As usual, Karen will always have a useful answer....thank you, repertoire
goddess, once again!
Molly
>From: Karen Mercedes <dalila@R...>
>From: Karen Mercedes <dalila@R...>
>Reply-To: vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com
>To: Molly McLinden <verdirules@h...>
>To: Molly McLinden <verdirules@h...>
>CC: vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: Re: [vocalist] Wagner for baby singers
>Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 21:33:10 -0500 (EST)
>
>I'd be inclined to look into Wagner's early operas. I know there's a duet
>for soprano and bass in his DIE FEEN, "Wie? Weh'ich recht", for Drolla
>(sop) and Gernot (bass). I can't tell you a thing about it, except that
>Drolla is Gernot's long-lost sweetheart, and the duet is their duet of
>reunion.
>
>Wagner's DAS LIEBESVERBOT is a true comedy (unlike DIE MEISTERSINGER,
>which only a man as peculiar as Wagner would have called a comedy - and
>did), based on Shakespeare's LOVES LABOURS LOST. There is a duet in act 1
>for Isabella (soprano) and Friedrich (bass, "Nun, Isabella, sprich".
>Again, I have no idea what the music is like in this opera, but it may be
>worth investigating.
>
>Frankly, Wagner wrote very, very few true duets in any of his operas.
>Wagner's idea of a duet was one character singing at length, followed by
>another character singing at length, and the first character answering at
>length. There is precious little actual singing by two characters
>simultaneously in any of his operas, and when there is, it's almost always
>by an ensemble of same-sex characters, such as the Norns or the
>Walkuere (or by the chorus). In any case, the only real (and few and
>far between) Wagner duets (from opera and not) are sung by soprano and
>tenor.
>
>
>Karen Mercedes
>http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
>***************************************
>Verdi and Wagner delighted the crowds
>With their highly original sound.
>The pianos they played are still working,
>But they're both six feet underground.
> - Michael Palin
>
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