CellOpéra!

Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin, Prince Gremin Aria (Lyubvi fse vozrastï pokornï)

Notes (by Michel-Alexandre Broekaert)

Before becoming the subject of an opera by Tchaikovsky, the story of Eugene Onegin was already well known in Russia and beyond, through the eponymous novel by Alexander Pushkin. The libretto of the opera, enhanced by the composer himself, is strongly inspired by the novel, and finds its strength in the depth of the psychological development of the central characters as well as in the percipient and uncompromising view of the society of the time. 

It is at the heart of this rather dark and melancholic opera that we find the scene of the Prince Gremin’s Aria, an ode to happiness and to the power of love that knows no age. It takes place in the middle of a ball of the high society of Saint Petersburg, at the edge of the 18th century. Close-up on Eugene Onegin who, after many years of exile, contemplates the emptiness of his existence and remains tortured by his past actions. He recognizes Tatyana among the guests, a former neighbor he had once looked up to; but here she is transformed, elegant and with the bearing of a queen. Bewitched, Onegin tries not to let anything show while the lady’s husband, a former close friend and none other than Prince Gremin himself, spontaneously launches into an unbridled profession of love.  

He has been bathed in happiness since his meeting with Tatyana and does not stop sharing his happiness. Renewed hope, renewed enthusiasm, that’s how he compares her to an angel who came to rescue him from his gloom, like a ray of sunshine in the mist of his existence. 

This piece is a moment of grace that escapes from this opera with an oppressive dramatic charge. 

Libretto

Love is no respecter of age,
its transports bless alike
those in the bloom of youth
yet unacquainted with the world
and the grey-headed warrior
tempered by experience!
Onegin, I shan’t disguise the fact
that I love Tatyana to distraction!
My life was slipping drearily away;
she appeared and brightened it
like a ray of sunlight in a stormy sky,
and brought me life and youth, yes, youth and happiness!
Among these sly, poor-spirited,
foolish, pampered children,
these scoundrels both absurd and boring,
dull, fractious arbiters,
among the pious coquettes
and sycophantic slaves,
amid affable, modish hypocrisy
courteous, affectionate infidelities,
amid the icy censure
of cruel-hearted vanity,
amid the vexing vacuity
of calculation, thought and conversation,
she shines like a star
in the night’s darkest hour, in a pure, clear sky,
and to me she always appears
in the radiant,
radiant nimbus of an angel!

André Gagnon: Nelligan, Le Vaisseau d’or

Notes (by Noémie Raymond-Friset)

A jewel in the crown of Quebec opera music, we had to include the aria Vaisseau d’or from André Gagnon’s opera Nelligan. The opera Nelligan occupies a special place in the history of Quebec operas, if not for the fact that it has already been the subject of several readaptations, which few Quebec opera works can boast.  

Based on a libretto by the author Michel Tremblay, it has been described as a musical drama, a romantic opera or a musical comedy (most of the work was created by singers from the popular music world). The work, created in 1990, has been presented five times to the Quebec public, and has been well received each time.  

This poignant aria, full of drama and nostalgia, closes the opera. Émile, old and confined to the asylum, reflects on his life and enters into dialogue with a younger version of himself, until he completely recalls and sings this famous poem. The music is luscious and colourful and takes us into the abyss of Émile Nelligan’s torment and his Vaisseau d’or. 

Le Vaisseau d’or, the opera’s signature aria, has been immortalized by Quebec tenor Marc Hervieux and, with its cosmic union of Émile Nelligan’s heart-rending verses and André Gagnon’s poignant music, is one of Quebec’s greatest lyrical successes.   

Libretto

It was a great Vessel carved in solid gold:
Its masts touched the azure, on unknown seas;
The Cyprine of love, hair scattered, naked flesh
Was spread out at its prow, in the excessive sun.

But one night he came to strike the great reef
In the deceptive ocean where the Siren sang,
And the horrible shipwreck inclined its hull
In the depths of the abyss, immutable coffin.

