THE POWER OF Love ARIAS FROM HANDEL OPERAS Amanda Forsythe soprano ON PERIOD INSTRUMENTS George Frideric HANDEL (1685–1759) THE POWER OF LOVE Arias from Handel Operas AMANDA FORSYTHE, soprano APOLLO’S FIRE | The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra | on period instruments Jeannette Sorrell, direction q Amor è qual vento, from Orlando 4:57 w Geloso tormento, from Almira 7:07 e Un cenno leggiadretto, from Serse 4:23 r Chaconne from Terpsichore 4:43 t Qual farfalletta, from Partenope 6:12 y Piangerò, from Giulio Cesare 7:32 u Entrée (Jalousie) from Terpsichore 1:59 i Il primo ardor, from Ariodante 3:38 o Dunque I lacci/Ah, crudel!, from Rinaldo 7:47 1) Air from Terpsichore 2:30 1! Tornami a vagheggiar, from Alcina 5:11 1@ Amarti si vorrei, from Teseo 5:35 1# Ballo from Terpsichore 1:34 1$ Da Tempeste, from Giulio Cesare 6:05 TOTAL TIME: 69:20 —2 — TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS Amor è qual vento, from Orlando Qual farfalletta, from Partenope Amor è qual vento, Love is like the wind, che gira il cervello, that makes the brain turn, Qual farfalletta Like a little butterfly, ho inteso che a cento I heard that it starts Giro a quel lume I turn around that lamp. commincia bel bello when it pleases to give E ‘l mio Cupido And my Cupid a farli godere, a hundred pleasures, Le belle piume burns ma a un corto piacere but for a short pleasure, Ardendo va. the beautiful feathers. dà un lungo dolor. it offers long suffering. Quel brio m’alletta The sparkle entices me, Se uniti due cori If two united hearts Perché m’è fido because he is true to me, si credon beati believe they are happy La mia costanza my loyalty gelosi timori jealous fears ogn’altra avanza is greater than anyone else’s li fan sfortunati; make them unhappy; cangiar non sa. and it won’t change. se un core è sprezzato, if a heart is scorned, divien arrabbiato, it becomes angered, così fa l’amor. this is how love works. Piangerò, from Giulio Cesare Geloso tormento, from Almira RECITATIVO RECITATIVE E pur così in un giorno So it is thus that in one day I lose both Geloso tormento mi va rodendo il cor. The torment of jealousy is gnawing perdo fasti e grandezze? Ahi fato rio! pomp and grandeur? Cruel fate! at my heart. Cesare, il mio bel nume, è forse estinto; Cesare, my beautiful god, is perhaps dead; Non dite, che vile quest’anima sia, Don’t say that this soul is unworthy, Cornelia e Sesto inermi son, né sanno Cornelia and Sesto are powerless and ch’il morir di gelosia for dying of jealousy darmi soccorso. O dio! can’t help me. O god! tra le morti è la peggior. is the worst way to die. Non resta alcuna speme al viver mio. There is no more hope in my life. ARIA ARIA Un cenno leggiadretto, from Serse Piangerò la sorte mia, I will cry my fate, sì crudele e tanto ria, so cruel and mean, Un cenno leggiadretto, A pretty little gesture, finché vita in petto avrò. so long as I have life in my breast. un riso vezzosetto, a charming little smile, Ma poi morta d’ogn’intorno But then when dead, turned ghost, un moto di pupille a movement of the eye il tiranno e notte e giorno I will agitate the tyrant può far innamorar. can make one fall in love. fatta spettro agiterò. all around night and day. Lusinghe, pianti e frodi Flattery, weeping and deceptions son anche certi modi, are other certain ways, che destano faville, to generate sparks, e tutti io li so far. and I know how to do them all. —3 — TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS Il primo ardor, from Ariodante Tornami a vagheggiar, from Alcina Il primo ardor The first flame is so Tornami a vagheggiar, Look at me again, è così caro a questo cor, dear to this heart, te solo vuol’ amar for this loyal soul ch’estinguerlo non vuol that this loving soul quest’ anima fedel, wants to love only you, quest’alma amante. doesn’t want to put it out. caro, mio bene! my dear one! Io son fedel, I am faithful, Già ti donai il mio cor I have already given you my heart, nè mai crudel, never cruel, fido sarà il mio amor; my love will be true; e sempre a lui sarà and my heart will always mai ti sarò crudel, I will never be cruel to you il cor costante. be loyal to him. cara mia spene. oh my beloved hope. Dunque I lacci/Ah crudel, from Rinaldo Da Tempeste, from Giulio Cesare RECITATIVO RECITATIVE Da tempeste il legno infranto, The ship shattered by storm Dunque i lacci d’un volto, Will the lines of a face, se poi salvo giunge in porto, if it then reaches safely a port, tante gioie promesse, with so much promised happiness, non sa più