The Tyrant’s Wife and the Continuo Player: Using Recitative to Read Handel’s Operatic Characters
2016; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 35; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/01411896.2016.1202090
ISSN1547-7304
Autores Tópico(s)Theater, Performance, and Music History
ResumoComplete analyses of Handel’s operatic characters require balanced consideration of both arias and recitativo semplice. When defined exclusively by the arias, the archetype of the betrayed wife or betrothed projects a limited range of affects: mainly melancholic or dutiful. Even though the arias do open spaces for individual reflection, much detail about the characters’ behavior and pathos is found in the recitative, in the moments when characters carry on in “real time,” surrounded by others. Polissena from Radamisto (1720) and Irene from Tamerlano (1724) provide case studies for the analysis of simple recitative, wherein Polissena emerges as fiercely defiant, Irene as devious and cunning.
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