Dopo notte - Joyce DiDonato LIVE 2007 in Geneva - Ariodante - Handel

Joyce DiDonato - Mezzosoprano


LIVE in Geneva, Switzerland, Nov 2007
G.F. Handel: Ariodante, London 1735
Video Trailer of this production:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=l5GyahMzuzQ


Total cast:
Joyce DiDonato ............. Ariodante
Patrica Petibon ................ Ginevra
Varduhi Abrahamyan .... Polinesso
Amanda Forsythe ............ Dalinda
Charles Workman .......... Lurcanio
Antonio Abete .... King of Scotland
Kenneth Montgomery, conductor


Joyce DiDonato about this role on her website:
http://www.joycedidonato.com/englishjournalarch1-33.html
"This Prince has long been at the top of my list of 'dream roles', and in a way it's a bit sad to move it from the unknown, virginal stage of "maybe one day I'll get to sing it" to the reality of premiering such an iconic role, knowing that there is only one 'first time'. I have high hopes for this role, as artistically it feels like a perfect fit, and I am surely challenged in every single way with the demands of the role. But the hardest part as I go into Sunday's premiere is that I want it to be so, so good. I want people to breathe each breath along with Ariodante, to feel his naive and unfiltered jubilation at the start of the piece, to walk with him as the poison of doubt enters his veins, as his heart breaks in two when he believes his love to be untrue, not to mention when the realization erupts in him that ultimately he, himself, is the only one to blame for the betrayal, and finally coming full circle to joy again -- but this time, a joy which bares the wounds of his mortality, that shines through the scars of his all too human nature. I want people to take this journey with him, so that at the end of the (nearly) 4 hour evening, they will have experienced a rich odyssey of human fraility. I also want them to be completely absorbed by the almost painfully beautiful music Handel created for his masterpiece, for this is truly, a masterpiece."


Aria of ARIODANTE
************
Dopo notte, atra e funesta,
splende in Ciel più vago il sole,
e di gioia empie la terra.

Mentre in orrida tempesta
il mio legno è quasi assorto,
giunge in porto,
e'l lido afferra.
************
After black and gloomy night
the sun shines more radiantly in the sky
and fills the earth with joy.

Whereas in the fearful tempest
my barque was almost enguelfed,
now it has entered harbour
and reached the shore.
************


I've uploaded 6 Ariodante arias from this production:
- Tu, preparati a morire
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9048-HyQDGM

- Dopo notte
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=oYLqmc1u0ck

- Con l'ali di costanza
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=L-uZZEbNXpk

- Cieca notte
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2B4a-BeDdA

- Numi! lasciarmi vivere
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3brcxVfPqWs

- Scherza infida
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CSKPc0UXOo

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Joyce
• di
• Donato
• Didonato
• Dopo
• Notte
• Ariodante
• Handel

[DrPrunesquallor73]

I wonder if you have heard all the Ariodantes since the disappearance of the castratos?? I think there are some, even today, who are not worse than DiDonato.

[Gudrun74]

Which Ariodante do you think was equal or better than DiDonato???

I can only speak of Europe. I've been monitoring them between Barcelona and Vienna over the last couple of years, didn't find a better one, seriously. Vivica Genaux sang an excellent Dopo Notte, but not the whole Ariodante.

[lalagonegaga]

Hm, if I might include myself into this conversation, my personal favourite is (get this... prepare yourself...) Janet Baker. :) Yes, I know the recording is ancient and that it has nothing on today's baroque standards, but still, she has something that I find perfect for this role. As for the entire opera, the best recording is Minko's, naturally. :)

[Gudrun74]

As to Baker, see my comment below, great for that time > 35 years ago. But there's not a single trill, the most essential da capo ornament. I wonder how Baker would sing it today.

