Program Notes Duet: La ci darem la mano,.....Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from “Don Giovanni” At a rural wedding, the pretty bride, Zerlina, attracts the Don’s attention and led by her coquettishness of manner to consider her an easy conquest, he forthwith invites the whole party to his palace. He cleverly detains Zerlina. His gallantry and the hesitant yielding of the girl are admirably expressed in this duet. Duet from “The Magic Flute” …..Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart The story of “The Magic Flute” is a strange mixture of the fantastic and the symbolical and Mozart’s music casts over it an air of poetry, mystery and sacredness. In this duet Papageno, the jolly bird-catcher, joins Pamina in praising the power of love. II. Die Stadt (The City).....Franz Schubert An impressionistic picture of the mist-wreathed town on the horizon, a chilly breeze blowing across the water as the boatman rows the light skiff with even and mournful cadence. Once gain the sun breaks through the clouds and shows the singer all too clearly the city where he lost his beloved. Standchen (Serenade).......Franz Schubert O liebliche Wangen (O beloved cheeks)....Johannes Brahms O beloved cheeks, you fill me with desire to gaze upon, to caress, to touch, to kiss you. Come quickly, my sweet one, I am dying. Come quickly, fairest of the fair! Ruhe, Sussliebchen…….Johannes Brahms Sleep, dear little one, in the green gathering dusk as true love watches. Sleep...sleep...the forest lightly whispers “I am ever thine”...MR. DUNCAN Ave Maria……...Schubert Die Forelle (The Trout).......Schubert This fable in song-form tells of the fisherman who tried to catch a trout which escaped his hook until the wily one riled the stream. The agile, elegant swiftness of the trout is portrayed in the bubbling accompaniement. Der Jungling und her Tod…..Schubert The youth addresses Death saying, “Oh could I but die victorious and, freed from untold torture, be borne to loftier realms. Come, Reaper Death, to free me.” And Death replies, “Come, may peace be thine. No fear, no anguish haunt thee. Bee free! From earthly bonds release I grant thee.” Aria: Casta diva, from “Norma”.....Vincenzo Bellini Although its apparent simplicity removes this aria from the category of “show pieces,” only a singer of exceptional vocal technique can do it justice. Norma, the druidical high-priestess sings this hymn to the Moon, “Chaste enchantress who brightly gilds these holy ancestral towers, turn upon us thy gracious power from the cloudless sky! Peace grant us such as reigns on high!” MISS WILLIAMS IV. Duet from “Pagliacci” (Nedda and Silvio)..Ruggiero Leoncavallo Pagliacci is a play within a play. A troupe of strolling players act out one of the immemorial Harlequin comedies in which the Clown discovers his wife, Columbina, with Harlequin, her lover. The situation is repeated in “real” life when Tonio, himself spurned by Nedda, spies upon the guilty lovers and informs the husband. In this duet Nedda and Silvio declare their mutual love and he pleads with her to flee with him. Intermission Scene and Aria, from “La Traviata”....Giuseppe Verdi Ah, fors e lui Sempre libera The younger Dumas’ first play - “The Lady of the Camelias” - caused a sensation when it was produced in 1852. It was the first time that the story of a Parisian demi-mondaine had been presented without disguise and the public was frankly shocked. Verdi’s “La Traviata,” whose libretto is based upon the play, was considered even more objectionable, because more insidious. This scene is from Act. I. The gay party of the home of Violetta is over and Alfred has left with the other guests, after making her an avowal of love. Violetta muses on the unfamiliar joy of truly loving and being loved but puts the thought away as folly. For her, there is no turning back; she must tread the round of pleasure to the end. MISS WILLIAMS VI. Sleep Now……..Samuel Barber Soliloquy (Prayer from “Los in the Stars”)....Kurt Weill Stephen Kumalo, the Zulu minister, is in great sorrow because his son is accused of killing a man. In this aria, Kumalo reviews his son’s plight and prays to his Tixo (God) for guidance. I will go with my father a-ploughing Over the Mountains….Roger Quilter MR. DUNCAN VII. Selections from “Porgy and Bess”.....George Gershwin Summertime - MISS WILLIAMS I got plenty of nuttin’ - MR. DUNCAN Duet: Bess you is my woman now - MISS WILLIAMS and MR. DUNCAN