7 Insertion Arias for L'elisir d,amore - Persiani, Tamburini, and,..

One ol thc a.ticles in the progftm€ for fie reoeft (rnd d.lighttul) producrio! of L'elisir d @oe .r C@nr (hlden nEntion.d rhar Donizctti added new dis for Aftonio Ttnburini dd F$ny [email protected] for th. pads p.oduction in 1839 Th. music for th*. additiotrll aiae c& be fourd s sppl.*,io in ,*A *," p{blish.d by Bern rd trfl€, P&iq ! copy ofwhich is hcld by ihe British Libnry." Th3l for PeBi&i cane a . $rpdrc Th. ilrds of the 6Bt serion, with the 6ingle cha.g. ol"@ngi' to "phchi" !.e still thos. for th. odsinrl."redi pcr me ci libdo". Bul lhe c.baletta b in fict thc cib.l.tr! 8on Bi&q'. &t I eia.No, tu che infelice appi€no in Ugo, Cdte di P@igt, th. music lilied without any v.ry rignificanl chang!, and with lon rcw words lpposit. to Ilril .s folloB:

E/dr (for P6iei)

Biss: No, cfu ir&li& Ippi@ AdiD: Nq cl'c infelie appido [email protected],o&to, @ ni hbsti, o &ro, S. nEor ni d dato S. n&quisr! m'a drlo !l mio @aggio d6. chi mi e ka. ogmr Voh d'A&lia in 3m. .! to@ a trilLmi in !@ An Eh slla sFnc o @r .I toma dl. sioj! il @r.

Cnor: Ddl'Aquitalilgius. AdiB: O sioja i,Gpimibilc r!di. v!di, v!di, !!di

Of oous. I shouldn l h.rc hen surpds.d B Jcmy Comons. booktct not.g fo. th. Opqd P&r CDs of Uaa infom I that Biaacsh sr,ra w.s us.d !s .n did di ,drrd by P.Biiri i^ Elisit a by Patt, in Arua Boteu. Thc rdoM of thcse suhiitute eiar wu cl.aly widceprsd ed thcy wrrc ldlpld for irstrumental worksl with tlcir titl6 .efeniry t,o the uiu' &E po3irioor. For oomptq in a coll@tion of pi6rs for hu? by Cusl.ru V Eoht Grardfathq ofrhe Holst ofPt E/Jfsrno, the v

D6i4fi's f.rcudrc Cav*io "l,to, m che iGti@ .!pi@", hkodu.€d by Mnbru PEr. in A@ 8ola4 ArDlg.d for th! tlID ajd Drdieted to Mis; M.ry Ie Wiggi& ty Guehtu V tloln.

Th€n th@ is r Piuo Fanoey by Att.A "Varistioc t i h vi.ttq lur un lir de l'Elisirc d'Amore", whor. thme i! rlis Uao clbaleflr And orc Lolig M..scmr.ok6 amte a "Frntabic a Vriatiom pour Pirro, sui l,rir .h&ra p0r Madame P.rsidi .ha L'EliiE d'Anorc de Do.izeni d&i€d a Monsiff l€ Co;ie c.5totr Bffiblllt de Dudzeelc . Aft...n inrroductioq tlle ih.m. of lh! pi.c. iq !gd4 rcne o er thu Bie@t cabsletl.. Tlleft &6 rhen rE! vsrinions on it aollowd by a hrgnetto i. G mino., which is simply "UB tuniva lagrima,', and a FiDle bas6d on Adim\ line Aon the Adiru/DulMr duei i. Acr II

The ext6 sris for Tamburi.i lal

B6vo, bavo il mio B€l@e del tuo gdo e queslo on lmpo f ompl4$, sopB e s.tto, tu mi mbn u bum Ggliuolo

* ni pmde, * ni pBde ad 6on0lar @l tuo Bcdio ol tuo sdio snSoLt Ho bg6ggiilo il nio ri'de Ho ingassiato il n@ rivale echc qGra a d! onllr, si. ach. qucsts e da 6l!r, si

P..smably thc rcw oiee r.rl&es the frnsl sdtion ofthe duet Cleadv Belcore is on $ase alone i. ihe rdised v.Bioir add6sinS hiNelf with .o littl€ plide \4herc oriAmly he tells N.norino flur he, Nenorino, eill soon bc a oryool, in the @ision he forese! himsolts no l.ss thd t g.rcrdl! The n music co@ntrltcs on rhe 6nt line Md th. last lwo lio.s of lexl. Thc liple$ of rhe original ar. .xlended into e .labo6t. displ.y pie.€ for the vi.tuoso bliitone. Thc utrena contains a paesag. of lixtm tripl.ts follow.d, in four lolcs! by l6p! ofs tw.lfll! ldth and..i.th (high F down lo 86, b&k up 10 D ald down lo C) The Puis Ndorino in Jeuary 1839 *4 Nicola Ivuofl eid one wondeu how h. feh ar lolin8 his susic.

