A quartet of principal singers from Aylesbury Opera will present a varied programme of solos, duets and ensembles from across the 18th-20th century opera and chamber repertoire. Featuring Elinor Popham (soprano), Chiara Carbone (mezzo soprano), Philip Hayes (tenor) and Aleksi Koponen (baritone). Piano accompaniment will be provided by Harriet Lawson, who spent her career working in opera houses across Italy before retiring to Bucks.
Duet: Pur ti miro, pur ti godo
L’incoronazione di Poppea (SV 308, The Coronation of Poppaea) is an Italian opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi’s last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello, and was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice during the 1643 carnival season.
Thy Glorious Deeds
Samson (HWV 57) is a three-act oratorio by George Frideric Handel, considered to be one of his finest dramatic works. It is usually performed as an oratorio in concert form, but on occasions has also been staged as an opera.
Ombra mai fu
Xerxes; HWV 40) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The opera is set in Persia (modern-day Iran) about 470 BC and is very loosely based upon Xerxes I of Persia. The opening aria, “Ombra mai fu”, sung by Xerxes to a plane tree (Platanus orientalis), is set to one of Handel’s best-known melodies, and is often known as Handel’s “Largo” (despite being marked “larghetto” in the score).
Piangerò la sorte mia
Giulio Cesare (HWV 17) is a 1724 opera seria by Handel. The libretto was written by Nicola Francesco Haym who used an earlier libretto by Giacomo Francesco Bussani, which had been set to music by Antonio Sartorio (1676). The opera was a success at its first performances, was frequently revived by Handel in his subsequent opera seasons and is now one of the most often performed Baroque operas. The opera’s plot is loosely based on historical events during the Roman Civil War of 49–45 BC.
Waft her, angels
Jephtha (HWV 70) is an oratorio (1751) by George Frideric Handel with an English language libretto by the Rev. Thomas Morell, based on the story of Jephtha in Judges (Chapter 11) and Jephthes, sive Votum (Jeptha, or the Vow) (1554) by George Buchanan. Whilst writing Jephtha, Handel was increasingly troubled by his gradual loss of sight, and this proved to be his last oratorio.
1. Ich wollt', meine Lieb' ergösse sich
2. Wie war so schön doch Wald und Feld
3. Wohin ich geh und schaue
4. Ach, wie so bald verhallet der Reigen
5. O säh ich auf der Heide dort
6. Maiglöckchen läutet in dem Tal
Follow the link to see a translation
Tornami a vagheggiar
Between 1884 and 1888, Grieg composed six songs: Zur Rosenzeit, Op 48.
Now sleeps the crimson petal has been a favourite among singers ever since its publication in 1904. It is a drawing-room song raised to a higher plane by its sensitivity to the words, resulting in flexible barring rarely seen at the time.
Die Lotosblume is a poem written by Heinrich Heine and set to music by Robert Schumann in 1840. This Lied is part of Schumann’s Myrthen collection (op. 25 no. 7). The piece speaks of the blooming of a lotus flower, who hides from the sun and only reveals herself at night to her lover, the moon.
Translates as ‘If I were a bird’. The song, which expresses the longing of a person whose thoughts constantly revolve around the absent loved one, was widely received in the 19th century.
Lebenslust was composed in 1818 by Schubert.
Com’è gentil
Don Pasquale is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer.
Duet: Abendsegen
Hansel and Gretel is an opera by nineteenth-century composer Engelbert Humperdinck, who described it as a Märchenoper (fairy-tale opera).
1. Ach, ich fuhl’s, es ist verschwunden
2. Duet: Bei Männern welche Liebe fühlen
The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte, K 620) is an opera in two acts by Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form during the time it was written that included both singing and spoken dialogue. This aria is from scene 4: A hall in the Temple of Ordeal. Tamino begins to play the flute, which summons Pamina. She tries to speak with him, but Tamino, bound by his vow of silence, cannot answer her, and Pamina begins to believe that he no longer loves her: (“Ach, ich fühl’s, es ist verschwunden” / Oh, I feel it, it is gone). She leaves in despair.
Come un ape ne giorni
La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo (“Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant”) is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini.
Mir ist so Wunderbar
Fidelio, originally titled Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen Liebe (Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love), Op. 72, is the only opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven.
Aylesbury Opera (Vocal ensemble)
Aylesbury Opera has been mounting opera productions and concerts in Aylesbury and the surrounding area for over 40 years.
Founded by David Hayes, Aylesbury Opera began in 1979 as an evening class at Aylesbury College of Further Education. Their first production was Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in November 1980. Each year they produce a fully staged opera with orchestra. They also put on regular concerts of both full operas and popular opera highlights at churches in the Aylesbury area.
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