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Date sent: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 02:22:03 EST
Subject: Re: Rosina 'pretty'?/coloratura showing off
To: vocalist
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In a message dated 1/20/00 11:46:56 PM Eastern Standard Time,
VOCALIST-DIGEST-Owner writes:

<< n a message dated 01/20/2000 10:38:04 PM Central Standard Time,
michael.chesebro-at-worldnet.att.net writes:

<< Horne and Bartoli, well now, I have heard many make complaints of one
type
of another. Just the same, they are known for singing florid music that was
the style in a given era. I think it is more appropriate to criticize the
music of that era than those two artists. >>

But there are other artists who perform the same music and I don't feel that
way about their singing. There is just a lack of emotion in some of their
performances. I feel that their ornamentation tends toward "look at me!"
rather than "look at what is being said." For example, Horne does a 2
octave
drop in one recording of "una voce poco fa" that is not pretty - and if it's
not pretty, it's not Rosina!

Chris Thomas
Mezzo-Soprano >>
.................................................

Chris, do you think Rosina is being pretty when she says "ma se mi toccano
dov'e il mio debole, saro una vipera saro!" ? I don't agree that Rosina has
to be pretty all the time. She has quite a lot of scheming to do, so she
must be smart and determined. Sometimes she plays the 'pretty little
innocent thing' especially for Bartolo, but that is not Miss Rosina's real
personality! Look at the rest of her text. Of course, these opinions are
subjective, so there will be many interpretations, which I think is a good
thing.

Also, to go further along in another vein, coloratura exuberance does not
have be about showing off. Rossini used it to express joy and excitement,
and the singer should feel that when she's doing it--I do!

What's being actually said at the point in the aria where all the 16th notes
are, is the same thing that has already been said---several times. For
instance, in "una voce poco fa", Rosina says the line 'faro gio car' 17
times! Is each one of these supposed to be teeming with meaning? Textually,
no, but musically--Rossini uses a different musical treatment for almost
every one of them. All bel canto composers did this--it was convenient to
reuse text for the singer to 'vocalize' on. But it was not mere vocalization
that they had in mind--it was the expression of those emotions that were
mentioned above. Those of us who know and love bel canto appreciate this
aspect of the music and the singers who bring this to their singing, as Horne
and Bartoli do. Look at that little Cecilia when she's singing Rossini, that
irrepressible smile--she is having SUCH fun! I know exactly how she feels,
too. :-)

Elise Curran
ENTJ
dramatic coloratura soprano