The Rival Queens Texts and Notes
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The Rival Queens Isabel Bayrakdarian soprano Arias for Faustina Bordoni From Handel Alessandro Rossane (Act 3, sc 3) Brilla nell’alma In my soul shines Un non inteso ancor dolce contento a sweet contentment as yet unknown E d’alta gioia il cor, soave inonda. and my heart is gently flooded with great joy. Sì nella calma So in the calm the sea Azzurro brilla il mar se splende il sole, shines blue in the brilliant sun, E i rai fan tremolar tranquilla l’onda. and its rays make the waves quietly tremble. Brilla, &c. In my soul shines, &c. From Bononcini Astianatte Ermione (Act 2, sc 6) Spera che questo cor You may well hope that, Se cade il traditor should the traitor fall, Non più crudel sarà. this heart will no longer be cruel. Ma vivo se’l vedrò But should I live to see him again Pietà quest’alma nò this soul will never Di te mai non avrà. take pity on you. Spera &c. You may well hope, &c. From Hasse Cajo Fabricio Sestia (Act 3, sc 14) Padre ingiusto, sposo ingrato, Unjust father, ungrateful husband, ché mi forza a’ miei lamenti why do you compel me to lament, ché le lagrime corregi why do you curb my tears; odi, senti listen, hear me, il mio duol non prende leggi my grief does not obey the laws dalla vostra crudeltà. of your cruelty. Questo cor del pari irritano My heart is hurt equally by your fier rigor pietà indiscreta proud rigour, your indiscreet pity; che di pianger e’ mi vieta you forbid me to weep di morire non mi torrà. yet you can't prevent me from dying. Padre ingiusto, &c. Unjust father, &c.. Arias for Francesca Cuzzoni From Bononcini Astianatte Andromaca (Act 2, sc 7) Deh lascia o core Oh my heart, Di sospirar per un momento. leave your sighing for a moment. E torna poi con più dolor And then turn again, with yet more grief, A lacrimar ch’io mi contento. to weep, that I may be contented. Deh lascia, &c. Oh my heart, &c. From Handel Alessandro Lisaura (Act 3, sc 4) L’amor, che per te sento, The love that I feel for you Brama te sol contento: desires only your happiness: A costo di mia pena, though it causes me pain, Godi, e m’appagherò. enjoy it, and I will be fulfilled. Sarà più fortunata She who is loved in return is more L’amante riamata, ma più fedele, no. fortunate but will not be more faithful. L’amor, &c The love, &c. Thanks to Professor Konrad Eisenbichler of Victoria College, University of Toronto, for his assistance in deciphering the manuscript and translating the text of the Hasse aria. The translations of the other arias are adapted from the original eighteenth-century wordbooks. Programme Notes The Rival Queens Notes by Isabel Bayrakdarian Imagine being a famous opera singer, and having composers like Handel, Bononcini, Hasse, Pollarolo, and Vivaldi writing beautiful music specifically for your voice and temperament. Now imagine having to share this special privilege and honour with another beautiful and wonderfully talented singer AND having to share the same stage with her by being cast in the same opera. Is it any wonder then, that when envy, rivalry, vanity, and sheer desperate need for survival intersect in real life, it eclipses the operatic plot in its sheer drama and a catfight on stage isn’t that far-fetched after all. This is the background of the eighteenth-century singers Faustina Bordoni and Francesca Cuzzoni, who were bitter rivals both onstage and offstage. When one looks at the music written for them, it’s immediately apparent that these two singers were not the same voice type at all, even though both were known as "soprano." In today’s terms, music written for Bordoni would fit more in the high mezzo-soprano category, and Cuzzoni in the soprano category. What’s interesting is that when there’s no label of distinction between mezzo-soprano and soprano, the voices are viewed on equal terms and judged on the beauty of expression and execution of technique. And this is where the two ladies tried to outdo each other. As a singer, when I “tried on” the music written for them, it became obvious that there was a common denominator: Bordoni must have been a great vocal technician, and Cuzzoni must have been a great dramatic interpreter. It was interesting to see this pattern repeat itself regardless of the composer: the music for Bordoni is usually a brilliant display of coloratura runs and smooth legato, while exploring depth of emotion or pathos was reserved for music written for Cuzzoni, who has a more declamatory style. Composers loved to cast them together in their operas. However, each singer demanded to be given the lead role of the queen, and insisted that the best arias be written for her. Given that these two ladies had such distinctly different strengths and temperaments, composers