MELANIE GARDNER DMA RECITAL NO.1 SPRING 2021

presents

Melanie Gardner, Soprano In DMA Recital No. 1 for the partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree

Friday, March 5th, 2021 Moorer Auditorium 6:00 pm

presents

Melanie Gardner, Soprano In DMA Recital No. 1 for the partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree I Sento nel core...............................................................................................Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) Và godendo................................................................................................................G.F. Händel (1685-1759) from Serse *** Recitative: Egli non riede ancora!...................................................................Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) Aria: Non so le tetre immagini from Il corsaro II Fünf Gedichte (Wesendonck Lieder).............................................................Richard Wagner (1813-1883) I. Der Engel II. Stehe still!

III. Im Treibhaus IV. Schmerzen V. Träume

Intermission

III Cinq Mélodies populaires grecques....................................................................Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) I. Le réveil de la mariée II. Là-bas, vers l'église III. Quel galant m’est comparable?

IV. Chanson des cueilleuses de lentisques V. Tout gai! *** A Letter from Sullivan Ballou......................................................................................John Kander (b. 1927)

IV Zapateado.....................................................................................................Gerónimo Giménez (1854-1923) from La tempranica Marinela, Marinela....................................................................................................José Serrano (1873-1941) from La canción del olvido

*** Carceleras..............................................................................................................Ruperto Chapí (1851-1909) from Las hijas del Zebedeo

TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS Sento nel core Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) Sento nel core certo dolore che la mia pace turbando va

I feel in my heart a certain pain Which disturbs my peace

Splende una face che l’alma accende se non è amore, amor sarà

A torch shines which enflames the soul If it is not love, love it will be

SERSE (1738) HWV 40 Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759) Aria: Và godendo Và godendo vezzoso e bello quel ruscello la libertà

The brook goes lightly and beautifully Enjoying its freedom

E tra l’erbe con onde chiare lieto al mare correndo va

Through the brightly waving grass It flows happily toward the sea

IL CORSARO (1848) Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) Recitative: Egli non riede ancora Egli non riede ancora!

Oh come lunghe, eterne, quando lungi è da me l’ore mi sono!

He does not return still!

Oh how long, eternal, When he is far away from me, The hours seem to me!

Arpa che or muta giaci, vieni, e di miei sospiri seconda sì, che più veloce giunga il flebile lamento al cor del mio fedel, sull’ali al vento.

Harp that now lies silent, come And echo my sighs, yes, That my feeble lament should arrive more quickly To my faithful lover’s heart on the wings of the wind.

Aria: Non so le tetre immagini Non so le tetre immagini fugar del mio pensiero sempre dannata a gemere all’ombra d’un mistero: e se di speme un pallido raggio su me traluce è passaggiera luce di lampo ingannator.

I cannot drive the dark thoughts from my mind Always condemned to sigh in a mysterious shadow: And if a pale ray of hope should shine upon me It is the fleeting light of a deceiving flash

Meglio è morir!

Se l’anima sen voli in seno a Dio; se il mio Corrado a piangere verrà sul cener mio: premio una cara lagrima chieggo all’amor soltanto, virtù non niega il pianto per chi moria d’amor!

It is better to die!

If my soul were then to fly to the bosom of God; If my Corrado should come to weep over my ashes: The only reward I would ask for is one sweet tear, Virtue does not forbid weeping for one who has died of love!

Fünf Gedichte (Wesendonck-Lieder) (1857-58) Richard Wagner (1813-1883) Poems by Mathilde Wesendonck (1828-1902) 1. Der Engel (1857)

1. The Angel

In der Kindheit frühen Tagen hört ich oft von Engeln sagen, die des Himmelshehre Wonne tauschen mit der Erdensonne.

In the early days of childhood I often heard talk of angels who would exchange heaven’s sublime joy for the earth’s sun.

TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS Dass, wo bang ein Herz in Sorgen schmachtet vor der Welt verborgen, Dass, wo still es will verbluten, und vergeh’n in Tränenfluten,

So that, wherever a heart anxious with worry languishes hidden away from the world, So that, wherever it wishes to silently bleed and melt away in a flood of tears,

Dass, wo brünstig sein Gebet einzig um Erlösung fleht, Da der Engel niederschwebt, und es sanft gen Himmel hebt.

So that, wherever its fervent prayer pleads only for release, there an angel floats down, and gently lifts it toward heaven.