It was a golden vessel, whose diaphanous sides
Revealed treasures that the profane sailors,
Disgust, Hate and Neurosis, between them disputed.

What is left of him in the brief storm?
What became my heart, a deserted ship?
Alas! it sank into the abyss of the Dream!

Gabriel Fauré: Trois mélodies Op.7, No.1, Après un rêve

Notes (by Michel-Alexandre Broekaert)

Après un rêve is a setting of Romain Bussine’s poem. It is one of Gabriel Fauré’s most popular melodies, and for good reason! Emblematic of the romantic and accessible style that characterizes his early works, this melody is distinguished by its supple and luminous melodic line, supported by enveloping and deeply evocative harmonies.  

The work has since been adapted many times for various instrumental ensembles, which has greatly contributed to its fame. Indeed, although is admirable in every way, the piece -here adapted for cello- loses none of its evocative power, quite the contrary. One is easily carried away by the happy marriage of timbres, while our thoughts escape to the dreamlike universe of dreams.  

Since this album is based on adaptations of opera arias for the cello-piano formation, we are aware that the introduction of a humble melody constitutes a slight departure from our unifying concept. We happily decided to make this exception because, on the one hand, the atmosphere of this charming work fits naturally with that of our album. On the other hand, this very work triggered our curiosity to explore the sumptuous universe of opera, full of extraordinary melodies and captivating stories. 

Libretto

In sleep made sweet by a vision of you

I dreamed of happiness, fervent illusion,

Your eyes were softer, your voice pure and ringing,

You shone like a sky that was lit by the dawn;

You called me and I departed the earth

To flee with you toward the light,

The heavens parted their clouds for us,

We glimpsed unknown splendours, celestial fires.

Alas, alas, sad awakening from dreams!

I summon you, O night, give me back your delusions;

Return, return in radiance,

Return, O mysterious night!

Ludwig van Beethoven, Variations “Bei Männern welche Liebe fuhlen”, aria from Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute”

Notes (by Michel-Alexandre Broekaert)

Beethoven had a great admiration for Mozart, who was fourteen years older. He was particularly fascinated by his numerous operas, and this fascination led to the writing of four cycles of variations for various instruments. The cycle that interests us here was inspired by the opera The Magic Flute, which Beethoven had just attended in Vienna in 1801. It is therefore the work of a young Beethoven, still full of humour and tenderness, personality traits that emanate from this theme and variations, all in finesse and bonhomie.  

The original aria is a duet sung by Pamina, the daughter of the Queen of the Night, and Papageno, a bird catcher. Meaning “Among men who know the feeling of love,” it extols the idea of love, bestowing upon it every virtue:  

“We want to sing the joy of love,  

we live only of love. 

Love softens all pain,  

All creation is dedicated to love. 

It gives salt to every day of our life 

And makes the wheel of nature turn.” 

This timeless theme of love, carried by Beethovenian mastery, ensures the durability of this work filled with surprises and moments of beauty.

Libretto

George Gershwin: Porgy and Bess, Summertime

Notes (by Michel-Alexandre Broekaert)

Summertime is one of the most popular melodies of all time and is featured at the very beginning of George Gershwin’s famous opera, Porgy & Bess, which was premiered to the American public in 1935. It was intended to be sung by a classically trained singer, but this did not prevent a multitude of other musical genres from making it their own; the Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong signature version comes to mind, as does the first jazz adaptation of the piece, recorded by the legendary Billie Holiday only one year after the opera’s premiere.  

