Guide to the Aria Repertoire
2008; Routledge; Volume: 64; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2769-4046
Autores Tópico(s)Musicology and Musical Analysis
ResumoMark Ross Clark, Guide to the Aria Repertoire. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2007. Paper, xi, 607 pp., $27.95. ISBN 978-0-253-21810-0 http://iupress.indiana.edu The operatic aria, maintains Mark Ross Clark, reveals not only the beauty of the voice, but also the singer's ability to understand and portray a character. Consequently, arias are an essential part of the audition package, and it is important to select those that highlight a singer's strengths. Clark who is Director of Opera and Musical Theatre at the University of Louisiana-Monroe, has written Guide to the Aria Repertoire to assist singers and their teachers in identifying, choosing, and understanding arias for study and performance. Clark includes over 400 arias in the guide. They are arranged by voice type, and by Fach within each voice. Each entry contains the source of the aria, as well as its composer, librettist, historical style, duration, range, and tessitura. A description of the setting, character, context within the larger work, and vocal demands of the aria is encapsulated. Some of the entries also contain a literal translation, and/or notes from professionals in the field. For the latter, Clark consulted singers (including luminaries Carol Vaness, Benita Valente, Hakan Hagegard, Regina Resnik, and Frederica von Stade), composers (such as William Bolcom, Mark Adamo, and Kirke Mechem), teachers (many of whom were former colleagues at Indiana University), directors, and conductors for insight into the arias. Half of the arias listed are in Italian; there are nearly ninety in English, sixtyfour in French, and forty-three in German. The majority of the arias in English are drawn from twentieth century American works, ranging from The Devil and Daniel Webster by Moore and The Ghosts of Versailles by Corgliano to Candide by Bernstein and Regina by Blitzstein. Clark includes eight arias in Russian, and a few Czech arias in English translation. The author recommends singers incorporate some obscure arias into their audition packages; accordingly, he lists some lesser known works. Each entry provides the score or collection from which the aria is drawn, complete with page number. The information in each entry is detailed, yet brief, and the notes are well written and perceptive. The author is adept at concisely describing the scene and character, and often with a clever turn of phrase; for instance, Dulcinee in Massenet's Don Quichotte is described as a capricious small town tart. Some plot notes and translations are borrowed from The Opera Anthology Series and The American Aria Anthology (published by G. …
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