'Lasciatemi morire' & 'Rochers vous etes sourds': interpreting Arianna's tears, sighs and pain by investigating Italian and French ornaments through vocal practice-based research

• ABSTRACT: In my PhD research I depart from a female singer’s perspective of interpreting 17th century opera laments , based on musicologist Mauro Calcagno’s statement signifying the voice of the female singer as a symbol of Nothing in association with the concept of aesthetics in the early 17th century opera genre . The female singer, he points out, justified the relevance of “pure voice” and “over-vocalization” referring to two recurring tropes, pronounced within a larger discourse among 17th century intellectuals in Italy and France, concerned with the concept of aesthetics: the concept of nothingness and the singing of the nightingale. In this presentation I show my perceptions of the voice of Arianna. My aim is to better understand the use of ornamentation in my performance of Italian and French 17th century vocal music. Knowledge of ornamentation can be obtained by investigating at depth the singer’s process from the first encounter with the text and musical score, to the actual performance of stage. There are two important aspects I take into consideration. First, the intellectual discourse, contemporary to the creations and performances of the two laments by Monteverdi and Lambert, carries a great deal of information significant to vocal interpretation. Second, the oriental ornamentation is reflected upon the arts and architecture in Venice during the 16th and 17th centuries, but has not yet been fully addressed in relation to vocal ornamentation in the 17th century opera repertory. I have been observing the life and career of Signora Anna Renzi Romana, one of the first opera prima donnas active in Venice during mid 17th century. Her interpretations of laments and mad scenes made a great impact on her audience as well and on the intellectual academies supporting the early operatic events in Venice. As the sounding voices of the Greek Sirens seducing Odysseus and his sailors , Anna Renzi and her female colleagues seduced their audiences in the Venetian opera theaters. Renzi’s performances are described in a volume published to her honor in 1644, “La Glorie della Signora Anna Renzi Romana”. In my research I explore and reflect upon the vocal sounds of ‘trillo’, ‘esclamazione’ and ‘coup de gosier’ by merging these vocal ornaments and my experience of PURE VOICE to theories of Nothingness, debated by Italian and French17th century intellectuals in Venice and Paris. I also combine their thoughts and theories to philosophical theories of Nothing referring to Jean-Paul Sartre and Marcia Ça Cavalcante Schuback . My personal experience of the lamenting sound is then analyzed along with the glorious description of Renzi’s performances of the laments. Finally in my search for sources of vocal ornaments, I listen to voices and vocal music from the ‘east’, following the 16th and 17th century Venetian trading routes. The Eastern throat–beating ornaments and vibratos appears similar to the ones described by 17th century composers and authors like Giulio Caccini and Benigne de Bacilly, and they inspire my research towards different possible ways of performing the sighs, tears and pains of Arianna. This research and presentation is part of my PhD research project“Passionate Women’s Voices on Stage and an Interpretation of the 17th Century Lamenti and Scene di Pazzie”. See: http://www.konst.gu.se/forskarutbildning/doktorander/Elisabeth_Belgrano/

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora -- Övrig annan humaniora (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities -- Other Humanities not elsewhere specified (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap -- Kommunikationsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications -- Communication Studies (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora -- Kulturstudier (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities -- Cultural Studies (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Konst -- Teatervetenskap (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts -- Performing Art Studies (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Konst (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Konst -- Musikvetenskap (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts -- Musicology (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Historia och arkeologi (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- History and Archaeology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

1600-tal

opera

nothingness

tolkning

röst

kvinnor

passion

känsla

uttryck

fransk

italiensk

ornament

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