were caught in the middle of this unreasonable rivalry and were often forced to give each singer the same number of arias, and were careful to make sure that an aria sung by one singer was immediately followed by an aria for the other. This is the case in Handel’s opera Alessandro. In Act III, Bordoni’s character Lisaura sings “Brilla nell’alma” which is a showcase of vocal fireworks. Immediately afterwards, Cuzzoni’s character Rosanna comes on stage to sing an “answer” aria, “L’amor che per te sento,” which has a very different mood, yet impresses with its nobility of emotion. The fan base of these two rival queens fueled this feud even more. They showed their loyalty to their favourite singer by applauding her incessantly and booing and hissing when the other singer was on stage. In one of the performances for Bononcini’s opera Astianatte, the feud between the fan bases was so intense that when the two singers were about to sing a duet, the entire audience started fighting with each other, which caused the opera to stop, and led Bordoni and Cuzzoni to exchange insults and eventually to start a catfight right on stage. This rivalry continued for many years, but in the end, it seems Bordoni ended up with an advantage: she married Hasse, who continued to write music to suit her ever-evolving voice. One such aria is “Padre ingiusto” from the opera Cajo Fabricio, which highlights Bordoni’s more mature technique. Through this project, I hope both Bordoni and Cuzzoni will have another chance to come back to life in a showcase of their favourite arias. Perhaps the twenty-first- century audience will once again choose their favourite singer, or perhaps they will accept and embrace them both, and end the rivalry once and for all. The idea for this project was conceived by former CBC producer Neil Crory, and it has blossomed and evolved thanks to the enthusiasm, patience, and tireless research work by Jeanne Lamon, Tafelmusik, and Charlotte Nediger in particular. Additional Notes on the Programme By Charlotte Nediger Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni (who came to be known by her first name) were born a year apart and made their debuts in 1716 in their respective home cities of Parma and Venice. Cuzzoni was the daughter of a violinst and studied voice with Francesco Lanzi; Bordoni was born into a patrician family, her general musician education entrusted to Benedetto and Alessandro Marcello, and her vocal training to Gasparini.The two first sang together in a production of Pollarolo's Ariodante in Venice in 1718, and twice again in the following year. Their famed rivalry, described above, had its origins in the London theatres. Cuzzoni arrived in the English capital in December 1722, her stellar reputation preceding her. Her debut, in Handel's Ottone, has been described as one of the most sensational in English theatre history. The infamous story of Handel threatening to throw her out the window when she refused to sing one of the arias only bolstered excitement. Ticket prices were raised, and reviews were exceptional. She went on to sing a leading part in all of Handel's operas until the close of the Royal Academy in 1728. It is no surprise, then, that Faustina's arrival in London in 1726 caused a stir with both Cuzzoni and her fans. Handel cast them as the title character's two love interests in his opera Alessandro. Even before Faustina's arrival, the press had established the two singers as rivals. It has been suggested that even the choice of opera was meant to enliven the sense of competition: the story of Alexander the Great was known to Londoners in a play by Nathaniel Lee, the subtitle of which was "The Rival Queens." The epithet was adopted for the two prime donne, and the rivalry bolstered ticket sales for the eight operas in which they appeared together in London in the following two years. It reached its height at a performance of Bononcini's opera Astianatte in June 1727. Bordoni was playing the scorned Ermione against the anguished Andromaca, played by Cuzzoni. As described by Isabel Bayrakdarian above, the performance was brought to a halt by the raucous behaviour of the audience — particularly noteworthy was that the behaviour persisted despite the presence of the Princess of Wales. A certain Lord Hervey wrote that the arguments continued all hours between parties on barges on the Thames, and complained: "I can't applaud the taste of my countrymen, who stop the mouths of these women upon the stage, give them £3,000 a year to come there to have the pleasure of hissing them off when they are there, and prefer their conversation in a barge to their voices in a theatre." Bordoni left London when the Academy closed in 1728, and went on to a successful career on the continent.