Abigail Hart, Soprano
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Abigail Hart, Soprano with Chia-Yu Tsai, Piano José Vargas, Tenor Ariel Jonathan Dove (b. 1959) III. O, O, O IV. All hail, great master V. Is there more toil? “All hail, great master” Lee Hoiby (1926-2011) from The Tempest Three Shakespeare Songs Amy Beach (1867-1944) O, Mistress Mine Take, O Take Those Lips Away Fairy Lullaby “Va! Je t’ai pardonné” Charles Gounod (1818-1893) from Roméo et Juliette Ballade, Op. 118 no. 3 in G minor Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Ophelia Lieder Wie erkenn’ ich dein Treulieb Sein Leichenhemd weiß wie Schnee zu sehn Auf morgen ist Sankt Valentins Tag Sie trugen ihn auf der Bahre bloß Und kommt er nicht mehr zurück? Intermezzo, Op. 199 no. 1 “A vos jeux, mes amis… Pâle et blonde” Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896) )ULGD\)HEUXDU\WK 0 PM Leith Symington Griswold Hall "#$%!&'($)*+!$%!,--'&'.!$/!0*&)$*+!-1+-$++2'/)!,-!)#'!&'31$&'2'/)%!-,&!)#'!.'4&''!,-!5*%)'&!,-!51%$(6! "#'!1%'!,-!(*2'&*%!*/.!7$.',!,&!)*0'!&'(,&.'&%!8$)#,1)!0&$,&!0'&2$%%$,/!$%!%)&$()+9!0&,#$:$)'.6! ;,)$('<!=,&!9,1&!,8/!%*-')9>!?@@A!-,&!9,1&!/'*&'%)!BCD"6!!D/!(*%'!,-!'2'&4'/(9>!EF?A!.,!/,)!GH;>!),!)#*)!BCD"6!!I9!,&.'&!,-!)#'!5*9,&!*/.!J$)9! J,1/($+!,-!I*+)$2,&'6! Ariel by Jonathan Dove is based on texts from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, which are sung by the character Ariel. Ariel is a sprite and the servant of Prospero, a magician who lives on a desert island. Prospero orders Ariel to orchestrate a storm in order to shipwreck King Alonso of Naples on the island. Ariel, while identified by masculine pronouns, is most often played by a woman. Text based on W. Shakespeare, adapted by Jonathan Dove. III. V. O, O, O Is there more toil? Since thou dost give me pains, IV. Let me remember thee Ah! All hail, great master! What thou hast promis’d Ah! Grave sir, hail! Ah! Which is not yet perform’d me! I come to answer thy best pleasure, My liberty! Be’t to fly, to swim, to dive into the fire Ah! I drink the air before me! To ride on the curled clouds Where the bee sucks, there suck I. To thy strong bidding, task Ariel, In a cowslip’s bell I lie, And all his quality! There I crouch when owls do cry. What would, my noble master? On the bat’s back I do fly I am here, what shall I do? After summer, merrily, merrily What shall I do? Shall I live now Say what! Under the blossom Do you love me, Master? that hangs on the bough. What’s thy pleasure? My lord, it shall be done! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “All hail, great master” is an excerpt from The Tempest by Lee Hoiby with libretto by Mark Shulgasser. This aria is the introduction of the character Ariel. At the end of the opera, Ariel does win his freedom, while the epilogue insinuates that it is, in fact, Prospero who is trapped. Shakespeare is known for including songs for his characters to sing, and Ariel is one of the characters that sings the most onstage. This has made Ariel a popular muse for all types of art song composers. Text by W. Shakespeare. ARIEL [PROSPERO: Why, that’s my spirit!] “All hail, great master, I come To answer thy best pleasure; be it to fly, ARIEL To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride Not a soul but felt a fever of the mad. On the curled clouds, to thy strong bidding task The King’s son, Ferdinand, was the first man that leapt, Ariel and all his quality. cried “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” Him have I landed by himself whom I left [PROSPERO: Hast thou, spirit, performed to cooling of the air with sighs in an odd angle of the isle, point the tempest that I bade thee?] and sitting, his arms in this sad knot. ARIEL [PROSPERO: Of the King’s ship, say.] To every article. I boarded the king’s ship. Now on the beak, now in the waist, the deck, ARIEL in every cabin, I flamed amazement. Safely in harbour is the King’s ship. In the deep nook, Sometimes I’d divide, and burn in many places, where once thou call’st me up at midnight to fetch dew then meet and join. from the still-vexed Ber- moothes, there she’s hid. [PROSPERO: My brave spirit!] [PROSPERO: But are they, Ariel, safe?] ARIEL ARIEL Jove’s lightnings, the precursors Not a hair perished. of the dreadful thunderclaps, In troops I have dispersed them ‘bout the isle. more momentary and sight-outrunning [PROSPERO: And all the rest o’ th’ fleet?] were not. Ha! The fire and cracks of sulphurous roaring the