Ja, es stieg auch mir ein Engel nieder, und auf leuchtendem Gefieder führt er, ferne jedem Schmerz, meinen Geist nun himmelwärts!

Yes, an angel has also come down to me, and on shining wings it leads, far from every pain, my spirit now towards heaven!

2. Stehe still! (1858)

2. Stand still!

Sausendes, brausendes Rad der Zeit, Messer du der Ewigkeit; leuchtende Sphären im weiten All, die ihr umringt den Weltenball; urewige Schöpfung, halte doch ein, genug des Werdens, lass mich sein!

Roaring, thundering wheel of time, you measure of eternity; shining spheres in the wide universe who surround the world’s globe; eternal creation, stop, enough of becoming, let me be!

Halte an dich, zeugende Kraft, Urgedanke, der ewig schafft!

Hemmet den Atem, stillet den Drang, schweiget nur eine Sekunde lang!

Schwellende Pulse, fesselt den Schlag; Ende, des Wollens ew’ger Tag! Dass in selig süssem Vergessen ich mög’ alle Wonnen ermessen!

Cease, creating power, primal thought, which eternally creates!

Slow the breath, still the urge, be silent just a second long!

Swelling pulses, restrain your beat; end the day of eternal willing!

That in blessed, sweet oblivion I may measure all joys!

Wenn Aug’ in Auge wonnig trinken, Seele ganz in Seele versinken; Wesen in Wesen sich wiederfindet, und alles Hoffens Ende sich kündet; die Lippe verstummt in staundendem Schweigen, keinen Wunsch mehr will das Inn’re zeugen: erkennt der Mensch des Ew’gen Spur, und lös’t dein Rätsel, heil’ge Natur!

When eyes drink blissfully from one another, souls completely sink into each other; beings find themselves again in each other, and what is hoped for comes near; the lips become mute in astounded silence, the soul no longer has a wish to produce, man recognizes eternity’s path, and solves your riddle, holy nature!

3. Im Treibhaus (1858) Studie zu Tristan und Isolde

3. In the Greenhouse Study to Tristan and Isolde

Hochgewölbte Blätterkronen, Baldachine von Smaragd, Kinder ihr aus fernen Zonen, saget mir, warum ihr klagt?

High-vaulted leafy crowns, canopies of emerald, you children of distant lands, tell me, why do you grieve?

Schweigend neiget ihr die Zweige, malet Zeichen in die Luft, und der Leiden stummer Zeuge steiget aufwärts, süsser Duft.

Silently you bend your branches, and paint signs in the air, and suffering’s mute witness rises upward, sweet fragrance.

Weit in sehnendem Verlangen breitet ihr die Arme aus, und umschlinget wahnbefangen öder Leere nicht’gen Graus.

With desirous longing you spread your arms out wide, and in your delusion embrace the empty horror of the desolate void.

Wohl, ich Weiss es, arme Pflanze; Ein Geschicke teilen wir,

Poor plants; I know your pain well; For we share a common fate,

TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS ob umstrahlt von Licht und Glanze, Unsre Heimat ist nicht hier!

although bathed in light and radiance our homeland is not here!

Und wie froh die Sonne scheidet von des Tages leerem Schein, hüllet der, der wahrhaft leidet, sich in Schweigens Dunkel ein.

And how gladly the sun departs from the day’s empty shine, he who truly suffers wraps himself up in silent darkness.

Stille wird’s, ein säuseld Weben füllet bang den dunklen Raum: Schwere Tropfen seh’ ich schweben an der Blätter grünem Saum.

It grows quiet, a whispered stirring anxiously fills the dark room: I see heavy drops suspended on the leaves’ green edge.

4. Schmerzen (1857)

4. Sorrow

Sonne, weinest jeden Abend dir die schönen Augen rot, wenn im Meeresspiegel badend dich erreicht der frühe Tod;

Sun, every evening you weep your lovely eyes red, when in the sea’s mirror bathing you are reached by early death;

Doch erstehst in alter Pracht, Glorie der düst’ren Welt, du am Morgen neu erwacht, wie ein stolzer Siegesheld!

Yet you rise in your old splendor, the glory of the gloomy world, newly awakened in the morning like a proud victorious hero!

Ach, wie sollte ich da klagen, Wie, mein Herz, so schwer dich seh’n, muss die Sonne selbst verzagen, muss die Sonne untergeh’n?

