Duel of the Coloratura: "Da tempeste il legno infranto"

As I continue my vocal training, I have grown more and more enthralled with the vocal music of Handel. Not only is the music lush, rich, and sparkling, but the vocal lines are some of the most demanding in repertoire for beginning singers. One of the most challenging aspects of singing Handel well is executing the da capo aria with ornamentation that is stylistically and musically interesting. When I sang "Where'er You Walk" (Semele) in my senior recital, I agonized over the return because I had no idea what to do for ornamentation. My accompanist, rather than giving me the "answers" to ornament ideas, had me listen to "Da Tempeste" (Giulio Cesare in Egitto). The performance was by Beverly Sills; I was blown away by the ease Sills negotiates the coloratura passages.

This particular aria occurs in Act III of Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Julius Caesar in Egypt). Cleopatra sings of her release from her inprisonment by her brother Ptolemy. The opera debuted in London on 20 February 1724 to rave reviews and positive reception from the public. Handel revived the opera several more times during his career, but after his death in 1759, like most opera seria, Giulio Cesare became unknown in the 19th Century. The opera was rediscovered, revived, and performed frequently in the 20th Century. Now regarded as the greatest of Handel's Italian operas, it is also frequently cited as the greatest of the opera seria of the 18th Century because of its strength of plot and dramatic impact, vocal writing, and evocative orchestration (Oxford). "Da tempeste il legno infranto" is a prime example of Handel's mastery of composition for voice and orchestra.

Since I had previously heard "Da tempeste" when we listened to it in music history class, I was a little disappointed with the recording we heard of Valerie Masterson. She sang the aria in English and has a beautiful upper register, but I was left wanting more mainly because of the difficulty of the coloratura sections in English. She sounded languorous negotiating each passage, which doesn't seem to be the case with Beverly Sills's performance. I also heard Joan Sutherland singing the aria on a YouTube video. So, I propose a duel between two great sopranos of the 20th Century: Beverly Sills vs. Joan Sutherland each singing "Da tempeste il legno infranto". Have a listen to Beverly Sills (text and translation listed below):

Da tempeste il legno infranto
Se poi salvo giunge in porto
non sa più che desiar.
Così il cor tra pene e pianto,
or che trova il suo conforto,
torna l'anima a bear.
Da tempeste, ecc.

When the ship, broken by storms,
Succeeds at last in making it to port,
It no longer knows what it desires.
Thus, the heart, after torments and woes,
Once it recovers its solace,
Is beside itself with bliss.
When the ship, etc.




Beverly Sills's performance of "Da tempeste" when compared with the score is fairly consistent with Handel's writing except she skips a few lines of music before the end of the A section (not sure if this is performance practice). Her ornamentation on the da capo certainly showcases her voice and also skill at negotiating coloratura passages (as if there weren't enough in the aria already). What I particularly am drawn to as a listener is her addition of octave leaps, trills, and arpeggios near the end of the da capo. These changes engage me as a listener and the second time through the A section sounds like new material or a vocal line Handel might have written as an option for a virtuosic soprano.

From a more phenomenological and referential perspective, Sills certainly exudes the regal character one might associate with the character of Cleopatra. Her voice is focused, clear, and direct as if she were singing directly to the listener--something I would expect from the Queen of Egypt. In addition, her voice shimmers throughout the aria, and it seems this sparkle propels her through the aria illuminating the efferevescent orchestration.

And now for the duel! Here's Joan Sutherland performing "Da tempeste":



What is so immediate about this performance in comparison with Sills is the sheer magnitude of Sutherland's voice. Sutherland also sounds more stately, and regal in this tempo. Here we have a Cleopatra that rules Egypt with the breadth and power of character illuminated by Joan Sutherland's enveloping lyric soprano. I initially expected Sutherland to have more difficulty with the coloratura passages, but she manipulates them to the extent of her ability. Rather than the effortless trills, octave jumps, and light passages by Sills, Sutherland utilizes her strengths in spades. The listener hears much more scalar passages in the da capo. These scalar passages do not diminish, but magnify the breadth of Sutherland's voice which sticks to the goal of ornamentation. Like Sills, Sutherland skips the same amount of music in the A section, so I am going to assume this is performance practice.

The biggest difference between the two performances is that Sutherland sticks to her tempo in the B section that she established in the A section of the aria. The Sills recording shows a greater scope of human emotion because of this slower tempo, but Sutherland's recording has more depth in one emotion: the elegance and power of Cleopatra. If I were to choose the "better" recording, I would choose Beverly Sills's performance because of the journey she takes us through the emotional and dramatic range of Cleopatra's chracter. This is not to say that Joan Sutherland's recording is not successful nor a fantastic recording. Even if I heard Sutherland's recording before Sills's, I would have noticed Sutherland's voice because is so recognizable and glorious in its own respect, which exemplifies why Bel Canto roles, rather than Handel's Cleopatra, made Sutherland's career. I would certainly pay $500 to hear Sutherland sing Lucia di Lammermoor any day, but Sills deserves my support, and $500, on this one.


Beverly Sills vs. Joan Sutherland
"Da tempeste il legno infranto"
Giulio Cesare in Egitto
Georg Frideric Handel

Winner: Beverly Sills.

References
Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Vocal Score (Publice Domain)
English translation of "Da tempeste" from http://www.columbia.edu/itc/music/reserves/cd2482/text/act3.html
oxformusiconline.com
Concise History of Western Music, 5th ed., Barbara Hanning
Giulio Cesare Synopsis, http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/history/stories/synopsis.aspx?id=167