Là ci darem la mano
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"" (Italian for "There we will give each other our hands") is a duet for the characters Don Giovanni ( baritone) and Zerlina ( soprano) in Mozart's 1787 opera '' Don Giovanni'' (act 1, scene 9).


Text

The duet, with words by
Lorenzo Da Ponte Lorenzo Da Ponte (; 10 March 174917 August 1838) was an Italian, later American, opera librettist, poet and Roman Catholic priest. He wrote the libretti for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Mozart's most celebrated operas: ''The Marr ...
, is sung during the first act of the opera. Don Giovanni has just met Zerlina and her betrothed, Masetto. In an attempt to distract Masetto and have him removed from the scene, Giovanni offers to host a wedding celebration for the couple at his castle. When Masetto has left, Giovanni attempts to seduce Zerlina to accompany him to his castle. However, after the end of the duet Donna Elvira arrives and thwarts the seduction, and leaves with Zerlina.


Music

"Là ci darem la mano", number 7 in the score, starts in the key of A major with a
tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...
indication of
andante Andante may refer to: Arts * Andante (tempo), a moderately slow musical tempo * Andante (manga), ''Andante'' (manga), a shōjo manga by Miho Obana * Andante (song), "Andante" (song), a song by Hitomi Yaida * "Andante, Andante", a 1980 song by A ...
and a
time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...
of 2/4. The
vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of st ...
for Don Giovanni covers E3 to E4, Zerlina's range covers E4 to F5. The piece is labelled a "duettino", a "little duet". This may be because the two roles sing only as a duet towards the very end of the piece, after Zerlina's assenting ''Andiam!''. Until then, Giovanni tries to seduce Zerlina, but she is torn between Giovanni's exhortations and her fidelity to Masetto. Finally, the signal for her submission is a swerving chromatic melodic line, falling over almost an octave during 3 1/2 bars. After a
fermata A fermata (; "from ''fermare'', to stay, or stop"; also known as a hold, pause, colloquially a birdseye or cyclops eye, or as a grand pause when placed on a note or a rest) is a symbol of musical notation indicating that the note should be ...
emphasising Zerlina's weakening resolve, the tempo then changes to allegro and the time signature to 6/8. A proper two-part duet, much of it in
third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...
parallels, is then sung for most of the remaining 32 bars. A performance takes between 3 and minutes.


Literary reference

In the Calypso episode of the novel '' Ulysses'' by
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
, Molly tells her husband
Leopold Bloom Leopold Bloom is the fictional protagonist and hero of James Joyce's 1922 novel '' Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and intimate scale, those of Ulysses/ Odysseus in Homer's epic ...
that she will be singing this duet on her upcoming concert tour organised by Blazes Boylan. Molly is about to commence an affair with Boylan later that day, so this may be an unconscious hint of her intentions. In chapter XIV of
Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxle ...
's '' Antic Hay'', Theodore Gumbril hums the opening of this aria and imagines his dining partner, Mrs Myra Viveash, as Zerlina, a part she is happy to play, although subconsciously he is thinking of Emily, another married woman with whom he'd rather be dining.


Influence

The duet has been the basis of several other works, including: *
Bartolomeo Campagnoli Bartolomeo Campagnoli (September 10, 1751 – November 6, 1827) was an Italian violinist and composer. Campagnoli was a virtuoso violinist who toured Europe propagating the 18th Century Italian violin style. He also has a number of compositions t ...
, Air varié, Op. 7, No. 2 * August Eberhard Müller Sonata Op. 7, No. 1, second movement, ''Andante con variazioni'' * Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" for two
oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...
s and English horn, WoO 28 (1796) by
Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
* Fantasy on "Là ci darem la mano" for clarinet and orchestra by
Franz Danzi Franz Ignaz Danzi (15 June 1763 – 13 April 1826) was a German cellist, composer and conductor, the son of the Italian cellist Innocenz Danzi (1730–1798) and brother of the noted singer Franzeska Danzi. Danzi lived at a significant time in t ...
(1763–1826) *
August Alexander Klengel August Stephan Alexander Klengel (29 June 1783, Dresden22 November 1852, Dresden) was a German pianist, organist and composer. Biography Klengel was the son of landscape painter . He showed an early talent for music, and studied piano under ...
, Fuga Nr. 19 A major in ''48 Canons and Fugues'', Vol. 1 *
Francesco Antonio Calegari Father Francesco Antonio Calegari (died 1742) was an Italian baroque music theorist, composer and priest. Calegari was maestro di cappella at Basilica of Santa Maria dei Frari, Venice in 1705, and at the Basilica del Santo, Padua in the 1720s. S ...
(c. 1798 — c. 1850), ''Variazioni sopra "Là ci darem la mano"'', Op. 18 * Friedrich Kalkbrenner, ''Fantasie sur "Là ci darem la mano"'', Op. 33 * Variations for guitar on "Là ci darem la mano" (1828) by Hector Berlioz (lost) *
Nicolas-Charles Bochsa Robert Nicolas-Charles Bochsa (9 August 1789 – 6 January 1856) was a harpist and composer. His relationship with Anna Bishop was popularly thought to have inspired that of Svengali and Trilby in George du Maurier's 1894 novel '' Trilby' ...
: ''Air varié sur "Là ci darem la mano"'', Op. 73, No. 2 (harp) * Variations on "Là ci darem la mano", Op. 2 (1827) for piano and orchestra, by Frédéric Chopin *
Réminiscences de Don Juan ''Réminiscences de Don Juan'' (S. 418) is an opera fantasia (music), fantasy for piano by Franz Liszt on themes from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart's 1787 opera ''Don Giovanni''. It is extremely technically demanding and considered to be am ...
, S. 418 for solo piano, by Franz Liszt *
Sigismond Thalberg Sigismond Thalberg (8 January 1812 – 27 April 1871) was an Austrian composer and one of the most distinguished virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. Family He was born in Pâquis near Geneva on 8 January 1812. According to his own account, h ...
, ''Fantasie et variations sur 2 motifs de Don Juan'', Op. 14


References


External links

* *,
Bryn Terfel Sir Bryn Terfel Jones, (; born 9 November 1965) (known professionally as Bryn Terfel) is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', '' Leporello'' and '' ...
, Hong Hei-kyung,
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...
, 2001 *, Frank Sinatra,
Kathryn Grayson Kathryn Grayson (born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick; February 9, 1922 – February 17, 2010) was an American actress and coloratura soprano. Ronald Berganbr>Obituary '' London Guardian'', February 19, 2010. From the age of twelve, Grayson trai ...
, from ''
It Happened in Brooklyn ''It Happened in Brooklyn'' is a 1947 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical romantic comedy film directed by Richard Whorf and starring Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford and Jimmy Durante, and featuring Gloria Grahame and Marcy McGuire. ''It ...
'' (1947)
Digital realisations of most compositions based on "Là ci darem la mano"
{{DEFAULTSORT:La ci darem la mano Compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1787 compositions Don Giovanni Opera excerpts Male–female vocal duets Compositions in A major