,.. rnd Malibrm in the light of C€cilis B.rtoli

Thc .q Decca CD &on C€.ilia Banoli "Mrda", devot.d to th. famo$ mezzo Muis Malibo!! slso conlain! an ..ia for ins.don inlo /,'.ri!t d m@- Two.l{ns are madc tur this, th.i ih. dit ws qntlh by Mdibo ud rhd this is . world Drcmi.rc r.cordins The sond of rh.s. chim i, oily plni.llv rruc. Th. fi's slior ;t fie lda my well bc ,pneeins for the very fr.sl tin - bur rhe Gond c.n.inlv kni. Joan Sult.dand ad Riohard BonyngE used il in th.ir l97l rc6rdin8 of Z elisl d'.n@, thou8h ldnjhcdly ii an orch€strdion by Doug,&! Gan.y tht sounds ! lide oul of pqiod. suth.dand d$ sitr8s two lmes whqcrr B.noli 8iv.s us onlv on . This isn't th. nrst fim. lhat D€..a ha3 foBoitm th.ir om r.cordings: the lwo_ CD @mDihiion ku.d to m* Suih.rled s 8oth bidhday claircd rh,rl $i! wu thc fid rim; rhsl the onplerc we fion Rono,e d hghilkftd had b.en isued on CD (it ws oisjnally ! supplmot ro he. n6t LP EcordinA ofl,!c,4), wh€.€.s in lsct it rppd!, dl of il, on "Prim. Doma Assolul." (D66 425 605_2, ..leas.d in 1989)

Frcm the LP bootlet it is cl* thai Bonynge th@glt lhis rcph@ment 0m wa witt@ by MltibM 3 husbrnd, Chdles do B{tiot Th. book thrt acsmPmis "Mana" .ome dopn rtrongly in fr@r of M.libM heru€lf. I rodel? Is ll .e![v ! Bi$.rditrg to i .aret "M. de Bddot" s Mo$i.ur de Bdriot .dhd thu Msria? (I prcsme thal the s@r; wilh thh ir the one Eonynse found.) tud h it r.a[y "s..onglv supportiu" .vidm@ lhat !tuter Paulire perfomed it s "Gros Aric von Malibm" in Bedin ir 1848? A Brilish Libory sorc of Z .litl publilh€d by Bemrd Latre of Peis, 10 which de dtached u appeddic.s the Persian md Tmbu.ini ari.s dissed above, hs rhe follo*ing pencil motalion od the title p{ge (al8 unsigned ud und3l€d):

k lee edlti@ rL "L'ElGire d'An@ 61 l'@ de Peini,r pobabl@r m 1832 C.lA ddilion MDlait 2oO pasB. La 2 aiE ajelis &s et|c 6ditid .', iguiat

I TIE PaisiI tuic publishq, not dE @mp.s. 9

pa, a ma comisd€ il ne nsnrmr que daB l adind p.emte. A cese plnirioh est _Prodi pr(jMt l dr p.r me ' awo une noulue nusique dc Chr 6 & BCnd, .ompose cxpres potrr Mana MalbEr, Dooueti alail @n! une nusiqle dc cer atr pdur Me

lThe nN cdtron of l Elisir d morc n the ono of P mi probally or l&32 That edinon had 200 paBs The 2 .d.led ai^ in this cdition rere mt hclude{ in my belief tner ae *Prc!d, inclndcd only tn lnn cdilron In this score n p.cseDl the air po ne" wilh nsr music by Charls & Benot rvitrn *p4$ly aor Mana M.librd; DonEeti had mnposcd a snnib an 6r Madme Pesiani l

I am indebied to ou Chairtun loi deciphering sone of ihe lrrench and lor the l.anslation He .lso poinls out lhat lhere ue inaccuracies in th€ s1a1ene.t and mirtakes in the French, leading him 10 the mnclusion rhal thc w!it€! was plobably 6 bookeller and not F@nch. Hoveer. it surely does rev.llrhat someone thon rhoughl thr De Bdlioi did vrire a replaceheit lor "Prendiper me". lfil isn'r the o.e reoorded by Badoli, whar aid whereisii?

A second area of concern is lhat lhe.e seems lo me to be some rather dubious ,,Ah, luslincation for Badolii a$unption of lhe lols of Amina a.d No@ non credea hay lic weu for s mdro, but I hrve doubts thal the A l aria would. specislly $€ cabaleita, elen al rhe dighlly lower pilch used And is rhere diy reat evidence thal "Amina s ressitura . for 1he nost par1, is uncomfodably low for sopBnos'? I'n more inclined io b€lieve thal B.llid t&ilored fi$e paas 10 the vocal qualities ofPa$a, and thar modrn inierpreiem ofthen suoh as Csllas and Suthenaid come closer vooslly io ihe r€qunemenrs ofthe mmplete roles rhan does a hezzo such as Bartoli There are passsAcs in om4 ihat d€mand s 3oprNo's eas€ on hieh (he cabalelta to Casia Diva . the Act I confrontation wilh Pollione. the end of ,,Ei toriera", etc ) and I don'i imagine a mao such as Banoli in th.se wnh pleasur. ''Ca$ta Diva" nself may gain from inlina.y, bul Noma aho needs 10 evincc auihority. even at p6y€r Max Lopp.n s d.s.liption oflhi! (Opera, November 2007) as miorophone croonins sems alltoo rpt.

