A concert aria is normally a free-standing

aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

or opera-like scene (''scena'') composed for singer and orchestra, written specifically for performance in concert rather than as part of an opera. Concert arias have often been composed for particular singers, the composer always bearing that singer's voice and skill in mind when composing the work. Apart from only denoting arias for singer and orchestra, the term is also used to indicate arias which were specifically composed as

insertion aria An insertion aria (' in Italian, also known as suitcase aria, interpolated aria, or trunk aria) is an aria sung in an opera for which it was not composed. It was a practice that began in the seventeenth century and continued actively through the ...

s for already-existing operas, either as additions to the score or as substitutions for other arias. These are sometimes performed in concerts because they are no longer required for their original purpose, though they were not, strictly speaking, composed for performance in concert. The concert arias which are most commonly performed today were written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but there are many examples by other composers, such as: *"Son qual nave ch'agitata" by

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 ...

(written for the famous

castrato A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to ...

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 ...

) *"Ermina" by Juan Arriaga *" Ah! perfido" by Ludwig van Beethoven *" Der Wein" for

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

and orchestra by

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

*"Scena di Berenice" by

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

*"Infelice!" by

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

Mozart concert arias

Among the more well-known of Mozart's concert arias are: *"

Popoli di Tessaglia! "" ( K. 316/300b) is a recitative and aria for soprano and orchestra that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote for Aloysia Weber. It is famous for including two occurrences of a G6, i.e. the G above high C, or 1568 Hz by modern concert pitch – ...

", K. 316, for soprano, with its two famous G notes (i.e., the G above high C - according to the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

, the highest musical note ever scored for the human voice) that come shortly before the end. This aria was composed in order to be inserted into Gluck's opera '' Alceste'', and also specifically to showcase the superlative vocal skills of Mozart's sister-in-law,

Aloysia Weber ''Aloysia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are known generally as beebrushes.

, who was only 18 at the time. Sopranos who are able to cope with the aria's demands have been few and far between, and the aria is usually omitted from performances of ''Alceste''. It has been therefore redesignated a concert aria, to be presented in concerts by such rare singers as are able to deliver its fiendishly difficult coloratura. *"Nehmt meinen Dank, ihr holden Gönner!", K. 383, for soprano. *" Ch'io mi scordi di te?", K. 505, written for

Nancy Storace Anna (or Ann) Selina Storace (; 27 October 176524 August 1817), known professionally as Nancy Storace, was an English operatic soprano. The role of Susanna in Mozart's '' Le nozze di Figaro'' was written for and first performed by her. Born in ...

*" Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!", K. 418, written for

Aloysia Weber ''Aloysia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are known generally as beebrushes.

*" Bella mia fiamma", K. 528, written for Josepha Duschek *" Per questa bella mano", K. 612, for

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, double bass obbligato, and orchestra

References

Notes Sources * * {{Authority control Musical terminology