che desiar. doesn’t know what else to desire. li spaventi d’Inferno, the terrors of Hell, Così il cor tra pene e pianto, Thus between pain and a weeping heart forza n’avran per arrestar quel crudo? have enough strength to stop one? or che trova il suo conforto, now that it finds its comfort E tu il segui, o mio core! And you follow him, my heart! torna l’anima a bear. again makes the soul happy. Fatto trofeo d’un infelice amore! you, now the trophy of an unhappy love! No! si svegli ‘l furore, No, let the fury awake, si raggiunga l’ingrato, let it reach the ungrateful one, translations by Alexandra Amati-Camperi cada a’ miei piè svenato! let him fall dead at my feet! Ohimè! Che fia? Uccider l’alma mia? Alas, what? To kill my loved one? Ah! Debole mio petto, Ah, my weak breast, a un traditor anco puoi dar ricetto? can you still welcome a traitor? Su, su, furie, ritrovate Go, go, furies, find nova sorte di pena e di flagello! a new kind of pain and punishment! s’uccida, sì... eh! no, ch’è troppo bello! let him be killed, yes... no, for he’s too handsome! ARIA ARIA Ah! crudel, Alas! Cruel one, Il pianto mio let me weeping Deh! Ti mova per pietà! move you to mercy! O infedel, Oh unfaithful al mio desio you will taste the cruelty proverai la crudeltà. of my desire. —4 — Love, Despair & Virtuoso Fire by Jeannette Sorrell George Frideric Handel dominated the London opera stage for three decades in the first half of the 18th century. Along with his contemporaries Rameau and Vivaldi, Handel was responsible for bringing the genre of baroque opera to its culmination. With a sophisticated background including early training in Germany followed by five years of study in Italy, Handel arrived on the London scene at a moment when the city was ready to embrace his blend of ambition and international sophistication. A true artist-entrepreneur, he started three commercial opera companies within fifteen years, managing to convince the English nobility that they absolutely needed this entertainment in a foreign language with mostly foreign singers. However, the London audience was fickle. Handel’s successes spawned rivals. He both made and lost a fortune during his years as the Andrew Lloyd Webber of 18th-century London. Like the characters to whom he gave voice, Handel was destined for tumultuous successes, failures, and upheavals. Perhaps this is inevitable for anyone who dedicates himself to that passionate art form of love and despair: opera. Our exploration of the power of love in Handel’s writing traverses nine different operas and a ballet. Here follows a brief introduction to each of these works. In these notes, the operas are listed in chronological order, allowing us to trace the composer’s development and creative path over the course of thirty years. Almira, Queen of Castile (1705). This was Handel’s first opera, composed when he was spending a summer playing in the Hamburg orchestra at the age of 19. The libretto is partly in German and partly in Italian, as was the custom at the Hamburg opera house. The opera was a great success. The story concerns the young Queen Almira, who has recently inherited the throne. She is supposed to marry a prince, but is secretly in love with her secretary, Fernando. In the Act I aria “Geloso tormento,” Almira sings of her jealous anguish as she believes (mistakenly) that Fernando is flirting with another woman. Handel brilliantly conveys both her rage and her sorrow through the orchestral writing, where the oboe plays a lyrical lament while the strings play pounding repeated notes, which are marked “forte” by Handel each time they appear. Rinaldo (1711). This was Handel’s first opera for London, and in fact it was the first Italian-language opera written specifically for the London stage. Exploring the themes of love, battle and redemption, the story is set during the Crusades and is inspired by Torquato Tasso’s 1581 epic poem Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered). The opera faced some resistance from London critics hostile toward the new trend of Italian language. Nevertheless, it was a great popular success, thanks to the richly colorful orchestration and many special staging effects. George Frideric Handel by Balthasar Denner (1685–1749) oil on canvas, c. 1726–1728, National Portrait Gallery —5 — Rinaldo is a nobleman in the Christian army that is laying siege to imagines the vengeance she will wreak on her enemies after her death, Jerusalem. His betrothed, Almirena, is abducted by the sorceress Armida, as a ghost.