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FIGARO FIGARO FIGARO…FIGARO!!!

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Singing Operatic Arias is like running in the Olympics.

What am I?  No!  Not a Bugs Bunny Skit!  This is an excerpt of  an Operatic Aria.

Aria…what’s that?  An “aria” noun \ˈär-ē-ə\  is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without orchestral accompaniment, normally part of a larger work.  It’s origin is Italian meaning literally is “atmospheric air” first used in 1723.   And…if Opera is, as we put it in a previous blog post “The Olympics of Singing“, the Operatic Aria (Air) is the 400 Meter Dash.

400 Meters- Opera Singers must pace themselves when singing the Operatic Aria

Opera Arias are the equivalent to a 400 Meter Dash

In fact, if you look at Opera as the Olympic Track events, it would look something like this:

100 METER DASH: The Recitative

200 METER DASH:  Vinch al da vino (Don giovanni)

400 METER DASH:  The “traditional” Operatic Aria

800 METER RUN:  A Donizetti Aria with Cabaletta

1600 METER RUN:  A Wagnerian Aira/Scene

26.2 Mile Marathon:  A Recital Concert Recital defined

Opera Recitlal=Marathon

The Operatic Recital is the equivalent to an Olympic Marathon.

The Operatic Aria is the icing on the cake, the amazing zenith, the Shakespearean Monologue.  It is the ultimate in artistic emotional expression.

Brace yourselves for some Wagner!

The Wagnerian Soprano is known for power and stamina.

THE OPERATIC ENDING

 

The Operatic Cadenza

lots o notes…lots of melisma. Move over Mariah Carey

An Italian Operatic Aria usually ends with some kind of virtuosic passage that leads up to a set of or a single ridiculous high note known as “bravura”  (Basses too) that gives everyone chills (if executed properly).  Here are a few of the greatest Italian Operatic Arias for male voices.

TOP 5 ITALIAN OPERATIC ARIAS FOR TENOR, BARITONE AND BASS

5 TENOR ARIAS (ITALIAN)

  1. Nessun Dorma
  2. Questa o quella
  3. Una furtiva lagrima
  4. Che gelida manina
  5. E lucevan le stelle”
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5 BARITONE ARIAS (ITALIAN)

  1. Largo al factotum
  2. Hai già vinta la causa
  3. Eri tu
  4. Ah! per sempre
  5. Di Provenza
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5 BASS ARIAS (ITALIAN)

  1. La callunia e un venticello’
  2. Non piu andrai
  3. Vecchia zimarra
  4. Ah! Un foco insolito
  5. A un dottor della mia sorte
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Oh, and if you were wondering, the opening Figaro’s are from a famous Baritone Operatic Aria from the Comedy, The Barber Of Seville by G. Rossini,  first performed in 1816.  Here, the character Figaro is introduced to the audience, singing about all the things he is and does.

Here it is in Italian for our Italian-Speaking Friends…and those who might know the language.

Try just saying these words…then once you do that, say them as fast as you can, because that’s about as fast as this aria is sung.

Largo al factotum della citta.
Presto a bottega che l’alba e gia.
Ah, che bel vivere, che bel piacere
per un barbiere di qualita!
Ah, bravo Figaro!
Bravo, bravissimo!
Fortunatissimo per verita!
Pronto a far tutto,
la notte e il giorno
sempre d’intorno in giro sta.
Miglior cuccagna per un barbiere,
vita piu nobile, no, non si da.
Rasori e pettini
lancette e forbici,
al mio comando
tutto qui sta.
V’e la risorsa,
poi, de mestiere
colla donnetta… col cavaliere…
Tutti mi chiedono, tutti mi vogliono,
donne, ragazzi, vecchi, fanciulle:
Qua la parruca… Presto la barba…
Qua la sanguigna…
Presto il biglietto…
Qua la parruca, presto la barba,
Presto il biglietto, ehi!
Figaro! Figaro! Figaro!, ecc.
Ahime, che furia!
Ahime, che folla!
Uno alla volta, per carita!
Figaro! Son qua.
Ehi, Figaro! Son qua.
Figaro qua, Figaro la,
Figaro su, Figaro giu,
Pronto prontissimo son come il fumine:
sono il factotum della citta.
Ah, bravo Figaro! Bravo, bravissimo;
a te fortuna non manchera.

 

Here’s the English Translation of The Largo (from about.com):

Handyman of the city.
Early in the workshop I arrive at dawn.
Ah, what a life, what a pleasure
For a barber of quality!
Ah, bravo Figaro!
Bravo, very good!
I am the luckiest, it’s the truth!
Ready for anything,
night and day
I’m always on the move.
Cushier fate for a barber,
A more noble life cannot be found.
Razors and combs
Lancets and scissors,
at my command
everything is here.
Here are the extra tools
then, for business
With the ladies… with the gentlemen…
Everyone asks me, everyone wants me,
women, children, old people, young ones:
Here are the wigs… A quick shave of the beard…
Here are the leeches for bleeding…
The note…
Here are the wigs, a quick shave soon,
The note, hey!
Figaro! Figaro! Figaro!, Etc..
Alas, what frenzy!
Alas, what a crowd!
One at a time, for goodness sake!
Figaro! I’m here.
Hey, Figaro! I’m here.
Figaro here, Figaro there,
Figaro up, Figaro down,
Swifter and swifter I’m like a spark:
I’m the handyman of the city.
Ah, bravo Figaro! Bravo, very good;
Fortunately for you I will not fail.

 

#TAW

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Opera and Opera Singers. At 100 db, Why Should We Care?

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FAMOUS OPERA SINGERS OF THE PAST

First, let’s clarify something.  Phantom Of The Opera is NOT Opera.  It’s American Broadway Music.