most mighty ARIEL Neptune seemed to besiege, All the rest of the fleet, bound sadly home for Naples. and make his bold waves tremble, yea, [PROSPERO: Bountiful fortune!] his dread trident shake. Ah! Amy Beach (1867-1944) was one of the first American female composers to become successful composing art music. Her set, Three Shakespeare Songs, includes a sonnet, an excerpt from Measure for Measure, and an excerpt from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the last piece, Titania sings her fairy lullaby, before she goes to sleep and Oberon tricks her into falling in love with Bottom, the donkey-man. Texts by W. Shakespeare.. I. O Mistress mine where are you roaming? II. Take, oh take those lips away, O stay and hear, your true love's coming, That so sweetly were forsworn, That can sing both high and low. And those eyes: the break of day, Trip no further pretty sweeting. Lights that do mislead the Morn; Journeys end in lovers' meeting, But my kisses bring again, bring again, Every wise man's son doth know. Seals of love, but sealed in vain, sealed in vain. What is love, 'tis not hereafter, Present mirth, hath present laughter: III. Philomel, with melody, What's to come, is still unsure. Sing in our sweet lullaby: In delay there lies no plenty, Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby: Then come kiss me sweet and twenty: Never ham, Youth's a stuff will not endure. Nor spell nor charm, Come our lovely lady night: So, good night, with lullaby. “Va! Je t’ai pardonné” appears in Act IV of Roméo et Juliette after Romeo and Juliet have consummated their secret marriage. Juliet realizes that their families will never reconcile, even though she has forgiven him for killing her cousin Tybalt. Her father will never give his blessing for the marriage, and will probably kill Romeo on sight to avenge Tybalt, Romeo will have to sneak away, before the morning. They sing about their love and their sadness to have to be parted. Libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. Translation by Lea Frey, copyright 1999. Va! Je t'ai pardonné; Go, I forgive you; Tybalt voulait ta mort! Tybalt wanted your death! S'il n'avait succombé If he had not succumbed, Tu succombais toi-même! You would have died yourself! Loin de moi la douleur! Far from me the pain! Loin de moi les remords! Far from me the remorse! Il te haissait et je t'aime He hated you and I love you! ROMÉO Ah! redis-le, redis-le, ce mot si doux! Ah! Say it again, this word so sweet!! JULIETTE Je t'aime, O Roméo! I love you, Oh, Romeo! Je t'aime, ô mon époux! I love you, Oh, Romeo! JULIETTE, ROMÉO Nuit d'hyménée! O wedding night! O douce nuit d'amour! O sweet night of love! La destinée Destiny! M'enchaîne à toi sans retour. Chains me to you without return. Sous tes baisers de flamme Beneath your burning kisses Le ciel rayonne en moi. Heaven radiates in me. Je t'ai donné mon âme; I have given you my soul; À toi, toujour à toi! It belongs to you, always to you. JULIETTE Roméo, qu'as-tu donc? Romeo, what's wrong, then? ROMÉO Listen, O Juliette! Écoute, O, Juliette! The lark already announces to us the day! L'alouette déjà nous annonce le jour! JULIETTE Non! non, ce n'est pas le jour, No, no, it's not the day! ce n'est pas l'alouette It isn't the lark Dont le chant a frappé ton oreille inquiete, Whose song struck your disquieted ear, C'est le doux Rossignol, It is the sweet nightingale, Confidant d'amour! Confidant of love! ROMÉO C'est l'alouette, hélas! messagère du jour! It's the lark, alas, messenger of the day! Vois ces rayons jaloux See its jealous rays Dont l'horizon se dore; With which the horizon is gilded; De la nuit les flambeaux pâlissent The candles of the night become pale Et l'aurore And the dawn Dans les vapeurs de l'Orient In the vapors (mists) of the east Se lèvent en souriant! Arises smiling! JULIETTE Non, non, ce n'est pas le jour, No, no, it is not day, Cette lueur funeste This lethal glow N'est que le doux reflet Is nothing but the sweet reflection Du bel astre des nuits! Of the beautiful moon (star of nights) Reste! reste! Stay! stay! ROMÉO Ah! Vienne donc la mort! Je reste! Ah, come then, death! I am staying. JULIETTE Ah! tu dis vrai; c'est le jour! Ay, you speak truly, it is day! Fuis, il faut quitter ta Juliette! Flee, you must leave your Juliette! ROMÉO Non! non, ce n'est pas le jour! No, no it is not the day! Ce n'est pas l'alouette! It's not the lark! C'est le doux rossignol, It is the sweet nightingale, Confident de l'amour.