.plain, The nusicrl rexr for "Al non giunSe k inlerestiis tlanoli sings the vflsion of rhe firsr veroe thar h so exprcssive of AninaL joy Gomerhing I nr91 herd sung by Marsherita Rinaldi in 1972 at Bresenz) aid rhei piovides some lovely de@radons for the second thdt exploit the lo*er range of hd voie, rarher thm the usu&l high€r variadons Unfonumtely we are giren only on. veis€ of"vie. dilerto", ihe cabalelra from the I Pl/irhi mad sc.ne, in lhe Malibnn veroion which transposes the nusic down a minor third from lhe usual key. I would have ben i.r€re*ed to hed a s€cond vers decorated ii sinild veii The Pacini qceryi froo rzr? aho has only one verse ofits.abaletta (lhough the siietla sc.ns tul1) Ifhy p€rception of Malibran as a $inAer who was €pable ofinprovisiag variants and cade% at will is corecr. then ir s€ems a pity to deny ue these @cond !e6es ed then deoralions, espNially in a r*ordins when quesrions ol srmina throush a @dplete open don't rise Malibru's ''Rataplan is also shor. of a vdrse if the Brirkh Library s eolune rhar contains ir, "Pdsdes de Maliban", is authenlic &is is a collectio. of14 sonss and duets Decca and Ms Batuli *ould no doubt thst point lo rh€ fa.r their CD lasts just a Ew sconds sho( of 80 dinules a.d ask me which treks I would give up ro a@onnodale rhese rQeats My reply would be that in ai ideal world Ne ,ould hav€ lso CDs (remember 10 those wonde.tul 2-LP s.rs D@a is$ed of Sutherland, tlome ed Crespin?) wnh the wond devobd slely to fie music of Gdcia ud Mdib@!

You My galher Aon rhe above thd I am less alen by this Banoli CD than ou. qaggedted. giunse Chaimn Gee Nwsletd to2) t find too huch that is "AI! .on is s clipped il mde me laugh on fir3t hdi.g, and *do she aets to "Ahl m'lbbrrrm&cia!" Elvino must Nrcly be thinking that Lis was.'t sch s b.d prcpdition after sll And that mlhd brothy littl€-gid lode secna eithe. inapt for the music or i.adequate fd s l&ge hdL or bo$. HNing $id all that, hq B.rbican con@( (l9th Dec.mbeo le nagni6c. . There, 1he dalgehtions wer€ larselv woid€d, or at l@t were nuch les 4id6t, lnd whtt eutrdt like cr@nin8 on thc CD cam. scroBs liv. a, a p.operly supPoded and projeclcd Pia.i$ino. only occtsio.allv u.as hd nol lege voice subrurged by lhe orch.slra (€xplained by rn amounm.nl et the *art b.gging our i.dulgen@ for her diu reovding ftom a @ld rrd flu? perhps thc RDql p.rfoltMe rwo dsy' htr ws suo!9.4. lf ehe usd diffcmt l@hriques for reaordins and liv. lerfoMc., I regr.l n lf shc do$nl. ud I hope Lhis i3 the caF, Decca's cloF Hording docs hd ro favou6. Hd virtuosily is ictuallv mor. [email protected] when hdd at s rcasomtlc disle@.

OpportLme, no doubt, in vi€w of the-above is a modest CD ftom Veoice and rec€ntly issued Marta Fellclta Garcla Maliwcn a Venezla (Al0ssandri 6l scattas la 2007 SHC 9700) which is a oompilation disc of sofigs ,nd duets composed by tvtalibran, half in Italian and half in French (lhough vocallv somcwhat dim where thc latter is concerned). They supply considerable material for thoudl in respect of tle famous but clusive di!a. Charming, Iightweight trifles for the most pa4 skirting rather than submitting to emotion, not especially melodious, widl the duets mor€ vocally sophisticated than thc solo songs. Despite a bold flourish now and then they were intetrded for srlon usage by the celebrat.d ani$ herself one imagilnes, with their elem€ntary arpeggiesque a.companiments.. Many ofthese a&oit items, however watery, cannot be ciaimed by Vedc€ however as most were offered by Rioordi in the f,rst placet ll tnatlino in her lifetirne, five of $e o$ets Ptilre d ta Mddonna, Hwne iles matelots, A1| botd de la nel Addio a Nice d l,e Montagnad efter her death in an album of November 1837^ e led Defiie/es pensdes t ,rrtualer All the above published (as they are sung here) in a G cleftheir substance reduced 6y the preponderance ofsopmno roices (Mme Banoli has made her her poht vis-a-vis the Malibran soud) The documentatiotr accompaying this disc ificludes details of lhe Malibran repertoire in Venice in her cel€brated tourn6e ofMarch 1835, eight perfonnances - seven of which include Balfe or his wife Lina Ros€r in a k€v role. Recornmend€d lislening for the vocally inquisitive ...