L'elisir d'amore (premiered 1832) is a comic opera, in which our hero, Nemorino (literally, little nobody) falls in love with the land-owner Adina. She, of course, pays little attention to this peasant and mocks his affections. Using all the money he has, Nemorino buys a love potion to make Adina fall in love with him. It doesn't work, but when news gets out that Nemorino's uncle has died and he is now a rich man, he receives all kinds of attention from the village girls (and he puts this down to the potion). Jealousy brings out a tear from Adina, and from that tear, Nemorino realises that she loves him.
Nemorino is one of those role that almost all young tenors sing: it is not too hard on the voice and the character is simple and youthful. Similar roles are Rodolfo (La Boheme), Alfredo (La traviata) and the Duke (Rigoletto).
Nemorino is one of those role that almost all young tenors sing: it is not too hard on the voice and the character is simple and youthful. Similar roles are Rodolfo (La Boheme), Alfredo (La traviata) and the Duke (Rigoletto).
The aria is quite simple, straightforward. It is introduced by the bassoon, known as "the comedian of the orchestra" for its rather beery, lugubrious tone which is not inappropriate for Nemorino. It starts out in the minor key before bursting magically into the major on M'ama: She loves me. The aria also includes a cadenza towards the end on the words non chiedo, si puo morir: a cadenza is an opportunity for the singer to embellish the melody, usually unaccompanied (,rather like a jazz player in a trio, for example. Each player will have a couple of minutes to improvise on the theme or accompaniment to show off their technical and musical skills).
First, let's see the aria in context. Here is Mexican tenor, Rolando Villazon in Vienna. At this performance, the aria was encored: this is the encore
You can watch the whole of this performance on dvd: http://www.emiclassics.com/l'elisir
Rolando's (and he tends to be known more by his first name than as "Villazon") is a sad case. He was marketed as part of a dream team with soprano Anna Netrebko, and they made several recordings together. As a performer he was praised for his commitment and enthusiasm, but that passion seems to have taken a toll on his voice, pushing it perhaps beyond its natural means. This led to surgery on his vocal cords. He is now on his second comeback. In the meantime he has become a face of opera, presenting documentaries and being a judge on the TV show, Popstar to Operastar. He also has an interest in clowning which, along with his facial features, has led to him being dubbed (a little cruelly in my opinion) "Mr Bean". He is also a "clown doctor": http://www.rednoses.eu/news/rolando-villazon-in-berlin/
Rolando's official website: http://www.rolandovillazon.com/
Roberto Alagna was born in France to Italian parents. He's married to the Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu and their relationship has been on/off/on again. Audio only, I'm afraid:
You can watch a much younger Roberto singing this aria by following this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8LOT_-Z4KA
Juan Diego Florez is a national hero in his native Peru: his wedding was broadcast on television. His voice sounds very sweet and pure but it is both light in colour and weight: no singing in Tosca for him.
Official website here: http://www.juandiegoflorez.com/
Joseph Calleja is from Malta. His voice has a very distinct colour and vibrato (that quavering, vibrating sound in his voice). In some ways, a bit of an underdog though he has scored great success at various opera houses. The vibrato means his voice is a bit more of an acquired taste.
Official website here: http://www.josephcalleja.com/ and fansite: http://www.josephcalleja.net/
You can probably hear that both Florez and Calleja have rather "brighter", more "open" voices than Alagna and Villazon. Which do you prefer?
(And where is Jonas Kaufmann? He gets his own post. Later.)
Well done again. Of these four Rolando is my preference. I can feel the music the way he sings it. They're all good in their own way. Roberto's words are well enunciated.
ReplyDeleteRolando's story is sad. :(
Annoying question time. What are the different voice types in Opera? We know there are tenors of course. I know the bass. There really aren't make sopranos are there? Yes I can find the info myself but you'll explain it best I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteI like Rolando but I tend to think that Roberto's voice has more colour and shade in it (although he could make more of his m'ama). He is the only native Italian speaker, which is why he can probably get away with this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8IuXZ4L6JQ
Natural male voices tend to fall into three types:
ReplyDeletetenor (highest)
baritone (most males are naturally baritones)
bass (lowest)
Taller men are usually basses: they have longer vocal cords and so their voices are generally deeper.
However, you will now also hear counter-tenors singing (such as David Daniels, Andreas Scholl). These singers largely sing using the falsetto voice.
Falsetto voices are usually weaker and not so colourful: this can give them a plain, ethereal beauty and purity. In simple terms, a male falsetto voice is a man singing in his boy's voice.
A man who often sang in falsetto can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrPTDU40hO4
There is a long history here and I'll try and put something together about this before The Enchanted Island.