Gioachino Rossini - La donna del lago - "Vieni, o stella che lucida e bella"

This is the first of the three finales that I'm going to upload in the framework of the "Quintet" compilation. We return to "La donna del lago".

P.S. Not to repeat myself, I would direct you to one of my previous uploads, "Qual pena in me gia desta" which includes a basic overview of the opera.

To avoid any confusion, here is the list of singers and their respective roles:

Elena - Katia Ricciarelli,
Malcolm - Lucia Valentini-Terrani,
Rodrigo di Dhu - Dano Raffanti,
Douglas d'Angus - Samuel Ramey,
Albina - Cecilia Valdenassi,
Serano - Oslavio Di Credico.

The Act One Finale is one of Rossini's most striking achievements. Not only is it one of his most beautiful pieces, it is also an incredibly dramatic scene which perfectly illustrates each change of the protagonists' situation. Most finales are built around the familiar "opening statement - suspension over time - final stretta as all leave the stage angry and confused" kind of structure. Rossini's piece isn't exactly breaking the tradition, as most critics say. It's still centered on the structure mentioned above, with "Crudele sospetto" being the suspension over time. That being said, let's see the structure of the piece:

1. 0:00 - 1:40. "Vieni, o stella". A celebratory chorus sings of Elena's beauty. It's a fairly typical opening to a finale. As a point of interest, here we get a melody taken directly from "Ricciardo" (from Agorante's cavatina).
2. 1:40 - 6:24. "Quanto a quest'alma amante", a terzettino for Elena, her father and Rodrigo. It details Rodrigo happiness of seeing his bride and yet he sees that his bride is unhappy which causes him distress. Douglas is, much like any oppressive father figure in these situations, is threatening his daughter while trying to keep fact in front of Rodrigo. Elena is, quite simply and quite rightly, unhappy of being married against love. All this is enveloped into a most wonderful piece with a very beautiful orchestral line. The piece starts as separate phrases of each character but soon they are connected together as all three lament the loss of their peace of mind. What's rather interesting is the fact that Rodrigo's main line here is taken directly from the central andante section of his aria where he also is thinking of Elena.
3. 6:24 - 7:52. "La mia spada, e la piu fida", the first musical bridge set to a musical theme to be repeated in the stretta. Malcolm appears on stage with a spectacular war song, while Douglas and Elena are consumed by very different feelings in the musical background: the former -- by rage at seeing the lover of his daughter, the latter -- by happiness.
4. 7:52 - to the end. "Questo amplesso a te fia pegno", another bridge. Rodrigo enthusiastically greats his compatriot. And after a bit of small talk, Malcolm is shocked to find out that the bride is his beloved Elena who quickly and quietly asks him to be prudent and not to offend the her groom or father, if not for her, then for his own sake.

The second part will appear soon :)!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Rossini
• coloratura
• belcanto

[Alicuche2]

Where did you got this CD?? I have looked for all shops and I didn't find it.

[LindoroRossini]

I bought it a while back in Geneva, when I was staying there with a branch of my family :), the city is something of a goldmine for excellent and inexpensive recordings of classical music :). If you like this except, then I would urge you to listen to two other excepts that I uploaded from the same recording: "O fiamma soave" and "Vivere io non potro" (just look them up in my playlist, "Music for Colbran, Pisaroni, David, Nozzari & Galli", No. 2 & 19). Cheers :)!

[Alicuche2]

Thanks....Only a question, I want to buy the recording of this opera sung by Blake, Merrit, Anderson and Surjan, would you recommed me or the recording of Ricciarelli is better??

[LindoroRossini]

A tough question, but I will try to answer it :). I would wholeheartedly recommend the recording with Ricciarelli which is in better sound (as the one with Anderson is live, if I'm not mistaken), has a slightly better cast (Gonzales and Raffanti easily beat with their sensitive approaches to the characters and the music the roulandes of Blake and Merritt; Ricciarelli is more consistent vocally in the recording than Anderson; Valentini-Terrani and the supporting cast are well-chosen),

[LindoroRossini]

and, in general, is a better representation of the drama itself, a perfect opportunity to savor the work itself :). Concerning other versions... I would also propose one of the first revivals of the work with Von Stade, Horne, Blake and Raffanti which has the excitement of a live performance and a consistent cast. Check out the three selections I posted: "Qual pena in me gia desta", "Tanti affetti" with Von Stade and "Ah si pera: ormai la morte" with Horne; it's quite good :D.

[LindoroRossini]

There is also an Opera Rara recording with Tarver and Kunde that I'm looking for at the moment, though I don't know, if it is any good :).

[Alicuche2]

Ok, thank you vero much for the notion, you know very much.