Cedille Records CDR 90000 064 DDD Absolutely Digital™ CDR 90000 064 Divas of Mozart’s Day Patrice Michaels soprano Classical Arts Orchestra / Stephen Alltop conductor with Peter Van De Graaff bass-baritone Based on a concept by musicologist Dorothea Link C ATARINA C AVALIERI (1755-1801) Diva years in Vienna: 1778-1793 The Wrß Conßanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) 1 “Tra l’oscure ombre funeße” from Davidde penitente, K. 469 (1785) (6:58) Vincenzo Righini (1756-1812) 2 “Per pietà, deh, ricercate” from L’incontro inaspettato (1785) (4:50)* Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) 3 “Wenn dem Adler das GeWeder” from Der Rauchfangkehrer (1781) (5:25)* N ANCY S TORACE (1765-1817) Diva years in Vienna: 1783-1787 The Wrß Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro (1786) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 4 “Ch’io mi scordi di te . Non temer, amato bene” (scena con rondò) K. 505 (1787) (10:10) with Stephen Alltop, fortepiano solo Vicente Martín y Soler (1754-1806) 5 “Dolce mi parve un dì” from Una cosa rara (1786) (3:33) Antonio Salieri 6 “La ra la, che Wlosofo buVon” from La grotta di Trofonio (1785) (2:57)* with Peter Van De GraaV, bass-baritone Stephen Storace (1762-1796) 7 “How Mißaken is the Lover” from The Doctor and the Apothecary (1788) (3:25)* A DRIANA F ERRARESE DEL B ENE ( c . 1 7 6 0 - a f t e r 1 8 0 4 ) Diva years in Vienna: 1788-1791 The Wrß Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte (1790) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 8 “Al desìo di chi t’adora” K. 577 from Le nozze di Figaro (1789 revival) (6:02) Antonio Salieri 9 “AlWn son sola . Sola e meßa fra tormenti” from La cifra (1790) (8:47)* L UISA L ASCHI M OMBELLI ( 1 7 6 3 - c . 1 7 8 9 ) Diva years in Vienna: 1784, 1786-1788 The Wrß Countess in Le nozze di Figaro (1786) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart bk “Reßati quà . Per queße tue manine” K. 540b from Don Giovanni (Vienna, 1788) (5:24) with Peter Van De GraaV, bass-baritone Vicente Martín y Soler bl “Sereno raggio” from L’arbore di Diana (1787) (2:59)* L OUISE V ILLENEUVE ( f l . 1 7 7 1 - 1 7 9 9 ) Diva years in Vienna: 1789-1791 The Wrß Dorabella in Così fan tutte (1790) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart bm “Ahí cosa veggio* . Vado, ma dove?” K. 583 (5:38) Subßitute aria in Martín y Soler’s Il burbero di buon core (1789) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [Recitative] Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801) [Rondò] bn “No caro, fa coraggio* . Quanto è grave il mio tormento” (9:06) Insertion aria in Guglielmi’s La quakera spiritosa (1790) * World Premiere Recording TT: (76:15) CLASSICAL ARTS ORCHESTRA VIOLIN I CELLO CLARINET Elizabeth Blumenßock, concertmaster John Mark Rozendaal, principal Diane HeVner, principal Jin Kim Craig Trompeter Kathryn Pirtle Yuki Mori Chase Morrison Jeri-Lou Zike BASSOON Thomas Yang BASS Joseph Urbinato, principal Jerry Fuller, principal Keith Collins VIOLIN II Phillip Serna Patricia Ahern, principal HORN Nell Flanders FLUTE Linda Dempf, principal Lori Ashikawa Anita Miller-Rieder, principal Melanie Cottle Liz Bißrow Lyon Leifer TRUMPET VIOLA OBOE Robert Rieder, principal Liz Holzman, principal Stanley King, principal Ross Beacraft Susan Rozendaal Allison Smith Vania Phillips TIMPANI Arian Sheets Michael Folker Special thanks to: BERNARD J. DOBROSKI, Dean, Northwestern University School of Music; RICHARD VAN KLEEK, Director of Concerts, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall; KAREN BRUNSSEN, Chair, Vocal Studies, Northwestern University School of Music; THOMAS BAUMAN, Professor, Northwestern University School of Music;CROZET DUPLANTIER and SUE ZINDLE, Lyric Opera of Chicago; JOHN GRANDY, The Metropolitan Opera; VERN SUTTON, Dean Emeritus, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; EDWIN PENHORWOOD, Indiana University School of Music; BRIAN DICKIE, Chicago Opera Theater; NELL SCHAENEN, The Lee Schaenen Foundation; LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC; and DONNA ISROFF. Additional Credits: GIANNA PANOWSKI, translations. NATHAN MEAD, copyist. Fortepiano made available by DAVID SCHRADER. Keyboard preparation, PAUL IRVIN. Cedille Records is a trademark of The Chicago Classical Recording Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation devoted to promoting the finest musicians and ensembles in the Chicago area. The Chicago Classical Recording Foundation’s activities are supported in part by contributions and grants from individuals, foundations, corpo- rations, and government agencies including the WPWR-TV Channel 50 Foundation, the Sara Lee Foundation, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs (CityArts III Grant), and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. THE DIVAS OF MOZART’S DAY Notes by Dorothea Link hen Mozart settled in Vienna in 1781, ach of the Wve prime donne featured on this Whe was almoß immediately commissioned Erecording contributed to