Ah, why should I then lament, why, my heart, do I see you so heavy, does the sun itself despair, does the sun go down?

Und gebieret Tod nur Leben, Geben Schmerzen Wonne nur: O wie dank ich, dass gegeben solche Schmerzen mir Natur!

And if death brings only life, and pain brings only joy, oh how thankful am I that nature has given me such sorrow!

5. Träume (1857) Studie zu Tristan und Isolde

5. Dreams Study to Tristan and Isolde

Sag, welch wunderbare Träume halten meinen Sinn umfangen, dass sie nicht wie leere Schäume sind in ödes Nichts vergangen?

Say, what wonderful dreams embrace my senses, that they have not like empty foam vanished into desolate nothingness?

Träume, die in jeder Stunde, jedem Tage schöner blüh’n, und mit ihrer Himmelskunde selig durchs Gemüte zieh’n!

Dreams, that in every hour, every day fairer bloom, and with their heavenly tidings move blissfully through my soul!

Träume, die wie hehre Strahlen in die Seele sich versenken, dort ein ewig Bild zu malen: Allvergessen, Eingedenken!

Dreams, which like majestic rays of sunlight sink into the soul, painting there an eternal image: Forgetting all, remembering one!

Träume, wie wenn Frühlingssonne aus dem Schnee die Blüten küsst, dass zu nie geahnter Wonne sie der neue Tag begrüsst,

Dreams, like when the spring sun kisses the blossoms out of the snow, and with unexpected joy they greet the new day,

Dass sie wachsen, dass sie blühen, träumend spenden ihren Duft, sanft an deiner Brust verglühen, und dann sinken in die Gruft.

So that they grow, so that they bloom, dreaming, they bestow their fragrance softly vanishing on your bosom, und then sinking down into the grave.

TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS

CINQ MÉLODIES POPULAIRES GRECQUES (1904-06) Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

FIVE GREEK FOLK SONGS

1. Le réveil de la mariée (1905-06)

1. The bride’s awakening

Réveille-toi, réveille-toi, perdrix mignonne, ah!

Ouvre au matin tes ailes.

Trois grains de beauté, mon cœur e nest brûlé!

Vois le ruban d’or que je t’apporte, Pour le nouer autour de tes cheveux.

Si tu veux, ma belle, viens nous marier!

Dans nos deux familles, tous sont allies!

Wake up, wake up, pretty partridge, ah!

Open your wings to the morning.

Three beauty marks; my heart is ablaze!

See the ribbon of gold that I bring you, to tie around your hair.

If you wish, my beauty, come we shall marry!

In our two families, all are now related by marriage!

2. Là-bas, vers l'église (1905-06)

2. Down by the church

Là-bas, vers l'église, Vers l'église Ayio Sidéro, L'église, ô Vierge sainte, L'église Ayio Costanndino, Se sont réunis, Rassemblés en nombre infini, Du monde, ô Vierge sainte Du monde tous les plus braves!

Down there, by the church, by the church of Saint Sideros The church, oh Holy Virgin, The church of Saint Constantine, They are gathered, Buried in infinite numbers In the world, oh Holy Virgin, the bravest people in the world!

3. Quel galant m’est comparable? (1904)

3. What gallant can compare with me?

Quel galant m’est comparable, D’entre ceux qu’on voit passer?

Dis, dame Vassiliki?

Vois, pendus à ma ceinture, pistolets et sabre aigu...

Et c’est toi que j’aime!

What gallant can compare with me, among those one sees passing by?

Tell me, lady Vassiliki!

See, hanging on my belt, Pistols and a curved sword...

And it is you whom I love!

4. Chanson des cueilleuses de lentisques (1904)

4. The song of the lentisk gatherers

O joie de mon âme, Joie de mon cœur, Trésor qui m’est si cher; Joie de l’ âme et du cœur, Toi que j’aime ardemment, Tu es plus beau qu’un ange.

O lorsque tu parais, ange si doux Devant nos yeux, Comme un bel ange blond, Sous le clair soleil, Hélas! tous nos pauvres cœurs soupirent!

Oh joy of my soul, joy of my heart, treasure which is so dear to me, joy of the soul and of the heart, you whom I love passionately, you are more beautiful than an angel.

Oh when you appear, angel so sweet, before our eyes, like a beautiful blond angel, beneath the bright sun, Alas! All our poor hearts sigh!

