Ch'io mi scordi di te Non temer amato bene Air

[leporello56]

Yes the second movement of the 39th symphony has a theme similar to the strings at the very beginning; the kind if rising scales motif. Well, going down then up etc.

[leporello56]

To be honest, I really don't care if Mozart was having an affair with her or what, this is one of my favourite single pieces by my favourite composer.

[elias12186]

hmmm i have no clue! if i remember ill try to research it

[PJinBston]

@elias12186

She might have been thinking of Mozart's symphony 39. The andante has the same phrase as one of its opening motives. She took it to be a theme. I'm sure it's not "borrowed" from anywhere.

[BO1R1S1]

Excellent played and sung!

[elias12186]

Hah they weren't stupid comments!

Anyways, I don't think this was the only singer Mozart had an affair with.

[wanzenettl]

Actually, she probably was the only singer with whom he had an affair. The great Mozart historian, Alfred Einstein, (cousin of Albert Enstein), wrote in his book "Mozart: His Character, His Work" that Anna Storace was the only woman for whom Constanze had any reason to be jealous. Mozart may have had sexual encounters with several women, but most likely his only affair was with Storace.

[wanzenettl]

Well, I do know much about her and I know much about the times and which they lived. I did my master's thesis on her, her career, and her relationship with Mozart. And I'm currently writing a book dealing with their relationship. And no, this aria is NOT meant to depict "her love for the city she was leaving behind. In fact, Mozart wrote in his thematic catalog that it was "Fur Mlle. Storace und Mich" (for Mademoiselle Storace and me), and the German in this context, the "for" means "about"

[wanzenettl]

Being married doesn't anything. If you read the Mozart letters, it's pretty clear that Mozart and Constanze weren't on very good terms with one another--especially at the end. They were, in fact, nearly estranged. She spent nearly the entire year of 1790 at the spa in Baden and Mozart wrote to her asking her to be "discrete" while carried on her "affairs". In fact, both Joseph Lange, (his brother-in-law) and Georg Nissen, (Constanze's 2nd husband) wrote that Mozart was in love with Nancy.

[wanzenettl]

I meant to add that Constanze also spent nearly all of 1791 at the spa, as well, and the last child, Franz, was born there. When Mozart finally had to take to his bed with his final illness, she had to be summoned from Baden. She didn't attend his funeral. She never visited his final resting place, nor did she arrange for any marker or monuments to be placed at his grave. He was buried in a common grave, not because of poverty, but because it was the custom of the time for his class.

[wanzenettl]

When a marker was finally erected, it was done so by a society of musicians, and placed in a spot in St. Mark's that was guessed might be near where he was buried. So no, Mozart's marriage would not have been a huge obstacle from his falling for Nancy Storace. In fact, it might just have encouraged it.

[wanzenettl]

She had a series of strokes in the summer of 1817. She destroyed the letters before her second and final stroke, which happened in mid August of that year. It was actually her son, Spencer, (from her estranged lover), who wrote to the famous English architect, John Soane about his mother's destroying the letters.

[elias12186]

Maybe she was just paranoid about her privacy? Mozart did write some pretty bad letters!

[wanzenettl]

Nancy was an October 27 Scorpio. Have you ever known a Scorpio? They're extremely private and secretive people. It is most probable that she destroyed those letters to protect her private legacy.

[elias12186]

(= yeppers

[tenore23]

"Just before his departure for Prague Mozart composed the great concert aria, Ch' io mi scordi di te?... Non temer amato bene K.505 as a farewell gift for Anna. Upon his return to Vienna, Mozart and Anna performed the piece together at her farewell concert at the Kärntnertor Theater. What makes this concert aria unique and outstanding is the fact that it is actually a concerto for voice and piano. Mozart composed the piano part to be played by himself."

[tenore23]

This section quoted from a website dedicated to Nancy Storace clearly indicates that K. 505 was not composed for insertion in Idomeneo, but for the concert stage.

The version of this text that was composed for idomeneo was vomposed for a Tenor and with violin obligato

[wanzenettl]

That website belongs to me. It was a website that I created in conjunction with my master's thesis, which was on the life and work of Anna Storace, and her relationship with Mozart. And you are correct, this was not an insertion aria to "Idomeneo". It was composed as a farewell gift by Mozart for Anna.

[beethomozart]

It's ok you like miss gens,is your taste,but if everybody would think like you,what a boring world we´d had,no way you can compare miss gens with divas like miss callas,miss joan sutherland, kirsten flagstad,janowitz,te kanawa just to mention a few,my respects to the excellent soprano miss gens,she´s good,long live mozart

[elias12186]

Haha then again Callas, Sutherland, and others could never pull of singing this.

