Aria

Information:

• Source: Approved Measures Notebook
• Key: C Major
• Measures: 45
• Parts: Cello and Piano
• Duration: 3:05
• Pages: 4 Pages

I am the fat lady, and I ain’t singing shit!

Opera Arias should be played at my funeral. Base on my favorite arias to be performed, it could be a long, sad, happy event, full of surprises. Attendees, either will cry their heart out, or will be disgusted by the dramatic display of grief. In any case, I will be long gone to be able to savor the spectacle of all the faces, either smiling or frowning.

Opera could change the way people see the world, and why not?, after all,
going to the opera is an experience larger than life. The first time I heard a Soprano sang an Aria, it appeared to me, as if she had something important, something urgent to communicate and yet, simultaneously unhurried.

She sang in such dignifying way, everything around me cease to exist. In the moment, it was only her voice and I. Her singing sounded especially elegant and so very tragic; her voice demanded utter attention. I gave in to her spell. The Aria was: Ebben?, ne andró lontana from the Opera La Wally by Catalini, the Soprano: Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez, and these are the lyrics:

Ebben! Ne andrò lontana
Come va l'eco della pia campana
Là fra la neve bianca
Là fra le nubi d'or
Là dove la speranza, la speranza
È rimpianto
È rimpianto e dolor
O della madre mia casa gioconda
La Wally ne andrà da te
Da te lontana assai
E forse a te, e forse a te
Non farà mai più ritorno
Né più la rivedrai
Mai più, mai più
Ne andrò sola e lontana
Come l'eco della pia campana
Là fra la neve bianca
N'andrò, n'andrò sola e lontana
E fra le nubi d'or

Ever since then, I’ve enjoyed Opera music very much. It is, as if I enter into a fantastic world where everything happens so fast: The protagonists meet for the first time, and a moment later, they are vowing eternal love to each other on top of their lungs. The display of hatred in an Opera, challenges all forms of human reasoning, not questioning, in the event of, if heaven or hell exist.

If I compared all the drama, between Hollywood movies and Mexican Soap Operas, Mexicans by far, win first prize. However, the big turmoil that unfolds in the stories of an Opera production is substantially, the most intact, due to the array of emotions being sang and counterbalanced by a live score. Yes, I believe, Opera makes, most forms of art, including Broadway Musicals, look like painting by numbers.

Opera is, in all probability, the only form of art that people either love with all their hearts, or hate with all their guts. Still, nobody can deny the excitement of a live Opera. The energy prior to the premieres, is almost palpable in the air, feels as if I’ve been shocked by an electric current, which passes swiftly through my body and lasts, until the curtain goes down in the final act.

There’s a great deal to discover about Opera. Its four hundred long history is unmatched, and even though, it all started in Europe in the 17th Century, it is as popular as when it all began. In the San Francisco Opera website, there is a list of things to know about Opera. I would like to briefly mention them:

Opera is:
1.- Casual and glamorous and sometimes a bit of both.
2.-Timeless
3.- For everyone
4.- Affordable

The monumental effort it takes for composers, singers, musicians, designers to put together something that beautiful, is mind boggling. When it all comes together in opening night, a miracle happens before our own very eyes, and the stories that unfold seem effortless. Then, without warning, and if we pay attention, the unexpected takes place: The complex characters portrayed by the actors appeared to move into familiar grounds; we feel the joy and pain, and we rejoiced or suffered along the way, because we realize, we are not that different from them.

Opera is, as expected, full of laughter, tears, love, murderers, vile Gods and evil people, just as life really is. The truth is, not everybody enjoys it, there’s been harsh remarks by critics and composers alike. Other observations are just plain funny to ignore. I am taking this opportunity to write my favorites:

1. How wonderful opera would be if there were no singers
   GIOACCHINO ROSSINI

2. People are wrong when they say the opera isn’t what it used to be. It is what it used to be. That’s what’s wrong with it.
   NOEL COWARD

3. The only thing worse than opera is someone who hums along with opera JOSH LANYON

4. Parsifal is the kind of opera that starts at 6 o'clock. After it has been going three hours you look at your watch and it says 6:20
   DAVID RANDOLPH

5. Of all the noises known to man, opera is the most expensive.
   MOLIERE

I’ve composed a duet piece. I took the freedom to borrowed four measures from a piano Sonata by Domenico Cimarosa. Born in Italy, He was one of the most celebrated composers of the 18th Century. He died in 1801 at the age of fifty one, and managed to composed eighty Operas in his short life. That is an impressive number.

With this piece for piano and cello, I’d like to invite everyone to actively and diligently search for something amusing in music, whether is classical or not, grasp for something surprising and exciting; “that something”, is hidden out of sight somewhere in the music, you’ll just have to find it, keep digging, and when you do, do not let go of it. Just remember: Is not over until the fat lady sings.