Sonnambula and standards: the two faces of the soprano Pasta (first episode)
We open this article with a symbolic image: Maria Callas "mirror" depicted in two of his most important roles, or Amina and Norma, two characters traditionally considered to be poles apart but, in reality, are much more similar with respect to other roles that have traditionally been approached. In other words, Amina is closer to that standard to Lucia, as Amina is closer to standard than to Turandot. Their "distance" is the result of a misunderstanding generated at the beginning of the century, misunderstanding perlatro far from uncommon even today. Abstract: there is to say that, as already mentioned, at the time of Bellini's vocal classes did not exist we are used to today, so it's hard to think in terms of modern voice. Bellini was basically a soprano voice available, that would be quite substantial, at least in the case of Giuditta Pasta, the historic singer for which they were written Sonnambula and Norma, but even if (as we have seen less dramatic) of Merich-Lalande.
Pasta was before being a soprano, a contralto of success, then had a great bass extension and certainly a dark timber and round. But Divine Judith, as we learn from the chronicles, to be a contralto voice was judged as "clear" and a large extension at the top, so much so that even early career, she was already "soprano absolute", since it is known that well sang Don Giovanni as well as Otello, Semiramide, and Moses, all of Colbran roles. There were then two "characters" (let's call them) and two vocalists, a soprano "pathetic" and a soprano "tragic," embodied both by the same singer, who had an entry stamp from the middle, but not dark brown as that of a contralto, with great agility, but also a great breath control and legato. Traditionally Amina instead ended up in the soprano repertoire in the strict sense, which was typically not part of the French and Italian tradition, while standard in the strict sense of the dramatic soprano who, along with mezzo-soprano, born with a Verdi in practice.
The same is often mistakenly assigned to a mezzo-soprano, to differentiate it from the hero, when in fact it is simply a soprano of the first kind with less writing from supporting actor "in sight". This is confirmed by the fact that in the first part was entrusted to Grisi, the less extensive and versatile voice from Pasta tends to be more of a lyrical agility, as today we would call (the same dichotomy "Pasta-gris" is found in between Bolena Donizetti and Seymour). Writing it never drops very low so much so that both the Caballè the brakes (both lyric sopranos with very serious thin) were able to sing the part. Norm rather has been, throughout the first half of the century until the advent of Callas, workhorse of dramatic sopranos of force, with the bel canto that had little to do (the Milanov and Cigna even further - in the picture -, that was in the first half of the century, Norma and Turandot by definition), while in between 800 and 900 were still the great dramatic sopranos like Ester Mazzoleni and Lilli Lehmann, recent phenomena voice of an old school, singing the dramatic repertoire with the technique Belcanto (the first with a repertoire that ranged from Medea to Lucrezia Borgia, the last - the much-quoted Callas - Mozart had in his repertoire, Meyerbeer and Bellini though great Wagnerian soprano). Interesting then speculate how the misunderstanding, that is to replace a soprano pathos "protagonist" with a light soprano, in association with the angelic and fragile nature of the role (speaking of Dal Monte, the Carosio of Pagliughi to climb up to Tetrazzini) is extends deeper into the history of opera, to the Puritan Elvira, Gilda in Rigoletto, and even the Butterfly Puccini.
This process of divergence is exacerbated for the most part between the wars, as a result estremizzante realist aesthetics that seemed to have reached a point of no return. While the light soprano, had already "invaded" the Italian repertoire from the 800's in the 20's there was someone like Muzio Ponselle or - in the picture - the same muse Callas, which boasted an authentic voice backed by dramatic superior technique, albeit in a repertoire that is limited to the roles of the soprano "tragic"; if it is true that Ponselle was superb standard, never the diva would face Amina stylistically considered incompatible with the allure of large Tragedienne her surroundings, as well as vocally too inaccessible (formerly Ponselle in Norma the "adjusted" is not much). There were exceptions, however, within a well-established tradition. The real incompatibility between the roles and voice that had been created, there will also strictly technical problems: Callas stressed that all these roles were "a terrible central", a middle register where the text insists that it should be smooth, light and both full and round sound. The result was that the dramatic soprano of strength and simplified terribly messy with the agility and was often in trouble with the related aircraft, the soprano, however, was hardly able to make credible the cantabile of the medium that will inevitably lose consistency and charm, in addition to being required to make more of an adjustment to the top steps to address the most serious stuff and the score, as was customary in their repertoire, by the sheer virtuosity of melisma exterior. Sonnambula and Norma, both so as to have the same voice being that of a paste, found themselves in time with two voices and equally inappropriate antithetical to the repertoire, which for years was not only historically misleading (grounds on which the average listener will omitted), but often product designs is obviously not up on the floor than on purely stylistic vocalist. It seems only right then, before you browse the interpreters of either role, make a speech to a party which parallel the most important singers who faced both roles, as was prescribed in 800. But first, five executions "emblematic" of Casta Diva of pre-callasiana:
Lilli Lehmann
Rosa Ponselle
Claudia Muzio
Toti Dal Monte
Gina Cigna
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