[beethomozart]

the acting on stage of maria callas along with her drama,the coloratura of dame sutherland,the wagnerian dramatism of kirsten flagstad,the elegance of te kanawa,the tenderness of gundula janowitz,the set on stage and range of renata tebaldi,the angel voice of charlotte church,and i can get on,too long to be listed here,...and the sweetness of miss gens,they all have their charming,I could listen to all of them,without critizicing any one,just enjoy the greatest gift that GOD gave us,human voice

[BlkMuscGent]

Also, Nancy Storace was the first Susanna in LE NOZZA DI FIGARO.

[BlkMuscGent]

Veronique Gens does a decent job, but to be honest, I have heard better. Cecilia Bartoli's rendition, on her 1993 MOZART ARIAS disc, is the best I've heard. Bartoli declaims the text magnificently and sings the aria with pathos. She is also fiery and brilliant when necessary. Another moving rendition, surprisingly enough, is Leontyne Price's version on her disc of Mozart arias. It's a hard recording to fine, but Leontyne Price is in great form--she nails this aria!

[elias12186]

Bartoli? On her Mozart portrait cd? I don't see it. But I doubt she can pass gens in this.

[elias12186]

Ahh I see she has another cd, I'll look into it.

[BlkMuscGent]

But she does. Bartoli offers better diction, smoother legato, more brilliant coloratura, a superior trill, better high notes, more drama. :)

[elias12186]

Can you post it?

[BlkMuscGent]

I will try to make a video tonight and post it. I've never made this type of video, so wish me luck!

[BlkMuscGent]

I made the video, using iMOVIE on my MacBook. I saved it as an MPEG, but YOUTUBE won't let me select for uploading. Do you know what could be wrong?

[elias12186]

Well...i think mpegs work, but can you try saving it as an avi? If not you can always send me the mp3 and I'll be happy to make it, and well let the world decide :)

[BlkMuscGent]

I just made the videos, but I think I saved them in the default format for iMOVIE. I will try to upload them right now. Wish me luck!

[Heraopera]

Yes constant love.... and an constant technique is a need to show up evrthing from the bottom of the music and aria - belcantare means DRAMA and pitch of tones!!!!!!! Not windy easness and boring colors without timbre!

[elias12186]

What are you talking about?

[tristezadeayer]

No cantas mal. ¿ Sabes quien es Montserrat Caballe o Josep Carreras?. Son de mi tierra...

[mutewoman]

Yes, it's a heart wrench!

Yes, she sounds like a clarinet!

Oh my - poor Wolfgang and Nancy :(

Lascia ch'io piangi...

[elias12186]

Percheeee Percheeeeee

No need to quote another aria to talk about this one :)

[wanzenettl]

Thank-you SO MUCH for posting this! I did my master's thesis on this piece and on the woman, (Nancy Storace, his original Susanna in Figaro), for whom Mozart composed it. A grand and wonderful tribute to a woman whom Mozart greatly loved and admired.

[elias12186]

I'd actually like to learn more about this aria..What can you tell us about it? Was Mozart having an affair with her?

[wanzenettl]

That's a good question, and one that historians have argued over for a long time. I believe that he was, but there is really no way to know for sure. The late Mozart historian, Alfred Einstein wrote that Nancy was "the only woman for which Constanze would have any reason to be jealous", and Constanze most certainly "wrote her out" of Mozart history by almost completely ignoring her in she and Nissen's biographical account of Mozart's life. although it was obvious that she was quite important.

[wanzenettl]

When she left Vienna to return to England in February of 1787, Mozart wanted to go with her but was thwarted when his father refused to watch the children. Constanze wouldn't allow him to go by himself. It seems that he tried again, to go to England in 1790 when he embarked on a sudden tour that didn't make any sense, either logistically nor financially. His route was straight to London, but again, he was thwarted. We know that he and Nancy wrote to one another after her return to England.

[wanzenettl]

It seems, however, that Nancy burned his letters to her, shortly before her death in 1817, stating that they were for "my eyes only", (according to her young son, Spencer Braham). It's too bad, because those letters would have told us a lot. That is, however, what Nancy intended to keep secret, so we will never really know for sure. But I, for one, am completely convinced that Mozart was in love with her because there is just too much evidence that points to it.

[wanzenettl]

About the aria: It was composed as a gift for Nancy to sing at her farewell concert in Vienna in February of 1787. It is actually a short "concerto" for voice and piano. Mozart wrote the piano part for himself to play at the concert. In fact, Mozart made a personal remark about it in his thematic catalog, (the only personal remark in the entire catalog), saying "Für Mlle. Storace und mich", (For Mlle. Storace and me). The text was taken from Mozart's beloved opera, "Idomeneo".

[wanzenettl]

It speaks of constant love, and states that "If I am forced to abandon my love for you and give it to another I would rather die." It was a very personal, and tender tribute to a woman for whom Mozart, if not in love with her, held great affection and admiration.