Whom I'd like to hear in this role are Bonitatibus and Nesi. And Hallenberg at a less somniferous tempo than Curtis'. Perhaps this July in Beaune :-P

[DrPrunesquallor73]

Well, personal tastes are... personal, so I hope you'll forgive me when I say that I'm not very impressed by JDD here. She struggles. Vocally I prefer von Otter, her recording is uncallenged, I think. On stage I prefer for example Murray. She doesn't sing as well as most other mezzos, but she is sincere and committed, allows herself to be ugly if necessary. Same for Hallenberg, who completely brought the house down when she did it in Munich! (You saw that?) JDD is vain! (sorry!)

[Gudrun74]

Hi,I agree that Murray was great.Incredible that she sang more or less in a row Cesare,Ariodante,Xerxes,Rinald­o.I don't find her or ASvO poor,I just consider JDD the better Ariodante.I'm above all amazed at her trilling skills!!Really interesting how you feel she struggles,whereas I perceive her spreading pure joy singing this.Hallenberg not heard in Munich (did she step in for Kasarova?),but under Curtis the DN was terribly disappointing,sorry to say.I expected a firework but instead slept in.

[Gudrun74]

OK, now having heard Ann Hallenberg as Ariodante in Beaune under Sardelli's conducting, Joyce has a companion on her throne. She's not the one and only Ariodante on earth any more (I deleted the resp. intro in the info field, *shake hands*).

[Crindoro]

I agree Gudrun, sometimes "old diva worship" is a very negative and castrating influence in the current opera scene, past performances cannot and should not prevent new (coughcough better) ones from taking place

[wironalga]

Being an italian, I can say that she's one of the very few who can articulate the italian diction properly... Vowels are very tricky in my language, as most singers pronounces them always open. The correct italian distinguishes an open vowel from a semi-open and a close ones. It may be subtle but Handel himself and his librettists did much care this matter. So full marks to this gorgeous artist!

[rlee1976]

I agree with you here. You can hear she really is struggling to keep up with the orchestra in quite a few places. But if she sang it straight 16th notes like a machine-gun, she'd be ok, save for but a few places where she could POSSIBLY get away with lenthening them just a tad bit... I can't imagine ever singing this THIS fast, I'd have to have a chipmunk heartbeat in order to do so!

[sfkcbf]

5 stars to Handel for one of most dramatic and captivating arias. Many people try to sing it, but of course we no longer have the voices for which the aria was written, Carestini, and then Conti; therefore, all the recordings lack the vocal focus, male timbre, and especially the extended breath capacity required for a more authentic perfromance. Despite this lack, Handel continues to enchant us.

[orsosantafe]

I'm amazed by some of these comments. particularly the ones by this crightl person. some have fame thrust upon them, deserving or not, others like JdD work for it and i know personally that she is a person of the highest integrity. no one commenting on here, from what I can see, has there slightest idea of her personal life.

[cantanteporsiempre]

she does not sound very interesting

[ktxopo]

La mayoría de los críticos no han cantado una nota en su vida. Ayer estuve viéndola en Oviedo. ¡Ese Haëndel era un cabrón! La exigencia vocal es máxima.

[AiTaiwandeRen]

Who cares, really? She a performer and a darn good one. What she does off-stage is really none of your business.

[AiTaiwandeRen]

Geez, what a potty mouth.

[eyesk8er]

Personally I don't care for the sound of her voice but this version of this aria is still pleasant. However if you want to hear this aria spectacularly performed listen to Anne Sofie von Otter's version. There is just no comparison!!!

[brunotaddeo]

what an ugly voice ! her phrasing is so bad and she sings half the time off key,... as far as her looks are concerned, she looks like a pig ! how she got on i'll never know.

compare her voice with that of janet bakers ! what a difference !!!!

[JRZGRL55]

What does her personal life have to do with her singing? She is a consummate artist. If you don't like her, don't listen to her; go listen to someone you like. Don't buy her CD's. But don't sit here on an Internet page where you can be "brave" and snipe at her. It's actually a pretty cowardly thing to do.