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SATURDEE OPRY LINKS 64:
Quasi-Trousers Edition
Isabel Leonard
Saturdee Opry Links Trousers Overture!
The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp6UAGN_Ir4
1.
What's a man doing singing a mezzo role? Well, in this time of LGBTBBQ, such
questions are hopelessly antiquated, right? Not to me! Answer: there used to be
"trouser roles" in opera (and theater) where women were cast as men. Why? Well,
that's a lonnnnng, very weird story. See accompanying article below. Or don't, and
just enjoy Isabel Leonard as a young military man, Cherubino, in Mozart's
"Marriage of Figaro." Here he sings a plea to women to see how much love he has
to give. If you don't know this melody, you've had your head up your iPhone. "Voi
che sapete," or "You, ladies, you know what love is. . ." With English
subtitles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNRF-SEl27o
Translation:
http://www.aria-database.com/translations/nozze11_voiche.txt
SPOTLIGHT:
WOMEN IN TROUSERS: A BIZARRE OPERATIC TRADITION:
http://www.lafolia.com/women-in-trousers/
2.
"Opera is full of little quirks, but the trouser role tradition may well be the
icing on the cupcake of its peculiarities." So writes Ellen MacDonald-Kramer in
an article (posted above.) Richard Strauss saw fit to more or less revive this
cupcake icing in his tender comic opera, "Der Rosenkavalier," ("The Rose
Bearer"), where the young rogue, Octavian, is assayed by a mezzo (and we all
know how painful that can be.) Yet you can take the trousers off your mind, such
is the beauty of the singing, and music. This is the "presentation of the rose"
sequence. Here the "older woman" (The Marschallin) graciously releases her grip
on Octavian, freeing him to marry his peer, Sophie. Anne Sophie von Otter is
Octavian, Barbara Bonney is The Marschallin.
Synopsis:
The Marschallin, Sophie, and Octavian are left alone. The Marschallin recognizes
that the day she so feared has come, as Octavian hesitates between the two women
(Trio: Marie Theres'! / Hab' mir's gelobt). In the emotional climax of the
opera, the Marschallin gracefully releases Octavian, encouraging him to follow
his heart and love Sophie. She then withdraws elegantly to the next room to talk
with Faninal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuS337uc-4Y
Translation:
http://belindalau.com/presentation-of-the-rose-translation/
SPOTLIGHT:
TEN GREAT TROUSER ROLES!
http://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/listed-10-great-trouser-roles
3.
SOL usually presents concert performances of the aria, "Ombra Mai Fu," from
Handel's "Xerxes," owing to the beauty and poignancy of the piece. It stands
without context, a paean to nature. So, for a change, here it is in context, on
stage, as performed by mezzo Alice Coote. Yes, it's another trouser role, folks!
Coote portrays the King of Persia (why this production has her looking more like
the King of England, I don't know), who takes time to contemplate the beauty of
a tree---just before all hell breaks loose.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIByMYvjM9Y
Synopsis:
King 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.
Translation:
http://www.aria-database.com/translations/serse01_ombra.txt
About the opera:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serse
4.
There is dance in opera, too, none more famous than the "Dance of the Seven
Veils" from Strauss's "Salome." This sequence is tricky, depending on the size
and agility of the soprano. I've seen it done rather modestly (by a soprano well
past 60), and rather immodestly (Patricia Racette, who doffed her duds entirely
in her '50's.) All of which is to say, I was looking for a segue out of the
"trouser roles" subject, a way to, in other words, remove the trousers from
these proceedings. So here is Maria Ewing, sans trousers and everything else, in
the "Dance of the Seven Veils" from Strauss's bizarre, rather spellbinding and
distinctly disturbing "Salome." Take it off, er, away, Maria.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3jF3g4KBbw
5.
Just so as not to shortchange Ms. Ewing, here she is, fully clothed (no
trousers, though) and singing. Or rather, elegantly and beguilingly dispatching
the seguidilla from Bizet's "Carmen." A seguidilla segue.
"Près des remparts de Séville" ("Near the ramparts of Seville.")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd4OdtK13IA
Synopsis: After Carmen is arrested for fighting another girl in the cigarette
factory, Don Jose is assigned to watch her. She sings that she wants to go to
her friend Lillias Pastia's inn and insinuates that she would like him to go
with her.
Translation:
http://www.aria-database.com/search.php?individualAria=43
SPOTLIGHT:
Ms. Ewing seems to be doing showtunes and jazz these days. . .
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/mar/11/classicalmusicandopera.artsfeatures
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Ewing
Ewing sings "The Shadow of Your Smile"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YffUN5Fh8Fg
6.