In preparation for writing his opera, Gershwin did his homework and spent the summer of 1934 in the southern United States, near Charleston. This authentic experience allowed him to develop a typically American style, a synthesis of Western classical music and African-American folklore, which is distinguished by its own rhythms and idioms, crystallized in the famous spirituals, and of course, in jazz. The result is a unique and striking opera, and the jewel in the crown of it is undoubtedly the melody Summertime, a lullaby sung by a mother to her child, that will be repeated several times in the opera as the theme song of this work. The lyrics of the famous melody are attributed to a collaboration between Ira Gershwin, the composer’s brother, and DuBose Hayward, whose novel Porgy, written with his wife Dorothy, was the primary inspiration for Porgy & Bess. Broadway giant Stephen Sondheim declared the lyrics of Summertime to be among the most successful and evocative in the repertoire.  

The version on this album gives the famous ballad the enveloping timbre of the cello, restoring the melancholy and haunting character of the original version. 

Libretto

Summertime,
And the livin’ is easy
Fish are jumpin’
And the cotton is high

Oh, Your daddy’s rich
And your mamma’s good lookin’
So hush little baby
Don’t you cry

One of these mornings
You’re going to rise up singing
Then you’ll spread your wings
And you’ll take to the sky

But until that morning
There’s a’nothing can harm you
With your daddy and mammy standing by

Summertime,
And the livin’ is easy
Fish are jumpin’
And the cotton is high

Your daddy’s rich
And your mamma’s good lookin’
So hush little baby
Don’t you cry

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte), Der Hölle Rache

Notes (by Alexander Koutelias)

The tease of comedy and the weight of drama; the freshness of new romantic infatuation and the scorn of unrequited love; the warmth of Enlightenment and the coldness of darkness. Mozart’s beloved The Magic Flute covers with poise many conflicting elements of the human experience, relevant in both Enlightenment Austria of the 18th century as well as to the world today. The opera is set in a mythical non-European locale in an ancient era.  

In this aria, the second of the Queen of the Night’s tour-de-force arias of vocal virtuosity, she demands that her daughter Pamina kills her rival, the wise and benevolent Sarastro. Feeling conflicted given the kindness Sarastro has exhibited towards her, Pamina is handed a dagger by her mother who cackles with rage. The Queen of the Night threatens Pamina, stating that her disobeying will lead to her disownment and that, no matter what, Sarastro will die. This aria of dizzyingly intense vocal trills and jumps is one of the most oft-quoted excerpts from any opera. 

Libretto

The vengeance of Hell boils in my heart,
Death and despair flame about me!
If Sarastro does not through you feel
The pain of death,
Then you will be my daughter nevermore.
Disowned may you be forever,
Abandoned may you be forever,
Destroyed be forever
All the bonds of nature,
If not through you
Sarastro becomes pale!
Hear, Gods of Revenge,
Hear a mother’s oath!

Léo Delibes: Lakmé, Duo des fleurs

Notes (by Michel-Alexandre Broekaert)

The Duo des Fleurs, which translates to the “Flower Duet,” is one of those arias of which one never tires. It is in the first moments of the opera Lakmé that we find it and its dreamlike charm operates every time. This opera remains one of the only works still performed by the French composer Léo Delibes, and for good reason. The music is intoxicating, lush and colorful, ready to dream and escape to exotic worlds.

The story relates the fateful meeting of Lakmé, a Brahmin priestess, and Gerald, an English officer; all based in the 19th century, in a subjugated India, during the British colonial period. The inevitable clash of cultures will lead the two lovers to a tragic end, with the themes of revenge, honour and destructive passions as the backdrop.

The ”Flower Duet” is a cantilena shared between Lakmé and her maid Mallika, as they stand by an enchanting stream to pick flowers. It is a moment of great delicacy that wonderfully depicts the inner tranquility that animates our protagonists at this point in the story.

Libretto

Lakme:
Look Mallika! Lianes are in bloom
Casting downward their shadows
Over the sacred stream that flows calm and somber
Awakened by the sound of the song-happy birds!

Mallika:
Oh dear mistress!
It’s time at last I see you smiling
The time has come and I am reading
What was closed up in the heart of Lakme!

