I could have happily spent all day and half the night listening to "Oh! se una volta sola...Ah! non credea mirarti ("Ah! non credea")…Ah!non giunge uman pensiero ("Ah!non giunge”)" sung by Amina in Act 2 of Vincenzo Bellini's "La Sonnambula". Instead, I am resolved to see the full opera, in a real opera house, with a singer of the caliber of those highlighted this week. Until then, I'll sample the many productions currently on YouTube - videos, films and especially, the ballet with Mikhail Baryshnikov & Alessandra Ferri (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LpmL_NeiAU).
I wandered down quite a few research lanes before sitting down to gather my thoughts. Before I note my discoveries, I'd like to talk first about my emotions on hearing and watching these extraordinary divas stamp their unique talents on "Ah! non credea mirarti". I will always cherish the sweet voice of Maria Callas in the rare live recording here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9ZjB_Fj1mM), with its accompanying treasure trove of photographs. La Divina, however, must bow down this time to La Stupenda. Dame Joan Sutherland is in a bel canto class all by herself (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ7IT5T9ef0). Listening to the latter brought to mind "The Flying Wallendas" walking a tightrope in Times Square without a safety net. Would she really be able to hit those stratospheric high notes? The answer is effortlessly! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVpuCNd7-s4)!
I adore Pretty Yende who has the mellow tones of Callas, but strained a bit for the high notes. But yes, she can! One only has to listen to her sing "Qui la voce" at the Richard Tucker Gala in 2014 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_V1RAwDYs8) to know that his gorgeous, glamorous South African sister will not be denied.
For me, the richest, most agile, most bravura performance of "Ah! non credea", was delivered by Cecilia Bartoli (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUi18GyNPlw). Does she have a moniker yet? How about "La Meravigliosa"? "La Favolosa"? As I listened the image of Simone Biles came to mind. Both have that technical perfection, virtuosity, elegance, beauty and lovely diction. I feel I'm slowly acquiring the ability to judge what's good in opera and what's merely aspirational, which is how I would compare Ruth Ann Swenson to the other ladies on your playlist (https://masterworksbroadway.com/artist/ruth-ann-swenson/). I blame Opera Daily for that.🤭
BONUS FIND
*Kathleen Battle's interpretation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYezkKbEPQw) In "Bel Canto: Kathleen Battle Sings Italian Opera Arias” ℗ 1993 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin P.S. I had an exciting musical moment using my unsophisticated technique to mix her Amina with Cecilia Bartoli’s.
There was so much to savor in this week's post:
(1) the 1850 portrait of Jenny Lind, "The Swedish Nightingale", as Amina;
(4) all the fun facts; the three kings of bel canto opera (Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi); Renata Scotto rising to fame as a last-minute replacement for Maria Callas; Bellini creating "La Sonnambula" with music borrowed from his "abandoned" opera "Hernani" based on a "scandalous drama” by Victor Hugo; and finally, the engraving on Bellini's tombstone: “Ah! non credea mirarti/Sì presto estinto, o fiore” ('“I did not believe you would fade so soon, oh flower”) from Amina’s final aria.
*Hernani (full name “Hernani, ou l'Honneur Castillan”) by French romantic novelist Victor Hugo is a drama in rhyming alexandrines, a syllabic poetic meter typically of 12 syllables with a medial caesura [a metrical pause or break in a verse where one phrase ends and another phrase begins, dividing the verse into two hemistiches (half-lines) of six syllables each]
“Weary of opera house politics and convinced that opera was a dying art form, Galli-Curci retired from the operatic stage in 1930 to concentrate instead on concert performances. Throat problems and the uncertain pitching of top notes had plagued her for several years, and she underwent surgery in 1935for the removal of a thyroid goiter. Great care was taken during her surgery, which was performed under local anesthesia; however, it was thought her voice suffered following the surgery, specifically, a nerve to her larynx, the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve, was thought to have been damaged, resulting in the loss of her ability to sing high pitches. This nerve has since become known as the “nerve of Galli-Curci.”
In 2001, researchers Crookes and Recaberen "examined contemporary press reviews after surgery, conducted interviews with colleagues and relatives of the surgeon, and compared the career of Galli-Curci with that of other singers" and determined that her vocal decline was most likely not caused by a surgical injury.[5]
Other researchers (Marchese-Ragona et al.) have argued that tracheal compression caused by a goiter put an early end to Galli-Curci's career as a coloratura soprano, but it was nerve damage caused during surgery that prevented her from prolonging her career as lyric or dramatic soprano.”
I segued into “Best of Opera” while writing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrITKSRCqGo). I soon realized I had heard many of these arias for the first time through Opera Daily. Occasionally I recognized an artist, or an opera, but couldn’t come up with the name of the aria. This recording and track list will help me achieve true aria literacy someday.
In conclusion, Bellini must be my spirit opera composer. I’ve really gotten carried away here. It is, nevertheless, time to bring this flight of fancy in for a landing.🕊💗🥂
Took my breath away.. beautifully sung by Anna Moffo
I could have happily spent all day and half the night listening to "Oh! se una volta sola...Ah! non credea mirarti ("Ah! non credea")…Ah!non giunge uman pensiero ("Ah!non giunge”)" sung by Amina in Act 2 of Vincenzo Bellini's "La Sonnambula". Instead, I am resolved to see the full opera, in a real opera house, with a singer of the caliber of those highlighted this week. Until then, I'll sample the many productions currently on YouTube - videos, films and especially, the ballet with Mikhail Baryshnikov & Alessandra Ferri (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LpmL_NeiAU).