5. Tout gai! (1905-06)

5. All are happy!

Tout gai, gai! Ha, tout gai!

Belle jambe, tireli, qui danse; Belle jambe, la vaisselle danse, Tra la lai...

All are happy, happy! Ah, all are happy!

Beautiful legs, tirela, which dance, Beautiful legs, the dishes are dancing!

Tra la la!

TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS A LETTER FROM SULLIVAN BALLOU (1994) John Kander (b. 1927) Letter written by Sullivan Ballou on July 14, 1861 My very dear Sarah: The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days – perhaps tomorrow.

Lest I should not be able to write again, I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall about your eye when I am no more.

I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American civilization now leans on the triumph of the government, and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and sufferings of the Revolution. And I am willing – perfectly willing – to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this government, and to pay that debt....

Sarah, my love for you is deathless. It seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but omnipotence could break. And yet my love of country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me unresistibly on with all these chains to the battle field.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. And hard it is for me to give them up, and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us.

I have, I know, but a few and small claims upon divine providence. But something whispers to me – perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar – that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name. Forgive my faults and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have oftentimes been! How gladly would I was out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness....

But oh Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the gladdest days and in the darkest nights...always, always! And if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again...

TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS LA TEMPRANICA (1900) Gerónimo Giménez (1854-1923)

THE HEADSTRONG GIRL

Aria: Zapateado

Aria: A flamenco dance

La tarántula e un bicho mú malo; No se mata con piera ni palo; Que juye y se mete por tós los rincones y son mú malinas sus picazones.

The tarantula is a very bad little creature; You can’t kill it with stone or stick; It runs away and hides in all the corners And its stings are very wicked.

¡Ay mare!, no zé que tengo que ayé pazé por la era y ha principiaito a entrarme er má de la temblaera.

Zerá q’a mí me ha picáo La tarántula dañina y estoy toitico enfermáo por su sangre tan endina.

Ah mother! I don’t know what is wrong with me But yesterday I went to the threshing floor And it began to attack me, A kind of trembling fit.

It could be that it has stung me, The hurtful tarantula, And I am so sick From its devil-possessed blood.

¡Te coman los mengues mardita la araña que tié en la barriga pintá una guitarra!

Bailando se cura tan jondo doló. ¡Ay! ¡Mal haya la araña que a mí me picó!

They eat you, those demons, damn spider That has a guitar painted on its belly!

Dancing can heal such a deep pain.

Ah! Damn that spider that bit me!

No le temo a los rayos ni balas Ni le temo a otra cosa más mala Que me hizo mi pare; Más guapo que er gayo Pero a ese bichito lo parta un rayo.

I do not fear lightning nor bullets Nor am I afraid of anything worse That my father has done to me; He may be more handsome than a rooster, But may a bolt of lightning split that pest in half.

¡Ay mare!, yo estoy malito.

Me está entrando unos suores Que me han dejaito seco y comío de picores.

Zerá q’a mí me ha picáo La tarántula dañina y por eso me he quedao más dergao que una sardina.

Ah mother! I am in bad shape.

He is starting to bite me really hard and I am left dehydrated from the bites.

It could be that it has stung me, The hurtful tarantula, And for that reason I have stayed Thinner than a sardine.

¡Te coman los mengues mardita la araña que tié en la barriga pintá una guitarra!

Bailando se cura tan jondo doló. ¡Ay! ¡Mal haya la araña que a mí me picó!

They eat you, those demons, damn spider That has a guitar painted on its belly!

Dancing can heal such a deep pain.

Ah! Damn that spider that bit me!

LA CANCIÓN DEL OLVIDO (1916) José Serrano (1873-1941)

THE SONG OF FORGETTING

Aria: Marinela, Marinela

Aria: Marinela, Marinela

Marinela, Marinela con su triste cantinela, se consuela de un olvido maldecido, Mari, Marinela...

Marinela, Marinela With her sad ballad Consoles herself from a cursed neglect, Mari, Marinela...

Campesina, como errante golondrina cantarina, vas en busca del amor.

Pobre golondrina que al azar camina tras un sueño engañador.

Peasant girl, like a rambling, singing swallow, You go searching for love.

Poor swallow, who due to fate, travels In pursuit of a deceptive dream.

El aire murmura en mi oído Dulces cantares que en nuestros labios

The air murmurs in my ear Sweet songs that from our lips

TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS Ha sorprendido en noches lejanas de amor.

