Today we’re listening to…

“Come in quest’ora bruna”, Amelia’s opening aria from Act 1 of the opera Simon Boccanegra by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. Like Il Trovatore, the plot is complicated, with several characters appearing at different times under different names (for example, Amelia is, in reality, Maria Boccanegra (bok-kah-NEG-rah), the doge’s daughter and Fiesco’s granddaughter, but neither man knows her true identity).

I love listening to Mirella Freni sing this piece. Her bright, joyful lyric soprano voice is perfect for this role, and her phrasing makes my heart sing. In contrast to many other Verdi heroines, this role requires a lyric soprano rather than a dramatic (spinto) soprano.

🎧 Listen here (4 minute listen): Soprano Mirella Freni singing “Come in quest’ora bruna” (“How in this morning light”) from Simon Boccanegra by Giuseppe Verdi.

What is the context? Amelia sits and rememb…