''Italian Opera Arias'' is a 51-minute studio album of music performed by

Frederica von Stade Frederica von Stade OAL (born June 1, 1945) is a semi-retired American opera singer. Since her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1970, she has performed in operas, musicals, concerts and recitals in venues throughout the world, including La Scala, th ...

, Janice Taylor and the National Arts Centre Orchestra under the direction of

Mario Bernardi Mario Bernardi, (20 August 1930 – 2 June 2013) was a Canadian conductor and pianist.National Arts Centre,

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada., following a performance of some of its programme by von Stade, Taylor, the NAC Orchestra and Bernardi on the last evening of the 1977 Festival Canada. It was at von Stade's request that Columbia selected the NAC Orchestra to accompany her.

Cover art

The cover of the album was designed by Henrietta Condak, and features a photograph of von Stade taken by Valerie Clement.

Critical reception

Alan Blyth reviewed the album on LP in ''

Gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

'' in January 1980. Readers who were regular visitors to Glyndebourne, he wrote, would already be familiar with Frederica von Stade's portrayal of Penelope, the lonely, sorrowing queen of Ithaca in Monteverdi's ''Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria''. In her arioso and recitative "Torna, torna", she was "deeply moved nddeeply moving" as she pleaded for her husband to come back to her after his long absence in the Greeks' war against the Trojans. Monteverdi's genius, von Stade's artistry and the able support of Janice Taylor as Ericlea combined to paint a picture that captured the very essence of romantic devotion, even if the music was performed in the "fanciful" edition confected by Raymond Leppard. "Di tanti palpiti" from Rossini's ''Tancredi'' (sung complete with its introductory recitative) was delivered with "appropriately upright, masculine tones" and a confident grasp of Rossini's melodic idiom. It was the composer's fault, not von Stade's, that what was meant to be an aria of lament sounded incongruously cheerful. "Il mio ben quando verrà" from Paisiello's ''Nina'' widened the recital's emotional range with tenderness and charm. Accompanied by some pretty woodwind playing, von Stade sang it with "all her most shapely phrasing and mellow tone". "Bel raggio", from Rossini's ''Semiramide'', was the album's only disappointment. Von Stade infused it with passion, but the aria's ''fioriture'' and other vocal challenges were too difficult for her to negotiate without some moments of audible discomfort. "L'Ombra fedele, anch'io" from Broschi's ''Idaspe'' was an aria that many listeners would probably never have come across before. Written for the composer's brother, the famous ''castrato''

Farinelli Farinelli (; 24 January 1705 – 16 September 1782) was the stage name of Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi (), a celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. Farinelli h ...

, it was "an insinuating piece with a kind of trumpet obbligato, and many repeated notes, in Handelian vein". Von Stade dispatched it "with élan, finding just the right castrato timbre for its grave utterance of another faithful soul". NAC-CNA-2019

"È destin" from ''La Bohème'' - Leoncavallo's little known setting of the story, not the famous

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long lin ...

version - concluded the recital with a venture into a territory peripheral to von Stade's repertoire, nineteenth-century ''verismo''. Despite Musetta's heartbroken outpourings being very unlike her usual material, she expressed them with unqualified success. The playing of the National Arts Centre Orchestra and Mario Bernardi's "alert and refined conducting" were both beyond reproach, as was CBS's audio quality, which had "more forward presence" than most of the company's output. The album's heterogeneity of styles meant that its transitions between tracks could be jarring, but the disc demonstrated von Stade's ability to project many different kinds of music and character with equal conviction. In sum, the album was "another desirable record" from an "attractive, thoughtful" singer who "never makes a bad one". The album was also reviewed in the 1982 edition of ''The new Penguin stereo record and cassette guide''.

CD track listing

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered ...

(1567–1643), in a realization by Raymond Leppard * 1 (13:06) "Di misera regina...Torna, torna" from ''

Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria ''Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria'' (Stattkus-Verzeichnis, SV 325, ''The Return of Ulysses to his Homeland'') is an List of operas by Claudio Monteverdi, opera consisting of a prologue and five acts (later revised to three), set by Claudio Montever ...

'', with Janice Taylor as Ericlea

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

(1792–1868), in a realization by Randolph Mickelson * 2 (7:31) "O patria...Di tanti palpiti" from ''

Tancredi ''Tancredi'' is a ''melodramma eroico'' ('' opera seria'' or heroic opera) in two acts by composer Gioachino Rossini and librettist Gaetano Rossi (who was also to write ''Semiramide'' ten years later), based on Voltaire's play ''Tancrède'' (176 ...

'' Giovanni Paisiello (1740–1816), in a realization by Randolph Mickelson * 3 (8:26) "Il mio ben quando verrà" from '' Nina, o sia La pazza per amore'' Gioachino Rossini, in a realization by Randolph Mickelson *4 (7:04) "Bel raggio lusinghier" from ''

Semiramide ''Semiramide'' () is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto by Gaetano Rossi is based on Voltaire's tragedy ''Semiramis'', which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Assyria. The opera was first performed at La Fenice ...

Riccardo Broschi Riccardo Broschi (c. 1698 – 1756) was a composer of baroque music and the brother of the opera singer Carlo Broschi, known as Farinelli. Life Broschi was born in Naples, the son of Salvatore Broschi, a composer and chapelmaster of the Cathe ...

(''circa'' 1698–1756), in a realization by Randolph Mickelson * 5 (8:54) "Ombra fedele, anch'io" from ''Idaspe''

Ruggero Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo ( , , ; 23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and other songs throughout his career it is his opera '' Pagliacci'' (1892) that remained hi ...

(1857–1919) * 6 (6:05) "È destin! Debbo andarmene" from '' La Bohème''

Personnel

Musical

(b. 1945),

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

* Janice Taylor, mezzo-soprano (track 1) * National Arts Centre Orchestra *

Mario Bernardi Mario Bernardi, (20 August 1930 – 2 June 2013) was a Canadian conductor and pianist.Paul Walter Myers Paul Walter Myers (17 July 1932 – 1 May 2015) was a classical record producer who worked for CBS, Decca Records and Naxos. He worked with conductor George Szell of the Cleveland Orchestra, the pianist Glenn Gould, and the guitarist John Williams. ...

, producer * Bud Graham, engineer

Release history

On 1 October 1979, Columbia issued the album on LP (catalogue number M 35138), with sleeve notes by Robert Jacobson and an insert with texts and translations. The album was also issued on cassette. In 2012, Newton Classics issued the album on CD with a 16-page biographical booklet by David Patrick Stearns in their 4-CD collection ''Frederica von Stade: Duets, Arias, Scenes & Songs'' (catalogue number 8802125).''Frederica von Stade: Duets, Arias, Scenes & Songs'', Newton Classics CD, 8802125, 2012 In 2016, Sony issued the album on CD (in a miniature replica of the sleeve of the original LP) with a 52-page booklet in their 18-CD collection ''Frederica von Stade: The Complete Columbia Recital Albums'' (catalogue number 88875183412).

References

{{Authority control Frederica von Stade albums 1970s classical albums 1979 albums Opera recordings