belcantopera's video: The Original Finale of Lucrezia Borgia Donizetti - M Caball G Liccioni

Madre, se ognor lontano Vissi al materno seno, Che a te pietoso Iddio M'unisca in morte almeno. Madre... l'estremo anelito Ch'io sopiri sul tuo cor. (Gennaro muore. -- Lucrezia mette un grido straziante e cade sul figlio) The closing cabaletta "Era desso il figlio mio" was added by Donizetti upon insistence by renowned soprano Henriette Méric-Lalande, who created the role of Lucrezia Borgia. It is one of the most demanding cabalettas in all the operatic repertoire, with trills and coloratura passages that demand extreme vocal agility. Donizetti later removed the cabaletta because he believed it damaged the credibility of the ending. This original finale of Lucrezia Borgia is the way Donizetti wanted the opera to end, without that flashy cabaletta, as glamorous as it turned out. He was right of course. The entire score was waayyy ahead of its time for 1833. Although I like "Era desso" (as much as I like any cabaletta), this version DOES make way more sense to me. And I've heard people complaining about Donizetti setting tragic texts to lively, major-key melodies... that cabaletta pushes quite a bit in that direction. But the finale here is so simple and effective, and thanks to Caballé and Georges Liccioni, who sing it with great abandon, really suggest itself as the better way for Lucrezia's misery to sublimate... so "Wagnerian"! That night Caballé's voice was gorgeous... rich and powerful yet flexible and capable of the most exquisite shadings and pianissimi... of all the unbelievable moments my favorite lies within the unbelievable larghetto sung here. Gennaro seizes a dagger and attempts to kill Lucrezia, but she stops him by revealing that he is in fact her son. He draws his last breath in his mother's fond embrace ("Madre, se ognor lontano vissi al materno seno"). Lucrezia falls lifeless upon the body of her son. Reynald Giovaninetti conducts the Orchestra de L'Opéra de Marseille, 18 October, 1968. Libretto Italian/English: http://books.google.it/books?id=bZg5AAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=it&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0 =onepage&q&f=false ------------------------------------- LUCREZIA BORGIA - Montserrat Caballé 1968 (Complete Opera): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKvHU3MX1eY The Nightmare Of Lucrezia Borgia, Montserrat Caballe (sung on the 20th of April 1965 at Carnegie Hall): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynzFtdCb8kc&list=UUIauKep8UZgs69BngJzVx5w Uploader Georg M . Caballé / Kraus / Flagello: Guai se ti sfugge un moto (1966): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWHc-rJ4Se8&list=UUZ5Q1RgY0jBY0UuqEJiWXuA LUCREZIA BORGIA Recordings 1898-1908: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7uYp6n79lM -------------------------------------