Well, Saturdee Opry Links is caught with its trousers down. No idea where to go
with the remaining posts. Did not want to devote things entirely to women in
trouser roles because I find women more interesting without trousers. What'd he
say? So when in doubt. . .Luciano. Here is the stupendous "Ingemisco" from the
Verdi Requiem, sung by young Pavarotti. (Remember, the man could not even read
music.) The Requiem has one tenor solo, ‘Ingemisco’ where the singer pleads to
God that at the last day of judgment, God will forgive him his sins and not
allow him to burn in hell but will raise him up, separate him from the sheep and
goats and place him at God’s right hand. Me, I like the idea of being with sheep
and goats, and all the other animals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSY6vGIxcnA&list=PLtdt1LQlokf94A2R6ZL8vK5HsJjEOWaR0
Translation (scroll down):
http://www.operavivra.com/features/focusfeatures/ingemisco/
7.
When in doubt. . .Pavarotti. Or Lanza. Or Pavarotti and Lanza. Hang on to your
hats, folks, it's The Two Tenors. That's a lot of uvula.
¿Quién es más macho?
"Celeste Aida," from "Aida," by Verdi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHEwpUpYAZc
Synopsis:
Radamès, an officer in the Egyptian army, has just been told by Ramfis that Isis
has named a new, young man to command the Egyptian Army. Radamès wishes it were
he so he could free Aida.
Translation:
http://www.aria-database.com/search.php?individualAria=7
Just for (more) fun: Battle of the High C's
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrWMvnRdBh4
8.
When in doubt, Caruso. Here is a rarity, and a gem. It's from a very late
Donizetti opera, "Dom Sebastian," written when the poor composer was mentally
disintegrating from the ravages of syphillis. (Think you've got it tough?) Two
years after this opera, he would die in an insane asylum. "Dom Sebastian's"
generally brooding quality would likely be reflective of Donizetti's state of
mind. The New York Times wrote in 1984, when the opera was revived briefly:
"By 1843, when he composed this work, Donizetti was two years away from being
committed to an insane asylum. He was already beginning to suffer from the
cerebral disintegration, a result of syphilis, that ended in his death five
years later. That may have had an effect on the music's overall mood, which for
him is unusually lugubrious and unvaried. In fact, some forgotten critic labeled
it as ''a funeral in five acts.'The work's chief weaknesses, however, probably
trace to other causes. ''Dom Sebastien,'' with its emphasis on bluster,
spectacle and military marches, was Donizetti's bid for fame in Paris, where
Meyerbeer's grandiose operas had enthralled the public. ''Dom Sebastien'' is,
you might say, unintoxicating Meyerbeer. Donizetti in this final work also seems
to have been studying the early operas of Verdi, with their lusty emotionalism
and broad popular appeal."
NONETHELESS, this aria is a great one, and should be as well known, perhaps, as
the composer's many indelible arias. No translation available, and, as you will
hear, none necessary. If this is not an utterance of desolation and abandonment,
I don't know what would be. A song for the poor human race!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovsanItc7Po
New York Times Review:
http://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/24/arts/opera-donizetti-s-dom-sebastien.html
About the opera:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom_S%C3%A9bastien
9.
Here is a favorite from Donizett's "La Favorita," sung by one Miguel Fleta,
briefly in the '20's a favorite of the Metropolitan Opera. But Miguel was a bit
flighty, perhaps, as he made the mistake of breaking a Met contract and lying
about it. Career soon ruined, he sang himself into bad health with concert
appearances around the world. In the end, he wound up on the wrong side of the
Spanish Civil War, hiding from Loyalists, dying in 1937 at only 40. (See bio
accompanying video.) His voice lives on, here with "Spirito Gentil." "You once
shined in my dreams, but now I've lost you forever. . ."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o1G9Omze4Q
Synopsis:
Fernand (Ferdinand), a young novice at the monastery of St. James of Compostella
asks the king to marry Leonore, not knowing that she is the king's favorite. The
king nonetheless grants the request because Fernand has led Castile to victory
in battle over the Moors. Thinking that his bride is pure, he prepares to marry
her. However, before she appears, he finds out that she has been the lover of
the King. With his heart broken, he returns to the monastery and mourns for the
betrayal of his love and the loss of Léonore.
Translation:
http://www.lieder.net/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=23995
FINAL BOW:
The great, tragic tenor, Miguel Fleta (see previous post) in 1926, at his peak,
presumably wearing trousers, with "In Fernem Land," from "Lohengrin," by Wagner.
In Italian.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGl7KTxR3nA
Synopsis: Synopsis: Lohengrin 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.
Translation:
http://lyricstranslate.com/en/fernem-land-gralserz%C3%A4hlung-far-and-away.html
Saturdee Opry Links Encore!
The great Neopolitan song, "Mattinata," live in 1949, with Mario Lanza. Send 'em
home with a smile. "The dawn, dressed in white, has opened its door to the sun."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIs8FEMhKrU
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