Cantares de tiempos mejores, cantares risueños que huelen a flores y alientan ensueños de amores.

it has overheard in distant nights of love.

Songs of better times, pleasant songs that smell of flowers, and encourage dreams of lovers.

Marinela, con su cantinela busca olvido a su dolor; Pobre Marinela, ese bien que anhela no lo da ese amor.

Marinela, with her ballad tries to forget her pain; poor Marinela, that happiness she longs for does not come from that love.

LAS HIJAS DEL ZEBEDEO (1889) Ruperto Chapí (1851-1909)

THE DAUGHTERS OF ZEBEDEE

Aria: Carceleras

Aria: Jailers

Al pensar en el dueño de mis amores, siento yo unos mareos encantadores.

Bendito sea aquel picaronazo que me marea.

In thinking about the owner of my love, I feel some delightful giddiness.

Blessed be that rogue who makes me dizzy.

A mi novio yo le quiero porque roba corazones con su gracia y su salero.

El me tiene muy ufana porque hay muchas que lo quieren y se quedan con las ganas.

I love my boyfriend because he steals hearts with his charm and his wit.

He makes me very conceited because there are many who want him and they are left with their desires.

Caprichosa yo nací, y lo quiero solamente, solamente para mí. ¡Ay! Que quitarme a mí su amor es lo mismo que quitarle las hojitas a una flor. ¡Ay!

I was born capricious and I want him all for myself. Ah! To take his love from me is the same as taking the petals from a flower. Ah!

Yo me muero de gozo cuando él me mira, y me vuelvo jalea cuando suspire.

Si me echa flores siento el corazoncito morir de amores.

I die of joy when he looks at me, and I turn to jelly when he sighs.

If he throws me flowers I feel my little heart die of love.

Porque tiene unos ojillos que me miran entornados, muy gachones y muy pillos, y me dicen “¡ay! lucero, que por esa personita me derrito yo y me muero.”

Because he has dear eyes that look at me half-closed, very sweet and very mischievious, and they say to me “Ah, bright star, for that little girl I melt and die.”

Caprichosa yo nací, y lo quiero solamente, solamente para mí. ¡Ay! Que quitarme a mí su amor es lo mismo que quitarle las hojitas a una flor. ¡Ay!

I was born capricious and I want him all for myself. Ah! To take his love from me is the same as taking the petals from a flower. Ah!

PROGRAM NOTES Sento nel core Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) Alessandro Scarlatti was born in Palermo, Italy. His parents were both musicians, and the family eventually moved to Rome, where Alessandro was able to take advantage of many opportunities to hear and perform music. He was appointed maestro di cappella at S Giacomo degli Incurabili in 1868, and quickly moved up the ranks of the musical profession in Rome, meeting with much success along the way. Not long afterward, he decided to move to Naples, where he believed there were better opportunities for performances of his operas. By 1700 he had begun to build the reputation that has made him generally known as the founder of the Neapolitan school of 18th-century opera. Scarlatti later moved back to Rome, then set his sights on Venice, the metaphorical Mecca of opera. He did not achieve the success he dreamed of in Venice and returned home to Naples at the age of 50, where he was based for the remainder of his life.

During his lifetime, Scarlatti composed operas, oratorios, serenatas, church music, cantatas, madrigals, masses, motets, songs for piano and voice, keyboard music, and other instrumental music. He was extremely prolific, leaving behind a large body of work that is still frequently performed today. “Sento nel core,” while not an opera aria, demonstrates the dramatic musical characteristics common in Scarlatti’s music. ABA’ in form, the focus of the piece is clearly melodic line and vocal expression. Ornaments are added in the second A section, in the style of the time, which placed emphasis on music over text.

SERSE (1738) HWV 40 Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759) Aria: Và godendo Georg Friedrich Händel was born in Halle, Germany. His father discouraged his interest in music, encouraging him to study law instead. He secretly practiced the clavichord, and when he was 9 years old, his father was persuaded to allow him lessons in harpsichord, organ, and composition. In 1703 he moved to Hamburg, where his musical career began. He started as the second violinist with the opera, later playing continuo harpsichord. In 1704 he composed his first opera. In 1706 he traveled to Italy, landing in Rome in 1707, where he got his start composing church music. He also began to write oratorio. Händel moved back to Germany, and finally to London, where he achieved most of his life’s success, particularly with his operas and oratorios. He is most well-known for his Messiah, but much of his music is still performed in opera and concert houses today. By the time he died in 1759, he had written music in every genre that existed in his time, both vocal and instrumental.

