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From:  Karen Mercedes <dalila@R...>
Karen Mercedes <dalila@R...>
Date:  Tue Nov 27, 2001  3:40 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] looking for yet another piece of music...


On Tue, 27 Nov 2001 lolipastor@a... wrote:

> Melinda! This is my problem exactly!!!! Mezzos have no good German arias!
> Sure, sure there's Orlovsky, but find me a mezzo who really likes to sing
> that, and I'll find you another mezzo aria in German. hee hee.


Actually, this isn't really true. There are two delightful arias for
lyric mezzo in Carl Maria von Weber's OBERON - both for Fatima - and
another from the same opera, for Puck. There is also the aria for Frau
Reich (Meg Page) in Nikolai's DIE LUSTIGEN WEIBER VON WINDSOR. And there's
Nancy's hunting song, "Jaegerin, schlau im Sinn" from von Flotow's MARTHA
- though I'm not sure if this can be done effectively without the chorus.

Also, look at Gaea's "Daphne, wir warten dein" from Strauss's DAPHNE, and
Reinhild's "Bei den Menschen" from his DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN.

Dramatic mezzos and contraltos have their pick of Wagner - anything from
the short but extremely potent Ortrud's curse (with its high B flats) from
LOHENGRIN to the 11-minute long Waltraute aria from DIE WALKUERE. One
I've fallen in love with is the Venus aria, "Geliebter komm", from the
Paris version of TANNHAUESER, for which Wagner transposed the aria down
(only slightly) for the mezzo-soprano who sang the role in Paris. It's the
compser's transposition, so it's "kosher" (well...as kosher as one can be
considering it's Wagner). Also Erda's "Weiche, Wotan" and "Wie alles
war" from RHEINGOLD, Fricka's monologue from WALKUERE ("Wo in der
Bergen"), Brangaene's "Einsam wachend", Adriano's long aria, "Gerechter
Gott!" from RIENZI, etc.

There is also the wonderful witch's aria (Hurr hopp hopp hopp) from
Humperdinck's HAENSEL UND GRETEL. There's also the mother's aria, "Wartet,
hir ungezogenen Wichte!" from that opera.

There's also Frau Peachum's "Ballade von sexuellen Horigkeit" in Kurt
Weill's DER DREIGROSCHENOPER, and Leokadja Begbick's songs in AUFSTIEG UND
FALL DER STADT MAHAGONNY.

In addition to the Oktavian aria from ROSENKAVALIER ("Wie du warst!"),
there is also, of course, the "Zwischenfach" aria for the Composer in
Richard Strauss's ARIADNE AUF NAXOS ("Sein wir weider gut"). Or

More modern? How about Carolina von Kirchstetten's contralto aria from
Henze's ELEGY FOR YOUNG LOVERS? Or the Graefin's aria from Berg's LULU?

More obscure? There's the princess' aria, "An allen Zweigen", in Thuille's
LOBETANZ.

Karen Mercedes
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html

---
Hillaire Belloc's flawed but insightful essay on Islam:
http://www.ewtn.com/library/HOMELIBR/HERESY4.TXT

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a
little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsyl., 1759



  Replies Name/Email Yahoo! ID Date Size
15543 Re: looking for yet another piece of music... Imthurn Melinda   Tue  11/27/2001   2 KB
15548 Re: looking for yet another piece of music... Karen Mercedes   Tue  11/27/2001   2 KB

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