Lyric Opera 2018-2019 Issue 11 Ariodante

O P E R A N O T E S | L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O March 2 - 17, 2019 | 27 George Frideric Handel was an incurable workaholic. Typical of him was a 16-month period (January 1733 to April 1735) during which his output included, among other works, four full-length operas. ree of them – Orlando, Ariodante , and Alcina – were master- pieces, representing an extraordinary peak in Handel’s creative imagina- tion. Ariodante was, in fact, the first great opera of 1735, having debuted in London in January of that year. It may be nearly three centu- ries old, but its music – by turns beautiful, heroic, moving, and exhilarating – has never lost its ability to astonish. At the time of Ariodante, Handel had just turned 50 and had been composing operas for three decades (there would be nine more, bringing his total to 42, before he renounced the art form altogether to concen- trate on oratorio). He was by this point not simply a consummate man of the theater, but also a supreme musical psychologist. Taking a plot found in the greatest epic poem of the 16 th century, Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando furioso , Handel presents basic components of human nature that we all understand: love, trust, jealousy, betrayal, and finally, ecstasy. As the preeminent Handel scholar Winton Dean reminds us, the work profits from being “equally free from satirical comedy on the one hand and lofty heroics on the other…. ere are no political or dynastic tan- gles, no sudden switches of allegiance that defy probability or demand a suspension of belief.” In contrast to so many other Handel works, there are also no complicated domestic or political subplots, no supernatural elements – it is a totally human, utterly accessible drama. e immediacy with which the listener can appreciate those quali- ties applies, above all, to the protagonist himself. Handel’s score includes no fewer than seven arias for Ariodante, each totally distinctive in mood and style. at extraordinary variety helps one to understand the charac- ter thoroughly, giving him true three-dimensionality. How lovely that he begins and ends in joy: we meet him in the quiet yet radiant entrance, “Qui d’amor nel suo linguaggio” (“Here they speak of love in their own language”), which unites his love for Ginevra and the beauties of nature; and he concludes his journey through the opera with “Dopo notte” (“After the night”), surely the most thrilling expression of unadulterated joy that Handel gave any of his heroes. e characterization wouldn’t be complete, however, without showing us the innermost depths that Handel alone among composers of this era could so sensitively reveal. is occurs in Ariodante’s devastat- ingly moving Act-Two soliloquy. It truly goes the distance in showing just how bitterly Ariodante suffers when he believes that Ginevra has betrayed him with the treacherous Polinesso. Gifted mezzo-sopranos so treasure this aria that they embrace any opportunity to portray Ariodante simply because it presents them with “Scherza infida” to sing. What is Ariodante actually saying here? “Enjoy yourself, o faithless one, in the arms of your lover. Betrayed by you, I will now give myself up to death’s embrace.” In its 12 achingly beautiful minutes – with time absolutely seeming to stand still – “Scherza infida” makes the toughest demand facing any singer onstage: simply to stand there and pour feeling out of herself, with nothing to hold onto except music and text. e mezzo can’t simply act her way through this aria; she has to take each phrase into herself, digging further and further to reveal Ariodante’s pain in the most truthful way possible – not in a rawly “veristic” manner, however, but within the confines of Baroque style. e listener can contrast that, of course, with the reverse side of Ariodante in “Dopo notte”: Polinesso is dead, Ginevra’s death sentence is lifted, and now Ariodante can totally rejoice. In the text he makes a comparison that is common in Baroque opera: his life has been like a dark, mournful night, but now the sun shines brightly and fills the earth. e aria calls for extraordinary vocal prowess, but we should remember that Handel wrote the role for the castrato Carestini, a virtually superhu- man singer. His two seasons in London were highlighted by the five roles he premiered for Handel. His stupendous voice revealed no limits, whether in range or coloratura ability. Handel could create music for him that flew like the wind, as in “Dopo notte” where the singer should move across two full octaves in just a few seconds with thrusting tone and bold attack. e rest of Ariodante ’s first-night cast included other stars of the period, first and foremost Anna Maria Strada del Pò, who portrayed Ginevra. Leading lady of Handel’s opera company at Covent Garden, she demonstrated an unshakeable loyalty to him, which he repaid by assign- ing her the leading soprano roles in the premieres of 13 (!) of his operas and five oratorios. By all accounts she was considerably less than beauti- ful, notwithstanding her various Handel roles in which feminine allure was essential (the heroines of Alcina and Partenope , for example). We have to assume that her vocalism and artistry – both apparently much improved by working with Handel – were sufficiently impressive to guarantee the public’s abiding devotion in the course of Strada’s eight years onstage in London. Like Ariodante’s music, the arias Handel composed for Strada’s Ginevra are wonderfully varied. is confident young woman should enchant us from the start in her entrance number, “Vezzi, lusinghe, e brio” (“Charms, flattery, and vivacity”) as she lightheartedly dresses her- self and admires the jewelry with which she’s adorned herself. In fending All Hail Ariodante ! By Roger Pines Ariodante (Sarah Connolly, center, in grey shirt) joins the island’s residents in celebrating his union with Ginevra (Patricia Petibon, seated) in Richard Jones’s 2014 Festival d’Aix-en-Provence production. PASCAL VICTOR/FESTIVAL D’AIX-EN-PROVENCE