Vaga Luna Che Inargenti

Update: I've figured out how to embed videos which is a nice little technological advance for all 1.5 of you readers to enjoy! I do try to keep you all happy, though with so many readers it can be difficult ;)

So, Vaga Luna Che Inargenti, a beautiful and sensitive art song by Vincenzo Bellini. Maybe. No one's really sure if it's his because it wasn't published in the Tre Ariette collection. But to my, albeit completely unworthy and naive ears, it couldn't be written by anyone else. The achingly simple melody, zero ornamentation, and phrasing that just gently folds in on itself seems to be everything that Bellini was ever about. What amazes me about this though is how someone could write such an utterly heart-rending, tear-jerking, pass-me-the-kleenex piece, in a major key?! Bellini's a legend.

Subtle isn't a word that I would often attribute to Cecilia Bartoli. For me, the breathyness and the oddly elastic face get in the way for a lot of the stuff she does; sometimes it goes so far as to scare me ever so slightly. However her interpretation of this piece is really subtly sublime. Nothing's showy, and she's really singing the song. And that breathyness that I usually hate? I'm going to concede and say that for this piece, it adds a different sort of shading and dynamic that really works, showing the weakness of the singer for the love she's singing about. And she sounds just beautiful I swear, that's the only time I'll like it though :) She and the ever amazing Thibaudet work like a perfectly choreographed dance; both know exactly what the other's doing, the phrasing sensitively moulded by them both.

So the poor neglected blog is slowly being revived :) but now I'm off to finish studying...and by studying I mean diligently reading Gramophone.

"Vieni, ah! vieni, in me riposa"

Though this may not technically be anything new for me, hopefully it's obscure enough to deserve a place on this page...plus, I thought it would be nice to ease in gently with the piece responsible for turning me into the opera fiend that I am today.

"Vieni, ah! vieni, in me riposa" appears around about the end of Act 1 of this two act opera, when Romeo is desperately trying to persuade Juliet to elope with him...her...him. In one of the last great 'trouser roles' ever written, the mezzo-soprano singing Romeo is given the chance to really shine, as the vocal lines of the two women intertwine and swap over so beautifully. Elina Garanca has the perfect voice for this - her tone steely and silvery, giving her a vocally masculine edge over the warmth and richness which is so often associated with mezzos. Garanca's managed to captivate us with her Romeo and her Carmen - two completely different roles which traditionally require completely different vocal colours - the woman's a complete legend.

Anyway, back to the actual point of this post. The part of this duet that really gets me is right towards the end, in the call and answer, fabulously punctuated by the snappy orchestra. You never know who is more desperate...Romeo or Juliet? That, teamed with beautiful harmony throughout and heart-rending solo sections, makes this just divine, and a definite highlight from a wonderful opera :) I could talk about it all day...but lucky for you, I wont!

Though I fell in love with the Elina Garanca/Anna Netrebko rendition, I thought this example from Ravenna Festival was great...even though I was somewhat distracted by Romeo's Robin Hood-esque get up and matching afro. My only reservation would be the tempo in the call and answer, feeling it dragged slightly - but that's just me being picky I think!

The more I listen to Bellini's masterpiece, the more difficult it is to believe that I Capuleti E I Montecchi isn't a staple of the operatic repertoire. Lets face it, you can't go wrong with the story - but Bellini made it his own. There are great contrasts all the way through; with the rhythmic strength and pleading of "Vieni..." against the morbidezza in the final scene which is simply heart breaking...yes, I am extraordinarily sad and cry every time I hear it :)

Tomorrow: Olivier Messiaen's "Poemes pour Mi"