say, by Lucia di Lammermoor, driven mad by love. Almost all united by presentiments of death, the protagonists who express themselves in these extracts are distinguished from each other by the differing vicissitudes of the theatrical plots they are involved in, and by the diverse natures and emotional qualities revealed by their singing. The palette of sentiments is very varied; some pieces express a static situation, whereas others present changes, developments, transitions of register.
We pass from Anna Bolena's hallucinating evocation of her youthful love for Percy to Fausta's remorse that her slanders have caused her stepson to be condemned to death; from Parisina's serenity while she recalls the innocent joys of her childhood to the disclosure of Lucrezia Borgia's maternal love as she contemplates her secret son asleep; from Maria Stuarda, when her nostalgia for submerged by anxiety about her imminent meeting with her implacable rival in her happy ppy youth is politics and in love, to soliloquizing Elisabetta, tired and distressed by the betrayal of Devereux, her favourite, but magnanimous nonetheless in wishing him a long life with her victorious rival; from the tears of Paolina, moved by the serenity of the singing of a community of Christian neophytes persecuted by the pagan authorities, to the Countess of Rohan, who has been the involuntary cause of her lover's death and who calls on heaven to witness her innocence, to Caterina Cornaro's declaration of love as she anxiously awaits the arrival of her beloved.
To match this variety of sentiments there is a corresponding variety of formal structures (which become increasingly developed), of overall musical invention, and in particular of vocal writing. The type of high female voice which predominated in serious Italian opera in the era of Donizetti, Bellini, Mercadante and their lesser contemporaries was what is now designated by the term soprano drammatico di agilita (dramatic coloratura soprano), because it embraced both the belcanto tradition and the powerful attack and vehemence required by the romantic aesthetic. This new type of voice established itself due to the interpretative qualities of the great dramatic coloratura sopranos of the day such as Giuditta Pasta, Maria Malibran, Giuseppina Ronzi-De Begnis and Caterina Ungher, who were endowed with a very wide range and could pass with no difficulty from vigorous declamation to smooth lyricism and on to passages of daredevil agility covering the entire range. These were qualities which Donizetti exploited with shrewd mastery, since it was his unvarying practice when composing a new opera to highlight - and take full advantage of the particular gifts of the singers who were to perform it at the premiere.
In soprano arias by Donizetti and his contemporaries, the coexistence of florid passages with diatonically extended phrases was the compromise which was historically necessary to connect Rossini's vocal writing with that of Verdi after La traviata. It must be acknowledged that the union of the two stylistic components sometimes seems forced, and that the insertion of coloratura in the middle of an extended melody can sound unnatural, dictated by convention. But it is also true that in Donizetti's music "coloratura nearly always has an intensifying function. Whatever sentiment the character is expressing, the trill and the florid embellishment are inserted at a certain point to depict strengthening emotion" (R. Celletti).
The nine pieces in this collection have been chosen with the aim of fulfilling different requirements, all of them important. The first is to offer a panorama that is varied and - within the limits permitted by space- representative of Donizetti's writing for soprano in the serious operas he composed during the fifteen most fortunate years of his artistic career. Other requirements have also been borne in mind: famous arias alternate with others which are less famous, or are not at all famous but which deserve to be known and appreciated for their intrinsic qualities; there is also an alternation to return to the idea of a "portrait gallery" of pictures of limited dimensions (Fausta's prayer, Paolina's cavatina, Maria di Rohan's prayer) with larger-scale compositions (Parisina's romanza, Lucrezia Borgia's aria, Caterina Cornaro's romanza) and with more extended pieces (Anna Bolena's scene and final aria, Maria Stuarda's aria and cabaletta, Elisabetta's scene and final aria from Devereux); the items in the collection also demand differing levels of vocal accomplishment.
The musical texts of the extracts are based on the available sources (the first printed piano reductions; the scores); in two cases (Maria Stuarda and Poliuto) they are based on the critical editions edited by Ricordi. These texts have been carefully revised, particularly concerning the colour and phrasing of the vocal parts, in the knowledge that the series of which this collection is a part will be used for practical purposes. The notes on history and background which precede each number and the abbreviations on the piano part referring to orchestral instruments provide further information which will be useful for singers wishing to study and perform these extracts.
1
From Anna Bolena
Opera seria in 3 acts. Libretto by Felice Romani, after the tragedy Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena by Ippolito Pindemonte (Turin, 1816) who had derived it from Henri VIII by M.-J. Chenier (Paris, 1791).
In autumn 1830 Donizetti was invited by the Teatro Carcano in Milan to compose a new opera for the inauguration of the carnival season. At the beginning of November the composer moved to the villa on Lake Como owned by Giuditta Pasta, who had been engaged to sing the title role, and a month later he had finished the opera. It was performed on 26 December 1830, with a triumphant outcome.
The libretto. This deals with the famous amorous intrigue by Henry VIII, King of England, who is estranged from his second wife, Anna Bolena, because he is infatuated with Jane (Giovanna in the libretto) Seymour, who becomes his third wife.
In order to repudiate Anna, the King accuses her of having betrayed her marriage vows with Lord Riccardo Percy, whom she loved in her youth. Anna declares herself innocent, but does not escape the death sentence.
Anna's scene "Piangete voi?" and final aria "Al dolce guidami castel natio". Act II, scene 12.
Imprisoned in the Tower of London and surrounded by her maids, Anna is waiting for her destiny to be fulfilled. She cheers up those who are with her, but then her mind becomes confused: she raves, talks about her wedding. fears Percy's resentment, and then happily recalls their love, in the places where she was born and spent a happy youth.
Are you weeping? Why those tears?... Today is My wedding day. The King is waiting for me...the altar is Illuminated and decorated with flowers. Give me My white mantle at once; adorn my hair
With my garland of roses... Do not let Percy know; the King ordered it.
[Chorus Oh! Mournful memory!]
Oh! Who is grieving?
Who spoke of Percy?... Do not let me see him; Let me hide from his gaze. In vain. He is coming. He accuses me... he rebukes me. Ah! Forgive me...
(she weeps) I am wretched. Take me away from this Utter misery. You are smiling?... Oh joy!... I am not going to die here alone!
Lead me back to the dear castle Where I was born, To the green plane trees, To the peaceful stream That still murmurs Give me back one day Of our love there, Forgetting all the troubles We have endured.