Ok, now that we have clarified this, let’s move on…

Some have described Opera Singing as “The Olympics of Singing” (or perhaps The Super Bowl of Singing), I’m one to subscribe to this.  Not only because I’ve been an Opera singer for over 20 years, but because, by all benchmarks of singing, it is.  It is the ultimate acoustic expression of a human voice.

OPERA ELITIST

“Ah!  There goes another Opera snob”…yada yada yada…Well, perhaps I was, at one time…when I didn’t know better…but having the experience of performing numerous styles

opera is stuffy

snobbish opera stiff

of music over the years, I’ve found that each genre of music requires skill, training and natural ability.  Some genres just require more than others.  Jennifer Rivera, a Mezzo Soprano recently wrote a wonderful article on “Five Things You Need To Know About Opera” and what it takes to be an Opera singer.  It’s a great read and I strongly urge you to check it out.

OPERA FOR THE MASSES

Did you know that Classical Music and Opera were once considered the “Rock Music” of today?  That the ladies swooned over opera singers, and men wanted to be opera singers, just like all men now (even me) want to be Rock Stars?

Have you ever seen the movie Amadeus?  This 1984 Drama features the music of Mozart and, in many ways shows what life as a famous composer was like during their time.  Although many died in obscurity and famine, some like Mozart were pretty famous during their day.  The general public couldn’t get enough of them.  They were stalked, jeered, cheered, killed and some even died as dramatically as their operas.

Amadeus The MovieTHE WORLD OF OPERA

Opera has been around since a Composer named Monteverdi.  This Italian changed everything in music to that point.  Up until the early 1600’s, there wasn’t such a thing as Opera.  I’ll leave it at that.   If you want to know more on how this happened, click on Monteverdi link or go here.

OPERA SINGERS

As mentioned earlier, Opera singers were the crème de la crème.  The most famous pubic figures of their day.  Many known for their amazing voices, artistry, beauty (not in all cases, as we all well-know) and off-stage antics which the public completely LOVED.

 Here is a list of my 10 favorite Opera singers from any period.

Maria Callas was Glamerous

Maria Callas, A Greek American Opera Singer

1. Luciano Pavarotti

2. Maria Callas

3. Franco Corelli

4. Gino Bechi (see him sing “Torna A Surriento” below)

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5. Renata Tebaldi

6. Kirsten Flagstad

7. Thomas Allen

8. Gösta Winbergh

9. Robert Merrill

10.Lawerence Tibbett

Putting this list to paper was much harder than it was in my mind.  There are so many others that could have made this list for me and at some point I will list a longer, more comprehensive list for those of you who really want to know, at some time in the future.

I know that this list doesn’t contain any “new crop” Opera Singers and that doesn’t mean I don’t like any that are singing right now.  I just have always favored the “old school” performers and this list is just that.

Additional factoids about Opera Singers:

Baritone, Robert Merrill sang the Star Spangled Banner at NY Yankees Games from 1969 to 2004.  He was quoted as saying, “When you do the anthem, there’s a legitimacy to it,” Merrill told Newsday in 2000. “I’m bothered by these different interpretations of it.”

OPERA TRIVIA:

Opera Singer will be at the Super Bowl in 2014

Renee Fleming will sing The Star Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl 2014

Soprano, Renee Fleming will be singing The Star Spangled Banner at the 2014 Super Bowl.  The first Opera Singer to do so in its 47 Year history.

Many Opera Singer have been on the cover of Time Magazine.  Callas, Melba, Pavarotti…

Want to impress your friends with a few Opera terms:  Go HERE.

 

Want some examples of each Operatic Voice type?  Maybe you can identify what you’d be.  Go here.  There are video examples.  Very cool!

The shortest Opera ever written?  According to The Guiness Book of Music Facts and Feats, the world’s shortest opera is Milhaud’s The Deliverance of Theseus, first performed in 1928 and lasting a mere 7 min. 27 sec. (that’s without an intermission)

The longest Opera ever written?  According to Answers.com Easily, the longest opera would be Wagner’s The Ring Cycle which was written in four parts: Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried, and Götterdamerung. It lasts around 18 hours (with intermissions) and

German Composer, Richard Wagner

Wagner wrote the longest Operas ever written.

is normally performed in four shorter performances. By contrast, the longest single performance would be Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg which is around five and a half hours long. But then…”long” is a relative term and much depends on whether or not you’re enjoying the experience.

If I’m not mistaken, The Ring technically is considered to be a tetraolog (or trilogy, with prologue): a grouping of 4 different operas, not a single opera: it therefore would not qualify as a correct response. Also, an uncut version, usually last 15-16 hours, depending on the conductor(s) tempi.

How loud can an Opera Singer be?  For context a refrigerator’s dB level is about 50, an opera singer usually is around 100.  A jet taking off is around 140db.

A Jet Taking off is about 140db

Opera Singers max out at about 100 db.

 

 

 

 

 

The Top 10 Opera Houses (excerpted from National Geographic.com)

  1.  La Scala, Milan, Italy

  2. Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, Italy

  3. Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, Argentina

  4. The Royal Opera House, London, England

  5. The Bolshoi, Moscow, Russia

  6. Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia

  7. Paris Opéra, Paris, France

  8. Opéra Royal, Versailles Court Theater, France

  9. Vienna Staatsoper, Vienna, Austria

  10. Lincoln Center, New York, New York

About the author:
James Anest, Co-Creator and General Director of The Amazing Waiters has been an Opera and Musical Theater Performer for over 20 years.  He continues to concertize and write about his vast experience in the Entertainment Industry.  Visit his blog for more writings, www.jamesanest.com/blog

 

 

 

 

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