Lakme [in duet with Mallika]:
Dome canopy sweet jasmine
All the roses forever
Flowers in the morn freshly born
Call us to come together
Ah glide along and sing along
The current so strong
The sun so hot the water is shimmering
Hand skimming the surface nonchalantly
Cutting through the edge
While birds are singing singing sing enchanted
Dome canopy white jasmine
Call us to come together
Please

Mallika [in duet with Lakme]:
Under dome canopy where the white jasmine
All the roses forever
River flowers in the morn freshly born
Let us both go down together
Gently we glide on and we float along
Follow the current so strong
The sun so hot the water is shimmering
Hand skimming the surface nonchalantly
Come let us reach the edge
Where the spring sleeps
And birds singing, sing enchanted
Under dome canopy where the white jasmine
Let us go down together

Lakme:
I, don’t know what overcame me
To fill my heart full of fear
When my father goes down alone to the doomed city
I tremble, I tremble, my dear

Mallika:
Ganesha will watch over his protege
Up til the pond where the merry do play
With wings of snow swans are swimming
Come let us pick the lotus blue

Lakme:
Oh yes, let’s go where white swans are swimming
And let us pick the lotus blue

Lakme [in duet with Mallika]
Dome canopy sweet jasmine
All the roses forever
Flowers in the morn freshly born
Call us to come together
Ah glide along and sing along
The current so strong
The sun so hot the water is shimmering
Hand skimming the surface nonchalantly
Cutting through the edge
While birds are singing singing sing enchanted
Dome canopy white jasmine
Call us to come together
Please

Mallika [in duet with Lakme]:
Under dome canopy where the white jasmine
All the roses forever
River flowers in the morn freshly born
Let us both go down together
Gently we glide on and we float along
Follow the current so strong
The sun so hot the water is shimmering
Hand skimming the surface nonchalantly
Come let us reach the edge
Where the spring sleeps
And birds singing, sing enchanted
Under dome canopy where the white jasmine
Let us go down together

Puccini: “O mio babbino caro” from Gianni Schicchi

Notes (by Alexander Koutelias)

Though some might claim this aria is a romantic aria, it must be stated that few popular operatic works are more poorly contextualized than this aria, an aria of beseeching.  

Set in 1299 in the Republic of Florence, the young and beautiful Lauretta pleads with her father, the titular crotchety schemer Gianni Schicchi, to please give her hand to her beloved, the young and handsome Rinuccio. Rinuccio has brought Gianni Schicchi into the midst of a familial affair of the utmost secrecy: the lack of inheritance left to Rinuccio’s family in the will of the pious family elder Buoso Donati. While most of the family wants nothing to do with the slimy Schicchi, Rinuccio believes he is the only person conniving enough who can help the family out their testamentary quagmire… as well as conveniently arrange the marriage between Rinuccio and Lauretta.  

O mio babbino caro, Lauretta’s three-minute solo imploring her father serves as a well-appreciated musical and dramatic pause from the fast-paced back-and-forth jabs of a family at each other’s throats out of greed. 

Libretto

O my dear father
I like it, it is beautiful, beautiful
I want to go to Porta Rossa
to buy the ring!

Yes, yes, I want to go there!
And if I loved her in vain, I would go
to the Ponte Vecchio,
But to throw myself into the Arno!

I am pining and tormenting myself!
O God, I would like to die!
Father, have mercy, have mercy!
Father, have mercy, have mercy!

 Vincenzo Bellini: Norma, Casta Diva

Notes (by Alexander Koutelias)

The occupation of Gaul by the Romans has just begun. The Gallic people, worshippers of Druidism, turn to their Chief Oroveso and his daughter the High Priestess Norma, to protect them from these foreign invaders of alien culture. Oroveso assures his people that Norma, with her prophetic aura, will stir the souls of the Roman delegates to agree to a just peace. 

Unbeknownst to nearly everyone, Norma had previously abandoned her sacred vows of chastity and sired two children, who are only known of by her fellow priestess, Adalgisa. What is more, the father of these two children is none other than the Roman Pollione, who has now just been appointed the proconsul of Gaul. And now, Adalgisa has fallen in love with Pollione, creating a fiery love triangle between the two supposedly chaste Druid priestesses and the occupying Roman military governor. Would you expect anything less from an operatic plot? 