the brilliance of to write an opera for the Singspiel company that Joseph’s opera. Catarina Cavalieri was pres- formed part of the Imperial and Royal National ent from the very beginning. Throughout her Court Theater founded and adminißered by long tenure at the court opera, she sang in both Emperor Joseph II. This company, like the genre Singspiel and opera buffa. In Singspiel she usually took itself (German opera employing spoken dialogue the leading roles; in opera buffa, however, she inßead of sung recitative), could not yet boaß was often consigned to secondary parts. Nancy any great artißic successes, but Joseph nurtured it Storace was the opera buffa company’s Wrß prima along, partly to support local talent and partly to donna. She initially sang prima donna seria parts, avoid having to spend large amounts on imported but eventually switched to prima donna buffa roles. opera. Encouraged by the success of his self-sup- Often partnered with Storace was Luisa Laschi porting theater, he created an opera buffa company Mombelli: when Storace sang the serious female in 1783 for which he engaged expensive singers part, Laschi took the comic role (and later vice from Italy. The Singspiel was then dissolved, and versa). Laschi was an extraordinarily versatile many of its singers were absorbed into the Italian singer, who apparently could excel in a wide company. In 1785, however, the Singspiel was range of parts. She was therefore not threatened revived for a further two and a half years, dur- by the arrival of Adriana Ferrarese del Bene mid- ing which it coexißed with the buffa company. In way through the 1788-89 season. Ferrarese was the space of a few years, there came a succession exclusively a seria singer, not quite exceptional of great operas by composers such as Mozart, enough for opera seria on the international ßage in court composer and Kapellmeister of the opera buffa London, but greatly valued for her vocal prow- Antonio Salieri, and visiting composer Vicente ess in smaller houses and in opera buffa, in which Martín y Soler. Lorenzo Da Ponte, the compa- she took the serious roles. Laschi was replaced ny’s librettiß, furnished moß of the texts. Due the following season by Louise Villeneuve who, to conßraints imposed by the onset of war with like Laschi, could sing comic and serious roles Turkey in 1788, the Singspiel was again dissolved equally well. and the Italian opera was pared down. Artißic momentum continued nonetheless, producing hese glorious voices may seem to have van- further maßerpieces from Salieri and Mozart. Tished forever, but they are not entirely loß. This great era for opera at the imperial court Because composers of that era fashioned their came to an end with the death of Emperor Joseph music to the voices of the singers who were to in 1790 (and, of course, Mozart in 1791). perform it, arias composed for a particular sing- er capture and preserve the charaçerißics of her exploit her ßrengths, as he reported to his father voice. By identifying and colleçing such arias, it in his letter of September 26, 1781: “I sacri- is possible to some extent to recover the special Wced Konßanze’s aria a bit to the agile throat qualities of their voices. This recording presents of Mlle Cavalieri.” That was only the Wrß aria a seleçion of arias by Mozart and his Viennese “Ach, ich liebte.” The virtuosic writing culminated contemporaries, chosen to create a vocal proWle in the second-aç show-ßopper “Martern aller for each of the Wve divas. Except for the Mozart Arten.” Four years later, as Mlle Silberklang in Der seleçions, the pieces are largely unknown today Schauspieldirektor, Cavalieri portrayed a coloratura (and even in Mozart’s case, the works are not soprano who could contentedly sing an entire aria commonplace — including two previously unre- on the word “allegro.” When she was caß as Elvira corded accompanied recitatives). For all of these in the 1788 Viennese produçion of Don Giovanni, (non-Mozart pieces) but one, the scores were Mozart wrote “Mi tradì” for her, using fioratura drawn from original manuscript sources in the as a means of depiçing Elvira’s internal ßruggle. Außrian National Library; Stephen Storace’s For the 1789 Viennese revival of Le nozze di Figaro, own published score was used for the English aria in which she sang the Countess, Mozart revised on track 7. “Dove sono” to include several passages of fiora- tura. This did not juß serve to show oV Cavalieri’s CATERINA CAVALIERI (1755 - 1801) voice: in accord with late 18th century conven- A native of Vienna, she spent her entire career tion, it also ßrengthened the charaçerization of in the service of the imperial court theater. the Countess as a person of nobility. Perhaps this She ranked higheß among the German female edition of the aria should be sung today; the Wrß singers, but took second place to the Italians. version is vocally plainer only because the original Emperor Joseph II valued Cavalieri for her will- Countess (Laschi) did not sing fioratura.