Serse is an opera in 3 acts, first performed on April 15, 1738 at the King’s Theatre in London. Serse, the Persian king, hears Romilda sing and declares that he wants her for his harem or as his wife. Arsamene, his brother, is in love with Romilda and does not want Serse to have her. Serse declares his intentions to Romilda, but she refuses to have him, determined to stay true to Arsameme. The plot is thickened only by confusion and miscommunication between various characters in love with various other characters. In the third act, Serse orders Arsamene to kill Romilda, but Amastre (Serse’s princess in disguise) takes the sword and turns it on Serse, revealing her identity. The couple reconciles, and Serse blesses the marriage of Romilda and Arsameme, begging for forgiveness.The aria “Va godendo” is sung by Romilda in Act I, in a garden in Serse’s palace. She is comparing the victims of love to a happy stream that enjoys its freedom.

PROGRAM NOTES IL CORSARO (1848) Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) Recitative: Egli non riede ancora Aria: Non so le tetre immagini Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi was immediately preceded in the operatic world by composers Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti. Verdi’s career as an operatic composer began in 1836. His first opera, Oberto, saw moderate success in La Scala, but his comic opera Un giorno di regno, which immediately followed Oberto, did not. However, with his third opera, Nabucco, in 1842, Verdi began to experience true musical success, and his operas eventually came to represent the culmination of the Romantic Italian opera. His works dominated Italian opera houses through 1890.

Verdi’s little-known opera Il Corsaro was based The Corsair by Lord Byron, and his librettist for the work was Francesco Piave. Elements of the bel canto style can be clearly heard in the music. Verdi’s early works can even be predictable in following the old forms of Donizetti and Bellini, but he managed to change the form from within, occasionally returning to the Rossini Code in his later works, but in a less predictable way. Verdi truly transformed Italian opera over the course of his career, from the bel canto era into the Romantic period, and even in this early work it is clear that the singing, while bel canto in style, still manages to serve the drama and the character within the music.

In Il Corsaro, Corrado must leave his wife Medora in order to fight the Turks. He is captured by the Turkish pasha Seid, and would be killed if not for Gulnara, Seid’s favorite concubine, who saves Corrado.

The two escape together to the pirate island. However, Medora receives news that Corrado has been killed, and poisons herself before Corrado can reach her.

In “Egli non viedi ancora! - Non so le tetre immagini,” Medora sings and plays her harp, a song in C minor that is quite foreboding. She imagines that tragedy will come to pass for Corrado and for her. She sings that she cannot push these dark thoughts from her mind. The aria appears in the opera right before Corrado comes to tell her that he must leave her to fight the Turks, so it seems that Medora does indeed sense what is going to happen before it ever comes to pass. Later in the opera, her dark visions do indeed come true.

FÜNF GEDICHTE (WESENDONCK-LIEDER) (1857-58) Richard Wagner (1813-1883) Poems by Mathilde Wesendonck (1828-1902) I. II. III. IV. V.

Der Engel Stehe Still!

Im Treibhaus Schmerzen Träume

Richard Wagner is a name that is known by even those unfamiliar with the art of opera, as being one of the greatest and most influential operatic composers of all time. He is not, however, as well known for his contribution to song, which is quite small in comparison to other German composers of his time.

Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany, where his only formal musical training took place, first at St. Thomas’s church and then at Leipzig University, where he enrolled as a music student in 1831. Aside from this early education, Wagner was largely self-taught in music. His background in literature was strong, but he decided on a career in music, and idolized Beethoven. He began composing opera as early as 1833, but the works he is known for today came quite a bit later. Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman), produced in Dresden in 1843, is the first opera that is truly representative of the personal compositional style for which Wagner has come to be known. It was followed by Tannhaüser in

PROGRAM NOTES 1845 and Lohengrin in 1850. In these three Romantic operas, we do not yet see the fully developed technique of leitmotif for which Wagner is so famous, yet they did push musical boundaries of the time.