However, at the moment the audience hears Norma’s enchanting cavatina “Casta diva”, the fire from both the love triangle as well as the rage of the oppressed are temporarily extinguished. Norma reverently holds up a branch of mistletoe and stands above the other Druids while a mellifluous flute soars above the orchestra. Norma then sings, addressing the moon as “chaste goddess,” asking it, in all of its beauty and zealousness, to bring peace to Earth that reflects the peace found in Heaven. The music of this entire aria could be a musical onomatopoeia for the intent of Norma’s prayer, for the lusciousness and sheer beauty of this music evoke, with or without the sung words, both spiritual and temporal peace.  

Given this aria, it is no wonder Oroveso believes Norma can use her prophetic power to bring peace to the Gallic people. 

Libretto

Virtuous Goddess, covering with silver
these sacred ancient plants,
turn towards us your fair face
cloudless and unveiled
Temper, oh Goddess,
you temper the ardent hearts
furthermore temper the audacious zeal,
spread on earth the same peace
that make you make reign in heaven
Complete the rite
and the sacred forest
should be cleansed of the profane
when the Spirit irate and gloomy,
will ask for the blood of the Romans.
From the Druidic temple
my voice will thunder.
He’ll fall; I can punish him.
But my heart doesn’t know to punish.
Ah! Come back to me beautiful
to your loyal first love;
and against the whole world
I shall protect you.
Ah! Come back to me beautiful
along with your serene radiance
and life in your womb,
and I’ll have homeland and sky.
Ah, come back again as you were then,
then when I gave you my heart,
Ah, come back to me.

 Donizetti: L’Elisir d’amore, Una furtiva lagrima

Notes (by Alexander Koutelias)

The earnest yet simpleton Nemorino is one of the most lovable characters in all of opera: you can’t help but find yourself rooting for him in every situation as he tries to woo the wealthy, educated, and emotionally detached landowner Adina, all against a lush pastoral backdrop of the Spanish countryside in the late 18th century. To buy a second bottle of a magic love potion (which is really a bottle of cheap wine sold by the travelling quack doctor Dulcamara), Nemorino signs up for the army to receive an inscription bonus: a bag of coins. His rival for Adina’s heart, the suave Sergeant Belcore, is more than happy to recruit Nemorino for the army in order to get him out of the village. 

When Adina sees Nemorino surrounded by a group of women and in an inebriated state from downing his second bottle of the “love potion,” she runs away, leaving Nemorino saddened and wondering why the love potion is working on all the women besides Adina. In reality, all of the women of the village besides Adina had just found out that Nemorino inherited a substantial amount from his uncle, a fact of which not even Nemorino has yet become aware. 

In his sad and inebriated state, he reflects on the “furtive tear” he thought he saw in Adina’s eye before she disappeared, what he believes symbolizes her love for him contained deep within her. Distraught to see that the love potion is not working on her and that he will have to leave the village with the army, overwhelmed by these deceitful characters, Nemorino sings with genuine and raw emotion, hued with rustic colors. Could this “furtive tear” in her eye mean that they might finally be falling in love? Perhaps the love potion works after all? 

Libretto

A single secret tear
from her eye did spring:
as if she envied all the youths
that laughingly passed her by.
What more searching need I do?
What more searching need I do?
She loves me! Yes, she loves me, I see it. I see it.
For just an instant the beating
of her beautiful heart I could feel!
As if my sighs were hers,
and her sighs were mine!
The beating, the beating of her heart I could feel,
to merge my sighs with hers…
Heavens! Yes, I could die!
I could ask for nothing more, nothing more.
Oh, heavens! Yes, I could, I could die!
I could ask for nothing more, nothing more.
Yes, I could die! Yes, I could die of love.