LA VOIX HUMAINE - Seattle Opera

Aria Ready?
spotlight on
SUOR
ANGELICA
Maria Gavrilova, Angelica
“Senza mamma”
Angelica reacts to the news of
her son’s death.
Long Story Short
After sin comes penitence and forgiveness for a
loving mother.
Who’s Who?
Sister Angelica, who knows the powers of
every herb in the convent’s garden, has been a
nun for seven years—but has yet to find peace.
The Princess, her wealthy aunt, likes to
appear pious and noble, although really she is
manipulative and cruel.
Sister Genovieffa, who used to be a shepherdess,
misses her darling little lambs.
Sister Dolcina (“Sweet-Tooth”) likes to
commit the sin of gluttony.
The Abbess is trying to run a serious convent;
no “Nunsense” here.
Where and When?
A convent in northern Italy, late seventeenth
century.
What’s Going On?
For seven years Sister Angelica has led the quiet
life of a nun. Not much happens at her convent:
every so often special treats, such as currants,
Music by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Giovacchino FoRZano
First performed New YoRK City, 1919
In Italian with English Captions
At Seattle Opera May 2013
Production Sponsor ArtsFund
come in with the donations of food; and once
a year the sunlight through a certain window
strikes the fountain and turns the water golden.
The nuns follow a strict rule, and spend most of
their time in prayer. And none of the other nuns
really understands why Angelica is there.
Born a princess, Angelica was forced to become
a nun when she bore a child out of wedlock. The
opera takes place the day Angelica finally receives
a visit: it is her aunt, who needs her to sign
some family documents. Angelica’s little sister
will marry, the aunt explains; they have found
a man who agrees to look past the shameful
stain Angelica left on their once-glorious family
name. But first Angelica must sign away her
inheritance. Angelica is more interested in what
became of her baby. “Two years ago he took
sick,” her aunt responds. “Everything was done
to save him, but....”
Angelica signs her aunt’s document, and the old
woman leaves her alone. Desiring more than
anything to be with her son, she collects herbs
from the convent garden, prepares poison, and
drinks it. Suddenly realizing that in her desperate
love she has committed a mortal sin, Angelica
prays to the Virgin Mary, imploring salvation,
and as she dies, she receives a sign of grace—a
vision of her dead son.
SO: Does your character change as she
sings this aria?
MG: Angelica starts the aria with sadness
for both her child and herself, that they
never knew each other’s love. At first
she is sad (the aria begins in A Minor),
imagining him dying alone and unloved.
She then thinks that he is happy in
heaven (changing to F Major), and
thinks how happy she will be when they
are together in heaven.
SO: Do you remember the first time you
heard this aria?
MG: Yes, when I was a student in Moscow
Conservatory, I heard Mirella Freni sing
it on an EMI aria recording from the
1960s. The performance I like the best
is a video from La Scala with Rosalind
Plowright. With both singers, I was
impressed by how they used their voices
in such a difficult aria with feeling.
SO: What do you like most about
singing this aria?
MG: Angelica is a combination of sweetness
and power.
SO: What’s most challenging about it?
MG: The pianissimi high notes in the aria are
challenging and even more so at the
end in the prayer that follows the aria.
SO: After “Senza mamma,” you’re still
the only one onstage. How is the
rest of the opera different from the
part that’s technically considered
the aria?
MG: After the aria, Suor Angelica loses her
rational mind and is in ecstasy thinking
about her son and herself in heaven.
This music, not only the singing, but the
orchestra too, is what we think of as
real Puccini.
2012/13 Season at Seattle Opera 31