Beginning in 1848, Wagner became involved in revolutionary activities and political uprisings in Germany that resulted in his going into exile in Switzerland, where he wrote his important treatises Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft and Oper und Drama, focusing on these literary contributions rather than musical compositions during this time. Wagner called for what he termed “Gesamtkunstwerk,” or a collective artwork that combined music, drama, and art into one larger art form with a higher purpose. Between 1848 and 1852, Wagner created the libretto for his massive work Der Ring des Nibelungen, now commonly known as The Ring Cycle. In these operas we see Wagner’s mature style, and the full development and use of the leitmotif.

During his exile in Switzerland, Wagner and his wife Minna rented a house from the rich and prominent Otto Wesendonck and his wife Mathilde. The couple were devoted supporters of his music, and the small house adjoined their mansion. Wagner fell in love with Mathilde, which led to his separation from his wife.

He began to compose Tristan und Isolde, which shows the influence of his affair with Mathilde. Due to this affair, his life in Zürich became too embarrassing, and he left for Venice, where he completed the opera in 1859.

Wagner interrupted work on Tristan und Isolde to write five songs to poems by Mathilde Wesendonck.

These songs proved to be exercises for the opera. In fact, Wagner designated two of the songs “Studie zu Tristan und Isolde” (Study to Tristan and Isolde): “Im Treibhaus” and “Träume.” The Wesendonck Lieder were rare in that Wagner rarely ever set text by someone other than himself. The Wesendonck Lieder are also set apart by being they only songs of Wagner’s mature period.

CINQ MÉLODIES POPULAIRES GRECQUES (1904-06) Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) I. II. III. IV. V.

Le réveil de la mariée Là-bas, vers l'église Quel galant m’est comparable?

Chanson des cueilleuses de lentisques Tout gai!

Maurice Ravel was born in Cibourne, France, but just a few short months after his birth, his family moved to Paris. His father was an engineer and an amateur pianist, and Ravel, who showed musical promise early on, began taking piano lessons at the age of 7. He began composing in 1887 and was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire in 1889. In 1895 he left the Conservatoire and began to focus heavily on his compositions, returning to the Conservatoire just 2 years later to study composition under Fauré and counterpoint under Gédalge, both of whom heavily influenced his musical style.

Ravel was influenced by the exotic, including the Javenese gamelan and the Russian music of RimskyKorsakov. He was also greatly influenced by his French contemporaries, including Mallarmé and Debussy. He founded the Société Musicale Indépendente in 1909, which was dedicated to performing new French and foreign works, regardless of style or genre. He met both Diagheliv and Stravinsky in 1909, adding to his foreign influence and collaboration. During his lifetime, Ravel composed ballets, operas, songs, orchestral and chamber works, and piano pieces. After Debussy’s death in 1918, he became generally known as France’s leading composer.

Ravel composed his 5 songs, entitled Cinq mélodies populaires grecques (“Five Greek Folk Songs”), between 1904 and 1906. The original Greek text was translated into French by Michel Dimitri Calvocoressi, whom Ravel met at the Paris Conservatoire. Calvocoressi was a Greek-French music critic.

Both Ravel and Calvocoressi were interested in exotic music and both were members of Les Apaches, a revolutionary group in Paris that saw native folk songs as an important source for musical inspiration.

Calvocoressi identified Greek folk songs that he wanted set to music for a demonstration of popular

PROGRAM NOTES Greek music, and invited Ravel to set the French translations. Greek folk influences can be heard in the music. As a set, the cycle tells the story of a Greek wedding, from the awakening of the bride on the morning of her wedding day to the dancing guests at the wedding celebration.

A Letter From Sullivan Ballou John Kander (b. 1927) John Kander, a living American composer, was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He came from a musical family, took piano lessons as a child, and eventually earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music. He is still composing today. Kander has won four Tony Awards, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983.

The text for “A Letter From Sullivan Ballou” comes from an actual letter written by a soldier during the Civil War. It was written by Sullivan Ballou to his wife, Sarah, on July 14, 1861, a week before he died at the First Battle of Bull Run. The letter was never mailed, and was found among his personal effects after his passing. Sarah was 24 when Sullivan died, and she died at the age of 80, having never remarried. The two are buried next to each other at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island.

