Today: Most Powerful Aria
It's impossible for me to say that only one aria is the most powerful. Since last night I've been mulling over my choices, and have come to the conclusion that there are at least three, off the top of my head, that have the power to reduce me to a quivering heap. And so here are my Top Three Most Powerful Arias, in no order of importance.
Puccini, E lucevan le stelle:
I cannot get through this one without wailing. It kicks me right in the heart. The music is so beautiful, so filled with regret and longing, that I can't listen to it often. Of course, different singers inject different levels of pain and sadness into it, so I can listen to some (say, Joseph Calleja) without being knocked sideways, while other interpreters (let's say a certain Bavarian Tenor) just knock me right on the floor.
Massenet, Pourquoi me reveiller
This one, too, is full of longing. The difference between it and the Puccini, though, is that Werther's death is his decision: he doesn't yet know that he is going to die. This aria is full of longing for a love he cannot have, not a love that was lost. Again, different interpreters, etc. etc. You all know whom I'm about to post here, don't you?
And last, but certainly not least:
Beethoven, Gott! Welch dunkel hier
The beginning of this aria gives me chills every time: it's a musical scream, rising from the depths to overtake the orchestra and show just how badly off this character is. We get a full biographical background here, which is tricky to pull off, and then we get this ecstatic vision in which Florestan sees the woman he loves coming to save him-but to save him by granting him death and so rest. Powerful stuff. This is the one character in this post who, I would argue, actually wants to die. He's done. Florestan is a sort of weird Cavaradossi doppelganger: both stood up for their politics and both had something go horribly wrong, only Florestan is ready to die for his beliefs, whereas Cavaradossi didn't think he would have to. And that's what I love about this aria.
I'm really interested to hear what you all think of all this.
5 comments:
I agree with you both about the kicking-in-the-heart potential of "E lucevan le stelle" and the perception that it isn't always that way. In recorded/live interpretations I'd heard, it was more of a respite, a sweet moment of recalled happiness. And then I heard Kaufmann do it live, and nearly ended up on the floor. For me, though, Calleja belongs to "Oh that's so sad dear god I can't stand it" group of "E lucevan" interpreters.
The first time I put the Ludwig/Vickers recording on, that "Gott!" made me jump sideways on my couch.
Now... despite the fact that the Beloved Flatmate claims I cried for a week after seeing the Kaufmann Werther, I might let some other fachs have a look-in on this Most Powerful Aria section. And for some reason, I also tend to think of "Devastating" as a synonym for powerful here. Two possibilities:
"Ella giammai m'amo" from Don Carlo?
"Un bel di vedremo." I know, it's massively overdone, but if it's done well, it still kills me.
Oh wait I have another one: "J'ai perdu mon Eurydice." Cue the waterworks.
Did you know, going into that Tosca, what Kaufmann was capable of? Or was it a complete surprise?
I really like Calleja, but I recently heard his E lucevan on the radio and wasn't as destroyed as I was by Kaufmann's. Maybe because JK has managed to single-handedl ruin every other tenor for me.
I do like your suggestions. I'm just not as familiar with them as I should be.
Well, I'd seen the Werther, I'd listened to CDs. But... I was unprepared for the power of the voice, live, and the subtlety with which it was used, and the acting, and charisma, and the fact that Cavaradossi could smile at Tosca in a way that could make me blush. Excellent Tosca and beyond-excellent Scarpia and conducting meant that the whole thing was overpowering. Sigh.
Bit late with this reponse - apols - been in Scotland 10 days - long long drive home.
At the moment (i.e.for the last 6 months), the aria in my head has been Mein liebe Schwan (Lohengrin). Sorrow and tenderness when he sees the swan again. Grief/anger/love all at once, on 'O Elsa!, nur ein Jahr an deiner Seite......'
Heroic on 'dies Horn soll in Gefahr ihm Hilfe schenken....'
More tenderness as he gives the ring as a momento of him, and then the furious parting 'Leb Wohl"
All from the Remarkable One of course - he's sublime as he moves from one mind-state to the next - just get that second syllable on 'Seite' when he is addressing Elsa - it's gut-wrenching.
And all with Wagner's genius music and text. I have become a born-again Wagnerian - never thought it would happen - It's extreme of course - I mean:'the grail will be angry with me if I stay any longer' - please - give me a break - but I totally suspend disbelief. And then of course there is 'in fernem Land......... '
PS. JK is in Les Troyens at Covent Garden next autumn - not one I know
PPS How about Eugene Onegin for taking un amour to - it's got guns in and a great last duet.......
@Shapta-dakini: Lohengrin makes me want to smack people. It's just so, I don't know, obnoxious on the whole "I can only stay if you don't ask my name" premise, and then having Elsa just collapse and die, and all this foolishness with the grail...but the music is exquisite, and the swan aria is stunning. Kaufmann is a beautiful interpreter.
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