I wandered down quite a few research lanes before sitting down to gather my thoughts. Before I note my discoveries, I'd like to talk first about my emotions on hearing and watching these extraordinary divas stamp their unique talents on "Ah! non credea mirarti". I will always cherish the sweet voice of Maria Callas in the rare live recording here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9ZjB_Fj1mM), with its accompanying treasure trove of photographs. La Divina, however, must bow down this time to La Stupenda. Dame Joan Sutherland is in a bel canto class all by herself (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ7IT5T9ef0). Listening to the latter brought to mind "The Flying Wallendas" walking a tightrope in Times Square without a safety net. Would she really be able to hit those stratospheric high notes? The answer is effortlessly! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVpuCNd7-s4)!
I adore Pretty Yende who has the mellow tones of Callas, but strained a bit for the high notes. But yes, she can! One only has to listen to her sing "Qui la voce" at the Richard Tucker Gala in 2014 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_V1RAwDYs8) to know that his gorgeous, glamorous South African sister will not be denied.
For me, the richest, most agile, most bravura performance of "Ah! non credea", was delivered by Cecilia Bartoli (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUi18GyNPlw). Does she have a moniker yet? How about "La Meravigliosa"? "La Favolosa"? As I listened the image of Simone Biles came to mind. Both have that technical perfection, virtuosity, elegance, beauty and lovely diction. I feel I'm slowly acquiring the ability to judge what's good in opera and what's merely aspirational, which is how I would compare Ruth Ann Swenson to the other ladies on your playlist (https://masterworksbroadway.com/artist/ruth-ann-swenson/). I blame Opera Daily for that.🤭
BONUS FIND
*Kathleen Battle's interpretation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYezkKbEPQw) In "Bel Canto: Kathleen Battle Sings Italian Opera Arias” ℗ 1993 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin P.S. I had an exciting musical moment using my unsophisticated technique to mix her Amina with Cecilia Bartoli’s.
There was so much to savor in this week's post:
(1) the 1850 portrait of Jenny Lind, "The Swedish Nightingale", as Amina;
(2) the introduction to the great Amelita Galli-Curci (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ybtj8g-5kw_)
(3) the explanation of the bel canto structure
(4) all the fun facts; the three kings of bel canto opera (Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi); Renata Scotto rising to fame as a last-minute replacement for Maria Callas; Bellini creating "La Sonnambula" with music borrowed from his "abandoned" opera "Hernani" based on a "scandalous drama” by Victor Hugo; and finally, the engraving on Bellini's tombstone: “Ah! non credea mirarti/Sì presto estinto, o fiore” ('“I did not believe you would fade so soon, oh flower”) from Amina’s final aria.
EXTRA! EXTRA!
*Vincenzo Bellini (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/vincenzo-bellini-mn0000646795/biography;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincenzo_Bellini)
*Amelita Galli-Curci (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/amelita-galli-curci-mn0001268426; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelita_Galli-Curci**)
*Ruth Ann Swenson (https://masterworksbroadway.com/artist/ruth-ann-swenson/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Ann_Swenson)
*Hernani (full name “Hernani, ou l'Honneur Castillan”) by French romantic novelist Victor Hugo is a drama in rhyming alexandrines, a syllabic poetic meter typically of 12 syllables with a medial caesura [a metrical pause or break in a verse where one phrase ends and another phrase begins, dividing the verse into two hemistiches (half-lines) of six syllables each]
*Sleepwalking (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleepwalking;https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sleepwalking/symptoms-causes/syc-20353506)
PERILS OF OPERA
Galli-Curci’s Voice (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelita_Galli-Curci)
“Weary of opera house politics and convinced that opera was a dying art form, Galli-Curci retired from the operatic stage in 1930 to concentrate instead on concert performances. Throat problems and the uncertain pitching of top notes had plagued her for several years, and she underwent surgery in 1935for the removal of a thyroid goiter. Great care was taken during her surgery, which was performed under local anesthesia; however, it was thought her voice suffered following the surgery, specifically, a nerve to her larynx, the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve, was thought to have been damaged, resulting in the loss of her ability to sing high pitches. This nerve has since become known as the “nerve of Galli-Curci.”
In 2001, researchers Crookes and Recaberen "examined contemporary press reviews after surgery, conducted interviews with colleagues and relatives of the surgeon, and compared the career of Galli-Curci with that of other singers" and determined that her vocal decline was most likely not caused by a surgical injury.[5]
Other researchers (Marchese-Ragona et al.) have argued that tracheal compression caused by a goiter put an early end to Galli-Curci's career as a coloratura soprano, but it was nerve damage caused during surgery that prevented her from prolonging her career as lyric or dramatic soprano.”
I segued into “Best of Opera” while writing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrITKSRCqGo). I soon realized I had heard many of these arias for the first time through Opera Daily. Occasionally I recognized an artist, or an opera, but couldn’t come up with the name of the aria. This recording and track list will help me achieve true aria literacy someday.
In conclusion, Bellini must be my spirit opera composer. I’ve really gotten carried away here. It is, nevertheless, time to bring this flight of fancy in for a landing.🕊💗🥂