dclark wrote:
> I have a mezzo-soprano who is interested in presenting a program (and > writing the accompanying senior paper) on "The Power of Music." She has > been working on a group of lullabies this year, and she thought she > might like to do something on the theme of "Music's Power to Soothe." > However, we have decided to broaden the theme to include music's power > to do a lot of things. Think about music's power to soothe, to > inspire, to comfort, to seduce, to praise, etc.
With that theme, it would be hard to skip one of my favorites, the Purcell "Music for a While" - in the context of the play in which it appeared, it was an incantation, to bring up some underworld-type spirits, I believe. And one of his or others' settings of the Shakespeare text, "If Music be the Food of Love".
The Schubert "An di musik" is an obvious song to be considered.
I think a great seduction aria, which a lyric mezzo could handle, is Susanna's "Deh vieni" from Marriage of Figaro. Also, Cherubino's "Voi che sapete" is a song that Cherubino wrote for the Countess, on whom he has a major crush, an adolescent's attempt to gain the Countess's romantic attention through song.
The Dalila aria, "Mon coeur s'ouvre ta voix" from Saint-Saens' Samson and Dalila is one of the most famous seduction arias in opera.
-- Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA "Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile" mailto:peggyh@i...
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