LA TEMPRANICA (1900) Gerónimo Giménez (1854-1923) Romanza: Zapateado Zarzuela, or Spanish musical theatre, found its beginnings during the reign of King Philip IV (1621-1665), who would host elaborate entertainment including musical plays at the royal hunting lodge, “La Zarzuela”, from which the genre eventually adopted its name. The genre continued to develop throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, reaching its definitive form in the 19th century, by which time zarzuela incorporated music, singing, dancing, and the spoken word in a way that more fully represented the diverse musical culture of Spain. This style became most clearly developed in the years before the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s and became firmly established in form and tradition in the years to follow. Today, most zarzuelas incorporate lyrical solo songs (known as romanzas), vocal ensemble numbers, traditional Spanish dances and folk music.

Gerónimo Giménez was born in Seville and studied music as a boy with his father. He went on to become the first violinist at the Teatro Principal in Cadiz, began conducting operas and zarzuelas there, and moved to France to attend the Paris Conservatoire on scholarship. He eventually toured Italy and returned to Spain, where he became conductor first at the Teaotro Apolo, then the Teatro de la Zarzuela, and finally the Teatro Lirico. Giménez composed a number of zarzuelas. His La Tempranica premiered at the Teatro de la Zarzuela on September 19, 1900. The libretto was by Julián Romea Parra and had a sentimental storyline, a typical zarzuela characteristic. The work is in one act, with three tableaus.

“Zapateado” appears in the first tableau, which is set in the countryside of Granada, and opens with a prelude followed by the entrance of a hunting party. An Englishman hunting with the party asks to hear some typical peasant canciones of the local area, and Grabié, a young boy who works for the blacksmith, is sent for. Grabié returns and sings the “Zapateado.” There is a double entendre in the song, for while on the surface it seems to be about the wicked tarantula, Grabié really means to secretly tease Don Luis about his love affair with Grabié’s sister Maria; thus the tarantula’s “bite” in the song is actually representative of the dangers of falling in love.

The zapateado itself is a traditional Spanish dance form. Known as the zapateado flamenco, this song and dance developed in the mid-nineteenth century and was usually accompanied by the guitar, while dancers’ feet created a rhythmic combination of sounds alternating between heel and toe movements.

This rhythm can be heard in the form of a repetitive motive in 6/8 in the piano.

PROGRAM NOTES LA CANCIÓN DEL OLVIDO (1916) José Serrano (1873-1941) Romanza: Marinela, Marinela Spanish composer José Serrano was born in Valencia, Spain, and raised in a musical family. He studied composition from an early age, first with his father, then at the Valencia Conservatory with Salvador Giner, and finally in Madrid with Tomás Bretón and Ruperto Chapí. Serrano played both violin and guitar.

During his lifetime, he composed around 50 zarzuelas, some songs, and other vocal works. His more successful works have lived on after his death. Zarzuelas by José Serrano are still performed in opera houses today.

La canción del olvido premiered at the Teatro Lírico in Valencia on November 17, 1916. The one-act opera is a romantic drama, set in a fictitious city in the kingdom of Naples at the end of the 18th century.

The song “Marinela, Marinela,” which is sung by the heroine Rosina, is performed offstage, and is “The Song of Forgetting,” which is where the title of the main work comes from. In the opera, Rosina is accompanied by the harp.

LAS HIJAS DEL ZEBEDEO (1889) Ruperto Chapí (1851-1909) Romanza: Carceleras Ruperto Chapí was born in the Spanish village of Villena, where he conducted the village band. His father was a barber, but loved music. Chapí attended the Madrid conservatory for his musical training, got a job as a cornettist in the Circo de Price theatre orchestra, and began composing zarzuelas. He composed around 160 stage works over the course of 30 years, with most of his efforts focused on zarzuelas towards the end of his career.

Las Hijas del Zebedeo, which premiered in the Teatro Maravillas in Madrid in 1889, is a zarzuela in two acts. The plot is one of scandal and questionable identities. Polissón, uncle of Regina, looks for a Felipe who seduced his sister. He suspects that Felipe is the owner of the picnic area "El Zebedeo". Felipe’s son Arturo fears (due to some comments overheard from his father), that his girlfriend Luisa may be the daughter of Zebedee, and therefore his sister. However, the reality is that Felipe's illegitimate daughter turns out to be Regina. When this is revealed, Arturo moves forward with his plans to marry Luisa.

“Carceleras” from is sung by Luisa about her boyfriend. A carceleras is a traditional Andalusian gypsy song in which prisoners bemoan their fate. (The Spanish word carceleras translates to “jailers” in English.) In the music and lyrics of the song, Luisa’s flirtatious and capricious nature is revealed.

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