Baroque Gender Stories Lautten Compagney Wolfgang Katschner ...Baroque Gender Stories
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Vivica Genaux Lawrence Zazzo ...Baroque Gender Stories Lautten Compagney Wolfgang Katschner ...Baroque Gender Stories Johann Adolf Hasse 1699–1783 Sinfonia from Siroe, Bologna 1733 1 Allegro 1.39 2 Lento 0.45 3 Allegro assai 1.29 Baldassare Galuppi 1706–1785 4 Rendimi l’idol mio from Siroe, Rome 1754 2.13 (Emira, Giovanni Belardi, fl. 1750–1760) · Vivica Genaux Giovanni Battista Lampugnani 1708–1788 5 Crudel morir mi vedi from Semiramide riconosciuta, Milan 1762 6.55 (Semiramide, Camilla Mattei, fl. 1753–1776 · Scitalce, Giovanni Manzuoli, 1720–1782) Vivica Genaux (Semiramide) · Lawrence Zazzo (Scitalce) 6 Tu mi disprezzi from Semiramide riconosciuta, Rome 1741 4.34 (Tamiri, Giuseppe Bracceschi, fl. 1741–1746) · Lawrence Zazzo Nicola Antonio Porpora 1686–1768 7 Il Pastor se torna aprile from Semiramide riconosciuta, Naples 1739 6.36 ...Vittoria Tesi... (Semiramide, Vittoria Tesi, 1700–1775) · Vivica Genaux Georg Friedrich Händel 1685–1759 8 Cagion son io from Serse, London 1738 2.32 (Amastre, Antonia Margherita Merighi, c. 1689 – after 1740) · Lawrence Zazzo 2 Georg Friedrich Händel 9 Son stanco, ingiusti numi – Recitativo accompagnato from Siroe, London 1728 1.17 10 Deggio morire, o stelle – Aria from Siroe, London 1728 5.09 (Siroe, Senesino, 1686–1758) · Lawrence Zazzo Antonio Vivaldi 1678–1741 11 Insolito coraggio Recitativo from Orlando furioso, Venice 1727 0.27 12 Orlando, allora il ciel Recitativo accompagnato from Orlando furioso, Venice 1727 1.17 13 Nel profondo cieco mondo Aria from Orlando furioso, Venice 1727 4.06 (Orlando, Lucia Lancetti, fl. 1722–1737) · Vivica Genaux Baldassare Galuppi 14 Ah non fuggirmi, ingrato from Siroe, Rome 1754 4.42 (Emira, Giovanni Belardi · Siroe, Caffarelli, 1710–1783) Vivica Genaux (Siroe) · Lawrence Zazzo (Emira) Georg Friedrich Händel Overture from Siroe, London 1728 15 Grave – Allegro 2.53 16 Giga 1.38 17 Gran pena è gelosia from Serse, London 1738 1.55 (Serse, Caffarelli · Amastre, Antonia Margherita Merighi) Vivica Genaux (Serse) · Lawrence Zazzo (Amastre) 18 È gelosia from Alcina, London 1735 4.08 (Bradamante, Maria Caterina Negri, ca. 1700 – after 1745) · Lawrence Zazzo 19 Se bramate d’amar chi vi sdegna from Serse, London 1738 5.45 (Serse, Caffarelli) · Vivica Genaux ...Caffarelli... 3 Georg Christoph Wagenseil 1715–1777 20 La sorte mia tiranna from Siroe, Vienna 1748 6.22 (Siroe, Angelo Maria Monticelli) · Lawrence Zazzo Johann Adolf Hasse 21 Risponderti vorrei from Achille in Sciro, Naples 1759 7.53 (Achille, Giuseppe Belli, 1732–1760) · Vivica Genaux Georg Christoph Wagenseil 22 Esci, crudel, d’affanno from Siroe, Vienna 1748 1.59 (Emira, Vittoria Tesi) · Lawrence Zazzo Tommaso Traetta 1727–1779 23 Che furia, che mostro from Siroe, Munich 1767 3.51 (Emira, Regina Valentini Mingotti, 1722–1808) · Vivica Genaux Georg Friedrich Händel 24 Nell’armi e nell’amar from Deidamia, London 1741 7.12 (Deidamia, Élisabeth Duparc, c. 1715–c. 1773 Ulisse, Giovanni Battista Andreoni, c. 1720–1797) Vivica Genaux (Deidamia) · Lawrence Zazzo (Ulisse) Vivica Genaux mezzo-soprano / Mezzosopran Lawrence Zazzo countertenor Lautten Compagney Berlin ...Élisabeth Duparc. .. Wolfgang Katschner 4 Lautten Compagney Berlin Birgit Schnurpfeil (Principal Violin / Konzertmeisterin), Daniela Gubatz, Maren Ries, Eva Salonen violin / Violine I Ulrike Wildenhof, Marketa Knittlova, Susanne Walter violin / Violine II Ulrike Paetz, Caroline Kersten viola / Viola Ulrike Becker, Christoph Harer Violoncello Annette Rheinfurth double bass / Kontrabass Mathias Kiesling, Emiko Matsuda flauto traverso Markus Müller, Roberto de Franceschi oboe Inga Maria Klaucke bassoon / Fagott Georg Köhler, Alexandre Zanetta horn Andreas Nachtsheim, Stephan Rath, Hans-Werner Apel lute / Laute Mark Nordstrand harpsichord / Cembalo WOLFGANG KATSCHNER lute, musical direction / Laute, musikalische Leitung We thank Clemens Birnbaum for launching the program, the Musikakademie Rheinsberg for the friendly support for this production, Artie Heinrich for careful proof- reading and Mario Sollazzo for helping with a particularly complex Italian text passage. Wir danken Clemens Birnbaum für den Anstoß zum Programm, dem Schlosstheater Rheinsberg, Musikkultur Rheinsberg GmbH für die freundliche Unterstützung dieser Produktion, Artie Heinrich fürs sorgfältige Korrekturlesen und Mario Sollazzo für die Hilfe bei einer besonders komplexen italienischen Textpassage. 5 P & g 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH Recording: 1–6 February 2019, Schlosstheater Rheinsberg, Germany · Recording producer, balance engineer, editing & mastering: Benjamin Dreßler Concept, musical dramaturgy, booklet editing: Gerd Amelung · Total Time: 1:27:25 Artwork: Christine Schweitzer · Cover & inlay photo: g ADragan /shutterstock · Booklet photos: g Marcus Lieberenz @bildbuehne.de 6 Some Soloist’s Thoughts on the Programme Resto imbrogliato allor per dar risposta. I remain confused about how to reply. Se maschio, dico quasi una bugia, To say I am male is almost a lie, femmina men che men dirò ch’io sia, to say I am female is true even less, e dir che, son neutral, rossore costa. and to say I am neuter makes me blush. Filippo Balatri (1682–1756): Fiori del mondo (1735) ...Filippo Balatri... Regarding your gender, did you find yourself confused, ambivalent, these operas – but only tangentially. As a performer, I would find it quite liberated, ‘neutered’ or just neutral during the recording of these arias? difficult onstage to project the complicated layers of disguise and gender identity we find in both male and female characters in Siroe, Serse, and Vivica: I began singing trouser roles in the bel canto repertoire and focused Semiramide riconosciuta in particular. Amastre in Serse, for example, is a on the differences between male and female psychology, body language, woman disguised as a man, so I wonder should I ‘play’ a man, but just a cultural roles and expectations. However, as I began singing more baroque little awkwardly, perhaps trying to overemphasise my ‘masculinity’ while roles, the androgynous aspects of both male and female became more adding more ‘genuine’ ‘feminine’ touches, taking into account that I’m singing prominent. The strong dichotomy between man and woman seems to me in a higher, alto castrato register already using my falsetto? My quotes show to have developed during the Enlightenment, when women began to be my doubts – I think it’s better for the audience to either sort out or to be portrayed as disempowered, helpless victims and men as domineering, pleasantly confused by those layers while experiencing a performance. volatile alpha males. In the baroque however, women were just as likely to put on armour and go to war as men were; both women and men had power, Some theorists would say that gender is performative, thus only reali sed and both acted on and reacted to conflict. Thus, I look more at human when we enact socially-coded behaviours for an audience. What do you emotion as accompanied by male/female energy, rather than a more black/ want to say to your audience by ‘performing’ these arias on Gender white interpretation according to gender. Stories? Lawrence: Neutered or neutral – never! But I felt at times both ambivalent Vivica: Sociological expectations, so called “nurturing”, are extremely in- ´ and liberated, and this is of course related to gender because of the plots of fluential in our gender programming. In theatre, part of our job as actors is 7 to free ourselves as much as possible from our own box of expectations and re sist the consequences of inevitable revelation. There’s something Freudian limitations in order to better immerse ourselves in the petri dish of the there, but I’m also glad Vivica brought up yin and yang – it’s like positive society we are interpreting. In this collection of arias and duets, the exposed and negative poles on a battery which release incredible energy when con- emotional sensitivity demonstrated by male interpreters is probably most in nected. contrast with today’s social standards. This kind of energy today is associated with the modern metrosexual, however it’s not something artificial that we in- Vivica, it was a regular practice for female singers like Maria Caterina vented in the 20th Century – in baroque art this fluidity between yin and Negri and Vittoria Tesi to perform male roles in Baroque opera. As yang is demonstrated as natural to human psychology, not something that you’re widely praised for your portrayal of male roles onstage, do has to be defended or justified. you set body, voice and emotions differently from performing a female role for this? Lawrence: In the music on Gender Stories, the particular ambivalence experienced Vivica: Having said a lot about my focus on androgyny, I also enjoy very much when singing these arias I think springs exploring the emotions associated with male and female roles. In concert I from the tension of characters keeping often play with interpretation. Just thinking as a woman while singing an a secret which is threatening to tear aria written for a male character changes the entire colour palette of the voice them apart, whether it’s about keeping because you are experiencing emotions and conflicts from the other sex’s their own gender secret (Amastre, point of view. In an opera, interpreting a trouser role I would be more in- Bradamante, Emira), or the extreme clined to immerse myself in the male perspective. However, the vocality of complications of protecting another’s hidden these roles written for female singers or for castrati still has a particularly identity (Siroe). This adds a complicating layer andro gy nous quality, even in the most virile, bloodthirsty moments the ...Maria Caterina Negri... to the usual emotions of betrayal, jealousy, voice maintains an elegance and a nobility that one would tend to associate vengeance, infatuation. I feel in almost all of this with feminine energy today. I do have to constantly remind myself that we music some thing like terror, at least an extreme tension below the surface are interpreting human emotion through art, there needs to be a decorative, which occasionally erupts and disrupts these elegant galant textures or simmers illustrative quality which reflects reality rather than embodying it.